"Messiah - Prophecy of Glory and Purity"

Scripture: Leviticus 12:1-3, 6-8; Luke 2:21-35

Mary had given birth to her first Son, and just as Joseph had been told by the angel, the Child would be named Jesus. But the birth brought with it certain responsibilities. Today, the primary concern of new parents, beyond trying to figure out how to take care of a new baby, is finding the money to pay the doctor and hospital bills.

But for this Jewish couple, there were also religious obligations to care for. There was, of course, circumcision for the male babies, but Mary would also have to go through a ritual of purification, as any issue of blood would, by the law, cause the woman to be unclean. This would mean that the person was unworthy to worship, and in a new mother’s case, the very process of childbirth was, in and of itself, a cause of uncleanliness, and she could not enter temple until purification was completed.

There would also be the consecration of the first born son – a commitment to Jehovah God that the child was dedicated in service to him and his will. This would require a visit to the temple, after Mary had completed her purification, of course, to make the required dedication and offering to God.

In Jesus’ case, though, there would be much more - far more. But the new parents would have to wait to discover all that their new baby would come to mean for this world.

Read Leviticus 12:1-3, 6-8

The term “unclean” was not intended to actually mean “sinful”. More appropriately, it meant unworthy to come before Jehovah. Purification would be required, and would be specific for each and every reason for the uncleanliness, and would have to be cared for before the person could enter temple, before they could offer sacrifices, before they could be part of consecrations or dedications.

For us, this may seem a bit extreme, as the presence of blood during childbirth is as natural as the birth itself. But the Lord had put certain rituals and requirements in place for Israel to set them apart from other nations. The styles of worship for other peoples was drastically different than what was acceptable to the Lord, but to just say “Don’t do it!” would never suffice for this nation. So God gave them rituals and rites to drive home the point that they were to be held to a higher standard than the ones that others followed.

An initial period of purification would be the first step, and in the case of a male child, the circumcision, the full purification, and the offering at temple would follow. The couple would bring their baby to the center of worship – in Moses’ day, it would be at the Tent of Meeting, and later during the reign of Solomon, it would become temple. The sacrificial offering, depending on their financial resources, would be presented as a sign of “redeeming” the child back from the Lord, and all would be well for the new family – under normal circumstances. But this was a very special Boy Child, and the gifts that were about to be given to Jesus’ family would put this birth into perspective for all the people of earth.

Read Luke 2:21-24

At the time of circumcision, the child would also be named, but normally, the boy would receive a name from his family’s history. The name Jesus, which means “the Lord Saves”, would not be of Joseph’s family, but it would be given from the boy’s heavenly Father! Circumcision would be a sign that this boy was a child of Israel, and having been born in Bethlehem, with his earthly parents as descendants of King David, he would also be seen as one from David’s family.

The requirements of the Law were being carried out to the letter, but the timing that Luke seems to imply leaves some accuracy in doubt. After Mary’s initial 7 days of purification, circumcision would be performed on the 8th day after birth, but her purification from the issue of blood would have taken a month, and during that time, she would have been unable to enter the temple for the consecration. But the time did arrive, and the “clean” and worthy mother, along with Joseph, brought their new born son to the temple for dedication to the Lord’s purpose, and they brought the price of “redemption” so they could take the child home with them.

Consider the significance of all of these rituals. Circumcision – a sign that the child was of Israel, the chosen people of Jehovah God. Purification – a time of cleansing, showing that this family was worthy of a relationship and worship of Almighty God. Redemption – proof that this first born Child was given to God for his purpose, and had been purchased back to serve a Godly purpose for the people of earth.
Jesus would be born in a human way, and would be proven worthy through his family’s obedience to the Law. And throughout his life, the Lord would show that even though he was thought to be one who violated the Law of Moses over and over again, the truth is that he fulfilled the Law of God perfectly and completely.

Jesus was truly the foretold Son of Man and Son of God – the Worthy of heaven, and the Lord’s Gift to the world. Mary and Joseph had both been told just who this Child would be through visits from the Angel, but now they were being told once again, just what this precious life would mean for the people of earth, as well as to his earthly family. It would be glorious beyond all understanding, but it would also be traumatic beyond all imagination.

Read Luke 2:25-32

As we read the story of Simeon’s prophecy, we have to remember that there hadn’t been a prophet for Israel for over 400 years – not since the prophet Malachi. Not a word about Messiah, not a hint about his ministry and purpose, not a single encouragement that he would be coming soon to be their salvation. Four centuries without any contact with the Lord God Almighty of Israel. Is there any wonder that the nation was surprised at Messiah’s coming?

But Simeon wasn’t surprised – he had been expectant since the day that the Holy Spirit revealed God’s great promise to this faithful man. And he knew that the day would come when he would see the Anointed One of God, and on this day, he did. Guided, once again, by the Spirit, he was waiting as the Child was brought into the temple court for consecration.

And a long awaited prophecy was heard – he would be a light for the gentiles, and glory for Israel – a paraphrase of Isaiah’s words in Isaiah 42:6-9 (“I … will make you to be a covenant for the people and a light for the Gentiles, to open eyes that are blind, to free captives from prison and to release [them] from … darkness.”)

Over and over again, the people had heard that Messiah, the Christ, would be, not only for the people of Israel, but also for the gentile nations. And this faithful man, who had waited years to see the promise of God, now knew that he could die, not just happy, but in the heavenly peace of seeing with his eyes, and holding with his arms, the salvation of his glorious Lord God.

But his task wasn’t quite finished. He still had a word to give to Mary.

Read Luke 2:33-35

It had always been believed that Messiah would bring glory to all of Israel, but Simeon reveals the truth of Christ – that only some will be saved, and the rest will be lost, and that it would all come about through what they see and believe in this Child. And by their reaction and response to this woman’s Son and all that he would bring to them, the hearts and minds of all would be opened, and the reality of their thoughts would be exposed to the Light of Messiah.

Some would know his joy of welcome, while others would know the consequence of denial, but Mary, this young woman who had been chosen to be mother for the Savior of the Earth, would have to know the same pain of rejection that would fall upon her beloved Son.


Messiah, the glory of heaven and the hope of the world, would never measure up to the expectations of Israel, but he would fulfill every need and every plan that had been prepared for them since before time began. And the joy that Mary would know for being chosen by God for this distinct and blessed purpose, as well as the agony that she would know at the refusal by so many to accept Jesus for who she knew, without a doubt, he was, would be the same prophecy for all who would accept this Child of Bethlehem as their personal Lord and Redeemer and Light and Savior. The purity, the glory, the redemption that comes by faith in the Child of Christmas has been offered to all if we simply accept who he is and why he has come.

May the joy of your salvation guide your love for the many who are still immersed in the darkness of this world, and may the love of Christ lead you to share your joyful hope with all who still need to know him.

“Messiah – God’s Gift to Earth”

Scripture: Luke 1:26-38; Luke 2:1-20

During our journey through Advent, the truth of Messiah has been laid out for us in such an obvious and marvelous way. The prophets had clearly proclaimed it for the people, but since it didn’t suit their desires, they created their own version of Messiah. But God has never been bound by our plans, and his perfect way would be revealed centuries after these announcements were given.

Jesus Christ would be born to the world in the most human way – as a Baby. But not as just any baby – he would have ultimate authority over the entire world. He would be our “Wonderful Counselor” and our “Mighty God”, he would be the descendent of David (Isaiah 9:6-7) who would continue the reign of the “man after God’s own heart” (Acts 13:22-23). He would bring the truth and love of God to the people of earth, and he would be the means to gain freedom from the burden of our sin, (Isaiah 61:1-3).

And it would all come about in the most miraculous way.

Read Luke 1:26-38; Luke 2:1-20

Jesus would be known as the “Son of God” (Acts 9:20) and the “Son of Man” (Acts 7:56). For many, this doesn’t make much sense – after all, how, or even why, would God want to limit himself by letting humanity become part of him? In the Lord’s way, things seldom seem right, but then, we read that God’s ways are never like ours, that they are higher than ours, and that his thoughts are grander than ours could ever be (Isaiah 55:9-13). And later in that passage, we are told that when the Lord speaks, his word “will not return to me empty, but will accomplish what I desire and achieve the purpose for which I sent it.” And this purpose? To show us the way to eternal life!
And in the Lord’s wisdom, the fullness of that truth could occur in no other way than through a joining of the loving power of Almighty God and the faithful obedience of a human woman. Making sense? It does to our Lord, so why don’t we just trust it, and not worry about the “sensibility” of it all?

But the “why” of this Gift giving is still vitally important for us.
WHY would God submit himself to our experiences? Our emotions, our physical limitations, our restricted lives, our temptations to sin, dominance and oppression by worldly authorities – there isn’t a single one of these that God would, or even should, accept for his own way! But the reason for Jesus is so simple – we are deeply and completely - LOVED! The Lord loves us so much that he wants us to be with him for eternity, but our human lives are so fragile and so uncertain that he had to create a whole new life for us – a life that mirrored his. But he also wanted it to be a life that we choose, and not one that was forced upon us.

