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Christmas, hearing God
Christmas, hearing God Christmas: God's Tutorial on Hearing His Voice
Thursday, December 9, 2010 at 12:38PM 
Monday’s Meditation suggested that although elementary students have no classes at Christmastime, school is in session for followers of Jesus. The Christmas narratives are not merely traditional words, they are divinely inspired for our benefit. For example, the Christmas story provides a tutorial on how God speaks to his people.
In the opening of Matthew and Luke’s gospels the God of the heavens pulls out all the stops on the heavenly pipe organ and announces his kind intention by nearly every means possible. If the subject is “how to hear God’s voice,” get out your highlighters and take note of the many ways he speaks. I count at least nine:
God speaks through angels: Angels spoke to Mary, Joseph, Zechariah and the shepherds. Our very word angel comes from the Greek, ángelos, meaning messenger. While the birth of Jesus was certainly unique in history, God’s use of angels is anything but unique--they exist carry his messages and do his work. Are you open to the possibility of of angelic visitation today? (see Hebrews 13:2)
God speaks through dreams: God spoke to Joseph almost exclusively through dreams. What’s more, Joseph took these dreams seriously and made life-altering choices based on them. Would you marry a woman or move to a foreign country based on your dreams? Joseph did! In fact, we are in the habit of referring to "our dreams," but what if they are God’s?
God speaks through nature: Three pagan wise men were among those who bowed in worship before the infant Jesus. They were literally moved to action because of what they observed in nature. Who would pack up their treasures and travel over deserts based on the sights in the sky? People who heard the voice of God, that’s who.
God speaks through the scripture: Matthew takes great care to point out the fulfillment of Old Testament prophecy in his nativity story. The stars may have guided the wise men to Israel, but the words of the prophet Micah gave them the final steps to take. Even Mary’s spontaneous song of praise in Luke chapter two is based upon words recorded in the Old Testament nearly a thousand years before. In our day many people study the Bible, but how many hear his voice in it?
God speaks through worship: When Zechariah encountered the angel Gabriel, he was fulfilling the office of priest by burning incense in the temple. That’s worship! So is the song sung by the “heavenly host” that night to the shepherds in the hillsides of Bethlehem. Included in the Christmas story is the revelation that worship is a two-way street: We offer praise and thanksgiving, and he speaks to us. When’s the last time you heard the voice of God in worship?
God speaks through governments: The opening words of Luke’s second chapter mention the decree by Caesar August that all the world be taxed. Grumbling taxpayers everywhere did not hear anything other than the greed of Rome, but behind the mechanics of politics and taxation God was moving people from one city to the next in order to set his plan in motion. So the next time you read about a new tax, be sure to listen for God’s voice!
God speaks through the Holy Spirit: Two “nobodies” named Simeon and Anna received a most unusual invitation to celebrate the birth of King Jesus--they had a hunch. Except in this case it wasn’t actually a hunch, it was the voice of the Holy Spirit. Luke’s account makes clear that these two obscure temple-dwellers heard the still small voice of the Spirit, down the to time and place where the young parents of Jesus would come to the Temple to dedicate the baby Jesus. What if our lives--even specific days--could be guided like that? Scripture reveals they can.
God speaks through prophetic utterance: When Zechariah opened his mouth after nine months of silence, he prophesied! When Mary met Elizabeth the courtyard of a simple house became the gathering of saints, and both women spoke the words of God. The Christmas narrative is telling us that when God is at work, God’s people will speak inspired words of life. That should change the way we listen to one another, don’t you think?
And still one more: God speaks through Jesus: The Christ Child is the Word become flesh. John’s prologue reveals the Word was with God, and the Word was God. The opening of the book of Hebrews reveals that although God speaks in many times and in many ways, his ultimate word to us is a person: Jesus. The angels told the shepherds, “This shall be a sign for you: you will find a baby . . .” All of God’s words are contained in him. They were then. They are still.
So while we endure well-meaning Christmas carols and relentless cheerful music in retail stores, the question remains: will you hear God speak?
Monday's Meditation: Discovering the Scripture at Christmastime
Monday, December 6, 2010 at 09:54AM 
One of the challenges of reading the Christmas story each year is our familiarity with the text. Each year we turn to Luke and Matthew for the birth narratives, and each year we can be lulled to sleep by the familiarity of words. Yet the Christmas narratives are still scripture, divinely inspired to reveal God’s heart and mind.Christmas brings the opportunity for followers of Jesus to go deeply into these two passages again and again. They are spoken each year in Christmas pageants and sermons over and over. What if the Holy Spirit--aware we would come to these chapters dozens of times in our lives--filled these verse with revelation of God’s goodness, his providence, and his ways?
