On the New Year

I have just a few thoughts as we embark on another new year. I have come to value this holiday increasingly as the years have passed. As a child it meant no more than I got to stay up past midnight on New Year's eve. Today it means that I have a chance to pause, to think, to evaluate, to set goals, to take stock of life.

Gayline asked me last evening if I'd be willing to take some time this evening to talk over our personal and family goals for 2010. It was a great idea (she's got lots of them!), so that's part of what we're going to do.

I suspect that this is going to lead us toward a few goals like these:
1. Make sure that we're both going hard and happy after God in 2010.
2. Make sure that we're going hard and happy after personal character and faith in 2010 by mortifying specific sins of which we're aware and bringing to life the fruit of the Spirit.
3. Make sure that we're going hard and happy after Truth in 2010, through daily reading of the Word and extensive reading of the Truth-gold that others have written.
4. Make sure that we're both going hard and happy after each other in 2010.
5. Make sure we're both going hard and happy after our children and grand-children in 2010.
6. Make sure that we're both going hard and happy after our spiritual family in the church in 2010.
7. Make sure that we're going hard and happy after good nutrition and exercise in 2010 that we might seize whatever years we have left with as much energy and good health as it's in our power to develop.
8. Make sure that we're going hard and happy after joy--in all God is, and all God does--in 2010.

Now if we are enabled to apply specifics to all of this, all in the strength which God supplies, it will prove to be a God-filled year.

What are your goals?

Have a blessed new year.

A Few Days after Christmas, A Temple Visit, and Why It Matters for Your Salvation

About a week after the first Christmas night, Mary and Joseph took Jesus to the temple. You can read about this in Luke 2:22-40.

This temple visit of the 8 day old Jesus is significant for a number of reasons. Among them is that by being brought to the temple and submitting to this ceremony of dedication, Jesus was beginning a life of active obedience to the Law of God (Luke 2:22-27. At eight days old Jesus was conforming to the Law of God blamelessly. That matters. But why?

It matters because this means that from His earliest days Jesus was putting into practice the perfect righteous obedience to God's Law that would later be imputed or reckoned or credited to our account upon our faith in Him.

In order to live in God's favor and presence, we need to have a perfect Law-keeping record (Leviticus 18:5; Galatians 3:12), which in ourselves, we don't. We are Law-breakers, not just by our failure to keep ceremonial laws but in our repeated wilful failures to keep the absolute moral laws of God. We choose to disobey God time and again. And God cannot condone, nor can He tolerate the presence of sin before His eyes.

This is why all works-based religions are exercises in futility. No matter how hard we try to get it right, we don't. Even if I got it right perfectly from this day onward, it would not remedy my bad record in the past. When it comes to saving myself through works it is a classic case of "I can't get there from here."

Enter the Incarnate Son of God. He comes to earth and starts living life on this fallen planet; only He lives it differently than everyone else. He gets it right--right down to ceremonies performed on Him and to Him when He's 8 days old. And by doing so throughout His life He attained a perfect record of righteousness.

This righteousness would later be offered to all who would believe in Him as Savior and Lord. God promises that the righteousness of Christ becomes ours by faith, so that we might live before Him forever (Romans 4:5; Romans 5:17-21).

Thank God for our Lord's 8 day old visit to the temple. If we see things rightly, we know that even then He was saving us by His obedient perfect life, an obedience one day to be counted as ours.

Amen.

Thoughts on Dad and Mom

While it is still December, I want to take this moment to express my love and honor for my dad and mom.

Dad died on Christmas Day, 2005. Mom died on December 1, 2006. Thus, I lost both parents in less than a year, and both at this time of the year. I sit here and look at my last two most cherished pictures of dad and mom and feel afresh the depths of love and gratitude I have for them and for their legacy.

One picture is of them together, both beaming with the contageous joy that marked their lives particularly in the last few years of their lives. The other is of mom and me, from when mom visited us and our church last, about 40 days before she went home to her Savior and saw the One for Whom she had so long lived.

It speaks of the kind of lives they lived that when they died, I felt orphaned, even though I was 48 years old and the father of six. I was father- and mother-less, and I felt it.

Reflecting on this has led me to two thoughts. First, I have regretted all the times I have failed to express adequately my grief in others grief when a parent has died. Until I lost my parents, I did not know how hard it is to lose a parent. People lose parents in different ways: some through death, some through their parents' divorce, some through abandonment, some through massive neglect. At some point or another we all feel orphaned, and I grieve that in the past I did not enter the grief of others enough, and I ask forgiveness again for it.

Second, I am affected by the deep mystical bond that human relationships involve. One of the reasons I believe in God is that only a mysterious, deep, mystical, transcendant Being can account for the mystical, deep, transcendant experiences of the human soul--including human relationships.

Love is profound. Marriage, parenthood, and deep friendship--even when far less than ideally expressed, are mystical bonds that cannot be explained by evolutionary theory or philosphical materialism; the idea that matter and the physical are all that exist.

There exists between humans--and I think we all have tasted this at least for a few moments here and there in life--a connection that transcends what can be explained by the chemical actions and reactions of our biological make-up.

These are matters of the spirit, of the soul, of transcendant reality. They are mystical and mysterious sign-posts calling our hearts to look above the world to the Transcendant One from Whom all such wonders derive.

Friends, if in these past few holiday weeks spent in family-love, friendship, or fellowship, you have had at least a moment or two when you've been lost in joy over a relationship, allow that to lift your soul above the here and now into the realms of glory, where God the Mysterious and the Profound dwells.

If you have loved and been loved, it is because the One who is love exists.

Born to Die (Part 2)

May I greet you with all the joy and wonder that my soul musters and the gospel merits, with a very happy and holy: Merry Christmas to you all!

If "merry" seems like a rather light and frivolous word to you on this holy and happy day, I can understand. The word's been cheapened much. Still take it as a starting point for your joy. Let your heart be merry and joyful and full of wonderful amazement and gladness as you consider the birth of Christ today.

Here's why. In Hebrews 10:1-10 we see the very essence of the Christmas event. Jesus Christ came into the world (Hebrews 10:5) to provide the sacrifice for sins that the animals previously sacrificed could not provide (Hebrews 10:4-7). The Son of God came into the world in a "body prepared" for Him by the Father. It was a human body, a real body, a body prepared.

But prepared for what? Prepared to die; prepared to be a sacrifice; prepared to be offered as a once-for-all atonement for human sin (Hebrews 10:8-10). I know of no text of Scripture that puts the meaning of the incarnation more starkly than this: the Son of God was given a body so He could give that body to sanctify or make us holy and forgiven. Animal bodies could not atone for human sin; only a human body could. So God the Father and God the Son devised this plan: the Father would prepare a human body for the Son which the Son would voluntarily inhabit so that He could offer Himself in that human body for human sin.

He had to be human for humans were the guilty ones. He had to be God (see Hebrews 1:3, 8, 9) because only God is of sufficient worth to atone for all the sins of His people throughout all time. This Sacrifice was so perfect, so complete, so adequate that no other sacrifice would ever have to be offered again (Hebrews 7:26-28).

So on this Christmas Day, let us join hearts and minds in glad and amazed worship as we consider that on that first Christmas Day this very thing happened: the eternal plan of God to atone for human sin was initiated by the Son inhabiting a body prepared for Him, a body which was given for one primary purpose, to be a sacrifice for sin.

Like no one ever before or since: this One was truly born to die. His body was created that it might be crushed. The Son was given by God that we might be forgiven by God.

