Who Has Your Back?

Personal reflections on Advent: Christmas
 (Click on the link below to read the verses.)
Isaiah 7:14; Matthew 1:18-25

  

During the 60’s, in small town America, about the only the thing to do on a weekend for fun was to cruise around “the strip”. That’s what they called the main drag where teenagers drove round and round looking for excitement. For me, that town was Alma, Michigan.

 

On one such occasion, shortly after getting my driver’s license, I was driving around the strip in my parents Buick Wildcat. It had a 325 horsepower and 425 cubic inch motor. Although it was as big as a boat, it had a lot of power… and it was fast!

 

Apparently, it was too fast because I was stopped by the police and given a ticket for pulling out of a parking lot in an “unsafe manner”. As a result, I had to appear in court with my Dad before a judge. It was all a very frightening experience but knowing that my Dad would be there with me helped a lot.

 

Growing up, I always knew that my parents had my back. They never told me that in so many words. They just did it.

 

One central theme that persists throughout the Bible is that God promises to always be with His people; to have their back. He promised Abram, Isaac and Jacob. He promised Moses and David. He even promised Gideon who was hiding in a winepress. Then in the New Testament, he promised Joseph… only not exactly.

 

²² All this took place to fulfill what the Lord had said through the prophet: ²³ “The virgin will conceive and give birth to a son, and they will call him Immanuel” (which means “God with us”).       NIV

 

These words were written about 700 years before Jesus was born, as a promise to Israel that God would be with them. But they were also spoken to Joseph to convince him to take Mary as his bride. In fact, God was promising to not just be with Joseph and Mary, but to be with you and me.

 

In The Message, Eugene Peterson puts it like this.

 

^14a The Word became flesh and blood,
    and moved into the neighborhood.      John 1

 

I’m sure my Dad wasn’t happy about me getting a ticket. There’s a lot of different ways that he could have handled the situation. The spectrum could’ve ranged anywhere from painfully punitive to superbly supportive. He was supportive. He didn’t make me face it alone but was there by my side.

 

God with us. What an amazing promise.

 

Copyright 2021 Joseph B Williams

 

 

 

Peace on Earth

Personal reflections on Advent: Peace
 (Click on the link below to read the verses.)
Luke 2:1-20

  

Christmas is a time of peace. 

Many Christmas images are portrayed as idyllic such as the baby Jesus lying in the manger with Joseph and Mary kneeling at his side; or the three wise men riding their camels under the guidance of the bright shining star.

 

Yet, we live in a world that can never seem to achieve peace. To confirm this, all you need to do is be aware of what is happening in the world around you.

 

The recent school shooting in Michigan; the tornado tragedy in Kentucky; COVID and its continuing presence of variants; nationwide record numbers of homicides and opioid deaths; the death of George Floyd. None of these can be mistaken for idyllic pictures of peace.

 

Even Jesus did not bring peace. He brought chaos to his parents; conflict to the religious leaders; uprooted the lives of his disciples, only to leave them with unfulfilled expectations; and said goodbye to his mother from the cross, the punishment reserved for the worst kind of criminal.

 

And yet, there is no peace without Jesus. He brings peace to a world that is filled with fear, anger, guilt and shame. He brings peace when you have a stillborn baby; when your parents die; when your marriage is on the rocks; when an addiction takes control of your life; when the world is crumbling around you.

 

The angels pronounced it when he was born, and Jesus promised it when he was about to die.

  

¹³ And suddenly there was with the angel a multitude of the heavenly host praising God and saying:

¹⁴ “Glory to God in the highest,
And on earth peace, goodwill toward men!”      NKJV

 

²⁷ Peace I leave with you; my peace I give you. I do not give to you as the world gives. Do not let your hearts be troubled and do not be afraid.  John 14 NIV

 

We hear the verse from Hark the Herald Angels Sing… “Peace on Earth and mercy mild, God and sinners reconciled”. 

The Prince of Peace has reconciled us with our faithful Heavenly Father. He loves us completely, is with us always and forgives us unconditionally. If that doesn’t bring you peace, nothing will.

 

Copyright 2021 Joseph B Williams

 

 

 

100 Shiny Pennies

Personal reflections on Advent: Joy
 (Click on the link below to read the verses.)
Luke 2:1-20

  

When I was a young boy, I tried very hard to catch Santa Claus bringing my presents.

 

One year I hid in a downstairs closet, close enough to the living room to hear Santa come down the chimney. Another year, I hid under my bed with a flashlight, waiting to hear the rain deer on the roof. I was very persistent and was always the first person awake to see the presents under the tree.

