I pray that we be full of joy and thankfulness as we celebrate the Arrival of your Son and the realization of your great love for us. Father, we celebrate what you have planned for us and the grace and mercy you have granted to us. We approach you in humble amazement as we join together in our Christmas celebration. All glory, honor, and praise be unto you, our Heavenly Father. Amen!
Have a very merry Christmas, and may God’s blessings be yours throughout the New Year.
With the advent of Christmas we celebrate the greatest event that ever happened on the earth. God entered time and took on human flesh. He spent time as one of us. He walked beside us, and with his eventual death and resurrection, brought new and eternal life for all who would receive him. This is worthy of celebration. No other event on earth has stirred the hearts of men to such joyous celebration. People all-over the world celebrate this wondrous occasion.
Our joining together in celebration helps us focus on something grander than our individual lives; something more real than the temporal. Celebration sets a mood of happiness and oneness. I remember singing in a community choir at Christmas. Our hearts were lifted as we performed traditional Christmas music. We experienced oneness of joy.
The angels celebrated that first night when Jesus was born, and mankind has ever since had the opportunity to celebrate with them. As we continue the celebration of Jesus’ birth, we acknowledge the wonder of God’s plan for our salvation. That glorious night of Jesus’ birth was the beginning of God’s renewal of his creation.
A promise has been fulfilled
A reclamation for all the earth,
A virgin has brought forth child
A most miraculous birth.
A prophesy from ancient times
A hope that’s now achieved,
A salvation realized
A redemption for Adam’s seed.
God bless you, and have a Merry Christmas celebration!
Humans are at war all over the earth. There is no peace on earth. They kill each other and rob from each other. Evil abounds! The author of Psalm 82 laments the injustice on the earth. He calls for God to intervene. We often hear cries for God to do something. Why does he allow all this evil?
On the other hand there many acts of love and caring on the earth. People sacrifice for the benefit of others. They give their money and time to the needy. Some have even given their lives for others. Kindness and compassion do exist in the midst of daily life.
I recall that in the beginning we were created in the image of God himself. Therefore, we are like God, beings of love. I also remember that we chose to rebel against God and bring sin into the world. Thus we have the by-polar existence of great good and great evil. What can be done?
God in his infinite wisdom chose not to fix the symptoms but the cause. His solution began with an infant born in a stable. From this humble beginning, He brought about redemption from sin for all humans. Yet, as in the beginning, He didn’t take away our right to choose. He did give us the opportunity to be a part of the solution rather than part of the problem. We can choose to repent of our sinful life and accept Jesus as our savior or continue in the pursuit of evil.
Yes, peace on earth is a possibility, but it is held in the hands of each person who lives on the earth. We can elect to return to God or remain in our sins. Evil or good, we get to choose. God has heard our cries, and Jesus his Son is the solution for our dilemma.
(Ephesians 1:7-10 MSG) Because of the sacrifice of the Messiah, his blood poured out on the altar of the Cross, we’re a free people – free of penalties and punishments chalked up by all our misdeeds. And not just barely free, either. Abundantly free! He thought of everything, providing for everything we could possibly need, letting us in on the plans he took such delight in making. He set it all out before us in Christ, a long-range plan in which everything would be brought together and summed up in him, everything in deepest heaven, everything on planet earth.
So here in America, we have a day set aside for thankfulness. What a great idea! Americans have much to be thankful for – such as our freedom. This freedom has been bought and maintain at a great price. We are thankful for all those who have sacrificed for our country. Yet there is an eternal freedom that has been afforded us by the sacrifice of just one. This freedom is offered to all who live on the earth.
Our scripture from Ephesians begins with this statement, “Because of the sacrifice of the Messiah, his blood poured out on the altar of the Cross, we’re a free people…” I don’t mean to trivialize the freedom we have in America, but I do want to emphasize the magnitude of what God has done. All of mankind has been given the opportunity of being forgiven for their sins and to have eternal life. We in America and every other person on the earth can experience this freedom no matter what their circumstances.
Though I have many things that give me reason to be thankful, the foundation of my gratitude rest in Jesus Christ and him crucified. All that I have and hold dear are because he redeemed me and gave me freedom from my sins. Jesus is my reason for being thankful. I have a family and friends that I am privileged to enjoy here in this life, and I have the comfort in knowing they will be with me in eternity. I am eternally thankful to my Heavenly Father and my Savior Jesus Christ.
(Ephesians 4:26) “In your anger do not sin”: Do not let the sun go down while you are still angry, and do not give the devil a foothold.