It literally makes me catch my breath. I hope it does you to. That way we all can be one as we pause long enough to be very, very grateful and joyful today.

Yes: may God give you a very merry, a very holy and a very happy Christmas indeed!
Amen.

Tim Shorey

Born to Die (Part 1)

It is one of the more profound and staggering Christmas texts that you will find, but when you read Hebrews 10:1-10 you'll discover the essence of Christmas and Christian faith. In our final two posts for this advent season, I want us to capture the heart of this scripture and allow it to wash over us with all its stunning grace and truth.

The text begins with statements about the futility of Old Testament sacrifices for the taking away of sin (Hebrews 10:1-4). In olden times, animal sacrifices were offered daily for sin. But that these sacrifices were futile was evident in two facts. First, they were animal sacrifices. How can the blood of bulls and goats take away human sin? Humans are the sinners; not animals. Animals are actually more morally innocent than humans are! Look at a wart-hog and look at a human: at a moral level the first is not guilty, the second is. So from the outset, it is clear that even though God commanded animal sacrifices for human sin, those sacrifices could not actually take away that sin. Since humans sin, eventually a Human would have to pay the price.

Second, they were repeated sacrifices (Hebrews 10:1, 2). The fact that these animal offerings had to be offered continually reveals that they simply were not adequate. They were inadequate because they were animals only and because they simply were not of suffcient worth fully to pay the price for human sin. In contrast, a True Sacrifice of sufficient worth would have to be made only once.

Tomorrow we'll see what (or rather Who) that sacrifice would have to be. But for today please notice this about yourself and your sin: it needs a sacrifice! We humans tend to think that we're just not that bad, and God is just not that mad, as to require payment for sin. But our text tells us otherwise. It tells us that sin requires atonement. And it tells us that our sins require an atonement of incomprehensible worth. If the blood of various valuable animals numbering in the hundreds of thousands offered for thousands of years was not enough to pay the price for our sins, how bad must those sins be, and how mad must they make God!

Now don't despair: God has made a way. But do ponder: that way had to be made. I am that bad and God was that mad. Honest self-awareness tells us that we are very bad sinners deserving of the wrath of the Almighty. The gospel tells us that God's anger has been removed. Tomorrow's reading will tell us how.

Tim Shorey

The Father "Willed"

"Holy God, in love, became
Perfect man to bear my blame
On the cross He took my sin
By His death I live again."

"For a child will be born for us, a son will be given to us, and the government will be on His shoulders. He will be named Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Eternal Father, Prince of Peace. The dominion will be vast, and its prosperity will never
end. He will reign on the throne of David and over his kingdom, to establish and sustain it with justice and righteousness from now on and forever. The zeal of the LORD of Hosts will accomplish this."

In this translation, the word "will" is mentioned eight times. For years I have read these verses of Scripture and it wasn't until now that I even noticed it.

Holy God, Perfect Man, willed.
To bear our blame, He willed to be for us, what we could never be for ourselves.
On the cross, He, Holy, Holy, Holy God willed to be given for us.
He willed to bear our sin so that by His death we'd share eternity with Him.

The Great Jehovah, Mighty God, Abba Father willed to become a man who would be the Lamb of God. The living Word, the infallible source of guidance and inexhaustible wisdom, was born to die, to triumph over death, hell and the grave.

"I will ransom them from the power of the grave;
I will redeem them from death.
O Death, I will be your plagues!
O Grave, I will be your destruction!..."

Sisters and brothers, may we purpose to pause, ponder and worship the One who, by His divine will, came to earth. His will in heaven became His will on earth. Let's give to Him the glory, honor, and praise due His name. As difficult as it may be to fathom this truth, we can by faith accept the incomprehensible and choose, because of it, to never grow weary or faint.

Stephanie Paul

Ultimate Deliverance

In Hebrews 2:14-18 we learn that the only means for man’s deliverance required Jesus to become a real man. In that sense only, He "partook of the same." "For we do not have a high priest who is unable to sympathize with our weaknesses, but one who in every respect has been tempted as we are, yet without sin.”

Herein we see the love of Christ in that when He knew what He must suffer in our nature, and how He must die, He readily took our nature upon Him. God could never accept the Old Testament sacrifices and offerings to take away sin, and so He sent a substitute.

Jesus did not come to be the Savior of fallen angels but of man. Only the great mission of mercy to mankind caused Christ to leave His exalted place in heaven and become a man. Sometimes I think we don’t really appreciate the uniqueness of God’s love and mercy to mankind. We were equally guilty of rebellion against God as the angels were, but God left heaven to rescue us, not them. God chose to have mercy on man and graciously lead him to repentance.

The incarnation of Christ was required to accomplish our salvation. He became a real man and dwelled among us as "a merciful and faithful high priest." He can be faithful to God and merciful to man. In "things pertaining to God," to His justice, and to His honor, Jesus was the perfect sacrifice to reconcile God to man. So Christ’s substitutionary death satisfies God's righteous nature. There was no higher or lower nature than man that could suffer for the sin of man and satisfy the justice of God. Christ became man that He might die; because as God He could not die.

Oh, what a blessed Savior we have, Jesus the divine Mediator between a holy God and guilty man! What indescribable love He displayed in taking on flesh and blood; what kind condescension, what wondrous depths of unspeakable grace! He loved us sufficiently to lay down his life for us. Did not Christ for our sakes endure the agony of the cross, the turning away of the Father’s face, the burden of sin, and the pangs of hell?

He has renewed our lives, made us feel our sin, taught us to seek for mercy, raised up a hope in our hearts, applied a promise to our souls, given us a testimony. And it is only to make a further way for his grace; to open up more of his willingness and ability to save to the uttermost all that come unto God by Him. It is only to make Himself in the end more precious to us; to show us more of his finished work, more of his dying love and atoning blood, and more of what He is able to do in delivering us from all our fears.

“Death is swallowed up in victory. O death, where is your victory? O death where is your sting?” (1 Cor. 15:54-55) Amen.

Sesky Paul

What's in a Name?

In Matthew 1:21 we read: “Joseph, son of David, do not fear to take Mary as your wife, for that which is conceived in her is from the Holy Spirit. She will bear a son, and you shall call his name Jesus, for he will save his people from their sins.”

Is this possible? If this is true, what is the significance of it all? Surely God does not perform such a miracle for any small purpose. These kinds of thoughts must have been racing through Joseph’s mind. The answer to these questions came in the same message, “You shall call his name Jesus, for he will save his people from their sins.” What a purpose!

But did Joseph fully understand what this meant? I think probably not. How often we fail to see the full significance of this name even after we’ve experienced the grace from the hand of the One bearing the name. However, two things could have come instantly into Joseph’s mind when he heard the name with which he was to call this baby boy.

Two other men of the Old Testament bore this name. The Hebrew form of the name is Joshua: “Yahweh Saves.” There was Joshua the captain of the army of Israel that led God’s people out from the punishment for their sins (the wilderness wanderings) and into the Promised Land. Then there was Joshua the High Priest after Israel’s captivity to Persia, of whom it was said, “the counsel of peace shall be between them” (Zech. 6:13); and of whom it was also said, “he shall build the temple of the Lord.”

One Joshua led Israel into salvation and blessing, and the other Joshua led them into peaceful relationship with God in his presence. “Christ is our Joshua; both the Captain of our salvation, and the High Priest of our profession, and, in both, our Savior” (Matthew Henry).

One Joshua led Israel out of their wanderings in the wilderness; Jesus leads us out of our hopeless pursuit of sin. Joshua led Israel into a land flowing with milk and honey; Jesus leads us into every blessing that our heavenly Father could possibly bestow on us.

