Advent Candle

Photo: "Adventný veniec I." by Bubamara. Licensed under Public Domain via Wikimedia Commons

Light and warmth radiate from the advent candle, illuminating the evergreen ring of the advent wreath. So commences another Advent—a New Beginning!

                These four weeks of preparation are important in our spiritual life. Autumn is always a time of loss—trees lose their beautiful leaves to stand as bare skeletons against the bleak winter sky. Daylight loses hours to darkness, both morning and evening. The warmth of summer and early fall fades to the chill of November and even colder months ahead. The northland loses sight of green grass and sound of bird as it braces for the hard onset of winter. Our hearts remember loved ones we have lost and years that are no more.

                Yet, just as the small flame of a candle cuts through the darkness, Advent breaks into all the losses of our lives. Not simply doomed to an endless cycle of time and seasons, we see the flicker of hope. God is about to break into an ordinary night of shepherds watching their sheep and animals eating hay from a manger.

                As the first Advent candle is lit, so begins the fresh hope of a new church year. So begins our vigil and preparation for the celebration of Christ’s the birth, Immanuel—God with us. He is the “rising sun [who] will come to us from heaven to shine on those living in darkness” (Luke 1:78-79).

                Advent—New Beginning! Light to warm our hearts and illumine our way! Let us enter this season with open hands and a receptive spirit, ready to rest in the glow of the Advent candle, radiating the hope and promise of God come to earth to be with us!

© 2015 Glenn E. Myers

Thanksgiving Abundance

The Lord is good to all;

          he has compassion on all he has made. . . .

The eyes of all look to you,

          and you give them their food at the proper time.

You open your hand

          and satisfy the desires of every living thing.

-Psalm 145: 9,15,16

Surrounded by abundance, I so often only see the one little thing that I lack. Craving for that one-more-thing is part of our fallen human nature. Instead of trusting God, we assume that we need to fend for ourselves. In that self-protective mode, we seek to accumulate and possess. In our grasping to possess, we fail to see how richly the Almighty has provided for us and see only the one thing we want—which we often do not even need.

It is said that someone asked John D. Rockefeller—the wealthiest man alive at the turn of the 20^th century—how much money it takes to make one happy. His answer was profound: “Just a little bit more.”

If I am looking to be happy in the natural, it will always take “just a little bit more.” Oblivious to my overflowing storehouse of goods and blessings, I will repeatedly turn to the one thing that I believe I lack. Of course, once I gain it, I simply obsess over the next little bauble as it catches my attention, naively assuming that possessing it will somehow bring me final satisfaction and lasting contentment.

No, the only way to get off this hamster wheel on which I am trapped is to shift my focus from what I lack to what has already been given to me—something the advertisers never want me to do! When I consciously, intentionally redirect my mind and heart toward giving thanks for the innumerable blessings in my life, I begin to see the world with new eyes. Our God has cared for the land and enriched it with plenty. He has crowned the year with bounty and drenched our lives with blessing and abundance.

O, let us give thanks!                                                                                  

2014 © Glenn E. Myers

Wandering with God through the Woods

“Show me your ways, O Lord,

teach me your paths” –Psalm 25.4

A leaf-strewn path leads into the woods. My eyes follow its gentle wandering through the trees until at last it twists out of sight. Where will it lead? What turns will it take or evergreen cove will it uncover? If I follow this path, where will it take me?

Since childhood, I have always loved the woods. I have heard the call of the pathway, inviting me into an adventure. Enchanted by their mystery, I never tire of the beauty of the fields and forests and mountains. Leaf-covered paths still beckon me to come on a journey.

Our spiritual life is indeed a venture into God’s great woods. Filled with new sights, restful streams and challenging climbs, it is a never-ending exploration.Yet, so many Christians today become bored with their faith. They take the path a few hundred feet into the edge of the woods, pitch their tents and never journey any further with the Lord. They say they love Jesus but fail to follow him. Then they silently complain that the Christian life is so dull.

Such a shallow understanding of conversion and the Christian life is tragic. The short section of the path entering the wood is only beginning; it was never meant to be a finishing line. Rather, these first footsteps are but the prelude to the life-long adventure of wandering with God through all he has in store for each of us.

Will you take this path?

© 2015 Glenn E. Myers

Autumn Leaves and Dying to Self

Recently I read a devotional that made the observation that all the brilliant colored leaves of autumn are beautiful because the leaves are dying.1 When leaves are alive, they are green with chlorophyll and able to feed the tree through photosynthesis. The chlorophyll departs are they die, and the leave display the bright fall colors beneath.

The Christian life is all about dying. Jesus said that all who wish to be his disciple must take up their cross daily and follow him (Luke 9:23). This is a radical call to die to self-interest, since the cross was a gruesome instrument of torture and execution. In baptism, we are united with Christ in death and buried with him (Romans 6:4-5). Our life is no longer our own. We are dead and our life if hidden with Christ in God (Colossians 3:3). “I have been crucified with Christ,” writes Paul in Galatians 2:20. “It is no longer I who live, but Christ lives in me.”

Dying, however, is not bad news. Like the autumn leaves dying, our death to self is freeing and truly glorious. The more I decrease, the more ablaze I become with the brilliant color of Christ. Indeed, the more I die to self-focus, the more the genuine “I”—created in the image of God—can shine through.

