Faith and Sight

I believe! Help my unbelief…

Archive for the category “Jesus”

19 Dec 2012

All Mortal Flesh

Let all mortal flesh keep silence,
And with fear and trembling stand;
Ponder nothing earthly minded,
For with blessing in His hand,
Christ our God to earth descendeth
Our full homage to demand.

King of kings, yet born of Mary,
As of old on earth He stood,
Lord of lords, in human vesture,
In the body and the blood;
He will give to all the faithful
His own self for heavenly food.

Rank on rank the host of heaven
Spreads its wings on the way,
As the Light of light descendeth
From the realms of endless day,
That the powers of hell may vanish
As the darkness clears away.

At His feet the six winged seraph,
Cherubim with sleepless eye,
Veil their faces to the presence,
As with ceaseless voice they cry:
Alleluia, Alleluia
Alleluia, Lord Most High!

Alleluia, Alleluia
Alleluia, Lord Most High!

Listen to Red Mountain Church sing it.

Mary, Joseph, and Baby Jesus

A scene from ‘The Nativity Story,’ a movie circa 2006.

He came once. He is coming again. No debt is too great, no shame to deep, no fear so gripping that he cannot wash it away and build you new again. Ask him about it if you, like me, cannot grasp it. He doesn’t mind proving himself if you’re not being gamey, but are in earnest. Don’t be worried if he doesn’t make it perfectly clear right away. He keeps his own schedule for reasons that are beyond us, but he will come to you, if you ask him.

Immanuel. God with us.

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23 Nov 2012
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Thanksgiving

Here we are, at Thanksgiving. I do not feel thankful for very many things, unfortunately. Some of my closest friends in the city gathered for a meal today and we were a sorry lot, I tell you. Dead children, haunting pasts, broken hearts, and general ruin, it would appear. My son got lost on the way home from the park down the street, we sent out search parties and found him. A gripping few moments, I assure you. And my sweet daughter didn’t eat anything, anything at all, until late in the day, and then I let her have three pieces of my pumpkin pie instead of proper food. I’m not sure why, other than that’s what she wanted. Pumpkin is a vegetable, right? And there’s milk and eggs in there… it could have been worse. At least it was homemade? Sigh. There was too much wine, for one of us, apparently. Because of that, it did not end particularly well.

But I have searched to find something I am truly thankful for, and I have found that I am thankful for this story, in Luke 15.

“Now the tax collectors and sinners were all drawing near to hear him. And the Pharisees and the scribes grumbled, saying, “This man receives sinners and eats with them.”

So he told them this parable: “What man of you, having a hundred sheep, if he has lost one of them, does not leave the ninety-nine in the open country, and go after the one that is lost, until he finds it? And when he has found it, he lays it on his shoulders, rejoicing. And when he comes home, he calls together his friends and his neighbors, saying to them, ‘Rejoice with me, for I have found my sheep that was lost.’ Just so, I tell you, there will be more joy in heaven over one sinner who repents than over ninety-nine righteous persons who need no repentance.”

So I am thankful that he was well known for hanging about with ‘sinners,’ and I am thankful that he would seek me, were I to get lost. Am I lost now? Perhaps. And if so, he is looking for me.

Posted in Jesus and tagged , , ,
15 Nov 2012

In Christ Alone

In Christ alone, my hope is found.
He is my light, my strength, my song.
This cornerstone, this solid ground,
Firm through the fiercest droughts and storms.
What heights of love, what depths of peace!
When fears are stilled, when strivings cease.
My comforter, my all in all,
Here in the love of Christ I stand.

In Christ alone, who took on flesh,
Fullness of God in helpless babe.
This gift of love and righteousness,
Scorned by the ones he came to save.
Till on that cross, as Jesus died,
The wrath of God was satisfied,
For every sin on him was laid.
Here in the death of Christ, I live.

There in the ground his body lay,
Light of the world by darkness slain.
Then bursting forth, in glorious day,
Up from the grave he rose again!
And as he stands in victory,
Sin’s curse has lost its grip on me.
For I am his, and he is mine,
Bought with the precious blood of Christ.

No guilt in life, no fear in death,
This is the power of Christ in me.
From life’s first cry, to final breath,
Jesus commands my destiny.
No power of hell, no scheme of man,
Can ever pluck me from his hand,
Till he returns, or calls me home,
Here in the power of Christ I’ll stand.

by Getty and Townend
©2001 Kingsway Music

I like the version by Geoff Moore and Adrienne Liesching.

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18 Dec 2011

A Tent for the Son

A Tent for the Son

Art (by Dayton Castleman) to celebrate Advent at church this morning.

Inside, 6 T8 fluorescent bulbs, 1 inch diameter and 4 ft long, so an output of approximately 18K lumens. Blinding, which is the point. Inside a trailer, no less. Almost unbearably shocking, which is also the point. Loved it.

My horrified remark when I first saw it? “What is that? It looks awful.” Seriously. It was on the altar. “Are they going to leave it there??” It was interfering with the beautiful Christmas decorations, you see. Later, after I understood, I ran back to my friend, urgently explaining that my response and subsequent conversion should become my Advent meditation. Indeed.

Psalm 19 – God pitched a tent in the heavens for the sun.

John 1 – The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not overcome it… And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us.

Amen. Come, Lord Jesus!

The light shines in the darkness

The light shines in the darkness.

A Tent for the Son

The darkness has not overcome it.

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