Christmas is a time of giving. For some, though, the details of Christmas consume all of their time and resources, and the purpose of Christmas tends to be lost along the wayside. How much effort do we put into preparing meals, decorating our homes, buying gifts, attending parties, sending cards, buying and setting up trees, baking cookies, and a myriad of other tasks that seem to take on an overriding importance in our lives.
And how much time do we spend reflecting on, and rejoicing over, this great Gift of God, and all that he had to go through to make that gift possible? Instead of letting Christmas become a season of giving, why not let it become a time of heart-felt caring and loving? After all, love is what God put into Christmas!

So what is this LOVE of Christmas all about? What does it involve? What does it mean for our lives? How do we know?

There’s a hymn that we used a few weeks ago in Advent worship – “Love Came Down at Christmas”. Here are two of the verses.
“Love came down at Christmas, Love all lovely, Love divine; Love was born at Christmas; star and angels gave the sign.
“Love shall be our token; love be yours and love be mine; love to God and all men, love for plea and gift and sign.”

Before the birth of Jesus, love, apparently, was not only incomplete, it was misunderstood. Think about all of the insinuations that the word “love” holds for us – “I love my job.” (OK – that one might be a stretch for a lot of us!); “I love spaghetti.”; “I love the snow” (probably need to young, or at least young at heart to agree with this one!); “I love my dog (or cat, or whatever..)”; “I love my kids”; “I love my family” – now we’re getting closer to what the Lord intended when he brought love “down at Christmas”.
In John’s gospel, we read “This is my commandment, that you love one another as I have loved you. No one has greater love than this, to lay down one’s life for one’s friends.” (John 15:12-17) And at the conclusion of that passage, Jesus tells us “I am giving you these commands so that you may love one another.”

He never said that he loved any of the things of this life – he came to show us that love for others is the truest form of love that we will ever know.

But what does that include? How is it exhibited? How do we know? 1 Corinthians 13, sometimes known as the love chapter, shows us exactly what a Godly love is. The first 3 verses tell us how Godly love interacts with, and completes, the activities that seem to demand so much of our time and energies. These are the things that we believe are our expressions of faith, while God tells us that without his way and his passion, they are meaningless (Matthew 7:21-23).
The next 4 verses defines how our love is to be shared with others – remember those words from John 15 – “love one another as I have love you.” Without a Godly form of love in our life, all of our efforts - regardless of how many people we reach out to, regardless of how many cards we send out, regardless of how many meals we may serve to the homeless, regardless of all that we do for others – unless we are sharing the same love that the Lord has shown to us, our life is for nothing. So what does this form of love look like?

1 Corinthians 13:4-7
Love “is patient” – it doesn’t rush, it isn’t impatient to see the results, it takes the time to appreciate those we share it with.
Love “is kind” – it cares about others, it’s sympathetic for the struggles that others are going though, without condemning them for the life they live.
Love “doesn’t envy, it does not boast, it is not proud” – it has nothing to do with our own glorification, and everything to do with raising others up above our own position in life. It’s about letting them stand on our shoulders, and rejoicing that they do.
Love “is not rude, it is not self-seeking” – it is a opportunity to be polite to others, not to push them out of the way so that we can move to the front of the line!
Love “is not easily angered” – it is peace and compassion!
Love “keeps no record of wrongs” – it doesn’t keep score, it isn’t used to tell if we have done enough, or if we need to do more for others, because it can never be enough!)
“Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth” – this is how it should be, but this isn’t about the truth that the world knows – it’s the truth that Jesus brings.
Love “always protects” – it puts the safety and needs of others ahead of our own.
Love “always trusts” – faith in all that God has taught us is worthy of our trust.
Love "always hopes” – the world’s hope is no better than a desire, but hope in God is a certainty.
Love “always perseveres” – never, never, never give up loving in the way of our Almighty God.

And when all else fails us - when our efforts in the ways of earth fall flat, when our striving for success falls apart, when our offerings of socially acceptable attitudes no longer have any significance for us, the Passion of God will still be there - loving us, enabling us, encouraging us, teaching us, changing us into a Godly reflection for the people around us.

This is the love that is so foreign to the people of this world, for “God’s ways are not our ways”, and they never will be. But by faith and love in Jesus Christ, our Babe of Bethlehem, the great Gift of our Almighty God, the love that came to earth on that dark and lonely night so long ago, the same love that bathed the shepherds on that plain of Israel, the same love that led the Magi for hundreds of miles and through months of faithful searching, the same love that led the holy family to safety in Egypt and then back home to Nazareth, the same love that led the Savior of the world to Calvary and held him close, even in death, and the same love that not only enabled the crucified Son of Man and Son of God to cheat the death of this world and to rise from the tomb of earth into a new and glorious life with the Father, this same love has been offered to each of us as the greatest of all Christmas presents.

But this, as with all gifts, is a gift that has to be received, accepted and embraced, and not just admired from a distance. If anyone here has yet to rejoice in this Gift of God, and has a desire to receive him tonight, I encourage you to bow your head and repeat this words after me right now:

Lord Jesus, God’s Gift to the world, you are the hope and joy that I have searched for all my life. I don’t deserve your extravagant love, but you know just how much I need it. Lord Jesus, my Messiah, my Redeemer, come down from heaven tonight, and fill my heart with your way, your truth, and your glorious life. Lord, change my life from one of worldly hope, and into the divine blessing of eternal life with you.
Lord, I give my life to you this day, and always. In Jesus’ Holy Name. Amen.

“Messiah – the Man of God”

Scripture: Isaiah 53

As we continue through our visions of Messiah – of who he would be, and what he would do – we have been discovering that the people of Israel, the very ones who the prophecies were given for, have misinterpreted the prophets’ words to suit their own desires and expectations. They wanted him to be powerful and authoritative; they wanted him to defeat and punish the nations who had always given them so much grief; they wanted Messiah to restore them to the glory that they believed they so rightly deserved as the “chosen people” of God!

Messiah might not be the one they wanted, but he would certainly be the one they needed – desperately! They wanted a redeemer who would restore their nation to glory, and a power who would bring retribution on all who had destroyed the hope that they once knew.
But instead, the Lord would be sending one who was totally different. He would redeem them from their condemnation in sin, and would be the power that raised them from the pit of death. They thought that Messiah would do it all for them, and he would. But it would be through his own blood sacrifice, not through the blood of other nations.

Messiah, the Anointed One of God would be, as they believed, a man of God, but he would also be, surprisingly, the Son of God. And while the life that they saw in him wasn’t all that remarkable, the life that was within him, and the life that he brought for each one of them, would be divine.

Read Isaiah 53:1-3

The prophet begins with a series of admonitions – first, this entire chapter is given in the past tense, as though Messiah had already arrived. Second, he chastises the people with the question “who has believed our message”, implying that no one has believed a single word he has shared with them in the past, so why would any believe him now, and third, he asks if anyone has actually experienced the Messiah’s arrival. He had been part of the creation, he had known the nation since before they came into existence, he had been an integral part of every Godly covenant they had ever received, and he had been revealed through the law that Moses brought down from Mount Sinai. He had always been with them, but had they ever tried to be with him?

The problem was that Messiah appeared to be all too ordinary for their taste! The law would be pondered and reinterpreted and reexamined until it bore no semblance of what God had originally intended. They saw no beauty in him, no power, no connection whatsoever to Jehovah – there was nothing about him that anyone would see as a reason to want him as a friend, let alone as their Savior.

As a matter of fact, he was so plain that he might have been described as ugly. Not only would people not see him as someone they would want to associate with, he was avoided, and hated, and denied any position of authority and honor in polite society. And as far as his divine wisdom and truthfulness goes, there would be no trust, no acceptance, no love shown toward this Man of God.

Read Isaiah 53:4-6

This Anointed One of God would be so ordinary, from the world’s perspective, that nothing he ever did had any semblance of Godliness. He taught the truth of eternity, but it would make no sense to the worldly, the love he would show to the masses wasn’t to their liking, and when his final act of glory was lived out on the Cross, it was only seen as a sentence of condemnation that he so richly deserved.

Why couldn’t the people see this Anointed of God not only as a gift that they truly needed, but as a Gift that their great God Jehovah wanted them to have? The truth is that he wasn’t who they thought he should be! He was humble, not strong; He was a Savior and one who would right the wrongs of the world, but never as one who could condemn his own people; he was loving toward all, while his people wanted to define for themselves what this love should be, and who it shouldn’t embrace.

And the very thought that Messiah should even be considered as a sacrifice for their sin was outrageous! Oh, they understood the need for sacrifice – they had to do it all the time! But it was always through an animal or a bird or a portion of grain. It could be for forgiveness, or healing, or for praise and thanksgiving. But by a man? Never! And what could human sacrifice accomplish anyway? The law said nothing about that – not for healing, and definitely not for forgiveness!

