Advent Musings
From Music
“He became the lowest to show us Glory in the Highest.” - Shane and Shane
“With the dawn of Redeeming Grace” -’Silent Night’ by Joseph Mohr
“God with man is now residing” -’Angels from the Realms of Glory’ by James Montgomery
“King forever, ceasing never Over us all to reign”
“Glorious now behold Him arise, King and God and Sacrifice” -’We Three Kings’ by John Hopkins, Jr.
“The thrill of hope, the weary world rejoices” -’O Holy Night’ by Adolphe Adam
“Lord of lords in human vesture, In the Body and the blood
He will give to all the faithful His own self for heavenly food” -‘Let All Mortal Flesh Keep Silence’
“O holy Child of Bethlehem, Descend to us, we pray!
Cast out our sin and enter in, Be born in us to-day.
O come to us, abide with us, Our Lord Emmanuel!” -‘O Little Town of Bethlehem’ by Bishop Phillips Brooks
From ‘A Jesse Tree Journey’ by Ann Voskamp
“When we are lost, God will go looking and when we are hiding, God keeps hunting, and it’s when we have fallen and sin’s fangs have pierced our naked hearts straight though, death pulsing hot through our veins like a poison, that God comes calling.... Where are you?”
“Can you hear the whisper in the wind: Jesus! Christmas has been coming right from the very beginning! We who are fallen and messy and bitten by sin will be bandaged and washed and made whole.”
“Lord God, “The Fall” says it all, our life in two words. But You have so much more to write in our story — for You wrote Jesus into our story, who keeps whispering to us all of Advent — “Where are you? Please let me come to you...” -p. 11 (based on Genesis 3:1-21)
“That God would send a promised child, a King, to be born in a barn feed trough! That He would crush Satan by laying out His own hand for a nail! That the Babe born under a star in Bethlehem would make us laugh wonder at amazing grace made into flesh and forever love that sets us free!” -p. 15 (based on Genesis 21:1-7)
“And could we say that if the Christmas tree had no gifts and there were no grapes on our plates or chocolate in our stockings, if there were no food in our fridge nor vacation in our future, if we were stripped of everything we have in all this glittering world, would we still be glad in the Lord?”
“If all we could claim in this world was only Christ, would having Jesus make us happy - or do we have hearts set on having more? Is the Lord - or our luxuries - our strength?” -p. 47 (based on Habakkuk 3:17-18)
"Because sometimes in waiting for what we long for, we praise God long when the gift comes at last. Sometimes God has his people wait long so our gratitude becomes deeper and wider." -p. 49 (based on Luke 1:5-25)
“The promise God made back in the beginning, at the Fall, in Eden, He’s keeping it and completing it and He’s coming, a Babe to Mary, the One who will crush the head of the enemy.” -p. 52
“He was God against us, but now by the light of Grace star over Bethlehem, He is God with us.” -p.54
From ‘The Miraculous Journey’ by Marty A. Bullis
“He [Jesus] comes into the world having accomplished nothing, yet He is worshipped.”
“He chose from eternity to enter the world through a broken family, in a city regarded as insignificant, and in the form of a helpless child.” - p. 27
“He chooses to come into the world as we all do - helpless. It is a moving picture. A King who chooses to be helpless set against a king (Herod) who chooses to grasp power and destroy anything that would stand in his way.” p. 39
“the paradox where beginning and end become one.” -p. 47
“He has come, made His Advent, to reclaim us. He has arrived for His fallen comrades.” -p. 63
“Christ enters the world controlling world events,” -p. 91
From ‘Good News of Great Joy’ by John Piper
“His focus (Matthew) is immediately on foreigners coming from the east to worship Jesus. So Matthew portrays Jesus at the beginning and ending of his Gospel as a universal Messiah for the nations, not just for Jews.” p. 13 (based on Matthew 2:1-2)
“The incarnation was God’s locking himself into death row.”
“The cross was Satan’s destruction.”
“He [Jesus] molded a breastplate of righteousness for us that makes us immune to the devil’s condemnation.”
“And a person without sin puts Satan out of business. His treason is aborted. - And he will gasp his last before long.”
“Jesus took our nature in Bethlehem, to die our death in Jerusalem, that we might be fearless in our city. Yes, fearless. Because if the biggest threat to my joy is gone, why should I fret over the little ones? How can you say, ‘Well, I’m not afraid to die but I’m afraid to lose my job’? No. No. Think! If death (I said, death - no pulse, cold, gone!) - if death is no longer a fear, we’re free, really free. Free to take any risk under the sun for Christ and for love.” -p. 37-38
“he emptied himself [of his divine rights to be free from abuse and suffering]” -p. 53
From Scripture
“Blessed be the Lord God of Israel, for he has visited and redeemed his people...” -Luke 1:68
Of the increase of his government and of peace there will be no end, on the throne of David and over his kingdom, to establish it and to uphold it with justice and righteousness from this time forth and forevermore. The zeal of the LORD of hosts will do this.” - Isaiah 9:7
“Since therefore the children share in flesh and blood, he himself likewise partook of the same things, that through death he might destroy the one who has the power of death, that is, the devil, and deliver all those who through fear of death were subject to lifelong slavery.” —Hebrews 2:14-15
“The people who walked in darkness have seen a great light; those who dwelt in a land of deep darkness, on them has light shone.” -Isaiah 9:2
“that we, being delivered from the hand of our enemies, might serve him without fear, in holiness and righteousness before him all our days.” -Luke 1:74-75
