Merry Christmas, Church family. Praying that you have a joyous day and that you find great joy with family and in your celebration of Jesus. Posting this for your family this morning. First, Rebecca Larson has written a poem for our church titled Christmas Reflection, 2024. Also posting a link to a family devotion by John Piper here as an encouragement to pause sometime today and do this with your family, maybe after opening presents, during breakfast, or at the start of you big family meal. God bless.
The Three Presents of Christmas by John Piper
A Christmas Reflection 2024- By Rebecca Larson
Emmanuel, our God had come
Only two of God’s children have ever known
The sweetness of their original home
The joy of walking with God in that place
His glorious presence filing that space
But a shadow fell and longings came
For days would not remain the same
Sin had corrupted, the garden was gone
All that was right, now tainted by wrong
His people and all creation would groan
As they now longed for their eternal home
Substance for shadow was tragically traded
God’s people now known as those who waited
But waiting for what? A better day?
A lasting home? A truer place?The longings go deeper than these
A longing to dwell with a God who is pleased
They dwelt in the shadows with prophets and kings
With priests in the temple and offerings
The promised Messiah would one day draw near
To overcome darkness and drive out all fear
He came, but in the most startling way
A helpless babe born in animal hay
A filthy stable is what God ordained
Christ’s very beginning marked by shame
He grew and satisfied every demand
He pleased the Father then stretched out his hands
To die the same way that he came
In humiliation and clothed with our shame
Substance through the shadows had broken
The final Word in his death had spoken
Then raised in life our victory cry
Our God, with His people, now satisfied
The promised Savior the reigning Son
The shadows remain, but they do not define
We bend to His purpose and His good design
We push back the shadows and wait his return
We lift our eyes and we slowly learn
Our God is preparing a better home
A place that none has ever known
Sometimes in the asking the answer is no
There’s kindness found as He endeavors to show
His heart for His children is sometimes veiled
But in all of the no’s, He never fails
Sometimes in the asking he makes us wait
Healing hearts, making bent places straight
Lifting our eyes to a better tomorrow
One free from sin and all of its sorrow
Sometimes in the asking we’re given a yes
A smiling face acknowledging “this is best”
A lavish love, sometimes unforeseen
A glimpse of His glory from this place in between
This Christmas we celebrate the God who came near
In a space we’ve longed for year after year
He’s always provided, His ways have been kind
Yet sometimes there’s mystery in His design
Provision come in so many ways
Perhaps a stable filled with animal hay
Perhaps a parking lot with camping chairs
But now a building built with love and care
The goodness in this shadowy space
Is sweet because it is but a taste
Of the day to come and our final place
Where we will behold our God face to face.
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