The other Joshua represented the people before God in the temple; Jesus represents us by being our Great High Priest that places that temple in our hearts and by tearing the curtain to the Holy of Holies so that we can forever, in peace, come boldly to the throne of grace. Jesus leads us out of the bondage of our sin and into “every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places” (Eph 1:3). While it was said that “the counsel of peace shall be between them,” referring to Joshua the High Priest; it has also been said of Jesus, “For to us a child is born, to us a son is given; and the government shall be upon his shoulder, and his name shall be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace. Of the increase of his government and of peace there will be no end.”

What amazing truth is wrapped up in just our Savior’s name: Jesus.

Elliot Shorey

A Light Has Dawned

In Matthew 4:16 we read: "...the people dwelling in darkness have seen a great light, and for those dwelling in the region and shadow of death, on them a light has dawned."

There is a piece of war history that stirs me deeply whenever I hear the story. The year was 1914. World War I was under way. There on the western front, the darkness of war was deep. Young British and German soldiers were being slaughtered by each other in Belgium.

But then, in the very cold December air of this first winter of the war, something wonderful happened. On Christmas Eve, December 24, 1914, silence replaced the sound of artillery and gunfire. Peering out across the battle zone, the British observed the Germans decorating their trenches with candles. Then came music as the German soldiers began to sing “Stille Nacht” (Silent Night). The British answered with Christmas carols of their own. Christmas greetings where then shouted across the field.

Eventually two German soldiers came up from the trenches, laid down their weapons, and walked out into the “No Man’s Land” between the battle lines. Soon they were met by unarmed British soldiers. And there, where only hours before bullets had been flying, and men had been killed, gifts and smiles were being exchanged! This went on through the night and into Christmas Day. There was even a report of a Christmas Day soccer game between British and German forces!

What happened? Simply this... “To those who were sitting in the land and shadow of death, upon them a light dawned.” It was the Light of Christmas that brought this sudden cease-fire and good will; the celebration of the birth of Jesus, the Prince of Peace temporarily trumped the war.

One Advent Hymn my wife and I have loved though the years is “Let All Mortal Flesh Keep Silence.” The third stanza speaks beautifully of Eternal Light coming to earth, and how darkness ultimately cannot stand against Light.

Rank on rank the host of heaven
spreads its vanguard on the way,
As the Light of light descendeth
from the realms of endless day,
That the powers of hell may vanish
As the darkness clears away.

Brothers and sisters, a Son has been given to us, and the Light has long since dawned upon the world. Yet many continue to sit in darkness. Let us faithfully proclaim the Light to this dark and dying world which has mostly chosen not to behold the Light.

Let our celebration of Christmas this year be robust. Let us boldly proclaim that the Eternal Light has dawned! There is no day like Christmas Day!

Peter Cardillo

He Made Himself Poor

We love a good rags-to-riches story, be it the animated Cinderella, the families in Extreme Makeover: Home Edition, or a man like Andrew Carnegie. Carnegie was born into poverty in Scotland in 1835 and by the end of the century became the richest man in the world.

2 Corinthians 8:9 speaks to us about poverty and wealth, rags and riches. It speaks of our Lord Jesus Christ as one who was rich, and the extent of his riches in eternity are beyond our ability to comprehend. Surely Christ was the richest being in the universe.

Yet this verse speaks of his grace shown to us in his decision to become poor. Packer describes this verse as the key New Testament text for interpreting the incarnation. He says this because it views the incarnation not just as a "marvel of nature, but rather as a wonder of grace!"

The text speaks of Christ's humiliation as gracious, voluntary, selfless, and purposeful. Gracious in that Christ did not become poor for us because of our goodness or deserving. Voluntary in that the text says it is Christ's grace, a gift of his own giving. Selfless in that it was "for your sake," he did it for us. Purposeful in that he did it "so that;" there was a reason for it, and that reason we are told is so that we might become rich.

When we think of Christ in the manger this Christmas season, let's remember and marvel at his poverty. He was literally wrapped in rags to keep warm in a stable. A humbler, poorer birthplace was hardly possible. Let's remember that through the incarnation, we are rich, for Christ did not fail in his purpose.

I fear that one of my greatest shortcomings as a Christian is going through life as if I am poor. John Paul Getty, one of the first people in the world to accrue a fortune of one billion dollars, was once asked what it was like to be the richest man in the world. His response: "I don't feel very rich". I don't want to be the spiritual equivalent of John Paul Getty. I want to
remember this Christmas season that because Christ became poor, I AM RICH!

These thoughts are wonderfully summed up in the following Christmas hymn:

Thou who wast rich beyond all splendor,
all for love's sake becamest poor;
Thrones for a manger didst surrender,
sapphire paved courts for stable floor.
Thou who wast rich beyond all splendor,
all for love's sake becamest poor;

Thou who art God beyond all praising,
all for love's sake becamest man;
Stooping so low, but sinners raising,
heavenward by thine eternal plan.
Thou who art God beyond all praising,
all for love's sake becamest man;

Thou who art love, beyond all telling,
Savior and King, we worship thee.
Emmanuel, within us dwelling,
make us what thou wouldst have us be.
Thou who art love beyond all telling,
Savior and King, we worship thee.

Amen.

Scott Stengele

Man of Sorrows

Some 700 years before incarnate Deity walked this earth in the Person of Jesus the Messiah, an ancient Jewish prophet penned words from the Holy Spirit that foretold in precise detail who He would be as God in human flesh, and what He would do to accomplish redemption for His people. In the 53rd chapter of this great prophecy of Isaiah, we are given what John MacArthur appropriately describes as that which "contains unarguable, incontrovertible proof that God is the author of Scripture and Jesus the fulfillment of Messianic prophecy. Isaiah 53 presents details so minute that no human could have predicted them by accident and no imposter fulfilled them by cunning." And so the first thing I would like us to see is this evidence of the Divine authorship of the Bible that is so clearly and powerfully demonstrated for us in this passage.

The second thing I would like us to see as we reflect on this passage is its message. In this prophecy Isaiah has given a description in advance of Jesus in His mediatorial work as the suffering Servant of the Lord, the great Lamb of God bearing the sin of God's elect people as a substitutionary sacrifice for the forgiveness of their sins. Moreover, we find in this passage the whole saving work of Christ in summary form--His humiliation and exaltation: His substitutionary death, burial, resurrection, saving of sinners, intercession for them, and His kingdom. Matthew Henry rightly says that this chapter is so filled "with the unsearchable riches of Christ that it may be called rather the gospel of the evangelist Isaiah than the prophecy of the prophet Isaiah."

The central concern that God through His prophet speaks to us about in this passage is our most pressing and desparate need and His gracious provision for that need. While we have many felt needs, things that we think are our most important needs, by nature we do not percieve our greatest need------the forgiveness ot our sins before a holy God and a restored relationship with Him. There is a bumper sticker that says: Jesus is the answer. One might ask----what is the question? What is Jesus the answer for? Often it is to meet or satisfy not our greatest need, but one or more of our felt needs, to make life comfortable and happy. In response to this kind of desire, C.S. Lewis expressed it well when he said: "I didn't go to religion to make me happy. I always knew a bottle of Port would do that. If you want a religion to make you feel really comfortable, I certainly don't recommend Christianity."
But oh how our most desperate need, our greatest need is met in the Savior! He is "a man of sorrows and acquainted with grief," because "He has borne our griefs and carried our sorrows" (vs. 3-4). Indeed "He was wounded for our transgressions; He was crushed for our iniquities; upon Him was the chastisement that brought us peace, and with His stripes we are healed. All we like sheep have gone astray; we have turned--every one--to his own way; and the Lord has laid on Him the iniquity of us all" (vs. 5-6).

