Tag: peace and shalom

Advent Devotions (Week 4): Love and a Prostitute

Published on by Jimmy Larche

Text: Hosea 14:1-9

“Come, let us return to the LORD; for he has torn us, that he may heal us; he has struck us down, and he will bind us up.” —Hosea 6:1 ESV

On the last Sunday of Advent, we reflect on scriptures from the Old and New Testaments about God’s love for us. God’s love undergirds the whole story of the Bible: creation, fall, redemption, and the ongoing process of restoration.

Hosea is an Old Testament love story—just not the kind of romance you might be familiar with. Essentially, God told the prophet Hosea to pursue and marry a prostitute (“wife of whoredom”), and then go and take her back again after she proved to be unfaithful in marriage. The same Hebrew term indicating illicit sexual behavior in this passage (Hosea 1:2) is the one Moses uses in Genesis 38:24 to refer to Tamar’s posing as a shrine prostitute in order to entice Judah. Hosea’s wife, Gomer, bears this label, as she becomes a woman characterized by sexual infidelity.

Gomer’s adulteress ways are prophetic symbolism of a people who have committed “great whoredom by forsaking the Lord.” This is the first of a series of expressions in Hosea where God puts himself in the place of a forsaken human lover.

In this story, Israel had become a “luxuriant vine that yields its fruit.” The more God’s chosen people prospered, the more their altars were defiled. Their heart was “false” (Hosea 10:1-2). Instead of shepherding the people, their priests had plunged into full-fledged idolatry (10:5). Their worship had become vain words and empty oaths. They had forgotten their God (Hosea 13:6). God said, “The more they were called, the more they went away” (11:2), and “My people are bent on turning away from me” (11:7). The coldness of their spiritual apathy and the callousness of their infidelity were necessitating judgment. “I will fall upon them like a bear robbed of her cubs,” the Lord pronounced (13:8). Soon after Hosea prophesied, Israel was ravaged, destroyed, and carried off to Assyria (2 Kings 18:9–12). But this was not to be the end for God’s people in the land, as a return is promised (Hosea 3:5), which was fulfilled when exiled Judah returned from Babylonian captivity.

Hosea culminates with a plea for unfaithful Israel to abandon its idols and return to the Lord. “Break up your fallow ground, for it is the time to seek the Lord, that he may come and rain righteousness upon you” (Hosea 10:12, 14:1-2). God assures them that He is greater than their idols, and He is greater than their failures. His love overshadows their infidelity. His compassion breaks through the darkness of sin and shame, exposing their guilt while promising them a restored future—“They shall return and dwell beneath my shadow” (Hosea 14:7).

It’s ironic that such a depiction of adultery and infidelity ends up contrasting the greatest love story ever known to man—“This is love, not that we loved God, but that he loved us and sent his Son as an atoning sacrifice for our sins” (1 John 4:10). This love has chased after you throughout your entire life, even in your most unlovable moments and most deplorable seasons. This love took the punishment of your sins so that you can be free.

Advent is a time to recognize that the Lord Jesus Christ is coming to rescue us from all of our personal idols. He intends to shatter our altars of hedonism and self-indulgence. He wants to free us from our spiritual apathy and lukewarmness. He wants to break up the fallow ground of our hearts and annihilate our narcissism. No matter how unfaithful you have been—the depth of your shame, or the guilt you bear—God is rewriting your story. It’s a story about His redemptive love, and a story so much bigger than your failures. As He pursues you and reminds you that Christ’s sacrifice on the cross has obliterated your sin and paid your ransom in full, make room for His love this Christmas. Let Jesus liberate you from every infidelity and every idol—every trapping of the world that promises fulfillment while delivering vanity. Make room for your heart to be recaptured by the passion of your first love.

Are you making room for Jesus this Christmas? Think about that as you seek to abide in His love this week.

PRAYER

Dear Lord, my life would look so different apart from your love. Thank you for the advent of your love. This week, help me to reflect more intentionally over how my life has benefitted from of your love and to consider how I can be more practical in sharing that love with others. In Jesus’ name, Amen.

Questions for Reflection, Small Group or Family Discussion:

  1. What qualities do you cherish about the person who loves you most?
  2. How is God’s faithfulness to us an example of the way we should treat others?
  3. What are the “idols” in your life from which you should turn away?
  4. What loyalties, things, or relationships do you need to hand over to God?
  5. How can you show love and acceptance to someone in your network of relationships who might be in desperate need of forgiveness or affirmation?

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Advent Devotions (Week 3): Joy and Rejoicing

Published on by Jimmy Larche

Text: Luke 1:26-56

“Rejoice in the Lord always; again I will say, rejoice.” —Philippians 4:4

The third week of Advent is Joy. Of course, joy and happiness are two different things. Happiness is an emotion that is contingent upon pleasant and conditional circumstances—it is fickle and can be fleeting; joy is the fruit of activating your faith in any given circumstance—good or bad. Joy is a fruit of the Spirit that can be sustained through any and all circumstances when our faith is resting in the Almighty.

