Reconciled

Hark the herald angels sing, "Glory to the newborn king."

 

Peace on Earth and mercy mild, God and sinner reconciled.

 

Joyful all ye nations rise, join the triumph of the skies

 

With angelic host proclaim, Christ is born in Bethlehem

 

Hark the herald angels sing, glory to the newborn King.

 

 

We are reconciled to Him! All the time He is drawing us near, gently drawing and nudging us back to Him, to the cross and His great love for us. I sure can't explain it, I don't have the answers of how it all works, but I know it's true. I heard this song tonight, Hark the Herald, and those words just washed over me again and again. God and sinner reconciled. We don't need to go to bed with our sins tonight. He came to us, born of a virgin in such a crazy unbelievable, humble way...and He chose us. He chose me! He chose you! That's why He came. He loves us. God loves sinner. Yes, He was born a tiny baby in Bethlehem. But He was also born in me! Wow. Christ our Savior is born! Born to reconcile Emily. Born to reconcile the sins that are deep in me, deep in all of us, deep in the world...in Sudan, In Rwanda, in us all.

 

I don't normally think of Come Thou Fount as a Christmas hymn...but it's been in my heart and on my tongue this Advent season...especially this last verse.... 

 

O to grace how great a debtor
daily I'm constrained to be!
Let thy goodness, like a fetter,
bind my wandering heart to thee.
Prone to wander, Lord, I feel it,
prone to leave the God I love;
here's my heart, O take and seal it,
seal it for thy courts above.

 

He sealed it when He came for us. to save us. To be Christ born IN US. wow. I don't understand at all. But thankfully, I don't need to. I just need to receive Him and welcome the Trinity tonight. The Trinity that came to Earth as a baby!

 

A baby conceived by the Holy Spirit!

 

So that I can be reconciled. and forgiven. set free and saved.

 

My chains shall He break, for the slave is our brother. And in his name all oppression shall cease.

 

This beautiful Holy Night

 

God Bless you!

 

Silent Night, Holy Night

The Lord Appears to Elijah

And the word of the Lord came to him: “What are you doing here, Elijah?”
¹⁰ He replied, “I have been very zealous for the Lord God Almighty. The Israelites have rejected your covenant, torn down your altars, and put your prophets to death with the sword. I am the only one left, and now they are trying to kill me too.”
¹¹ The Lord said, “Go out and stand on the mountain in the presence of the Lord, for the Lord is about to pass by.”
Then a great and powerful wind tore the mountains apart and shattered the rocks before the Lord, but the Lord was not in the wind. After the wind there was an earthquake, but the Lord was not in the earthquake. ¹² After the earthquake came a fire, but the Lord was not in the fire. And after the fire came a gentle whisper. ¹³ When Elijah heard it, he pulled his cloak over his face and went out and stood at the mouth of the cave. (1 Kings 19: 9-13)

"He stilled the storm to a whisper: the waves of the sea were hushed. They were glad when it grew calm, and he guided them to their desired haven."(Psalm 107: 29-30)

Tonight is indeed a silent night. The noise has passed. The flurry of activities that consume completely have ended. The plays, the ballets, the movies, and parties, Skype dates and visits to the orphanage, and cookies to be baked, and stockings to be hung...presents wrapped, and ornaments painted with glee! While all of these activities bring me such incredible joy at Christmas...they also bring noise and distractions and tired eyes and full and sometimes heavy hearts.

But tonight...there is no one to distract me. The service is finished, the candles are blown out, and the sky is bright and full of stars, on this beautiful silent night. My heart is full of joy and thankfulness that my Savior is born! It's 12:04am here in the green hills of Rwanda. Christ is born! He is alive
in us on this beautiful, silent night.

I can finally hear His voice on this silent, holy night. All is calm and all is bright. I hear His whispers. finally. I know He calls me all the time. But Christmas (and maybe this entire year!?) has been too full of noise. 2013 has been loud. But on this silent night, I can hear Him. He is born! Christ the Savior is born!

Noheri Nziza from Rwanda. Love to you all! I have a million pictures and more words to write to you soon...I know I've been even more quieter than usual. thank you for your love that abounds in me. I can feel it on this silent night. :) love you all!

emily

The Word became flesh and made his dwelling among us. We have seen his glory, the glory of the one and only Son, who came from the Father, full of grace and truth. ~John 1:14