Advent Day 13

Friday the 13th has some roots in Christianity.  Friday is unlucky because that was the day Christ was crucified.  13 is unlucky because there were 13 at the last supper, the 13th member was Judas who betrayed Christ.

Whatever, Friday the 13th is not unlucky during Advent when the holiness of the season makes every day sacred and therefore not unlucky.

I want to walk peacefully on earth, kissing the earth with my feet. ~ Thich Nhat Nanh

How wonderful to kiss the earth with each step that we take.

How beautiful on the mountains are the feet of the one who brings news of peace, who announces good things, who announces salvation, who says to Zion, "Your God reigns!" ~ Isaiah 52:7 (International Standard Version)

What's up with all the talk about feet?  Spread peace wherever you go and you will have beautiful feet.

Lord, give me beautiful feet and remind me to kiss the earth with them.

.

Advent Day 8

Week 2 - Today we light the candle of Peace.

Or we would be lighting it if we were having church.  Another snow storm blew through our area on Thursday. The problem isn't really the snow but the snow melting a bit during the day and then freezing at night becoming a sheet of ice instead of soft, lovely snow.


It got down to 1 degree on Friday night which is very cold to those of us in Southwest Oklahoma. A congregant from North Dakota commented, "Y'all never would go to church if you lived in North Dakota."

So today I've read my first day of the second week of advent devotion and am drinking my coffee out of my Peace coffee cup.

The scripture in today's devotion comes from Isaiah and includes these verses:

The wolf shall live with the lamb,
     the leopard shall lie down with the kid,
the calf and the lion and the fatling together
     and a little child shall lead them.

Isaiah 11:6

I am very literal minded and have always read this scripture literally. It paints a beautiful picture of natural enemies in the animal world living in peace together.  But today my concrete mind cracked a bit, moved outside the box and wondered, could these animals be symbolic?  Be wary of wolves in sheep's clothing.  Some people are bold as lions while others are timid as kids.  People as different as these animals can live in peace together when they are led by the Christ child.

One of my favorite hymns is the peace song:

Let There Be Peace on Earth.

Click on the title to view a sing-along version on YouTube.

Things that make you go "Hmmmm..."

(Luke 12:51) - "Do you suppose that I came to grant peace on earth? I tell you, no, but rather division."  (New American Standard Bible, 1995)

(John 16:33) - "These things I have spoken to you, that in Me you may have peace..."  (New American Standard Bible, 1995)

So did Jesus come to bring peace or not?  I'd say He brings peace to those who want it.  Sometimes you've got to shake things up first.  Get people to decide what is important and what is truth. And finally, the peace Jesus brings is not of this world.

John 14:27 - “Peace I leave with you; My peace I give to you; not as the world gives do I give to you. Do not let your heart be troubled, nor let it be fearful."  (American Standard Bible, 1995)

Advent Day 3

I love today's scripture verse.

Last night at Bible Study, Beth Moore (on DVD) taught about taking up the shield of faith and wielding the sword of God's word. A war is coming, the church will be tested and refined. Oh boy! I can hardly wait!

I found these words comforting:

Come let us go up to the mountain of the Lord,
   to the house of the God of Jacob;
that he may teach us his ways
   and that we may walk in his paths.
For out of Zion shall go forth instruction,
   and the word of the Lord from Jerusalem.
He shall judge between the nations,
   and shall arbitrate for many peoples;
they shall beat their swords into plowshares,
   and their spears into pruning hooks;
nation shall not lift up sword against nation,
   neither shall they learn war any more.

Isaiah 2:3-4

This is a time of peace; a quiet time to be still and know that He is God. A God who can transform into a human being and live with us.  Anticipating the arrival of God as a baby, I enjoy the quiet, the peace, and the joy. Amen.