I’m not thrilled about the word Christmas. I’m not crazy about the word Easter either. But I very much love the events those two words represent.
Words are only symbols that we use to convey, or identify, things, events, or ideas. Often, the words we devise (or, in this case, that are devised for us) are less than ideal, or appropriate, or even accurately descriptive in representing the actual thing being described.
I believe that “Christmas” is such a word. I’ll leave it to you, dear reader, to delve into the origins, meanings, and protests concerning the word “Christmas”. I have been through it, and it’s not pretty. Some say it’s downright blasphemy, wickedness, and sin to use it.
However, Nevertheless, and, Be That As It May, the event that has come to be known to us as “Christmas” is the event that shook the earth. It is the truth of the event that is important, not necessarily the word we have adopted to describe it. To my way of thinking, the birth of Jesus was, and is, the most momentous occurrence in history. It is to be celebrated – its story told and retold in truth to the ends of the earth. So ( Blast semantics!) I do say both “Merry Christmas”
as well as “Happy Christbirth”, and I do say “Happy Easter” although “Happy Resurrection Sunday” is much more descriptive, because I know I will be understood by the general public
when I use the common language, and also by Christians, in general. And by any of those greetings, I mean Hallelujah! Rejoice! Celebrate enthusiastically! For, unto us a child is born! Our Savior lives! He has come to live with us!
– And –
In the Spring, I mean He is risen! Our Savior lives! And in His glory He will come down again!
So, here’s the thing – here’s my point: Instead of the term “Christmas”,
I prefer the much more descriptive word, “Christbirth” (which I think I have invented, haha,) (but someone may have beaten me to it, I really don’t know) to represent this wondrous, marvelous event, but, no matter what word we use in reference, at Jesus’ birth, the very Word of God came to live among us, with us, and, in time, in us, so that we, despite our inclination to sin, might have the right to be “born” into a new world – a world of saving grace, faith, hope, and of love, into God’s presence; born and reborn in a new, a wondrous, a marvelous, and a miraculous way, Just as Jesus was, before us!
He came down. Mary said YES, then He came down. Born like us. Born with us. Born for us. Born to us. Born unto us. Born into us.
He came down from His Glory, Leaving Holy Home and Father,
to become a creation, in a real sense, just like us . . . To be born most humbly into the broken,
reeking mess that we, mankind, had made of the world. To be born into the shameful, smelly mess that
I had made of my own wretched heart . . .
The holy, defenseless egg of God, having scarcely a shell. A tender shoot, a tiny lamb, he came down naked, to be born covered with another’s blood, mother’s blood. Born to be pierced, and poured out, and to ‘cover’ all others with His pure, holy blood. He came down with only Love as a defense. Double-sided love. He came down to the dung heap, the lowest, the basest of places, a place of no honor; of ignobility, because that’s where we were, I and my neighbors, hiding under the layers of earthly dirt. He could have said “No, not again”. He could have said “To hell with this” . . . He didn’t have to rise from His manger to knock on my heart’s door. To come in and clean it all, just like new, Every room, from ceiling to floor, window, to wall, and spend His life, His all, for me, to bear away my sin. Yet, He would be the first to admit, if He weren’t so humble, that He did have to do it. Someone had to do something. But no-one could, except Himself. I didn’t deserve His coming down, this Wonderful Counselor, this Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace. This Immanuel. Savior Lord. JESUS CHRIST! But, He came down, out of love, bearing light, carrying forgiveness, sowing grace like seeds, ready with a cool drink, gentle hands to wash our feet, with tears of compassion, where sin and mercy meet, and I’m so glad, so happy, so joyously thankful that He did, that my meager glory goes up. I send it up. I glorify His name, Who was born into many names, and into ONE name, and that name is The-Name-Above-All-Names. He came down, and now He reigns
King of My Heart. Glory to God in the Highest Heaven!
That He. Came. Down! * ** *** * * * * *
Hardly a day goes by that I don’t think,
in one way or another,
about Christ’s crucifixion, His resurrection, and His ascension. Today is no different. But wait,
it is different, for today is His Church’s official celebration of that
creation-changing,
world-changing,
life-changing Day. Today, let there be loud singing and joyous dancing. Let there be massive celebration over all the Earth,
for our Jesus is alive! Let there be all of that but, most importantly,
let Him be the Lord of your life.
Rejoice, My Soul, All People, Rejoice!
