We’re almost to Christmas! It’s easy for me to get caught up in planning Christmas festivities, making sure I’ve bought all of my Christmas gifts, making last minute travel plans, filling any time off with a laundry list of things that have to get done around my house – it seems like anything and everything that can distract me, will. Everything that is, except the story of Jesus and his birth.

Confession time: When I was a kid, my parents and grandparents always used to have us read the Christmas story in Luke before we opened presents. I learned at an early age that the birth of Jesus didn’t actually happen around Christmas, and that the cutesy version of the shepherds and the magi meeting up in the manger at the same time wasn’t historically accurate, so I admit I was a bit disenchanted with the story. Add that to the fact that I had such rampant curiosity about the gifts I hadn’t managed to figure out weeks before Christmas, and reading Luke was never at the top of my to-do list on December 24^th. It wasn’t that I wasn’t impressed by the story of Jesus’s birth. I had played Mary in enough church Christmas plays to think that the whole thing was pretty cool, I just think that 8 year old me had a bit of a skewed set of priorities.

Truthfully, it’s not difficult for 22 year old me to have a skewed set of them too, so I’m begrudgingly thankful when Advent rolls around and puts me in a position to think about more than just me. To read Matthew 2:1-12 and Luke 2:8-20 and think about what those meetings must have been like, regardless of the month of the year they actually took place. To meditate on the realization that both the Magi and the Shepherds brought treasures with them. The Magi, as most people know, brought gold, frankincense, and myrrh and they also bowed down and worshipped him. The Shepherds brought something that may have been even more valuable:

“So they hurried off and found Mary and Joseph, and the baby, who was lying in the manger. When they had seen him, they spread the word concerning what had been told them about this child, and all who heard it were amazed at what the shepherds said to them. But Mary treasured up all these things and pondered them in her heart. The shepherds returned, glorifying and praising God for all the things they had heard and seen, which were just as they had been told.”

The shepherds saw a group of angels who told them that a baby who had just been born was actually the Messiah who would save them all. They took an outlandish message from a cohort of angels in the sky, and they went on faith into Bethlehem to see Jesus. Once they had seen the confirmation they were told to look for, they went around telling everyone what they had been told about who Jesus was and what he would be.

I love the part that says, “But Mary treasured up all these things and pondered them in her heart.” If she is anything like me, I’d imagine some of that thought process had to include a “Oh thank goodness, someone else believes it too. I’m not crazy. This is real. The Lord really talks to me, and he really said those things about this baby.” Maybe she never wavered, and if so I want to have faith more like that, but if she did, what a blessing it had to have been to this new mother to have these men say these things about her baby. To say these things that confirmed what she had known in her gut the last 9 months. That this baby was the Savior. That he was the Joy of The World. That her baby, this precious tiny baby, was the Messiah come in the flesh.

I want to follow Jesus this way. I want to hear outlandish things from God, and when I go and see the confirmation for myself, to be bold enough to talk about it, even if some people won’t believe me. To respond by giving God praise and glory. To say things that cause people to treasure them up and ponder them in their hearts, and let the Lord use me to confirm callings and words for other people.

To let my life proclaim: “Joy to the world! The Lord is come”

Joy to the World
Words by: Isaac Watts

Joy to the world! The Lord is come.
Let earth receive her King;
Let every heart prepare Him room;
And heav’n and nature sing,
And heav’n and nature sing.
And heav’n and heav’n and nature sing.

Joy to the world, the Savior reigns
Let men their songs employ.
While fields and floods, rocks, hills, and plains
Repeat the sounding joy,
Repeat the sounding joy
Repeat the sounding joy

No more let sin and sorrows grow,
Nor thorns infest the ground;
He comes to make His blessings flow
Far as the curse is found,
Far as the curse is found,
Far as, far as the curse is found.

He rules the world with truth and grace,
And makes the nations prove
The glories of His righteousness.
And wonders of His love,
And wonders of His love,
And wonders, wonders of His love.