This prophecy was so strange that it was inconceivable!

Read Isaiah 53:7-9

The prophet’s words would sound more like those describing a criminal, an undesirable, an outcast than it would about the majestic Messiah! Who in their right mind would ever take a stand against this glory? And who among his people would ever refuse to stand with him, regardless of what came against them? Isaiah’s words weren’t so much about a judgment that would condemn Messiah to the penalty of death, as it was a sentence against the nation, for the sinful lives they had led, against the faithless lives they had lived.

What kind of Savior, what kind of Godly appointee would even allow this to happen? Where’s his courage? Where’s his power? Why would he even submit to the authorities of this earth, and let his body be resigned to the ground when he was totally innocent of all that the hateful would say about him?

Read Isaiah 53:10-12

This is the Man of God, the Anointed of God, the Christ of Calvary. It is the life he has been called to accept, and the death and resurrection that will bring glory to both him and to his Father. He will heal the nations by his gracious nature and by the power of his blood, and all who come to his side will be justified to eternal life. His suffering will pay the penalty for the world’s sin, and his restored life will be the promise of eternal life for all who believe in him, and for all who will stand with him against the ways of earth.

This is the plan and will of Almighty God. In his wisdom, it would be the only possible way – that only through the blood sacrifice of God Himself could the people be freed from the condemnation of their sin. And Jesus Messiah would be the One chosen to be the people’s Redeemer. Born a Child, becoming a King, to give His life in sacrifice for the forgiveness of his people, and to rise again in glory.

What a God! What a Messiah! What a Lord! What a Savior!

“Messiah – the Peace and Victory of God”

Scripture: Zechariah 9:9-13; Philippians 2:9-11

During Advent, we have been considering some of the attributes of Messiah as revealed through Old Testament prophecy. We’ve seen that God’s grace will come to all who believe in Messiah and his teachings. We’ve seen how Jehovah God – his ways, his Spirit, his glory – will also be revealed to the people of earth through Messiah. The truth of God will be ours through the teaching of his Anointed One.

Today, we discover that the victory of Messiah will be found in his humble heart, and the peace of God will be received through the victory of Messiah.

Read Zechariah 9:9-10

This is a prophecy of joy, and one that calls Israel to proclaim that joy. But it is, above all else, a prophecy of victory.

In the days of the prophet, after a decisive battle, the victorious king would enter the capital of the conquered nation riding on a great charger. There would be a parade of victory which would let the people know that they were now under the authority of a new king and that they now lived in a new kingdom. A governor would be named, a new government would be established, and a new way of life would begin for the conquered people.

The king would return home, but when he entered his capital city, it would not be on a powerful war horse – it would be on a donkey. And while he wore his armor and battle regalia in the defeated land, here his entire war attire would have been place in storage. He entered the defeated city in a way to remind the people of just who they were and who their new king was. But here, he was proclaiming to his subjects that not only was he a victor, but that the people were also victors. And in that victory, it would be evident to all that war was over, and that peace had now returned to their lives.

Zechariah’s prophecy was telling the people this very thing – that Messiah the Victorious would also be Messiah the Peacemaker! Of course, Jesus Messiah’s first coming to earth was more than just a promise of what was to come, as some believe. He brought, in his coming, peace for the hearts and minds of all who would place their trust and faith in him. And his first coming is also a guarantee that at his second glorious arrival, the ultimate and final peace, as well as the great and perfect victory, will finally rest upon the entire world.

In Isaiah 2:4, in another prophecy, we read that “He will judge between the nations and will settle disputes for many peoples. They will beat their swords into plowshares and their spears into pruning hooks. Nation will not take up sword against nation, nor will they train for war anymore.”

When Messiah returns, Eternal Peace will finally rest upon this hateful and war torn world.

Read Zechariah 9:11-13

The Lord God made covenant with his people in a number of ways. The sign of his covenant with Noah was the rainbow (Genesis 9:8-17); the general sign of covenant with Israel was through circumcision (Genesis 19:9-10); the sign of covenant with Abraham was with fire passing through the sacrifice (Genesis 15); but blood was a very special sign - it was given as a sign of sacrifice for forgiveness (Leviticus 17:11). But Israel would have to make this sacrifice over and over again, for every time they sinned against Jehovah, they had broken the covenant made in blood at the altar of God.

But the blood sacrifice that Messiah would make, a sacrifice for life and forgiveness and peace, would only have to be made once – once for all people, once for all sin, and once for the total and permanent covenant of peace with God. It would bring a freedom from our bondage to sin – that captivity which provides no nourishment, no refreshment, no hope, no light, no joy, and no escape. The only hope for release is through the blood sacrifice that Jesus Messiah would make at Calvary.

The prophet also speaks about Judah and Ephraim, that Ephraim will be poured into Judah. First, a historical reminder of sorts. After King Solomon’s death, Israel was split into two nations – Judah, the Southern Kingdom, and Israel, or Ephraim, the Northern one. Ephraim was one of the 2 “half tribes” of Joseph, but the name would also be applied to the Northern Kingdom, the less faithful of the two. I believe that the prophet wants the people to know that on that day when Messiah comes, the two will truly be reunited in faith, and they will be “roused” up in faith against the Greeks, a reference to the faithless world, and through Messiah, evil will be defeated completely and for all time.

Israel, though, missed the entire point of Messiah’s coming. They saw Messiah as the means of Jehovah’s reuniting Israel through conquest and reclaiming them as his “chosen” nation. He would overcome the gentile world, and place them all under their authority. Messiah would accomplish all of this through power and strength, defeating the world and giving them all to Israel as the treasure of victory.

But Messiah would be far greater and much more important than all that.

Read Philippians 2:9-11

The Anointed One of God will be recognized as the ultimate Authority over all of earth – not so much as a conquer, but as a Victor who brings freedom! He will be honored by every person and every leader, of every nation, of every continent, of the entire world. ALL will bow before him, ALL will kneel before his grace and glory – regardless of who or where they are at the time, and ALL will speak that Holy Name and acknowledge him and him alone as the Mighty King over all of creation!

But only those who gave him that honor before his return will know his blessings. The rest of the people on earth will only know the condemnation that they have earned through the sinful and unforgiven life they lived.

Messiah is the faithful Son of God, not just an appointed representative.
Messiah is the King of Peace, not just a warrior king.
Messiah is the blood sacrifice of forgiveness that each and every person has to accept and acknowledge for themselves.
Messiah is the sole Judge of earth, and his Judgment will be perfect.
Messiah is the Hope of earth, the Promise of Heaven, and the glory that binds us all together.

Jesus is our salvation, and will be for all who come to him willingly and lovingly and expectantly. If you have yet to confess Jesus Christ as your Lord and Savior, don’t delay! Ask him into your heart today, and let him turn your personal condemnation into the freedom that he has held out to you for 2,000 years.

“Messiah – the Revealing of God”

Scripture: Isaiah 9:1-7

Imagine, for just a moment, what our impression of God would be if Jesus had never come to earth. Would we know that he is a God of peace and love? Would we know just how much he wants us to live with him in eternity? Would we ever understand the difference between salvation by faith, and perfection from the Law? Or would our God be just another option in faith – mixed in with all of the other gods that earth offers up to us. And whether we chose him or another, would it make any difference?

If the truth be known, our understanding of the difference would be so slight that we could never make an intelligent decision regarding the teachings we would follow, if, indeed, we ever needed to choose! The holy incarnation of Jesus made all the difference for the lives of the entirety of humanity.

Read Isaiah 9:1-3

The prophet Isaiah presents many of the prophecies we have regarding Jesus, and in this passage, he begins with the promise that Messiah, one day, will be revealed to the world. But even more than the introduction of the Anointed One of God, it will actually be God who will be revealed through this One who will come.

We are told that this One will bring relief to all who are struggling, that “gloom” will be lifted from their lives. In Isaiah 14:1-4, we read that when relief comes to our lives, that oppression won’t simply be blocked – the one who is causing the oppression will be taken out of the situation.
This won’t just be our worldly oppression, but will be the oppressor who is diligently working to destroy our eternal lives. Jesus Messiah will defeat the Satan Oppressor.

We also read that Jehovah God had once been seen only as one who humbled others, the one who would be the power behind the defeat of Israel’s enemies. But the truth is that when Messiah comes, he will bring glory and honor to the humblest of Israel. The Galilee region of Israel was separated from the rest of the nation by Samaria – the land of half-breed sinners. Distance and separation can cause distrust and conflict, and this division was no different.
The Galilee was also seen as the home of a people with low intelligence. As Jesus began calling his disciples, many would come from this region, and in Acts 2:5-12, where we read of the blessings of Pentecost, as the crowd hears the disciples speaking in other tongues, they question whether these “Galileans” were even capable of learning these other languages! Of course, the words weren’t through the ability of the speakers – it was the power of the Holy Spirit at work.
And this “honor” wouldn’t be limited to the region of Galilee – it will cross “the sea” - the Sea of Galilee, and will move beyond the Jordan – the division between Israel and the Gentile world. The humblest of all the earth, not just those of Israel, would be honored by Messiah!