 

On another Christmas, my brother placed 100 brand new shiny pennies in 100 envelopes and strung them from the ceiling in groups of five. When I came downstairs into the living room, it looked like a mystical wonderland of stalactites. For me, it was an exciting sight that made for a joyful Christmas.

 

However, Christmas is not always joyful. Such was the case in the circumstances that surrounded the birth of Jesus. His mother was pregnant out of wedlock with a different father than her betrothed.

 

Joseph and Mary had to travel to Bethlehem to register so that Rome could squeeze every last penny out of them in taxes. Being in the ninth month of her pregnancy, the timing of the census couldn’t have been worse.

 

Finally, because there was no room in the inn, they stayed in a barn with the animals, where the baby was born. Not exactly a picture perfect, joyful occasion for giving birth to your first-born child.

 

But wait, this was the Son of God! There should be some great announcement of his birth. Who should God give that honor to? What about some common shepherds on the hillside? People who watched and cared for sheep; one of the lowliest jobs in society at the time.

 

⁸ That night there were shepherds staying in the fields nearby, guarding their flocks of sheep. ⁹ Suddenly, an angel of the Lord appeared among them, and the radiance of the Lord’s glory surrounded them. They were terrified, ¹⁰ but the angel reassured them. “Don’t be afraid!” he said. “I bring you good news that will bring great joy to all people.             NLT

 

There are many reasons to be joyful at Christmas. For a little boy, it was the excitement of seeing presents under the tree or hanging from the ceiling. For a young mother, it was giving birth to her firstborn child. For the shepherds, it was the spectacle of a supernatural visit of an army of angels.

 

What brings you joy at Christmas? Is it buying presents, or maybe getting them; seeing the look on the faces of your children or grandchildren on Christmas morning; decorating the tree; listening to Christmas carols; going to a Christmas Eve service; being with family?

 

What is the Good News that brings great joy?

 

¹⁴ The Word became flesh and blood,
    and moved into the neighborhood.
We saw the glory with our own eyes,
    the one-of-a-kind glory,
    like Father, like Son,
Generous inside and out,
    true from start to finish.            John 1 MSG

 

Copyright 2021 Joseph B Williams

 

 

A Baby Changes Everything

Personal reflections on Advent: Love
 (Click on the link below to read the verses.)
Luke 1:26-38; Romans 5:1-5

  

In the past, when a young single girl got pregnant, her family might have sent her away to a maternity home until the baby was born. That way, nobody had to deal with the embarrassment, guilt and shame. It saved the reputation of the family and the girl.

 

Nine months is a long time. Just ask any pregnant woman. But it may have felt especially long for Mary. She was engaged to be married when she apparently got pregnant by someone else.

 

Can you imagine as she tried to explain to her fiancé, Joseph; her parents; her rabbi? Can you picture the reaction of people as she told them the preposterous story of the angel, and getting pregnant by the Holy Spirt? How ridiculous it must have sounded; how ashamed she must have felt; how alone and isolated she became.

 

It’s not really surprising that shortly after she learned about her condition that she went away to visit her cousin Elizabeth. No doubt, her cousin was a great comfort and encouragement to her. But still, nine months is a long time!

 

Do you think there were times when Mary couldn’t remember the exact words of the angel? Did she ever wonder if it had even been real, if it had actually happened? Doubt can easily creep into our heart and mind when we’re feeling hungry, angry lonely or tired.

 

Whatever doubts Mary may have had, she persevered. She was able to do so because God had spoken directly into her heart and mind through an angel. He had promised to be with her; he had told her how special she was to him; how much he loved her.

 

²⁸ The angel went to her and said, “Greetings, you who are highly favored! The Lord is with you.”

²⁹ Mary was greatly troubled at his words and wondered what kind of greeting this might be. ³⁰ But the angel said to her, “Do not be afraid, Mary; you have found favor with God.             NIV

 

Just like Mary experienced God’s hope and love through his word, we can too. And just like his word and his promises carried Mary through difficult times, he is still speaking to us, pouring out his love into our heart.

 

And we boast in the hope of the glory of God. ³ Not only so, but we also glory in our sufferings, because we know that suffering produces perseverance; ⁴ perseverance, character; and character, hope. ⁵ And hope does not put us to shame, because God’s love has been poured out into our hearts through the Holy Spirit, who has been given to us.       NIV

 

There’s a song by Faith Hill called “A Baby Changes Everything”. It describes Mary’s experience of being pregnant with Jesus, the Son of God. The final verse shifts from looking at Mary to the song writer… and to us.

 

My whole life has turned around
I was lost but now I'm found
A baby changes everything, yeah
A baby changes everything

 

If you would like to listen to it, click on the link below.