When He came as a baby born in Bethlehem--He came for this.

Phillip Bliss expressed it well when he wrote in his hymn drawn in part from Isaiah 53:

"Man of Sorrows! what a name
for the Son of God who came,
ruined sinners to reclaim:
Hallelujah! what a Savior!"

Bruce Bradford

Born in Due Time

In Galatians 4:4-7, we read: "But when the fullness of time had come, God sent forth his Son, born of woman, born under the law, to redeem those who were under the law, so that we might receive adoption as sons. And because you are sons, God has sent the Spirit of his Son into our hearts, crying, 'Abba! Father!' So you are no longer a slave, but a son, and if a son, then an heir through God."

As I considered today’s verses over the past several weeks, I was impressed once again that there is no doubt that God is involved in the affairs of men specifically and intentionally. As Paul writes of Christ’s birth, he clearly indicates God sent forth his Son when the fullness of time had come. In other words at just the right time, the perfect time, a specific time, Jesus came. What determined it to be the perfect time, I don’t know, but I do know it was the perfect time in God’s plan.

“God sent forth his Son, born of woman, born under the law...”

Why?

Why would the Eternal Creator God leave the glories of heaven, to come in the flesh, to save sinful, rebellious man?

...to redeem us from under the law. Romans 8:3-4: “For God has done what the law, weakened by the flesh, could not do. By sending his own Son in the likeness of sinful flesh and for sin, he condemned sin in the flesh, in order that the righteous requirement of the law might be fulfilled in us, who walk not according to the flesh but according to the Spirit.” Christ did what we could not do.

Now that is amazing enough, but what I find even more amazing is that He did not redeem us and leave us as slaves, but rather, he redeemed us that we might be adopted by His Father, making us sons of God. As adopted children, we have become sons/daughters of the Eternal Creator God.

Not only are we redeemed from under the law, and adopted by the Creator and King of the universe, He has put the Spirit of His very own Son into our hearts which cries out to Him, “Abba! Father!”

And it just keeps getting better. In addition, we became full heirs of the promises and provisions of our Father.

By the birth, life, and death of Jesus, we were redeemed out of slavery, became sons of God by adoption into His family, and enjoy forever the treasures of relationship with God and the glories of heaven. With our sonship we became heirs with Jesus Christ, because in the fullness of time, Jesus came.

Diane Hunt

The Anointed of God (Part 2) - Holiday Blues and the Freedom of Christ

Along with the tinsel, lights, and blow-up Santas comes the endless number of "how tos" for beating the holiday blues. At just about every checkout line one can find magazines with tips for a more "enjoyable holiday." This I can understand. Christmas can be a stressful time; especially if finances are tight, or relationships are strained, or if one is spending the holidays in a hospital room or funeral parlor. I know.

In recent years I have found myself wondering what's around the corner when I turn the calendar to December. December hasn't always been "happy in a million ways" as the song "Home for the Holidays" promises. One year we celebrated Christmas in a back bedroom because of a house fire. Another year we took gifts into the hospital to our son who'd been diagnosed with cancer on Christmas Eve. Another year as the family sat around the table on Christmas night a phone call told us to scramble to get to NH before my much loved father-in-law stepped into eternity, which he did when we were still en route. The next December we had to make a repeat trip for my dear mother-in-law, arriving just a few hours before she went home to Jesus. And with many other Christmases including a burden for distressed loved ones in need of love and care, I've often had to fight for joy at Christmas.

But my fight is not my own. It was fought by Another. In Luke 4:18, 19 we see that the very Person we celebrate with parties and gift-giving is the very Person who came to fight for those who have no parties, no gifts, no cheer. He came to give joy to those who mourn, who are poor, who are sick and in captivity.

Jesus. He came for me. He came for me!! He was sent to proclaim liberty to the captives (we were/are all captive to something), and recovering of sight to the blind (physical and spiritual) and to set at liberty those who are oppressed (and depressed).

Though I've had many reasons to feel less than fully celebratory at Christmas, I can't help thinking of those who have even greater reasons for feeling "down" during this season. I'm thinking of those who have lost a child this year, or in years past. A loss such as this must feel like a gaping wound, especially around the holidays. I'm also thinking of those who are presently suffering for their faith in Christ. To mention a few, there are are families of martyred pastors, jailed youth in China, and women set on fire by gasoline who live to continue to share the good news of their Liberator.

If you are struggling with joy this Christmas and if you are feeling weighed down by your circumstances, there is Good News. It isn't found in the magazines, or in the talk shows, in a bottle, or at the doctor's office. It isn't found in watching a Hallmark movie.

True joy is found in the manger where we meet a baby who is good news for the poor, and who is the liberator of captives and who is the giver of sight to the blind and who is freedom for the oppressed.

This the only real and lasting remedy to beat those holiday blues. Look to Him and live in the liberty of his grace!!

Gayline Shorey

The Anointed of God (Part 1) and the Year of Jubilee

In Luke 4:18, 19 we read of the call of Jesus as He came to earth: He was anointed of the Spirit to proclaim gospel liberty, sight, freedom, and the year of the Lord's favor. Jesus came to announce the coming of forgiveness, redemption, and freedom.

If you think back to the Old Testament you might remember the year of jubilee--a year in which captives and slaves were set free--a year of favor! This is what the coming of Jesus represents for all in bondage: Jubilee! Freedom! Liberty! The end of slavery to sin, to addictions, to guilt, to condemnation, to the fear of man, to Satan, and to hell's claims upon our souls!

I love the statements of the Bible that tell us specifically and explicitly why Jesus came. Here's one of them. Friend, I want you to think about your areas of bondage, your habitual sins or fears or anxieties or issues. And I want you to think about this: Jesus came to proclaim and then purchase your freedom from every one of those chains that bind.

Some of the great Bible words for salvation connect to the idea of freedom: redemption, ransom, no more condemnation, liberty, Jubilee. This Christmas think on this: Jesus came to set you free. He is the great emancipator-liberator. You can be free in Christ. There is no sin that binds you that cannot be broken; there is no habit from which you cannot be freed; there is no bondage too strong from which you cannot know the freeing grace of Christ.

Humans love to honor the births of great heroes and liberators. Few seem to realize it but that's what we're doing this Christmas. Jubilee came when Jesus came. May God enable you to believe the promise and live the reality.

Yes, may 2010 be a jubilee year for you--for the glory of the Savior.

Born on the Run

A curious thing, isn’t it, that when, in Matthew 2:13-18, the child Jesus was threatened by the ruthless King Herod, God left it to that humble dreamer, Joseph, to protect his Son. There may have been any number of other means to the same end. God had already done amazing, miraculous acts in the early stages of the Incarnation story--the pregnancy of old Elizabeth, the conception in the womb of the virgin, the appearance of the star leading the Magi to Bethlehem, all the dreams and angelic appearances. The story of Jesus’ birth and early life was “littered” with the supernatural. And yet...

Yet it pleased God to entrust the safety of his eternal Son to a very ordinary (may we say, pedestrian?) method. “Joseph, get up--now!--and take Jesus and Mary, and run for your life!” Amazingly, Joseph, again demonstrating his obedient spirit, does just that. He collects whatever belongings he and Mary can carry (remember, they’re probably carrying the Christ child as well), and goes--without even waiting for daybreak. It's hard to believe that the Christ Child was born on the run in this fashion. What is also surprising is that on this occasion, it can be truly said that Joseph “saved” the Savior.

