When Does Christmas End?

 

                                                       When Does Christmas End?

Reminding myself of an old Christmas carol/hymn (almost 200 years old) --

"As with gladness men of old, did the guiding star behold; as with joy they hailed its light; leading onward beaming bright. So, most gracious Lord, may we evermore be led to Thee."

That's the first verse.

Reminding me that the Christmas story did not end 2000 years ago -- it continues today as we follow His light that leads us right to Him.

As we say, 'Wise men still seek Him.'

And the last verse is wonderful, too. "Holy Jesus, every day, keep  us in the narrow way. And when earthly things are past, bring our ransomed souls at last, where they need no star to guide, where no clouds Thy glory hides."

Don't you just love this idea? We no longer need a star to guide us now and we won't when our earthly life is over --  We have His Holy Spirit to bring us home to be with Him forever!

We'll see Him in all His glory and bow in worship just as the wise men did.

And we'll thank Him throughout eternity  for Christmas!

              'Twas grace that brought me safe this far, and grace will lead me home!

Christmas - Charles Spurgeon

Behold, the virgin shall conceive and bear a son,

 and shall call his name Immanuel.

-- Isaiah 7:14

     Let us today go down to Bethlehem, and in company with wondering shepherds and adoring Magi let us see Him who was born King of the Jews, for we by faith can claim an interest in Him and can sing, "For unto us a child is born, to us a son is given" (Isaiah 9:6).

     Jesus is God incarnate, our Lord and our Savior, and yet our Brother and our Friend; let us adore and admire Him.

     Let us notice at the very first glance His miraculous conception. It was a thing unheard of before, and unparalleled since, that a virgin should conceive and bear a son.

     The first promise [Genesis 3:15] concerned the seed of a woman, not the offspring of a man.

     Since venturesome woman led the way in the sin that resulted in paradise lost, she, and she alone, ushers in the Redeemer of Paradise.

     Let us reverently bow before the holy Child whose innocence restores to manhood its ancient glory; and let us pray that He may be formed in us, the hope the glory.

     Do not fail to note His humble parentage.

     His mother has been described simply a "virgin," not a princess or prophetess, not a woman of influence.

     True, the blood of kings ran in her veins; and her mind was not weak or untaught, for she could sweetly sing a song of praise.

     Yet how humble her position, how poor the man to whom she was engaged, and how miserable the accommodation provided for the newborn King!

     Immanuel -- God with us in our nature, in our sorrow, in our daily work, in our punishment, in our death, and now with us, or rather we with Him, in resurrection, ascension, triumph, and Second Advent splendor.

       -- From Morning and Evening, December 25,
                      Charles Spurgeon

       

The Man and the Birds - Paul Harvey's Christmas Story

Maybe you remember this........


This is a transcription of Paul Harvey's classic original verbal presentation of this commentary just as he spoke it on the radio.

                                                                             * * * * *

Unable to trace its proper parentage, I have designated this as My Christmas Story  - "The Man and the Birds."

You know, "The" Christmas story, "God born in a manger," and all that, escapes some moderns. Mostly, I think because they seek complex answers to their questions, and this one is so utterly simple. So for the cynics and skeptics and the unconvinced, I submit a modern parable.

Now the man to whom I'm going to introduce you was not a scrooge. He was kind, decent, mostly a good man. Generous to his family, upright in his dealings with other men, but he just didn't believe all that incarnation stuff which churches proclaim at Christmas time.

It just didn't make sense, and he was too honest to pretend otherwise. He just couldn't swallow the Jesus story about God coming to earth as a man.

"I'm truly sorry to distress you," he told his wife, "But I'm not going with you to church this Christmas eve." He said he'd feel like a hypocrite, that he'd much rather just stay at home, but that he would wait up for them. So he stayed and they went to the midnight service.

Shortly after the family drove away in the car, snow began to fall.

He went to the windows to watch the flurries getting heavier and heavier and then went back to his fireside chair and began to read his newspaper.

Minutes later, he was startled by a thudding sound. Then another. And then another - sort of a thump or a thud.

At first he thought someone must be throwing snowballs against his living room window. But when he went to the front door to investigate, he found a flock of birds huddled miserably in the snow. They had been caught in the storm and in a desperate search for shelter, had tried to fly through his large landscape window.


Well, he couldn't let the poor creatures lie there and freeze, so he remembered the barn where his children stabled their pony. That would provide a warm shelter if he could direct the birds to it. 

Quickly, he put on a coat and galoshes and tramped through the deepening snow to the barn.

He opened the doors wide and turned on a light. But the birds did not come in. He figured food would entice them in. So he hurried back to the house, fetched bread crumbs, sprinkled them on the snow, making a trail to the yellow-lighted, wide open door to the stable.

But to his dismay, the birds ignored the bread crumbs and continued to flop around helplessly in the snow. He tried catching them. He tried "shooing" them into the barn by walking among them waving his arms. Instead, they scattered in every direction - except the warm-lighted barn.

