December 12, 2017

"Zechariah asked the angel, “How can I be sure of this? I am an old man and my wife is well along in years.” The angel said to him, “I am Gabriel. I stand in the presence of God, and I have been sent to speak to you and to tell you this good news. And now you will be silent and not able to speak until the day this happens, because you did not believe my words, which will come true at their appointed time.” Luke 1:18-20

“How will this be,” Mary asked the angel, “since I am a virgin?” The angel answered, “The Holy Spirit will come on you, and the power of the Most High will overshadow you. So the holy one to be born will be called the Son of God. Even Elizabeth your relative is going to have a child in her old age, and she who was said to be unable to conceive is in her sixth month." Luke 1:34-36

Have you ever noticed how most people find it easier to believe bad news than to believe good news?

When Zachariah and Mary were presented with some of the best news ever shared, they questioned it. Understandable - but not acceptable.

However, it is encouraging to notice how Gabriel responded in each case. He gave them evidence! And I believe he did so because he understood that they wanted to believe but they weren't used to such good news! so, he helped them!

In Zachariah's case, he struck him dumb, so he could not speak. At first glance it looked like a judgment, but I believe it was evidence. I think it was for Zachariah's benefit. How better to believe a supernatural report than to see something supernatural happen?

For Mary, the angel gave her two proofs, a longer-term proof - pregnancy; and a shorter term proof - her formerly barren cousin, Elizabeth's pregnancy.

Here's the good news I get from both of these examples, God not only asks to have faith, He gives it to us! When He knows we really want to believe He will give us evidence to believe. I like that! I need that!

Now on my part, I need to work on my faith until I find it easier to believe good news from God, from His Word, and by His Spirit. I must condition my faith to expect good things from the Hand of God and to know that He will also turn the bad news into good in His time! That is my part! But I can even count on His grace to help me there! And I can condition my heart and mind and spirit by saturating them in the Word of God.

So this is the good news of Christmas - for those who believe and those who are wanting to believe more - there really is only good news! There is immediate good news and there is ultimate good news! That is the God we serve! Christmas is the evidence!

December 11, 2017

"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 2:5-8

Everyone who has ever struggled in a relationship should be thankful for Christmas!

I guess that would include about all of us! I know people who do relationships better than others but I don't know anyone who hasn't struggled with a spouse or a parent or a sibling or a co-worker or a neighbor or someone!

There is a simple reason why we struggle with relationships - SIN! That's right, sin! Sin, as in selfishness. Sin as in self-seeking! Sin as in selfish ambition. When sin rules in your heart and mind, you are a user not a lover. When sin rules in your heart and mind, you are separated from God and God is love. Sin not only brings separation it brings isolation, it brings alienation, it brings humiliation, it brings degradation, and it brings complications.

Christmas reminds us of how much God desires to be in relationship with you and me! He literally moved Heaven and earth to remove the barriers that separated us and Him. I'm not sure any of us will ever understand why He loves us that much, but the "good news of great joy" is that He does love us and Christmas proves it.

There has never been a great or more damaging relationship breech than the one that separated God and man. Only God could bridge that gap and Jesus became that bridge! Because He was conceived by the Holy Spirit He was born sinless and lived His life in perfect obedience. That allowed Him to bear the guilt and penalty of our sins!

Relationship with God is now possible through Christ! Once you enter into relationship with God, healthy relationships with others becomes possible!

As Christmas 2017 draws near, is there a relationship or two that needs some healing? I understand it takes two to heal a relationship (actually it takes three), but with God's help and with Christ's example, you can begin the healing! If Christmas can bridge the gap between God and you, is there any relationship that can't be healed?

Christmas says, "No!" What will you say?

December 10, 2017

"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."  Philippians 2:7-9

I remain captivated by this rich portion of Scripture. Paul is revealing some radical concepts about the love of God and how it should impact the way you and I should love.

For centuries there has been much speculation about the Anti-Christ, who he might be and when he would appear. That will continue until it actually happens and will probably catch most of us by surprise. But, in this Scripture we see the "anti-human" nature of Christ. He WAS essentially God, but became incarnate in human flesh.

It was this mystical union of God and man that made it possible for us to be delivered from sin. Jesus possessed the very thing that led to original sin - He was God. Lucifer was not God but tried to be and sinned. Adam was not God but wanted to be and sinned. Since that original sin our human nature has been contaminated with this desire to be like God. It is a rebellious nature. It is an attempt to escape accountability. It is a desire to do whatever we desire and face no consequences.

