For To Us - Advent Reading 4 - Joy

This is the forth advent reading that went along with the For Unto Us 2016 Christmas Prayer Loft at the Gathering House Covenant Church in Spokane Washington. 

Joy

by Margot Cioccio 

establishing and upholding it with justice and righteousness

from that time on 

and forever.

The zeal of the Lord Almighty will accomplish this.

All of heaven rejoiced as Jesus was born. His coming would heal the great breach between mankind and the Almighty. As the church we have really run with the message that He is Redeemer and Savior. If we look at the many names of Father, Son and Holy Spirit, we start to realize they are so much more than we have begun to understand. Starting from the birth of Christ, from that time on and forever God has been establishing and up holding how we understand and relate to Him. Our God is multifaceted. What a joy it would be if we could help the world around us see God as a good father, a papa who’s love is displayed as strength, protection. Who wants to help us with our own family issues. Could we reflect his love as integrity in the power of Government and show a hurting world that he does care about them…all of them.  What if we could reflect God as communicator who wants to show his love as good news and blessing. Imagine the joy we would have as he brings world solutions through us, his children.  What if we could show God as teacher and show his wisdom as a form of his love?  He is provider and provision and resources can multiplied in and through us as we show the world the ways of kingdom economics. Everywhere we look we see God’s fingerprints, he has put great energy and detail into even the smallest flowers and things that we may not even notice. Could we show him as Creator who has fun creating. Stop and think about the amazing joy there is in actually being able to have a intimate relationship with the greatest creator and artist who has not yet run out of ideas and want to partner with each of us to do amazing things. Think about the joy there is in making him known and showing his love in all these areas and more. 

What if the only thing that holds back the great outpouring of his love in all of these ways is simply that have gotten so focused on the getting people saved and to heaven and getting there our selves that we forgot to be salt and light. We have become so focused on the problems of our world that we forgot to show them our creative solutions and the amazing love and kindness of God .Every generation since Jesus was taken to heaven has thought He would return in their time. Too often we have sat on our hill tops inside our churches trying really hard to be holy while the whole world groaned and ached for the light of God to come to them. Jesus said don’t hide your light under a basket. Put it up on a stand and let it shine brightly.

Acts 3:21-23 in theThe Message it says “Now it’s time to change your ways! Turn to face God so he can wipe away your sins, pour out showers of blessing to refresh you, and send you the Messiah he prepared for you, namely, Jesus. For the time being he must remain out of sight in heaven until everything is restored to order again just the way God, through the preaching of his holy prophets of old, said it would be.

What if Jesus is held out of sight in heaven until we through the power of the Holy Spirit in us, work to bring about the restoration of all things to his order. Jesus said we would do greater things than he did because he was in heaven and had sent us the Holy Spirit. What if he's not the one asleep in the boat this time. What if we are the one’s who are asleep to his calling and purposes for our lives. What if we are here to make a difference?

Gods kingdom is advanced by influence and example not by forcing others to do it our way. It is how we live among others that gives us a platform to speak into their lives. There is great joy when things are done God’s way. When the righteous prosper the city rejoices.  

We have painted the town red like his blood but there are so many more colors of his love that we have yet to really discover and reveal with joy to the world.

Jesus is a living gift. He is waiting for us to unwrap more of the mystery of who he is in each of us. What does his rainbow of love look like as it comes out of you and spills into the things you are passionate about.  Joy is our advent candle today.  - Joy to the world - the Lord is come…Let every heart prepare him room. Let every heart rejoice. Let heaven and nature sing! 

The Gift Makes A Way...

A Devotional by Margot Cioccio

Portrait of Christina Rossetti, by her brother Dante Rossetti

 Proverbs 18:16 

A gift opens the way 
for the giver
and ushers him 
into the presence 
of the great.








