Mary, Did You Know?
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This song blows me away!
The awesomeness of our Lord, the God-Man Jesus Christ, the Son of God...the great I AM! And yet Son of Man.
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4th Week of Advent: I Wonder as I Wander
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My friend Penny is a walker (a very serious, fast walker, by the way). But Penny doesn't just walk for exercise, she also "walks" closely with the Lord. So when Penny shares, I listen. And when she shared about a favorite Christmas carol, it made me take notice. Why? Because while walking, Penny has been doing what this song describes.
Read MoreAdvent Devotions: Hail, the Incarnate Deity!
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We would give up everything we've ever written to have penned this one verse, a stanza that comes as close as is humanly possible to capturing the splendor of who Jesus is.
Jesus Manifesto: Restoring the Supremacy and Sovereignty of Jesus Christ, by Leonard Sweet & Frank Viola, p. 173-174
What is that one verse? that one stanza? Authors Sweet & Viola are referring to the last stanza of the well-known carol, Hark, the Herald Angels Sing.
In my opinion, however, it isn't just the last stanza that is all glorious with the splendor of Christ...it's the entire song. In fact, even the stanzas that were removed* from the older version are splendid indeed. But I'm getting ahead of the story.
Read MoreAdvent Devotions: Us with GOD
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A few Advents ago, I met a new-to-me British author, Tim Chester, through his Advent devotional The One True Light. I’ve loved this little volume that has led me year by year through the first eighteen verses of the Gospel of John.
Well, this year I discovered his other two Advent books: The One True Gift (On Philippians, chapter 2) and The One True Story (on the story of Christ through the Old Testament to Jesus’ Coming). So this year, each Advent day finds me meditating through all three, each one in turn.
The books are not coordinated, but one day in reading all three, a thread grabbed and entwined me in an amazing truth: Jesus is not only Emmanuel, God with Us; He is also Emmanuel, Us with God!
Read More3rd Week of Advent: EMMANUEL, Our God is WITH Us
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If ever we needed to know God is WITH us in every possible way, it's NOW, after another year of the unanswerable "why's" of life. We struggle to make sense of all the suffering, loss, confusion and conflict of this world-wide pandemic that isn’t over yet.
Read MoreThe Mega-JOY of Emmanuel
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Joy is the flag that flies over the soul when the King is in residence!
Chuck Swindoll
Years ago, I was leading a small group of ladies through Paul's letter to the Galatians. In chapter 5, we came to a familiar passage:
The fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness,and self control. Galatians 5:22-23
Julie was in that small group that year, and Julie was from Great Britain. I asked her about Chuck's metaphor. She assured me that it was true. When royalty is in residence at the palace, the flag flies. It's the signal to the "subjects" that their monarch is present.
Read MoreReflections on Emmanuel, God WITH Us
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Emmanuel…a Christmas Reading
by Kathy Compton
Christmas means different things to different people. For some, it is a difficult holiday because of memories that are cherished…but they are just memories now.
There is an emptiness about Christmas.
For some, it is the delight of family and friends, of decorations and cards, of cookies and carols. There is a fullness about Christmas.
Read More2nd Week of Advent: the Really Good News -- GOD with US!
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"The Good News isn't just that Jesus died for our sins. The Good News is EMMANUEL...GOD WITH US!" So declared Deb at the end of our Bible Study.
As John and I drove home that evening, we reflected on her statement. We recalled a conversation we had had years before when we were discussing what the heart of the gospel ("Good News") is. The Good News isn't just that our sins are forgiven so we can go to heaven someday (and now we just do the best we can in the meantime).
Read MoreOf the Father's Love Begotten ... Emmanuel
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For the past several years, I have been following an Advent devotional by a British author Tim Chester. One of the unique things that the author does is quote some “unknown to me” hymns and carols. However, the other day I recognized the final lines of each stanza in the quoted hymn of the day. Sure enough! I had been listening to that very carol each year on an old Christmas CD in our collection.
Read MoreAdvent Devotions: the WITH-ness of our God {from nearness to oneness}
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Jesus Christ the Son of God became one with us, so that we could be one with Him!