Jesus had that in His position as the Son of God, the Second Person in the Trinity. He could have clung to that. We would have! But He surrendered it and humbled Himself to become obedient to death. Because of His super-human, sinless nature, He was uniquely able to deliver us from our sins. Jesus, the Second Adam, was able to undo what Adam had done!

That is good news of great joy!

December 9, 2017

^"This is how the birth of Jesus the Messiah came about: His mother Mary was pledged to be married to Joseph, but before they came together, she was found to be pregnant through the Holy Spirit. Because Joseph her husband was faithful to the law, and yet did not want to expose her to public disgrace, he had in mind to divorce her quietly. But after he had considered this, an angel of the Lord appeared to him in a dream and said, “Joseph son of David, do not be afraid to take Mary home as your wife, because what is conceived in her is from the Holy Spirit. She will give birth to a son, and you are to give him the name Jesus, because he will save his people from their sins.”  Matthew 1:18-21

I was visiting my brother in Sacramento a number of years ago.

My family and his decided that we would spend an afternoon floating the American River in a raft. We had a blast.

Our pleasant afternoon nearly turned tragic, though.

Looking up river we saw that our raft was approaching a section of rapids. As the raft began to pick up speed in the first part of the rapids my brother went to the front set of oars and I grabbed the back oars. We began steering the raft through the rocks and the rapids.

Suddenly someone yelled, "Where's Mikey?"

Mikey, my brother's youngest son had been wanting to use the oars but had been told "no". Unbeknownst to me, when I slid backwards to get to the oars Mikey had lunged forward. I never felt it, but he bumped into me and fell overboard into the rapids and under the raft.

Again, someone yelled, "I don't see him!"

It had to be a moment of divine intervention because immediately and simultaneously my brother and I both shouted, "He's under the raft!"

Without thinking nor remembering how I got there, I instantly found myself over the back of the raft holding onto it and dragging my feet on the rocks below. At the same instant and again, without thinking, my brother slid to the front of the raft. My weight at the back of the raft slowed it enough that the swirling water shot Mikey out toward the front of the raft where my brother, Mike, grabbed him up out of the water.

Mikey was saved from a sure death!

His disobedience had gotten him into a deadly spot. The force of the current kept him trapped. He was unable to free himself. Unless an outside force came to his rescue he was doomed.

Does any of that sound familiar? It should! That's your story! That's my story!

That story is the story behind the Christmas story. God sent "JESUS" - "the salvation of God"! That's why the angel was insistent with Mary and Joseph, "You SHALL call his name "JESUS" for He will save His people from their sins."

The Word Became Flesh & Made His Dwelling Among Us

"The Word became flesh and made his dwelling among us. We have seen his glory, the glory of the one and only Son, who came from the Father, full of grace and truth." John 1:14

Paul Harvey told the story about a family on Christmas Eve. This family had a tradition where the Mother and children would go to the Christmas Eve service, and the Father would stay home and read the paper. When the family returns home from church, they would all gather to open up their presents.

The Father was not an evil man, but he just couldn't believe in the childhood stories anymore of God coming as a baby in a manger. As the family left for church, he opened up the evening paper and began to read by the fireplace.

Suddenly, he heard tapping on the window. It was a bird flying against the glass of his window trying to get out of the snow into the warmth of his home. The man had compassion on the bird, and he went outside, hoping to bring it in.

As he approached the bird, the bird just flew against the window even harder. Pretty soon, the bird flew into the bushes below the window, half frozen, yet too afraid to be caught by this huge man. The more the man tried to reach for the bird, the more the bird flew frantically into the snow and thorns of the bushes.

After a few minutes in the cold and seeing the bird continue to injure its self, the man yelled out in frustration, "Stupid bird, can't you understand that I'm trying to help?" The man paused and thought, "If only you understood you wouldn't fly away ... if only ... if only I could become a bird maybe I could get you to understand."

Just then, the church bells rang, as they always have on the hour. But when the man heard the bells this time, he fell to his knees and began to cry, saying, "Oh, God, I didn't understand. Oh, God, I didn't understand."

God's Son came in human form that we might understand from where we have come, for what reason we were separated and how we could be restored to God.

December 7, 2017

"You see, at just the right time, when we were still powerless, Christ died for the ungodly." Romans 5:6

The Apostle Paul writes after the fact that all the events of Christmas happened at precisely the right time and in exactly the right way!

I believe that is true. You probably do too!

But, for Mary and Joseph, not so much! Christmas was an inconvenience for them!

Think about it!

