Scheduling Christmas with God

I’m not sure I ever told you all this, but I do most of my writing in the early hours of the day. I’ve always been an early riser and during the Christmas season that is especially true. I even have the timer on the Christmas tree set to come on twice a day, at 5 a.m. and 5 p.m. If my fireplace had a timer, I’d probably set that on the same schedule.  

I love the lights of Christmas, but I love them the most in the early morning hours. 

I might have been a psalmist

I often wake up thinking about the Lord . . . (and coffee.) I love that the lights on my Christmas tree light the way to the kitchen and the coffee pot. My computer enables me to read Scripture and prayer lists and to write blog posts while I sit in the darkness and enjoy the beauty of the Christmas lights. For me, these moments are a favorite celebration of the holiday. 

The Bible says quite a bit about the morning hours and the importance of using the morning to start our day with God. We are supposed to walk through our day with him, but that’s easier to do if we share the first part of the day at his feet. Jesus got up early in the morning to spend time with his Father. He is the perfect example of how we should begin our days too. 

The psalmists said a lot about seeking God in the morning. I am typing this blog post in the early darkness of the morning while enjoying their ancient wisdom for keeping life filled with God. As this Christmas season begins, let’s allow their wisdom to touch our lives and holiday season this year. 

God is our audience of One 

Psalm 5:3 says, “O Lᴏʀᴅ, in the morning you hear my voice; in the morning I prepare a sacrifice for you and watch.” The quiet beauty of morning is the perfect time to talk to God. The Creator God of the universe is listening to you—right now. 

What amount of time and attention will you give to your Father this morning? What activity can wait until you have spoken to him? We will likely sacrifice a few of our plans for the day if we ask God to plan the day for us. 

Your Christmas season will be different if you will give God your voice in the morning, prepare to listen, and then watch for his answers throughout the day. 

Trust God to lift you up 

Sometimes I wake up thinking about a long list of activities for the day. One of my favorite things about growing older is that more and more of my schedule is optional. I well remember the rush of keeping kids on their schedules while planning the rest of my life around theirs. 

Those were great days, but there is a serenity to these days that is pure joy too. The great goal for this Christmas season is to live it on God’s schedule. Psalm 143:8 says, “Let me hear in the morning of your steadfast love, for in you I trust. Make me know the way I should go, for to you I lift up my soul.” 

People will always matter more than plans. People sometimes fit into our schedule, and sometimes they will need to interrupt it. We can trust God to guide us and strengthen us to serve him by serving others.  

Every morning’s sunrise is a reminder of God’s steadfast love. He has given us another day, and he has a trustworthy plan for how we can live it well. How can we carefully walk his plan for today? 

We hear from him in the morning, and we trust his voice, his word. It is to God we lift up our souls. God wants to do more than direct our activity. He wants to provide for our joy and our strength and give us his love and compassion for others.  

This Christmas season will be different if we lift up our souls to God and trust him to fill us with his goodness. 

We can be satisfied with God

The Christmas season can pull and tug us in many different directions. There have been some holiday seasons that lacked the genuine Christmas joy. So much of our expectations and wishes for the holiday are authored by movies, social media, and the lives of others. The genuine joy of Christmas will come from the moments you spend with Christ and the moments you spend serving others in his name. 

In the early morning, it is only about your relationship with the Lord. The psalmist wrote, “Satisfy us in the morning with your steadfast love, that we may rejoice and be glad all our days” (Psalm 90:14). The joy and beauty of the season are in the genuine celebrations of his blessings. 

God will satisfy us this Christmas season with his love. We need only give him our worship. His “steadfast love” will be the joy of each day and our great blessing for the holiday. 

Joy comes in the morning

Psalm 30:5 is rarely quoted fully yet is a perfect message for us to begin our Christmas season considering. We often hear the phrase “joy comes with the morning” but rarely do we hear why that matters. 

No Christmas season is perfect. No Christmas season is lived in a flawless fashion. We are human beings surrounded by other human beings. Traffic is tough. People are edgy and rushed. Gifts are sometimes hard to come by and difficult to afford.  

Some parties are fun while others are an obligation. Sometimes the lights on the tree stop glowing and need a new bulb to work again. There will be a few moments this Christmas season that don’t inspire the “fa la la” in us! Sometimes anger is justified, but often it is simply a natural, human response to stressful situations. It’s then our goal to return to a right relationship with God. 