At Christmas time we think of giving and receiving gifts.  I find myself asking what can I do that would bless the sock off of Jesus this Christmas. I also think, I wonder what spiritual gifts Jesus might want to give me. I think of the words to a poem by Christina Rossetti (1830 -1894)   

What can I give Him, Poor as I am? 

If I were a shepherd I would bring a lamb,
If I were a wise man I would do my part,
Yet what I can I give Him, Give my heart. 

I have pulled some of her beautiful Christmas poems to add to this post.

I guess as I think about what gift I can give, I think of those things that I do for the least of these - are things that I do for Jesus. So I give Him my heart and my life and my songs and my thoughts and my words.  I pray He will be blessed by my faith and obedience to write these devotional posts. I am thankful that He is using my words to encourage people all over the world. While I have conquered the "I am not _____ enough" thing that as hounded me most of my life I still find myself often thinking but who am I, what do I have of any great value to give. I suppose I still struggle with the insecurity of seeing myself as very ordinary and very broken and I am truly humbled that the Lord would use me to touch others with His love. I was told by my pastor and his wife that I needed to sit with the realization that my prayers were profoundly impacting the lives of people. So I am sitting with that this morning and my tendency is to say but thats not me thats the Lord working. I just pray as the Holy Spirit leads me and pray what He puts on my heart in that moment. Truly it is his work ...but I see, that as I sit with the realization that my prayers are making enough of a difference that it is getting back to my pastor, while all the glory goes to God.... that I have become useful because I have spent the time to know the Lord and to be found at His feet. So I am blessed to hear that my prayers and writing are making a difference in the lives of the people. I like to think of myself as a carrier of God's presence. I resist the notion that I am special - we are all special and I tend toward I am available Lord for your plans and purposes. You, who at one point used a donkey to speak to a prophet - now that was a "special talking donkey." But I have been instructed to sit with this knowledge by two people that I trust and respect deeply. So I find myself wondering what is it that you want me to see. Its not that I have a lack of confidence that you would use or speak through me, I see that, and I know that. I think perhaps is has to do with realizing the Lord's value of me. Clearly there is a deeper revelation of God's love for me that I need to somehow grasp.

When I pray for people. I lay hands on them and the Lord puts in my heart what to say. I rarely have any idea what they are going through or why they are wanting prayer, the Holy Spirit leads me as I pray. I am blessed that God would use something as simple as a prayer to make a difference in the life of another. I am humbled and in awe of Jesus who can take brokenness and make beauty from it. That he can take us, simple creatures that He formed from dust and fill us with His Spirit and reveal his glory in earthen vessels. I realize that if all I am is His, then it is more than enough. God who would come as a baby and fill a lowly stable with His glory is also willing to draw near and fill the likes of you and I.

In the bleak mid-winter
Frosty wind made moan,
Earth stood hard as iron,
Water like a stone;
Snow had fallen, snow on snow,
Snow on snow,
In the bleak mid-winter
Long ago.

Our God, Heaven cannot hold Him
Nor earth sustain;
Heaven and earth shall flee away
When He comes to reign:
 

In the bleak mid-winter
A stable-place sufficed
The Lord God Almighty,
Jesus Christ.

What can I give Him,
Poor as I am?
If I were a shepherd
I would bring a lamb,
If I were a wise man
I would do my part,
Yet what I can I give Him,
Give my heart. by Christina Rossetti (1830-1894)

Christina Rossetti was an interesting woman who turned down several proposals of marriage because her suitors did not share her faith in Christ. Back then being an un married woman was not so cool or accepted as it is today. She was one of the formost women poets of her time. She was the youngest of four children and was educated at home by her mother.  She started writing as a young child and continued to write though out her life. She suffered from depression and a thyroid disorder called Graves disease and lived much of her life in seclusion. She died of cancer in 1894. 

I found another of her Christmas poems to share with you.

The Shepherds Had An Angel

The shepherds had an angel,
The wise men had a star;
But what have I, a little child,
To guide me home from far,
Where glad stars sing together,
And singing angels are?