The prophet also tells us that our darkness will be overcome by the light of God. As we read a little further, we discover that this reference to darkness is a symbol of death. Messiah, the Light of God, will bring a new dawn to the dark lives of this world. He will reveal the power and love of God through that glorious Light. Death will be overthrown by the Light, and the Lord God will be revealed through the Light and Life that Messiah will bring.

This nation of God will grow, and many others will be welcomed into the family of God, simply by faith in Jesus Christ and through the blessing of Abraham (Galatians 3:7-9). This enlarged, and unexpected, increase in the family of God will be united through Messiah, and the joy of this new nation will exceed all bounds. No longer will there be division and distrust in the family, for Messiah will come to reveal the love and joy and unity of our Almighty God.

Read Isaiah 9:4-5

These two verses speak of God’s peace. No more oppression, no more slavery, no more conflict, no more persecution. Of course, while Messiah’s first coming has promised this, the fullness of his word would have to wait until his second coming. Israel knew slavery, they knew all about oppression, they knew the hatred of other nations, and if Messiah could end all of this conflict in their lives, then he must truly be worth of their praise.

But obedience was difficult, and the drawn out timing of the fulfillment of God’s promise brought doubts and concerns into the hearts of the people, and it made trust in Messiah nearly impossible. Many would fall away, but the door would be opened to others who would believe and trust (Matthew 21:33-46). Since Messiah had yet to enter the lives of Israel, they trusted more and more in Law, and less and less in faith. The way of Messiah, though, is not so much in all that we do, but far more in the way of God, in the way of faith for all who believe. Messiah, when he is revealed, will be seen as the way of faith.

Read Isaiah 9:6-7

This is who Messiah will be for the nations – plural! He will be born as a child in the way of earth. He will be a son – Son of God and Son of Man. He will have complete authority over both heaven and earth. He will have ultimate and complete wisdom because he will not only be the Anointed One of God, he will be God. He will come, not as a warrior against the sinners of earth, but as the Peace of God for all who will come to him.

His authority will be infinite, and his peace will be available for everyone - regardless of how many will come to his way, there will always be plenty for all. His throne of grace will exist from before time began, and until the day when time will be no more. He will bring justice, hope, righteousness, mercy, and overwhelming love to the people of his Kingdom. And it is all made possible by the passion of our Good and Gracious God – the amazing love that he has always had for his created order.

Faith and trust in Messiah, the Lord Jesus Christ, is the only way we will ever experience the true God of eternity. Every other way is woefully inadequate and embarrassingly incomplete. The life and teaching of Messiah, and only Messiah, reveals the truth of our Triune God.

May that truth live within each and every one of us this very day.

“Messiah – the Grace of God”

Scripture: Isaiah 61:1-7

Advent is a time to prepare and celebrate the coming of the Son of God. This is, of course, the beginning of Christmas, and must always include proclaiming the joy we receive when we welcome the Christ Child into our hearts and lives. God is in the business of preparing us for all that he brings to us, and the gift of his Son is the beginning of all preparation.

He had been preparing Israel for centuries before Christ even entered this world thorough the womb of a virgin, but the truth is that the people had their own ideas of what Messiah would be and do. And some people, even today, have their own ideas of who Jesus is for them and what they should be for him. So during Advent, we will be considering what scripture has to say about the Messiah who would be coming, as opposed to the one that Israel was expecting.

Read Isaiah 61:1-3

All in all, the proclamation intended to tell the people who Messiah will be for each of them in a far greater way than what he will be for their enemies. Let’s consider each of the promises individually, in relationship to Jesus’ ministry:

First, the good news that will be offered will be, primarily, for the poor. Not that the wealthy and powerful will be excluded, but rather that they, for the most part, will ignore this good news. It will contradict the thought that the authorities of earth are the ones who this Anointed One of God will approach, and the poor and insignificant people will generally be left on the outside to pick up the crumbs.
In Jesus’ case, it was nearly always the poor and simple who hear and come to his way, while the powerful did everything they could to disrupt his ministry! Sound familiar? Some things never change!

Next, he will be coming to heal the brokenhearted. In Israel’s case, it was those who had already received the prestige and honor of earth who would be blessed by Messiah’s presence – after all, Messiah would have great authority from God, and was expected to more readily identify with the authorities of the world. Wrong again, and the misconceptions would continue.

He would “proclaim freedom for the captives”. Messiah would be a conqueror who would defeat the worldly oppressors of Israel, or at least that was the tradition! But the truth is that the freedom that would be gained would be release from the bondage of sin, not imprisonment from the world’s conquest.

“Release from darkness” meant that the truth would again reign supreme. Unfortunately, this truth was only in the things that Jesus taught, and not in the “wisdom” that the wise men of earth taught!

Messiah would reveal just who would be blessed and loved by the Lord, as well as just who would suffer from his retribution. Israel believed that those who had followed the dictates of the law closely would be the blessed, while the sinners who had failed miserably in obedience would know his punishment.
Unfortunately, condemnation was not what Jesus was bringing – John 3:14-21 tells us that the Lord wasn’t coming to condemn the sinner – he was bringing salvation for all who would believe and commit to him and his ways! Condemnation is already on everyone because of the lives we live. Those who refuse to believe in Jesus as the Son of God will continue to miss the point that in their life, condemnation, not salvation, reigns.

“Comfort” would come to those who mourn – this didn’t make sense to Israel either, for mourning was heaped upon people because of sin, and comfort was upon all who did what the law required. Jesus, however, brings a message that completely reverses this thought.

… And “provide for those who grieve” – it was believed that those who were righteous in the Law would be blessed with even more. And the “gospel of prosperity” still lives on today! And it’s a false hope, to say the least!

And the remainder of verse three is also true, but these blessings – “a crown of beauty”, “oil of gladness”, and “a garment of praise” – were thought to be gifts that would be given to those who had earned them, not for those who lived a life that Messiah had exhibited and proclaimed!

Jesus would overturn nearly everything that Messiah had stood for in the minds and hearts of the Jewish people. Their hopes were misplaced, their vision was worldly instead of heavenly, and they had been led away from God’s grace and blessing instead of closer to it, and the false teachers would never give up on their misguided expectations. And we still have many of them in positions of responsibility and authority today.

Read Isaiah 61:4-6

And the dichotomy continues. The "ancient ruins and devastated places" weren’t places on the map - they were the lives that were being ruined by sin, and which were being led further and further away from the grace and healing of God instead of toward it. The ruined cities are the cultures and societies that continue to fight against the “way, and the truth, and the life” of Jesus Christ (John 14:5-7). Jesus told parables about vineyards and harvests that would no longer be to Israel’s benefit (Matthew 21:28-32; 33-41), but the learned of Israel discounted them all, and declared them to be lies.

The declaration of priests and ministers was strange, indeed, as these were positions that had already been determined by lineage, and not by appointment, and as for prophets, at the time of Jesus, there hadn’t been one of them for over 400 years. And yet, the priesthood of believers that we read of in 1 Peter 2:9-10 would become a core appointment of Christianity. Priesthood was being taken out of the hands of those who defiled the charge that God had placed on them.
Jesus was teaching against all that the nation had ever believed, and the authorities of Israel and Rome would work together in an attempt to shut down this heresy. And the powers of earth would fail.

Read Isaiah 61:7

And again, the Lord’s choice of words would be misunderstood. His people would be those who would believe in Jesus and his words, not in some preset collection of people, chosen by human blood lines. Shame and disgrace would be turned away from the faithful in Christ, and their inheritance would be the joy that comes from a heavenly life in eternity.

The prophesy that comes from this chapter of Isaiah’s ministry is correct in every sense, but as with all that comes from God, it can never be understood in the mind of earth. Instead, we must seek out the heart and Spirit of God if we truly want to know its truth. Listen to these words from Isaiah 55:4-9:
“See, I have made him a witness to the peoples, a ruler and commander of the peoples. Surely you will summon nations you know not, and nations that do not know you will hasten to you, because of the LORD your God, the Holy One of Israel, for he has endowed you with splendor.”
Seek the LORD while he may be found; call on him while he is near. Let the wicked forsake his way and the evil man his thoughts. Let him turn to the LORD, and he will have mercy on him, and to our God, for he will freely pardon.
“For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways,” declares the LORD. “As the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways and my thoughts than your thoughts.”

Our God is One of grace and unity, not one of retribution and division. Our God is One of hope and truth, not one of despair and opinion. Our God is One of salvation and life, not one of punishment and destruction. Our God is One who we desperately need, not one who we desire within our own imagination.