The mystery of joy is that we can experience it even in seasons of pain, loss, or fear. This year has been an exceedingly challenging year for our family. We’ve dealt with unique spiritual battles, physical illnesses, and the tragic loss of Cindy’s sister to cancer. We have found that grief doesn’t have to be the absence of joy. Joy can be sustained despite the throes of sorrow and pain, because we know that God has a redemptive plan for our troubles (2 Corinthians 4:17). We grieve over the loss of our dear loved one, but we rejoice in the fact that death has been swallowed up in victory—a cancer-stricken mortal body was overtaken by an immortal and indestructible body (1 Corinthians 15:42-57). The Almighty has conquered the grave and in that we rejoice!

Joy is celebrating when you want to fear and doubt. It’s activating your faith when you want to run and hide. Imagine being in Mary’s shoes that very first Christmas with all those unknowns. You are an unwed teenage girl—a virgin still—and yet it’s been proclaimed by an angel that you are with child. She had so much to fear: the supernatural mysteries of her pregnancy, the implications of giving birth to the son of God, the scandalizing of her name, the potential rejection of her fiancée, the ridicule of her family. But what’s the first thing the angel says in this divine encounter? “Greetings, O favored one, the Lord is with you!”

Don’t miss the etymology of the word “Greetings.” It’s not just code for a casual hello. The Greek verb is chairō and it means “to be cheerful, to be well, to bid farewell or God speed, to hail, or to rejoice.” Gabriel is speaking (declaring) joy into Mary’s circumstances, letting her know that she doesn’t have to serve her fears, but she can trust the Almighty to take care of her; it’s overwhelming in the moment but everything is going to be okay. Joy is the fruit of rejoicing. Rejoicing is not an emotion or feeling; it’s a deliberate act of the will declaring its trust in God’s promises and assurances. It’s what Paul was doing from a prison cell and admonishing us to do in every circumstance (Philippians 4:4-8, 1 Thessalonians 5:16-18).

Mary gets it. She tunes her heart to worship and sings a powerful song of praise in the middle of all her fears, uncertainties, and feelings of aloneness. “My soul magnifies the Lord, and my spirit rejoices in God my Savior,” she sings. It’s a declaration of faith in the One Whose grip will not let her go. Her chorus has at least twelve allusions to Old Testament promises, implying that Mary was well versed in the Scriptures. God’s Word was on her heart and it came out through her song.

During this time of advent, we are reminded that circumstances don’t have to dictate our joy. To rejoice is to abide in Him regardless of our circumstances. We can trust that God is going to come through because He has given us His Word and His faithful résumé. He’s never failed you (Psalm 37:25). As my old friend used to say, “He’s brought you through the ocean, He won’t let you drown in the bathtub.”

We have a choice when it comes to rejoicing. We can choose to focus on all the worries that consume us, or we can choose to focus on the faithfulness of Christ that ultimately consumes all of those fears. We can rejoice in all circumstances! Begin to do that this week by speaking (declaring) joy over your given circumstances, like the angel did with Mary. Do that by tuning your heart to worship God, like Mary did, singing about His faithfulness throughout every generation. This Christmas, may the real joy of Christ overtake you as you choose to abide in His unfailing love and unwavering promises.

PRAYER

Father in heaven, thank you for the gift of your son, Jesus, who came to be the Savior for everyone who trusts in him. Fill our hearts with fresh wonder of what that first Christmas means for us today. Help us to rejoice in all that Jesus has done to save us, and help us to share the great joy of this good news with others you put in our path. In Jesus’ name, Amen.

Questions for Reflection, Small Group or Family Discussion:

  1. Why do you think some people have a heightened sense of joy around Christmas time? (family, festivities, gifts, parties, etc.)
  2. If you had the skill and opportunity, how would you tell the world about a life-changing experience: write a song, publish a book, make a documentary, produce a movie, etc.? Why?
  3. What kind of attitude was apparent in Mary’s response to the angel’s visit and what did Mary’s final statement to Gabriel show about her relationship with God? (Luke 1:38)
  4. What attributes of God are extolled in the first part of Mary’s song? (Luke 1:46-49) How did Mary describe herself in her song? (1:47-48) In what ways can you develop the kind of humble spirit that Mary had?
  5. What correlation does God’s Word factor into our ability to rejoice? In what practical ways can you choose to rejoice this week, regardless of your circumstances? (write out Bible verses on memory cards, have a specific worship playlist, write in your journal, have conversations with others, have each family member share one thing they are trusting God to handle, )

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Advent Devotions (Week 2): Peace and Shalom

Published on by Jimmy Larche

Text: Isaiah 9:1-7, Luke 2:1-20

“You keep him in perfect peace whose mind is stayed on you, because he trusts in you.” —Isaiah 26:3

Christmas is a celebration of God’s faithfulness to His promises—namely the promise of a coming Messiah whose kingdom reign would change everything. Yes, everything! Yet our celebration is often overshadowed by the hustle and bustle of the season and the stress of making everything perfect. Though we sing songs about peace, we often spend the holiday season frantic, frazzled, and devoid of it.

