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December 2 2019

The Praises of Christmas – Advent Week I – Praise of Faith in Uncertainty

“Behold the maidservant of the Lord! Let it be to me according to your word.”

Luke 1:38

My soul magnifies the Lord, and my spirit has rejoiced in God my saviour.”

Luke 1: 46, 47

The Praises of Christmas: Praise of Faith in Uncertainty

It is that time of year again! It is a time of mystery and majesty and sparkles and rejoicing. A time that I always picture in my mind as a clear, crisp night, dark but lit up with the beauty of a million sparkling stars, and a song of praise in the air! Christmas is many things to many people and in the time we are living, as Christians, we need to search our hearts and minds to be certain that we know why we are celebrating. It is not just a time for parties and gifts, for material things and pleasures that only last for a season. For Christians, Christmas is a time of reflection and wonder, rejoicing and celebration and time set aside with loved ones. But the pleasure that we derive is not just for a season but for eternity through the precious gift of that Baby, Jesus, Emmanuel, God with us, God in the form of a baby, sent to earth from the Heavenly Father.

Praises Of The Season

This advent season I would like for you to take a journey with me through the Praises of the Season. As we read through the Christmas narrative in the Word of God we see examples of many of the main characters praising the Lord. Each praise is unique and individual, just as the character and their situations are unique and individual. I believe that as we take this journey together and set aside the time to reflect and see the Lord, we will learn a valuable lesson in praising the Father, not only in the advent season but also throughout the year.

The Message

Let’s start with the beautiful praise that comes forth from Mary. Let’s review. Mary is a young girl, a virgin, betrothed to Joseph, but yet unmarried. She is visited by the angel Gabriel who announces: “Rejoice, highly favoured one, the Lord is with you; blessed are you among woman!”… “Do not be afraid, Mary, for you have found favour with God. And behold, you will conceive in your womb and bring forth a Son, and shall call His name Jesus. He will be great and will be called the Son of the Highest; and the Lord God will give Him the throne of His father David. He will reign over the house of Jacob forever, and of His kingdom there will be no end.”…”The Holy Spirit will come upon you, and the power of the Highest will overshadow you; therefore, also, the Holy One who is to be born will be called the Son of God.” …”For with God nothing will be impossible.” Luke 1: 28, 31-33, 35, 37

WOW! Can you even begin to imagine the thoughts and emotions that Mary went through as she heard this angel tell her that she was “with child” and that this was not any child, but the Son of God? Can you imagine the excitement, then the questions, then the fear? What will Joseph think? What will my parents think? Will they believe me when I tell them about the angel and the baby? Will life ever be normal again? How can I be a mother to the Son of God?!

The Response

However, what comes out of Mary’s mouth in response to the angels’ visit is not fear or worry or a list of questions. When she opens up her mouth it is filled with praise and submission to the Will of the Father for her life. “Then Mary said, “Behold the maidservant of the Lord! Let it be to me according to your word.” Luke 1: 38

We may think, “Well, she hasn’t had time to think about the situation, she is caught or up in emotions”…..but her praise doesn’t stop there, it is just beginning! Mary quickly travels to visit Elizabeth, whom the angel has indicated is also to bear a son. Elizabeth who is advanced in years and barren! Oh the mighty hand of God!

As Mary greets Elizabeth, the babe in Elizabeth’s womb “leaps” and Elizabeth herself is filled with the Holy Spirit, speaking forth praise onto God. At this point in time, the reality of Mary’s situation has truly begun to hit home. Surly she has talked with Joseph and her family about the impending birth and surely she has felt the weight of their questions. Surely by now, others are aware of her pregnancy and she has likely endured stares ranging from pity to outrage. And in seeing for herself the effect of the hand of God on Elizabeth – causing one who was barren to conceive…..Mary must be beginning to understand the power of God to follow through with that which He had told her through the angel Gabriel. If there had not been time to “think it through” before or emotions had gotten the best of her, we can rest assured, that by now the reality of her situation has settled in. So if Mary’s earlier praise was a result of naiveté or emotionalism, then we would expect Mary’s praise to turn to bitterness and questioning?

Mary's Song

But what we hear coming from the lips of this young girl, who find herself in the middle of a complicated situation made more challenging with the responsibility she has to bear, is a song of praise:

“My soul magnifies the Lord, and my spirit has rejoiced in God my Saviour.

For He has regarded the lowly state of His maidservant;

For behold, henceforth all generations will call me blessed

For He who is mighty has done great things for me,

And Holy is His name.

And his mercy is on those who fear Him from generation to generation.

He has shown strength with His arm;

He has scattered the proud in the imagination of their hearts.

He has put down the mighty from their thrones, and exalted the lowly.

He has filled the hungry with good things, and the sick He has sent away empty.

He has helped His servant Israel, in remembrance of His mercy,

As He spoke to our fathers,

To Abraham and to his seed forever.”

Luke 1:47-55

How Beautiful Are the Praises of The Lord

How beautiful are the praises of the Lord on the lips of His people!

This Advent season will you join with me to take a moment each day and reflect on how we praise the Lord in complicated times, times of adversity or times of uncertainty? Are we able to open our mouth and praise the Lord because He has regarded us? Are we able to praise Him who is mighty for the great things He has done for us? Are we able to praise Him because he is Holy? Are we able to praise Him for His faithfulness? Are we able to praise Him because we walk in faith, believing that He knows the path that He has prepared for us?

