Merry Christmas to all of you! My hope and prayer today is that you feel the joy, awe, wonder, and relief that Christmas morning brings. But truth be told, there are some among us who carry generational trauma at Christmastime. Today can be a trigger day for those whose families struggled with anger, neglect, abuse, poverty, and deep unhappiness. You may be waking up this morning just feeling glad that the season is over, and all you have to do is get through today. For you especially, I pray that God’s overwhelming peace and hope would flood your soul and replace your memories with calm assurance of his presence.
My favorite Christmas hymn is Christina Rossetti’s In the Bleak Midwinter. I think it speaks into every moment of Christmas: The bleak ones, the reverent ones, the tender ones, and the giving ones.
In the bleak midwinter Frosty wind made moan Earth stood hard as iron Water like a stone Snow had fallen Snow on snow on snow In the bleak midwinter Long, long ago
Angels and Arc Angels May have traveled there Cherubim and Seraphim Thronged the air But only his Mother In her maiden bliss Worshiped the beloved With a kiss
What can I give him? Poor as I am If I were a shepherd I would give a lamb If I were a wise man I would do my part But what I can I give him Give him my heart Give him my heart
If you are bleak this morning, know that you are loved. If you are filled with joy today, reflect on the maiden kiss that Mary gave her baby. If you are happily weary, rest in the company of angels. If you have hope, go out and tell it from the mountains.
Merry Christmas, my friends! Thank you for reading.
Last week I preached a sermon suggesting we try to “unhurry” Christmas, and I challenged the congregation to listen again to the familiar Luke 2 passage on the nativity and see if they could spot who was in a hurry the night the Christ Child was born. See if you can spot it, too:
Luke 2 (Common English Bible)
2 In those days Caesar Augustus declared that everyone throughout the empire should be enrolled in the tax lists. 2 This first enrollment occurred when Quirinius governed Syria. 3 Everyone went to their own cities to be enrolled. 4 Since Joseph belonged to David’s house and family line, he went up from the city of Nazareth in Galilee to David’s city, called Bethlehem, in Judea. 5 He went to be enrolled together with Mary, who was promised to him in marriage and who was pregnant. 6 While they were there, the time came for Mary to have her baby. 7 She gave birth to her firstborn child, a son, wrapped him snugly, and laid him in a manger, because there was no place for them in the guestroom.
8 Nearby shepherds were living in the fields, guarding their sheep at night.9 The Lord’s angel stood before them, the Lord’s glory shone around them, and they were terrified.
10 The angel said, “Don’t be afraid! Look! I bring good news to you—wonderful, joyous news for all people. 11 Your savior is born today in David’s city. He is Christ the Lord. 12 This is a sign for you: you will find a newborn baby wrapped snugly and lying in a manger.” 13 Then a great assembly of the heavenly forces was with the angel praising God. They said, 14 “Glory to God in heaven, and on earth peace among those whom he favors.”
15 When the angels returned to heaven, the shepherds said to each other, “Let’s go right now to Bethlehem and see what’s happened. Let’s confirm what the Lord has revealed to us.” 16 They went quickly and found Mary and Joseph, and the baby lying in the manger. 17 When they saw this, they reported what they had been told about this child. 18 Everyone who heard it was amazed at what the shepherds told them. 19 Mary committed these things to memory and considered them carefully. 20 The shepherds returned home, glorifying and praising God for all they had heard and seen. Everything happened just as they had been told.
So, Joseph made his way by foot and donkey from Nazareth to Bethlehem a distance of about 90 miles. Not in a hurry.
Mary takes time to wrap Jesus snugly in his blanket, and later spends time in reflection, pondering things in her heart. Not in a hurry.
The angels manifest in the sky and have a choir practice to announce the good news. Not in a hurry.
Later in the story, actually about two years later, the wise men show up with their Christmas presents. Definitely not in a hurry!
So who was in a hurry? The shepherds. “Let’s go RIGHT NOW to see what’s happened. And they went QUICKLY and found the baby laying in a manger.”
But don’t miss the point: they left their WORK to rush into Jesus’ presence.
Maybe we could do the same today. In the midst of our holiday hustle and tasks, we could stop and leave our work. We could slow down long enough to hurry in another direction. We could put our activities on hold so we might quietly meet with our Lord. We could be settled and silent in the presence of Jesus.