Credit: Photo by Rachel K Duncan // http://www.rachelkduncan.com // Instagram: @rachelkduncan

I can call God many things. He is my friend. He is my comforter. He is the source of my joy when life tests my faith and patience. He is my protector. He is also my redeemer. I can’t say that I’ve always understood the full meaning behind the title of redeemer, but now that I’ve been enlightened, I must share my excitement!

To redeem means to compensate for the faults or bad aspects of something. When I read this definition I get mixed emotions. On one hand it is a reminder that we are filled with so many things that are not of God. Simply put, we are sinners.

On the flip side, the amazing thing is that we will forever be connected to our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ because His love covers our “faults and bad aspects.” I can’t help but feel loved with a dash of hope and peace because I know what it feels like to feel completely unworthy of God’s love. As such, I am thankful for many things this holiday season, but most of all, I am thankful for the gift of redemption.

Micah 5:2-5

“But you, Bethlehem Ephratha,
though you are small among the clans of Judah,
out of you will come for me
one who will be ruler over Israel,
whose origins are from of old,
from ancient times.”

Therefore Israel will be abandoned
until the time when she who is in labor bears a son,
and the rest of his brothers return to join the Israelites.

He will stand and shepherd his flock
in the strength of the Lord,
in the majesty of the name of the Lord his God.
And they will live securely, for then his greatness
will reach to the ends of the earth.

And he will be our peace their peace.

Here it is, a precious baby filled with the presence of the Holy Spirit, would become our Savior and our redeemer. If that’s not worth celebrating, I don’t know what is.

Christmas Day will be here before we know it and we will wake up with a sense of excitement, even as adults. For those of us who are fortunate enough, gifts will be exchanged and our bellies will be full. Let us not forget to sincerely celebrate with our hearts that because of God’s love and magnificent power, we have not been forsaken. Let us not replace the significance of the day with our new pretty and shiny things. May we not forget to celebrate the prince of peace, love, and hope.

Throughout my walk with God I forgot to hold on to God’s gift of freedom. I can’t help but think that on Christmas morning many of us will put on fake smiles and go through the day masking what keeps us up at night. There is someone out there feeling like they are a lost cause. They are tired, their spirit is broken, and they struggle to pick themselves up from the floor. If this is you, I want to remind you that God’s love is greater than all of our sins combined. Better days are ahead and God has not forgotten about you.

Our inability to meet the mark of righteousness will never disqualify us for the gift that Jesus Christ has given us. During this holiday season it is my prayer and hope that we would find complete peace in knowing that Jesus is our biggest cheerleader in life. He has a plan for all of us and through Him all things are possible. Know that you are deeply loved. You are enough. You are beautiful. You have been redeemed.

Credit: Photo by Sarah Simon // Instagram: @themintgardener

Colossians 3:15-18 (VOICE) says of Jesus:

“He is the exact image of the invisible God, the firstborn of creation, the eternal. It was by Him that everything was created: the heavens, the earth, all things within and upon them, all things seen and unseen, thrones and dominions, spiritual powers and authorities. Every detail was crafted through His design, by His own hands, and for His purposes. He has always been! It is His hand that holds everything together.”

Isn’t that just astonishing?

In light of the great glory of God, the first few lines of the hymn “Jesus Came, Heavens Adoring” ring so true when I think of the amount of humility that was involved in Jesus’ birth:

“Jesus came, the heavens adoring,
Came with peace from realms on high;
Jesus came for man’s redemption,
Lowly came on earth to die;
Alleluia! Alleluia!
Came in deep humility.”

One of the many things that is so beautiful about Jesus is that although He is mighty and all powerful and the King of Kings, He also calls us friends:

“Greater love has no one than this, that one lay down his life for his friends .You are My friends if you do what I command you. No longer do I call you slaves, for the slave does not know what his master is doing; but I have called you friends, for all things that I have heard from My Father I have made known to you.”  (John 15:13-15 NASB)

The idea that God is disdainful and angry with us is a tragic lie that I used to believe. Jesus’s birth was an extravagant display of the love that He has for us. He came “from realms on high,” took on the human condition, and came to live in this broken world so that He could save it. Jesus’ birth was an absolute wonder, overflowing with His indescribable love for us. One of my hopes for this advent season is to focus on and celebrate the joy, hope, peace, and affectionate grace that Jesus brought to us by coming to Earth and saving us. I pray that God will overflow our hearts with delight and gratitude for the story of His first coming.