Then he realized that they were afraid of him. To them, he reasoned, "I am a strange and terrifying creature. If only I could let them know that they can trust me." But how? Because any move he made tended to frighten them...confuse them. They just would not follow. They would not be led, or "shooed" because they feared him.

"If only I could be a bird," he thought to himself, "and mingle with them and speak their language. Then I could tell them not to be afraid. Then I could show them the way to the safe, warm .....

....to the safe, warm barn......but I would have to be one of them so they could see and hear and understand."

Suddenly he realized exactly what he was thinking. And at that moment the church bells began to ring. He stood there listening to the bells ringing  "O Come All Ye Faithful." Listening to the bells pealing the glad tidings of Christmas....

And he sank to his knees in the snow.

                                              ``````

Christmas - Joseph the Just (Part 2)

Part 2....


Now the birth of Jesus took place in this way. When his mother Mary had been betrothed to Joseph, before they came together she was found to be with child of the Holy Spirit; and her husband, Joseph, being a just man and unwilling to put her to shame, resolved to divorce her quietly.
                      -- Matthew 1: 18-19


So we now see (Part 1) that Joseph's definition of justice stemmed from the Old Testament teachings on mercy and compassion.

We see in Matthew 1 that Joseph did not have an initial appearance of the angel messenger, like Mary did. Probably someone else told him Mary was pregnant. The text does not tell us. Maybe a gossipy neighbor told him.  But it is clear that
he decided to do the righteous and just thing first, and then the angel appeared. (Maybe a good message for us there.)

The English translation of Matthew 1:20 says he "considered" the situation. Most scholars say the more accurate meaning of the Greek word used would be that he became "very upset," even "fuming."

Even though he did choose to do the right thing, did that mean he had no feelings at all? Certainly he was embarrassed. Felt betrayed. Angry. There would have been great doubts about his bride-to-be and her merit as a wife and mother of his children.

But one remarkable thing about Joseph is that he was able to still do the "right"--  the "just" -- thing. He could re-process his anger and hurt. He could turn them into grace.

Later when his Son Jesus was grown (and we don't know how long Joseph lived, whether he even saw his Son grown) we can see glimpses of Joseph actions in our Lord's teachings.

Remember the parable of the great banquet when the wealthy generous man was publicly insulted? It's in Luke 14. The
donor decides to re-process his anger into grace, and turned to the unworthy outside the community to invite them to his grand banquet.

And in Matthew 12 Jesus talks about the wealthy farmer who build a vineyard and rents it out to tenants. When he tries to collect the rents the tenants refuse to pay. They insult, beat and finally kill the servants who come to collect the rent. The master decides to turn his anger into grace and send his son, alone and unarmed, hoping they will be ashamed and pay their due.

Did Jesus grow up with this kind of example, of extending mercy, not legal justice, when he watched his earthly father?

Why did Joseph even take Mary with him to Bethlehem to register? Did he fear that she would be shunned or mistreated during his absence? She was also a descendant of David and so was entitled to go.  He could have registered for her, but he chose to take her.

Anyway you look at it, Joseph is a silent hero in this 'only once in history' story of the Incarnation. His courage and understanding of God's over-reaching, eternal message made it possible for there to be a Christmas story at all.

He was able to turn his anger and hurt for himself into grace and mercy for others.

Joseph the Just. Joseph the Noble. Joseph the Kind and Good. Joseph the godly.


[Shakespeare understood justice and mercy. Remember
Portia's cautionary words in The Merchant of Venice?

''(mercy)... is an attribute of God Himself
And earthly power doth then show most likest God's
When mercy seasons justice. Therefore, Jew,
Though justice be thy plea, consider this,
That in the course of justice, none of us
Should see salvation: we do pray for mercy,
And that same prayer doth teach us to render
The deeds of mercy..."

When mercy seasons justice...like God's example...
If we pursue justice none of us would ever see salvation....and that appeal for mercy compels us to extend more deeds of mercy..."Let him who is without sin, cast the first stone," Jesus said.

Was He remembering?

I remember my father saying, every time we took a photo of him, "does it do me justice? No, I don't want justice. I want mercy!"

[I understand that better every year.]

Christmas - Joseph the Just (Part 1)

Now the birth of Jesus took place in this way. When his mother Mary had been betrothed to Joseph, before they came together she was found to be with child of the Holy Spirit; and her husband Joseph, being a just man and unwilling to put her to shame, resolved to divorce her quietly.
                  --Matthew 1:18-19


    What is justice?

There was a time when these verses unsettled me. Because he was a just man....he was unwilling to put her to shame....I thought being just meant applying the law equally to all  (according to Deuteronomy an unfaithful partner - man and woman - were both to be stoned).  But here we are told Joseph was just.

Is the text talking about another kind of justice? Is there another kind of justice? Apparently, to Joseph it was more than "equal application of the law."

Joseph, being a faithful Jew, would have known many Old Testament passages talking about justice.