As a result we just might discover an unhurried holiday: a season that will strengthen us spiritually instead of sapping our energy and joy. If we strip away all the extra stuff, maybe we will find ourselves in Jesus’ presence.
So in this moment, unhurry yourself and sit in Jesus’ presence. Breathe in the essence of peace and exhale out all your anxiety. May God bless us, everyone.
My email is filled this morning with “last minute Christmas gift ideas” and I am mentally doing a gift checklist to see if I need anything last minute. In six days it will all be over and our selections, for better or for worse, will be revealed and we’ll know whether or not we got a hit or a miss.
We’ve been blessed with family this weekend and stories of unusual Christmas presents were shared. I had to laugh when my husband confessed to everyone that he had a miss the first Christmas after we got married. He had even gone to three stores to buy it! I still can’t imagine what possessed him to get me a bacon press, and he can’t remember why he was so sure it was exactly what I wanted. It made a great door stop, though.
In our countdown to Christmas readings this week, we will consider the best Christmas gift the world ever received from Mary’s perspective. I am always amazed to think about how young she was and how unstartled she was at this extremely startling pronouncement:
Luke 1 (Common English Bible)
26 When Elizabeth was six months pregnant, God sent the angel Gabriel to Nazareth, a city in Galilee, 27 to a virgin who was engaged to a man named Joseph, a descendant of David’s house. The virgin’s name was Mary.28 When the angel came to her, he said, “Rejoice, favored one! The Lord is with you!” 29 She was confused by these words and wondered what kind of greeting this might be. 30 The angel said, “Don’t be afraid, Mary. God is honoring you. 31 Look! You will conceive and give birth to a son, and you will name him Jesus. 32 He will be great and he will be called the Son of the Most High. The Lord God will give him the throne of David his father. 33 He will rule over Jacob’s house forever, and there will be no end to his kingdom.”
Can you imagine what it would be like to be visited by an angel? What do they even look like? Of course Mary was confused! But I love that the angel said, “Don’t be afraid, Mary. God is honoring you.” Indeed, “don’t be afraid” is often the way angels greet people. I’m not sure that would work for me, as I would probably be lying unconscious on the floor after having fainted, so I would miss the whole “don’t be afraid” part.
34 Then Mary said to the angel, “How will this happen since I haven’t had sexual relations with a man?”
35 The angel replied, “The Holy Spirit will come over you and the power of the Most High will overshadow you. Therefore, the one who is to be born will be holy. He will be called God’s Son. 36 Look, even in her old age, your relative Elizabeth has conceived a son. This woman who was labeled ‘unable to conceive’ is now six months pregnant. 37 Nothing is impossible for God.”
Young Mary received comfort from her cousin’s miraculous pregnancy to help her negotiate her own. The normalization of extraordinary conceptions now ran in their family and probably helped both women accept that they had been favored by God, and they would be all right. The angel spoke an important truth that day: Nothing is impossible for God.
What impossible thing are you up against today? What kind of miraculous intervention do you need right now? If an angel were to appear to you in this moment, what news would you hope for?
38 Then Mary said, “I am the Lord’s servant. Let it be with me just as you have said.” Then the angel left her.
Mary’s example of servanthood is legendary. When God calls us to do an important, wonderful, strange, and impossible task for him, this is how we should respond as well.
Are you feeling up against it today? You are God’s favored one. Nothing is impossible with God.
Losing someone at Christmas time is a gut-wrenching experience. Every holiday season going forward will forever be marked with the sadness of that untimely event. Yesterday, I officiated a funeral for a vibrant young woman in our community who brought light and laughter to everyone she met. As I counseled her mother earlier in the week, I kept hearing the phrase “beauty for ashes” in my mind. This young woman was an Associate Professor and Program Coordinator of Cosmetology at our local college, and everyone talked about her drive and desire to bring beauty into the world with her teaching, her skills, her delightful sense of humor, and her smile.
I opened today’s lectionary passage and there it was, the “beauty for ashes” Scripture. God is amazing that way.