Psalm 30:5 is our gift of wisdom for those times. God’s anger is always righteous, but his example is the perfect one for us to follow as well. The psalmist wrote, “For his anger is but for a moment, and his favor is for a lifetime. Weeping may tarry for the night, but joy comes with the morning” (Psalm 30:5). God doesn’t hold onto his anger, and we shouldn’t either. We can seek God’s favor, knowing it is our promised gift of Christmas. 

Let’s schedule this Christmas with God 

Each new morning is a chance to sit with our audience of One and seek his voice. We can trust our heavenly Father to forgive our mistakes and lift us up for the new day. We can count our blessings and be satisfied with the genuine joy of the Lord each day. We can rush through a day or two and trust that the Lord will guide us back to a quiet morning with him.  

Joy comes in the morning. Will you give your Christmas mornings to the One who authors our joy? Will you do the same tomorrow?

How and why do we seek God’s face?

My dad often traveled for his work. My sisters and I were always excited to go to the airport and pick him up. Those were the days, before 9/11, when we could enter an airport and walk to the gate to wait. 

My sisters and I would look out the airport windows and try to guess which plane landing was Dad’s. Eventually, one of us was right. 

That plane pulled near, the stairs were rolled out, and the door would open. We’d watch every person get off the plane, trying to be the first one who spotted Dad’s face. 

He’d often glance up at the windows looking for us and smile when he saw us jumping up and down and waving. 

That’s a pretty good picture of what it means to “seek God’s face.” 

Seeking God’s face is synonymous with seeking God’s presence. 

How badly do you want to see God’s face?

We often equate seeing God’s face to those moments we enter heaven. That is when we will see God face to face. 

But Scripture teaches that we are supposed to seek God’s face, his presence, every day, all day. Psalm 105:4 says, “Seek the Lord and his strength; seek his presence continually!” 

My favorite beatitude is Matthew 5:8. Jesus taught, “Blessed are the pure in heart, for they shall see God.” 

C.S. Lewis wrote, “It is safe to tell the pure in heart that they shall see God, for only the pure in heart want to.” 

One time I got a “U” in conduct on my report card. My teacher had warned me to “stop talking,” but I didn’t take her warning seriously enough. (My friends and family are probably grinning right now. I still might get a “U” on occasion.) 

The point is this: I wouldn’t have been quite as excited to see Dad if I knew I had to show him that report card when we got home from the airport. 

Sometimes we don’t seek God’s face because we don’t know we are supposed to. Most of the time, we choose to avoid God’s presence because we know what we are going to hear when we do. 

How badly do you want to see God’s face today? 

Is there something in your life causing you to avoid his presence? 

If so, take some time and consider 1 John 1:9: “If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.” 

My dad saw the “U” in conduct, and I’m sure I had some extra chores to do as a result. I also had to promise him I would try harder to do better. And, if I remember correctly, that was the only time I got a “U” on a report card. 

God’s discipline and direction are for the purpose of making us better people. 

When we seek God’s face, we are likelier to want to please him. We are blessed when we can approach God with a pure heart. Why? 

Because that is when we “see God.” 

That is when we come into his presence. 

Seek God’s face in the crowd

It’s probably a good idea that we can’t go to the gates at the airport any longer. I remember the crowds of people, all trying to meet up with someone. I’ve always been a people-watcher, and my favorite greetings always involve a few tears or a few kisses. 

My dad used to give all of us a hug, but it was my mom who got the kiss. Even today, I enjoy standing at the baggage claim, watching a wife meet her husband. I especially enjoy watching the soldiers greet their families. In those moments, the rest of the world fades away because the person who matters most is the one they have been waiting to see. The loved one feels loved. 

That is the way the Lord would like us to treat him each day. That is one way we can choose to love him. The apostle Paul wrote, “If then you have been raised with Christ, seek the things that are above, where Christ is, seated at the right hand of God. Set your minds on things that are above, not on things that are on earth” (Colossians 3:1–2). 

We need to seek the face of God, knowing we are seeking the face of Jesus. We need to seek his face like there is nothing else that matters more. God’s face, his holy presence, needs to stand out from every other in our crowded lives. 

The church, God’s people, are referred to in Scripture as the “bride of Christ.” Look for his face like my mom looked for my dad at the crowded airport. Understand that Jesus is looking for you like my dad looked for my mom. 

If my people . . .

This is a chaotic season in our history, for all kinds of reasons. 

We can find ourselves looking at others in order to place blame or find solutions. We might watch the evening news thinking that is the information we most need. But Christians have a higher calling and higher standards. 

