Tuesday, December 24, 2013

That You May Believe



THAT YOU MAY BELIEVE

 Now Jesus did many other signs in the presence of the disciples, which are not written in this book; but these are written so that you may believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God, and that by believing you may have life in his name. —John 20: 30– 31



 I feel so strongly that among those of us who have grown up in church and who can recite the great doctrines of our faith in our sleep and who yawn through the Apostles Creed— that among us something must be done to help us once more feel the awe, the fear, the astonishment, the wonder of the Son of God, begotten by the Father from all eternity, reflecting all the glory of God, being the very image of his person, through whom all things were created, upholding the universe by the word of his power. You can read every fairy tale that was ever written, every mystery thriller, every ghost story, and you will never find anything so shocking, so strange, so weird and so spellbinding as the story of the incarnation of the Son of God. How dead we are! How callous and unfeeling to his glory and his story! How often have I had to repent and say, “God, I am sorry that the stories men have made up stir my emotions, my awe and wonder and admiration and joy, more than your own true story.”

 The space thrillers of our day, like Star Wars and The Empire Strikes Back, can do this great good for us: they can humble us and bring us to repentance, by showing us that we really are capable of some of the wonder and awe and amazement that we so seldom feel when we contemplate the eternal God and the cosmic Christ and a real living contact between them and us in Jesus of Nazareth. When Jesus said, “For this I have come into the world,” he said something as crazy and weird and strange and eerie as any statement in science fiction that you have ever read (John 18: 37). O, how I pray for a breaking forth of the Spirit of God upon me and upon you.

 I pray for the Holy Spirit to break into my experience in a frightening way, to wake me up to the unimaginable reality of God. One of these days lightning is going to fill the sky from the rising of the sun to its setting, and there is going to appear in the clouds one like a son of man with his mighty angels in flaming fire. And we will see him clearly. And whether from terror or sheer excitement, we will tremble and we will wonder how, how we ever lived so long with such a domesticated, harmless Christ. These things are written that you might believe that Jesus Christ is the Son of God who came into the world. Really believe.

John Piper. Good News of Great Joy: Daily Readings for Advent (Kindle Locations 606-613). Desiring God.

(Picture: Permission granted from posters.com)

4 comments:

  1. Such a good idea to prepare with advent readings, not just with decorations. Going to look that one up.

    Have a blessed Christmas with your family.

    Hugs,
    Carol

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    Replies
    1. Amen. Seems in NA we get so caught up in preparations that we spend so little time on the gift and promise of our Lord through the birth of Jesus.

      Have a blessed Christmas :-)

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  2. Great post, Georgene. Merry Christmas!

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  3. Read (or listen) to Bill O'Reilly new book, 'Killing Jesus'. O'Reilly does an excellent job explaining what the world was like before Jesus came onto the planet. The book is not religious, only history. BUT when you listen to the logic Jesus spoke, the story will astound you as to the magnitude of God and His only begotten son.
    The world was a terrible place before Jesus came onto the scene. Whether you believe Him to be the son of God is immaterial. Jesus spoke about a new way a living that rocked the Romans brains. You can borrow the book or audio, for free, from the library. You may have to wait, but do it. I was in shock when I first heard the audio. Now, reading the book. Story is simply amazing.

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