He would have known Micah 6:8:  He has shown you, O man, what is good. And what does the LORD require of you? To act justly and to love mercy and to walk humbly with your God.

To act justly and love mercy - are they one?

He would have also known Isaiah's songs about a "suffering servant" who would one day appear. One of these hymns is in Isaiah 42:  A bruised reed he will not break, and a dimly burning wick he will not quench; he will faithfully bring forth justice.

Justice here is not "pay back" and it is not equal distribution of punishment. It is compassion for the weak and exhausted.

Reeds were used in the ancient world as pens. In southern Iraq until recently, they were also used for houses and boats -- that is, if they were not damaged. What could be done with a crushed reed? The only option was to break it and use it for fuel.

(For more on this, see Kenneth Bailey's Jesus Through Middle Eastern Eyes.)


Wicks were used for illumination. Every home had small clay lamps fueled with olive oil. The wicks for these lamps hung from a spout on the side of the lamp. As the oil ran out, there was danger that the wick might sever through burning and the end fall out of the spout and cause a fire. A small bowl of water was often placed on the floor under the lamp and prevent this kind of accident.

But the servant of God described in Isaiah will not break the damaged reed nor quench the dimly burning wick...he will faithfully bring forth justice.

According the Kenneth Bailey, "Joseph looked beyond the penalties of the law in order to reach out with tenderness to a young woman who was no doubt bruised and exhausted. Perhaps he saw Mary as a 'dimly burning wick.'

"This prophetic definition of justice required a compassionate concern for the weak, the downtrodden and the outcasts in their need.

"...Without that prophetic understanding of justice embedded in Joseph's mind, Jesus would never have been born..

"Joseph is not, therefore, a passive, mute figure. Rather he acts as a strong, thoughtful person whose bold decision at a point of crisis saves the life of the mother and her unborn child."

Joseph was a theologian whose concept of justice grew out of the Old Testament writing, especially those "suffering servant" songs in Isaiah.

Joseph was a "just" man and so he showed mercy and extended grace.

(con't in Part 2)

A Song of Hope and Joy - The Magnificat

"And Mary said, 'My soul magnifies the Lord. My spirit has rejoiced in God, my Savior.'" (Luke 1:46-47).

Have you ever felt overwhelmed and yet honored by something God has call you to do? Maybe humbled? Perhaps even scared and nervous?

Consider Mary - a humble young woman selected by God to carry and give birth to (and then to parent!) the Savior of the world!

She could have been consumed by fear and doubt. Instead her response to the angel was, "I am the Lord's servant. May your word to me be fulfilled."

The angel also told her that her cousin Elizabeth was miraculously pregnant, too, and Mary hurried to visit her.

When she greeted Elizabeth she told Mary, "As soon as the sound of your greeting reached my ears the baby in my womb leaped for joy!"

Mary's response was a beautiful declaration of God's faithfulness and redemptive plan.

History records this response as "The Magnificat" (Latin for 'My soul magnifies the Lord'). It became a canticle, hymn, of the early church and is still sung or chanted today in many churches throughout the world.

Mary's song is a model for us. She rejoiced in God's mercy and power to fulfill all His promises. We can, too. When we face uncertainty or doubt or just feel small and incapable in following God's purpose for us, we can choose to magnify Him and focus on His glory instead of our own limitations!

Take a few minutes and read her song -- recorded in Luke1:46-55. 

You'll be so blessed!

Reflect on how you can magnify God in your life today -- pray for a heart that rejoices in his faithfulness, letting your life become a song for others to hear!

Christmas - It All Comes With Jesus - Immanuel!

Let us then approach the throne of grace with confidence so that we may receive mercy and find grace to help us in our time of need.

(Hebrews 4:16)

Where else could we go in time of need? His Throne is the only place we can receive mercy because He is the only One who can extend it to us. With open, empty hands we approach Him and He fills them to overflowing with His mercy and His grace.

Mercy is when we don't get what we deserve. We deserve judgment, but we get mercy. It's a full pardon for all we have done that shows our disobedience and rejection of God.

Grace is when we get even more than mercy -- we get the added bonus of Christ's righteousness being credited to us.

So mercy is when we don't get what we deserve. And grace is when we do get what we don't deserve.

It's the ultimate exchange. We get rid of our dirty, sinful clothing and replace it with the perfect spotless new garments of Christ's righteousness.

There is no better deal in the universe. It's the most drastic, and certainly most important, makeover ever!

Everything in our life is reversed. Everything is turned upside down.

We approach the Throne, which should be the Throne of Judgment for us, where we should receive His just punishment for our sins and failures. But because we come dressed in the righteousness of His Son, our Redeemer, God is able to be kind and gracious to us, without in any way trivializing His requirement for perfect holiness.
He welcomes us as we approach Him.

The Cross took care of all of it!

So this is the picture we have as we approach the Throne. He is there waiting for us -- eagerly desiring to bless us. A throne is the symbol of authority. And God's Throne is where He commands His goodness to fall upon us.