 A Baby Changes Everything by Faith Hill

Copyright 2021 Joseph B Williams

 

 

Behind the Eight Ball

Personal reflections on Advent: Hope
 (Click on the link below to read the verses.)
Matthew 1:18-25; Luke 1:26-38; Luke 1:46-56

  

Often times when a young couple is first married, they start off a little behind the eight ball. One of the first places that my wife and I lived was a small bungalow. It had a claw bathtub in it, which sounds kind of cool until you took a bath. In order to fit in it, you had to bend your knees in half. Even then, it was a tight fit.

 

And if you wanted to take a shower, you had to go to the basement where someone had Gerry rigged a showerhead. There were no walls; not even a shower curtain. You were down there with the spiders and whatever other little creatures might be watching you. It probably looked like a hopeless start to our marriage.

 

Mary and Joseph started out “behind the eight ball” too. First, Mary became pregnant with an unwanted child before the wedding. On top of that, Joseph wasn’t even the father.

 

The Jewish culture was one of laws and judgement. She could have been stoned to death for such an indiscretion, but instead, Joseph was going to “divorce her quietly”.

 

But then God intervened through the angel Gabriel. He appeared separately to both Joseph and Mary explaining that she was pregnant by the Holy Spirit. As unbelievable as it sounded, they both trusted the Lord and were obedient. But still they had to start off their life together with this stigma hanging over their heads.

 

Can you imagine what people thought when Mary or Joseph explained that she was pregnant by the Holy Spirit? This poor carpenter and his wife? Who were they to be chosen for such a calling? No doubt they were social and religious outcasts, starting their marriage poor and rejected. A life without hope.

 

But listen to Mary’s song of praise in The Magnificat.

 

“Oh, how my soul praises the Lord.
⁴⁷     How my spirit rejoices in God my Savior!
⁴⁸ For he took notice of his lowly servant girl,
    and from now on all generations will call me blessed.
⁴⁹ For the Mighty one is holy,
    and he has done great things for me. NLT

 

That doesn’t sound like someone living behind the eight ball; living without hope. In fact, from a hopeless situation, Mary gave birth to the hope of the world; hope for you and for me.

 

Copyright 2021 Joseph B Williams

 

 

Mirror, Mirror on the Wall

A Series on the Beatitudes
 (Click on the link below to read the verses.)
Matthew 5:8; James 1:22-25; Psalm 24:3-4

 [In this series, we will be looking at the Beatitudes from the perspective that Jesus came to establish his kingdom. In order to do that, he needed to set new expectations; to let his followers know that his was a spiritual kingdom, not a political one. To teach them what it means to bring in his kingdom; what it means to turn the world upside down.] 

⁸ Blessed are the pure in heart,
    for they will see God.      NIV

 

 

“Mirror, mirror on the wall, who’s the fairest of them all?” These are the words of the Evil Queen in “Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs”. This story may be a fairy tale, but there’s a lot of truth in it.

 

For instance, when the Evil Queen looked into the mirror, she didn’t really want the truth, just affirmation. And when she was told the truth, she sent her Huntsman off to find Snow White to kill her. No, the Evil Queen didn’t want to know the truth about the ugliness of who she really was on the inside.

 

Like the Evil Queen, our human nature leads us to deflect, rationalize and justify our flaws that are ugly. We prefer to point our finger at someone else rather than to look at our own shortcomings. James gives us some insight into how to avoid this.

 

²³ For if you listen to the word and don’t obey, it is like glancing at your face in a mirror. ²⁴ You see yourself, walk away, and forget what you look like. ²⁵ But if you look carefully into the perfect law that sets you free, and if you do what it says and don’t forget what you heard, then God will bless you for doing it. NLT

 

If we look carefully… do what it says… and don’t forget… then God will bless us. The Beatitude for this week affirms James’ words.

 

⁸ “You’re blessed when you get your inside world—your mind and heart—put right. Then you can see God in the outside world.     MSG

 

If we get our inside world right, then we will see God, or at least see Him at work. Listen to what David wrote about climbing the mountain of the Lord. He confirms that like Moses on Mount Sinai, Elijah on Mount Carmel and Jesus on the Mount of Transfiguration, we too can see God and His work.

 

³ Who may climb the mountain of the Lord?
    Who may stand in his holy place?
⁴ Only those whose hands and hearts are pure,
    who do not worship idols and never tell lies. NLT

 

Do you want to “climb the mountain of the Lord”? Do you want to see Jesus? Then let him change you from the inside out. Let him make you pure.

 

Then when you look into the word of God, which is our mirror, you will see the truth. Not only the truth about yourself, but the truth of what Jesus has done for you. And the truth will set you free.

