This a brief little reminder about the season we are entering in to. May each of your days be filled with longer lasting light!

God proved that He will always be with us by sending His Son and His Holy Spirit. To confirm this, He gave Isaiah a prophecy that a virgin would conceive and this son of hers would bear the title "Immanuel," or God with us. As we observe Christmas time, we focus on the advent of Jesus, the Word of God made flesh. It was to reconcile creation back to the Father and to establish His Kingdom through us. Be blessed and have a merry Christmas season.

References

Isaiah 7:14

Isaiah 9:6

Luke 2:14

Isaiah 53:3-5

John 18:37

Jeremiah 23:6

Luke 17:21

Romans 10:9-10

KJV/NKJV

After Malachi and the return of Israel from Babylon, Heaven fell silent. There was 400 years of seeming silence for the most part. A whispered forthtelling of a birth to an aging priest and a young maiden from Nazareth, but still, silence. Then a darkness-shattering wail of a newborn's cry in Bethlehem brought the season of Heaven's seeming silence to an end. The angels that heralded the Messiah's birth made a profound statement - "Glory to God in the highest and on earth peace, and goodwill toward men." Jesus' birth was a sign of peace and goodwill toward mankind. Glad tidings of great joy for all people.

Luke 2:4-14

Isaiah 9:6

2nd Corinthians 4:8-9

Most Christians don't give Hanukkah a second thought, and while there is no custom or obligation to celebrate it as a Christian, the events surrounding this holiday are prophetic whispers in between the testaments that points to the arrival of the Light of the World. John 10:22 bears witness that this was a celebration and one that involves the bridge between the two time periods of the Bible. Most importantly, it emphasizes God's sustaining power and light in the midst of great darkness.

Exodus 26:35

Luke 4:20

John 10:22-40

KJV

In part 4 with disappointment amidst faith, I want to look at the last question people typically ask - is God silent? Students of His Word will say of course not, that's what His Word is for. We find however, He doesn't just speak through His Word but through His people. As God is in us through the Holy Spirit, the comfort our fellow members of the Church is an extension of God's comfort from God Himself, which includes not only prophetic functions of the Kingdom but simple acts of agape love by mourning with those that mourn, weeping with those that weep, or just being present to listen unjudgingly in a spirit of humbleness.

Resources:

Psalms 138:8

John 10:10

Hebrew 11

1st Peter 1:6-7

Luke 22:31-32

KJV

Yancy, Philip. Disappointment With God: Three Questions No One Asks Aloud. Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan Publishing, 1988.

Following questions asked in Philip Yancey's book on disappointment amidst faith, we look at the second question, is God hidden? Why does God feel distant during fiery trials or during heart-wrenching moments of grief? Let's discover what the Bible says about it together.

Resources:

Romans 8:31-37

Matthew 18:2-4

James 1:3

Romans 5:3-5

Genesis 32:24-28 all KJV

Yancy, Philip. Disappointment With God: Three Questions No One Asks Aloud. Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan Publishing, 1988

In part two in talking about disappointment as related to faith, I discuss a question Philip Yancey asks, and perhaps many of us when things go wrong even if we are trying our best to live right...is God unfair? Seems straight forward, but for those suffering under crushing life circumstances, it can be a question that keeps someone up at night. Let's investigate the truth of this matter.

Resources:

Yancy, Philip. Disappointment With God: Three Questions No One Asks Aloud. Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan Publishing, 1988.

Jesus taught the parable of the wicked vinedressers to illustrate how dogmatic religious beliefs can cause you to miss out on what He truly has for you.

We can have two faith responses to disaster, hardship, and sadness, even when we are praying for the opposite...keep on or give up. What is the response when everything you're believing God for doesn't happen? Those are some situations I've faced in my own life that has called my own perspectives into question. This is the first part of a series I'm planning to do on the podcast. Don't expect answers of why. If God doesn't give them, I certainly can't.

Resources:

Multiple resources from Hebrews 11, KJV.

Yancy, Philip. Disappointment With God: Three Questions No One Asks Aloud. Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan Publishing, 1988.

Sometimes the outcome of faith looks like Red Sea crossings, Jericho walls crumbling, Lazarus being resurrected, three faithful Hebrews walking through the fire with Jesus, Daniel surviving the lions' den, and other notable moments of time in the Bible. But sometimes, it looks like martyrdom, trials, scourging, devastating loss, and wrestling with God while you walk with a limp the rest of your life. The substance of Hebrews 11, the substance of refined faith contains both, good and bad. Whether your experience looks exactly like what you're believing God for or whether you have to let your faith develop in the refiners fire, both instances make up the substance of faith.