December 28, 2014

"But the angel said to them, “Do not be afraid. I bring you good news that will cause great joy for all the people." Luke 2:10

Once famous evangelist, Billy Sunday said, “if you have no joy, there’s a leak in your Christianity.”

Joy was a new experience for the shepherds because joy arrived with the coming of Jesus! But it should not be a novel experience for you. Jesus intended for His believers to live in joy:

"I have told you this so that my joy may be in you and that your joy may be complete." John 15:11

"Until now you have not asked for anything in my name. Ask and you will receive, and your joy will be complete." John 16:24

So, what can you learn about joy from this encounter between the angel and the shepherds?

First, joy comes from receiving the good news.

These shepherds heard the good news in a very dramatic way. The angels came to them with this amazing announcement. How great was that?!

You will not get the news from an angel but the good news is no less powerful. One of your main responsibilities is to put yourself into places where you can receive the good news. Whether that be church service or small group or listening on radio or on the Internet or watching TV or in your daily devotions, it is up to you to get your daily dose of good news! No one else can do that for you.

How can you have joy if you are not regularly hearing the good news? What are you doing to make sure you regularly hear the good news?

Second, joy comes from responding to the good news.

The shepherds immediately responded to the good news. When they heard about what was happening they went to see it for themselves.

What do you do with the good news you receive? Do you obey it? Do you test it? Do you live it out in your daily living so that you know it it true? Do you let it guide your decisions and steer your emotions? Joy is not an emotion, but it is an action that leads to positive feelings. Feelings always follow faith and faith is the preferred response to the good news.

Living in joy means receiving the good news and responding to the good news and thirdly, joy results from relationship with the good news!

Joy is the natural response to living in relationship with Jesus. If you receive the good news just for information you will not live in joy. If you receive purely for inspiration it will not remain. But if you will commit to living in an intimate personal relationship with Jesus, your joy will not leak. The good news is about truth and Jesus IS the Truth! The good news is about finding your way and Jesus IS the Way! The good news is a way of life and Jesus IS the Life!

How is your relationship with Jesus? How well do you know Him? Is He your Source of Joy?

Don't let the joy leak out of your life. Plug that leak by plugging into Jesus! Receive His good news daily and respond to it and live in relationship with it!

Have a joyous day of worship!

December 27, 2014

"Then Jesus declared, “I am the bread of life. Whoever comes to me will never go hungry, and whoever believes in me will never be thirsty." John 6:35

As the prophet Micah foretold, Jesus was born in Bethlehem. It was the city of his ancestor, King David and by decree of Caesar Augustus that all throughout the land the citizens were to register of the census in their home town.

It was while Mary and Joseph were there in Bethlehem that Mary's baby was born in a manger at a local stable because the inn was full. So the history records that Jesus was born in Bethlehem of Judea. It was prophetic but it was also symbolic.

The word "Bethlehem" means "house of bread". Jesus, the Son of God, was born in "the house of bread". The Bread of Life was born in the "house of bread"! How good is that? Think about what that birth in Bethlehem signified.

First, it means that Jesus sustains life. As bread was a staple of their diet and an important part of ours and sustains our physical life, Jesus sustains the spiritual life of anyone who believes in Him and "feeds" on Him spiritually.

Second, it means that Jesus strengthens life. Just as a healthy diet of good food, such as bread, is necessary to strengthen the body, so "feeding" on Jesus strengthens the spirit of a believer.

Third, it means Jesus satisfies life. Few things are more delicious and substantial than a hot freshly made loaf of homemade bread. You can almost smell it now, can't you? In the same way, Jesus satisfies the spiritual hunger of those who "feed" on Jesus!

How do you "feed" on Jesus?

Have faith in Him. Believe what His Word tells you and life according to those truths.

Have fellowship with Him. Walk with Him daily. Talk with Him through pray and hear Him through His Word. Regularly partake of Communion in the fellowship of your local church.

All of this is possible and available to us because the Bread of Life was born in the "house of bread"! What good news this brings to a hungry world!

December 26, 2014

"But the angel said to them, “Do not be afraid. I bring you good news that will cause great joy for all the people." John 2:10

What was this "good news of great joy"? Why don't we see more joy in the church among believers?

We have recognized there should be joy in the presence of God and joy in the pardon from God and because of the peace of God though Christ. Also, you can find joy in the power of God. Christmas was impossible but impossible things happened so Jesus could be born!

How about another reason for joy?

You can take joy in the promises of God! In the events leading up to and culminating in the birth of Jesus there were 360 prophecies fulfilled. That means that 360 things that God predicted in advance were going to happen happened! And they happened exactly as they were foretold!

That incredible fact proves that God had His fingerprints all over the events that led up to the birth, death and resurrection of Jesus Christ! And the accuracy of these predictions should give us joy in knowing that the promises of God are true and reliable!