The reason I wrote this post today is that I thought about a familiar verse from 2 Chronicles in a new way. I read the words like a teaching lesson for how to seek God’s face. God told Solomon, “If my people who are called by my name humble themselves, and pray and seek my face and turn from their wicked ways, then I will hear from heaven and will forgive their sin and heal their land” (2 Chronicles 7:14). 

God spoke those words to King Solomon at the dedication of the temple. The most important place in the world was the Temple Mount in Jerusalem. The temple was built around the Holy of Holies that contained the Ark of the Covenant, the Presence of God. People came to that temple for centuries in order to find forgiveness and seek God’s face. 

If our culture improves, it won’t be because a person is elected. The eradication of a virus isn’t going to cure the problems in our cities. What our culture needs most is the holy presence and priority of God. 

They need to seek his face. 

We are called to be God’s presence

You and I live in the promises of the New Covenant. We no longer visit a temple because Christians are a temple. The Holy Spirit, the same Spirit that indwelled the Holy of Holies, is present in every person who has made Christ their Lord and Savior. 

When you walk into a room today, you will bring the face of God into that place. Not everyone will be looking for you. They may have come to the crowd to find someone else. 

Here’s my point: My sisters and I always drew smiles at the airport. Picture three little girls, often with bows and ringlets, jumping up and down because their dad was smiling at them and giving th›em hugs. People couldn’t help but notice. 

And God said, “If my people”—if my kids—would “humble themselves, and pray and seek my face,” they would need to turn from evil in order to face what is holy. 

Today, let’s seek God’s face in this crowded, noisy world. 

People are in the crowd for all kinds of reasons. But it is difficult to ignore a child who is excited to see their dad. And our heavenly Dad is excited to see us. We are greatly loved, and we are called to help others know his love in their lives. 

Who will see God’s face today because they have seen yours? 

This blog post was originally published on October 14, 2020.

How does God “inhabit” our praise?

Halloween has come and gone. The retailers have markdowns on all things “spooky” because they need the shelf space for all things “Santa.” 

Hopefully, they keep at least one shelf to remind everyone of Thanksgiving.

In many ways, the world doesn’t realize that without giving thanks, we can’t really experience Christmas. It will be just a holiday if we don’t have the presence of Christ.

Those of us who heard sermons from the King James Bible probably remember hearing the preacher say, “God inhabits the praise of his people.” But, if you look for that phrase in a newer translation, it isn’t there. Why is that? 

How does God “inhabit” our praise and what does that mean? 

What did King David mean?

King David wrote a psalm, a song of worship, which we call Psalm 22. If we hear a sermon from this psalm, it is usually during the Easter season. It is the psalm Jesus quoted from while on the cross. All Jewish people, Jesus included, would have memorized and sung the psalm often in their temple worship. 

King David wrote the psalm as a “lament.” He was apparently at a low time in his life when he felt he was lacking God’s blessings. It was a common Jewish belief in that time that if life wasn’t going well, if there were sickness or distress, then a person was lacking the divine favor of God. David wrote honest words about his distress and then taught honest words of hope about God’s favor. 

All of us have experienced those same moments in our own lives. It can seem like our prayers aren’t reaching God’s ears, or he is choosing to ignore them. It can seem like joy is a memory rather than a present reality. Everyone “laments” at some point in their spiritual journey. But God has given us the entirety of his truth in Scripture. Our laments should lead us to praise. 

King David teaches that important truth in Psalm 22, a truth that Jesus chose to remember while dying on his cross. Psalm 22 begins with the words, “My God, my God, why have you forsaken me? Why are you so far from saving me, from the words of my groaning? O my God, I cry by day, but you do not answer, and by night, but I find no rest.” 

When Jesus said, “My God, my God, why have you forsaken me,” he was expressing his own grief, but he was also “preaching” to his mother, his best friend John, and any other Jewish person who was listening. When Jesus spoke the first few words, the rest of the psalm would have instantly come to the minds of every Jewish person in the crowd.  

The next phrases are what Jesus wanted everyone to remember. Psalm 22:3, in the King James Bible says, “But thou art holy, O thou that inhabitest the praises of Israel.” The English Standard Version of verse three says, “Yet you are holy, enthroned on the praises of Israel.” 

The Hebrew word for “enthroned” meant to “dwell in or inhabit.” Jesus, from the cross, was remembering and reminding those around him that God was still on his throne, still with them, and still present in their lives. 

Soon the disciples would realize that Jesus was reminding them he was the holy presence of God.  

Psalm 22 is praise and prophecy

Jesus taught from the cross that God was present, “enthroned on the praises of Israel.” Verses 4–5 say, “In you our fathers trusted; they trusted, and you delivered them. To you they cried and were rescued; in you they trusted and were not put to shame” (ESV). 