“This is how the birth of Jesus the Messiah came about: His mother Mary was pledged to be married to Joseph, but before they came together, she was found to be pregnant through the Holy Spirit. Because Joseph her husband was faithful to the law, and yet did not want to expose her to public disgrace, he had in mind to divorce her quietly. But after he had considered this, an angel of the Lord appeared to him in a dream and said, “Joseph son of David, do not be afraid to take Mary home as your wife, because what is conceived in her is from the Holy Spirit. She will give birth to a son, and you are to give him the name Jesus, because he will save his people from their sins.” All this took place to fulfill what the Lord had said through the prophet: “The virgin will conceive and give birth to a son, and they will call him Immanuel” (which means “God with us”). When Joseph woke up, he did what the angel of the Lord had commanded him and took Mary home as his wife. But he did not consummate their marriage until she gave birth to a son. And he gave him the name Jesus.” – Matthew 1:18-25 (NIV)

He is holy and unmatched in majesty, yet He is Immanuel, God with us. What great cause for celebration we have for this advent season!

“Thanks be to God for his indescribable gift!” – 2 Corinthians 9:15 NIV

Jesus Came, The Heavens Adoring
Words by: Godfrey Thring

Jesus came, the heavens adoring,
Came with peace from realms on high;
Jesus came for man’s redemption,
Lowly came on earth to die;
Alleluia! Alleluia!
Came in deep humility.

Jesus comes again in mercy
When our hearts are bowed with care;
Jesus comes again in answer
To an earnest, heartfelt prayer;
Alleluia! Alleluia!
Comes to save us from despair.

Jesus comes to hearts rejoicing,
Bringing news of sins forgiven;
Jesus comes in sounds of gladness,
Leading souls redeemed to heaven.
Alleluia! Alleluia!
Now the gate of death is riven.

Jesus comes in joy and sorrow,
Shares alike our hopes and fears;
Jesus comes, whate’er befalls us,
Glads our hearts, and dries our tears;
Alleluia! Alleluia!
Cheering e’en our failing years.

Jesus comes on clouds triumphant
When the heavens shall pass away;
Jesus comes again in glory.
Let us, then, our homage pay,
Alleluia! ever singing
Till the dawn of endless day.

Credit: Photo by Rachel K Duncan // http://www.rachelkduncan.com // Instagram: @rachelkduncan

Read: Luke 1:26-56

“I am the Lord’s slave…”

The first thing I think when reading this story is: “Would I have responded this way?”  

An angel of the Lord appears to this young girl from the poorest part of the nation of Israel and tells her God has found favor with her.  She is going to give birth to the Son of God!  The Holy Spirit is going to come upon her and conceive a baby within her, even though she is a virgin.

Let’s pause and find the context here.  Because today, sadly, being a single mom isn’t all that uncommon, or that big of a deal.  So it is hard for us to understand what Mary’s situation was, even though it is still frowned upon by most Christians to have a baby before you are married.

At the time Mary was pregnant, engagements and marriages worked very differently than they do today.  First the couple signed a ketubbah. The ketabbuh was a modern day marriage license. They were considered married but they would not have sex until the terms in the license were met.  After the time had passed that they were to remain pure, they would consummate the marriage and tell all their friends and family it was official (awkward!). They then would celebrate the marriage with a week long party. You can imagine how things would have looked when Mary became pregnant during the time when she and Joseph were not allowed to have sex.  Leviticus 20:10 says, “If a man commits adultery with another man’s wife- with the wife of his neighbor- both the adulterer and the adulteress must be put to death.”  According to this law, Joseph was legally supposed to have Mary stoned.  He would have been completely justified because that was the culture and they were legally married.  

And Mary knew all of this the moment the angel told her she was going to have a baby.