I celebrate this holiest Of all the days of holiness, For as the sun appears to rise in the East, The Son of God did arise on Easter – Resurrection Day, The greatest Day the Lord Has Made. I rejoice and I am exceedingly glad in it, For my Savior lives! Oh, Lord, He lives! Now and forever, He lives! And because He lives, So can I! For my heart, too, was sealed With hardened stone, And in that darkened tomb Dwelt death. With tender touch He moved The hardened part away To let in light and life So death was put to death. The Holy Spirit Jesus sent Was sent to live in me. As Christ began to breathe for me I felt my spirit leap. It leapeth still in Heaven’s realm, So graciously removed from hell That I can only raise my hands and say, “Rejoice, all people, rejoice! Hallelujah, praise God, rejoice!” For our Savior lives and breathes in us! He arose! He conquered bitter death and saved! He does that still, today!
~ ~ ~
With love, Your Gloryteller
Resurrection Sunday, 4-12-2020
(re-posted, with edits, from 3-31-2013) * * * * * * *
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He came down. Mary said YES, then He came down. Born like us. Born with us. Born for us. Born to us. Born unto us. Born into us. He came down from His Glory, Leaving Holy Home and Father, to become a creation, in a real sense, just like us . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . To be born most humbly into the broken, reeking mess that we, mankind, had made of the world. To be born into the shameful, smelly mess that I had made of my own wretched heart . . . . . . . . . . . The defenseless egg of God, having scarcely a shell. A tender shoot, a tiny lamb, he came down naked, to be born covered with another’s blood, mother’s blood. Born to be pierced, and poured out, and to ‘cover’ all others with His pure, holy blood. He came down with only Love as a defense. Double-sided love. He came down to the dung heap, the lowest, the basest of places, a place of no honor; of ignobility, because that’s where I was, I and my neighbors, hiding under the layers of earthly dirt. He could have said “No, not again”. He could have said “To hell with this” . . . He didn’t have to rise from His manger to knock on my heart’s door. To clean it all, just like new, from ceiling to floor, window, to wall, and spend His life, His all, for me, to bear away my sin. Yet, He would be the first to admit, if He weren’t so humble, that He did have to. Someone had to do something. But no-one could, except Himself. I didn’t deserve His coming down, this Wonderful Counselor, this Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace. This Immanuel. Savior Lord. JESUS CHRIST! But, He came down, out of love, bearing light, carrying forgiveness, sowing grace like seeds, ready with a cool drink, gentle hands to wash our feet, with tears of compassion, where sin and mercy meet, and I’m so glad, so happy, so joyously thankful that He did, that my meager glory goes up. I send it up. I glorify His name, Who was born into many names, and into ONE name, and that name is The-Name-Above-All-Names. He came down, and now He reigns
King of My Heart. Glory to God in the Highest Heaven!
That He. Came. Down! * ** *** * * * * *
I read inOur Daily Bread today that “our Savior hung between Heaven and earth to bear every sin of every generation on His shoulders.” He hung between Heaven and me . . . What pain it gives me to revisit that scene . . . But the above statement led me to think deeply about what He had told his disciples and us, only the night before He hung there – what we must do to remember Him; to remember who He was, to remember what He did, how He did it, and why.
As I pondered, and contemplated, and thought, “The Lord’s Supper is absolute genius” is what I concluded. (not that I think I’m the first, nor the only one, to proclaim that)
(and I know that I foolishly reiterate the obvious,
because of course it’s genius, it’s Jesus! ) He broke the bread and compared it to His body which would imminently be broken for us. He poured the wine out and compared it to His blood which would soon be poured out for us.
“He hung between Heaven and earth.” He was, and is now, intermediary between us and The Father. Not as a wall, but as a bridge. He made a way to raise us to His shoulders, thus standing between us and the evil one “in the earth”.
As for myself, there is far more here than “meets the eye”. Have you ever thought about how grains like corn, barley, rye, and wheat are all separated from the earth by a woody stem? The seed head of the wheat plant is the “fruit”, in a sense, that we use to make our bread.
The same applies to “the fruit of the vine”; tomatoes, cucumbers, kiwi, guava, and, get this – passion fruit – and predominantly, grapes. All grow above the ground on woody or semi-woody vines. They all contain juice, but grape juice makes “traditional” wine. (side note: there is great debate whether Jesus’ “fruit of the vine” was unfermented juice, or wine) I’m in the wine camp because wine stores better, not to mention that the Bible states “wine”. I won’t even dwell on apple, orange, peach, plum trees, or berry bushes,
each of which produce juicy fruit on woody stems; but I’m getting off track.