Lord Jesus is my Guardian
so I can nothing lack;
The lambs lie in His bosom
Along life's dangerous track:
The wilful lambs that go astray
He, bleeding, brings them back.

Those shepherds thro' the lonely night
Sat watching by their sheep,
Until they saw the heav'nly host
Who neither tire nor sleep,
All singing glory, glory,
In festival they keep.

Christ watches me, His little lamb,
Cares for me day and night,
That I may be His own in heav'n,
So angels clad in white
Shall sing their Glory, glory,
For my sake in the height.

Lord, bring me nearer day by day,
Till I my voice unite,
And sing my Glory, glory,
With angels clad in white,
All Glory, glory, giv'n to Thee,
Thro' all the heav'nly height.

So to tie this post together. I think that as we give the Lord our hearts, our lives, our words... that he takes even the simplest things and begins to use them. Christina used her words and they have lived on long beyond her and still to this day inspire me and others who read them. So today as I sit with the knowledge that my prayers are making a difference,  I guess I am hopeful that my words will as well. There is a passage that says of Samuel the prophet in 1 Samuel 3:19 The LORD was with Samuel as he grew up, and he let none of his words fall to the ground."  I hope that God would say that of me, that my words in the things I write and in the things I say or pray would not fall to the ground but that they would encourage and inspire and bring hope to people and draw them closer to Jesus. I will end with this verse from Isaiah because it speaks to me of how God desires to establish us and move us from being afflicted and storm-tossed to becoming something of great beauty. To become his treasure and a gift to His kingdom.

Isaiah 54:11-14

“O afflicted one, storm-tossed and not comforted, behold, I will set your stones in antimony, and lay your foundations with sapphires. I will make your pinnacles of agate, your gates of carbuncles, and all your wall of precious stones. All your children shall be taught by the LORD, and great shall be the peace of your children. In righteousness you shall be established; you shall be far from oppression, for you shall not fear; and from terror, for it shall not come near you.”

  

Prayer:

Beloved, hear the word of the Lord to you. Rise up, take off the heavy cloak of sorrow and shame. Know that he is healing you and wants to set you free from the chains that have held you back from being all He has called you to be. He wants to replace that old raggedy cloak with a new one called hope.  He wants to pour over you the oil of gladness, that His joy might be your strength. He would give you temperance that you would no longer turn to old addictions and behaviors as a bandaid in a vain attempt to numb your pain. I pray you would receive the gift of His forgiveness and the have a deep and growing revelation of His love for you. I pray you would truly receive His acceptance and would begin to walk in the freedom of His grace and mercy and to once and for all finally cease from trying to atone for your past indiscretions. Jesus paid it all! May you have the faith to receive His Gifts to you this Christmas and the courage to leave the old behind and follow Him into the new things He has prepared for you. May you, yourself, become His gift to the many lives around you.

My Gift For You

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A Gift For You
A Devotional by Margot Cioccio

Romans 1:11 Romans 1:11-12 (NIV1984)
 11 I long to see you so that I may impart to you some spiritual gift
 to make you strong— 12 that is, that you and I may be mutually
encouraged by each other’s faith.


