Words of Comfort

Christmas music is playing everywhere now. It’s on the radio, in the stores, and in our Sunday morning worship gatherings. Some are new songs, and some have been around for decades. Do you ever really listen to and think about the meaning of the lyrics to any of them, especially the ones you have sung since you were a child, or do you just sing along out of familiarity without thinking about what they mean? This week, a friend and I were discussing one such old Christmas carol.

Have you ever thought much about the phrase “tidings of comfort and joy” that we sing at the end of each verse of “God Rest Ye Merry Gentlemen”? The phrase “tidings of joy” is easy.  At the birth of Jesus, the angel announces, “Fear not: for, behold, I bring you good tidings of great joy, which shall be to all people” (Luke 2:10 KJV). I see tidings of joy, but where are the tidings of comfort? Are we even promised comfort? Are we ever promised a time when we can put up our feet and experience a life of ease?

Jesus seems to promise just the opposite. He says we must carry a cross in order to be His disciple (Luke 9:23), we must be a servant (Matt 20:26-28), and we must give up everything to follow Him (Luke 14:25-35). So where are the words of comfort and ease…the tidings of comfort? Is "tidings of comfort" an appropriate phrase for this Christmas carol? I thought I would investigate this dilemma.

To quote my favorite movie, The Princess Bride: “You keep using that word. I don’t think it means what you think it means.”[1] That seems to be the case here with the word comfort. I found a blog entry from December 2005 entitled “Tidings of Comfort and Joy,” written by an Episcopal priest. He references Isaiah 40:1-2, “Comfort, comfort, my people, says your God. Speak tenderly to Jerusalem, and proclaim to her that her hard service has been completed, that her sin has been paid for, that she has received from the Lord’s hand double for all her sins,” and explains the word comfort this way:

The original meaning of comfort is “to make strong” –to fortify. It is about taking heart and being encouraged, being strengthened with resolve and given hope that there is better to come. Comfort is not about feeling warm and cozy, it is about facing the future with trust in God and hope in one’s heart, no matter how bad things might have been in the past, or how they might appear at the present. It is a call to be prepared and strong for the good of the days to come…

That makes much more sense than tidings of ease, prosperity, and warm fuzzy blankets! I looked up what he said about the history of the word comfort and he is right. The Oxford Dictionary says comfort is “from late Latin confortare ‘strengthen’, from com- (expressing intensive force) + Latin fortis ‘strong’. The sense ‘something producing physical ease’ arose in the mid 17^th century.”[2]

I love this old/new definition of “tidings of comfort.” Words of strength and encouragement for the days to come are certainly “tidings of comfort” that many of us can use because we are not living in a world of ease and luxury. There are so many among us who are suffering physically or emotionally, or who have to endure days of uncertainty, grief, or darkness.

The birth of Jesus…the arrival of God incarnate…the presence of Immanuel, brings us not only “tidings of joy,” but also “tidings of comfort” – not the warm fuzzy kind but the strengthening, encouraging, fortifying kind of comfort. He may not have us living in the lap of luxury here, but He does want us to be strong and courageous. He wants us to live in faith, not fear. Be encouraged by these tidings of comfort.

Though you have made me see troubles, many and bitter, you will restore my life again; from the depths of the earth you will again bring me up. You will increase my honor and comfort me once more. I will praise you with the harp for your faithfulness, my God” (Psalm 71:20-22a NIV).

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[1] https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YIP6EwqMEoE (accessed December 9, 2015).

[2] http://www.oxforddictionaries.com/definition/english/comfort (accessed December 9, 2015).

Out of the Slimy Pit

Have you ever had a word picture in Scripture just jump off the page at you and communicate more than it ever has before? I love it when that happens, and I love seeing pictures of Jesus in the Old Testament. I was reading a beautiful, familiar passage in the book of Micah about God’s loving and forgiving nature:

“Where is another God like you, who pardons the guilt of the remnant, overlooking the sins of his special people? You will not stay angry with your people forever, because you delight in showing unfailing love. Once again You will have compassion on us. You will trample our sins under your feet and throw them into the depths of the ocean!” (Micah 7:18-19 NLT). 