The point is that grapevines, like wheat plants, produce their fruit “between Heaven and earth” on woody stems, and the final product of both were used at the Lord’s Supper. The Last Supper of our Lord!
By now you may be making the connection I’m getting at. Lord Jesus compared His body to a broken loaf of bread, and His covenantal blood to the poured-out juice of the grape, in order that: “as often as you eat this bread and drink this cup, you will do so in remembrance of Me.” Connecting His spiritual Self to the physical act of
eating and drinking something specific,
is brilliant in my estimation. It makes the act sacred, and simultaneously
makes our remembrance of Him sacred.
But for me, it doesn’t end there.
Jesus was always using agricultural metaphors because,
I assume, most everyone in His day knew something of the subject.
Is it a great leap to make that He also connected Himself
with the fruit of the earth? With harvest?
With life-giving, life sustaining, food and drink?
With saving us from spiritual starvation?
If that connection is only for me to make in order to strengthen my faith in Him, to take me deeper into our relationship, to tell me more of the story I long to know more about, or to give me insight into something so sacred that I scarcely can digest it, Then so be it. You, dear reader, can make of it what you will. If it doesn’t do anything for you; if it sounds wrong, leave it.
But here’s the thing: I maintain that Jesus not only connected Himself to The Bread and The Cup, But also to the wheat and the grape. Rich and ripe, He stood like a sturdy stalk of wheat before a terrible threshing, and He hung like a beautiful cluster of grapes before a horrible crushing. He stood and He hung there between Heaven and earth, between us and oblivion, between us and eternity,
to intentionally endure the torture of threshing, and the horrible crushing pain – for us, dear reader. . . The first and best fruit of the earth, until the harvest was finished. He made Himself our everything, even our spiritual food and drink. Essential, lifesaving, sacred, and beautiful.
The Lord’s Supper. The Lord’s Harvest. Absolute Genius! Absolute Jesus!
I’m not thrilled about the word Christmas. I’m not crazy about the word Easter either. But I very much love the events those two words represent.
Words are only symbols that we use to convey, or identify, things, events, or ideas. Often, the words we devise (or, in this case, that are devised for us) are less than ideal, or appropriate, or even accurately descriptive in representing the actual thing being described.
I believe that “Christmas” is such a word. I’ll leave it to you, dear reader, to delve into the origins, meanings, and protests concerning the word “Christmas”. I have been through it, and it’s not pretty. Some say it’s downright blasphemy, wickedness, and sin to use it.
However, Nevertheless, and, Be That As It May, the event that has come to be known to us as “Christmas” is the event that shook the earth. It is the truth of the event that is important, not necessarily the word we have adopted to describe it. To my way of thinking, the birth of Jesus was, and is, the most momentous occurrence in history. It is to be celebrated – its story told and retold in truth to the ends of the earth. So ( Blast semantics!) I do say Merry Christmas, and I do say Happy Easter, instead of Happy Resurrection Sunday, because I know I will be understood by the general public, and also by Christians, in general. And by those greetings, I mean Hallelujah! Rejoice! Celebrate enthusiastically! For, unto us a child is born! Our Savior lives! He has come to live with us! – Or He is risen! Our Savior lives! And in His glory He will come down again!
So, here’s the thing – here’s my point: Instead of the term “Christmas”, I prefer the word “Christbirth” (which I think I have invented, haha,) (but someone may have beaten me to it, I really don’t know) to represent this wondrous, marvelous event, but, no matter what word we use in reference, in Jesus’ birth, the very Word of God came to live among us, with us, and, in time, in us, so that we, despite our inclination to sin, might have the right to be “born” into a new world – a world of saving grace, faith, hope, and of love, into God’s presence; born in a new, a wondrous, a marvelous, and a miraculous way, Just as Jesus was, before us!