The flight to Egypt was both the fulfillment of Hosea’s prophecy (“Out of Egypt I called my son.”) and the surest way of escaping Herod’s jurisdiction. For Joseph, it meant a 90 mile trip, possibly on foot (no beasts of burden are mentioned in either Matthew or Luke), constantly looking over his shoulder to see if the soldiers were coming. It meant trusting that God would direct his steps, providing safe passage through an area where robbers and highwaymen were a constant threat. It meant fleeing political persecution, becoming refugees, aliens in a strange land. The little family of three would have presented an easy target, for criminals, or for those who may have harbored hatred against “foreigners.”

Such a relocation, under the best of circumstances, would have posed enormous challenges. What about language barriers? Where would they live? Egypt is a big place, after all. At least, the issue of how their needs would be met had already been addressed. They had treasures--gold, frankincense, myrrh. God, who had provided these valuables, would certainly provide the answers to the other questions. But it must have tested the faith of the family.

We serve a God who uses means to accomplish his purposes. In this case, the means included a dream, an obedient man, a devoted mother, and gifts given by some unexpected visitors from a distant land. What are the means he is using in your life? How might you be the means he would use in the life of another?

Tim Bowditch

The Mystery of Godliness

The early confession of the Church found in 1 Timothy 3:16 (“we confess”) declares “the mystery of godliness” one of the six mysteries noted in the New Testament.

Jesus Christ Himself is this “mystery of godliness.” God, the timeless Spirit, manifested Himself in time, and in flesh! This stretches belief to its limits! It’s utter foolishness to the unbeliever. To the Jew it is blasphemy. Would the Master of the universe stoop so low as to enter the womb of a woman? Would he share human nature with us?

And if He did, would it be real? Would this figure Jesus actually be God and man in a body of flesh? Or would God somehow lend His Spirit to this otherwise ordinary human in some unique way, for the unique work of redemption?

In the early Church there were some who could not believe that God and man could share the divine nature. An interesting term comes to us from these early days. The Greek word “Theotokos” means “God bearer” and also translates “mother of God.”

This expression came to be at the center of a significant dispute in the 5th century. All could agree that Mary was Christotokos, (the mother of Christ), but Theotokos? This proved too much for some (by the way, for those concerned, Mary, of course, was not the “mother” of the eternal nature of Christ--this would have been a monstrous heresy. He is the eternal Son of God, and as such, Himself preceded the womb of Mary, which was in time to deliver this God-man into the world).

It is essential to understand that this dispute about the motherhood of Mary was not about Mary at all! It was about Jesus! Was this Jesus truly, fully, God? Did Mary actually give birth to... God? This was no “splitting of hairs.” The very deity of Christ was being challenged. Would Orthodoxy prevail?

In the end, Cyril of Alexandria won the day against the Patriarch of Constantinople (Nestorius). The bishops gathered at Ephesus, and in 431 AD affirmed that our Lord had two natures; Jesus was fully God and fully man. The issue was settled once and for all. Jesus is God. Mary is the mother of... God!

Brothers, sisters... understand the mystery of godliness--the baby lying in the straw is none other than “God, manifested in the flesh...” And He is to be worshiped, as baby; as 12 year old boy in the temple; as suffering figure on the cross; and as the risen and glorified Christ!

Come, let us adore Him!

Peter Cardillo

The Response of the Magi

When I became a mom the Christmas story took on a whole new meaning for me, especially that Mary pondered these events in her heart. The appearance of an angel, traveling to Bethlehem, giving birth in a stable, the visitation of the shepherds. Then in Matthew 2:10-11 we read that months later Mary is at home with her toddling son when there is a knock at the door. There stand several men, their attire showing they are obviously from another country. They are excited, overwhelmed with great joy. One look at her little son and they fall, faces to the ground, and worship him. Did Mary too rejoice at this unexpected visit, as she watched not only the jubilant worship but the lavish gifts presented to her son?

These Magi rejoiced, worshipped and lavished gifts on Jesus, the child born a king. I know Him as my resurrected Lord, the King of Kings, and I am amazed at my tepid heart of worship at times. I do not doubt that Mary pondered that scene in her mind throughout the years. Perhaps walking home from Jerusalem after Jesus was missing and found in the temple--His Father’s house; as he left home for his ministry throughout Galilee; as he hung on the cross. Three days later Mary no longer pondered--she knew! Did not her rejoicing surpass that day with the Magi? Did not her heart worship in a way worthy of the Son of God? Now Mary had something to carry in her heart for the remainder of her life. Not just the Christmas story, but the reason behind it. Scripture does not fill in the details of the Magi beyond their journey to Bethlehem and their return home. Did they ponder this event for the remainder of their life? Did they return home and share this good news with their countrymen? Perhaps more than 30 years later the gospel came to their own country. They saw the Christ child and they worshipped. The rest of their story is not known to us.

All of this, by grace, is my story too, and I want to rejoice with exceedingly great joy, for I know the fuller story. What the Magi knew caused them great joy. How much more should that be true for me? The Magi were led by a star and had a moment with the King. I have the light of God’s Word to enable me, not just a moment but a lifetime to know the King. Beyond that is eternity, and all of eternity will not exhaust my knowledge of Him. The journey of the Magi could not have been an easy one, but the sight of the child caused them to fall face down in worship. Our journey is not always easy, but it is wonderful to gaze upon the beauty of the Lord, where our hearts will find great joy. What a glorious truth! And what is better yet, He is coming again--soon!

Pat Bowditch

The Word Made Flesh

John's Gospel opens with these words, "In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. The same was in the beginning with God. All things were made through him; and without him was not anything made that has been made" (John 1:1-3). John gives an interesting prologue to his first century readers.

The Greeks were obsessed with knowledge and philosophy. The measure of a man was his ability to produce ideas, discuss the noumena behind the phenomena or the concept behind the reality. It was Plato who said, "Until philosophers are kings, or the kings and princes of this world have the spirit and power of philosophy... the human race will never have rest from their evils" (Republic 5.473d-e). The Greeks worshipped great thinkers and orators.

The Romans spoke of power and might and world domination, which would usher in the "Pax Romano" or Roman peace. Strength and honor were their hallmark. "Hail Caesar" was the command as his legions overpowered any and all who would not submit to his power. They worshipped power as they worshipped the Roman Emperor. They had gods for everything; even Caesar was god.

The Jews had their "Festival of Lights" and their common toast as they raised their glasses was "le chaim" or "to life." They had all but given up on the promised Messiah. They looked, as it were, through the eyes of the Greeks and Romans, for a wise and powerful political savior.

This prologue of John's Gospel was meant to confound all people groups with a unique word to all. To the Greek, he was the quintessential "logos" or word. To the Roman he was the ultimate power. There was nothing created that was not created by Him. He spoke the universe into existence. To the Jew, he was both light and life (John 1:4). Sadly, all three groups missed him, because they looked with eyes of flesh.

"The word became flesh and dwelt among us" (John 1:14). It was this Master of all ideas and thoughts, this powerful One who can think or speak things into being (Genesis 1), this light of the world who is said to have been "face to face" with God the Father in intimate communion and complete self-enjoyment. It was this God, who became flesh. He became a Man on a mission, as we say.

