All Things New

I just love the feel of new things. Crisp white paper just waiting for words, ideas, and stories to be written. Shiny new shoes to match that new dress. A new book with a spine that's never been cracked open. A new day with the sun just beginning to spread its rays through the window. A new year filled with possibility for adventure, change, and hopes fulfilled.

New things hold promises and expectations. Perhaps we'll write our best work on that piece of paper. Maybe the new shoes and dress will make us feel beautiful. Maybe that new book will answer all our questions. Maybe this new day will be better than yesterday. And maybe, just maybe, this new year will finally be the year when our life turns out the way we have hoped.

Unfortunately, there is often a dark side to "new." More often than not, those new things fail to deliver on their promises. Rather than bringing hope, they only bring disappointment. The new dress that fit perfectly in the store doesn't look quite the same when you get home (why is that by the way?). The new book fails to stimulate the mind or solve problems or is altogether boring. The new day that promised clear skies only darkens with clouds and the rest of the day is rainy and cold.

And what about the new year? We all face a new year with similar hopes and expectations. But a few months in, we often find ourselves disappointed. Our job stays the same. The bills still pile up. Our children still struggle in school. Our crazy schedules keep us from the gym. And the doctor still calls with bad news.

Our Longing for "New"

Our hopeful expectations are not without reason. Deep down, there's a reason we look for new things in the hopes they will make life better. Because deep down, we know that this in not how life is supposed to be. We know life should not be filled with things that break, friendships that hurt, and jobs that are lost. We know that life is supposed to be more. Much more. It's like an echo of a sound made long ago that we hear deep inside our bones. It's a stirring in our soul that the writer to the Ecclesiastes describes as "eternity in the human heart" (3:11).

We were made for something more than this world. We were created for eternity. It is this longing for the joy and perfections of eternity that makes us long for all that's new and better. The problem is that we try to find eternity here on earth. We try to find our hope in new things in this life. But what we long for deep in our heart will never be found in new houses, new friendships, new churches, or new shoes. What we are searching for is not found in new things, new days, or even new years.

It's found in a person: Jesus Christ.

Christ Makes All Things New

Our longing for eternity, for things to be made right, is found in Christ. Our search for  hope, meaning, purpose, and significance is found in him alone. And that desperate desire for life to work and make sense can only be fulfilled in Christ. Everything else pales in comparison. Everything else is a counterfeit. A substitute. An idol. We were made to love, worship, and be in communion with Christ and nothing else will suffice. Everything else will disappoint and fail to deliver.  

That is why he came to earth. Our Savior emptied himself, took on flesh, lived a sinless life in this broken world, and gave himself to redeem us from our sins so that we could be reunited with him. Through faith in his work on the cross for us, we get the "new" that we really need. We get the "new" that changes things. We are made new through the work of his Spirit in us.

2 Corinthians 5:17 tells us, "Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation. The old has passed away; behold, the new has come." Romans 6:4 says, "We were buried therefore with him by baptism into death, in order that, just as Christ was raised from the dead by the glory of the Father, we too might walk in newness of life." The "new" that we've longed for is happening not outside of us, but in us. 

And one day our Lord will return and make all things new. Permanently. Not the new that we are used to where after one day on the street our new shoes are scratched and worn--but completely new. "And I heard a loud voice from the throne saying, “Look! God’s dwelling place is now among the people, and he will dwell with them. They will be his people, and God himself will be with them and be their God. ‘He will wipe every tear from their eyes. There will be no more death or mourning or crying or pain, for the old order of things has passed away.” He who was seated on the throne said, “I am making everything new!” Then he said, “Write this down, for these words are trustworthy and true.” (Revelation 21:3-5)

On that day our faith will be sight. The longing for eternity will no longer be a faint echo but a reality. All things will be made right and new and we'll be with our Savior forever. That's the "new" we need to focus on this new year. Whatever our plans or hopes for this new year, may they all remind us and point us to the "new" that we have in Christ and the "new" that is still to come. 

When You're Looking for Home This Christmas

Walk through any store, restaurant, or other business establishment this time of year and you'll hear songs like, "I'll Be Home for Christmas" and "(There's No Place Like) Home for the Holidays." Thoughts of home are on everyone's mind as they plan and prepare to be with family, purchase gifts for loved ones, and gussy up their homes for guests this Christmas.

But for some, home doesn't conjure up warm thoughts of hot chocolate by the fire and presents under the tree. Maybe home is not a place of peace and comfort. Maybe they can't go see their loved ones this year. Maybe they've lost their loved ones. Or maybe they've never found a place to call home.