He came down. Mary said YES, then He came down. Born like us. Born with us. Born for us. Born to us. Born unto us. Born into us. He came down from His Glory, Leaving Holy Home and Father, to become a creation, in a real sense, just like us . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . To be born most humbly into the broken, reeking mess that we, mankind, had made of the world. To be born into the shameful, smelly mess that I had made of my own wretched heart . . . . . . . . . . . The defenseless egg of God, having scarcely a shell. A tender shoot, a tiny lamb, he came down naked, to be born covered with another’s blood, mother’s blood. Born to be pierced, and poured out, and to ‘cover’ all others with His pure, holy blood. He came down with only Love as a defense. Double-sided love. He came down to the dung heap, the lowest, the basest of places, a place of no honor; of ignobility, because that’s where I was, I and my neighbors, hiding under the layers of earthly dirt. He could have said “No, not again”. He could have said “To hell with this” . . . He didn’t have to rise from His manger to knock on my heart’s door. To clean it all, just like new, from ceiling to floor, window, to wall, and spend His life, His all, for me, to bear away my sin. Yet, He would be the first to admit, if He weren’t so humble, that He did have to. Someone had to do something. But no-one could, except Himself. I didn’t deserve His coming down, this Wonderful Counselor, this Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace. This Immanuel. Savior Lord. JESUS CHRIST! But, He came down, out of love, bearing light, carrying forgiveness, sowing grace like seeds, ready with a cool drink, gentle hands to wash our feet, with tears of compassion, where sin and mercy meet, and I’m so glad, so happy, so joyously thankful that He did, that my meager glory goes up. I send it up. I glorify His name, Who was born into many names, and into ONE name, and that name is The-Name-Above-All-Names. He came down, and now He reigns
King of My Heart. Glory to God in the Highest Heaven!
That He. Came. Down! * ** *** * * * * *
He came down. Mary said YES, Then He came down. Born like us. Born with us. Born for us. Born to us. Born unto us. Born into us. He came down from His Glory, Leaving Holy Home and Father, to become a creation, in a real sense, just like us . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
To be born most humbly into the broken, reeking mess that we, mankind, had made of the world.
To be born into the shameful, smelly mess that I had made of my own wretched heart . . . . . . . . . . .
The defenseless egg of God, having scarcely a shell. A tender shoot, a tiny lamb,
in perfect humility, he came down naked, to be born covered with another’s blood, a mother’s sacrificial blood. Born to be pierced, and poured out, and to coverall others with His pure, holy blood. He came down with only Love as a defense. Double-sided love.
For us here below, from Him, up above. He came down to the dung heap, the lowest, the basest of places, a place of no honor;
of ignobility, because that’s where I was, I and my neighbors, hiding under the layers of dirt. He could have said “No, not again”. He could have said “To hell with this” . . . He didn’t have to rise from His manger to knock on my heart’s door. To clean it all up, just like new, from ceiling to floor, window, to wall, and spend His life, His all, for me, to bear away my sin. Yet, He would be the first to admit, (if He weren’t so humble), that He did have to. Someone had to do something. But no-one could except Himself. I didn’t deserve His coming down, this Wonderful Counselor, this Mighty God, this Everlasting Father, this Prince of Peace. This Immanuel. Savior Lord. JESUS CHRIST! But, He came down, out of love, bearing light, carrying forgiveness, sowing grace like seeds, ready with a cool drink, gentle hands to wash our feet, with tears of compassion, where sin and mercy meet, and I’m so glad, so happy, so joyously thankful that He did, that my glory goes up. I send it up. I glorify His name Who was born into many names, and into ONE name, and that name is The-Name-Above-All-Names. He came down, and now He reigns
King of My Heart. Glory to God in the Highest Heaven! That He. Came. Down! * * * * * * * * * * *
The Happiest Christbirth Celebration to you, today! LS< Your Gloryteller * * * * * * * *
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I just posted a series of CHRISTmas music videos.
Please scroll down to view all the advent season content I have left
for your pleasure and for His glory.
May your Christmas/Christbirth celebration be the
warmest, most meaningful, most blessed,
and most joyful yet!
***Your Gloryteller***
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“The Perfect Christmas Gift”, written and performed by Sandy Howell. Uploaded by Bob Marshall. Many thanks to you both.
My friend, I give you the gift of a song; music with a video. It speaks for itself.
He came down. Mary said YES, Then He came down. Born like us. Born with us. Born for us. Born to us. Born unto us. Born into us. He came down from His Glory, Leaving Holy Home and Father, to become a creation, in a real sense, just like us . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
To be born most humbly into the broken, reeking mess that we, mankind, had made of the world.