This was no ordinary mission; he came as John the Baptist declares in John 1:29, as a sacrificial lamb, who would take away the sin of the world. The One who has seen God (John 1:18), has exegeted, or expounded him in his own life and death. Would you seek wisdom, would you observe power, would you behold life and light, would you come to God? Look to the One who became flesh. Learn that His power is made perfect through suffering and weakness. This Christmas season, seek and worship the wisest, most powerful life, who faced death for you and for me.

John Roberts

Treasuring in the Heart

How many times did Sarah replay, in her mind, words predicting a child in her old age?

Surely, Hannah ran the words spoken to her by Eli the priest over and over again in her thoughts.

Everyone's heart treasures something. Words, memories, faces, dreams. Look to see what your heart overflows with and you will see what you treasure.

Replay... replay... replay...

Mary was no different. In the first two chapters of his gospel account, Luke tells us that Mary "discerns," "treasures" (twice), and "ponders" words, situations, and reactions--all regarding the birth and life of her son, Jesus.

I found it interesting that the Greek word used in Luke 2:19 for "ponder" is sumballo, which means "to throw together," "discuss," or "confer." Mary worked through all of these strange, wonderful, difficult events by talking to herself! It seems even a 1st century woman was guilty of the occasional chat with herself.

Just think of the events Mary stored up in her memory:
1) Gabriel's visit and message from God
2) Elizabeth's prophecy
3) Shepherds' testimony
4) Simeon's prophecy
5) Leaving behind of Jesus in Jerusalem

With each event, Mary's understanding of Who her Son was must have become a little clearer.

Concerning Mary's ponderings, John Calvin said, "For if we are wise, it will be the chief employment, and the great object of our life, to consider with attention those works of God which build up our faith. Mary kept all these things... to collect the several events which agreed in proving the glory of Christ, so that they might form one body. For Mary could not wisely estimate the collective value of all those occurrences, except by comparing them with each other."

And again, "Mary kept in her heart those things which she did not fully understand. Let us learn from this, to receive with reverence, and to lay up in our minds (like the seed, which is allowed to remain for some time under ground), those mysteries of God which exceed our capacity" (John Calvin, Commentary on the Harmony of Matthew, Mark, and Luke, [Grand Rapids: Baker, 2009], 124-25).

Mary's ponderings served two purposes: to work her own faith out and to share Christ with others.

Have you ever gotten to the point that you almost can't remember the details of how you came to faith in Christ? You know you believe, but it's hazy as to how you got there...

A good project, during this season of celebrating our Savior's birth, would be to open up the rusty parts of our memories and remind ourselves of the details of our conversions. Words, memories, faces, dreams... we are no different from Mary--we too need to meditate on Who Christ is and what He has done for us.

And then--share Him with others.

Robin Lawrence

The Magnificat

As a woman, I know that I have a tendency to look at my life experiences and project them on to God, especially when life has gotten very complicated. Men may have this problem too, but I’ll stick to what I know. When things are good, God is good, but when things are bad… sometimes I begin to wonder. Maybe there’s been a job loss, or relationships are falling apart, or savings are gone, or a family member has passed. I suddenly have questions about God not worship for Him and I’m tempted to run from Him not to Him.

If there’s one person in the Bible whose circumstances should have caused her to worry herself to death, it was probably Mary. There she was, planning her wedding, and then Gabriel showed up and changed the whole story. Now she was pregnant.

What would happen to her when she returned home? Would Joseph believe she was a virgin when it was clear she was with child? Would he marry her and then quit? Would he abandon her to be a single mom? Would her family reject her or would they believe that God was using her? Certainly she would be called a whore, a tramp, and an adulteress. She faced being stripped, beaten, mocked, spit on, and put before the town of Nazareth as an example. And on top of that, she wasn’t just pregnant, she would give birth to the Son of God!

Clearly Mary had a lot to be worried about. But it seems as though she skipped right over the worrying and worshipped instead.

Even though her life was uncertain, she wanted God to be honored and glorified. She wanted others to see through her life that God is good. In Luke 1:46-55, Mary praised at least 17 attributes of God. She praised Him for His position, His omniscience, His work, His personal nature, His holiness, His mercy, His power, His worth, His sovereignty, and the list goes on. Instead of taking a doubting and introspective look at her life, she looked at God and filled her heart with who He is and what He’s done.

Whenever I’m tempted to live within my experiences instead of the truth of God, I’m going to try to remember Mary. Mary looked first for the evidences of grace in her own life--"he’s done great things for me” (Luke 1:49)--and she praised God for it. But you know what she also did? She looked for the evidences of grace in the lives of others, and praised God for that too--"he has filled the hungry with good things” (Luke 1:53).

As I approach Christmas, I’m trying to identify the parts of my life that are distracting me and causing me to doubt. When I identify them, I’m committing to asking myself a series of questions: Have I worried about it? Have I worshipped about it? It might be my time to worship because of His grace in others. This is the joy of being part of a church family: we get to see God working!

Who is God? What has He done? Mary’s example of asking and answering those questions is well worth following.

Brooke Shorey

A Hand Maid of the Lord

(See Luke 1:38)

Just for the sake of excitement, let's try to imagine that we are entirely unacquainted with this story. Put out of your mind all murals, mosaics, statues, and pancakes that bear the image of the girl Mary. Wipe clean the spectacles of your traditions, and look on Mary with fresh, untainted eyes.

The narration is a whirlwind, rushing so quickly that what's said is almost lost. This girl is given no more than a passing sentence's worth of introduction. She is told incredible things by a fearsome being, and then she's making this huge statement, declaring her life, her dreams, her reputation all forfeit for the sake of God’s call.

On the one hand, God promises big things, such things that will make her the most blessed among women. On the other hand, this is really hard. She must give up, at least in the eyes of others, her reputation and honor. She must expect gossip, slander, malice--we know how women talk about women. Joseph might put her away, leaving her to face the fear and pain of pregnancy and motherhood alone.

Yet she replies with words that thrill our souls, "Behold, I am the servant of the Lord; let it be to me according to your word."

We are not shown Mary's life before this point. But her self-description is a telling one. The Lord’s servant. The English word servant is not strong enough. In Greek it really means bondslave. One definition of slave is this: a human being who is owned as property by and is absolutely subject to the will of another; bondservant divested of all freedom and personal rights; a person who is completely dominated by some influence, habit, person, etc.

These are big ideas--owned as property; absolutely subject; will of another; divested of all freedom; completely dominated. Abhorrent ideas--repellent to the American freedom-obsessed soul. Even so, every man, woman, and child is a slave either to righteousness, or to sin. Mary knew her Master and actively, willingly, and joyfully served Him.

But you must see that Mary's submission did not begin at the moment of crisis. She was not bullied or frightened into this. Had she not been obedient to God's law, would a "just man" want her for a wife? The virgin birth was an ordained means to bring God glory--her habit and practice of obedience preserved for her the honor of being the mother of her Savior. Were she not righteous, would she be addressed as a partaker of grace, as a woman richly blessed, having found favor with God? Would she be able to rejoice in song?

Mary was a sinner in need of a Savior--she says so herself. Yet how many of us can describe ourselves as divested of all freedom and personal rights, the Lord's to do with as He pleases?

Jenny Lawrence

Sin Condemned in His Flesh

Christmas morning! Excitement! Joy! Anticipation! Why? Well, because everyone has gathered around a tree to exchange gifts with others that they love! Today in our continuing Advent series, I want us to gather around another tree and there behold the great gift of God that He has offered upon it!