I read this verse this morning and I wondered what spiritual gift I might impart if I were to see you or if you were to see this post. It was pretty simple as I thought about what I would impart. It would be the gift of joy and the gift of peace.  Joy and Peace are funny gifts you might think them unnecessary, but I have noticed that they have nothing to do with the circumstances you are facing and they have seen me through many difficult seasons. They don’t have to be worked up.  Why joy? - it seems so frivilous. If I were to impart a gift that would make you strong it would be the gift of joy. Nehemiah 8:10b Nehemiah said, "for the joy of the LORD is your strength.”  Also Psalm 28:7 The LORD is my strength and my shield; my heart trusts in him, and I am helped. My heart leaps for joy and I will give thanks to him in song.  I love the line my heart trust him and I am helped. Joy is a gift of grace, may it flow over you even as you read like oil poured over your head that drips all the way down to your feet. Oh and speaking of feet - don’t forget to put on your spiritual shoes today. What? you may ask, you go from joy to shoes?  Don’t forget your Ephesians 6 armor and be sure to put oun your shoes. Ephesians 6:15 and with your feet fitted with the readiness that comes from the gospel of peace.  You stand there thinking but how? - Look at this mess or trial I’m dealing with.  It is pretty simple and you want to make it hard. Peace and joy walk hand in hand look at Romans 5:1-3 Therefore, since we have been justified through faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ, 2 through whom we have gained access by faith into this grace in which we now stand. And we rejoice in the hope of the glory of God. 3 Not only so, but we also rejoice in our sufferings, because we know that suffering produces perseverance;. I’ll end with James 1 Your desire is to be mature in Christ it is joy and peace that help get you there.  2 Consider it pure joy, my brothers, whenever you face trials of many kinds, 3 because you know that the testing of your faith develops perseverance. 4 Perseverance must finish its work so that you may be mature and complete, not lacking anything. Joy and peace are gift of God’s grace and they will help you to walk through the difficult things you face. Lift up your hands before the Lord and recieve them now in Jesus name.
 Prayer: 
Dear Lord,
 By faith I come to you on behalf of those who are reading this and I pray that in this instant you would annoint them with your joy and that you would dress them in your robes of righteousness and put fresh armor for the battle they are facing. Let their feet be fitted with the shoes of peace that comes from believing the good news of what Jesus has done on thier behalf. Since they have been justified through faith let them now recieve your peace and your joy. While you are at it Lord send your Holy Spirit to so saturate them that where ever they go they would splash others with your joy and peace as they grow strong in you.

Pure Joy

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Pure Joy     
A Devotional by Margot Cioccio

James 1:2-4
Consider it pure joy, my brothers and sisters, whenever you face trials of many kinds, 3 because you know that the testing of your faith produces perseverance. 4 Let perseverance finish its work so that you may be mature and complete, not lacking anything.

Joy is generally not the first thing one thinks about when thinking about or experiencing trials. I suppose if we look at things in light of asking why me and while serving cake at our pitty party there may not seem to be any reason for joy. The problem is we are asking the wrong question. The question is not why me? The question needs to be Lord, what are you doing through this?
The verse above tells us that trials test our faith. Do we really believe God will help us?  If so we will keep our focus on him in expectancy that what he is doing is for our growth and for our good. Quite often we get to a trial and we find out that we are busy trying to fan the flames of faith but find we have not put more than twigs on the fire. We can’t just look to God when things are hard. We have to be building that relationship on a daily basis. Everyday, I need to be in His presence, every day I need to develop an on going conversation with him as I go through the day. Every day I need to be in his Word, every day I need to be believing and trusting and watching in wonder at the works of His hand. If I am when I get to times of trials there will be logs in my fire and I will burn brightly for Jesus.

Those trials that we face produce perseverance or patience. Thats the stick to it resolve, the I know, that I know, that I know that Jesus loves me and has a plan that is good. It moves me from a shallow faith of lip service to one of maturity and depth in which my life speaks and confirms that no matter what God is with me, No matter what is way is good, no matter what I know He loves me. No matter what I will stand for Him.

Things to Ponder:
If you are currently going through a trial - what is it showing you about your level of faith?

Prayer:
Dear Lord, I ask you to help me in this trial I presently face. I can see that I have not built up much of a reserve. Help me to use this expereince and remeber how you have helped me to be a log for a future fire of faith when I walk through other trials. In my life. Help me remember in this one your word, your ways, your love and how you have helped me in the past. Help me to ask with joy, what you are doing rather than the whiny why me? of my pitty party. Help me to seek you all the time not just when things are rough.