This advent season, may we learn from the praises of Mary, that we too can open our lips and praise our Lord even in the midst (and probably most importantly, in the midst) of times of uncertainty because we believe that our Heavenly Father is faithful and true!

Let Us Pray Together

Mighty God, Holy One, we come before You at the beginning of this Advent season and ask that You guide and direct us through this journey of reflection on the praises of Christmas. There is so much to glean from Your Word and we know that if we ask, You will guide and direct our learning and grant revelation to our hearts and minds. So today, we ask! Teach us, Father, to open our lips and praise you at all times….especially in the midst of uncertainty as Your word tells us that You inhabit the praises of Your people. We ask this in the precious name of Jesus. Amen and Amen and Amen

Until next time,

From my heart to yours!

Laurie

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May 27 2019

Gather Together

Hello my friends! How has your week gone? The copious amounts of rain have been VERY good for the flowers and the grass, but it is good to finally see some sun! This week we took our first trip in our “new to us” camper. Off to beautiful Cape Breton to spend some time with family. While there we gathered together to love and support one another as we laid our dearest Papa to rest. He was a great man in the eyes of many and we were delighted as so many gathered at the graveside to pay their respects, to say their farewells and to support one another; something our family does incredibly well. I was privileged, at the graveside, to share about the life of this precious man and wanted to take this opportunity to tell you a bit about my Papa; a man that greatly shaped my life.

Here we find ourselves, gathered together again, a tight knit group of family and friends. Those going by and seeing our gathering perceive only our grief; what they miss with their brief glance is our deep love for one another– grieving should never happen in isolation and in this family it never does.

5 Months

We gather today, 5 months, 5 long months after Jacob Daniel Shaw, let go his grasp on this world and opened his hands wide to take hold of eternity. He was known by many titles; husband, father, brother, uncle, papa, papa Jake, dear friend. In my mind we can sum him up in two phrases – the rock we all leaned on – and the glue that held it all together. For most of us, we can’t remember a time when he wasn’t a part of us and for those of us who can, we can’t imagine how we ever got along without him in the before. And now, for all of us, the question looms large, how will we move forward without him?

95 Years

How could one man, in almost 95 years have such an impact? How could one man be so very human and so very real and yet find himself elevated in the minds and hearts of so many?

Authentic

He was always himself, no matter the person or the circumstance, never fake, never put on. He said it like it was, even if it might not be one hundred percent politically correct or popular.

Wisdom

He didn’t have a lot of formal education but he had a lifetime of experiences that he took time to reflect on and grow from and that made him the smartest man I’ve ever known.

Hands that Held

He was a giant of a man with giant sized hands; those hands that did hard physical work for much of their life, were the same hands that also gently and firmly held each one of us at some point- through a handshake, a hand hold, a stroke on the cheek, a pat on the head.

Squeezed In

We were never too old to find a place on his lap or squeezed into the chair beside him and his arms were always open and ready for a hug.

Quiet Faith

He had a quiet and straightforward faith. Many times when I was struggling he simply asked, “Are you talking to the man upstairs?” He understood that although he knew much and had much to offer there were some things he had to pass over to God.

Family

He believed in the importance and necessity of family. He believed in the power of stories. But most of all he believed in us, each and every one of us, no matter where we were on our journey. When we couldn’t believe for ourselves, he believed for us.

Footsteps

So how do we journey on? Where do we go from here? We need to take that impact, the lessons he modeled, and make sure we are continuing to walk in his footsteps in our journey. They are big footsteps to follow in but I believe that as we follow in them and grow, our footsteps will in turn enlarge and we make a footpath for those coming behind us.

What We Believe

We need to believe in the inherent worth of people, the importance of sharing our stories, the necessity of family, the need to reflect on our life and continue to grow through our experiences, the need to be real, the joy of holding one another firmly but gently, believing for one another, holding each other close and squeezing in close together.

Until Eternity

In the time I spent with him the week before he left us, despite the fact that he was dealing with his own discomfort and mortality, he took the time to sit with me; to hold me firmly but gently with those giant sized hands, to remind me of the important things in life, to make sure I knew how much I was loved. And in the last moments before I left as I looked one last time into those beautiful eyes, those eyes looked into the very centre of my soul with a fierce intensity and enough love to last me until we meet again in eternity.

Our Promise Until Eternity

Today, we gather together, as a family; a family that may be scattered in the everyday by time and distance and priorities, but a family that knows how to pull together in an instant when it is most important. Today we gather to honour the rock that we have all leaned on and the glue that has held it all together. Today we gather to hold each other firmly but gently as our breath catches again at the void we feel in the realness that he is not with us. Today as we say farewell and till we meet again to our dearest Papa, we also promise to walk out his legacy by being the rock that each of can lean on and a part of the glue that will continue to hold it all together, because we are family, his family. Until we meet again in eternity, our dearest Papa.

If you are interested in more Devotional reading, head over to my Facebook Page where you will find a Weekly Devotion early every Monday morning. Click the button below to go directly to the Weekly Devotions.

Until next time

From my heart to yours,

laurie

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