Jesus wanted his mom and his best friend, who were grieving at his feet, to remember that God delivers his people. He always has and always will. Soon, they would realize that Jesus was their deliverance. 

Jesus wanted them to know that he was the fulfillment of all that David had written about a thousand years before. 

  • Verse 6: “I am . . . scorned by mankind and despised by the people.”
  • Verse 7: “All who see me mock me.”
  • Verse 8: “He trusts in the Lᴏʀᴅ; let him deliver him.”
  • Verse 14: “I am poured out like water, and all my bones are out of joint.”
  • Verse 15: “My tongue sticks to my jaws; you lay me in the dust of death.”
  • Verse 16: “They have pierced my hands and feet.”
  • Verse 18: “They divide my garments among them, and for my clothing they cast lots.”

And Jesus wanted them to remember the words they had sung often in their worship, words that King David had prophesied: “All the ends of the earth shall remember and turn to the Lᴏʀᴅ, and all the families of the nations shall worship before you. For kingship belongs to the Lᴏʀᴅ, and he rules over the nations. All the prosperous of the earth eat and worship; before him shall bow all who go down to the dust, even the one who could not keep himself alive” (Psalm 22:27–29). 

Finally, Jesus wanted everyone to realize that what they were seeing take place on the cross was a fulfillment of what they had sung in their worship. Psalm 22 ends with these words: “Posterity shall serve him; it shall be told of the Lord to the coming generation; they shall come and proclaim his righteousness to a people yet unborn, that he has done it” (Psalm 22:30–31). 

When Jesus said, “It is finished,” that’s what he meant: “He has done it.” His death provided a way for all people, from all nations, even those yet unborn, to serve God and be made righteous. That is what Jesus was telling Mary, John, and anyone else who knew David’s psalm to remember when he said, “My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?” 

Jesus gave them the first line, knowing they could sing the rest and one day understand that he was the answer to King David’s lament. 

Jesus is the answer to our laments as well. 

God inhabits our praise

Christians celebrate Easter every day we celebrate God’s presence in our lives. Before his death, Jesus told his disciples, “Let not your hearts be troubled. Believe in God, believe also in me” (John 14:1).

John, the apostle at the foot of the cross, would soon learn what Jesus meant when he said, “I will ask the Father, and he will give you another Helper, to be with you forever, even the Spirit of truth . . . . You know him, for he dwells with you and will be in you” (John 14:16–17). 

King David knew that when he praised God, he was inviting God to be present in his life. David knew that even when there were struggles in life, he could praise God. The king could draw near to God’s presence when he worshiped at the tabernacle. The Ark of the Covenant was the “mercy seat” of God. 

Christian lives are now “the temple,” and we can praise God because his presence “indwells.” Because of Jesus, God is “enthroned” in our lives. If you want to experience God’s presence in your life, praise him for the gift of Jesus. Praise him for giving us the ability to know that Scripture holds miraculous prophecy, which has always been truth.  

I will close this blog post with the same words David closed his psalm. One thousand years after the words were written, David’s prayer was fully answered. That answer has been proven truth since Jesus. King David wrote: “Posterity shall serve him; it shall be told of the Lord to the coming generation; they shall come and proclaim his righteousness to a people yet unborn, that he has done it” (Psalm 22:30–31). 

God has always “inhabited” the praise of his people and still does. Christians have been made righteous because of their faith in Jesus. Now, let’s continue to praise and proclaim his righteousness to others so they can live with God’s holy presence too!  

God “inhabits” the praise of his people because he is “enthroned” in our lives. 

Let’s take some time and enjoy the privilege of his presence.  

Reconciled to God and others

M of us use the word reconciled in our vocabularies to discuss a marriage relationship that was broken and is now put back together. We say, “They have reconciled.” Every earthly relationship goes through periods of distance or separation. It might not be a physical separation, but it still feels like there is a distance that has occurred. To be reconciled is to do what it takes to close that gap and grow close again. 

We know we were given the presence of God’s Holy Spirit when we became a Christian. The Holy Spirit is the proof that Christ has closed the gap and we have been reconciled to God. But, as long as we live on this side of heaven’s glory, we remain in “a gap.”  

It’s a good picture of what Paul was saying in 2 Corinthians 5 when he wrote, “So we are always of good courage. We know that while we are at home in the body we are away from the Lord, for we walk by faith, not by sight” (vv. 6–7). 