Isaiah 61 (New International Version)
61 The Spirit of the Sovereign Lord is on me, because the Lord has anointed me to proclaim good news to the poor. He has sent me to bind up the brokenhearted, to proclaim freedom for the captives and release from darkness for the prisoners,
These were the very words that Jesus read from the scroll in the Temple as recorded in Luke 4:16-22. He was announcing himself as the long awaited Messiah. The use of the word “anointed” is key, as the word “Messiah” means “anointed one.” He then goes on to describe the ministry of the Messiah:
2 to proclaim the year of the Lord’s favor and the day of vengeance of our God, to comfort all who mourn, 3 and provide for those who grieve in Zion— to bestow on them a crown of beauty instead of ashes, the oil of joy instead of mourning, and a garment of praise instead of a spirit of despair. They will be called oaks of righteousness, a planting of the Lord for the display of his splendor.
In verse 3 we see that the Messiah comes to bestow a crown of beauty instead of ashes to the people. Ashes were used as a sign of mourning and were spread all over the head and forehead. They represented desolation, ruin, and deep grief. Imagine spreading ashes all over your head … surely grief is messy, no matter how you approach it.
But Jesus came to offer a crown of beauty for your head to replace your ashes. He came to give you the oil of joy to replace your mourning. He game to replace your sackcloth of despair with a garment of praise. It bodes the question, why would we sit in ashes when Christ gave us so much better? Through his life, death, and resurrection, we are never permanently separated from those whom we love. And when overwhelming grief finally releases its grip on our hearts, we can live into that beauty, with God’s help. It will never be the same, but it won’t always feel this bad.
4 They will rebuild the ancient ruins and restore the places long devastated; they will renew the ruined cities that have been devastated for generations.
God is able to rebuild and restore the devastation of a loss by the renewal of your spirit, when you are ready to let him. In the meantime, for those who mourn, remember that you are never alone. Jesus walks your lonesome valley with you. Thanks be to God.
When I was a child, my family’s Christmas lights were red, yellow, green, white, and orange. I don’t recall when blue lights came into vogue, but I remember being stunned the first time I saw a tree vibrant with blue LED lights dominating the color scheme. Blue is now my favorite Christmas light color. After all, blue is the liturgical color for the season of Advent.
Then I experienced my first “blue Christmas,” a phrase now used to define a sad, lonely, and sorrowful Christmas. Not everybody has a holly, jolly Christmas. The loss of a loved one, a divorce, a family member not being able to come home, having to work over the holidays, and just plain disappointment can all lead to feeling blue during the most wonderful time of the year. My blue Christmas was due to three things. I had moved away from my church of 16 years, and I was on leave with no Christmas Eve services to look forward to. My oldest daughter had just gotten married and was spending Christmas in another state with her in-laws. Worst of all, my father passed away suddenly two days after Thanksgiving.
I wasn’t just blue; I was black and blue.
Have you ever felt like a holiday could smack you right down? Holidays can be sneaky little buggers. They can come up behind you without any warning in the mall or at a party and poke you so hard from behind that it knocks the wind right out of you. A flash of memory, a familiar song, a taste of nostalgia, and suddenly, unbidden, you are feeling the pain of your loss with such intensity that you can’t move or breathe. The unhappy irony of that is that Christmas is the celebration of the Prince of Peace, the Comforter:
Isaiah 40
1 Comfort, O comfort my people,
says your God.
2 Speak tenderly to Jerusalem,
and cry to her
that she has served her term,
that her penalty is paid,
that she has received from the Lord’s hand
double for all her sins.
3 A voice cries out:
“In the wilderness prepare the way of the Lord,
make straight in the desert a highway for our God.
4 Every valley shall be lifted up,
and every mountain and hill be made low;
the uneven ground shall become level,
and the rough places a plain.
5 Then the glory of the Lord shall be revealed,
and all people shall see it together,
for the mouth of the Lord has spoken.”
Even in the bluest of Christmases, God comes into our valley of sorrow to lift us up and level us out. Grief is a natural expression of a life that was well loved. It is the heart’s way of dealing with the unthinkable void that death creates. God longs to bring comfort to his people who mourn. He longs to comfort you in your blueness. And here is the good news: he will stay by your side until you begin to feel just the smallest and slightest bit better. And eventually you will.
He won’t leave you or grow tired of comforting you, for he is the everlasting God.
28 Have you not known? Have you not heard?
The Lord is the everlasting God,
the Creator of the ends of the earth.
He does not faint or grow weary;
his understanding is unsearchable.
29 He gives power to the faint,
and strengthens the powerless.
30 Even youths will faint and be weary,
and the young will fall exhausted;
31 but those who wait for the Lord shall renew their strength,
they shall mount up with wings like eagles,
they shall run and not be weary,
they shall walk and not faint.
