In those days a decree went out from Caesar Augustus that all the world should be registered. This was the first registration when Quirinius was governor of Syria. And all went to be registered, each to his own town. And Joseph also went up from Galilee, from the town of Nazareth, to Judea, to the city of David, which is called Bethlehem, because he was of the house and lineage of David, to be registered with Mary, his betrothed, who was with child.

And while they were there, the time came for her to give birth. And she gave birth to her firstborn son and wrapped him in swaddling cloths and laid him in a manger, because there was no place for them in the inn.

And in the same region there were shepherds out in the field, keeping watch over their flock by night. And an angel of the Lord appeared to them, and the glory of the Lord shone around them, and they were filled with great fear. And the angel said to them, “Fear not, for behold, I bring you good news of great joy that will be for all the people. For unto you is born this day in the city of David a Savior, who is Christ the Lord. And this will be a sign for you: you will find a baby wrapped in swaddling cloths and lying in a manger.” And suddenly there was with the angel a multitude of the heavenly host praising God and saying, “Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace among those with whom he is pleased!”

When the angels went away from them into heaven, the shepherds said to one another, “Let us go over to Bethlehem and see this thing that has happened, which the Lord has made known to us.” And they went with haste and found Mary and Joseph, and the baby lying in a manger. (Luke 2.1 – 16, ESV)

Christmas Day is tomorrow, and it’s a good time to start reminding ourselves of the real nature of Jesus’ birth as recorded in Revelation 12.

Eugene Peterson’s meditation on Revelation, Reversed Thunder, describes the scene in his usual eloquence beginning on page 119. Here are some excerpts:

The immediate consequence of the birth is not Christmas carols but a great war spread across the heavens.

He is referring to Revelation 12.7 – 12:

Now war arose in heaven, Michael and his angels fighting against the dragon. And the dragon and his angels fought back, but he was defeated, and there was no longer any place for them in heaven. And the great dragon was thrown down, that ancient serpent, who is called the devil and Satan, the deceiver of the whole world—he was thrown down to the earth, and his angels were thrown down with him. And I heard a loud voice in heaven, saying, “Now the salvation and the power and the kingdom of our God and the authority of his Christ have come, for the accuser of our brothers has been thrown down, who accuses them day and night before our God. And they have conquered him by the blood of the Lamb and by the word of their testimony, for they loved not their lives even unto death. Therefore, rejoice, O heavens and you who dwell in them! But woe to you, O earth and sea, for the devil has come down to you in great wrath, because he knows that his time is short!”

Peterson goes on:

This is not the nativity story we grew up with, but it is the nativity story all the same. Jesus’ birth excites more than wonder, it excites evil: Herod, Judas, Pilate. Ferocious wickedness is goaded into violence by this life. Can a swaddled infant survive the machines of terror?

…

It is St. John’s Spirit-appointed task to supplement the work of St. Matthew and St. Luke so that the nativity cannot be sentimentalized into coziness, nor domesticated into drabness, nor commercialized into worldliness…It is St. John’s genius to take Jesus in a manger, attended by shepherds and wise men and put him in the cosmos attacked by a dragon. The consequence to our faith is that we are fortified against intimidation. Our response to the nativity cannot be reduced to shutting the door against a wintry world, drinking hot chocolate and singing Christmas carols. Rather, we are ready to walk out the door with, as one Psalmist put it, high praises of God in our throats and two-edged swords in our hands. (Psalm 149.6)

We’ll continue the warfare perspective after Christmas.

As we move into Christmas week (and Esther will get worked in, stay tuned!), let’s continue yesterday’s meditation on love…

One nice thing about the Christmas season is the number of Christmas musical specials on television. We don’t see too many, but we caught about half of the Tabernacle Choir’s concert, which included a short play about Victor Hugo, author of Les Misérables. The book To Love Is To Act by Marva A. Barnett could have been a source for that play. The concert’s play closes with:

“To love is to act”— “Aimer, c’est agir.” – Victor Hugo, written three days before his death

Here is the description of the book:

To love is to act”— “Aimer, c’est agir.”  These words, which Victor Hugo wrote three days before he died, epitomize his life’s philosophy. His love of freedom, democracy, and all people—especially the poor and wretched—drove him not only to write his epic Les Misérables but also to follow his conscience. We have much to learn from Hugo, who battled for justice, lobbied against slavery and the death penalty, and fought for the rights of women and children. In a series of essays that interweave Hugo’s life with Les Misérables and point to the novel’s contemporary relevance, To Love Is to Act explores how Hugo reveals his guiding principles for life, including his belief in the redemptive power of love and forgiveness.

