Immanuel

The Promise:

"Therefore the Lord himself will give you a sign: The virgin will be with child and will give birth to a son, and will call him Immanuel" Isaiah 7:14

The Answer:

The virgin will be with child and will give birth to a son, and they will call him Immanuel"--which means, "God with us." Matthew 1:23

During this Christmas season I am reminded just how much we need a Savior that will be "with us." Each and every one of us need to know that God will draw close, closer than our breath and desire to hold us tight.

There is not one of us that escapes this need. If we do not recognize this need then we are doomed to merely live in a place of survival. We can only see to the end of this day. Yet, with the knowledge that God is "with us," then we are able to live beyond today into the hope of tomorrow. Our hope does not disappoint us. For if we are unable to stand in faith then we are unable to stand at all. That turns us into mere shells of a person. Recently, when talking to a Mom from the city she said very eloquently, "There are plenty of places out there that will help me get through today. You are the only people I know who show me that there is a tomorrow. You show me how to have hope. You care that my kids have a future. That is what matters."

The only hope that I have to offer is the one that tells us that God draws near. For us to wrap our arms tight and not let go. That he came to earth so that He could touch us completely. He came to be with us.

During this season it can hurt to hear the kids from the city talk. In a country of excess you listen to conversations where children get excited at the thought that there might be a present under the tree. Not more than one, I hope there will be SOMETHING, is what they talk about. When other kids are talking about "what" there will be, these children talk about "if" there will be. One Mom told us,"I told my kids if you wake up on Christmas morning and the lights are still on and you are able to arise from your bed then this is your gift. Anything else, well that is just extra."

When we are living in this place then it is not a new "thing," that will change anything. What we need at the depths of our being is the deep knowledge that someone cares. That is simply offered in the hope of Christmas, Jesus. Immanuel. God is with us. He is not only with us at Christmas, but always.

On Saturday, Urban Youth Impact will give away over 5,000 toys to families of the city. This will help that Mom with the "extra." Really though, it is an extension of hope. It is handing out Jesus to the people. We are saying, "He is here with us." Not just today, but every day of the year. That is the reality of a promise fulfilled.

Take Care of Me...

For the last week I have been away. It was a trip to a place where you feel as if you are living in a dream. Walking in slow motion one can not even begin to understand the magnitude of what is going on.

In Massachusetts visiting family I had a stomach flu, endured an ice storm, almost had a tree fall into the room where I was staying, barely avoided a bad car accident due to a fallen tree and was without electricity in freezing weather for 4 days. My family there are still without power as of today, and are hunkering down for even more. These were the highlights of my trip.

Traveling with my 9 year old daughter I know it was not the trip that she had hoped for either. It seemed at each turn as if something went wrong and then got worse. However, as a Mom I felt like my job was to insulate her from how bad I percieved it really was and constantly stood in a place of trying to show her the bright side of the situation. It worked. In the airport on our way home she sobbed for having to leave. As I consoled her I was bewildered as to how she could take so much away from such a trip.

This is when I was struck by the 23rd Psalm and the truth of it:

"A psalm of David. The LORD is my shepherd; I have everything I need.
He lets me rest in green meadows; he leads me beside peaceful streams.
He renews my strength. He guides me along right paths, bringing honor to his name.
Even when I walk through the dark valley of death, the darkest valley. I will not be afraid, for you are close beside me. Your rod and your staff protect and comfort me.
You prepare a feast for me in the presence of my enemies. You welcome me as a guest, anointing my head with oil. My cup overflows with blessings.
Surely your goodness and unfailing love will pursue me all the days of my life, and I will live in the house of the LORD forever."

With the Lord by my side I have everything I need. Even when I feel as if the world is crumbling around me, He remains in control. No not merely, of the situation, but of me, for me. In darkest of nights His longing is walk with me protecting me, insulating me from all that destroys.

There will never be a promise that I will avoid the valley of death. Instead I am told that I will walk through it. Yet, there is someone close at hand to protect me.