We so approach with grateful hearts, in confidence, knowing He has already extended the scepter -- not like an early king's scepter -- His scepter is shaped like a cross -- and we approach as children to their loving Father.
 Remember what it was like to fun full speed, laughing joyfully, into your father's arms?

Is there a more joyous place in the universe? I don't know of one.

Neither did the Psalmist.

You have made known to me the path of life; you will fill me with joy in your presence, with eternal pleasures at your right hand.

(Psalm 16:11)

There's a sign over the gate to Disneyland reminding us that we are entering "The Happiest Place on Earth." And it is a very happy place!

But that happiness pales when compared to the joy we find at the eternal Throne of God.

Sometimes we get carried away with comparing the various words associated with joy.
We define "happiness" one way, and "joy" another way.

The Psalmist approached it differently:

But may the righteous be glad and rejoice before God; may they be happy and joyful.

(Psalm 68:3)

Look at those words: be glad, rejoice, be happy, joyful -- four different words, and they all result from being in God's presence.

The Psalmist who write those words was King David, the one who sang and danced in the procession that brought the Ark of God's Presence into Jerusalem.

He was joyfully celebrating and dancing before God. It wasn't planned. It was a spontaneous reaction to just being close to God. And that's the kind of joy available to us! Today! Right now! At this precise moment! Just grab it!

That Christmas Ache

From Alicia Bruxvoort:

"Next time that yuletide yearning shows up like an awkward guest,
we don't need to let it steal our joy; we can simply let it stir our hope. Because God's promises are clear -- one day, our Advent ache will turn into eternal awe.   Until then, we can let it remind us that the best is yet to come.

Dear Jesus, sometimes I'm discouraged by the longing in my heart. Would you use Your Word to turn my awkward ache  into eager anticipation?  And help  me to stand firm in hope until I see You face to face. In Jesus' Name, Amen."


*For many hundreds of years the church celebrated Jesus' first coming to Bethlehem and also His future coming to reign - both
celebrated together at Christmastime.

One significant result of remembering both is many of our Christmas carols. For example, Joy to the World. Notice the words. They are about His future second coming, not His birth at Bethlehem!

Joy to the world! The Lord is come.

Let earth receive her King

Let every heart  prepare Him room 

and heaven and nature sing!

Joy to the earth! The Savior reigns. 

Let all their songs employ

While fields and floods, rocks, hills and plains

Repeat the sound joy!

No more let sins and sorrow grow, 

nor thorns infest the ground

He comes to  make His blessings flow

far as the curse is found!

He rules the world with truth and grace 

and makes the  nations prove
The glories of His righteousness 
and wonders of His Love!

                                                 -- By Isaac Watts

Christmas - Zechariah Prays and God Works!

Zechariah Prays...


When Zechariah went into the temple to perform his term of service, "the whole multitude of the people were praying outside" (Luke 1).

What were they praying? What the Jews always prayed for....salvation from our enemies...and from the hand of all who hate us.....that God would remember to be merciful to Abraham and his descendants forever, even as he said to our fathers.....

Did they realize God was at work? Maybe veiled from their eyes, but that for the last 500 years He had been preparing the world for the coming Messiah.

But when the time had fully come, God sent His Son, born of a woman, that we might receive the full rights as sons (Galatians 4:4-5).

Or as in the King James Version..."in the fullness of time..."

God sent His Son, that we might be called the children of God (I John 3:1).

At the exact right moment, God intervened in history and sent to us His Son so that we, too, could become children of God!


God is at work.....


From the destruction of the temple in 586 BC, through the Babylonian captivity, through the return from exile, through the oppressions of the Persians, Greeks and Romans, God was busy at work, preparing His people and the world for His great rescue mission.

Look at some of the things that God did during those 500 years, preparing the world for His Visitation:

   1. The Greek culture had saturated the known civilized  world and its language was spoken throughout all the kingdoms. A common language makes communication so much easier!

   2. The Old Testament canon was organized and, in its entirety, translated from Hebrew into Greek, making its message accessible to all. (Translation was known as the Septuagint, completed around 270 BC, commonly called the LXX. It was written particularly to accommodate the dispersed Jews who were by then speaking Greek as their usual language.)

   3. God used the destruction of the temple in 586 BC and the exile of the Jews to Babylon to create a synagogue structure, a model for local congregations of the coming Church. People learned to worship God without the temple. 

   4. God purified Israel from idolatry and mixing with other religions. After the destruction and fall of Jerusalem, Jews never again embraced other "gods." They were cleansed.

Not only that, as monotheism became permanently central to Israel it became the foundation of Christian thought and all of western civilization.

   5. The dispersion of the Jewish people throughout the Greek/Roman empire provided a mission base by which Paul could carry the gospel to small Jewish communities throughout the world.  Because of the synagogues and scattered groups of Jews, Paul could organize his vast mission trips and begin the spread of the gospel.