To be born into the shameful, smelly mess that I had made of my own wretched heart . . . . . . . . . . .
The defenseless egg of God, having scarcely a shell. A tender shoot, a tiny lamb,
in perfect humility, he came down naked, to be born covered with another’s blood, mother’s blood. Born to be pierced, and poured out, and to coverall others with His pure, holy blood. He came down with only Love as a defense. Double-sided love. He came down to the dung heap, the lowest, the basest of places, a place of no honor;
of ignobility, because that’s where I was, I and my neighbors, hiding under the layers of dirt. He could have said “No, not again”. He could have said “To hell with this” . . . He didn’t have to rise from His manger to knock on my heart’s door. To clean it all up, just like new, from ceiling to floor, window, to wall, and spend His life, His all, for me, to bear away my sin. Yet, He would be the first to admit, (if He weren’t so humble), that He did have to. Someone had to do something. But no-one could except Himself. I didn’t deserve His coming down, this Wonderful Counselor, this Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace. This Immanuel. Savior Lord. JESUS CHRIST! But, He came down, out of love, bearing light, carrying forgiveness, sowing grace like seeds, ready with a cool drink, gentle hands to wash our feet, with tears of compassion, where sin and mercy meet, and I’m so glad, so happy, so joyously thankful that He did, that my glory goes up. I send it up. I glorify His name, Who was born into many names, and into ONE name, and that name is The-Name-Above-All-Names. He came down, and now He reigns
King of My Heart. Glory to God in the Highest Heaven!
That He. Came. Down! * * * * * * * * * * *
The Happiest Christbirth Celebration to you, today! LS< Your Gloryteller * * * * * * * *
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It happened completely unexpectedly on my birthday, while reading a major novel. I have never experienced this particular peculiar “special effect” while reading, so I’ve been trying to assemble the right descriptive words with which to relate it:
I was reading, and I’m still reading, a “real”, hardcover, paper-and-ink version of the classic “Atlas Shrugged”. As I was reading along, eyes moving along at a fast clip, my attention was drawn to the space above the line which I was reading. I noticed something materializing there. Without slowing down or stopping, I noticed a three-dimensional scene beginning to appear above the line. It was as though I was driving at highway speed, watching the scenic countryside “moving past” as I watched out of my side window. It was only a second before I reached the end of the line and thought, “What in the world was that? What’s going on now?” (It seems I hardly ever have to wait long for something anomalous something amazing something astounding something bizarre something “coincidental” something “crazy” something epiphanic something exceptional something extraordinary something mysterious something remarkable something super-natural something surprising something unconventional something unique something unusual and/or something whimsical to occur).
So I immediately returned to the beginning of the line and read it again, scientifically looking for a cause for this effect, a connection, or an explanation. There was nothing special about that particular line nor the sentence which it was a part of. The “effect” was still there, fence posts in the foreground zipping by, green hills farther out “moving” more slowly, and the mountains and clouds on the horizon not appearing to move at all. As I kept reading, the background scene expanded to fill all the spaces between several lines as though I were actually there at that particular time and place. Then the scene began to fade quickly and was gone in a few short, but pregnant, seconds. I thought: “What a thrilling thing!” And I wondered: “What are You trying to tell me?”
“He’s gone hallucinatory”, you’re thinking. Over the edge, Delusional, Imagining things, Lost his mar…… You get the picture — I know what you’re thinking. Yes you are! I know it! Well, maybe you have a point, but I don’t think so, and even if you do, God can still work with this.
You see, I look at it as another instance of grace; a most-undeserved nod from God, timed perfectly, tailored uniquely for me, a personal revelation prepared for my use in my personal testimony, and my personal ministry. It’s typical that I should get a God Nod – my term for a message, an elbow bump from God – while reading a book authored by a pro-abortion atheist, views I strongly disagree with (Ayn Rand, a very, very talented, enjoyable, and skillful writer/novelist, and anti-socialist which I do agree with),
but what do I do with this?
How can I use it?
What do I write? Reveal yourself, John Galt! Hmmm, The “John Galt Line”…..
wow
It came to me…
The scenery between the lines reminds me of pieces I have written about reading the Bible as a living text. It’s about what’s in the lines, and also what’s between the lines, but it’s more than that. It has a depth of scenery that appears to be whizzing past the moving reader, yet the scenery is still and stationary. The trick is, I gather, to stop, turn ninety degrees, and look past the lines, deeper into the page. I tried it, and as I did, the faraway, Unmoving Mountain began to draw toward me (and also get larger) as I approached It, just as it would happen if a driver going past turned directly toward his/her desired objective. What a great metaphor!