There is therefore now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus. For the law of the Spirit of life has set you free in Christ Jesus from the law of sin and death. For God has done what the law, weakened by the flesh, could not do. By sending His own Son in the likeness of sinful flesh and for sin, he condemned sin in the flesh, in order that the righteous requirement of the law might be fulfilled in us, who walk not according to the flesh but according to the Spirit (Romans 8:1-4).

These four verses are packed with powerful, soul liberating truth! But there is "one" truth, "one" glorious implication of God’s gospel gift, that I want us to specifically consider...

Because of the death of Christ on a tree, the threat and the awful reality of condemnation no longer await us on Judgment Day! For every person who has been united to Jesus Christ by faith alone has been delivered from the wrath to come!

Condemnation!! Eternal punishment! Final doom!! Such terrifying and soul paralyzing realities have been removed from the believer’s future! Hallelujah! But how did God accomplish this? How did a holy and just God free us from our sins without exacting from our flesh the wages our sins deserved?

Beloved, God did condemn our sins in human flesh!! But it wasn’t in our flesh that He condemned sin! God condemned sin in the flesh of His Son as He hung on a tree. Make no mistake about it! God must judge sin! And judge it He did! And so thorough, so complete and so sufficient was the sacrifice of Christ in our place that now it can be pronounced over us that "there is therefore now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus." How could there be?? Our sins (each and every one of them) were fully condemned in the flesh of Christ! And here is perhaps one of the greatest implications that the gospel gift offers... God not only won't condemn us, but God can't condemn those of us whose sins He already condemned in Christ!!

Did you get that? Brothers and sisters these are most precious words and truths! Each and every day as we struggle with sins, we must always remember that those very sins are forgiven sins! Even when remaining sin in us discourages us and saddens us we must never forget that those sins will never condemn us!

This Christmas, amidst all the "other" gifts, treasure the one great gift, the one free gift of God that came from God's tree…no condemnation!

Steve Cassarino

Why He Came

Men read many books. Novels, biographies, poetry, history, and even comic books. Too few read the great gift and treasure that we have been given, the Bible. What a great treasure men have had for over two thousand years! What is this treasure? The actual life stories of Immanuel, which means "God with us."

In Mark 2:13-17 we are invited to see God the Son, Jesus Christ, as He lives among man. The writer of this gospel tells us that Jesus "went out again beside the sea, and all the crowd was coming to him, and He was teaching them." Jesus was at the sea. All the crowd was at the sea. But while Jesus and the crowd were at the sea, Levi the tax collector was at the tax booth. Levi was not seeking Jesus. Levi was not on His journey to seek God. Levi was at the tax booth.

"And as he passed by He saw Levi." Jesus saw Levi. There were many whom Jesus saw that day, but He saw Levi differently. He did not merely see Levi as we see the many people which pass by our eyes. I see people on my way to work. I see people at Wawa. I see people at my workplace, but Jesus saw Levi differently. Jesus saw Levi, the tax collector, as one to "call" for Himself. Jesus said "Follow me." "Levi rose and followed Him."

Levi had not gone out beside the sea. Jesus went to Levi’s booth. Now the writer does not tell us that Levi went to Jesus' house, rather that Jesus went to Levi's house. Immanuel, God Incarnate, the Holy and Righteous, goes to Levi the tax collector's house, and He surrounds Himself with "tax collectors and sinners."

The writer tells us that they were "reclining with Jesus." What a picture! What a story! What a hope for sinners! Jesus is a friend of sinners. The writer tells us that Jesus "was eating with tax collectors and sinners." Jesus was eating with Levi and His friends.

No! This can not be! This does not sit right with some who look on, the "righteous" in their own eyes. They ask a most important question, and we are privileged to hear the response of God. "Why does He eat with sinners and tax collectors?" And we have the words of the Savior! "Those who are well have no need of a physician, but those who are sick. I have not come to call the righteous, but sinners."

Jesus sought out Levi. Jesus called Levi to follow Him. Jesus ate at Levi's home. Jesus reclined with tax collectors and sinners. Jesus came to call sinners! There is no hope for those who are righteous in their own eyes, but full and sure hope for "sinners." 1 Timothy 1:15 states "This saying is trustworthy of full acceptance, that Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners." Hallelujah!

Tom Coughlin

Joseph: A Just Man

They say that to understand a man, you must walk a mile in his shoes. The mile walked by the man Joseph in Matthew 1:18-25 was a long and windy path for sure, filled with questions the likes of which none of us have ever faced.

We first imagine him to be a man filled with the joys that a beautiful fiancée brings. We feel his anticipation as he looks forward to the blessings of marriage to a godly woman. We feel the emptiness and sadness he experiences as his bride's visit to her cousin Elizabeth grows ever longer. There is the exhilaration of her return followed quickly by the agony of soul upon the news... she's pregnant. His mind must have raced. Why? How? What would cause her to do such a thing? Thoughts of anguished betrayal are complicated by the love he had felt for her. God does not leave him in anguish for long, but it is during this time of anguish that God calls him a righteous (just) man. Joseph's righteousness can be seen in his decision to pursue a path of compassion. Though not yet married, Mary would have been considered an adulteress, and would be subject to the stiff penalties adulterers faced. He decides to divorce her quietly, to keep her pain to a minimum, all the while dealing with the deep sorrows of his own heart.

So God sends this just man an angelic visitor, who brings him relief of soul. Relief of soul yes, but with this relief come many other burning questions, some of which are wonderfully expressed by Michael Card in the lyrics of his ballad entitled "Joseph’s Song”:

How can it be, this baby in my arms, sleeping now, so peacefully,
The Son of God, the angel said, how can it be?

Lord, I know, he's not my own, not of my flesh, not of my bone,
Still Father let, this baby be, the son of my love.

Father, show me where I fit into this plan of yours,
How can a man be father to the Son of God?
Lord, for all my life I've been a simple carpenter,
How can I raise a King? How can I raise a King?

In actuality we know very little about the man Joseph. He lives out the rest of his life in near anonymity, but what we learn about him in Matthew 1 is enough. It is enough to know that this man was a man of courageous faith. It is enough to assure us that the only begotten Son of God, the one they named "Yahweh saves," yes the very King of Israel, was indeed raised by an earthly father who was... "a righteous man."

Scott Stengele

The Form and Glory of God

Christmas cannot be marveled at unless pre-Christmas is understood.

What is pre-Christmas? According to Paul in Philippians 2:6-8, pre-Christmas is Jesus in the form of God. He was the eternal exact effulgence or brilliant expression of the fullness of God (Hebrews 1:3). He was God on display. John tells us in John 12:41 that it was the glory of the pre-Christmas Son of God that Isaiah saw in his famous vision in Isaiah 6:1-7.

Read and think about that. The Baby of Bethlehem was first the Lord of Glory high on the throne of heaven. Long before the angels heralded His birth (in Luke 2:13, 14) they were singing His worth (in Isaiah 6).

Consider the Person of Christ who is the form, the image, the stamp of God’s nature. In fact think about these words from one man (John Piper):

So the Son in whom the Father delights is the image of God and the radiance of the glory of God. He bears the very stamp of God’s nature and is the very form of God. He is equal with God and, as John says, is God.

For all eternity, before creation, the only reality that has always existed is God. This is a great mystery, because it is so hard for us to think of God having absolutely no beginning, and just being there forever and ever and ever, without anything or anyone making him be there--just absolute reality that everyone of us has to reckon with whether we like it or not. But this ever-living God has not been "alone." He has not been a solitary center of consciousness. There has always been another, who has been one with God in essence and glory, and yet distinct in personhood so that they have had a personal relationship for all eternity.