Are you having a blue Christmas this year? You are not alone. If you look around, you will probably find others in the same color scheme as you. So don’t feel ignored or left out of all of the “have yourself a merry little Christmas” celebrations…others are faking it, too.
I hugged a friend last week who just lost her mother. I know she is dreading this Christmas. I have experienced that same dread and the feeling of disconnect with the joy-to-the-world spirit that others were feeling. I even felt resentful and could not wait for Christmas to be over. As I held her, I heard myself saying, “Every time you miss your mom this season, try to get up and do something for someone else. Think of someone who needs a prayer, or a card, or a casserole, and focus on that.”
I don’t know if that will help. I do know that when we push our way out of our circumstance, we survive for another day and live to tell about it. Sometimes that’s all we can hope for. Blue Christmases are a game of survival. And when grief finally loosens its stranglehold on us, we can begin to feel joy again.
So look around. Others are blue, too. Somebody you know is having a bleak mid-winter this year. Find someone who needs their pain to be acknowledged and let them know that you see them. When you do that, blueness begins to fade … theirs, and yours.
Many years ago I attended a pastor’s retreat where we were encouraged to set boundaries, recognize our limitations, and learn to lean on God for strength and direction. The oft repeated mantra for the weekend was, “I am not the Messiah.” It began as a humorous call-and-response led by one of the speakers, but as the weekend went on, we became aware of the many times in ministry when we fall into the trap of thinking we should have all the answers, be able to solve everyone’s personal problems, raise funds, cast big visions, preach stellar sermons every week, resolve every conflict, and have the ability to fix everything. Part of this conundrum is based on our natural desire to help our people and our churches get better and thrive. The other part is based on unrealistic expectations some congregants have of their ministers. In any case, remembering that “I am not the Messiah, I just work for him” is a healthy way of dealing with our own limitations and the truth of Who is really in control.
This is a life lesson for everyone, not just clergy.
I chuckled when I read today’s lectionary, remembering that good lesson from many years ago. In actuality, we were quoting John the Baptizer when we chanted, “I am not the Messiah.” Do you remember the event?
John 1 (New International Version)
6 There was a man sent from God whose name was John. 7 He came as a witness to testify concerning that light, so that through him all might believe.8 He himself was not the light; he came only as a witness to the light.
Before we get to the punchline, let’s stop right there. “He himself was not the light; he came only as a witness to the light.” In that one golden sentence we find the shared call of every single follower of Jesus. We are not called to be God. We are not called to sit in the judgement seat that God occupies. We are not here to save people, like Jesus does. We are not called to resolve issues with an iron fist. We are not called to determine the parameters of the sheepfold. Those things are of the Lord. All we are called to do is witness to his light.
19 Now this was John’s testimony when the Jewish leaders in Jerusalem sent priests and Levites to ask him who he was. 20 He did not fail to confess, but confessed freely, “I am not the Messiah.”
21 They asked him, “Then who are you? Are you Elijah?”
He said, “I am not.”
“Are you the Prophet?”
He answered, “No.”
22 Finally they said, “Who are you? Give us an answer to take back to those who sent us. What do you say about yourself?”
23 John replied in the words of Isaiah the prophet, “I am the voice of one calling in the wilderness, ‘Make straight the way for the Lord.’”
John reminds us that we serve the Lord in a wilderness of secular thinking. We serve the Lord in the bumpy places where there is confusion and hurt. We serve the Lord by witnessing to the glory of God in the darkest places. We serve the Lord when we reflect his light.
24 Now the Pharisees who had been sent 25 questioned him, “Why then do you baptize if you are not the Messiah, nor Elijah, nor the Prophet?”
26 “I baptize with water,” John replied, “but among you stands one you do not know. 27 He is the one who comes after me, the straps of whose sandals I am not worthy to untie.”
28 This all happened at Bethany on the other side of the Jordan, where John was baptizing.
How about you? How can you witness to the Light? How can you offer the hope of the Living Water to the people who are parched and dying of thirst?
No, we are not the Messiah. But pointing to him every day and in every way will bring us great joy. Our witness is strongest in our actions, behaviors, and choices. These are the things people notice. As the old song says, “And they’ll know we are Christians by our love.” So, go and witness to the light.
