Come, Let Us Adore Him

 

I don't know what went through your mind when your read the title.  Maybe you tapped on this article out of curiosity.  Maybe there was a hint of cynicism as you think that sounds musical and like a peaceful scene and your heart feels far from peaceful and to worship sounds excruciating.  Or maybe you chose to read this because, you too, found that adoration and worship isn't limited to the peaceful and good scenes in your life.  Worship and adoration are the wind in our sails, the doorway that opens up to peace, and the anchor to our soul as we hold the realities of hardship, grief, lament along with hope and faith.

It's easy to paint the scene of the nativity with calm and peace. Amidst the peace and calm that was present the night Jesus was born, there was also the reality that there was no room in an inn where comfort would have been for Mary to birth Jesus. Disappointment. There was the reality that the barn stinks, odors of the cattle, smells of the hay and dung. Not perfect or pleasant. The shepherds who came, came from the hillside.  They came from work, as they were.  No curated attire or taking the time to look-just-right.

"A Saviour was born", announced the angel.  The shepherds received the message and said, "Let us go straight to Bethlehem and see this thing that has happened.  Let us go see what the Lord has made known to us."  They went.  They went in a hurry, with haste, very likely leaving behind the flock of sheep on the hillside.  They ran to the stable and worshipped.  They worshipped the infant, giving Him the gift of adoration right in the middle of life and all that it held.  The mundane of work, the smells, the treatment of the Romans on their minds were laid down as they worshipped the Saviour, the One who came, the One who was promised to them ages ago.  

Jesus, the One who came, is now here after 400 years of not hearing from any prophet or priest.

The truth of worship and adoration is that hardship, stinky smells, and pain aren't annulled.  Remembering who God is and praising Him and giving thanks to Him, is the air to our lungs and changes the posture of our heart to receive Him. 

The stinky barn smells become the aroma of holy ground.  In the middle of disappointments and pain, peace smiles as we learn to know the Prince of Peace.  

Life holds the both/and.  Jesus' coming did not erase pain and hardship.  In many ways, it intensified it as light collided with darkness.  Jesus' coming contains the promise that the serpent, Satan would be defeated some day and that does not go without a fight, a battle.

We, too, can come to worship and adore Him, just as we are.  We come with our pain, the disappointments, and the realities that are, oh so real and give thanks for Jesus as our Comforter.  He is the Prince of Peace that calms our hearts within the storm or calms the storm.  We camp under His wings and find a refuge. We come because we choose to learn to trust the One who came.  We come and peace pervades.  The Greek word for peace is eirene meaning peace, rest, quietness, set at one again.

Satan was defeated at the resurrection but not destroyed forever.  Today we are still in this battle between light and darkness, pain and hope, control and trust.  Our worship and adoration is the posture for victory and peace.

Jesus came to set us at one with Himself, not the world around us.  We can have a quietness within our hearts, even in the most unpleasant circumstances.  When we worship and adore Jesus because of who He is, it becomes the doorway for peace to envelope our heart and mind.  He is the Door, the Way, the Truth, and the Life.

Come.  Let us adore Him.

Come, is the continual invitation of Jesus, the One who came.

Come, as you are, with all that you hold within your heart and mind.

Come and worship the One who came. For you.

When Peace on Earth Doesn't Look or Feel Like Peace on Earth

There's a piece of this Christmas, birth story of Jesus that is a bit unsettling and one that the answers lay shrouded. 

We talk of peace on earth, and rightly so. The angels said, "Glory to God in the Highest and on earth peace among men." Luke 2:14 

What do we do with the result of Herod's reaction to feeling threatened? When he discovered he was duped by the wise men, he was worried that a young boy would take his throne so he had the little boys three and under killed. 

Little ones lost their lives in the wake of Jesus' earthly arrival. 

Peace on earth? That doesn't sound like peace. 

We too, have things that happen that make no sense and we question the way of Jesus and what He is doing.  We experience the loss of our loved ones.  Rejection, trauma, and disappointments leave their mark.  In the wake of men and women's fears, death and evil happens. 

What do we do with all this?

What happens to us, may leave us wailing and with more questions than clarity. 

But the greatest truth above any darkness is that in the darkness Jesus came. Peace came and still comes because Peace is a Person.

He wants us to know Him for who He is more than what He does and what happens to us.  He wants to show us more of Himself.  So often we turn away.  The pain can be so great and the questions so tumultuous that in our human way of processing we can't make sense of it.  We have a hard time connecting Jesus to the painfilled situation.

Learning to trust Jesus is a journey and process but it is what He wants us to learn, even in the darkness and when things don't make sense.   He sees perfectly and understands the truest form and way to life. 

Those mothers who wailed those nights long ago - I wonder what they would tell us if we could ask them about the night they lost their sons?  What would they say to a heart holding grief that feels so unbearable?

For me, for you - He is still Immanuel, with us in whatever we walk through - the fire, the waters, with us in the pain and He wants us to know who He is.

Redeemer. Comforter. Counselor. Guide. And so much more. 

Who is He to you, right now, in whatever you are facing and walking through?  Maybe all you can cry out is, " Lord, help my unbelief." That's okay.  That's the cry of faith that God wants to answer - learning to trust Him when it's the hardest to do so. 

John 14:27 - "Peace I leave with you; My peace I give to you; not as the world gives do I give to you.  Do not let your heart be troubled, nor let it be fearful."

