Walking in the garden in the cool of the day
Unimaginable bliss beyond what words can say
Sweet communion with the blessed Trinity
Created for Him, our innate capacity
Enter the tempter, fallen morning star of old
“You can know more,” our first parents were told
Knowledge like God, the promise is made
By eating the fruit of the tree He forbade
Eager, they eat, of the fruit of the garden
Deceived, by the serpent, sweet communion forgotten
Eager to experience what they already enjoy
A ravaged relationship, the devil’s sly ploy
Oh what a bitter travesty
Separated from God Most High’s Majesty
In the cool of the day, God seeking their presence
Them hiding in shame with sin laden conscience
Expelled from the garden
Sweet fellowship forgotten
Lost communion with their Lord
Blocked by an angel with flaming sword
What hope again of true intimacy
With the blessed Godhead Trinity
Humanity in its extremity
Desperately needs again divine mercy
Enoch, Noah and Abraham found approval in God’s plan
Restored communion between God and man
Friends of God
With Him they trod
Men of old, who walked by faith
Communed with God, face to face
Then out of Egypt God chose a nation
Bringing men hope in their sinful condition
In fire and smoke God descends upon Sinai
Once again offering for men to draw nigh
But in stark terror and great fear
The people tremble as God draws near
“You speak for us Moses”, they plead
Gravely aware of the mediator they need
Prophets and seers He sends to them
Those with whom He shares sweet communion
Anointed ones who speak for Him
As representatives to the rest of men
God’s design for entire humanity
Now for a few with inspired ecstasy
God’s plan for one and all
Limited to a few with special call
And even then the news is grim
That these specially chosen men
So tainted and stained by sin
Soon are unable to hear from Him
Humanity’s hope of communion again
With God…shattered by insidious guilt and sin
Impossible to commune with His holiness
Creatures so contaminated by sin’s filthiness
Oh the need of One to stand between
God’s pure holiness and man’s dire sin
Of One to restore the sweet communion
Humanity once enjoyed with its truest Friend
Behold Him come
Heaven’s glorious Son
Exact representation of God’s nature
God to man come near
Early in the morning out in the wilderness
Communing with God in intimate sweetness
Late at night in earnest intercession
Father and Son, what sweet communion
My God, My God, why have You forsaken Me, He cries
Into Your hands I commit My spirit and He dies
Intimate of God become His enemy
Paid the price to cover our iniquity
Opened the way into the presence of holiness
Gave us His righteousness for our filthiness
Restored communion between God and man
Returned humanity to God’s original plan
Walking in the garden in the cool of the day
Unimaginable bliss beyond what words can say
Sweet communion with the blessed Trinity
Created for Him, our innate capacity
Saturday, December 27, 2008
Friday, December 19, 2008
Zechariah’s Christmas
(I’d like to tell you a story that took place over 2000 years ago. Please just sit back and enjoy.)
Zechariah was sooooo excited. It was his 8th birthday and he finally got to spend the night with his dad and the sheep out in the fields ALL night. His dad had promised and he had reminded his dad everyday since he turned 7 that he HAD promised that on his 8th birthday he could go with his dad and the other shepherds to watch the sheep at night. His dad had told him over and over that it could be very dangerous…lions, bears, even robbers were not uncommon visitors in the middle of the night, but not even Zechariah in his wildest imagination could have imagined the night that was in store for him!!
It was a quiet, very cold and peaceful night. And without any lions, bears and robbers to keep Zechariah awake he was getting very sleepy wrapped in his father’s big sheep wool blanket.
Father, won’t you tell me a story, pleaded Zechariah, in his attempt to stay awake. One of the old stories told long ago by grandpa when you were out here in the fields with him at night? Please, please, please… Zechariah knew just how long to beg! Okay, said his father, but you must be very quiet so that we can hear if a lion or bear or robber is trying to sneak up on the sheep.
I am going to tell you a story about a promise made to us by one of our prophets long ago…in fact it is the prophet who I am named after, Isaiah. It was during a horrible time in our country’s history. Our people, Judah, had wandered a long ways from God. And as a result two other countries were attacking and threatening to destroy us. Our king and all of us were very afraid because they were much stronger than us and it seemed that God had forsaken us because of our sin. In fact the old writings say that “the king’s heart and the hearts of all of our people shook as the trees of the forest shake with the wind”. Our people were very afraid. They didn’t know what to do or where to look for help.
And then, Isaiah, the prophet, was sent by God to talk with the king. Many thought that he was just sent to tell the king that God was now judging us and we would be conquered. We certainly deserved it. But instead, the prophet told the king, Ahaz, that God was going to once more deliver our people and he was going to give him a promise to guarantee it. And this is what the promise was…”a virgin will be with child and bear a son and she will call His name Immanuel”. “And that before the child would be old enough to know the difference between right and wrong, deliverance would come to our nation”.