When we see Mary in pictures she is usually beautiful, adorned in fine clothes, glowing with a halo on her head, but the picture that we get when we look deeper in the context of the Bible is very different.  At the time Rome was ruling over Israel and the people were being crushed under them.  Mary’s living conditions were probably very dirty and simple.  The Jews had also become very laxed in their religion.  We see that Joseph plans to divorce Mary quietly before being visited by the angel.  This is just one of the evidences of how far the Jews had come from the original laws and their dedication to God. He never should have been able to do that since the law did not even allow that as a second option.  Between all of these things, being surrounded by a people with stagnant faith, a brutal enemy army ruling over them, and dirty, possibly impoverished living conditions, Mary really had nothing going for her.

After the angel tells Mary that she is going to have a baby, she goes to her cousin, Elizabeth.  The angel explained that Elizabeth was also pregnant because of a miracle that God did.  Everything that we see of Zechariah and Elizabeth in the Bible suggests that they had strong faith. Mary probably sought their guidance.

Elizabeth is just the encouragement Mary needs in verses 39-46.  Can you imagine how the story would have been without Elizabeth?  Mary needed a friend who would encourage her. I’m sure the angel telling her about Elizabeth’s miraculous baby was deliberate so that Mary knew she had a friend who she could trust and confide in.  Mary stayed there for around three months before she went home.  It doesn’t say this, but I am willing to bet Elizabeth was mentoring her and helping her during that time.  

So what can we learn from Mary’s story?  I hope that when you hear Mary spoken of during this Advent time, you would remember this.

“I am the Lord’s slave.”

In Galatians 1:10 Paul says, “Am I now trying to win the approval of human beings, or of God?  Or am I trying to please people?  If I were still trying to please people, I would not be a servant of Christ.”  We are still called to answer with the same humility and faith Mary did when she spoke those words “I am the Lord’s slave.”  It doesn’t matter what our living conditions are, or what our culture says.  God wants us to trust in Him, no matter how hard things may seem, or how impossible it may sound.

He doesn’t always explain the plan, or give you direction other than your call.  Did He give Mary an exact guideline of what she was to do or where she was to go?  No, He only told her what the call on her life was and expected her to trust Him with her life.

We need people in our lives who we can talk to who have a strong faith and who can pour into us in times of need.  Just as Mary had Elizabeth, we also need mentors in our lives who can do the same for us.  If you don’t have a mentor, I would encourage you to ask someone.  Find someone of the same gender as you who you feel is a godly role model and simply ask them to disciple you.  

God’s call on our lives to live out the gospel is now, no matter the situation or circumstances, because we are the Lord’s slaves.

O Come, Redeemer of Mankind
Words by: Saint Ambrose of Milan

O come, Redeemer of mankind, appear,
Thee with full hearts the virgin born we greet;
Let every age with rapt amazement hear
That wondrous birth which for our God is meet.

Not by the will of man, or mortal seed,
But by the Spirit’s breathed mysterious grace
The Word of God became our flesh indeed,
And grew a tender plant of human race.

Lo! Mary’s virgin womb its burden bears;
Nor less abides her virgin purity;
In the King’s glory see our nature shares;
Here in His temple God vouchsafes to be.

From His bright chamber, virtue’s holy shrine
The royal Bridegroom cometh to the day;
Of twofold substance, human and divine,
As giant swift, rejoicing on His way.

Forth from His Father to the world He goes,
Back to the Father’s face His way regains,
Far down to souls beneath His glory shows,
Again at God’s right hand victorious reigns.

With the eternal Father equal, Thou,
Girt with our flesh dost triumph evermore,
Strengthening our feeble bodies here below
With endless grace from Thine own living store.

How doth Thy lowly manger radiant shine!
On the sweet breath of night new splendor grows;
So may our spirits glow with faith divine,
Where no dark cloud of sin shall interpose.

All praise and glory to the Father be,
All praise and glory to His only Son,
All praise and glory, Holy Ghost, to Thee,
Both now, and while eternal ages run.

Credit: Photo by Rachel K Duncan // http://www.rachelkduncan.com // Instagram: @rachelkduncan