I have heard lessons and songs (like Audio Adrenaline’s “Ocean Floor”) that focus on God throwing our sins into the depths of the ocean, but I have not thought much about the previous phrase until this morning. It says God will “trample our sins under [His] feet.” Think about that picture --- of something being trampled underfoot. It has been stomped on, run over, covered with dirt, footprints, garbage, and slime; it is ripped, wadded, torn, and crushed; it is completely worthless, only good for the trash bin, which is where our sin belongs. This is how God treats our sin.

But this is also how God treated Jesus when He was on the cross. Paul writes that “God made him (Jesus) who had no sin to be sin for us…” (2Cor 5:21 NIV). If God tramples our sin underfoot and Jesus became our sin, then Jesus was trampled underfoot for us. This brings new light and appreciation to me for the line in Lenny LeBlanc and Paul Baloche’s song “Above All” that describes Jesus as being treated “like a rose trampled on the ground.” Jesus --God in flesh, the name above all names, the One who lived a perfect life, completely sinless and blameless ---was trampled on the ground because He became sin for us.

In the Psalms, David wrote that God “lifted me out of the slimy pit, out of the mud and mire; he set my feet on a rock and gave me a firm place to stand. He put a new song in my mouth, a hymn of praise to our God. Many will see and fear the Lord and put their trust in him” (Ps 40:2-3 NIV). We are the ones who should have been in the trash heap because of our sin. We were in the slimy pit, the mud, and the mire that David describes. We should have been trampled, mistreated, torn, and crushed, but instead, God lifted us out of that mess and Jesus received that treatment instead of us.

God trampled our sins under His feet. That’s a fairly easy picture to grasp. That Jesus was trampled as our sin –not so easy to grasp. He loves us that much and sees such great value in us –not because of anything we’ve done, but just because He made us and we belong to Him. Know today that Jesus loves you so much that He was willing to become trampled like garbage in the street, like a rose thrown on the ground so that you could be lifted out of the slimy pit. We need to help each other stay out of that slimy pit because of what it cost to get us out of it. And like David, let us keep a hymn of praise to God on our lips for all He has done for us, and may many others come to trust Him when they hear our stories of being delivered from that slimy pit!

Christmas Songs for All Year Long

I have seen several FaceBook posts about those Christmas songs that some of us may find annoying…you know, the ones that you can’t stand to hear and you can’t wait for them to go away after Christmas. (I’m not naming any names here!) Then there are those Christmas songs that I think we could and should continue to sing year round. One such song is “Joy to the World” by Isaac Watts. It isn’t even written about specifically about the nativity narrative in Luke 2; it is inspired by Psalm 98.

“Shout for joy to the Lord, all the earth, burst into jubilant song with music; make music to the Lord with the harp, … shout for joy before the Lord, the King … Let the rivers clap their hands, let the mountains sing together for joy; let them sing before the Lord, for he comes to judge the earth.”       (Ps 98:4-9 NIV)

Another Christmas song that could (and perhaps should) be sung year round is “Hark the Herald Angels Sing” by Charles Wesley, as it contains deep, theological lyrics about Jesus and the wonder of the incarnation, especially in the second verse.

Veiled in flesh the Godhead see; Hail the incarnate deity

Pleased as man with men to dwell; Jesus our Emmanuel

God, the Creator of all things, veiled Himself with his own creation in order to live among us, as one of us, to become “Emmanuel” –God with us. He “took on flesh and became human and chose to live alongside us” (John 1:14 VOI). Wesley says He was “pleased as man with men to dwell.” This phrase reminds me of another song about Jesus found in Paul’s letter to the Philippians:

Jesus, “who, being in very nature God, did not consider equality with God something to be used to his own advantage; rather, he made himself nothing by taking the very nature of a servant, being made in human likeness. And being found in appearance as a man, he humbled himself by becoming obedient to death –even death on a cross!” (Phil. 2:6-8 NIV).

Jesus is God –there is none higher, there is none greater. And yet He voluntarily humbled Himself and gave up His position and privilege to be “veiled in flesh” and become one of His own creation, to live on the earth as one of us. And He was pleased to do this because it was necessary in order for us to be adopted into His family. “God decided in advance to adopt us into his own family by bringing us to himself through Jesus Christ. This is what he wanted to do, and it gave him great pleasure” (Eph 1:5 NLT).

