And They Shall Call His Name Immanuel

Posted on December 15, 2013 by Todd D. Nystrom

3^rd Sunday in Advent

Matthew 1:18-23 – Now the birth of Jesus Christ took place in this way. When his mother Mary had been betrothed to Joseph, before they came together she was found to be with child from the Holy Spirit. ¹⁹ And her husband Joseph, being a just man and unwilling to put her to shame, resolved to divorce her quietly. ²⁰ But as he considered these things, behold, an angel of the Lord appeared to him in a dream, saying, “Joseph, son of David, do not fear to take Mary as your wife, for that which is conceived in her is from the Holy Spirit. ²¹ She will bear a son, and you shall call his name Jesus, for he will save his people from their sins.” ²² All this took place to fulfill what the Lord had spoken by the prophet: ²³ “Behold, the virgin shall conceive and bear a son, and they shall call his name Immanuel” (which means, God with us).

El Capitan towers more than 3000 feet over the valley below. Yosemite National Park, California.

Standing in the Yosemite Valley gazing up at the massive granite monolith called El Capitan is an awe inspiring moment, to say the least. For me it is a reminder of just how small and vulnerable we are in this world; but, even more, it is a reminder of just how great and awesome our God truly is. Yet, our God who has all the power and might to create such as this, and even the universe beyond our sight, this is the same God who loved us so much that he sent his only Son down to dwell with us and save us from our sins, “and they shall call his name Immanuel (which means, God with us).”

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Like a Tree Planted by Water

Posted on December 14, 2013 by Todd D. Nystrom

Jeremiah 17:7-8 – “Blessed is the man who trusts in the LORD, whose trust is the LORD. ⁸ He is like a tree planted by water, that sends out its roots by the stream, and does not fear when heat comes, for its leaves remain green, and is not anxious in the year of drought, for it does not cease to bear fruit.”

Sycamore trees along the bank of Caesar Creek. Caesar Creek Gorge State Nature Preserve, Oregonia, Ohio.

The sycamore tree is a common sight along the creeks and rivers here in southwest Ohio. The mature trees are quite beautiful, and also easy to identify, with their smooth, white bark. If you spot a sycamore you can be pretty certain there is a stream nearby.

Just as we find many passages in the Bible where God is glorified by his creation, examples from nature, like today’s passage in Jeremiah, are often used to provide practical illustrations of important scriptural truths. We understand the need that trees have for water, and easily grasp that these sycamores, growing near a stream, will have a sustained source of water even in times of drought.

In the fourth chapter of John’s Gospel we find Jesus speaking to a Samaritan woman beside a well and read of their exchange:

¹⁰ Jesus answered her, “If you knew the gift of God, and who it is that is saying to you, ‘Give me a drink,’ you would have asked him, and he would have given you living water.” ¹¹ The woman said to him, “Sir, you have nothing to draw water with, and the well is deep. Where do you get that living water? ¹² Are you greater than our father Jacob? He gave us the well and drank from it himself, as did his sons and his livestock.” ¹³ Jesus said to her, “Everyone who drinks of this water will be thirsty again, ¹⁴ but whoever drinks of the water that I will give him will never be thirsty again. The water that I will give him will become in him a spring of water welling up to eternal life.” (John 4:10-14)

You see, Christ is the “living water” that carries us through the droughts, the one who helps us flourish even in the difficult times of life. But, if we have not put down our roots by the stream, if we have not put our trust in him, how then will be able to draw upon this “spring of water welling up to eternal life?”

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The Trees of the Forest Sing for Joy

Posted on December 13, 2013 by Todd D. Nystrom

Psalm 96:11-13 – Let the heavens be glad, and let the earth rejoice; let the sea roar, and all that fills it; ¹² let the field exult, and everything in it! Then shall all the trees of the forest sing for joy ¹³ before the LORD, for he comes, for he comes to judge the earth. He will judge the world in righteousness, and the peoples in his faithfulness.

The giant sequoias of Mariposa Grove. Yosemite National Park, California.

I have walked through many forests over the years and have always enjoyed the cathedral like feeling of an old-growth pine forest with little underbrush and a soft carpet of needles. The giant sequoias of Mariposa Grove take that feeling to a whole new level. God’s power and magnificence are clearly on display in this grove of ancient giants!

As with so many of the Psalms, Psalm 96 reminds us once again that all of creation celebrates and glorifies the Lord. The earth rejoices, the sea roars, the fields exult, and “the trees of the forest sing for joy.” What I find most noteworthy about the celebration described in today’s passage, though, is that it is a celebration of God’s judgment. In today’s culture the word judgment often carries a negative connotation. Many equate it with intolerance and bigotry, which is an unfortunate perversion resulting from our fallen and sinful condition. But we all understand and appreciate judgment when we see a criminal punished justly for their crime, don’t we?

The thing we must always remember about God’s judgment, is that it is fully righteous. His punishment meted out for our sins is fully deserved. What we don’t deserve is the forgiveness that God has granted us in grace, through faith, made possible only by the blood Christ shed on the cross. We have done nothing, nor can we, to earn his forgiveness, “for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, and are justified by his grace as a gift, through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus.” (Romans 3:23-24)

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The King of the Ages

Posted on December 12, 2013 by Todd D. Nystrom

1 Timothy 1:17 – To the King of the ages, immortal, invisible, the only God, be honor and glory forever and ever. Amen.

Gray’s Arch towers like a king’s castle over the valley below. Red River Gorge, Slade, Kentucky.

Gray’s Arch in the Red River Gorge has stood for many thousands of years, and may stand a thousand more. In comparison to our span of existence in this world, this wonder of stone is enduring. Many generations have lived and died in the time that this arch has stood, and if the Lord wills, many more will come and go before it one day crumbles to the ground.

While we can marvel at the beauty and timelessness of such a magnificent formation, let us always remember whose magnificent creation this is; let us always remember in whose image we are created. “To the King of the ages, immortal, invisible, the only God, be honor and glory forever and ever. Amen.”

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