May we all live within the word of God, and not in the mistaken ways of Earth.

“So What Should Thanksgiving Be About?”

Scripture: Luke 18:9-14, Romans 6:15-18

During the past 4 weeks, we have been considering those things that we should truly be thankful for – those that come out of the Lord’s benevolent nature and generous blessings. It isn’t that we aren’t to be thankful for those things of life - for family and friends, for jobs that provide us with both necessary resources and satisfaction in accomplishment, for a church family that encourages and supports us, for the beauty of God’s creation, and our list will go on. The point of this is that all of these precious gifts and blessings are from God, not from ourselves.

This evening, we consider the attitudes of two men who had come to temple to show the Lord Jehovah just how grateful they truly were.

Read Luke 18:9-14

Jesus had chosen two very different men for this parable. The Pharisee was the ultimate example of how a person of Israel was supposed to live, and the tax collector was the perfect example of what a God-fearing Jew should never become! And why the difference? The Pharisee was a man of the Law, while the tax collector was now a man of faith.

Let’s take a look at the prayers of these two men.

The Pharisee had come to temple to give his Lord thanks – but the gratitude was over who he was, not for what the Lord had done for him. The truth is that prayer should have very little of “I” in them, except for our requests that God would bring a change into our lives! Prayer should always be lifted up to the Lord, and not used to proclaim all that we had accomplished.

His prayer is eloquent, but it is offered more as bragging than it is praise. He tells God that he is very happy for the difference in his life over that of other men – specifically, over some of those recognized sinners of Israel.

He tells God that he fasts twice a week – an attempt to show just how righteous he truly is. The problem is that fasting was to be offered for specific purposes – it was to display a dependence on the Lord for a situation that you were unable to resolve on your own, not just as some routine religious measure. It was to be a sign of humility, not a sign of your own pride and goodness.

Fasting was also supposed to be anonymous, not as a public display. Isaiah 58:3-4 tells us that the Lord sees through our false humility, and calls us to task for our self-centeredness. And a few verses later, (v. 6-14) and through the end of the chapter, we read of what true fasting should be about – it’s about our commitment in reaching out to others. Jesus even took this to a whole new level – in Matthew 6:16-18 he tells us that we should appear to be in celebration, not in mourning, and he concludes with these words – “… and your Father, who sees what is done in secret, will reward you.”

The Pharisee was only seeking the admiration of other people, not the reward of the Father. And no matter how much he wanted it to be different, God saw through his deception.

This man also tells the Lord that he tithes on all that he receives. Again, he is bragging, as this is not exactly what God wants from our lives. In Leviticus 27:32, the Lord calls specifically for a offering of every tenth sheep, with the intent being that the offering should be a tenth of whatever we produce or earn – whether sheep, or cattle, or grain, or finances. Other things, such as gifts or other wealth that we gain through no efforts of our own, are exempt. In Matthew 23:23-26, Jesus teaches about our attitude toward our offering to the Lord – that it isn’t just an obligation that has been placed on us, but rather we are to see our offering as an opportunity to reach out to others, and not just as some legalistic requirement.

But how about the tax collector – why does Jesus see his prayer as worthy? There is only one offering that he raises up, and that is a request for God’s mercy. He acknowledges his sinful condition to the extent that he humbles himself and declares himself as unworthy to even look up to the heavens!
His heart was broken over the realization of who and what he had become. His spirit was broken in his confession that he was no longer worthy to be seen as a member of Jehovah’s chosen people. He was humbled before God and admittedly a sinful man.

And Jesus pronounces him worthy of God’s blessing and love.

Read Romans 6:15-18

The point that Paul is making is that grace, like freedom, is never free. Even though it may not cost us anything on the surface, it does demand a price. Since time began, the issue of “free grace” has haunted humanity. And Paul nails the issue – that just because Jesus Christ has made the perfect sacrifice on our behalf, that doesn’t free us to live in whatever way we desire. And he compares this to the mandates of slavery. When we give our lives to Christ, that doesn’t free us in worldly ways – it frees us to reject the ways of earth, as well as our dependency on legalism for our salvation!

We have to understand, though, that the apostle doesn’t actually see a life in Christ as slavery – at least not in a human sense! Slavery to sin is nothing that even resembles freedom – it can only bring condemnation and death. But a life in Christ is about the freedom to live a new life in the here and now, as well as the promise of an incredible life with Jesus in eternity.

So the next time you consider those things you are thankful for, perhaps during dinner tomorrow, remember the divergent ways that the Pharisee and the tax collector were thankful – will our thanks be for all that we have accomplished, or will it be for all that we have failed in, and for all that our Lord can do for us?

Has the Lord done anything for you that is worthy of your praise? Let him know!

"Joy and Glory in the Lord"

Scripture John 15:9-14; Daniel 6:10-12

As we grow in our discipleship with Jesus, the reasons for our gratitude will continue to grow in ways we can’t even imagine. Our life is constantly being enriched, and by faith in Christ, and through the power of the Holy Spirit, we become fruitful branches on that precious Vine of God. And the Fruit that comes from this relationship will produce a harvest of bounty. But the joy filled blessings don’t stop there!

The life of a faithful disciple creates a joy in the heart of our Almighty God! And not only is our faithful life a blessing to the Lord, but when others see the life we have within the Lord’s grace, it will almost always raise a sense of interest and amazement in their lives. And every time a new soul comes to the saving grace of Jesus Christ, heaven rejoices, again!

A life in Christ brings us one great glory after another, and as each of these blessings reign in mighty ways, glory is heightened in our God. How can a life like that not be a reason for continuous joy and thanksgiving??

Read John 15:9-14

We have been invited into the grace of Christ for several reasons. First, he has chosen us to receive his love. And this isn’t some new kind of love – it is the love that exists behind and beneath and around all that the Lord has done – first at creation, then at Calvary, finally at the Judgment, and in everything in between. This passion continues to flow endlessly to us through the power of the Holy Spirit and in his call to service, as we faithfully follow wherever we are led.

But once again, Godly love still never ends – it is positioned to flow continuously as we obey his will and way, and even then, it is given as we enable it to flow, without ceasing, to others who come into our lives. This Godly way is never intended to cause competitiveness over who God loves the most, or arguments over who obeys the Lord most closely, or disputes over who is showing the right kind of Christ-like love. We must always remember that this isn’t our love to show – it is the Lord’s, and we have nothing to say about it except “receive, and be blessed”!

And as that divine love grows within us, so does our joy. The Christian life will never be easy, but even in the most difficult of days, the joy of Christ can still thrive within us. This is the kind of joy that sees us through those trying times, that is what makes this life worthwhile, that makes a gloomy, depressed, fearful Christian a contradiction in terms. The joy of Christ reminds us that we aren’t just sinners, but that we are sinners redeemed by the grace and love of Jesus.

What a marvelous hope we have, what a marvelous hope we have to share, what a marvelous hope we have to share with the world! The love of Christ, the joy of Christ, the hope of Christ is given to us, not to be our blessing, but to become the blessing for others.
Hope and love and joy are not the normal feelings of slaves and servants. Once, we were slaves to the law, but now we have become so much more. By obedient faith in Christ, our slavery has been set aside, and now we have become friends of the Living God!

Friendship with God is not some shallow or half-hearted relationship. It is not a human type of friendship that can come and go, that diminishes though time and distance, that is blown here and there by the wild winds of life. Friendship with God is an unbreakable and unshakable partnership, one that can accomplish anything within the Lord’s will, one that establishes us as members of the family of God!

And in that closeness to the Lord, we accept the responsibility to share the good news of his life, his ways, and his promises. After all, he has shared his life and love with us, so how could we possibly keep it all to ourselves? We are to proclaim him in everything we do – in our jobs, in our families, in our social circles, in the organizations we belong to, when we are alone, and when we are buried in the activities that involve a myriad of others. As his close friends, we also feel the need to stay in touch with the Lord through prayer and obedience. This is exactly what Jesus did all the time, and probably several times every day. He stayed in touch with his Father for many reasons, but primarily, I think, to remain within his will.

We need to see this relationship as a privilege. It is to be cared for and cherished and nurtured and respected. It can never be self-serving or selfish, and it must never be seen as exclusionary! Ours is a blessing to be used to bless the people of earth.


In our second reading for today, we read of Daniel who had become a cherished advisor to the king. He was an exile in Babylon, a captive Jew, a servant of a foreign regime. But above all, Daniel was a faithful “friend” of God. And in Jeremiah 29:4-7, we read that the Lord told his people that they were to continue to live as though they weren’t exiled from their homeland. Build homes, get married, have children, and, surprisingly, they were to promote peace in the cities they lived in, and they were to continue pray to their great God Jehovah.

