Romans 15:4 "For whatever was written in earlier times was written for our instruction, so that through perseverance and the encouragement of the Scriptures we might have hope."
34 When He had called the people to Himself, with His disciples also, He said to them, “Whoever desires to come after Me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross, and follow Me. 35 For whoever desires to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for My sake and the gospel’s will save it. 36 For what will it profit a man if he gains the whole world, and loses his own soul? 37 Or what will a man give in exchange for his soul? 38 For whoever is ashamed of Me and My words in this adulterous and sinful generation, of him the Son of Man also will be ashamed when He comes in the glory of His Father with the holy angels.”
The Word of God for the Children of God.
Glory be to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Ghost; as it was in the beginning, is now, and ever shall be, world without end. Amen, amen.
Preparing ourselves for the coming of the new year of 2024 …
As part of that preparation …
Have you ever prepared for and practiced the discipline of dieting?
Have you ever prepared for and practiced the discipline of fasting?
Have you ever prepared for and practiced the disciplines of self denial and of self sacrifice?
Have you ever prepared for and practiced the discipline of talking to God?
Although most followers of Christ agree that the discipline of prayer is a highly valuable practice, there’s some debate about the practicing discipline of fasting.
Fasting is the disciplined practice of refraining from normal activities to focus our full attention on God, the Father, His Son Jesus Christ and the Holy Spirit.
Most commonly, fasting is about avoiding food for a certain period of time.
In today’s verses from Mark’s Narrative, Jesus tells his disciples that following Him will require His disciples to disciplined practice of self-denial and sacrifice.
We might be able to intellectually understand, agree with the call to self-denial.
We might be able to see the benefit of obeying Christ, even when it contradicts our better more worldly desires.
We might even sincerely pray we would have the self discipline, the strength to discipline ourselves to overcome our “not so glorious worldliness” to obey Him.
However, when that time and that season arrives, summoned by God, called our by Jesus, comes to lay aside our desires and obey God’s commands, we’ll falter.
If we would ever get around to telling ourselves the God’s honest truth, it is not easy to say no to our own desires, especially when we have the means to satisfy our whims – the discipline of fasting helps us practice saying no to ourselves.
We do not gain virtue points by saying no to wolfing out on our favorite foods or not eating gobs of chocolate during the season of Lent, but we do learn the habit of setting aside our desire to make room for praying for, pursuing of, God’s will.
Self-Discipline: Prayer of Surrender to Jesus’ Calling
Mark 8:34-38 The Message
34-37 Calling the crowd to join his disciples, he said, “Anyone who intends to come with me has to let me lead. You’re not in the driver’s seat; I am. Don’t run from suffering; embrace it. Follow me and I’ll show you how. Self-help is no help at all. Self-sacrifice is the way, my way, to saving yourself, your true self. What good would it do to get everything you want and lose you, the real you? What could you ever trade your soul for?
38 “If any of you are embarrassed over me and the way I’m leading you when you get around your fickle and unfocused friends, know that you’ll be an even greater embarrassment to the Son of Man when he arrives in all the splendor of God, his Father, with an army of the holy angels.”
Most days, my day to day life feels like a back-and-forth battle with control.
One day I’m easily relinquishing my own way in favor of God’s plan.
Other days I have to physically, spiritually, struggle to keep surrendering over and over because of my weakness, the pull of being in control is just too strong.
“Give up your own way…”
That phrase sounds ridiculously easy – some days even – embarrassingly easy.
Truth Be Told …
My Confession for today …
“Not so much … If at all …”
“Who am I trying to run a con game on today, who am I trying to scam?”
Those five simple words Master Rabbi Jesus spoke to the crowd are probably the very ones I wrestle with the most.
Even after my heart surgery, I get too attached to my own way of doing things.
Even so, too soon afterwards, self-sufficiency rises and I start making decisions in my own former strengths, I am trying way too hard, and wearing myself out.
I end up exhausted instead of welcoming the peace Jesus offers.
Surrender.
34 When He had called the people to Himself, with His disciples also, He said to them, “Whoever desires to come after Me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross, and follow Me.
Surrender is a hardcore concept to grasp because God gave us the will to choose.
Surrender means to give up complete control.
To yield to the power of another.
Surrender is an amazing gift offered to us.
Wouldn’t when we are at our weakest physically and spiritually, not rather hand over control of our lives to our Creator who literally holds power over all things?
Then why, in our great strengths, do we struggle to surrender when Jesus calls?
God designed us to hope, dream, create, and build.
Do not we long to do great and little things and make an impact on our world.
Do we not desire to great and little things, make an impact in God’s Kingdom?
So whether from our strengths or weaknesses, we must discipline ourselves to pray and find our purpose using the gifts God gave us, while daily surrendering, while daily disciplining our lives and daily subjecting our whole hearts to Him.
Mark chapter 8 tells us about Jesus’ ministry—from feeding four thousand people to healing one blind man.
After a private word with his disciples, Jesus turned to a crowd and explained how to surrender. Jesus said,
“If you try to hang on to your life, you will lose it. But if you give up your life for my sake and for the sake of the Good News, you will save it. And what do you benefit if you gain the whole world but lose your own soul?”(Mark 8:35-36)
In our efforts to do good, let’s not forget the presence of our Holy God.