No further comment is needed.

By this we know love, that he laid down his life for us, and we ought to lay down our lives for the brothers. But if anyone has the world’s goods and sees his brother in need, yet closes his heart against him, how does God’s love abide in him? Little children, let us not love in word or talk but in deed and in truth. (1 John 3.16 – 18, ESV)

The Spirit of the Lord is upon me, because he has anointed me to proclaim good news to the poor. He has sent me to proclaim liberty to the captives and recovering of sight to the blind, to set at liberty those who are oppressed. (Luke 4.18, ESV)

We talk about love all the time and often refer to 1 Corinthians 13.4 – 8 as a good description. But I like this list from Colossians:

Therefore, as God’s chosen people, holy and dearly loved, clothe yourselves with

• compassion,
• kindness,
• humility,
• gentleness and
• patience.
• Bear with each other and
• forgive one another if any of you has a grievance against someone. Forgive as the Lord forgave you.
• And over all these virtues put on love, which binds them all together in perfect unity. (Colossians 3.12 – 14, ESV, bulleted for clarity)

Here’s what I shared with the bride and groom at a wedding I performed recently:

You all clean up pretty well! But there will be another day, maybe next week or next month, when he commits a husband error. At that time, new bride, that’s when we need to “bear with each other” and “forgive one another” and “put on love.”

Doesn’t she look great! And isn’t she happy? There will be another day…when she will be down about something or worried about something or out of sorts for whatever reason. On that day, new husband, she will need your compassion, kindness, gentleness, and patience. And yes, your love.

I went on to tell them…

Weddings are easy and fun and short. Marriages are hard, sometimes not so much fun, and long. I pray that you will take to heart Colossians 3.12 – 14, written to all of us, but especially applicable in the dailyness of marriage:

Therefore, as God’s chosen people, holy and dearly loved, clothe yourselves with compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness and patience. Bear with each other and forgive one another if any of you has a grievance against someone. Forgive as the Lord forgave you. And over all these virtues put on love, which binds them all together in perfect unity.

Amen.

We’re moving through Esther, a story of God’s protection for his people. To put a new queen in place to counteract the forces of evil, God had to first get rid of the old queen. Then the king’s counselors kick in again:

The king’s young attendants stepped in and got the ball rolling: “Let’s begin a search for beautiful young virgins for the king. Let the king appoint officials in every province of his kingdom to bring every beautiful young virgin to the palace complex of Susa and to the harem run by Hegai, the king’s eunuch who oversees the women; he will put them through their beauty treatments. Then let the girl who best pleases the king be made queen in place of Vashti.” The king liked this advice and took it. (Esther 2.2 – 4, MSG)

(It’s interesting that the advisors in chapter 1 were the oldest, wisest men in the kingdom. In chapter 2, it’s his “young attendants.”)

And so we meet the protagonists of our story: Esther and Mordecai:

Now there was a Jew who lived in the palace complex in Susa. His name was Mordecai…His ancestors had been taken from Jerusalem with the exiles and carried off with King Jehoiachin of Judah by King Nebuchadnezzar of Babylon into exile. Mordecai had reared his cousin Hadassah, otherwise known as Esther, since she had no father or mother. The girl had a good figure and a beautiful face. After her parents died, Mordecai had adopted her. When the king’s order had been publicly posted, many young girls were brought to the palace complex of Susa and given over to Hegai who was overseer of the women. Esther was among them. (Esther 2.5 – 8, MSG)

Again, God at work behind the scenes. She finds favor with Hegai, who was in charge of the harem:

Hegai liked Esther and took a special interest in her. Right off he started her beauty treatments, ordered special food, assigned her seven personal maids from the palace, and put her and her maids in the best rooms in the harem. Esther didn’t say anything about her family and racial background because Mordecai had told her not to. (Esther 2.9, 10, MSG)