Daniel continued to be a faithful servant of God, even while he was a valued advisor to the secession of kings of Babylon. At the time of our passage, Babylon had been conquered by the Medo-Persian Empire, and Daniel had been named as one of three administrators in the entire kingdom. Darius ruled, but he had been tricked into issuing an edict that he, and he alone, was to be worshipped, with the penalty for disobedience being a one way trip to the den of lions. Daniel would serve him, would honor him, would be respectful toward him, but his worship was reserved for only one – his God.

Read Daniel 6:10-12

Daniel’s life was in jeopardy – he knew it, and he expected it, but it never caused him to change his daily conversations with his true Lord. His prayers continued three times a day without fail, and lion’s den or not, praise to the Lord had to be an integral part of this time of connecting with his Jehovah God.

And we all know the story – how Daniel was, indeed, thrown in with the lions, but how God shut the mouths of the beasts who would not even scratch or harm the faithful man all night long. When the morning came, the king rushed to the den, expecting to see only remains of his trusted friend. But much to his surprise, Daniel was very much alive, sharing the story of how his Lord had moved to save his life.

Daniel never doubted that his Lord was with him. We have no idea of whether the man expected to die or not – we only know that he had placed his life in the hands of the only one who could make a difference for him. For Daniel, it was all about trust.

Trust is possibly the greatest trait of a true friendship. Never doubting that the friendship means far more than you could ever know; never fearing that something else might come between the two of you; never hesitating to let your friend work through your situation in the best possible way, even when you didn’t quite understand how it would work.

Did Daniel love his Lord? Did Daniel find joy in his Lord? Did Daniel and Jehovah have the kind of relationship that you have always wanted with God?

So what’s stopping you? Follow the example of Daniel – give the Lord your trust, your confidence, your obedience, your hope, your love, and give him complete authority over every moment of your life – for that is when the insurmountable joy of heaven will enter into our life, and we will be blessed beyond measure!

Is anyone thankful yet for all that the Lord can and will do for you, if you will just put your whole trust in him? It’s a friendship unlike any other! Don’t miss out on it.

“Singing His Praises”

Scripture: Colossians 3:12-17

Today, we continue with another passage that reveals more reasons to give thanks to our Lord. Thanksgiving is the perfect time to take the direction that scripture lays out for us – we are told that our God is truly worthy of our thanks and praise! Hear these words from the Psalms:

Psalm 18:2-6
"The LORD is my rock, my fortress and my deliverer; my shield and the horn of my salvation, my stronghold. I called to the LORD, who is worthy of praise, and I have been saved from my enemies. The cords of death entangled me; the torrents of destruction overwhelmed me. The cords of the grave coiled around me; the snares of death confronted me.
In my distress I called to the LORD; I cried to my God for help. From his temple he heard my voice"

For all that our God is, and all that he does, and all that he has given to us, he is so incredibly worthy that we can never praise him enough, but we still have to give him all the love and rejoicing that we possibly can.

Read Colossians 3:12-14

Paul offers a list of attributes that Christians are to exhibit, and it is significant that he opens this sentence with the words “as God’s chosen people”. These qualities are anything but typical of the people of earth! Leviticus 20:23-24 tells us that God’s people have been set aside – that we are not to live according to the ways and standards of the world. When we give our lives to the Lord, we surrender our allegiance and dependence on the ways we have always lived.

The second point that Paul is making is in the obvious nature of each of these attitudes. Each one is how we are to treat others – how we are to love them, and care for them, and show God’s love and grace to them. When we give our lives to Christ, we become those “holy and dearly loved” people, which is how we are even able to be the kind of person who the Lord needs us to be. And it is the Holy Spirit who will clothe us in the spirit of Christ – the life that prepares and conditions us to be that divine and loving messenger to the world.

We are to be “clothed” with compassion. The people of earth may have heard of the word “compassion”, but their understanding of what it is all about is quite a bit different than what God is actually intending us to be. It has nothing to do with how we demand that others acquiesce to our desires and ways. Rather, it is about what we can do and give to others. Remember Matthew 25:34-46? When we reach out to others in their need for food, or drink, or friendship, or care, it is as though we are reaching out to the Lord Himself.

When we are clothed in kindness, we see the goodness that we bring to others as something that is just as important to us as if it had become our own. In Luke 7:36-38, Jesus has his feet washed by the tears of a sinful woman, and dried with her hair. And in the love that she showed to Jesus, he forgave her sin. That is the kindness that we are also to show, the heart that comes from combining the goodness of earth with the compassion of Christ!

The next attribute – Humility – is how we are to show kindness. But what is humility? How does it change us? Think of it as how we will feel when we stand in the presence of God at the judgment – arrogance is gone, conceit has vanished, selfishness and self-centered ways are no more – all we have left to depend on is the Lord’s mercy. And that feeling is what we are to share with others.

Gentleness, our fourth Godly attribute, is marked by the person who is so God-controlled that we are able to strike the perfect balance between boldness in Christ and love for the sinner, between obeying God’s commands and truly loving those who don’t.

Patience, the next to the last, is very possibly the most difficult, as well as the most needed attitude for the human heart. Our District AA, Rosemary, has a poster on the wall of her office with a picture of a frustrated young woman on it, and a caption that reads “Lord, grant me patience, because if you give me strength, I’m going to need bail money too!” Have you ever had one of those days? Apparently Rosemary has! Patience is that quality that allows us to deal with the frustrations of this earthly life, while continuing to take each step of every day, regardless of where those steps take us, for the rest of our life.

Forgiveness may even beat out Patience for the title of Most Difficult. Retribution, not forgiveness, is the way of the world, but when we are clothed with Christ, forgiveness becomes the way we are to live. Jesus tells a parable in Matthew 18:23-35, about a servant who owed his master an extremely large amount of money. When he couldn’t pay, the master showed pity on him and cancelled the debt. But afterward, the servant demanded payment from another servant who owed him a much smaller amount, but he refused to cancel that debt. When the master heard this news, he retracted his forgiveness, and had the first servant thrown into debtors’ prison.
Matthew 6:14-15 – “If you forgive others when they sin against you, your heavenly Father will also forgive you. But if you do not forgive others their sins, your Father will not forgive your sins.”

And wrap it all up in the power of love that can only come through faith in Jesus Christ.

Read Colossians 3:15-17

If I may paraphrase the beginning few words of this passage, hear this - “Let the peace of Christ, and the word of Christ, become the Judge for all that you do.” That is how compassion and kindness, humility and gentleness, patience and forgiveness will work within us to unify and benefit the world around us. When the peace and word of Christ begins to work within us, to fill our lives and make this existence worthwhile, it is then that the joy and gratitude that comes from our discipleship brings even more blessings to our life.

And how do we let the Lord know of our joy? Through the singing – both the verbal as well as the heartfelt kinds - that flow from our very soul. And Thanksgiving is one of the best times to let that singing be heard by others! A thankful heart must never be contained! And a thankful spirit belongs to the Lord, and he never holds back either. So follow the Lord’s example, and begin showing your thankfulness!

The Church has always been a singing Church. Music is one way that humanity expresses their emotions, and the fact that Christians have always sung their joys is marvelous, considering the struggles that the Church has gone through over the centuries. There were the persecutions and outright hatred of the faithful, beginning in the days of Jesus Christ and continuing for two or three centuries. Conflict with Islam has existed for well over a thousand years. We have even been our own worst enemies during those less than stellar times in our history, times such as the Inquisition and the Reformation. And yet, through it all, we have sung praises to our God and King!

The proof of a fulfilling faith - whether in those times of doing or in those times of speaking, in times of struggle or in times of celebration - can we and do we proclaim the joy we have in the gift of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ?
So how will we celebrate our thankfulness, beginning today, and extending through the rest of our life, and specifically on November 28th as we gather around our Thanksgiving tables with family and friends? Do it with compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness and above all, with the love and joy for all that our Almighty God has brought into our lives!

Can life possibly get any better than that?

“See the Glory”

Scripture: John 17:1-5, 2 Corinthians 3:7-11

Glory is one of those things that everyone, or at least many people, desire for their lives, but as soon as we begin to prepare our lives to live a glorious existence, we discover that it is illusive, at best. Glory isn’t something that we can obtain by our own efforts – it is something that is given to us when we live the life that God has prepared. (John 8:54-55)

For Jesus, glory would come through Calvary, a place that the world sees as condemnation and failure. And Christ’s Church will come to know divine glory through their love and allegiance to Jesus, while the world sees that as weakness. The Lord’s way will always be the only way, for God’s ways and standards have always been different than those of earth.

Read John 17:1-5

Glory never comes through disobedience. Even if the command was wrong and the defiant response is successful, the “success” will only be seen as marginally good, at best. So it appears that true glory can only come when the perfect and most difficult decision is combined with acceptant and obedient behavior. The problem is that humanity can’t always put this winning combination together! It is God who has the perfect plan and perfect way, while the human experience, including that of Jesus, can only live the obedient response.