Think about all the things you have accumulated or want to buy so that you can increase your comfort. Soft blankets, large cars with heated seats, remote controls, grocery delivery right to your door … we seek and find comfort wherever it can be found, and Madison Avenue feeds right into our desire to be comfortable. The Pixar movie, “WALL-E” is a cautionary tale about what happens when a society becomes obsessed with “creature comforts.” The people grow large and inactive and can’t get out of their recliners in this movie.
This all begs the question, “what is true comfort”? Does physical ease really satisfy, and is it good for us in the end? Or should we be pursuing spiritual comfort with the same passion as we search for new ways to be comfortable?
Our passage from Isaiah today points us in the right direction.
Isaiah 40 (The Message)
40 1-2 “Comfort, oh comfort my people,” says your God. “Speak softly and tenderly to Jerusalem, but also make it very clear That she has served her sentence, that her sin is taken care of—forgiven! She’s been punished enough and more than enough, and now it’s over and done with.”
Comfort comes with the forgiveness of sins. Comfort is found in the presence of God. Comfort is the result of leaving the past behind.
3-5 Thunder in the desert! “Prepare for God’s arrival! Make the road straight and smooth, a highway fit for our God. Fill in the valleys, level off the hills, Smooth out the ruts, clear out the rocks. Then God’s bright glory will shine and everyone will see it. Yes. Just as God has said.”
As we move toward Christmas morning, Isaiah reminds us of the fact that Jesus’ arrival on earth will level the playing field. No longer will we be Jews or Gentiles and people of separate faiths and nations, but all the earth will be one in the Lord. God’s bright glory will shine, and everyone will see it.
6-8 A voice says, “Shout!” I said, “What shall I shout?”
“These people are nothing but grass, their love fragile as wildflowers. The grass withers, the wildflowers fade, if God so much as puffs on them. Aren’t these people just so much grass? True, the grass withers and the wildflowers fade, but our God’s Word stands firm and forever.”
9-11 Climb a high mountain, Zion. You’re the preacher of good news. Raise your voice. Make it good and loud, Jerusalem. You’re the preacher of good news. Speak loud and clear. Don’t be timid! Tell the cities of Judah, “Look! Your God!” Look at him! God, the Master, comes in power, ready to go into action. He is going to pay back his enemies and reward those who have loved him. Like a shepherd, he will care for his flock, gathering the lambs in his arms, Hugging them as he carries them, leading the nursing ewes to good pasture.
You, my friend, are the preacher of this good news. We have a Shepherd who gathers us up in his arms and welcomes all to become part of his flock. God comes in power to reclaim his lost children and his Word stands firm.
If you have ever been the one to deliver bad news to someone, you know what a terrible responsibility that can be. I have had to communicate the death of a loved one to family and nothing can prepare you for how to handle the shock and overwhelming emotion that follows. On the other hand, delivering good news is such a joyful blessing. To be able to say, “He made it out of surgery,” “The cancer is gone,” or “They just got engaged!” is a delightful task.
Malachi stands in the precipice between good news and bad news in our passage this morning. He is tasked with announcing that God is sending two messengers; one to prepare the way (John the Baptizer), and the other to fulfill the covenant (Jesus), who will delight the people as the fulfillment of their messianic hopes:
Malachi 3 (Common English Bible) Look, I am sending my messenger who will clear the path before me; suddenly the Lord whom you are seeking will come to his temple. The messenger of the covenant in whom you take delight is coming, says the Lord of heavenly forces.
But quickly the good news turns dark, as a warning bell is rung and the reality of the true nature of this messenger is revealed: 2 Who can endure the day of his coming? Who can withstand his appearance? He is like the refiner’s fire or the cleaner’s soap. 3 He will sit as a refiner and a purifier of silver. He will purify the Levites and refine them like gold and silver.
Yes, the Messiah is coming, but no, it won’t be pleasant. There will be a refining and purifying that must take place, and that will not be easy or pleasant. But after the cleansing has occurred, the nation will become a righteous offering to the Lord. They will belong to the Lord, presenting a righteous offering. 4 The offering of Judah and Jerusalem will be pleasing to the Lord as in ancient days and in former years.
It is good to remember that refining brings forth the deepest shine and the cleanser’s soap cleans, not destroys. Malachi frames his announcement in hopeful images and alludes to our ability to withstand this cleansing. And we know cleansing is necessary if we want to present ourselves to the world as forgiven and redeemed people.