As sure as anything else, God wants you to experience peace this Christmas. He doesn’t want you as panicky as a long-tailed kitty cat in a room full of rocking chairs. The key to living in that peace comes down to the aspect of your focus.

The Hebrew word for peace is shalom. This word occurs over 250 times in the Old Testament. Over the centuries, religious scholars have spilled barrels of ink reflecting on its association and complex meaning. Though our common western definition of peace is something akin to “the absence of conflict or war,” in Hebrew it means so much more. “Shalom” is taken from the root word shalam, which means, “to be safe in mind, body, or estate.” It speaks of completeness, fullness, or a type of wholeness that encourages you to live generously toward others. This is the biblical concept of peace that God promised His people in the looming days before that very first advent of Jesus Christ.

Throughout the Old Testament, God unfolds his redemptive plan for re-establishing His shalom on earth. Through the line of Abraham, God tells His people that they will bless all of humanity. He made “a covenant of peace” with them (Ezekiel 34:24-25) and promised to restore all things by sending a Savior through this lineage. This promised Messiah would be called “Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace” (Isaiah 9:6). This was prophesied about Jesus more than 700 years before his birth.

When we read the Christmas story of Christ’s birth in Luke 2, we find a great multitude of the heavenly host praising God and saying, “Glory to God in the highest heaven, and on earth peace to those on whom his favor rests” (Luke 2:10-14). Christ appeared to usher in a new era of peace with God, and peace with others. Our sins had separated us from our God (Isaiah 59:2), but when Jesus died in our place on Calvary’s cross, he took the punishment those sins deserved (2 Corinthians 5:18-19)—affording us a forever shalom and an eternal peace with God (Romans 5:1).

Christ, the divine embodiment of Shalom, is the only thing that can bring this world true and lasting peace. The Bible says, “Of the greatness of his government and peace there will be no end” (Isaiah 9:7). I think by now we can all agree that human governments and man’s institutions are desperately inadequate to bring about real peace and reconciliation. We need divine help! Scripture tells us that only His peace can break down the walls of enmity and human divide created by our own dogmas, religions, politics, and racial or ethnic differences (Ephesians 2:15–16). God’s kingdom reign ushers in peace that passes understanding (Philippians 4:7). He wants you to live under the government of that peace.

To do that, take refuge in the words of Jesus: “Peace I leave with you; my peace I give you. I do not give to you as the world gives. Do not let your hearts be troubled and do not be afraid” (John 14:27). Focus your eyes and fix your heart on God’s promise: “You keep him in perfect peace whose mind is stayed on you, because he trusts in you” (Isaiah 26:3). Speak peace (shalom) into the lives of others, even over strangers during your Christmas shopping. I like to do this by praying the Aaronic blessing over people (Numbers 6:22–27), or quietly uttering the word “shalom” as I pass by someone. Be an active agent of peace, working with the Holy Spirit in restoring God’s shalom on earth (Matthew 5:9)—we never flesh out this principle more than when we are actively engaged in making peace with those whom we have had past offenses or conflict.

Let’s live in God’s peace, and extend that shalom to others all around us as we actively abide in Him this Christmas season.

PRAYER

Our prayer this advent week is an echo of a shalom-filled petition made by St. Francis of Assisi:

Lord, make me an instrument of your peace. Where there is hatred, let me sow love; Where there is injury, pardon; Where there is doubt, faith; Where there is despair, hope; Where there is darkness, light; and Where there is sadness, joy… Divine Master; Grant that I may not so much seek to be consoled as to console; to be understood as to understand; to be loved as to love; For it is in giving that we receive; it is in pardoning that we are pardoned; and it is in dying that we are born to eternal life. Amen.

Questions for Reflection, Small Group or Family Discussion:

  1. If you could sleep out under the stars anywhere in the world, where would you put down your pillow?
  2. What message did the angel tell the shepherds? (Luke 2:10, 12) How do you think God might translate that message directly toward your circumstances, fears, or worries today?
  3. What does it mean that Mary “treasured up all these things and pondered them in her heart”? What is required to transfer head knowledge about peace into real life experiences with peace?
  4. What is the responsibility of those who “discover” the good news about Jesus and his embodiment of peace?
  5. Where do you need to shift your focus so that you can live in the fullness of God’s shalom this Christmas season?

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