And this is exactly what our Lord Jesus did. He knew the consequences of obedience, that it would require his greatest resolve, as well as his greatest endurance, if God’s glory was ever to immerge out of the world’s hatred.

And the ultimate outcome from God’s glory? Our passage tells us that the glory that rested on both the Son and the Father is the evidence of obedience on the part of Jesus, which, in turn, enables eternal life to all who are obedient to the commands of Jesus!
Verse 2 indicates that these faithful were “given” to the Son by the Father. This doesn’t mean that God chose those who would be saved, and rejected all the rest of humanity. That would discount the concept of “free will”, so the truth of the matter is that the Father endowed eternal life to the faithful followers of his Son. And the term “eternal” means more than just forever – it means that the faithful will also come to know the glory that has now been gained by the faithful life of Jesus.

There’s a lot at work here, but the central truth is that it all hinges on the obedience of Jesus in the mission that the Father had charged him with, as well as the obedience of all who have claimed the Master as Lord of their lives.

The perfect plan that was devised by the Father, and the perfect response that was carried out by the Son, were all put in place because our work, our deeds, can never be perfect. So faith in the perfection of Jesus, and his obedience at Calvary, has been substituted for that which we could never do. And through faith in Jesus, we can experience the same glory that now rests on Father and Son.

And that is a gift that all who love the Lord can live with!

Read 2 Corinthians 3:7-11

This passage compares the glory that was so evident on Moses’ face when he returned from Mount Sinai, to the glory that comes in the ministry of the Holy Spirit. The glory of God that existed in the cloud that embraced the mountain (Exodus 34:5) also settled upon Moses (Exodus 34:29-35). But the glory that is evident within the Holy Spirit is different. This glory is displayed through the gift of Christ and the works of the Spirit, not in a physical manifestation of God’s word on stone tablets, or a radiance in the face of a man. (1 Corinthians 1:21-23)

Paul writes that the glory of Sinai brought law and its subsequent requirement of death. Without the law, there was no relationship to sin, but with the giving of God’s law, sin was defined and established, and the penalty for sin would be death, or more specifically, the withdrawal of eternal life.

But the glory that came with the Holy Spirit was one that Paul described as righteousness. The ministry of the Spirit was one that followed, and reinforced, the teaching of Jesus Christ (John 14:25-27), which in and of itself was one that created a way to eternal life and away from condemnation and death.

The tablets of Mount Sinai were written words of law, while the power of the Spirit, the new covenant, is based in the change that comes to the lives of all who receive the Spirit’s grace. The law is external to our being, the Spirit works within us. The law is something that we have to receive and accept through our mind and will, while the Spirit itself works within our heart. The law requires us to interpret and make a decision to follow its intent, but the Spirit works by changing our very nature.

The authority of the law was based in a command by God that was impossible for humanity to follow perfectly. The power of the Spirit, though, was based in the life changing love of that same Almighty God.
The law brought with it negative consequences. The Spirit brought hope founded in a relationship with the Lord.
The law could only tell us what we must do, but it had no means of helping us to accomplish its requirements. The Spirit not only brings the truth of God to our lives, it also provides the power to follow.

The glory that was so evident on the face of Moses would soon fade. The glory of the Spirit, however, is eternal and will never surrender any of its glory and grace.

For over a thousand years, Israel depended on the old covenant that the law provided for them. They certainly understood the difficulty, or rather the impossibility, of adhering to the law, and they knew that failure to follow its dictates would bring the most severe response from their Jehovah God. But none of this seemed to matter to them – changing to the better way of Jesus Christ wasn’t something that they could accept, and they chose the way of worldly death over the way of heavenly life.

We all know the seven last words of the church – “We’ve never done it that way before!” It seems that first century Israel invented that saying, and we have simply perpetuated it!

The power of the new covenant has nothing to do with how perfectly we live our life. It is about how well we allow the Holy Spirit of God to bring about his righteous change in our otherwise hopeless lives.

The Lord has done it all. It’s his way, his grace, his sacrifice, his glory, his teaching, his gift – the only thing we have to do is to accept the Lord for who he is, and follow the leading of the Holy Spirit.

As Thanksgiving approaches, we should all take time to reexamine those things that bring a sense of gratitude to our lives. Are they those externalities, like a good job, a successful life, the blessings of family and friends, financial security, a warm home, plenty to eat, and so on? Or is our focus on the internal blessings that only the Spirit of God can provide – faith in Jesus Christ and his teachings, a sense that the leading of the Spirit is taking us, here and now, to new opportunities with new people in new places, that the righteous way of God is a true and overwhelming joy every day of our life, that we discover peace and purpose in all that we learn about “the way, and the truth, and the life” of Jesus Christ (John 14:6), and that now, by faith, we have the promise of a life in eternity with our God?
Which makes you truly thankful?

Do we truly appreciate Jesus for the fulfilling and eternal life that he offers with his, and our, Father God, or do we look for satisfaction and assurance in the temporary and hollow life that earth represents? It’s an important difference that needs to be recognized, and an even more important choice that we have to make!
Which is your choice?

“The Mystery of Thanksgiving”

Scripture: Colossians 2:6-12, Colossians 4:2-6

Today, we begin a series that will take us through the month of November, and the theme will be “Thanksgiving”. For some folks, many of whom we know, this holiday has become simply a day to go hunting in the morning, eating turkey until we burst, and then settling down in front of the TV to watch football games for the rest of the day. Unfortunately, that isn’t even close to what the original purpose was.

Tradition tells us that the Pilgrims held a day of thanksgiving to celebrate their first year of living in the New World. It had been an extremely difficult year, to say the least, but they didn’t even hesitate to take a day to give thanks to their merciful God for bringing them through the past year’s struggle. It wouldn’t be until years later, in 1789, that President George Washington proclaimed a national day of Thanksgiving, to give Almighty God the glory for the establishment of the new nation and for the future growth and discoveries of her people. And it wasn’t until 1863 that Abraham Lincoln established our yearly celebration of thankfulness.

It had always been about giving the Lord praise for all that the nation had received, but somehow, over the years, we have lost that focus. For most, the day has become little more than a day off from work, giving us time to do other things that we enjoy. The inclusion of feasting and friends is still with us, but where is our thankfulness for the bounty that comes to us from our Gracious Lord?

Read Colossians 2:6-8

Paul has been encouraging the church in Colosse to continue to love being united with each other, and to seek out the mystery of God that is revealed in Christ Jesus. He is the power behind the workings of faith; He is the source of all goodness and richness for this life; He is the hope for all that the life to come will mean for our lives. Jesus is the foundation that supports us when the trials of life become that proverbial “shifting sand”.

Paul had stood upon that shifting sand in his life before Jesus. The Law of Moses had been his foundation, but it never supported him very well. He saw the law as a divine absolute, when it was actually no more than human extensions beyond what God wanted the people to be. The rituals, the sacrifices, the demands, the exclusionary faith, the condemnation of all who did not, or would not, follow the same way that he did. And if you didn’t subscribe to the same ideals of life that he did, you were worthless and unworthy of any blessing from Jehovah.

He had been deceived into thinking that the only way into Jehovah’s pleasure was to live life perfectly - as if any person actually could. But then, without the Lord in your life, what else was there to do? Without the forgiveness that faith in Christ could bring, the only way left was continuous sacrifice. Without allowing the love of Christ into your heart, how could there possibly be any love for others, especially those who lived totally different lives than you did? Without a life with the Living God, what else was there but a life in human law?

Paul had left his hollow life behind, and now that he was living a Christ-centered love to the fullest, he wanted others to know his new found secret – that Jesus is nothing less than the answer to the mystery of life, and that He is worthy of our thanksgivings every moment of every day.

Read Colossians 2:9-12

Since he met Jesus on that road to Damascus, Paul had learned how to be thankful, instead of obligated, to his Almighty God. He had discovered that Jesus is the fulfillment of God – not for heaven’s sake, but for the sake of all people of earth. And he had discovered that when we surrender our life to Christ, His fullness will become our fullness. Jesus Christ, Son of God and Son of Man, is the perfect solution to the great divide that exists between human failure and Godly hope.

Paul also had come to the realization that Christ not only had the power and authority of heaven at His disposal, but that He was the ruler over all power and authority on earth! As much as we may think that we are in charge of our lives, that we have ultimate authority in our business and in government, that we are responsible for making decisions that improve our life and the world around us, the truth is that our authority rests solely in our ability to choose to do things in Christ’s way, or not!

Even though most folks refuse to accept the fact that their wisdom and understanding is flawed, and that God’s way is perfect, the truth is that we will be far better off if we just admit that our knowledge base is nothing compared to what the Lord can bring to bear for us. And by following the Lord’s way and call, our decisions will be right on track with His.