   6. Because of their strict belief in monotheism, Christ's claims to be God led to the priests delivering Him up to be crucified, which, of course, was the central issue of God's rescue plan!

   7. The Greek culture unified the world, and the Roman Empire with its vast system of roads (used initially for military conquest and control) united the world in a way never before in world history. It was convenient for the gospel to flow from nation to nation, and there was easy access to all areas of the empire.  That made the spread of the gospel possible.


God worked His plan through the suffering of His people....

God was busy at work, weaving a extraordinary historical tapestry. But it all worked through the suffering of Israel. Without the Babylonian captivity, there would have no coming of the Messiah, no cross, no Christianity, and no civilization today as we know it.




In Psalm 137 we read about the sorrow of the Jewish people in captivity in Babylon:

By the rivers of Babylon we sat and wept

when we remembered Zion.

There on the poplars we hung our harps,

for there our captors demanded songs of joy;

They said, "Sing us one of the songs of Zion!"

How can we sing the songs of the LORD

while in a foreign land?

If I forget you, O Jerusalem, 

may my right hand forget its skill

May my tongue cling to the roof of my mouth,

if I do not remember you, if I do not consider Jerusalem my highest joy.

Five hundred years before Christ as born, the Jews were praying that they be saved from their enemies and that Jerusalem be restored to them.

Now, here, in Luke's account, while Zechariah was in the temple praising God for His revealed redemption, his family and friends were outside having a prayer meeting.

And when the time for the burning of incense came, all the assembled worshippers are praying outside...

(Luke 1:10).

They prayed. God worked. The Messiah arrived...

"in the fullness of time."

Our God is always at work. 

Christmas - The Summons - James M Boice

The Summons...

After Jesus was born in Bethlehem in Judea, Magi from the east came to Jerusalem and asked,

"Where is he that has been born King of the Jews? We saw his star in the east and have come to worship him" (Matthew 2:2).



And there were shepherds living out in the fields nearby, keeping watch over their flocks at night. An angel of the Lord appeared to them, and the glory of the Lord shone around them, and they were terrified. But the angel said to them,

"Do not be afraid. I bring you good news of great joy that will be for all people. Today in the town of David a Savior has been born to you; he is Christ the Lord. This will be a sign to you: You will find a baby wrapped in cloths and lying in a manger." (Luke 2:8-11).

Thoughts from James Montgomery Boice 

The wise men and shepherds each obeyed God's summons.

In the film Close Encounters of the Third Kind, a number of people received invitations by an extraterrestrial people to a visit they were soon going to make to earth.

The plot of the movie was in the heroic efforts of these people to get to the meeting pace and be there when the spaceship came down.

That was the kind of invitation the shepherds and the wise men received.  Only theirs was to a far more significant encounter. This visit to earth was not merely a visit of an alien people, but of the very God of the universe Himself. It was an invitation to the birth of Jesus. God's unique Son.

Can we imagine the shepherds or wise men refusing that unprecedented invitation?

Perhaps.

The magi lived at a great distance from Jerusalem and were alerted to the child's birth only the appearance of His star.

They might have reasoned: "This star probably announces the birth of a  Savior-King in Judea, but of course we could be mistaken. The way to Jerusalem is long. Others will probably be paying their respects. We don't need to go. It would be a lot more convenient if we could stay here."

The shepherds, too, might have refused the invitation.

 They might have said: "We are not dressed for the occasion, We have nothing to bring. We are not fit company for Him who is announced by angels."

They might even have asked, "But who will care for our sheep? Who will tend to the things for which we are responsible?"

Neither the wise men nor the shepherds did that.

Instead of making excuses the  shepherds said, "Let's go to Bethlehem and see this thing that has happened that the Lord has told us about (Luke 2:15).

I wonder if you have been as obedient to God as those shepherds, who were so low on the social scale of their day, or the wise men, who were so removed from the happenings in Judea.

You know the story of Christmas. You even know the gospel of Jesus' death for sinners, for which Christmas is but a preparation.

You know the invitation of Christ: "Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest" (Matthew 11:28).

Have you responded to that invitation?

Have you obeyed God's summons?

You have not found Christmas, nor will you ever find it, until you do.

   -- From The Christ of Christmas,
            by James Montgomery Boice

Christmas - What Kind of a Child is this?

I just heard again the old, wonderful Christmas carol, "What Child Is This?"

2nd verse:

Why lies Him here in  such mean estate

Where ox and ass are feeding?

Good Christians fear:

For sinners, here, the silent Word is pleading.

Two thoughts:

(1) The glorious fact of our rescue plan...

designed by God before the creation of the world...

described to mankind at the beginning of history...

reminded to mankind continually throughout history...

revealed to mankind in the incarnation of Jesus Christ the Word...

explained to mankind through the written record of the New Testament...

and, finally, completed through the coronation of Jesus Christ as Lord of All.

Then, "every knee shall bow and every tongue confess, that Jesus Christ is Lord" (Philippians 2).