“Line upon line, precept upon precept” is, to my mind, a good thing – a good way to build a work. The lines are stacked in two dimensions, the precepts in three, or more!
The Word of God has layers and unfathomable depths to be explored. Turn into it when it seems everything is whizzing past.
When you seek to move closer to Him, He will move closer to you, dear reader.
My trust in our Lord has led me into the most amazing life I could have imagined. I wish you even more than you can imagine, and pray that you, too, will get unexpected Nods from God as you read, write, and travel through the scenery of your life.
Bless you! L< Gloryteller
P.S. – I would be very interested to hear of your God Nods! Has anything remotely similar ever happened to you? Join the discussion, or start one. You are appreciated!
Hardly a day goes by that I don’t think,
in one way or another,
about Christ’s crucifixion, His resurrection, and His ascension. Today is no different. But wait,
it is different, for today is His Church’s official celebration of that
creation-changing,
world-changing,
life-changing Day. Today, let there be loud singing and joyous dancing. Let there be massive celebration over all the Earth,
for our Jesus is alive! Let there be all of that but, most importantly,
let Him be the Lord of your life.
Rejoice, My Soul, All People, Rejoice!
I celebrate this holiest Of all the days of holiness, For as the sun appears to rise in the East, The Son of God did arise on Easter – Resurrection Day, The greatest Day the Lord Has Made. I rejoice and I am exceedingly glad in it, For my Savior lives! Oh, Lord, He lives! Now and forever, He lives! And because He lives, So can I! For my heart, too, was sealed With hardened stone, And in that darkened tomb Dwelt death. With tender touch He moved The hardened part away To let in light and life So death was put to death. The Holy Spirit Jesus sent Was sent to live in me. As Christ began to breathe for me I felt my spirit leap. It leapeth still in Heaven’s realm, So graciously removed from hell That I can only raise my hands and say, “Rejoice, all people, rejoice! Hallelujah, praise God, rejoice!” For our Savior lives and breathes in us! He arose! He conquered bitter death and saved! He does that still, today!
~ ~ ~
With love, Your Gloryteller
Resurrection Sunday, 4-5-2015 and 3-27-2016 (re-posted, with edits, from 3-31-2013) * * * * * * *
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I read inOur Daily Bread today that “our Savior hung between Heaven and earth to bear every sin of every generation on His shoulders.” He hung between Heaven and me . . . What pain it gives me to revisit that scene . . . But the above statement led me to think deeply about what He had told his disciples and us, only the night before He hung there – what we must do to remember Him; to remember who He was, to remember what He did, how He did it, and why.
As I pondered, and contemplated, and thought, “The Lord’s Supper is absolute genius” is what I concluded. (not that I think I’m the first, nor the only one, to proclaim that)
(and I know that I foolishly reiterate the obvious,
because of course it’s genius, it’s Jesus! ) He broke the bread and compared it to His body which would imminently be broken for us. He poured the wine out and compared it to His blood which would soon be poured out for us.
“He hung between Heaven and earth.” He was, and is now, intermediary between us and The Father. Not as a wall, but as a bridge. He made a way to raise us to His shoulders, thus standing between us and the evil one “in the earth”.
As for myself, there is far more here than “meets the eye”. Have you ever thought about how grains like corn, barley, rye, and wheat are all separated from the earth by a woody stem? The seed head of the wheat plant is the “fruit”, in a sense, that we use to make our bread.
The same applies to “the fruit of the vine”; tomatoes, cucumbers, kiwi, guava, and, get this – passion fruit – and predominantly, grapes. All grow above the ground on woody or semi-woody vines. They all contain juice, but grape juice makes “traditional” wine. (side note: there is great debate whether Jesus’ “fruit of the vine” was unfermented juice, or wine) I’m in the wine camp because wine stores better, not to mention that the Bible states “wine”. I won’t even dwell on apple, orange, peach, plum trees, or berry bushes,
each of which produce juicy fruit on woody stems; but I’m getting off track.
The point is that grapevines, like wheat plants, produce their fruit “between Heaven and earth” on woody stems, and the final product of both were used at the Lord’s Supper. The Last Supper of our Lord!
