December 2, 2018

"All this took place to fulfill what the Lord had said through the prophet: “The virgin will conceive and give birth to a son, and they will call him Immanuel” (which means “God with us”). When Joseph woke up, he did what the angel of the Lord had commanded him and took Mary home as his wife.  But he did not consummate their marriage until she gave birth to a son. And he gave him the name Jesus."  Matthew 1:22-25

Have you ever gotten the silent treatment?

It's uncomfortable isn't it?

Usually when you get the silent treatment it may last for a day or two. Many in Israel felt like God had given them the silent treatment for - get this - 400 years!

A thorough study of history would reveal that God had actually been doing a lot to prepare for His next big statement He was about to make. The Apostle Paul recorded it like this, "But when the set time had fully come, God sent his Son, born of a woman, born under the law, to redeem those under the law, that we might receive adoption to sonship."  Galatians 4:4-5

You have to understand the  sense of desperation God's people felt after four centuries of supernatural silence in order to grasp the significance of "Immanuel"!

Over the next few posts I want to share three reasons why Immanuel matters so much!

It's God's Reminder

It's God's Revelation

It's God's Redemption

The coming of Immanuel is the reminder that God hasn't forgotten His people and that His promises are true! There were over forty prophecies fulfilled by the birth of Jesus! Here are a few of them:

“But you, Bethlehem Ephrathah, though you are small among the clans of Judah, out of you will come for me one who will be ruler over Israel, whose origins are from of old, from ancient times.”  Micah 5:2

"Therefore the Lord himself will give you a sign: The virgin will conceive and give birth to a son,and will call him Immanuel."  Isaiah 7:14

"Of the greatness of his government and peace there will be no end. He will reign on David’s throne and over his kingdom, establishing and upholding it with justice and righteousness from that time on and forever.The zeal of the Lord Almighty will accomplish this." Isaiah 9:7

As God reminded Moses, "And God said unto Moses, I AM THAT I AM: and he said, Thus 

shalt thou say unto the children of Israel, I AM hath sent me unto you."  Exodus 3:14

God is eternal and omnipresent. There has never been a moment in time or an inch in space that God has not filled! Nor will there ever be!

We should never forget that, but when we do, He reminds us He is always present and He always keeps His promises!

The birth of Jesus on that first Christmas proved it.

December 1, 2018

"The virgin will conceive and give birth to a son, and they will call him Emmanuel" (which means "God with us").  Matthew 1:23

Have you ever wondered if you should spell Immanuel with an “I” or an “E?” 

The answer is that both are correct! Immanuel with an “I” is a transliteration of the original Hebrew word composed of ‘Immanu (with us) and El (God), while Emmanuel with an “E” is a transliteration of the Greek “Emmanouel.” 

The  NET Bible is one of the few translations that maintains this distinction, translating Isaiah 14:7 as Immanuel - "Therefore the Lord himself will give you a sign: The virgin will conceive and give birth to a son, and will call him Immanuel", and Matthew 1:23 as Emmanuel - "The virgin will conceive and give birth to a son, and they will call him Emmanuel" (which means "God with us"). 

Inherent in the name IMMANUEL is the great mystery of godliness of the One Who “was revealed in the flesh” - "Beyond all question, the mystery from which true godliness springs is great: He appeared in the flesh was vindicated by the Spirit, was seen by angels, was preached among the nations,was believed on in the world,was taken up in glory." I Timothy 3:16,  and of the INFINITE becoming FINITE, of the promised Messiah Who is both divine and human, fully God and fully man, Majesty - "For we did not follow cleverly devised stories when we told you about the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ in power, but we were eyewitnesses of his majesty." II Peter 1:16, and veiled in meekness - "Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls." Matthew 11:29

He was God FOR us before He became God WITH us, and it was because He was FOR us that He became God WITH us. 