Whatever His Word promises He will do!

There is no one else you know and love who could keep his promises 100% of the time! Every person over promises and under delivers. BUT NOT GOD!

If you are facing a difficult circumstance right now and you desperately need Him to be Who His Word says He is - rejoice! Jesus is everything He promises He is and He can do and possibly has already done what ever He says. What He can do is posted in His Word. Read it, memorize it and claim it!

Find joy in praising Him that He will do what He promises to do! Christmas proves it!

December 25, 2014

^"The Word became flesh and made his dwelling among us."  John 14:1

Long before there was Occupy Wall Street or Occupy Oakland there was Occupy Bethlehem.

But rather than union members, and college students, and leftover hippies from the '60's, these characters were an entirely different sort of radicals! Joseph, Mary, Elizabeth, and Zechariah were called on to occupy key roles in the redemptive plan of God. These very ordinary folks were required to become radical in their faith, in their commitment and, especially in their obedience. Rarely has the world seen radicals like these!

A radical redemption from God was required to overcome the results of a radical rebellion that took root in the heart of Lucifer in Heaven and was re-enacted by Adam in the paradise called Eden. Those two acts of flagrant disobedience radically disrupted two perfect places and one perfect plan. They allowed sin to occupy the place once reserved only for God. But the grace of God is much more powerful than the greed of man. God's radical plan was announced right after the destructive deed was perpetrated, So the LORD God said to the serpent, “Because you have done this, “Cursed are you above all the livestock and all the wild animals! You will crawl on your belly and you will eat dust all the days of your life. And I will put enmity between you and the woman, and between your offspring and hers; he will crush your head, and you will strike his heel.” Genesis 3:14-15

From the moment of that announcement a patient, purposeful, persistent, and powerful plan was enacted from the heart of God that would require radical faith and radical obedience from a faithful few from generation to generation. Heroes of faith like Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, Noah, Moses, and David demonstrated a radical preoccupation to having God occupy their hearts. Because each was faithful to occupy their roles in His plan, the stage was set for two teens in tiny Nazareth of Galilee.

If history teaches us anything it shows us the world is shaped by those who are the most radical in their beliefs, desires, and devotion. The rise in radicalism among socialists, communists, progressives, anarchists and militant Muslims should remind us of that fact.

The radical obedience of Joseph and Mary won the Day for God by allowing Him to send His Son to fulfill God's amazing plan and display His radical grace. They also demonstrate for us How God can occupy you, radically transform you and use you to change your world for Him!

On this day when we celebrate Occupy Bethlehem, will you once again become preoccupied with God? Will you allow His Spirit to occupy you and empower you to radically obey Him in the same way Joseph and Mary did? It is time to get radical! Radical righteousness defeats radical rebellion every time!

Christmas proved it!

MERRY CHRISTMAS!

December 24, 2014

“The Word became flesh and made his dwelling among us. We have seen his glory, the glory of the One and Only, who came from the Father, full of GRACE and TRUTH.” John 1:14

That just has a nice sound to it doesn't it – “full of grace and truth”?

I could love a God like that! I could trust Him to love me!

What a joy to know that the very same Word Who spoke the universe into existence with just a few words, tempers all that power and authority with grace and with truth! I wouldn't want One who possessed that much might being spiteful or dishonest. Would you?

Amazingly, not only does His grace and truth keep His massive power in check but grace and truth balance each other.

Grace, as wonderful as it is, can actually become harmful if not balanced by truth.

I’m sure you have known people who are so gracious they allow others to get away with harmful and unhealthy behavior. A good relationship requires boundaries that make grace meaningful. Those boundaries are formed and established by truth. That is best illustrated by the Ten Commandments God gave His people on their way to the Promised Land. He wanted them to prosper toward Him, their families and in society, so He established the guardrails of truth to define healthy relationships.

This wasn't in my notes, but as a parallel thought here, remember when Jesus said that He didn’t come to abolish the Commandments but to fulfill them? In part, this is what He was talking about. Check out the Commandments and you will see that all ten deal with relationships. And Who better to demonstrate for us how relationships should work than God in the flesh?

Jesus even tried to simplify it for us by reducing truth into two big concepts – “Love God with all your heart and love your neighbor as yourself”. Truth and grace are to define our daily reality and our relationships.

The Master also made it plain He could help us execute those two realities by identifying Himself as, “the Way, the TRUTH, and the Life”. Anyone see a theme developing here?