Let’s take Paul’s words to heart for just a moment. 

Our source of courage

Have you ever noticed it seems easier to handle a busy schedule when you know a vacation is coming?

Jim and I had an early mentor in our ministry. He told Jim that he and his wife always planned their next vacation while coming home from their current trip. He said it had been a key to their happiness, even when ministry was ramped up at top speed. It is easier to navigate the gap of an over-busy life when you know the separation from each other is for only a time.  

Paul said “we are always of good courage.” There is never a time we can’t look forward to our eternal lives. Right now, we are “away from the Lord,” but one day we will stand with him, in his presence.

It’s good to envision that permanent vacation every now and then. Has it been a while since you allowed your faith to carry you to those visions of heaven? Like the song says, “We can only imagine what it will be like, when we walk by his side.” 

When it seems like there is a gap between you and God, take a “trip with faith” and walk with Jesus on those streets in heaven. Take courage knowing that one day all we have faithfully imagined will be a physical, even more amazing reality. 

We are, right now, reconciled to God through our faith in Christ, and the relationship we have through faith will one day be a relationship experienced in his presence. 

Our reconciliation

We once celebrated a seventy-year anniversary with a couple in our church. Someone at the party asked them how they had been able to stay happily married all those years. He said, “Well, we are still working on that.” That was such a perfect answer! 

Those two people had one of the finest relationships I have ever seen. They never stopped “working on it.” They had their rough spots and had sometimes grown apart. But, they were married forever so they chose to work their way back to a better relationship with each other. The same is true in our relationship with God. 

Paul wrote the church in Corinth, “We implore you on behalf of Christ, be reconciled to God. For our sake he made him to be sin who knew no sin, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God” (2 Corinthians 5:20–21).  

Christ made a permanent relationship with God possible. Christians are his adopted children and always will be. Every family relationship needs work so we can remain “reconciled” to one another. Our kids are always loved, but it takes effort to keep the relationships close. 

Our Righteousness

In Christ we “become the righteousness of God.” Maybe those words have become so familiar that we have forgotten they are “familial.” When you and I enter a room, we enter as one who is part of God’s family. We are called to represent our Lord and bear his name. That’s why Paul called us “Christ’s ambassadors.” 

We are to manifest the rightness of God in our relationships with others. Our righteousness is the rightness of God, displayed through our lives. THAT seems like a high, holy, and wholly impossible calling! Our calling is all of those things, this side of heaven. That’s why we need to be reconciled to God. 

When we get it right, it’s because we allow God to use our lives to make us right. The only righteousness in our lives is the righteousness of God. Thankfully, when we need to represent God in a room, he is willing, able, and would prefer to do the talking. He will need us to get our own sense of self out of the way. 

One day, in heaven, we will live like righteous, holy children of God in every moment. Now, we live in that gap. When we have a reconciled life to God through faith, we have become the righteousness of God. Perfect faith isn’t possible this side of heaven, but it is nevertheless to be our constant goal. 

Our reconciled relationship

I know that every Christian who reads these words will be fully reconciled to God’s presence eternally. That said, if our lives aren’t bearing witness to the “righteousness of God,” we need to work on our relationship with God.  

How do we strengthen our family ties? 

  • Take a vacation from the world, from media and technology, in order to spend time with God. Take courage through faith that one day you will spend all your time present with him in heaven.
  • Ask God if there is anything separating your heart from his. Our sins separate and widen the gap. Confess those things and ask God to help you draw as near as possible. We are his children and we need to work on that relationship. Imagine how much he looks forward to that time together.
  • Finally, live aware of the fact that you are the righteousness of God every time he speaks or ministers through you. Is there any other agenda that seems more important as you enter a room? Focus your thoughts on God. His words, his thoughts, and his presence will soon follow.

Reconciliation is the business of God

In case any of these words seem like too much to handle, remember that it isn’t our abilities that bring about reconciliation. God is the giver of reconciliation. “God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son” (John 3:16).  

Everything you need is given by the Creator of all things. Reconciliation with God is certain because it is always his will. Reconciliation with another person requires two wills, neither of which is perfect. Hopefully, both will turn to the perfection of God and be reconciled. Either way, God judges our hearts. We can be right with him, even when we can’t be right with another.  

We can do our part to be reconciled to God so that we can be his ambassadors and his righteousness in the world. What a holy privilege we have been given! I hope the Lord has brought someone to your mind as you read these words today. Let’s take time to pray for ourselves and others. 

Blessings to all of you “reconciled ambassadors.” It will be fun to hang out on our eternal vacation someday!