It’s worth a pause here to talk about “purity.” We frequently read stories of Christians refusing to do this or that because it violates their beliefs “You can’t make me deliver mail on Sunday!” Do we ever stop to think about what Esther is being asked to do? Be part of the harem of a pagan king?! Instead of loudly proclaiming her Jewishness and obstinately refusing to have her virginity violated, she hides her Jewishness and submits to the process…and wins the contest:

When it was Esther’s turn to go to the king, … she asked for nothing other than what Hegai, the king’s eunuch in charge of the harem, had recommended. Esther, just as she was, won the admiration of everyone who saw her. She was taken to King Xerxes in the royal palace in the tenth month, the month of Tebeth, in the seventh year of the king’s reign. The king fell in love with Esther far more than with any of his other women or any of the other virgins—he was totally smitten by her. He placed a royal crown on her head and made her queen in place of Vashti. (Esther 2.15 – 17, MSG)

Chapter 2 ends with a seemingly irrelevant event which will become important later in the story:

On this day, with Mordecai sitting at the King’s Gate, Bigthana and Teresh, two of the king’s eunuchs who guarded the entrance, had it in for the king and were making plans to kill King Xerxes. But Mordecai learned of the plot and told Queen Esther, who then told King Xerxes, giving credit to Mordecai. When the thing was investigated and confirmed as true, the two men were hanged on a gallows. This was all written down in a logbook kept for the king’s use. (Esther 2.21 – 23, MSG)

God’s queen is in place. We meet the villain in chapter 3.

For exaltation comes neither from the east nor from the west nor from the south. But God is the Judge: He puts down one, And exalts another. (Psalm 75.6, 7, NKJV)

Wow! We’re into Esther, the last book of our journey through the 12 historical books. While our reading program is one chapter per day, five days per week, Esther is a book best read in one sitting – takes about 30 minutes. Even if you’re not following the reading program, I encourage you to read Esther.

Talking with an orthodox Jew way back in 1969, I told him that his scriptures were the same 39 books that were in our Bible. He said, “Even Esther?” I replied, “Yes, even Esther. Although it doesn’t mention God explicitly, no book better shows God working behind the scenes to protect his people.” He was incredulous: “How did you know that?” Simple answer: “I’ve read it!”

God at work behind the scenes…

Suppose there’s going to be a national plot against the Jews, supported by the king. How better to turn that plot around than to have a Jewish queen? But how can that happen? We already have a queen.

In chapter one, God uses a drunken king’s demand and fear of men not being “king of their castle” to depose Queen Vashti.

On the seventh day of the party, the king, high on the wine, ordered the seven eunuchs who were his personal servants … to bring him Queen Vashti resplendent in her royal crown. He wanted to show off her beauty to the guests and officials. She was extremely good-looking. But Queen Vashti refused to come, refused the summons delivered by the eunuchs. (Esther 1.10 – 12, MSG)

The king called his advisors. What to do? Their counsel was clear.

So, if the king agrees, let him pronounce a royal ruling and have it recorded in the laws of the Persians and Medes so that it cannot be revoked, that Vashti is permanently banned from King Xerxes’ presence. And then let the king give her royal position to a woman who knows her place. When the king’s ruling becomes public knowledge throughout the kingdom, extensive as it is, every woman, regardless of her social position, will show proper respect to her husband. (Esther 1.19, 20, MSG)

Step one is done. The queen’s spot is vacant. It’s worth a separate blog to see how Esther fills it.

The king’s heart is a stream of water in the hand of the LORD; he turns it wherever he will. (Proverbs 21.1, ESV)

I’ve been having trouble with my hearing aids lately. In short, they don’t seem to be amplifying sound. After much trial and error, fiddling with the settings, even taking them to a technician, I finally discovered the problem. The hearing aids are deaf!

While they transmit sound beautifully when it comes from my phone during a call or on a video clip, they don’t transmit sound that comes through the air. Why not? The microphones, the part of the hearing aids that pick up sound, don’t work. In short,

The hearing aids can’t amplify what they don’t hear!

