The Great Rescue: Some Christmas Reflections

...I bring you good news that will cause great joy for all the people.  Today in the town of David a Savior has been born to you; he is the Messiah, the Lord. 

Luke 2:10

At times, I feel like we hear these words so often around the Christmas season that they begin to blend into the background.  They get lost a midst the hustle and bustle of decorating, mailing cards, shopping and other busyness that surrounds the Holidays.

And then in a quiet moment of meditation, or maybe rather, a noisy one of desperate frustration with the sin and chaos of life - a powerful whisper penetrates all of the stress and distraction,

 "God himself has come to rescue us." 

The peace begins to fill my soul again as I am reminded of the truth of Christmas.  It isn't simply about remembering the birth of a baby, but remembering who that baby was and what his birth means to us.  As we reflect on the birth of our savior, we are reminded of the incredible love of our God.  In our sin, brokenness and utter depravity, He made the unthinkable journey to bring us, His lost beloveds back to him.  We celebrate the love of a God who was willing to do whatever it would take to rescue his long lost Love: humanity.  Even if it meant moving heaven and earth to do so.

Now as a mother of my own small children I have a new perspective of the utter humility involved in the act of the God and Creator of all coming to earth as a tiny baby.  There is nothing more vulnerable than a newborn.  When I held my newborn children in my arms for the first time I was overwhelmed by the utter vulnerability and trust I was looking upon as a tiny bundle in my arms.  Babies are defenseless, and completely dependent in every way.  In the culture Jesus was born into children had no rights at all. Almighty God and Creator of all humbled Himself to the status of a tiny, vulnerable, defenseless and completely dependent newborn in order that we might know His love for us.  In order that we might understand who He is, and how far reaching His compassion and understanding of the human experience truly is.

 Jesus could have chosen to be born anywhere: a palace, a wealthy family, a community of status, but instead he came into the world in poverty, with nothing - not even a real bed to sleep in.  He was born in a dark, dirty underground barn (nothing like the nativity scene that we have grown up with in our minds) among the stench of livestock and lay to sleep in a feeding trough.  Could you imagine laying a newborn baby in a germ ridden feeding trough?!  This filthy stinky place fit for animals was the God of the Universe's first stop on His great rescue mission.  This is mind blowing to me, and reminds me once again how much I just don't get it. 

 Today in the town of David a Savior has been born to you; he is the Messiah,the Lord. 

in other words, The Great Rescue has begun!

Christmas is not simply about presents and mistletoe but about remembering with prostrated hearts the launching of the greatest rescue mission to ever take place, and the most beautiful love story ever told!  We get to celebrate the boundless love of God as displayed in a baby lying in a manger.  It is in remembering that baby, the God baby, that I begin to develop an even greater understanding of the meaning of these famous words that The Apostle Paul spoke with such conviction:

For I am sure that neither death nor life, nor angels nor rulers, nor things present nor things to come, nor powers, nor height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord. 
Romans 8:38-39

This Holiday season, I rejoice in a God who did the unthinkable; who crossed the great divide, walked among us, and moved heaven and earth that we might be rescued.  May you too be reminded of the relentless boundless love of God for YOU displayed in a tiny little baby who was born to take away the sins of the world. 

And now...

A Look at the Last Few Months

Annie:
 I  wrapped up my commitment to the the Dorm 1 Faith Project in September with our final fundraiser- a golf scramble.  The fundraiser was very successful and we as a team were very pleased with how all of our hard work paid off.  I was in charge of the decorating for the dinner banquet which took place after the golfing. I am so grateful that I had the opportunity to be a part of this project and loved being able to use my gift of hospitality and my creativity in way that expands and supports the work of our mission.

I have also started a blog called Luv U to the Moon... and Back where I share more in depth about my personal journey as a wife and mother.  This blog has been a great creative outlet for me and something that I hope is a ministry of encouragement and inspiration to its readers.

The Lord has been challenging and growing me personally in what feels like leaps and bounds over the past months.  I am amazed at the vastness of His grace and feel humbled daily at His relentless love and patience with me as I learn to grow in and walk out my faith.  I delight in my calling as a mother and am passionately motivated by the importance of my role as a minister of the gospel to my children.

Justin:
Great progress has been made in the construction of the new studio and we are on the final stretch toward completion.  All of the walls are now up and at the beginning of 2013 we will be working on getting our HeatingVentilationAirConditioning system installed and our ceiling up.  Then we will be working away at treating each individual room of the studio acoustically.  As you know this project has taken much longer than we anticipated but God has used this time of waiting to build our faith and demonstrate his power to provide.  We are eager to get into the new studio and excited for how God will use this new facility.

One of the projects we get to do in the current studio is record music that the students in the Discipleship Training School (music track) and School of Worship have written.  I enjoy being able to walk these students through the recording process and getting to see how God has influenced the songs that they've written.  Every day at work I am in awe of the great blessing it is for me to be learning what I am and to be able to use music to influence the world.

Saying Goodbye to a Friend:
Recently a brother in the faith and inspiring leader in our mission went to be with Jesus.  We grieve the loss of our dear friend Don Gillman but feel so privileged to have known him for the time that we did.  He was one of the most inspiring men either of us have ever known and had it not been for his influencing Justin to do SBS when he did, the two of us might never have met.  Don lived with an incredible and challenging sense of eternal perspective.  He loved Jesus and was passionate about missions.  You couldn't know him without being infected by his contagious burden for the lost.  When thinking about Don's life one can't help but be reminded these immortal words:

I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith. Henceforth there is laid up for me the crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous judge, will award to me on that Day... 

2 Tim 4:7-8
You did it Don! 

Thank you Friends:
As we look back over this past year we are overwhelmed with gratitude for all of you who have invested in us so faithfully with your support, prayers, and friendship.  We are so incredibly blessed by you! We could not be here without all of you who have invested in us and want you to know how deep of an impression all that all you do has made upon our hearts.  Thank you from the bottom of our hearts!  We are truly grateful. Thank you for believing in what the Lord is doing in and through us in this place and season of our lives and for your obedience to Jesus in walking this journey alongside us.

Merry Christmas to you all and a Blessed New Year!

Love,

Justin, Annie, Ella & Bennet