The Bible teaches that this eternal God has always had a perfect image of himself (Colossians 1:15), a perfect radiance of his essence (Hebrews 1:3), a perfect stamp or imprint of his nature (Hebrews 1:3), a perfect form or expression of his glory (Philippians 2:6).

We are on the brink of the ineffable here, but perhaps we may dare to say this much: as long as God has been God (eternally) he has been conscious of himself; and the image that he has of himself is so perfect and so complete and so full as to be the living, personal reproduction (or begetting) of himself. And this living, personal image or radiance or form of God is God, namely God the Son. And therefore God the Son is coeternal with God the Father and equal in essence and glory.

I know this is as some have said, the deep end of the pool, but take a dip anyway! Give some time to consider the One who came. He who was God and was with God (John 1:1) became flesh and dwelt among us. He humbled Himself by becoming human. The Eternal One was born. He is, as one has put it, "the only one in history who was alive long before He was born" (Bruce Ware).

Tim Shorey

A Ruler From Bethlehem

(See Micah 5:2-5)

Traveling to Bethlehem today might give you the wrong idea. Today the town holds over 20,000 people--not big by Jersey standards, but not small either. At the time when Mary and Joseph were plodding along the roads to take part in the census, it was a town of little consequence and less social impact, quietly settled in the large shadow of Jerusalem.

Reading this prophetic passage in Micah, it could almost feel as though a reference to this little town was tossed in at the last minute for no grand reason--like the long-winded storyteller who gives you the names, ages, and occupations of all the people in his story who you've never met.

But our God is never long winded, and he always has a purpose.

So, why Bethlehem and why the specific mention of it in Micah? There are likely many reason, but for now let's consider just this one.

Perhaps God chose Bethlehem because any other city would have seemed too predictable, too glamorous, too glitzy. A religious and national leader born and raised in Jerusalem would have been about as surprising as a banker coming from New York. You see, this way, the town gets out of the way and God gets the attention. Extraordinary things were going to come through Bethlehem and God doesn’t want the glory to be given to the place of origin. The glory goes to the Originator.

It seems that our Father has an affinity for taking the little things and making big deals of them. David was a boy shepherd and he was made king. The small stones that he found in the creek bed were used to bring down a giant. Mary, a middle school aged peasant, was made to be the mother of God. Joseph, a rough handed carpenter, was given the task of raising the Messiah. Fishermen were transformed to be the foundation layers of the church. A widow's two mites were made much of. Jesus gathered children to himself saying that the Kingdom of Heaven belongs to them. And Bethlehem was the birthplace of the King.

Not many wise, not many powerful, not many noble. “But God chose what is foolish in the world to shame the wise; God chose what is weak in the world to shame the strong; God chose what is low and despised in the world, even things that are not, to bring to nothing things that are, so that no human being might boast in the presence of God” (1 Cor 1:27-29).

God uses humble tools. Then, he honors the tools and gives them a place in the legacy of his rescue plan for the world. The city of Bethlehem didn’t choose to be used--it didn’t win a national elective process for “Birthplace of the Messiah” honors. But it was chosen and it was used. And God gets the glory.

Why the mention of Bethlehem in Micah? To show, once again, that God makes something from nothing.

Tim W. Shorey

A Virgin Shall Conceive

(See Isaiah 7:14; Matthew 1:18-23)

If not for the familiarity of the story of our Lord's birth, we would all be cynical at best upon hearing that a virgin conceived, carried, and bore him. We would perhaps be worse than cynical--disbelieving and scornful might better describe most of us. After all, we are sophisticated and scientifically aware. Not that we'd need to be all that in order to understand where babies come from. And we certainly understand the cold, harsh logic of these things. Here's how it works--virginity means no intimacy with a man; pregnancy, by necessary implication, means intimacy with a man. There is no way someone can claim to be a virgin while her belly grows with a life inside her.

Let's not kid ourselves about those who lived in Nazareth during the reign of Caesar Augustus. They knew the logic as well as we do. And they surely reached very logical conclusions about Mary, the young woman betrothed to Joseph. Doubtless, she was "the talk of the town," and for all the wrong reasons. There were probably those who took a certain sinister delight in her "fall," for so it would have appeared.

In fact, although Mary knew--and for a time she was the only one who knew--she was still pure and virginal, it must have been quite a lonely feeling. Do we not suspect even her own parents doubted her story? The conversation may have gone something like this: An angel? That’s right. And he told you his name? Yes, it was Gabriel. Mary, we’re trying here, but this is a lot to swallow. You know that, don't you? At which point Mary would probably drop her head and walk away with only her sadness and the memory of the blessing pronounced on her by that angelic visitor.

"A virgin shall conceive." The prophecy from hundreds of years before, repeated in Matthew's gospel, says in the simplest imaginable terms what is impossible, apart from a miracle wrought by the Holy Spirit of God. First, Mary had to accept and believe, and trust that the Lord God knew what he was doing. We have no way of knowing for certain how difficult it was for her, but we do know that more than 30 years later she was still thought of as immoral (see John 8:41). What a courageous woman!

A virgin has conceived! And all who belong to Jesus Christ are privileged to follow Mary in trusting that God still knows what he's doing. "All things work together for good"--true for Mary, and for us. How great the Father’s love and grace!

Tim Bowditch

The First Gospel and Christmas Text

Genesis 3:15 is the first gospel and Christmas text in the Bible. It traces back to the dawn of time and the outbreak of human sin, a time of catastrophic sorrow as Adam and Eve sinned and brought on humanity untold grief, guilt, and pain.

By all appearances, in that moment Satan had won. This cosmic Benedict Arnold appeared to have successfully mutinied against heaven and had taken the human race with him. He'd gotten Adam and Eve to sin and it looked like all they could do was hang their heads in shame and it would seem, despair.

But in Genesis 3:15 God speaks to Satan and gives a promise that spelled the Devil's doom, and at the same time would sustain believers' hopes for millennia--all the way up to and beyond the moment when it was fulfilled in the birth of Jesus. The promise is called in theology: "The Proto-Evangelium": the first gospel. It is first announcement of the good news of a Savior to be born.

God tells Satan that his seed--all who follow Satan and are his spiritual offspring--would attack the seed of the woman. Satan would never stop fighting God and humans. Satan would attack the woman's offspring so fiercely that he would succeed in "bruising" or crushing His heel, speaking of a near crippling wound against Eve's seed. A child born to woman would experience a severe wound that would appear to spell ultimate defeat.

But in the end the Child would bruise or crush Satan's head! Here is a promise that a Child would be born that would experience apparent defeat only to turn around and gain ultimate triumph. Does that sound familiar? It should.

Thousands of years later in "the fullness of time" (Galatians 4:4) a Child was born to a woman; one who would redeem His people from Satan's grasp and hell's dominion. This Child would appear to be defeated on a cross, but then triumph through the empty tomb. Satan would crush His heel, but He would crush Satan's head. He came to destroy the devil and death, and that's exactly what He did (Hebrews 2:14, 15).

Ladies and gentlemen, as we enter this Christmas season may we do so realizing that in the first Christmas event, God was fulfilling a promise made from the dawn of time; a promise announcing that a Savior would come, who would first suffer, and then triumph. Let us be amazed at a prophecy fulfilled. Let us even more so, be full of wonder and love at a Savior revealed. From before the dawn of time God has loved His people--you and me--and has promised to redeem us from sin and Satan. Let us stand in awe of such love as this.

Tim Shorey