After switching to a previous pair and sending the newer ones in for service, I was sharing this story with my son Matt. He said, “There’s a blog in that. You can’t transmit to others what not inside you.” And he followed up with a sentence from The Big Book:

Our book is meant to be suggestive only. We realize we know only a little. God will constantly disclose more to you and to us. Ask Him in your morning meditation what you can do each day for the man who is still sick. The answers will come, if your own house is in order. But obviously you cannot transmit something you haven’t got. (Page 164, emphasis mine)

It’s a biblical principle:

That which was from the beginning, which we have heard, which we have seen with our eyes, which we have looked at and our hands have touched—this we proclaim concerning the Word of life. The life appeared; we have seen it and testify to it, and we proclaim to you the eternal life, which was with the Father and has appeared to us. We proclaim to you what we have seen and heard, so that you also may have fellowship with us. And our fellowship is with the Father and with his Son, Jesus Christ. (1 John 1.1 – 3, NIV)

Therefore, get rid of all moral filth and the evil that is so prevalent and humbly accept the word planted in you, which can save you. Do not merely listen to the word, and so deceive yourselves. Do what it says. (James 1.21, 22, NIV)

First Presbyterian Church of Colorado Springs puts on an annual Christmas concert called Christmas Joy! (It’s possible this page will be taken down by the time the blog posts…) It has grown into a bodacious affair, held at the Pikes Peak Center, a 2500-seat auditorium downtown. We attended in 2022 and 2023 and hadn’t really planned to go this year, but our oldest son, Mark, wanted to go with his daughter, Kesley.

So I bought four tickets. Then June fell. While in the hospital, learning to get around with a walker, June said, “I’d sure like to go to Christmas Joy.” That was Monday, December 9. The concert was Sunday, December 15, and our tickets were in the balcony for the 1:30 performance.

I spent a frustrating hour on LiveChat with AXS, trying to exchange two tickets for handicap seating. Absolutely no success. That conversation ended with “Someone will get back to you in 3-5 days.” (At the time, the concert was in 4 days, and I still haven’t heard back from AXS.) In the meantime, Mark gave me the name and email address of the fellow in charge of ticketing for the Pikes Peak Center. He responded right away, explaining that there were no handicap seats available.

Fast-forward to Sunday. It’s 12:20p, and June and I are having lunch. Someone is coming to sit with June while I go to the concert. Text from Mark: “I have two handicap tickets for Christmas Joy. Can you get her there?” A neighbor was already on tap to walk the dog around 3p while I was to be gone. I called him, and he came over right away, walked the dog, and helped me get June into the car. (It’s 17 steps DOWN from our main level to the garage, and she hadn’t been out since coming home from the hospital the previous Monday.)

I had a fuzzy idea how we would coordinate with Mark at the Pikes Peak Center for dropping off June at the handicap entrance, parking the car, meeting inside, etc. But it all worked! Timing, seating, everything. It was a fabulous concert, very heartwarming, and I’m thankful June was able to go. A Christmas miracle! That she was already suitably dressed, that Mark found the tickets at the last minute on the AXS resale site, that our neighbor was available to help (loading and unloading). Praise God for small blessings. Here we are in the lobby after.

Thanks be to God for his indescribable gift! (2 Corinthians 9.15, NIV)

Last Saturday, Travis Hunter of the University of Colorado was awarded this year’s Heisman Trophy, given to the best college football player. Usually, the award goes to a quarterback, occasionally to a wide receiver or running back. Travis is a wide receiver AND a cornerback (a defensive player). That’s right, he played nearly every play.

Sean Keeler, writing for the Denver Post, sums it up:

Since 1980, no college football player at the FBS level had intercepted four passes in a season while also catching at least 90 passes and racking up at least 13 receiving touchdowns. Until Hunter.

And he is talented: watch this nonchalant one-handed catch in warmups.

What struck me, however, was his discipline:

Keeler writes:

Hunter told Fox Sports’ Big Noon Kickoff last month that his weekly routine includes “at least 10 hours” of film study. After being named an Academic All-American this past winter while sporting a 3.6 GPA, he switched majors from psychology to anthropology.

Hunter said in an interview recently:

I just have a different type of mindset where I don’t go out. I don’t drink, I don’t do none of that extra stuff. I go home, chill with my fiancé, play video games…I’m not going to do anything and keep my head in the right space. It’s going to be kind of hard (to repeat my career) because a lot of kids come in with different type of things on their mind. And so they’ve just got to be focused… But I definitely think some kids could do it. They’ve just got to be focused and ready to put all the hard work and the dedication for it.