 

Copyright 2021 Joseph B Williams

 

 

 

My Short List

A Series on the Beatitudes
 (Click on the link below to read the verses.)
Matthew 5:7; Matthew 18:21-35

[In this series, we will be looking at the Beatitudes from the perspective that Jesus came to establish his kingdom. In order to do that, he needed to set new expectations; to let his followers know that his was a spiritual kingdom, not political. To teach them what it means to bring in his kingdom; what it means to turn the world upside down.] 

⁷ “Blessed are the merciful, for they shall receive mercy.      ESV

 

 

The first real job that I had was as a busboy/dishwasher at a Jerrys Restaurant in Morehead Kentucky during the summer of 1968. It was located right across the street from Morehead State University, and during peak hours it was packed. I did the job of two people and earned a whole 88 cents an hour.

 

One Friday night at the end of the summer, the owner had invited the high school football team to the restaurant after their game. He must have been a booster, or frustrated coach or “has been” football player. Whatever the case, he was NEVER at the restaurant, but on this occasion he was at the grill ready to cook steaks.

 

As we waited for the team to arrive there was absolutely nothing to do, so I made some small talk. He turned to me, and looked me in the face and said, “You know if you worked as good as you talk, you’d be a good worker”. To this day, I wish I had walked off the job. What a jerk.

 

It’s easy to hold a grudge, but Jesus doesn’t call us to live that way. He calls us to forgive; to show mercy; to bring in the Kingdom of Heaven.

 

Peter must have held a few grudges in his day, because on one occasion he asked, “Lord, if my brother keeps on sinning against me, how many times do I have to forgive him?” Jesus proceeded to tell him the story of the unforgiving servant.

 

The point is that Jesus shows us mercy and in turn, we should show others mercy. He put it like this in the beatitude.

 

⁷ “Happy are those who are merciful to others;
    God will be merciful to them!   GNT

 

⁷ “You’re blessed when you care. At the moment of being ‘care-full,’ you find yourselves cared for.       MSG

 

While thinking about this beatitude, I asked myself the question, “Who do I hold a grudge against”. It was a fairly short list, but obviously those grudges go deep and far; as far back as 1968.

 

God showed the depth of His love and mercy for me by sending his only son to die for my sins. In doing so, he made it possible for me to be forgave. Can I do any less for my short list?

 

Copyright 2021 Joseph B Williams

 

 

I Can’t Get No… Satisfaction

A Series on the Beatitudes
 (Click on the link below to read the verses.)
Matthew 5:6; Micah 6:8

 [In this series, we will be looking at the Beatitudes from the perspective that Jesus came to establish his kingdom. In order to do that, he needed to set new expectations; to let his followers know that his was a spiritual kingdom, not a political one. To teach them what it means to bring in his kingdom; what it means to turn the world upside down.] 

⁶ Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness,
    for they will be filled.      NIV

 

 In 1965, the iconic music group the Rolling Stones, released a song titled, “(I Can't Get No) Satisfaction”. The lyrics tell a story about a man who tries to find satisfaction in his life, but no matter what he tries, he “can’t get no satisfaction”. It’s not the best English, but you get the point.

 

Of course, he’s not the first person to experience dead ends in their life. Solomon, the wisest man on earth, wrote in Ecclesiastes about hopelessness; about desperation. He tried every avenue available to find satisfaction, but in the end he wrote, “I can’t get no satisfaction”.

 

² “Meaningless! Meaningless!”
    says the Teacher.
“Utterly meaningless!
    Everything is meaningless.”    NIV

 

However, the Beatitude for today gives us hope. Here are two different versions that help us to understand how.

 

⁶ God blesses those who hunger and thirst for justice,
    for they will be satisfied.            NLT

 

⁶ “Happy are those whose greatest desire is to do what God requires;
    God will satisfy them fully!       GNT

 

Jesus seems to be pointing his disciples back to the voice of the prophet Micah who also gave us insight on how to find satisfaction in life.

 

⁸ 

…the Lord has told us what is good. What he requires of us is this: to do what is just, to show constant love, and to live in humble fellowship with our God.                       GNT

 

There are lots of bunny trails that we humans run down trying to find satisfaction. Sometimes, they seem to work for a while. But none of them are eternal; none of them have the power to weather all the storms of life; none of them usher in the kingdom of God.

 

Only the Living God, King of the universe, has that ability, and Jesus points us towards Him.

 

Copyright 2021 Joseph B Williams

 

 

How do you get what you want?