As I look back on this past week at any point the Lord could have called me home. I am not exagerating. Instead He held me to His side in grand protection. He must not be quite finished with me yet...

It all began...

It all began 13 years ago when I first opened my eyes. Walking into a house that was cluttered and grimy. The furniture was cracked and the people who lived there broken. Heads in hands as we sat together and talked of the future. Blankly staring back at me, an empty soul that had given up on a "future" long ago. I saw the face of despair.

One day when I was 24, a 10 year old sitting next to me on the way to Bible Study declared, "You're the same age as my Mom!" Calculating in my brain, I wondered what kind of Mom I would have been at 14 years old?

Then came the times when the kids in the program desperately wanted me to buy them birthday presents. Some just wanted my love, others I found had never blown the candles out on a birthday cake.

Christmas came around in the city and the push came for gifts for our families. Discussion after discussion of children who had never had a Christmas tree. There was no joy on Christmas morning. No wonder at the birth of our Savior. Children who take their gift and open it alone in their room. The true "meaning of the season" never even thought of for the weight of one more day when there was not enough to go around.

So it began to bubble. For I began to move from being a foreigner in a foreign land. Blinking twice, three times now I could see. The other side. That people beg and steal when all pride is gone. Desperation tears apart a person. Options that would never cross my mind like selling drugs or worse my body seem to be the only choice. A sense of one person giving what they have to help all in a community get by. While at the same time turning blindly when someone needs help.

Hope put aside makes your heart sick. This was the portrait of a heart riddled with disease.

Then is churned. I understood why Christ stood to the side and made a plan. It churned within His heart also. He saw the temple corrupted and so he made a whip. He stood to the side and came up with a plan. (John 2) Then He went in and used the whip and allowed the "Zeal for the Lord's house to consume." The anger was there. It was not wishy washy. It was not rash. It was righteous and it was put to action.

The decision has been made. I can bear it no longer. Pure religion is widows and orphans and staying unpolluted by the world. If our focus is on the things of Christ then how can we not notice.

Once I believed the answer was change one child at a time. Now I know differently. The fire has seeped deep into my bones. One child at a time, one family at a time, one community at a time, then one city at a time. The time has come for waves of transformation.

As I look around, I have stepped forward. Moving beyond, "Here I am send me!!" The question is. What truly is the next step.....

Boxes

Boxes. As people we want to put everything in neat containers that we can understand. Instead of embracing the reality of loving our neighbors as ourselves, we would rather judge or ignore.

The "inner city." It is a term that is thrown around often and understood by few. It is a box that many choose to turn eyes from. I used to think that it had to do with a city. Actually, as the years have passed, I have discovered it is more about what occurs there that defines its existence.

Yes, the "inner city" happens in urban areas, yet the size of the city is not what matters. There can be a seemingly small area with a pocket sized, "inner city." For these are the places within an urban area, they are pressed tight against themselves. For it is an attitude that rises up which effects the circumstances that arise there.


Stiff in the air of these places are fear, despair and lack of hope. All joy has been sucked away all that remains is a mentality of survival. "Eat and drink today, for tomorrow we might die," literally.

These are places that are often called the "Ghetto." The weight of the world sits upon the shoulders of the people who live there.

"Be strong and let us fight bravely for our people and the cities of our God. The LORD will do what is good in his sight." 1 Chronicles 19:13

It is time to come out of our boxes. We must look with the eyes of salvation and be willing to fight for the people who live there. Can we overcome our own prejudices about the people who live in these areas and see with Christ's eyes?


"Be merciful to those who doubt;
snatch others from the fire and save them; to others show mercy, mixed with fear--hating even the clothing stained by corrupted flesh." Jude 1;24

Jesus sees the need for Salvation. We are to be kept in His love. Faith, hope and love. But the greatest of these is love. Bring the love of Christ to the corners of this world that is void of it. There are corners, alleys, projects, ghettos that are hungering for something more. Will we be the ones willing to bring it?