Longing for Home

We all have a desire for a place to call home. We all search for home. And not just for the holidays. We are always seeking a place to belong, a place to rest, a place of refuge and safety. Some of us will spend our entire lives searching for home and often in all the wrong places. Some will think they have found it, only to have it snatched out from underneath them. For others, home will always be elusive and seem just out of reach.

...to read the rest of this post, visit True Woman, my writing home today.

The Jesus of Advent

Walk into any store or business establishment this time of year and you'll hear the familiar sound of Christmas carols. I was out shopping one day with my children and we heard the Christmas hymn, Joy to the World, playing from the store's loudspeaker.

My son turned to me and asked: 

"Mom, why are all the stores playing Christmas music about Jesus if they don't believe in him?"

Good question.

What Jesus?

These weeks leading up to Christmas Day are known among Christians as Advent. The word Advent means arrival or coming. These weeks are meant to be a time of preparation as we anticipate celebrating the arrival of Immanuel, Jesus the Christ. During Advent, we focus our hearts on who he is and what he came to do.

The question is, what Jesus are we waiting for? What Jesus are we spending these weeks anticipating?..to read the rest of this post, visit For the Family, my writing home today.

Book Review: The Ology

This semester in homeschool, we've started a new thing that I call "Theological Truth Thursday." During our Bible time on Thursday mornings, I teach my children a theological term. They write it down, along with the definition, and we discuss its meaning and significance to our faith. We've discussed words like theology, omniscience, and justification. 

Recently I had the opportunity to review a new children's book called The Ology. It has been a perfect addition to what I am trying to accomplish with Theological Truth Thursday. This book is one of those books that families will read over and over and with one child to the next. 

The Ology: Ancient Truths, Ever New

By Marty Machowski

The Ology: Ancient Truths, Ever New is a picture book, written by Marty Machowski. You may be familiar with his other children's books, Long Story Short: Ten-Minute Devotions to Draw Your Family to God and Old Story New: Ten-Minute Devotions to Draw Your Family to God. The Ology teaches children foundational theological truths in simple terms and in short chapters.

It begins with the story of a young boy and girl exploring around the cellar of an old church. They stumble across a book called The Ology. It is a long-forgotten book written for children to understand deep truths about God. They open its pages and begin reading the first chapter titled, "God Always Was and Always Will Be." 

Each chapter is one to three pages long and provides basic instruction in theological truths of the Christian faith.  There are seventy-one chapters in all, divided into eleven sections. Some of the sections include: The Ology of Sin, The Ology of Christ, The Ology of the Church, and The Ology of God's Word. 

From a chapter discussing God's holiness:

"Is it possible to get close enough to the sun to scoop out a sample to bring home in a jar? Of course not, the sun's surface is so hot is would burn you up before you even got close. While we know we can't touch the sun, a lot of folks don't understand that God's holy light--his glory and holiness--shines brighter than the sun. Just like we can't touch the sun, sinful people, still under judgment, can't get near to our holy God" (p.85).

This beautifully illustrated book is intended to be used with children both in elementary school and in older grades as well. There is a parent guide with helpful suggestions for how to use the book with both young and older children. For older children, there are Bible passages provided in each chapter for further reading and study. There are discussion questions for each chapter at the end of the book as well. Each theological truth is explained using examples and illustrations that children understand. The images are engaging and pertinent to the chapter, but not distracting. 

I do wish that the author had incorporated more of the terms we use for the theological concepts he describes. While he does define words such as "atonement" and "sanctification" he doesn't use terms like omnipotence or omnipresence when he describes God as all-powerful and that he is everywhere.  

The Ology: Ancient Truths, Ever New is a wonderful new discipleship tool for parents to use in training their children in the "Ology" of God and his word. If you've been searching for a new devotional for your family, this is one book you'll want to add to your library and read with your children multiple times as they grow.

Disclaimer: I received this book for free in exchange for my review. The thoughts and opinions are my own. This post may also contain Amazon Affiliate links.

My Prayer for You This Advent

"An angel of the Lord appeared to Joseph in a dream and said, “She will bear a son, and you shall call his name Jesus, for he will save his people from their sins.” All this took place to fulfill what the Lord had spoken by the prophet: 'Behold, the virgin shall conceive and bear a son, and they shall call his name Immanuel' (which means, God with us)” (Matthew 1:21-23).

This is the season of Advent, a particular time Christians set aside to dwell on the birth of our Savior. During the weeks leading up to Christmas, we take time to focus on the prophecies fulfilled in Jesus' birth, the wonders of the incarnation, and the purpose for his coming. 

