If you had a chance to read my last article, you are aware that I’m trying to notice the trends behind the global geopolitical shifts that are changing our world at dizzying speed. But rather than just noticing the signs that point to the end of the woke era from a purely analytical view, I’m more interested in what God is doing in this astonishing moment.
I have a beautiful print hanging on my office wall entitled, “Pondering Angels on the Road to Emmaus”, by artist Daniel Bonnell. It serves as a constant reminder that the air is alive. God is actively with us and His glorious angels are also at work ministering and serving His purposes in our lives and in our world. We don’t live in a sterile, purely rational world but rather one that is multi-layered, and even though spiritual realities are in many ways, a mystery, they are as real as all that which we can see and taste and touch.
Pondering Angels on the Road to Emmaus- Daniel Bonnell - find @ Fine Art America
So what is God doing in this hour?
Where is He involved in all the change that is happening around us? Who can truly say? I believe, fragments of that revelation are disclosed to those who have ears to hear and hold their hearts in a posture of earnestly seeking and knowing God, rather than just hungering to get the latest prophetic scoop.
Those who seek Him find Him (Jer 29:13).
He shares His secrets with His friends (Gen 18:17, Isa 41:8).
You likely have some insight into God’s activity in the unfolding drama of the nations, but here’s something I’ve been tracking for the last five years. I’m convinced it’s a prophetic sign.
THE RESTORATION OF NOTRE DAME
In April of 2019, just before Easter, the cathedral of Notre Dame in Paris was nearly destroyed by fire. I wrote this article at the time, noticing the prophetic symbolism of the timing, the importance of the cathedral and the stunning preservation of the simple cross shining through the ash and rubble.
Now, five years later, as we can see the “sea change” happening all around us, the cathedral is reopened with global leaders gathering to celebrate and honour its restoration. Of course, there was a mixture of political and cultural elements in its opening, but even still, the power of the symbolism remains. He is making beauty out of ashes and He is resurrecting the Church in glorious new ways for this hour.
CENTRALITY OF THE GOSPEL
Remember however, when Notre Dame burnt, the world was astonished that the cross had remained unscathed and even shone more brightly against the backdrop of blackened, scorched wood. It was called a miracle. This points us to one of the overarching revelations of these difficult years —the gospel has emerged, unscathed and restored to its centrality— even as spurious and unbiblical teachings (and the ministries that promoted them) have collapsed.
There is so much to be deeply thankful for in this hour, Christmas is a perfect time to schedule in some quiet moments to truly reflect on the Lord’s goodness and sovereignty, in our lives and throughout the nations.
TO HELP WITH THAT…
Here’s a new —hot off the press— sixty-day devotional. It could be a fantastic Christmas gift if you hustle —or, buy it for yourself as a way to start your year with a fresh, gospel-centred focus.
Listen to Pastor Darrell Johnson’s words of recommendation from the foreword:
“Victor Maynard is one of the finest young pastoral theologians I know. That is what a pastor is, a pastoral theologian. Whenever I am with him, I am taken by his gentleness, his kindness, his thoughtfulness, his rootedness, all born of his yearning to know God in Jesus. And I am taken by his honesty. Honesty about the challenges in seeking to live out what he knows God in Jesus is offering us.
In the book you are holding in your hands, Victor takes us into sixty passages of the Bible… You will see that he does help us reflect on the passages, but then moves us to reflect on how our hearts and minds are responding to what the Holy Spirit is saying in the passage, especially how we might be afraid of what we hear, or resist what we hear, or how we long to live what we hear.”
Yes, Victor is my son, so yes, I am shamelessly promoting his first book! But I wouldn’t do so if I hadn’t been impacted personally and brought again to the beautiful call of Christ within its pages.
Merry Christmas everyone!!