What does this mean to you today? Can you submit to the refiner’s fire and walk away from your sin?
Let us strive to become a pleasing and righteous offering to the Lord.
December is nothing if not a season of preparations. Now, I know some of you have had your Christmas tree up since the day after Halloween (I’m looking at you, daughters!!) but the real rush begins as soon as the calendar moves from “11” to “12.” Now begins the time for shopping, decorating, cleaning, ordering, wrapping … I’m tired after just typing that.
Our lectionary passage today speaks of the preparation that happened just before Jesus’ full divinity was revealed. His cousin John was instructed to go out into the Jordan River region and prepare the people for what was about to break forth on earth … the revelation that the Messiah was walking among them. You will see that baptism was the means of getting ready to receive him:
Luke 3 (Common English Bible)
3 In the fifteenth year of the rule of the emperor Tiberius—when Pontius Pilate was governor over Judea and Herod was ruler over Galilee, his brother Philip was ruler over Ituraea and Trachonitis, and Lysanias was ruler over Abilene, 2 during the high priesthood of Annas and Caiaphas—God’s word came to John son of Zechariah in the wilderness. 3 John went throughout the region of the Jordan River, calling for people to be baptized to show that they were changing their hearts and lives and wanted God to forgive their sins.
This is a gentle reminder to us, as we hurry and scurry over the next few weeks getting ready for Christmas, that a cleansing and changing of heart was the first way that people got ready for Jesus. What does that say to us today? Do we need to take a pause on the prep work and consider changing our hearts and lives, and ask God to forgive our sins?
4 This is just as it was written in the scroll of the words of Isaiah the prophet,
A voice crying out in the wilderness: “Prepare the way for the Lord; make his paths straight. 5 Every valley will be filled, and every mountain and hill will be leveled. The crooked will be made straight and the rough places made smooth. 6 All humanity will see God’s salvation.”
John had the privilege of announcing the way of the Lord. He knew the prophecies of Isaiah and felt the strong call to go out and preach a repentance of sins as the path straightener for Jesus’ arrival. He anticipated a time when Jesus would burst forth and make the crooked places straight and the rough places smooth. He looked forward to the time when all humanity would see God’s salvation. But not before the people came clean.
Can you think about a good promise that someone made to you that was kept? How did it make you feel? Do you keep your promises? Our integrity is tested by the promises we make and keep. I recently applied to become a volunteer chaplain for the Southern Shores Fire Department. Chaplains are called out in situations where a death is occurring or has just occurred. Our job is to help the family at the site of the tragedy make their way to the next step. It is a job I hope I never have to do. I asked the current chaplain all kinds of questions about what to say and do, and then finally asked her what not to do. She quickly responded, “Never make a promise that can’t be kept.”
This is a good reminder to us today about promise making and keeping. I think it is especially important when dealing with children, who take things literally and remember everything we say.
God is an awesome promise maker and keeper. In our lectionary passage today, Jeremiah wrote about the good promise God made to Israel. This Sunday is the first Sunday of Advent, and this is a great place to start. Christmas readings should always begin with the Old Testament prophecies that foretold Jesus’ birth:
Jeremiah 33 (New International Version)
14 “‘The days are coming,’ declares the Lord, ‘when I will fulfill the good promise I made to the people of Israel and Judah.
15 “‘In those days and at that time I will make a righteous Branch sprout from David’s line; he will do what is just and right in the land. 16 In those days Judah will be saved and Jerusalem will live in safety. This is the name by which it will be called: The Lord Our Righteous Savior.’
The picture of the coming Messiah that is painted here describes him being a righteous branch sprout from David’s line. Jesus had a lot to say about branches and vines (see John 15) where he identifies himself as the True Vine. Jesus invites us as his branches to abide in him, and he will abide in us. He also warns us about what will happen if we fail to produce the fruit of love. I love the use of the word sprout in today’s passage, and I have to admit I have never noticed it before. That word conjures up an image of brand new baby growth. Indeed, our Lord, the Messiah, came to us as a brand new baby sprout. His righteousness will not only restore Judah and Jerusalem but will restore the world. Come Lord Jesus, come!
God fulfilled and is fulfilling his good promise to us through Jesus. How about you? Are you fulfilling your promises to your loved ones? To God?
May we be faithful to the Righteous Sprout who calls us by his name.
At Water’s Edge 