Have you noticed how much trouble people create for themselves and others when they try to become arbiters of truth? No wonder our culture is so bad at relationships! How can I ever hope to have a healthy relationship with you when we are operating from two different versions of truth? The only way I can extend you grace is if you line up with my version of truth! It is hard to love someone you are tying to dominate. If I am trying to manipulate you and control you and cajole you with attempts to force you into my reality, how can that foster trust or respect (the two foundations of healthy love)? Hello, conflict! Hello, conditional love!

Truth and grace in proper balance equal unconditional love! That is exactly why that Baby was born in that manger two millennia ago! That’s why Christmas should count!

Aren't you glad that the Word came “full of grace and truth”? Will you, like Mary, ponder these things in your heart and let His Holy Spirit of truth minister to you?

December 23, 2014

“The Word became flesh and made his dwelling among us. We have seen his glory, the glory of the One and Only, who came from the Father, full of grace and truth.” John 1:14

Given that I am a rebellious sinner at my core, I really need God’s grace. What great news to hear that Jesus came from God “FULL OF GRACE”!

Grace is such a wonderful concept! Someone expressed it this way – GRACE = God’s Riches At Christ’s Expense! Grace means that when you and I deserved judgment and justice from God instead He gave us mercy! When He should have sent the Sheriff He sent His Son! And His Son didn’t come as a social worker He came to be a sacrifice for my sins!

God’s grace means I have a choice! I don’t have to live in guilt and bondage to sin!

God’s grace means I have a chance! I get a “do over”! I get a “mulligan” in life! If I receive God’s grace by accepting the Gift of His Son as our Savior, I can live in relationship with God!

God’s grace means that if I make my choice and take the chance and I can have a change! I can change from a sinner to a son of God! I can change from an enemy of God to an ambassador for Him! I can change from death to life! I can change from being full of guilt to filled with grace!

Christmas celebrates the greatest gift ever given – the gift of grace!

Another wonderful fact about His grace is that He is “FULL OF GRACE” and yet when He offered His grace to all the world He had no less grace to give! You can receive His grace and I can receive His grace and He is still “FULL OF GRACE”!

However, just like any gift you will give this Christmas, it must be received! God was so very gracious to give this amazing gift, you must be humble enough to receive it! What a shame to let grace be given in vain.

Do you need a new choice?

Could you use another chance?

Are you ready for a change?

Take the gift!

December 22, 2014

“In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was with God in the beginning. Through him all things were made; without him nothing was made that has been made. In him was life, and that life was the light of men. The light shines in the darkness, but the darkness has not understood it. There came a man who was sent from God; his name was John. He came as a witness to testify concerning that light, so that through him all men might believe. He himself was not the light; he came only as a witness to the light. The true light that gives light to every man was coming into the world. He was in the world, and though the world was made through him, the world did not recognize him. He came to that which was his own, but his own did not receive him. Yet to all who received him, to those who believed in his name, he gave the right to become children of God—children born not of natural descent, nor of human decision or a husband’s will, but born of God. The Word became flesh and made his dwelling among us. We have seen his glory, the glory of the One and Only, who came from the Father, full of grace and truth.” John 1:1-14

Here is another amazing paradox in the Christmas story: The Creator became Christ, the creature, in order to allow you and me to be re-created in Him!

Think on that for a moment!

Before I elaborate on the significance of the “Word” becoming flesh, let me talk about what it means for you.

God, the Word, put on flesh in order to correct us – “The light shines in the darkness, but the darkness has not understood it”

Sin had plunged the human race into spiritual darkness. Darkness is the symbol of spiritual ignorance and sin. Light stands for God’s truth and His holiness.

Have you ever been in total darkness? Maybe you were in a cavern or in a cellar and you couldn’t even see your hand in front of your face. If you can relate to that experience and how it felt, then you have a clue about your spiritual condition apart from Jesus, the Word of God,

We were so morally and spiritually lost in the darkness of sin and ignorance we did not even know we were lost. We thought God grades on a curve and we can do enough good things to earn a passing grade.

Jesus, the Word that became flesh, came to declare the truth about out lost condition. But, praise God, He proclaimed the truth in grace!

God, the Word, put on flesh to connect us – “Yet to all who received him, to those who believed in his name, he gave the right to become children of God”

Because the Word was God and because He “put on flesh and dwelt among us”, He was uniquely able to as a Holy Son to introduce us to His Heavenly Father.

That connection did not become possible just because The Word was born in a manger, but it happened because He died on a cross. In fact, the reason He was born in human flesh was so He could die on the cross to atone for our sins. His atoning sacrifice on the Cross paid the price of your adoption as a child of God.

Because the Word become flesh, the Son of God, died to pay the penalty for your sins, trusting Him to be your Savior will connect you to God by faith!

God, the Creator, was born into the world in the flesh of a creature, to make it possible for you and me to be recreated – from the inside out! Have you been made new?

“Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; the old has gone, the new has come!” II Corinthians 5:17