By now you may be making the connection I’m getting at. Lord Jesus compared His body to a broken loaf of bread, and His covenantal blood to the poured-out juice of the grape, in order that: “as often as you eat this bread and drink this cup, you will do so in remembrance of Me.” Connecting His spiritual Self to the physical act of
eating and drinking something specific,
is brilliant in my estimation. It makes the act sacred, and simultaneously
makes our remembrance of Him sacred.
But for me, it doesn’t end there.
Jesus was always using agricultural metaphors because,
I assume, most everyone in His day knew something of the subject.
Is it a great leap to make that He also connected Himself
with the fruit of the earth? With harvest?
With life-giving, life sustaining, food and drink?
With saving us from spiritual starvation?
If that connection is only for me to make in order to strengthen my faith in Him, to take me deeper into our relationship, to tell me more of the story I long to know more about, or to give me insight into something so sacred that I scarcely can digest it, Then so be it. You, dear reader, can make of it what you will. If it doesn’t do anything for you; if it sounds wrong, leave it.
But here’s the thing: I maintain that Jesus not only connected Himself to The Bread and The Cup, But also to the wheat and the grape. Rich and ripe, He stood like a sturdy stalk of wheat before a terrible threshing, and He hung like a beautiful cluster of grapes before a horrible crushing. He stood and He hung there between Heaven and earth, between us and oblivion, between us and eternity,
to intentionally endure the torture of threshing, and the horrible crushing pain – for us, dear reader. . . The first and best fruit of the earth, until the harvest was finished. He made Himself our everything, even our spiritual food and drink. Essential, lifesaving, sacred, and beautiful.
The Lord’s Supper. The Lord’s Harvest. Absolute Genius! Absolute Jesus!
He came down. Mary said YES, Then He came down. Born like us. Born with us. Born for us. Born to us. Born unto us. Born into us. He came down from His Glory, Leaving Holy Home and Father, to become a creation, in a real sense, just like us . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
To be born most humbly into the broken, reeking mess that we, mankind, had made of the world.
To be born into the shameful, smelly mess that I had made of my own wretched heart . . . . . . . . . . .
The defenseless egg of God, having scarcely a shell. A tender shoot, a tiny lamb,
in perfect humility, he came down naked, to be born covered with another’s blood, mother’s blood. Born to be pierced, and poured out, and to coverall others with His pure, holy blood. He came down with only Love as a defense. Double-sided love. He came down to the dung heap, the lowest, the basest of places, a place of no honor;
of ignobility, because that’s where I was, I and my neighbors, hiding under the layers of dirt. He could have said “No, not again”. He could have said “To hell with this” . . . He didn’t have to rise from His manger to knock on my heart’s door. To clean it all up, just like new, from ceiling to floor, window, to wall, and spend His life, His all, for me, to bear away my sin. Yet, He would be the first to admit, (if He weren’t so humble), that He did have to. Someone had to do something. But no-one could except Himself. I didn’t deserve His coming down, this Wonderful Counselor, this Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace. This Immanuel. Savior Lord. JESUS CHRIST! But, He came down, out of love, bearing light, carrying forgiveness, sowing grace like seeds, ready with a cool drink, gentle hands to wash our feet, with tears of compassion, where sin and mercy meet, and I’m so glad, so happy, so joyously thankful that He did, that my glory goes up. I send it up. I glorify His name, Who was born into many names, and into ONE name, and that name is The-Name-Above-All-Names. He came down, and now He reigns
King of My Heart. Glory to God in the Highest Heaven!
That He. Came. Down! * * * * * * * * * * *
The Happiest Christbirth Celebration to you, today! LS< Your Gloryteller * * * * * * * *
*
Peace is kind of like love. Everyone needs it. Most civilized people want it. Many seek it in one way or another. So do I.
The quality of peace is not strain’d either. It, too, falls like gentle rain from Heaven upon the needful ones below. (thanks, Shakespeare)
Some folks have real peace and some have a pseudo, temporary, fleeting kind of peace. So do I and so have I.
Some look for it in all the wrong places. Yup, that was me.
Many have no peace whatsoever and have no idea
where it comes from, how to get some,
or even what it is. Again, been there.
