T-3 days!

It's here! After weeks of shopping, planning, fighting crowds, traffic and the elements, the time has finally come to share our gifts with our loved ones this Christmas. For many of us "Fusionites," the time has also come for us to serve the many individuals and families God put in our path this year through Advent Conspiracy. I think somewhere deep in our hearts, we all find much more joy and satisfaction in giving than in receiving - whether it's meeting a real need or simply a demonstration of affection for a loved one. There's just something about seeing someone's face light up when they receive a gift that is meaningful to them.

As we grow ever closer to Christmas day, a thought has been stirring my heart that has never really occurred to me: I wonder if the Father found great delight and pleasure in giving us the gift of his son? Think about it for a second: the coming of Jesus was the perfect remedy for our deepest need. The birth of the Son of God is announced as "good news" with "great joy" with singing and praising. And as John 3:16 reminds us, the coming of Jesus was a demonstration God's love for the world. How could such an act of love not bring the Father pleasure?

At the same we've probably all been given a gift we really didn't get at the time. Whether we didn't see the value in the gift or understand the thought, planning or sacrifice that went into the gift- sometimes we don't receive the gift with kind of joy we should. The same was true of the gift God's son. The people who understood the significance of Jesus' birth responded in praise and thanks to God for bringing about the deliverance they had been waiting for so long. Others needed a little more explaining. Still others like King Herod, totally didn't get it. Rather than seeing the birth of the Messiah as the gift he needed most, He saw God's gift as a threat to his power. I wonder if this - missing the point of the gift - grieves the Father's heart as much as it gift itself brought him pleasure. Jesus himself wept over the misunderstanding of those in Jerusalem who didn't get the significance of his coming.

This Sunday we will not be meeting for our regular corporate worship gathering, but I would like to encourage each and every one of us to spend time with your loved ones and ponder the gift of God in your hearts. Does the gift that brought the Father such pleasure and was announced with great joy bring joy to your heart? Does your response to this gift bring pleasure to the great Giver? Or more to the point: What difference has the coming of Jesus Christ, the promised messiah, made in your life and the people around you?

I would like to challenge us to take this a step further. Instead of merely making this a personal reflection, take some time to ask your loved ones these questions on Christmas day this year. Maybe this will lead you to a time of worship with your family. Or maybe this will be a chance for you to share this good news, this gift, with someone you love. Either way, make this Christmas day meaningful by responding to God's gracious gift with delight and joy!

I pray that all of us would have a very meaningful and memorable Christmas this year!

This week’s blog brought to you by Chael Tiller. ;o)

Week 4

12/22: John the Baptist-Luke 3:1-20 (River)

12/23: Mary-Luke 1:26-56 (Angel)

12/24: Joseph-Matthew 1:18-25 (Hammer)

12/25: Jesus’ Birth-Luke 2:1-40 (Jesus in a Manger)

What do you want?

Jesus was the ultimate healer, physician miracle worker. He came into this world to awaken our soul’s desire to be in relationship with the Father. He came into this world to heal us and provide for us. But when people came to him to receive healing, he often asked them, “What do you want?” He’s God, so of course he knew what each person needed. A person can’t see, one would assume that’s what they wanted. Someone can’t walk, of course they want to be healed. So then why does he even ask what they want?

I think it’s because this question might just be one of the most relational, soul-awakening questions we can ever be asked. Do you ever ask yourself…what do I want?

People traveled from all over just to improve the possibility that they just might, maybe, see Jesus. I can sense the yearning in their hearts that they so desperately want to not just see Jesus, but have him notice them. Having no idea why their heart is drawn to this Man/God, but aching to look into his eyes and have him speak to them. And then he looks at them and asks, “What do you want?” I bet he/she had not even asked themselves that question, maybe ever, in their lives and here is this man, with eyes that seem to look into their soul asking them what they want. I know if I would have been standing in front of him and he would have asked me that question, I would have just wept. It brings tears to my eyes thinking about Jesus looking into my soul, longing to connect with me, to bless me, to heal me. I think this is the cry of my heart, your heart, everyone’s heart.

Christians, especially, often make decisions based on asking themselves “What is God’s Will?” which is a great question but I often wonder if maybe we should start with what we want? Do we not trust that what we want is what God wants? Jesus says ask whatever you wish and it will be given to you. But what does that mean? I believe really getting what we want, fulfilling our deepest desires, starts with surrender. We must first surrender our wants and desires to God and allow him to fill it. People often try to fulfill their wants and desires without surrendering them to God and most, if not all, of the time, it just doesn’t quite measure up. People are exhausted from trying to fulfill their wants and needs without surrender. I believe that every time a broken, hurting person comes to Jesus for healing, he wants to heal them. He yearns to heal them. He aches to bless his kids.