Christmas is often a hectic season, one in which we get caught up in what is expected of us this time of year. We go from one event to another, wrap present after present, and bake all manner of pies and cookies, only to end up stressed and spent, missing the Christ-babe all together.

My prayer for you this Advent, my friends, is that you would take time to set aside the to-lists and ponder in your heart what it means that God became flesh and made his dwelling among us. I pray that you might seek to understand and grasp the significance of a baby wrapped in swaddling cloths, lying in a humble feeding trough. I pray that you might embrace with renewed wonder the woven pieces that make up the tapestry of God's story of redemption, culminating in the birth of Jesus the Christ.

May you spend time considering this Immanuel, the one Paul describes in Colossians 1 as: “He is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn of all creation. For by him all things were created, in heaven and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or dominions or rulers or authorities—all things were created through him and for him. And he is before all things, and in him all things hold together. And he is the head of the body, the church. He is the beginning, the firstborn from the dead, that in everything he might be preeminent. For in him all the fullness of God was pleased to dwell, and through him to reconcile to himself all things, whether on earth or in heaven, making peace by the blood of his cross” (vs. 15-20).

Immanuel did not come to remain as a baby. He came to fulfill a purpose. He came to earth so that we could be restored back into right relationship with our Maker. So Immanuel left that feeding trough, grew into a man, faced the trials and temptations of this life without sin, and then died upon the cross in our place. In conquering sin and death, he rose from the dead, ascended into heaven, and then sent his Spirit to make his home within us. As Paul Tripp notes, “the whole redemptive story marches toward Immanuel, the Redeemer who would destroy sin’s dominion in our hearts by making our hearts the place where he, in his power, wisdom, and glory, would dwell.” (in Whiter Than Snow: Meditations on Sin and Mercy  p.103)

I pray that we would all pause in stillness this Advent. May we cast aside the season's distractions and ponder as Mary did the wonder of a child born to save. May we rejoice that the Creator of the universe, the one who flung the stars in the sky and by whose word everything exists made a way to redeem us and live within us--through this Immanuel, Jesus, the Son of God.

Immanuel has come. He is with us. And for those he has redeemed, he has made his home in us. My prayer for you and for me is that this Advent season would draw us into deeper understanding of who Immanuel is and what he has done.

Merry Christmas to you and yours!

"Mighty God (Is. 9:6) is the name of this child. The child in the manger is none other than God himself. Nothing greater can be said: God became a child. In the Jesus child of Mary lives the almighty God. Wait a minute! Don't speak; stop thinking! Stand still before this statement! God became a child! Here he is, poor like us, miserable and helpless like us, a person of flesh and blood like us, our brother. And yet he is God; he is might. Where is the divinity, where is the might of the child? In the divine love in which he became like us. His poverty in the manger in his might. In the might of love he overcomes the chasm between God and humankind, he overcomes sin and death, he forgives sin and awakens from the dead. Kneel down before this miserable manger, before this child of poor people, and repeat in faith the stammering words of the prophet: "Mighty God!" And he will be your God and your might." --Dietrich Bonhoeffer

Advent Activity: The Names Of Jesus

Do you have any favorite Christmas traditions from when you were a child? Perhaps it was going together as a family to pick out the perfect tree. Maybe it was the cookies you baked together with your mom. These traditions are important to us because they provide us an anchor and  connection to our family. Traditions tie a family together and give all of us a sense of belonging.

In the Bible, traditions were important to God's people. God instructed them to celebrate certain feasts and festivals each year. These events were to be used to reflect on and remind God's people of all God had done for them. Parents were instructed to use these festivals to teach their children about God and his faithfulness toward His people.

"This is a day you are to commemorate; for the generations to come you shall celebrate it as a festival to the Lord—a lasting ordinance...And when your children ask you, ‘What does this ceremony mean to you?’ then tell them, ‘It is the Passover sacrifice to the Lord, who passed over the houses of the Israelites in Egypt and spared our homes when he struck down the Egyptians.’” Exodus 12: 14, 26-27

For Christians, traditions are important as well. As Noel Piper wrote in her book Treasuring God in Our Traditions, "The things we do regularly that help us in our deepest being to know and love and want God, the things that help our lives to be infiltrated with God--those things are traditions. And then if there are children in our lives, to pass these God-focused activities to the next generation--that's what tradition is for a Christian" (p.25).

Christmas is an opportune time for Christian parents to "pass these God-focused activities to the next generation." To read the rest of this post, visit For the Family, my writing home today.

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