And so the King of glory became the servant of men - "In your relationships with one another, have the same mindset as Christ Jesus: Who, being in very nature God did not consider equality with God something to be used to his own advantage; rather, he made himself nothing by taking the very nature of a servant being made in human likeness. And being found in appearance as a man, he humbled himself by becoming obedient to death - even death on a cross!" Philippians 2:5-9 and "For even the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many.” Mark 10:45

Christmas is Immanuel - GOD WITH US!

The Second Adam

"Therefore, just as sin entered the world through one man, and death through sin, and in this way death came to all people, because all sinned— To be sure, sin was in the world before the law was given, but sin is not charged against anyone’s account where there is no law. Nevertheless, death reigned from the time of Adam to the time of Moses, even over those who did not sin by breaking a command, as did Adam, who is a pattern of the one to come. But the gift is not like the trespass. For if the many died by the trespass of the one man, how much more did God’s grace and the gift that came by the grace of the one man, Jesus Christ, overflow to the many! Nor can the gift of God be compared with the result of one man’s sin: The judgment followed one sin and brought condemnation, but the gift followed many trespasses and brought justification. For if, by the trespass of the one man, death reigned through that one man, how much more will those who receive God’s abundant provision of grace and of the gift of righteousness reign in life through the one man, Jesus Christ!" Romans 5:12-17

Jesus was born to be the second Adam!

Why would He want to do that?

Because the first Adam blew it big time!

The second Adam had to undo what the first Adam did.

The first Adam was hand-crafted by God. Therefore, he was created with a sinless nature so He could walk with God.

The second Adam was conceived by the Holy Spirit in the womb of a virgin, therefore, He was born sinless. Not only could He walk with God, He came from God and was in fact, God in the flesh!

The first Adam was placed in Paradise and enjoyed a personal intimate friendship with God every day - until he rebelled and was expelled.

The second Adam was in Paradise but left it to come to earth. He gave up His paradise to suffer and die in our world in order to regain access to Paradise for you and me!

The first Adam was perfect but sinned because he wanted to be God.

The second Adam WAS God but became man - albeit a perfect man - for one reason, so He could die to atone for our sins! He had to be sinless so He could take our sins upon Himself!

Christmas is about the arrival of the second Adam! The second Adam means a second chance!

The good news of Christmas is that God is the God of second chances! Jesus proved it!

November 29, 2018

"Consequently, faith comes from hearing the message, and the message is heard through the word about Christ." Romans 10:17

I really hadn't planned to go this direction this morning but as I was reading about the angelic visits to Zachariah and to young Mary, and for that matter, the shepherds, this verse popped in my mind and tied some things together. Perhaps this thought will help you as well!

What I was looking at was the initial response from these who were visited by angels and then their ultimate response. Each of them moved from fear to faith. They each changed from being terrified to being edified. How did that happen?

We can understand the fear part. Each of them were minding their own business in the course of their daily responsibilities and suddenly an angel appears. That has to startle you a bit. We know that they were frightened because in each case the angel reassures them with the words, "fear not!"

Imagine you are at work today or on the treadmill or eating your frosted flakes and a brilliant, beautiful heavenly being pops up in front of you. How would you be?

Me, too!

But that is the easy part to understand. What we need to know is what happened to move them from fear to faith.

In each case it is the same. They listened to the message that the angel brought. Each one of them heard the Word of the Lord. Their faith came by hearing!

Is there a message there for us? I think so!

Fear comes from looking, faith comes from listening! Looking at an angel can certainly be frightening. It's not like they saw them everyday. For all we know this was the only angelic appearance of their lifetimes. But as they listened to the message of hope, and peace, and news of great joy, they moved from fear to faith.

If you or I look at the world in which we live or a particular circumstance that might face us, fear can rise up within us. If we walk by sight we can be overcome by fear. But as Paul reminds us, "we walk by faith not by sight". And where does faith come from? LISTENING to the Word of God!

Zachariah, Mary, the shepherds all give us proof from the Christmas story! That is another aspect of the "good news of great joy" announced by the angels! We don't have to live in fear!

Are you struggling with fear? Does what you see around you have you frightened?

Tune into God's voice!

 Get into God's Word. Hear what He has to say to you today! 

Let His voice move you from fear to faith!