Anger is an emotion and not necessarily a sin. God can’t sin, but he gets angry. Most everyone can attest to the fact that anger is dangerous and can potentially lead to sin. Other emotions like love for instance can affect our reasoning ability. Love can make us silly and whimsical, while anger can make us aggressive and violent. Our enemy is prowling around looking for an opportunity to lead us into sin (see 1Peter 5:8). Our anger looks like an invitation.
Anger can cause us to think, say, or do things we would never do under normal conditions. So when anger arises, it should be a red light of warning. I have many times allowed my anger to get out of control, most often with disastrous results. Now when I recognize myself getting angry, the caution flag comes up, and the battle for control is on.
You’ve probably heard people say count to ten before you react. That’s great advice, but I frequently need more time. The Apostle Paul teaches us to take every thought captive (see 2Corintians 10:5). He goes on to say in that verse to make those thoughts obedient to Christ. That in itself is a challenge, yet it is a great reminder of where the strength to take those thoughts captive comes from. Anger is a strong emotion, and we need help to control it. Jesus has sent the Holy Spirit to help us.
We could do a whole seminar on the subject of anger, however today we are just touching on the task of controlling it. Being angry, controlling that anger, and avoiding letting that anger become sin, affords good results like peaceful relationships, less stress, and returning to loving one another. These are things worth fighting for. We need to do the battle, and win the victory of obedience to Christ. In the long run I know we’ll be glad we did.
(Revelation 21:8) But the cowardly, the unbelieving, the vile, the murderers, the sexually immoral, those who practice magic arts, the idolaters and all liars – they will be consigned to the fiery lake of burning sulfur. This is the second death.
Last week I wrote about the future of the children of God. God has planned wonderful things for his children. Those who refuse God’s invitation to forgiveness and eternal life will not be so fortunate. The scripture for this week points to the second death.
Thoughts of the second death lead to a jumble of concerns and visions. It’s hard to imagine the horror that this will be. I know people who are running down that wide road to destruction. It makes me want to carry a sign that reads, “THE END IS NEAR – BEWARE OF THE SECOND DEATH”. I don’t think a sign would be very affective. I can hear people saying, “Did you see the nut on the street corner with the big sign?” However, this scripture does add urgency to my prayer life.
Sometimes I get lax in my prayer time, but reading this scripture has stirred me to a greater resolve. I think that prayer is the most effective way to reach those who have not accepted the salvation God has provided through his son Jesus. I want to always be ready to share my faith, but I know that my words would not reach the heart of the listener, unless the Father is drawing them. Salvation is a miraculous act of God, so lifting up a person through prayer is the foundational beginning for reaching the unsaved.
The children of God have such a wonderful future. There is always room for new brothers and sisters to join us. Let’s be diligent praying for our friends, family members, neighbors, and those God has put on our heart, so we can be servants in his plan of redemption. Remember, our God desires that none should perish (2 Peter 3:9).
(Revelation 21:1-3)Then I saw a new heaven and a new earth, for the first heaven and the first earth had passed away, and there was no longer any sea. I saw the Holy City, the new Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God, prepared as a bride beautifully dressed for her husband. And I heard a loud voice from the throne saying, “Look! God’s dwelling place is now among the people, and he will dwell with them. They will be his people, and God himself will be with them and be their God.”
As I read this passage of scripture, I thought, what a beautiful picture of our future, and I noted that what remains of the old creation are the creator and his children. We his children will be changed into our eternal existence, and be with our God.
God has given many examples in creation to teach his children. I love the life of the butterfly as an example of change. The butterfly starts out as a caterpillar, but a change is coming. Through a process that God set in motion the caterpillar will become a very different creature. The change called metamorphosis takes the lowly caterpillar and produces a beautiful butterfly.
God is always with us as we continue our caterpillar existence here on the earth, but remember a metamorphosis is coming. We have a beautiful, eternal future. God is always with us, and we have glimpses of his presence from time to time. In the new heaven and earth he will set his dwelling place among us. We’ll have the delight of his presence forever. Take time to contemplate the words of this scripture. No matter what you might be facing, a smile is likely to arise from deep within you.
When Jesus was explaining the parable of the sower to his disciples (Matthew 13:18-23 NIV) he used this phrase, “the deceitfulness of wealth”. In Matthew 13:22 Jesus said, “The seed falling among the thorns refers to someone who hears the word, but the worries of this life and the deceitfulness of wealth choke the word making it unfruitful.” This phrase caught my attention as I read through the passage, and I thought it worth a more in-depth look.