When Mary laid Him there in that manger, when the shepherds came to worship, when Joseph stood by to protect Him, in that tiny Body God's grace was already being worked out.

The silent Word was already pleading.....

(2) God loves to surprise us!

Think of it! The Creator -- God -- King -- arriving in Bethlehem of Judea in a stable! Who would ever make up a story like that?

And then in the last (future) days the Apostle John sees the throne of God and the elders call, "Do not weep! See, the Lion of the tribe of Judah, the Root of David, has triumphed."

But what does he see?  "Then I saw a Lamb, looking as if it had been slain, standing in the center of the throne" (Revelation 5.)

Not a fearful mighty Lion, but a wounded Lamb...the Lamb that was slain from the beginning of the world (Revelation 13).

God's amazing rescue plan -- wrapped in a surprise package -- and we can now begin to glorify God and enjoy Him forever!

So bring Him incense, gold and myrrh

Come peasant, king, to own Him

The King of kings salvation brings,

Let loving hearts adore Him.

Raise, raise the song on high

The Virgin sings her lullaby

Joy, joy, for Christ is born,

The Babe, the Son of Mar

Who Is Like Our God?

 

"I am God, and there is none like Me. I make known the end from the beginning, from ancient times, 

what is still to come. 

I say, 'My purpose will stand and I will do what I please.'" 

(Isaiah 46:9-10)

I just keep meditating on and enjoying this passage! Isn't it wonderful to know who is really in charge? That brings me a profound sense of peace and exhilarating freedom!

What about you?

And I love to reflect on the words, 'I make known the end from the beginning.'

Think about Eve, at the beginning, in Genesis, receiving God's promise of grace given to her specifically, that her Descendant would one day destroy the evil that Satan had brought into her perfect world.

Then read Revelation 20 and see it happen! And we know it's going to happen. She was told the end at the very beginning.

 

John tells us, "The reason the Son of God appeared was to destroy the works of the devil" (1 John 3:8).

God told us the end at the very beginning.

My Worst Day - Jerry Bridges

Try to discern what is pleasing to the Lord (Ephesians 5:10).


Does He care?

The good news of the gospel is that God's grace is available on our worst days.

That's true because Christ fully satisfied the claims of God's justice and fully paid the penalty of the broken law when He died on the cross in our place. Because of that, Paul could write, "He forgave us all our sins" (Colossians 2:13).

Does this mean God no longer cares whether we obey or disobey? Not at all. The Scripture speaks of our grieving the Holy Spirit through our sins (Ephesians 4:30).  And Paul prayed that we "may please God in every way" (Colossians 1:10).

Clearly, He cares about conduct and will discipline us when we refuse to repent of conscious sin. But God is no longer our Judge. Through Christ He is now our heavenly Father who disciplines us only out of love and only for our good.

If God's blessings were dependent on our performance, they would be meager indeed. Even our best works are shot through with sin--with varying degrees of impure motives and lots of imperfect performance.

We're always, to some degree, looking out for ourselves, guarding our flanks, protecting our egos. It's because we don't realize the utter depravity of the principle of sin remaining in us and staining everything we do that we entertain any notion of earning God's blessings through our obedience.

And because we don't fully grasp that Jesus paid the penalty for all our sins, we despair of God's blessing when we've failed to live up to even our own desires to please God.

Your worst days are never so bad that you're beyond the reach of God's grace. And your best days are never so good that you're beyond the need of God's grace.

What is God Like? My Prayer Today

 What is God Like? 

That's easy!

He tells us!

   "For to You, Lord, I lift up my soul. For You, Lord, are good and ready to forgive,

 and abundant in mercy to all who call upon You."

    -- Psalm 86:4-5

God, You are so abounding in mercy, so ready to forgive, the picture of such goodness -- qualities I can't even understand in this life. 

I worship You with my heart and soul. 

As I sit here now in regret over past sin, please remind me of Your forgiveness.

Please let me feel Your mercy. Fill me with it so I can extend it to others You put in my path today. 

May my family know Your grace. Lift their burdens and shine Your face upon them today.

I thank you for Your grace, which I do not deserve, and for your mercies which are new and  abundant each morning. This is my 'strength for today and bright hope for tomorrow.'

 Amen.

It's All About Pardons!

                                    It's All About Pardons!

A Presidential Pardon sounds like good news to a lot of people these days! It is a gift of great value. The right to grant a pardon is given to our Presidents in our Constitution, Article 2, Section 2.

Can it be overturned? No! Not even a unanimous decision of the Supreme Court can overturn a Presidential Pardon! Nor any law or statute passed by Congress.

The only thing that can effect a pardon is that in order to be validated it must be accepted!

In 1830 President Andrew Jackson issued a pardon to George Wilson, a man convicted of a US mail robbery and sentenced to death. He refused it and the Supreme Court determined that a pardon is a deed that requires acceptance from the person pardoned to be confirmed.

Look at what God is offering us:

"I will cleanse them from all their iniquity by which they have sinned against Me, and I will pardon all their iniquities by which they have sinned and by which they have transgressed against Me" (Jeremiah 33:8).