This glorious truth is at the heart of the Incarnation. God became one of us! One with us! Why? So that we could experience union with God.
And that takes us back to our 3 Greek prepositions for with: (see previous post: The WITH-ness of our God (prepositions):
- para, meaning beside, nearby, in the immediate vicinity or proximity, alongside
- meta, meaning with, in close association with, in companionship with
- sun, meaning together in intimate union, inseparable from
Advent Devotions: the WITH-ness of our God {His Presence in prepositions}
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Isn't it wonderful when someone wants to spend time with us? Not just a token, obligatory, "showing up" to either fulfill an obligation, salve guilt, or ask for something...a real wanting to be with us.
As special as it is in human relationships, think how amazing it is when we realize that the Sovereign God of the universe has wanted to be with us! Yes, US! and according to the Bible words used, we see that in Jesus, our Emmanuel, He is with us on every level possible.
In the original language of the New Testament, there are three Greek words that can be translated with.
Read More1st Week of Advent: O Come, O Come, Immanuel
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When I was a child, I always loved Advent. There was a melancholia, a longing...but mixed at the same time with anticipation and hope. How did I get all that as a child? I'm sure I didn't, except to say that maybe all the sights and sounds and smells...all the scriptures and songs and prayers and stories of the "liturgical celebration" weren't entirely lost on me, nor on many of you. The reality of our God-Man Jesus has grown in me over the years as I've walked and talked with my Savior.
But whether you have had that sort of background as a child or not, why not journey with us these next weeks. Take it all in as if for the first time...all the sights, sounds, and smells...all the scriptures and songs and prayers and stories.
Read MoreGetting Ready for Advent
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Hi friends,
Reflect with us here at A Branch in the Vine on the God who became one of us ... not just to save, sanctify, and bring us into His glory (as crucial as that is), but also to experience humanness with His beloved creatures.
Immanuel, God WITH Us ... in every possible way.
Read MoreThe Devil Hates Marriage, Every Day of Every Year
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John and I have been married 49 years today, and I have just now come to the realization . . . no, the revelation by the Holy Spirit . . .
The DEVIL hates marriage . . . our marriage!
And why is that?
Because marriage is a picture of the oneness we experience with Christ the true Lover of our souls. And the evil one loves to mar God’s pictures.
Read MoreThanks-Giving
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Thanksgiving will not be the same for most of us this year. And even the thought of it causes us pain. But a friend reminded me of this song of thanksgiving the other day. And so I decided to rest and plant myself here, acknowledging HIM. I’m letting my heart and mind well up with gratitude for all HIS benefits … no matter what is going on around me (or not going on but “should” be).
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Invited to the Dance -- Perichoresis
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Do you remember prom days in your life? The beauty! The excitement! The “romance” of it all! Rarely does it measure up to all our anticipation, and yet there is something about the dance that draws us in, doesn’t it.
As you may recall from my last blog post, the image of the dance is my favorite metaphor for the life of faith. When I said YES to the LOVER of my Soul, I became one with Him. I accepted His invitation to the dance of all dances … one that will never end and one that is all about Love.
Read MoreThe Dance of FAITH: Moving with His Life-giving Flow
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A few years ago, my husband and I were at some friends’ house. This couple liked to gather miscellaneous people who knew them but not each other. True to form, they asked a great icebreaker question. The particular question that evening was,
If you could do anything other than what you currently do, what would that be? Your secret ambition?
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A Time to Heal . . .Individually and Nationally
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Moving on humbly and prayerfully …
For everything there is a season,
a time for every activity under heaven.
. . . a time to heal…
Read MoreLiving as Abba's Child (a Bible Study in 1 John)
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Years ago, when a friend had lost her last remaining parent, she said to me, “Now I feel like an orphan!” I’ve thought about her statement over the years and come to realize that we believers usually live like spiritual orphans. We live as if we don’t have a Father Who tenderly loves and cares for us. We live as orphans in a scary world. But His heart is that we would live as His children in union with Him in His Son.
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