I frequently like to refer to The Message to expand my understanding of a passage. Here’s how verse 22 reads, “The seed cast in the weeds is the person who hears the kingdom news, but weeds of worry and illusions about getting more and wanting everything under the sun strangle what was heard, and nothing comes of it.” The words deceitfulness and illusions both give indication of something that is not really there. Here in America, I believe the deceitfulness and the illusions of wealth hinder us from fully participating in God’s kingdom. Perhaps it is our greatest deception.
I remember, when my youngest daughter returned from a mission’s trip to Mexico, she was deeply impressed by how happy the people were in the village where she stayed. She said to me, “Dad they live in shacks and have nothing, yet they are always cheerful and happy.” It was a great experience for her. She had the opportunity to realize that material wealth doesn’t bring happiness.
As we head into the holiday season, let us not fall victim to the deceitfulness of wealth. The holidays should be more about God’s love and faithfulness. There is a mounting excitement as we gather together for Thanksgiving and then the celebration of God coming to earth. In these moments, there is light to be found. Don’t let the darkness of striving for wealth cause you to miss the light of God’s love.
(Luke 12:15) Then he said to them, “Watch out! Be on your guard against all kinds of greed; life does not consist in an abundance of possessions.”
Jesus follows this statement of caution with the parable of the foolish rich man (verses 16-20). He tells of a rich man whose fields yielded an unexpectedly abundant harvest. His barns were inadequate to handle the harvest, so he tore them down and built bigger ones. Here he is thinking he’s got it made, but his time was up, and he died that very night.
Jesus concludes the parable in verse 21, “This is how it will be with whoever stores up things for themselves but is not rich toward God. The message translates this verse, “That’s what happens when you fill your barn with self and not with God.” Jesus often directs his teaching to the matter of focusing on material wealth rather than God. He knows our weaknesses, and how easily we can fall into the pitfall of greed.
Our culture is filled with the “I need more syndrome”. We are continually trying to fill the bottomless pit of want. Solomon warns us in Ecclesiastes 5:10, “Whoever loves money never has enough; whoever loves wealth is never satisfied with their income.” Jesus wants us to pursue the life that comes from trusting God with our needs. Matthew 6:33, “But seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well.”
God offers us a better way. By focusing our lives on him and trusting him with our needs, we can avoid the merry-go-round of greed. We will be disappointed by spending our lives accumulating wealth and material possessions. There is never enough to satisfy. God’s way brings satisfaction.
(Jude 22-23) Be merciful to those who doubt; save others by snatching them from the fire; to others show mercy, mixed with fear – hating even the clothing stained by corrupted flesh.
The Church, the Body of Christ, has throughout the ages frequently missed the basic tenet of being merciful. On the other hand the Church has been an instrument of mercy in society since its beginning. It’s been a mixed bag.
In Luke 6:35-36 Jesus says, “But love your enemies, do good to them, and lend to them without expecting to get anything back. Then your reward will be great, and you will be sons of the Most High, because he is kind to the ungrateful and wicked. Be merciful, just as your Father is merciful.” God has shown us mercy, and he desires us to be merciful. I believe our ability to be merciful depends on our ability to receive mercy. Humility is the key.
To receive mercy, I must first recognize my need for mercy. When I know that I have sinned against God, there is then the recognition of the debt I owe to God. Secondly, I need to humble myself and become aware that there is nothing I can do to repay this debt. God is willing and has made the way to grant me mercy by forgiving my debt. I don’t have to work for it. It’s free. That is hard for me because in my pride I want to do something to earn forgiveness. However, by holding on to this idea of earning forgiveness, I will never even understand mercy.
Now you can see why it’s a mixed bag for the Church. Our pride often gets in the way. In Matthew 9:13 Jesus says to the Pharisees, “But go and learn what this means: ‘I desire mercy, not sacrifice.’ And again in 12:7, “If you had known what these words mean, ‘I desire mercy, not sacrifice,’ you would not have condemned the innocent.” The Pharisees were caught up in a ritual of sacrifice that fed their pride allowing them to condemn others rather than show them mercy. They were trying to pay their debt to God on their own merit. They were blinded by pride and did not understand mercy. Therefore, they could not extend mercy.
Mercy proceeds from a humble, forgiving heart. This is God’s nature, and his heart toward us. By surrendering my will to God and allowing myself to be forgiven, I take the first step in understanding mercy. I feel the burden of gilt lifted and the exhilaration of being free. But, I must remember that I’m free and not fall prey to the lie that I must do something for this freedom. That lie feeds my pride. I must remain humble. Then in humble gratitude, I live under God’s mercy. A life that is continually bathed in mercy emanates mercy.
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