Our people were so excited!! Because they realized that it was really two promises in one!! An immediate promise of deliverance and a greater future promise of deliverance. An immediate promise of deliverance from the two countries attacking us, and a future promise of deliverance through the Great Deliverer that our people have always hoped in and looked forward to…the Messiah, the King, Immanuel, God Himself come down to deliver us. But, oh will that ever really happen, we wonder.
The wonderful thing is that the first promise came true! The prophet’s own wife gave birth to a son who was nicknamed “Immanuel” and before he came to the age of accountability, knowing the difference between right and wrong, the nations attacking us were themselves attacked and destroyed and we were delivered. It gave our people such hope again that the most important promise of all might really someday come true also…the Messiah would come and deliver us, that God Himself would have mercy on us and deliver us from our sin and ourselves and bring us true hope and happiness.
Zechariah’s father, Isaiah, paused and sighed…it has been such a long time Zechariah. The promise is so wonderful. We have hoped for it to come true for so long but…but…
And at that moment the quiet, very cold and peaceful night was forever changed in Zechariah’s memory…
An angel of the Lord suddenly appeared to the shepherds and they were all very awake and very scared!! And the angel said to them, “Do not be afraid; for behold, I bring you good news of great joy which will be for all the people; for tonight in the city of David, Bethlehem, there has been born for you a Savior, who is the Messiah, the Lord, Immanuel, God Himself! This will be a sign for you; you will find a baby wrapped in strips of cloth and lying in an animal trough.”
And suddenly there appeared with the angel a huge group of angels praising God and saying, “Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace among men and women with whom He is peace.”
And Zechariah was now very wide awake!! And Zechariah’s father forgot where he was in the story…
Dad, dad, can we go to Bethlehem... Please, please, please…Zechariah knew just how long to beg… Except this time he didn’t really need to beg. Zechariah, Ezekiel, Hosea, Isaac, Jacob, come on let’s go!! Can it really be…could it really be true…in their very own lifetime…in their very own city? The Messiah? The Deliverer? Immanuel?
The Promise that they had been waiting for soooooooo long?
So the Bible tells us in Luke 2 that they came in a hurry and found their way to Mary and Joseph and the baby as He lay in the animal trough. It really was true. God had kept His promise. The Savior was born!
Zechariah tiptoed up to the baby. He didn’t really look like a king. He was just a little baby. A baby with the same birthday as him, Zechariah! And yet Zechariah knew that He wasn’t just any other baby. He could still vividly remember the angels and what they said, “there has been born for you a Savior, who is the Messiah, the Lord, Immanuel, God Himself!” Wow!!
Zechariah was only 8 and there was a lot that he still did not know and understand, but he was old enough to know that he had seen a miracle and that God had kept His promise!! Just like He had kept His promise to His people hundreds of years before. Wow!! Zechariah never doubted again that God really cared about him and that God was the only Deliverer that He would ever need. He could hardly wait to tell his friends….
Do you all know that today? God promised thousands of years ago over 300 times in the Old Testament that He would come and be our Deliverer, our Savior. And He did. His name is Jesus. In the book of Acts in the Bible it says, “There is no other name under heaven given to men besides Jesus by which we must be saved, delivered”. Jesus is the only true Deliverer, Savior.
And that is what Christmas is all about. Remembering His birthday just like Zechariah experienced it 2000 years ago on his birthday! Remembering why He came and the deliverance, salvation, that it can mean to you.
Do you know Him? Is He your deliverer? Savior? If you would like to find out more about Jesus, I would love to talk more with you.
(I’d like to tell you a story that took place over 2000 years ago. Please just sit back and enjoy.)
Zechariah was sooooo excited. It was his 8th birthday and he finally got to spend the night with his dad and the sheep out in the fields ALL night. His dad had promised and he had reminded his dad everyday since he turned 7 that he HAD promised that on his 8th birthday he could go with his dad and the other shepherds to watch the sheep at night. His dad had told him over and over that it could be very dangerous…lions, bears, even robbers were not uncommon visitors in the middle of the night, but not even Zechariah in his wildest imagination could have imagined the night that was in store for him!!
It was a quiet, very cold and peaceful night. And without any lions, bears and robbers to keep Zechariah awake he was getting very sleepy wrapped in his father’s big sheep wool blanket.
Father, won’t you tell me a story, pleaded Zechariah, in his attempt to stay awake. One of the old stories told long ago by grandpa when you were out here in the fields with him at night? Please, please, please… Zechariah knew just how long to beg! Okay, said his father, but you must be very quiet so that we can hear if a lion or bear or robber is trying to sneak up on the sheep.