This autumn as I have seen all the beautiful leaves, I have thought many times about dying to self so that God’s blazing light can shine through me. Am I ablaze in like them for God’s glory—brilliant in color as I die to myself?

1. Gregory Polan in Give us This Day (October 2015).

© 2015 Glenn E. Myers

Listening to God's Voice

“My sheep hear my voice, and I know them, and they follow me” (John 10:27, ESV).

Today let me listen to the voice of the Lord. God

God invites us to listen. From every street corner Wisdom calls (Proverbs 1:20). With voices that use no words, the heaven declare the Lord’s glory (Psalm 19) and all creation makes clear the divine attributes of the Creator (Romans 1:20). Ultimately, the Eternal Word speaks forth God’s fathomless love.

© 2015 Glenn E. Myers

Scenic Overlooks: Necessary for the Journey

One of the most rewarding parts of hiking in the wilderness is stopping at scenic overlooks. Overlooks are especially wonderful in the mountains when you can see far and wide. Whether pausing for a few minutes to take in the sights or having lunch for an hour, taking time at a scenic overlook is an important part of any journey.

For one thing, taking time to rest and look out along a hiking trip, gives us rest. This is important for people who push hard in life. The past couple of years I’m realizing that I tend to push too hard—whether climbing a mountain or working in my office. I need to rest more if I am going to be effective over the long haul and if I am going to enjoy the life that the Lord has given me.

That leads into a second reason that pausing at the scenic overlooks in life is important: we make time to enjoy the moment. Although there is an enjoyment that comes from a goal accomplished, a mountain climbed or a job finished, there are many other pleasures to delight in along the way. If we become so focused on the finishing line that we fail to smell the roses along the way, we will miss so many of the good gifts that God has given for our enjoyment.

Finally, scenic overlooks offer us perspective and appreciation. When we stop the climb for a few minutes or an hour, we are able to look back and appreciate how far we have come. As we relax and get a bite to eat, we can share with our companions what we have seen along the way. In all of this we gain perspective. How necessary it is to regain perspective from time to time on any journey. Otherwise, hardships become blown out of proportion, we lose our momentum or we simply forget where we are headed.

Whenever I get into the wilderness, I naturally take opportunities to enjoy scenic overlooks along the way. Under the stress of life and work, however, I tend to forget to do so in my daily existence and in my walk with the Lord. One of my goals this fall is to apply this lesson from the wilderness to my life in civilization and stop throughout the day to gain perspective and rest. Indeed, enjoying the scenic overlooks is absolutely necessary for the journey!

© 2015 Glenn E. Myers

Building Fire: Principles of Spiritual Formation

Making a Campfire

“Our God is a consuming fire.”

–Hebrews 12:29 (Deuteronomy 4:24)

I love building campfires in the great outdoors! My joy is gathering a bunch of kindling, stacking it just right. Then I try to light it with one match—no paper here, or heaven forbid, lighter fluid!

Three Principles of Fire

My dad taught me about fire and how it works. There are three important principles. First, obviously, fire burns upward. So when placing the kindling, you want the flames to start at the bottom and catch the little branches on fire as the flame moves up. Having a “fuse” on the bottom is important—and nothing works better than birch bark! It lights instantly and sends up quite a blaze and catches the small twigs above it on fire. While the flames are leaping up from the little kindling, you can begin to lay some larger twigs or small branches on. Even if they are not fully dry, the flames will dry them out and then catch them on fire.

Second, branches in a fire need to be close enough to feed off of each other. At least until there is an established bed of coals for the campfire, branches or logs need to be within about an inch of each other. Pull two longs too far apart, and they both begin to smolder and go out in a rather short time. A log does not burn by itself. It always needs other logs and/or the bed of coals from other logs to keep on burning.

Third, branches and logs need room to breathe. A fire needs air. If the logs are too close and there is no room for air to move up between them, they don’t burn well.

Spiritual Fire

These three principles are also key to spiritual formation. First, spiritual formation needs to move upward. Indeed the Holy Spirit always wants to move us upward. Throughout Scripture, fire is a symbol of God’s Spirit. If we are ablaze with the Spirit of God, we will naturally help others catch on fire. Just by getting close to us, they will be affected by our flame. Either they will back away quickly because they do not want God’s Spirit to move in their lives (and burn up sin and selfishness that they might be hiding), or they soon catch on fire themselves!

Second, we need to stay close to other people on fire if we want to stay ablaze with the Lord. Just as there is no such thing as a log burning all by itself (except the manufactured “logs” made with woodchips and probably some lighter fluid), so there is no such thing as a “lone ranger Christian.” Both smolder out quickly.

Third, however, we always need to leave room to breathe in our spiritual friendships. While we need to stay close to others on fire, we cannot suffocate them or let them suffocate us. Rather, there needs to be room for air. Air, wind and breath are likewise symbols of the Holy Spirit throughout the Bible. The Old Testament word Ruah means both breath and spirit. The New Testament word pneuma likewise means both. Even in our closest relationships we need to leave room to breathe—room for the Spirit of God—between us.

When I remember these three principles, my campfires go great! (Although last week I sadly had to use a second match to get the fire going.) When we remember these principles, we are also able to stay ablaze with the Spirit year after year!
© 2015 Glenn E. Myers