The apostle then begins to discuss the issue of circumcision. For Israel, this was a sign that a man was one of the “chosen” of God. But now, Paul sees baptism as the sign that a person is one with the Lord. Baptism by water has to be accomplished by human hands, but the power of baptism has nothing to do with the work of human flesh. The power and authority of baptism is conveyed through our receiving God’s gift of the Holy Spirit.

Circumcision in the Spirit means that we are no longer dependent on the ways of earth, that our allegiance has shifted from what we know and understand, to what God knows about us and in what he can now do through us. Baptism by water, whether by sprinkling, or pouring, or immersion, is significant through our being cleansed and released from the world’s ways, and risen into a new existence in Christ. Baptism is not something to take lightly or as routine – it is a sign that we have traded our dependence and reliance on worldly ways, and have, in return, chosen those of heaven. Anything less that that is a lie to Almighty God.

Read Colossians 4:2-6

“Devote yourselves to prayer, being watchful and thankful.” And this is the point of Thanksgiving – that through prayer, we let our Triune God know just how much we value His presence in our lives. And this thankfulness can never be restricted to our own relationship with the Lord. It must be proclaimed to all who will listen.

Proclaim the mystery of just what faith in Jesus Christ has done for you. Proclaim it clearly so that everyone can hear and understand. Proclaim it through the way you live your life, proclaim it as often as you can, in every way you can, in every place you can. And the last verse of this passage is just as important as the first. Let others know the reason for your thankfulness, but do it in a way that is graceful, joyful, truthful, loving, and personal.

How grateful are we to the Lord for all that He has done for us, and what will we do for Him this Thanksgiving? There’s an old saying, that “we can never out give God”, but that doesn’t mean we should ever stop trying!

So what will you give to God this Thanksgiving? It’s your decision, so do it with joy.

“Godlessness and Deception”

Scripture: 2 Timothy 3:1-17

For the past two weeks, we’ve been considering the advice that Paul is offering to his friend Timothy. He has been encouraging the young pastor in the ministry that he has accepted as God’s call on his life. Today’s study, though, takes on a whole different face. Chapter 3 of this letter seems to be more of a warning than encouragement.

Ministry and mission has always been a mix of celebration and struggle. It seems that as soon as glory and honor begins to be shown to our Almighty God, Satan rears his ugly head! The last thing that he wants is for the people of earth to start walking in Godly ways, instead of his destructive ones. And the more we give to the Lord, the more Satan tries to take away. Paul knew this truth very well – Satan’s hatred had followed him every day since he traveled that road to Damascus, and the persecution would never stop until the evangelist’s life was taken. Paul also knew that this lord of darkness would begin attacking Timothy soon, just as he infects every church with anger and disagreement and torment.

Paul wanted Timothy to be prepared for the tyranny that would, without a doubt, come his way.

Read 2 Timothy 3:1-5

At first glance, these verses sound a lot like the tribulations of Revelation! But the truth is that they represent today. Satan had been defeated at Calvary, but it wasn’t the end of his reign here on earth! It was simply the beginning of his efforts to disrupt and interrupt the salvation message that the Church is called to share. This list of ungodly attributes is nearly overwhelming, but I think that we all can agree that there isn’t a single word in these few verses that aren’t part of the Church’s reality. We are in a time when both Satan and Christ have influence over our lives, but the hope is that we will choose the better one to follow.

Think about that last admonition in this passage: the force behind these “terrible times” are due to “… lovers of pleasure rather than lovers of God - having a form of godliness but denying its power. Have nothing to do with them.” Satan is willing to work overtime to make these struggles seem as though they are due to Godly power, that they are assaulting our very existence because God is angry and vindictive over the life we have been living.

The truth of the matter is, though, that it is all the work of evil in human lives. Satan’s greatest power is that he can make his deceptive words and way seem to be Godly in nature, when they are anything but Godly. As we read through the gospels, we will discover that these attributes stand totally in contrast to all that Jesus teaches and stands for. These 18 traits of the human life are all based in the first – that we are lovers of self. It’s about pride, it’s about elevation of ourselves above others, and it’s about the love of anything that advances our own status and position in the eyes of the world. This was never the way of Jesus, though. For him, and by necessity, for us, it will always be about raising others up above ourselves, about accepting the heat so others can be set free.

Read 2 Timothy 3:6-9

Christian women in Paul’s day had been freed from a submissive lifestyle, but many of them were still uncertain of how to live in that freedom. They were easily swayed into accepting whatever an authority figure might tell them. These men that the passage speaks about, were deceitful, and used these unsuspecting and vulnerable women for their own purpose and pleasure.

The names Jannes and Jambres were literary names that were given to unnamed men of ancient times. The earliest use of the names were for personalization of the anonymous magicians in Pharaoh’s court who tried to match the skills of Moses but never could. (Exodus 7:11, 8:7; 9:11) Tradition would use these same two names in other instances of unnamed men in scripture who opposed the will of God, and the work of the his true servants.

Paul goes on to say that these men – the deceivers, the evil doers, the self-centered and self-serving – will never get very far in their hateful work because the Lord has rejected them in whatever deplorable faith they may have had. But the last verse can be a little strange, for we are told that their lies and depravity “will be clear to everyone.” But are the lies of earth always clear and unbelievable? Not exactly! But I believe that through prayer and petition, the faithful will be led by the Holy Spirit to see through these masks of deception, and then the truth of Christ will, in all things, be revealed and will prevail.

Read 2 Timothy 3:10-13

And now, Paul returns to encouragement for his young friend in the faith. The attributes that he lists as pertaining to himself are the very ones which he prays will live in the life of Timothy. And this is the life that Paul now leads, not the one he has left behind, and in this abrupt change, the difficulties have increased, not diminished! He wants Timothy to teach in faith, to live a life worthy of a disciple of God, to have a purpose that is grounded in the ways of Jesus Christ, to trust in all that the Spirit shows to him, to patiently wait for the Lord’s time, to love as Christ loved, and to endure in faith so that he might withstand everything that the world will throw at him.
And the persecutions and suffering are guaranteed, just as the Lord’s presence and guidance and purpose and protection will be his, too. Paul reminds his friend that whenever trials came at him, the Lord was right there to rescue him from the hatred of the mobs. But it is more than just God at work – we also must constantly seek the Lord’s purpose and plan for our lives, and follow it every day, for it is when we are within the will of God that our lives will be most useful to the Lord.

Everyone who follows in the example of Jesus, as evidenced in the life of Paul, will know the Lord’s glory, and will also discover that the animosity and attacks of earth aren’t very far behind. Satan is just as committed to his deviltry as Jesus is to the glory, but while our lot in Christ will always improve, the minions of the darkness will find that their ways pull them down, diminishing their power at every turn. That is why endurance and perseverance are so vital in a Christian’s life (Romans 5:1-5). Standing firm in the faith is the only way we will ever survive the onslaughts of earth.

In Matthew 5:10, in the part of scripture that we know as the Beatitudes, we read “Blessed are those who are persecuted because of righteousness, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.” Any time that we are willing to live by a set of standards and laws that differ greatly from those that the world puts forward, there is going to be trouble. And that should surprise no one, for in Matthew 10:34-39, Jesus tells us “Do not suppose that I have come to bring peace to the earth. I did not come to bring peace, but a sword”, and later in that passage he says “anyone who does not take his cross and follow me is not worthy of me.” Following Jesus was never meant to be an easy way, but it is the only way to God’s glory.

Read 2 Timothy 3:14-17

Timothy, as are we, is to remain faithful to Jesus, no matter what may come. And no one has any excuse for deviating from that way, for we have scripture to remind us. Starting with Jesus’ words for our lives, we can discern the difference between the world’s law and God’s law, and if we submit to the truth of Christ, we can never choose poorly.

We are told that all scripture is God-breathed, meaning that the Lord wants us to see the difference between the deceptive ways of earth and the eternal way of salvation. But we have to consider the caution that goes with this charge. All books that claim to be God’s word aren’t necessarily true to God’s will. It is only the Bible that can be completely trusted to be committed to the divine will, and if any others are lifted up for our use, and if they contradict the teachings of Jesus, they are nothing more than a pack of lies. We must learn our lessons well.

It is only scripture, and writings that are based fully in scripture, that can bring us Godly wisdom. Only scriptural truth should be used for teaching, training, and correcting us in righteous ways. Scripture, as the word and breath of God, are not to be used to our own advantage, but as an instruction in living in a way that brings glory to the Lord. Scripture is to be used to reveal the truth of God in our lives, not to justify our false beliefs. It is to prepare us for service and faith in the name of Jesus, and never to lead us away from that precious Name. Scripture should fan the flame of faith until we are fully refined and prepared to be that person who loves as Jesus loved, who trusts as Jesus trusted, who teaches the things that Jesus taught, who goes to the same ones who Jesus went to, who is prepared to give their all just as Jesus did.

The lessons that Paul offered to Timothy are the very same lessons that each of us must also learn. May we all learn our lessons well.