¹And there appeared a great wonder in heaven; a woman clothed with the sun, and the moon under her feet, and upon her head a crown of twelve stars:

²And she being with child cried, travailing in birth, and pained to be delivered.

³And there appeared another wonder in heaven; and behold a great red dragon, having seven heads and ten horns, and seven crowns upon his heads.

⁴And his tail drew the third part of the stars of heaven, and did cast them to the earth: and the dragon stood before the woman which was ready to be delivered, for to devour her child as soon as it was born.

⁵And she brought forth a man child, who was to rule all nations with a rod of iron: and her child was caught up unto God, and to his throne.

⁶And the woman fled into the wilderness, where she hath a place prepared of God, that they should feed her there a thousand two hundred and threescore days.

⁷And there was war in heaven: Michael and his angels fought against the dragon; and the dragon fought and his angels,

⁸And prevailed not; neither was their place found any more in heaven.

⁹And the great dragon was cast out, that old serpent, called the Devil, and Satan, which deceiveth the whole world: he was cast out into the earth, and his angels were cast out with him.

¹⁰And I heard a loud voice saying in heaven, Now is come salvation, and strength, and the kingdom of our God, and the power of his Christ: for the accuser of our brethren is cast down, which accused them before our God day and night.

¹¹And they overcame him by the blood of the Lamb, and by the word of their testimony; and they loved not their lives unto the death.

¹²Therefore rejoice, ye heavens, and ye that dwell in them. Woe to the inhabiters of the earth and of the sea! for the devil is come down unto you, having great wrath, because he knoweth that he hath but a short time.

¹³And when the dragon saw that he was cast unto the earth, he persecuted the woman which brought forth the man child.

¹⁴And to the woman were given two wings of a great eagle, that she might fly into the wilderness, into her place, where she is nourished for a time, and times, and half a time, from the face of the serpent.

¹⁵And the serpent cast out of his mouth water as a flood after the woman, that he might cause her to be carried away of the flood.

¹⁶And the earth helped the woman, and the earth opened her mouth, and swallowed up the flood which the dragon cast out of his mouth.

¹⁷And the dragon was wroth with the woman, and went to make war with the remnant of her seed, which keep the commandments of God, and have the testimony of Jesus Christ.

- Revelations 12

Merry Christmas!

WK

Love is one of those words that loses meaning far too quickly. We love wives and we love video games. To top it off, it sounds like a weak word. What’s the opposite of a badass? …A really loving person?

We don’t give power to love in our cultural consciousness as we should. We give power to money, things, ideas, people, memories, cultures – but love is not on the list. Even Christians, who profess a loving God, push for aligning power-structures and power-words with their faith (reason, prosperity, safety, fear) rather than champion love.

Love is a God who humbles himself to the level of his creation.
Love is a God who places himself in a marginalized group.
Love is a God who proclaims his own entrance into the world by including the excluded.
Love is a God who dies for those who hate him.
Love is a God who died for you.
Love is a God who gives us hope for peace and joy.
Love is a God seeking to bring everyone and everything home at all costs.

This is why Christmas is about Love.

WK

And then someone tells you that you are a bad Christian because you have that conflict and you don’t “Have enough faith?”

B.S.

This is reality people. Anyone who says otherwise are lying to themselves and to you. I can totally at once believe that Jesus is Lord of the Universe, as well as my personal Saviour and friend, (to use a myriad of Christianese jargon) and I can also not believe that things will change. Simple as that.

And you believe it, too.

To work through this, to move, ultimately, to hope, I’m trying to concentrate on a few things:

Thomas is known as the doubter, because of John 20:

²⁴Now Thomas (called Didymus), one of the Twelve, was not with the disciples when Jesus came. ²⁵So the other disciples told him, “We have seen the Lord!”
But he said to them, “Unless I see the nail marks in his hands and put my finger where the nails were, and put my hand into his side, I will not believe it.”

²⁶A week later his disciples were in the house again, and Thomas was with them. Though the doors were locked, Jesus came and stood among them and said, “Peace be with you!” ²⁷Then he said to Thomas, “Put your finger here; see my hands. Reach out your hand and put it into my side. Stop doubting and believe.”

²⁸Thomas said to him, “My Lord and my God!”²⁹Then Jesus told him, “Because you have seen me, you have believed; blessed are those who have not seen and yet have believed.”

But no one ever remembers this line, from John 11. Jesus is heading back to Judea, where it is quite possible that he will be killed (he doesn’t -not yet anyway):

¹⁶Then Thomas (called Didymus) said to the rest of the disciples, “Let us also go, that we may die with him.”

Thomas is the first one ready to die for Jesus. No one remembers that one. He didn’t bring the show like Peter; he just decided that he was going all the way with Jesus.

Also,

In Acts 12, Peter miraculously escapes prison and goes to a house of people that are praying for his release. When he shows up, people don’t even believe that’s its him, that this must be his angel. (whatever that means)

They were praying precisely for what happened, and didn’t believe it when it did happen.

Finally, one of the most profound prayers in the Bible, found in Mark 9:24:

I believe; help my unbelief.

Jesus had just told the man that he (Jesus) could do all for those who believe. That was his answer. Jesus healed his boy – even revived him from the dead.

If Jesus will do that for that man, with that prayer, I can come with the same prayer and the same hope.

Hope is a tough thing to focus on, but I’m trying.

WK

WK

The Good Shepherd, dated mid-3rd Century

The King has come.

The King, who came through a young, obedient girl. The King, who came under the care of a socially-scorned couple. The King, who came from the town of the old king, under the oppression of many evil kings. The King, who brought outcast shepherds and foreign powers to witness your birth and life. The King, for which  the very angels sang out in celebration upon the Earth. The King, who in very nature God, in communion with God and by the power of God, became lowly man.

The King, who would take in all that is God’s nation on Earth, and make it what it was to be. The King, who would show love to the unloved, justice to the oppressed, freedom to the captive, and hope to the hopeless.

The King, who would take on the sin of all humanity, so that we may be saved. The King, who on the Third Day rose again and defeated Death. The King, whose kingdom is now, but not yet. The King, whose new creation will herald renewed, complete, and everlasting communion with God.

The King, who will return soon.

Merry Christmas,

WK