What a terrible time to get pregnant! Mary was engaged to a wonderful man and was making plans for the dream wedding. But then the angel shows up with another plan. Mary would conceive by the Holy Spirit and bear a son. As far as she was concerned, it couldn't have happened at a worse time!

What a terrible time for the Caesar to declare a tax! Just when Mary and Joseph were trying to scrape up enough money to begin their new life together, now they have to cough up a bunch of it to Rome! From their perspective it couldn't have happened at a worse time!

What a terrible time to have to take a trip! Mary was nine months pregnant! And what a terrible trip to have to take, across the hilly, rocky roads of Galilee - ON A DONKEY!

What a terrible place to have to go! Bethlehem? Such a tiny little place with only one hotel! And what a terrible time for that one hotel to be all booked!

And, what a terrible time for the king to get paranoid! Mary has just given birth to a baby - in a manger inside a stable no less - and not they have to hit the road for another trip! This time they must head down to Egypt to escape the edict of the king to kill all newborn boys. What a hassle!

Just when everything seemed to be going wrong, God brought the miracle of salvation! When everything was uncomfortable and inconvenient for Mary and Joseph it was perfect timing for God!

That is another of the amazing truths of Christmas! God's timing is always perfect even if it doesn't fit your schedule! When everything seems to be going wrong, God can still work a miracle! IF you are obedient to Him in spite of the inconveniences.

This Christmas season, trust God's timing! Trust His sovereign goodness! Even if it looks like the worst time for something to happen, remember that when everything seemed to be going wrong God brought a miracle!

Obedience is a willingness to be out of control - and under His control!

What's In A Name?

"But the angel said to him: “Do not be afraid, Zechariah; your prayer has been heard. Your wife Elizabeth will bear you a son, and you are to call him John. He will be a joy and delight to you, and many will rejoice because of his birth, for he will be great in the sight of the Lord." Luke 1:13-15

"You will conceive and give birth to a son, and you are to call him Jesus. He will be great and will be called the Son of the Most High. The Lord God will give him the throne of his father David, and he will reign over Jacob’s descendants forever; his kingdom will never end.” Luke 1:31-33

In our pluralistic and politically correct culture, you will often hear this phrase tossed out by well-meaning people under the pretense of open-mindedness, "We all worship the same God, it doesn't matter whether we call Him "God" or "Allah" or "Buddha" or whatever."

Uh, sorry! It matters! It matters a lot!

First, there is the little matter of the First Commandment - actually, the first four, were very clear and specific that there is only One God and it is "Jehovah" the God of the Hebrews. The Old Testament lists a series of names that describe character of "Jehovah", but it only enhances and strengthens the uniqueness of our God.

While this is a less weighty argument, it is nevertheless significant that Gabriel, the archangel who stands in the presence of Jehovah God, was very specific about what Zachariah and Mary were to name their sons. The same God Who was blessing them with miracle babies also had a definite idea of what He wanted them to be named!

In the ancient Hebrew culture a name had great importance. Names were given according to some unique feature of a child's physical nature or regarding their character. A name had an almost prophetic quality. Parents named their child in a way that would inspire and help shape his future character and values. Unlike today when a name is often chose from a favorite celebrity, Hebrews were very intentional about the name they gave their child understanding it had eternal implications.

No wonder Gabriel stressed to Zachariah that this miracle son that God was going to give them MUST be named "John"! Why?

Because God said so! But also because "John" means "God is gracious". Who better to preach repentance in preparation for the coming of the Messiah than a son named "John - God is gracious"? After all, the Scriptures tell us that it is the "kindness of God that leads us to repentance" (Romans 2:4). Repentance would be futile had without God's gracious plan to send His Son as an atoning sacrifice for our sins. So, who better to declare the message of turning from sin and clinging to grace than one named "John - God is gracious"?

Now, be sure, if you miss the grace of God and if you become confused by this politically correct myth about all gods being equal, then you will only know the wrath and justice of God.

Gabriel also was clear to Mary that her miracle child would be a son and she was to name Him "Jesus". 

Very specific!

The name "Jesus" comes from the Hebrew name "Yeshua" which is used 27 times in the Old Testament and has a rich and extensive documentation. It means "God saves" or "salvation". Since Jesus was the Son of God ("Yeshua" came from "Jehovah") should we not worship that God? And does that not clearly separate that God (our God) above all other gods? Names matter!

The good news of Christmas is about a "gracious God" Who sent His Son to bring "salvation"! That message was made clear when God sent "John" to prepare the way for "Jesus"!

What's in a name? Eternal salvation and personal access to fellowship with the God of the Universe, that's all.