I am going to tell you a story about a promise made to us by one of our prophets long ago…in fact it is the prophet who I am named after, Isaiah. It was during a horrible time in our country’s history. Our people, Judah, had wandered a long ways from God. And as a result two other countries were attacking and threatening to destroy us. Our king and all of us were very afraid because they were much stronger than us and it seemed that God had forsaken us because of our sin. In fact the old writings say that “the king’s heart and the hearts of all of our people shook as the trees of the forest shake with the wind”. Our people were very afraid. They didn’t know what to do or where to look for help.
And then, Isaiah, the prophet, was sent by God to talk with the king. Many thought that he was just sent to tell the king that God was now judging us and we would be conquered. We certainly deserved it. But instead, the prophet told the king, Ahaz, that God was going to once more deliver our people and he was going to give him a promise to guarantee it. And this is what the promise was…”a virgin will be with child and bear a son and she will call His name Immanuel”. “And that before the child would be old enough to know the difference between right and wrong, deliverance would come to our nation”.
Our people were so excited!! Because they realized that it was really two promises in one!! An immediate promise of deliverance and a greater future promise of deliverance. An immediate promise of deliverance from the two countries attacking us, and a future promise of deliverance through the Great Deliverer that our people have always hoped in and looked forward to…the Messiah, the King, Immanuel, God Himself come down to deliver us. But, oh will that ever really happen, we wonder.
The wonderful thing is that the first promise came true! The prophet’s own wife gave birth to a son who was nicknamed “Immanuel” and before he came to the age of accountability, knowing the difference between right and wrong, the nations attacking us were themselves attacked and destroyed and we were delivered. It gave our people such hope again that the most important promise of all might really someday come true also…the Messiah would come and deliver us, that God Himself would have mercy on us and deliver us from our sin and ourselves and bring us true hope and happiness.
Zechariah’s father, Isaiah, paused and sighed…it has been such a long time Zechariah. The promise is so wonderful. We have hoped for it to come true for so long but…but…
And at that moment the quiet, very cold and peaceful night was forever changed in Zechariah’s memory…
An angel of the Lord suddenly appeared to the shepherds and they were all very awake and very scared!! And the angel said to them, “Do not be afraid; for behold, I bring you good news of great joy which will be for all the people; for tonight in the city of David, Bethlehem, there has been born for you a Savior, who is the Messiah, the Lord, Immanuel, God Himself! This will be a sign for you; you will find a baby wrapped in strips of cloth and lying in an animal trough.”
And suddenly there appeared with the angel a huge group of angels praising God and saying, “Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace among men and women with whom He is peace.”
And Zechariah was now very wide awake!! And Zechariah’s father forgot where he was in the story…
Dad, dad, can we go to Bethlehem... Please, please, please…Zechariah knew just how long to beg… Except this time he didn’t really need to beg. Zechariah, Ezekiel, Hosea, Isaac, Jacob, come on let’s go!! Can it really be…could it really be true…in their very own lifetime…in their very own city? The Messiah? The Deliverer? Immanuel?
The Promise that they had been waiting for soooooooo long?
So the Bible tells us in Luke 2 that they came in a hurry and found their way to Mary and Joseph and the baby as He lay in the animal trough. It really was true. God had kept His promise. The Savior was born!
Zechariah tiptoed up to the baby. He didn’t really look like a king. He was just a little baby. A baby with the same birthday as him, Zechariah! And yet Zechariah knew that He wasn’t just any other baby. He could still vividly remember the angels and what they said, “there has been born for you a Savior, who is the Messiah, the Lord, Immanuel, God Himself!” Wow!!
Zechariah was only 8 and there was a lot that he still did not know and understand, but he was old enough to know that he had seen a miracle and that God had kept His promise!! Just like He had kept His promise to His people hundreds of years before. Wow!! Zechariah never doubted again that God really cared about him and that God was the only Deliverer that He would ever need. He could hardly wait to tell his friends….
Do you all know that today? God promised thousands of years ago over 300 times in the Old Testament that He would come and be our Deliverer, our Savior. And He did. His name is Jesus. In the book of Acts in the Bible it says, “There is no other name under heaven given to men besides Jesus by which we must be saved, delivered”. Jesus is the only true Deliverer, Savior.
And that is what Christmas is all about. Remembering His birthday just like Zechariah experienced it 2000 years ago on his birthday! Remembering why He came and the deliverance, salvation, that it can mean to you.
Do you know Him? Is He your deliverer? Savior? If you would like to find out more about Jesus, I would love to talk more with you.
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