Cleansed and pardoned! Erased forever!

Like our human Presidential Pardons, our pardon from God cannot be overturned-- but the requirement is also that it must be accepted!

Not accepting the pardon makes it null and void - completely invalid, has no legal force, considered as if it never existed.

That means the convict is condemned to face punishment as the law requires! Who would want that?

I have accepted God's forever pardon! (It is also preemptive!) Joyfully! Have you?

The Problem With Trying to Make Yourself Look Stupid

Looking  back to the beginning -- When the Lion (Aslan) Created Narnia 

(From "The Magician's Nephew," The Chronicles of Narnia, by C S Lewis)

"When the Lion had first begun singing, long ago when it was still quite dark, [Uncle Andrew] had realized that the noise was a song. And he disliked the song very much. It made him think and feel things he did not want to think and feel. Then, when the sun rose and he saw that the singer was a lion ('only a lion,') he said to himself, he tried his hardest to make believe that lion had never been singing, only roaring as lions do in our world.

And the longer and more beautifully the Lion sang, the harder Uncle Andrew tried to make himself believe that he could hear nothing but roaring.

Now the trouble about trying to make yourself stupider than you really are is that you very often succeed. And Uncle Andrew did. He soon did hear nothing but roaring in Aslan's song. Soon he couldn't have heard anything else even if he had wanted to.

