Book: Isaiah

The God who we encounter in such different ways is, nevertheless, the one God, and we are called to share in the life of this one God.

To those for whom the griefs of yesterday or the fear of tomorrow is just too much, come Lord Jesus.

In Advent, we wait to discern more carefully the One for whom we wait, and the One who waits for us.

We are called to stop defending ourselves and fighting off the intruders in the vineyard, but rather to welcome the spirit-sent opportunities that will demand of us, but will also change us.

When hopes have been extinguished and all is despair, God comes back.

We are humble servants who are strengthened and empowered by the Spirit to enter into the redeeming work of God.

The revelation of what God is on about in Christ will always upend our expectations and disrupt our lives.

Repenting of our past ways and following Jesus does not guarantee us safety from disaster, but it certainly opens the way to an abundance of life that is beyond what any disaster can destroy.

Extravagant grace can be terrifying because it asks nothing of us but a complete change of life!

God’s love is like a refuge from the storm, like the hospitality of a generous host, like the continuing delight of a bridegroom for his bride, and like the alchemical power of the miracle-worker transforming even our fear and inconstancy into the power to love, forgive, and cherish.

In the midst of horror and despair, Christ arrives with love enough, with peace enough, with hope enough to make things very, very, very different.

The Advent season is a gift that illumines our present with light from our promised goal, to shape us as a people of patient and vigilant faithfulness.