Allow me to share with you two insights new to me this year, even after reading these words for forty years.
The community of worship: Luke tells us that after a single angel announced glad tidings of great joy, the host of heaven appeared, singing, “Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace to men on whom his favor rests.” I believe part of the message is that heaven is comprised of a community of worship: whatever God does, it is accompanied by communal worship. Praise and adoration go hand in hand with the work of God, and we would do well to remember that in our daily efforts on earth, because we, too, are a part of this community of worship.
The resources of heaven: that night on a Bethlehem hillside, a multitude of the heavenly host was employed to lead a handful of shepherds to the feet of Jesus. One angel would’ve been enough! But in this act I believe God demonstrates that the resources of heaven are always available to lead people to Christ. Have we called upon the resources of heaven, or do we rely on own own?
For this week’s meditation I’d like to suggest we come to the Christmas narratives as God’s inspired word, which describe not only the events of His birth, but also contain revelation for us to order our world today.
Everyone's Entitled to My Opinion: About Tradition
Saturday, December 4, 2010 at 12:26PM Today I sing in praise of Tradition, and I’m not even named Tevye.
And, of course, there is no better time to celebrate tradition than Christmastime: the listless person seated, ringing a bell next to the Salvation Army kettle, who has long since given up standing or wearing a Santa outfit; the garish sounds that pass for Christmas music inside of WalMart or BigMart or StuffMart or BuyMore; the outrageous attempts to convince us that a Lexus is the perfect Christmas gift--I love them all. Seriously.
I love the sights and sounds of Christmas among the capitalists because they ring hollow against the traditions of the church universal: the cycle of Advent; the birth narratives in Matthew and Luke; and the glorious constancy of the Word made flesh.
Before you object too strenuously about all the faults of tradition, let me suggest that we’re not as smart as we think we are, and there are plenty of smart people who have come before us. Tradition, in Chesterton’s happy phrase, “is the democracy of the dead.” Why shouldn’t they have a vote?
This is not supposed to be a thoughtful, Monday Meditation-type post. Saturdays are for inflicting my unreasonable opinions on those intrepid enough to happen by. So, everyone’s entitled to my opinion, which in this case agrees with the great religious historian Jaroslav Pelikan: "Tradition is the living faith of the dead; traditionalism is the dead faith of the living."
Discipleship: not a choice, it's the mission
Thursday, December 2, 2010 at 11:37PM 
When I told one of my best friends that for my (third) career I wanted to be a writer, he gave me life-changing advice: "Try to imagine talking about your subject every single day for two years. If the idea still thrills you, you've found your topic."
This Christmas will mark two years of writing Students of Jesus, and I can report my passion has grown! Becoming a disciple of Jesus--and making disciples of others--takes me deeper and deeper into life with God. When I encounter familiar old Bible passages on discipleship, they seem constantly-fresh, filled with life: always revealing the new possibilities of following the Lord.
Will you allow me to share a few of these ever-new passages? Here are three foundational passages for anyone who longs for something more than a fire-insurance relationship with Jesus:
Now the eleven disciples went to Galilee, to the mountain to which Jesus had directed them. And when they saw him they worshiped him, but some doubted. And Jesus came and said to them, "All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you. And behold, I am with you always, to the end of the age." (Matthew 28:16-20)
- If heaven is the ultimate goal of the gospel, then discipleship is merely an option, like a choice in the cafeteria. But discipleship is not a choice, it's the mission. There is something lacking in each one of us until we become disciples and until we make disciples of others.
- Discipleship is open to anyone willing to worship Jesus. Intellectual curiosity is not the ticket in, nor are good works. And here is the really good news: doubt does not disqualify you from worship.
- At the place of worship we discover that Jesus considers us partners in his mission. He never intended the original twelve disciples to be the only ones: he intended they would reproduce themselves. Amazingly, he intends the same for us as well.
For those whom he foreknew he also predestined to be conformed to the image of his Son, in order that he might be the firstborn among many brothers. (Romans 8:29)
- The good news is better than we think: the Father intends that each of us can become conformed to the image of his son. This is staggering: if we are disciples of Jesus, the Father has set a destination for each of us--Christlikeness!