Can we even begin to fathom all that Jesus gave up when He came and dwelt among us, when He become “veiled in flesh” to become “Jesus, our Emmanuel.” How can we begin to thank Him for all that He did for us? I would encourage you never to let a day go by without offering Him thanks and praise for He who is and what He has done for you, and never forget that He is Emmanuel --- God with us. This is something we can sing and shout for joy about all year long!

A Blessing from Psalm 20

It is the season of the year for gifts and for blessings. Psalm 20 contains a beautiful blessing written by David. The heading in The Voice translation for this psalm says it is "for the worship leader." It seems to me that this blessing should be sung, and it should be shared and poured out over others.

So whether everything is going as planned for you this Christmas season or if you are struggling and feel as if you're coming to the end of your rope, please listen and be blessed by these words that I adapted, which were originally written by David.

"A Blessing from Psalm 20"

May the Eternal One come to rescue you
When you desperately cling to the end of your rope
May the name of the Lord be your shelter
May He give you help and hope

May He grant you the dreams and the plans of your heart
May He see you through to the end
Then we will shout and praise the great name of our God
For all praises belong to Him

May He lavish you with His unfailing love
May He always answer your plea
May you trust in the name of the Lord our God
And may He give you victory

Reclaiming the Mission

Everyone loves new beginnings, fresh starts, and clean slates. They are a chance to move on and try to forget rough endings and slammed doors. Our attitudes and actions following those rough endings and slammed doors determines the quality and direction of that fresh start --- and whether we continue on the mission God has given us or we give up and go home. We can react to rough endings and slammed doors in one of two ways: we may become so completely discouraged and disillusioned that we quit pursuing the mission God has called us to, or we can run to Jesus for renewed strength to continue the mission He gave us.

Jesus holds all authority, and He is in control of which doors close and which ones open (Rev 3:7). A closed door is not necessarily a “no;” it is more likely a “not here” or a “not now.” It may provide us an opportunity to step back and reminded of who we are and what God has called us to be and to do for Him. “Reclaim the Mission” is a song I wrote earlier this year that speaks to this process. It begins with...

“Some days I forget who I am, that I’m part of a greater plan…”

Who am I? In her most recent Living Proof Live conference, Beth Moore reminds women who they are in God like this (it’s available on her blog):

            I am a woman (*or man) of God, redeemed by Jesus Christ

            Loved, pursued, and chosen, equipped with words of life

            Clothed in strength and dignity, commissioned here and now

            Gifted by the Spirit, forgiven and unbound

This is who I am…even when doors slam in my face…even when Satan attacks my identity…even when I’m under friendly fire from other believers. This is who I am. This is who you are if you are a follower of Jesus.

“I know there’s something more I’ve been created for.

There’s a job to do, I’m on a mission.”

We are all created for a purpose, and this purpose was not thrown together last minute. God planned it long ago. “For we are God’s masterpiece. He has created us anew in Christ Jesus, so we can do the good things he planned for us long ago.” (Eph 2:10 NLT).

“When the world diverts me from You, and Despair tells me ‘what’s the use?’…”

Why are we so easily distracted? Why do we listen to those debilitating, discouraging voices more than we listen to God or to those people whom He has placed in our lives to walk beside us and encourage us in our relationship with Him? Don’t listen to Despair. Allow Jesus to give you “a crown of beauty for ashes, a joyous blessing instead of mourning, festive praise instead of despair” (Is 61:3 NLT).

“May I never fail to see who You’ve called me to be.

Keep my eyes on You and on the mission.”

This should be our prayer: that we keep our eyes focused, not on the closed door and ended possibilities or on those intent on discouraging and distracting us, but focused on the Lord and what He has called us to do. “I raise my eyes to fix my gaze on You, for Your throne resides in the heavens. Just as the eyes of servants closely watch the hand of their masters, just as a maid carefully observes the slightest gesture of her mistress, in the same way we look to You, Eternal One, waiting for our God to pour out His mercy upon us.” (Ps 123:1-2 VOI).

If you have recently experienced a slammed door, a rough ending, or are in need of confirmation from the Lord as to who you are, what He has created you to be, and what He has called you to do, try singing this prayer with me:

“Lord, remind me what is true, rekindle love for You

Renew my strength, refocus my vision

Re-set my heart aflame to glorify Your name

Redirect my path; Lord, may we reclaim the mission.”