When I find myself in need of the comfort and enjoyment of peace, which is most of the time, like many folks I seek and readily find peace in what is commonly called “Nature”. “Nature”, in a broad sense, is universally understood. You are probably forming mental pictures right now about how you perceive and define “Nature”. Now envision some of your favorite peace-inducing “Nature” scenes; places you have been, or even pictures of real places or those imagined by someone. Did that bring you a bit of peacefulness?
But – “Nature” (nature – to bring it down off its pedestal) is only a reflection of the super-natural; of God’s supernatural glory. (He is above nature – He made it!) Isn’t it delightful that even this somewhat hazy reflection of Heaven can still bring us earth-side peace?
I personally enjoy a pastoral scene, one with water in it, and even better, one with a mountainous theme.
A clear, unpolluted, starwatching-sky is also a delight.
Sunshine and sheep, Cattle and a creek, Grass and rolling hills, Green and blue and still.
A clear night sky, Star-filled and wide, Shapes made of light, Faith becoming sight.
A picture will do, but being there in person is best.
Sitting and contemplating;
meditating and cogitating;
or simply ‘taking it all in’ and enjoying the serenity,
the quietness,
and the upwelling joy begotten of His Light and Life.
It’s great!
But if I am walking, I like an upward path through my favorite “Nature”.
Ascent is so metaphoric.
I walk upward into His waiting embrace.
What peace, elation, and joy all at once!
I like to visit nature alone to find great peace, and this occurs to me – even my extrovert friends seek peace alone there sometimes. Many of them enjoy walking an upward path by themselves.
There is something calming about solitude.
Peace is this: Just being still and knowing that He is God.
And this: “. . . the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your heart and mind . . .”
Wonderfully this:
“You will go out with joy and be led out in peace.
The mountains and the hills will break into songs of joy in your presence,
and all the trees will clap their hands.” Especially this: “Peace I leave with you, My peace I give to you; not as the world gives do I give to you. Let not your heart be troubled, neither let it be afraid.” “These things I have spoken to you, that in Me you may have peace.” Yes, that was The Prince of Peace speaking to each of us, in fact He mentions ‘peace’ at least four hundred times in His Word in all its different meanings and nuances.
Personal peace is important. Without it, there is a certain emptiness;
an unmet longing. In today’s turmoil, peace is elusive. Tranquility, and quiet, harmony and calmness, concord and agreement, safety and security, and freedom from anxiety and worries are in short supply. But peace is important to God. As His creations, He made it important to us as well, and He saw how incapable we were
of having any through our own devices. So He sent His Son, The Prince of Peace, while we were still enemies of His, to humble Himself as human in order to make peace between the warring parties, The Father vs. the fallen. Jesus’ sacrificial death was the condition of the cease-fire, the requirement of justice, thepeace treaty,
the just agreement of concord,
the new covenant of peace between mankind and The Father,
between each person and Father God,
and between Him and myself.
I believe that with His final exhalation, He whispered Divine peace into the heart of Creation, and into mine. His peace, like His joy – gifts that cannot be
lost, if guarded, once they are embedded in your heart.
It is said that all Creation rejoiced when this treaty was struck. I believe that “Nature” “broke into song, and the trees clapped their hands” not only for mankind, and myself, but for Its Own sake as well, for that was the beginning of the restoration, the redemption and the repair of not only humanity, but of all Creation –
in peace.
Thank You Lord, for peace. Without it, life earth-side would be much more difficult.
So, what better way to seek and find peace than to walk with The Bringer and Giver of Peace,
The Wonderful Counselor of Peace, The Prince of Peace?
He willingly, eagerly, whole-heartedly Walks and talks with me,
(and wants the same with you) on my upward path through nature,
and not only through idyllic scenes,
but through every season, taking me, leading me, pushing me, supporting me,
carrying me, giving me, showing me, His peace, and wonder, and glory, until we reach the arms of The Father, where I’ll be wrapped in the Ultimate Peace, the final, enduring, everlasting, Peace of His eternal presence.
~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~
There is a special hymn that is commonly associated with peace: “Peace Like A River/All Is Well With My Soul”. If you don’t know the background of this song, you should check out the remarkable story of the author, Horatio Spafford. There is a line in the fourth verse which speaks deeply within me: “Thou wilt whisper Thy peace to my soul.” Many versions of this hymn are slow and, well, peaceful. Here is a version that is upbeat and joyous. It really struck a chord in me:
Thank you Spring Harvest for the music and Humpty Fell for the fine video!
Alone in the Rockies.
Gloryteller 