Philippians 4:7 - And the peace of God, which surpasses all comprehension, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.

Peace, As the World Gives or As Jesus Gives?

Peace.  Peace I leave with you, My peace I give unto you; not as the world giveth, give I unto you... Let not your heart be troubled, neither let it be afraid (nor let it be fearful) John 14:27

Peace of God which passeth all understanding...  Philippians 4:7

Peace.
What is peace, anyway?

Is it when all the house is put in order, clean and toys put away?
Is it when the children are playing nicely and getting along with each other?
Is it when relationships are connecting and we get each other?
Is it when someone sees a need and meets it, we feel peace?
Is it when we are getting our things done in a timely manner?

But what if that is not what is reality?
What if all feels chaotic and stormy?
The children call for me, ONE MORE TIME.
The boys fight.  One tattles on another.
The phone rings, there's another meal to make...
I get mad...
Peace??

What does Jesus mean when He says "Peace, I leave with you, not as the world giveth?" or a Peace of Mine which passes understanding?

That doesn't give me the picture that all is going smoothly and in order.

So, my question is, what does peace really mean in the eyes of Jesus.

Jesus often said as He was with the disciples, "Peace, be still."  The storm was raging, the air boistrous, people were afraid and when Jesus was present, He commanded peace.

I remember one morning as I was filling in for a teacher at school, we were singing and the teacher leading the songs led a song taken from John 14 - Peace I leave with you... not as the world giveth, give I you..; and I, being right smack dab in the middle of a painful and disappointing relationship struggle was struck with that phrase - not as the world giveth, give I you...

PEACE.

Mr. Webster defines peace as -1) freedom from disagreement or quarrels, harmony, serenity, law and order 2) freedom from wars, a treat or an agreement to end a war, make one's peace, reconciliation, end hostilities, settle arguments 3) peace of mind - calm, quiet 4) hold one's peace, silence.

Looking at this definition -points 1&3; would seem like yes, it's when the house is all in order and relationships are connecting that we have peace. (I will look at #2 in another post)
The world's peace is where all is in order and I have it all under control. It's a peace where life feels good.

But Jesus tells us He is giving a peace that is different.
In John 16:33 He tells us "In the world there is conflict; but IN ME there is peace."

In Jesus!  Did you get that?!  In Jesus there is peace. HE IS PEACE.

When we know WHOSE we are (right in the middle of the storm or battle) we can have peace, because we HAVE JESUS!

Isaiah 26:3, "Thou wilt keep him in PERFECT PEACE whose MIND is STAYED ON THEE, because he TRUSTED IN THEE."

Matthew 14:22-32
When Peter said, "Lord, if it's You, let me walk on the water"...  As long as he was focused on Jesus, right in the middle of the storm, HE WALKED.   The minute he took his eyes off of Jesus and looked at the storm, he began to sink.
When we focus on Jesus, the storm takes a back seat, and we are confident in Him.

That's Jesus' peace.  Jesus is giving us Himself.  He is Peace.

We take our pain, our storm, our disappointments and failures to Jesus; laying them at His feet and fixing our eyes on Him.  He brings perspective and calm to our hearts as we trust Him and choose to believe His heart is good intended towards us.  He gives us, HIMSELF.

He, Who is strong enough.
He, Who is big enough.
He, Who loves us much.
He.  Himself.  His grace.  His strength.  Himself.

That is a peace which passes ALL understanding.
- Peter walking on stormy waters.
- Rest in the spirit, while a relationship continues to hurt.
- Forgiveness to the one who has hurt us.
- Calmness and perspective in the middle of busyness.

Because we know who we are in Him.
  Do you know who you are in Jesus?

Jesus defines us with His Love.
In Him we are loved, accepted and belong!  And when that grips our hearts, we can 'walk' on the stormy waters of rejection, chaos, brokenness.  THEY DO NOT NEED TO DEFINE US!
GOD DOES!!!
Having said that, I am not saying it doesn't hurt or that we glibly go along in life; I'm saying that pain should not define us, it should be a stepping stone to Jesus. A gateway to sitting at His feet and learning more of Him.

Sometimes we feel more like the disciples in Mark 4:38-39 ...
As the disciples were rowing, Jesus was sleeping and a storm came up.  The waves were high and filling the boat with water.  The disciples panicked and Jesus continued to sleep.  Finally, they could take it no longer and woke Jesus up shouting,  Master, Teacher, don't you care that we're going to drown?

Jesus awoke, stood up and rebuked the wind, "Peace, be still."  The wind stopped and there was a great calm.

Then Jesus turns to the disciples  and asks them, "Why are you afraid? Do you still have no faith?"

With Jesus in the boat, He would've taken care of the disciples, it just wasn't looking like they wanted it to.

I believe Jesus wanted them to trust Him, to ride the storm with peace in their heart, because Peace was with them.  They forgot that.  Or maybe they didn't understand Jesus yet...  because it says the disciples were terrified, "Who is this Man?  even the wind and waves obey Him"

We have this story to remind us to ride with Jesus, trusting that He will save us in His way.  Trusting that He does notice our storm, even though it may feel like He is sleeping (Psalm 121:3-4 says He never slumbers nor sleep)

The Peace of Jesus often doesn't look like we want it to ...
but may our storm cause us to ask Him to show us His Greater Truth and shed His Light of Truth on our pain or battle.

The peace of Jesus is not a calm life; but a life who Jesus calms in the midst of storm and battle. - Judith Lapp