He’s focused, he doesn’t drink, he works to keep his head “in the right space.” If another player wants to achieve, it’s focus, hard work, dedication.

That’ll preach:

Everyone who competes in the games goes into strict training. They do it to get a crown that will not last, but we do it to get a crown that will last forever. (1 Corinthians 9.25, NIV)

…But one thing I do: Forgetting what is behind and straining toward what is ahead, I press on toward the goal to win the prize for which God has called me heavenward in Christ Jesus. (Philippians 3.13, 14, NIV)

We left Nehemiah and Ezra in the middle of what we might call a revival service. Nehemiah 8 ended with their celebrating the feast of booths. Chapter 8 contains a well-known promise:

And do not be grieved, for the joy of the LORD is your strength.” (Nehemiah 8.10, ESV)

And the commitment meeting picks up in chapter 9:

Then on the twenty-fourth day of this month, the People of Israel gathered for a fast, wearing burlap and faces smudged with dirt as signs of repentance. The Israelites broke off all relations with foreigners, stood up, and confessed their sins and the iniquities of their parents. While they stood there in their places, they read from the Book of The Revelation of GOD, their God, for a quarter of the day. For another quarter of the day they confessed and worshiped their GOD. (Nehemiah 9.1 – 3, MSG)

A half-day of prayer! Half devoted to reading the scripture and half devoted to confession and worship.

The confession recaps Israel’s history, starting with creation:

You’re the one, GOD, you alone; You made the heavens, the heavens of heavens, and all angels; The earth and everything on it, the seas and everything in them; You keep them all alive; heaven’s angels worship you! (Nehemiah 9.6, MSG)

Then it goes through God’s choice of Abraham, the Exodus, the giving of the law, followed by the disobedience, including the golden calf. Then the prayer recalls their going into the promised land, followed by more disobedience, and finally the captivity. The conclusion?

You are not to blame for all that has come down on us; You did everything right, we did everything wrong. None of our kings, princes, priests, or ancestors followed your Revelation; They ignored your commands, dismissed the warnings you gave them. Even when they had their own kingdom and were enjoying your generous goodness, Living in that spacious and fertile land that you spread out before them, They didn’t serve you or turn their backs on the practice of evil. And here we are, slaves again today; and here’s the land you gave our ancestors So they could eat well and enjoy a good life, and now look at us—no better than slaves on this land. Its wonderful crops go to the kings you put over us because of our sins; They act like they own our bodies and do whatever they like with our cattle. We’re in deep trouble. (Nehemiah 9.33 – 37, MSG)

The solution? A “binding pledge:”

Because of all this we are drawing up a binding pledge, a sealed document signed by our princes, our Levites, and our priests.” (Nehemiah 9.38, MSG)

You can read in chapter 10 who signed the pledge, and the particulars of the pledge. I really like the ending:

We will not neglect The Temple of our God. (Nehemiah 10.39, MSG)

We’ve seen before how the Temple was neglected. Joash and Josiah had to renovate it. Then it was rebuilt under the ministry of Haggai:

Go up into the mountains and bring down timber and build my house, so that I may take pleasure in it and be honored,” says the LORD. (Haggai 1.8, NIV)

We ought not neglect the Temple: spiritually, mentally, physically.

Do you not know that you are God’s temple and that God’s Spirit dwells in you? If anyone destroys God’s temple, God will destroy him. For God’s temple is holy, and you are that temple. (1 Corinthians 3.16, 17, ESV)

The proverbs of Solomon son of David, king of Israel: for gaining wisdom and instruction; for understanding words of insight; for receiving instruction in prudent behavior, doing what is right and just and fair; for giving prudence to those who are simple, knowledge and discretion to the young— let the wise listen and add to their learning, and let the discerning get guidance— for understanding proverbs and parables, the sayings and riddles of the wise. The fear of the LORD is the beginning of knowledge, but fools despise wisdom and instruction. (Proverbs 1.1 – 7, NIV)

For physical training is of some value… (1 Timothy 4.8, NIV)