- Jesus is unique: the only begotten of the Father. Yet that same Father is determined to have a large family. He sends a spirit of adoption into our hearts. We see him as our true Father and we discover our older brother is none other than the Lord of glory.
- When we first heard the gospel--presented as Jesus‘ sacrificial death on our behalf--how many of us imagined the Father had a destination in mind better than Heaven itself?
At that time Jesus declared, "I thank you, Father, Lord of heaven and earth, that you have hidden these things from the wise and understanding and revealed them to little children; yes, Father, for such was your gracious will. All things have been handed over to me by my Father, and no one knows the Son except the Father, and no one knows the Father except the Son and anyone to whom the Son chooses to reveal him. Come to me, all who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you, and learn from me, for I am gentle and lowly in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. (Matthew 11:29)
- If the destination of Christlikeness seems too far-fetched, Jesus comes to our rescue. He himself offers to be our guide and instruct us in the kind of life that flows from being with our Creator moment-by-moment.
- We can simultaneously learn from him and find rest in him. For example, anyone who has tried to learn a new language, skill, or life-habit understands the hard work involved. Yet Jesus tells us that when we are hooked-up in right relationship with him we will experience new life and refreshing at the same time. No university in the world can offer that combination.
- Human models of training and leadership depend on intelligence and worldly wisdom for their effectiveness. In this passage the King himself looks heavenward and gives thanks that the kids at the head of the class have no advantage over the rest of the us. In fact, they are in the dark--God rejoices that human intelligence is inadequate while offering the benefits of relationship to all who will simply come to him. Who wouldn’t take a deal like that?
So in the same year I’ve qualified for the seniors discount at Denny’s I’ve discovered that two years isn’t near enough to explore that possibilities of life with God. I’m delighted you’re along for the ride. In fact, I’d do it whether or not I ever find a publisher. (On the other hand, if there’s a publisher looking for a passionate soul with growing skills, you can reach me at ray.hollenbach@gmail.com)
Monday's Meditation: Watering the Soil of Our Hearts
Monday, November 29, 2010 at 09:35AM 
Just because we have heard something before doesn’t mean we should pass it by. Watchman Nee observed that patience in the face of the familiar is a sign of spiritual maturity. I need to ask your patience as I revisit and revise a post from April of last year, because it’s on my mind again:
“The farmer sows the word. Some people are like seed along the path, where the word is sown. As soon as they hear it, Satan comes and takes away the word that was sown in them. Others, like seed sown on rocky places, hear the word and at once receive it with joy. But since they have no root, they last only a short time. When trouble or persecution comes because of the word, they quickly fall away. Still others, like seed sown among thorns, hear the word; but the worries of this life, the deceitfulness of wealth and the desires for other things come in and choke the word, making it unfruitful. Others, like seed sown on good soil, hear the word, accept it, and produce a crop--thirty, sixty or even a hundred times what was sown." Mark 4: 14 – 20
Let me tell you about the first time I ever heard this parable. The night after I became a follower of Jesus a speaker used this parable to challenge us to put our roots deep into this new life. I just naturally assumed I was the good soil. How could I be anything else? Sitting next to me that night was a friend from high school who had also just turned to Jesus. After the message she wept and wept, and wept some more. Finally she composed herself enough to sob, “I just don’t want to let Jesus down. I’m afraid I might turn out to be one of those other types of soil.” I had assumed that I was the kind of person who was naturally good and would bear fruit, while she was moved to tears, crying and asking for the grace to live up her calling. At that moment I realized after just one day she was already way beyond me in her walk with Jesus.
This isn’t just any parable--it’s foundational. Jesus asked his disciples, "Don't you understand this parable? How then will you understand any parable?” (v 13) He cautioned his students that this parable was critical to receiving the Kingdom of God (v 11).
As a young Christian I thought Jesus was describing a fixed reality: too bad for those with hardened hearts, rocky soil, or lives full of weeds, I thought. Thank God I was the good soil! It never occurred to me that his words were a call for me to tend my own heart, or that he was describing a continual process of every time he speaks into our lives. Over the years I’ve discovered I’m never further away from the Kingdom than when I think his words are for someone else, but not for me.
This week I invite you to ask, What about me? Have I watered the spoil of my heart with tears that cry out for his continued grace in my life?