I think people often live life flailing. You know, when you were a kid and you raced down a steep hill, you’re not really in control of yourself, you are just surrendering to the gravity. Flailing with the hopes you don’t eat it. Does your life feel like this? You are going somewhere but is it really where you want to go or are you just surrendering to the trajectory of life? Are you alert and oriented times 4? I am the first to admit that I don’t always get what I want. I think it’s unreasonable to expect that. We will struggle; that’s a promise. We won’t always get what we think we want. But if we never ask, or allow him to ask us, then how can we really experience life to the fullest? If we aren’t conscious enough of our desires, we will live a life of flailing. And if we don’t surrender our wants and desires to him, we never allow him to give us something more than we could imagine. We never experience true freedom.

Maybe you have asked yourself this question. Have you asked your family this question? Have you asked your spouse, your mom, your sister, your son, your daughter? If this is as powerful of a question as I think it is, then maybe this is how we serve one another. This is how we love one another. Listen to the hearts of every person in our lives and do what we can do provide. That’s what God does.

During the Christmas, we all make lists of “things” we want. We try to give our loved ones what they want but I wonder if we should take this one step further and ask the deeper “want question”. Relational gifts are often ones that are harder to give because they require more time and effort to fulfill. I challenge you: to be like Jesus is to give relationally. To ask the question “what do you want?”

So…what do you want?

Week 3

12/15: Samuel-1 Samuel 3 (Lamp)

12/16: David-1 Samuel 16 (Harp)

12/17: Hezekiah-2 Kings 18:1-8 (Tablets of the Law)

12/18: Josiah-2 Kings 23:1-30 (Book)

12/19: Isaiah-Isaiah 6 (Throne)

12/20: Jonah-Jonah, entire book (Whale)

12/21: Elizabeth-Luke 1:5-25, 57-66 (Dove)

Loneliness

Oh loneliness. Such a bad word. I think it’s ironical (yes, it’s a word because I can spell it) that there are 7 billion people in this world and yet we still struggle with loneliness. I guess if people solved loneliness, we’d be alright. But we’re not are we?

Especially during the holidays, people struggle with loneliness and that makes me feel very sad because I’ve been there. I would venture to say all of us have. What is the cause of loneliness? How can you be in a room full of people and yet, still feel lonely? I think loneliness is not caused by the lack people in your life, though, that does not help. I think a major reason loneliness has such a hold on us humans is because we’re not connected to the people in your life. Loneliness is all-consuming because there is a lack of intimacy in relationships and a lack of authentic community in their lives.

Community literally means: “the gift among each other” or “to give among each other”. Community means doing life together. The good, the bad, the ugly. Pseudo-community has become the norm and authentic community is something people have to search and search and search for and I’m not quite sure why. I heard someone say once that the garage door opener was the worst invention ever because no one has to get out of their cars anymore. No one has to greet their neighbor when they get out of their cars to open the door. They just drive right into their homes and no one is forced to know each other anymore. We’ve created such an independent society but the fruits of our labor have created more loneliness.

During Advent Conspiracy we are reaching out to people in an effort to “love all”, which eventually leads to worshiping fully. We do this by spending less and giving more. Our goal is to sacrifice some of our gifts in order to bless others who would otherwise have nothing this season. I love being able to bless people. Makes me happy. But I have always felt like it’s a bit awkward to just go to someone’s house, drop off gifts and leave. And if I feel awkward, I am almost positive they feel the same way. So what’s the missing link? How can we bridge the gap so that this awkwardness, maybe not go away completely, but lessens just a little bit? Not for us, but for the people we bless.

I think the missing link is that relationship piece. It isn’t awkward to give to your family or friends. Why? Because you have a relationship with them. This year, Fusion has decided to have a Christmas Party/Open House in order to begin to establish those relationships. I think this is a critical piece not to just assuage our feelings of awkwardness because really, if that’s the worst that happens to us when we bless people, we have it made. But I think it is critical because people deserve to be in community. I think Fusion is an awesome, hilarious, caring, broken, imperfect bunch of people who do life together. I think we attempt to make a concerted effort to be an authentic community. I want people who don’t have community to be a part of our family because I think we’re awesome. I don’t want people to be lonely because they don’t have any other option.

This is part of the story. The story Jesus came to tell. Enter in.

Week 2

12/8: Rachel-Genesis 29:1-14 (Shepherd’s Crook)

12/9: Joseph-Genesis 37 (Colorful Coat)

12/10: Moses-Exodus 3 (Burning Bush)

12/11: Passover-Exodus 12 (Lamb)

12/12: Miriam-Exodus 13:17-14:31, 15: 19-21 (Music Notes)

12/13: Deborah-Judges 4 (Judge’s Gavel)

12/14: Ruth-Ruth 2 (Wheat/Straw)