And when at last the Lion spoke -- 'Narnia, AWAKE!' -- he didn't hear any words, just a snarl. And when the Beasts spoke in answer he heard only barkings, howling, baying and growling."

~~~~~~~~~~~~~

[Poor Uncle Andrew. He didn't want to see or hear the truth. He preferred to hear and see a lie. He didn't even hear the Talking Beasts! He was there, but he missed it all! Missed the joyous magnificence of Aslan personally creating Narnia!

And so he exchanged the truth for a lie, as explained in Romans 1. He had ears and eyes, but he could not hear or see!  I know some people like that around me right now - and we aren't even in Narnia! You probably do, too!]

Miscellaneous Thoughts to Ponder Today

To think about...

1. God loves me the way I am, but He refuses to leave me this way. He wants me to be like Jesus!

2. Every saint has a past! Every sinner has a future! 

3. The Church is a hospital for sinners...not a hotel resort for saints!

4. As the flower is more lovely than the root, so is the experience of fellowship with the risen Savior more lovely than the doctrine itself! --     Charles H Spurgeon

Who Wants a Tin Can Without a Can Opener?

                                      Who Wants A Tin Can Without a Can Opener?

We  can always count on God's timing. It's perfect, down to the last second accurate.

In Ephesians 2:10 He tells us that "We are God's handiwork [masterpiece], created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do."

Not only did He prepare the tasks He wanted us to do, but He also prepared us to be able to do the tasks!

We read in 2 Timothy 2:16-17, that "All Scripture is God-breathed and is useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting and training in righteousness, so that the servant of God may be thoroughly equipped for every good work."

His timing is perfect! When the task is ready for us we are ready for the task!

Our human timing is not so great. I remember reading that Napoleon Bonaparte, in the 1790's, discovered that food, when heated, could be preserved for long periods of time and still retain flavor if kept safely in a secure container.

I don't know how he discovered that - but he talked about it - he didn't realize that by killing the bacteria and applying a sealed vacuum it was kept from recontamination - he just knew it kept food longer and preserved more of its taste.

A British inventor in 1810, applied this study to his own work, and created the world's first canned goods. But his 'cans' were wrought iron and so thick they had to be opened with a hammer and chisel!

It wasn't till 50 years later that an American inventor, with thinner steel cans, invented an actual can opener that had a blade that could puncture a can and saw the lid off!  And it wasn't until 1870 that a rotary can opener  appeared on the market that could actually be used by home consumers.  A huge advancement in food consumption!

But it took 60 years for the practical, operational can opener to be invented so those marvelous cans of food could be opened!

I am thankful for the variety of food tin cans made possible. And how the ideas of "canning" food right at home changed our diets forever. But I am also thankful we can get into them without a hammer and chisel! 

Nothings compares to God's perfect timing in all He does.

He has a job He wants us to do. And He has already prepared us to do it!

The Art of Being Wise - Abraham Lincoln

 "A man's wisdom gives him patience. It is his glory to overlook an offense" (Proverbs 19:2).

I read once that the art of being wise is the the art of knowing what to overlook -- part of what this verse teaches us!

To overlook someone's offenses allows us to drop our pretentions and defenses (in my case usually pride, arrogance, and self-righteousness) and just humbly drop the burden and move on.

And we can choose to do that!

Abraham Lincoln chose to overlook an important offense -- he was wise.  Once his secretary of war, Edwin Stanton, called him "a damned fool." Lincoln didn't retaliate in any way. He didn't relieve Stanton of duty, didn't come back with an angry retort, didn't replace him, argue in any way. Didn't try to make Stanton look bad.

Lincoln simply responded, "Mr. Stanton is very smart. He is usually right, and I usually agree with him. And he usually means what he says. So I must be a damned fool."

By being neither offensive or defensive, Lincoln killed the story! If he had responded others would have gotten involved, the press would hear about it and promote it and the fight would continue ad nauseum. (It certainly would have made the history books! Sort of like what would happen today!). Think about it -- have you ever heard this story before? No, I just dug it out of an old journal...by responding as he did, Lincoln killed the story forever! He was wise....

By the way, their friendship survived this challenge and apparently when Lincoln was fatally shot, Stanton was the one who announced, "Now he belongs to the ages," indicating he understood Lincoln's greatness.

Overlooking offenses give us joyous freedom!

Remember, "Love covers a multitude of sins." And "love is not easily angered; it keeps no record of wrongs..." And we are told repeatedly that God Himself keeps no records of our wrongs!

We should always keep the big picture in mind -- petty offenses have no effect on God's big picture. They are meaningless.

Prayer for today: "As You have been to me, loving Father, help me to be to others today."

Questioning God

 It's truly amazing how God's words in His Word speak to us just when we need to hear them!

I say, "Lord, how could You truly love someone like me?"

He answers, "I have loved you with an everlasting love; I have drawn you with loving kindness" (Jeremiah 31:3).

I say, "Lord, why would You draw me to You?"

He tells me that He takes great delight in me and that He rejoices over me, singing to me while quieting and soothing me with His words (Zephaniah 3:17). He tells me I am His (Psalm 100:3).

"But, Lord," I protest. "How can You accept me? My weaknesses, my return to sin, my disobedience! Even I wouldn't want me!"

He answers, "Though the mountains be shaken  and the hills be removed, yet My unfailing love for you will not be shaken, nor My covenant of peace be removed"(Isaiah 54:10).

Doubts press in. But He overrides them with His perfect promise from Lamentations 3:22 that His love and compassion never fail -- in fact, they are new and fresh every morning!

He has spoken! Case closed!

Nothing can stop His love.

LORD, help me accept Your love for me and to joyfully display it every moment of every day! Amen.

{Thoughts from Anchor Devotional, November, 2024}

Bookends - John Stott

Grow in the grace and knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ (2 Peter 3:18).




As we consider various means by which Christians grow think of each one of them as a book you're putting on the shelf of your life. In order to keep those books in place, you need two bookends.


The first bookend we need is the righteousness of Christ. The most important question any person can ask is: How can I, a sinful person, be accepted by an infinitely and righteous God?


Paul told us it is by trusting in the righteousness of Christ. Paul counted all his impressive religious credentials as rubbish in order that he might "gain Christ and be found in Him, not having a righteousness of my own that comes from the law, but that which is through faith in Christ -- the righteousness that comes from God and is by faith" (Philippians 3:8-9).

Paul found his acceptance with God not in his own imperfect obedience, impressive as it was, but by trusting in the perfect righteousness of Jesus Christ, which God credits to all who trust in Him as Savior. That is what faith is--trusting in Jesus Christ as one's Savior.

The second bookend we must set in place is the power of Christ.  Just as our acceptance with God must come through the righteousness of Christ, so our power to live the Christian life must come from Christ as well. As Jesus indicated in John15:5, we have no ability within ourselves to grow.

All that ability must come from Him.

The common element in these two bookends is the word dependence. We're dependent upon the righteousness of Christ for our acceptance with God and upon the power of Christ for our ability to pursue spiritual growth.

                 -- From John Stott

God's Intended Destiny for Us

 

                                                  God's Intended Destiny for Us

Sometimes sharing the gospel awakens an intense resentment in the one we are talking to.

That's because the gospel reveals our sin and unholiness -- and that's bad news.

But we have to hear the bad news first before we can hear the really good news!

The good news is that He has rescued us from our sin and is eager to forgive and welcome us into His family!

Hearing the gospel can also awaken an intense longing -- yearning -- an intense desire -- to know God and receive His love and forgiveness.

What does He want to do with us?

God has only one intended destiny for mankind: holiness.

His goal is to make us saints. He does not save us out of pity. He saves us because He created us to be holy.

That begins at the cross. 

Christ takes on our sin and by His death pays the debt we owe God for our disobedience.  And by His perfect life of obedience He clothes us in His garments of righteousness.

It's like we come to Him with all our garbage - sin, guilt, hurt, bitterness, hatred, anger, broken dreams and hearts and messed up relationships. We put them in a really big garbage bag and take it to the Cross. He takes that bag and casts it away into eternal forgetfulness,

Then He reaches down and gives us a bottomless Treasure Chest - a chest full of love, forgiveness, joy, peace, eternal life, healing -- every good and perfect gift.

And the most precious gift of all -- His presence with us every moment of every day - forever!

And He begins the process of making us like Him - holy -  and able to fit into His family of saints.

What a great exchange! How could anyone resist such an offer?