A Series on the Beatitudes
 (Click on the link below to read the verses.)
Matthew 5:5; Psalm 37:3-11

 [In this series, we will be looking at the Beatitudes from the perspective that Jesus came to establish his kingdom. And in order to do that, he needed to set new expectations; to let his followers know that his was a spiritual kingdom, not a political one. To teach them what it means to bring in his kingdom; what it means to turn the world upside down.]

⁵ Blessed are the meek,
    for they will inherit the earth.   NIV

 

When my daughter was in high school, she wanted contact lenses. So, she wrote down, and presented to me, a list of all the reasons why it would be a good idea for her to have contacts. She correctly anticipated any objections that I might have… like the cost. Basically, she made a sales pitch to get what she wanted.

 

Different people use different methods to get what they want.

 

In the Old Testament, the Lord made a covenant with Abram and his descendants to give them the Promised Land. Only, it wasn’t like it was a vacant lot, or that they had a deed, or a bill of sale to show their rightful ownership. In fact, there were generations of people who lived there.

 

The Jews had to make a decision on how to get what they wanted; how to get their land. Would they remove the people by brute force or assimilate and adopt their culture and gods or trust the Lord?

 

When Jesus said the above beatitude, the verse that would have come to the mind of any self-respecting Jew was Psalm 37:11.

 

¹¹ But the meek will inherit the land
    and enjoy peace and prosperity.          NIV

 

This was an obvious reminder of the Promised Land, and was reinforced in the psalm with the words “dwell in the land” or “inherit the land” appearing seven times. But, there is also a strong emphasis on trusting the Lord, which is also mentioned seven times.

 

Unfortunately, the Jews had trouble trusting the Lord. You could say that it was a control issue or a pride issue or a sin issue or a doing anything to get what they want issue. These were all true of the Jews, and are true for us today.

 

Who then will “inherit the land”? The world tells us that it will be those with power; with money; with information; with strategic planning; with manipulation; with intimidation. Jesus tells us that it’s a matter of simple humility before the Lord.

 

⁵ God blesses those who are humble,
    for they will inherit the whole earth.              NLT

 

With the Beatitudes, Jesus was turning the world upside down for his disciples. Today, Jesus is still turning the world upside down.

 

Copyright 2021 Joseph B Williams

 

 

 

 

A Funeral for Snead

A Series on the Beatitudes
 (Click on the link below to read the verses.)
Matthew 5:4; 2 Corinthians 1:3-11

[In this series, we will be looking at the Beatitudes from the perspective that Jesus came to establish his kingdom. And in order to do that, he needed to set new expectations; to let his followers know that his was not a political kingdom, but a spiritual one; to teach them what it means to bring in his kingdom; what it means to turn the world upside down.] 

⁴ Blessed are those who mourn,
    for they will be comforted.         NIV

During my sophomore year of college, I had a roommate who owned a canary named Snead. As canaries do, Snead sang morning, noon and night. Except, one day when we returned from class, he wasn’t. In fact, Snead wasn’t breathing.

 

Being the sensitive, compassionate, mature college students that we were, we decided to have a funeral service. It started in our dorm room, followed by a processional down the hall, including a “priest” with “holy water” and official mourners. We ended in the courtyard of the girls’ dorm for the actual burial.

 

Snead had been carefully laid in an Old Spice wooden gift box with Kleenex gently lining the inside. He was then laid on top of a royal blue bath towel spread across a ten foot long wooden shelf from our closet. It was a fitting memorial for our friend Snead. 

Of course, there are times when mourning is no laughing matter.

 

As he did with the first beatitude, Eugene Peterson paraphrased the second one in a way that you can easily understand and relate to.

 

⁴ “You’re blessed when you feel you’ve lost what is most dear to you. Only then can you be embraced by the One most dear to you. MSG

 

We mourned the passing of Snead that night… kind of. But when someone has truly lost “what is most dear to you”, the mourning goes deep. It hurts so much that only tears can adequately express the depth of your pain. And when you hurt like that, you need to “be embraced by the One most dear to you”.

 

Paul wrote to the Corinthians about the pain and grief and mourning that he experienced, as well as the comfort that he received and the lessons learned

 

³ Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of compassion and the God of all comfort, ⁴ who comforts us in all our troubles, so that we can comfort those in any trouble with the comfort we ourselves receive from God.           NIV

 

^8b We were under great pressure, far beyond our ability to endure, so that we despaired of life itself. ⁹ Indeed, we felt we had received the sentence of death. But this happened that we might not rely on ourselves but on God, who raises the dead.                NIV

 

I have three questions for you and for me. What have you lost that was most dear to you; that hurt deep; that brought you to your knees? What did you learn from your losses? How did it help you to help others?

 

Copyright 2021 Joseph B Williams