Jesus is calling us to release control and follow His ways instead of our own.
In the name of God, the Father and God the Son and God the Holy Spirit,
Let us Pray,
Dear Heavenly Father,
I hear your precious son Jesus gently calling me, yet I realize I’ve let the temptation of control keep me from responding to his voice. Forgive me for trying to do things on my own when I know your ways are best. I resolve to surrender to Savior Jesus today.
Thank you for sending the Holy Spirit to draw me back to you in those times when I’ve relied on my own strength. Your Word in John 14:26 says, “But the Advocate, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in my name, will teach you all things and will remind you of everything I have said to you.” Thank you for reminding me that if I want to follow Jesus, I need to release my own way resolve to surrender to my Savior.
I have felt the weaknesses in my own body mind, spirit, I have felt your Holy Spirit tugging at my heart. So I am laying down my own plans, desires, and goals. I replace those right now with total surrender to your will. I am grateful for the guidance of the Holy Spirit and that Jesus never stops pursuing a deeper relationship with me.
Your will be done in my life, Lord. I will follow where you lead me. In Jesus’ name,
Glory be to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Ghost; as it was in the beginning, is now, and ever shall be, world without end. Amen, amen.
90 Lord, You have been our [a]dwelling place in all generations. 2 Before the mountains were brought forth, Or ever You [b]had formed the earth and the world, Even from everlasting to everlasting, You are God.
3 You turn man to destruction, And say, “Return, O children of men.” 4 For a thousand years in Your sight Are like yesterday when it is past, And like a watch in the night. 5 You carry them away like a flood; They are like a sleep. In the morning they are like grass which grows up: 6 In the morning it flourishes and grows up; In the evening it is cut down and withers.
7 For we have been consumed by Your anger, And by Your wrath we are terrified. 8 You have set our iniquities before You, Our secret sins in the light of Your countenance. 9 For all our days have passed away in Your wrath; We finish our years like a sigh. 10 The days of our lives are seventy years; And if by reason of strength they are eighty years, Yet their boast is only labor and sorrow; For it is soon cut off, and we fly away. 11 Who knows the power of Your anger? For as the fear of You, so is Your wrath. 12 So teach us to number our days, That we may gain a heart of wisdom.
13 Return, O Lord! How long? And have compassion on Your servants. 14 Oh, satisfy us early with Your mercy, That we may rejoice and be glad all our days! 15 Make us glad according to the days in which You have afflicted us, The years in which we have seen evil. 16 Let Your work appear to Your servants, And Your glory to their children. 17 And let the beauty of the Lord our God be upon us, And establish the work of our hands for us; Yes, establish the work of our hands.
The Word of God for the Children of God.
Glory be to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Ghost; as it was in the beginning, is now, and ever shall be, world without end. Amen, amen.
As the present year of 2023 draws to a close we are reminded once again of the relentless unstoppable procession of time.
Whether we like it or not, we are being carried onward through the years of our life, until inevitably, in one moment, in one day we’ll finally reach the end of it.
As the years come and and as the days and years go, there comes a day when our time in this world will be no more – our moments, our days, our years, will have passed away for ever into eternity depths, we will never ever see them again.
So what should we do?
Psalm 90:12 Moses prays to God reflecting on his long life (120 years) “So teach us to number our days, that we may apply our hearts unto wisdom.”
Moses had quite the life – born into slavery, set afloat on a river by his mother to protect his life, raised into the royal house of Egypt to the highest places of riches and prestige and military leadership – being groomed to be a Pharaoh.
Then one day, what does not collapse around him?
Realizes his birth origins, returns to his slave family, afflicted by the severity of a life of slavery, kills an Egyptian, runs away a fugitive under a death warrant.
With minimal provisions, he walks, trudges across the sun baked wilderness to a place of refuge called Median where he finds his rest, where he settles down, where he gets married, has children, gets a long term secure job, makes a home for himself and his family – no longer having to think about a murder charge.
Then God shows up – a burning bush – and a mission: “set my people free!”
The mission of all missions – back to Egypt, face the dangers, the Ten plagues.
Servant of God – into the crucible – eighty years old and he must now lead all of those former slaves – all five plus million of them – into the wilderness and to the mountain of God and His laws – but first comes the part where he must lead he must protect, all those five plus million people through the parted Red Sea.
Then he must repeatedly climb up and down mountain peaks, receive the Law of God, deal with all of the impossible messes a golden calf can give raise to.
Intercede with God – to keep God from wreaking His unimaginable wrath on the nation of former slaves-for their impossible measures, degrees of disobedience.
I could go on and on and on – as Moses led this nation an additional 40 years in the wilderness – until standing on the brink, in full view of the promised land, God deliver’s to him the worst possible news for all of his years of leadership:
“Sorry, Moses, you can see the promised land, but you will not enter the land!”
The sum total of all that effort over a life span of 120 years of devout service?
A wonderfully reflective poem – reflecting on God work and our brevity of life.
Reflecting,Numbering Our Days: The Value of Today
Life is filled with opportunities, but the big question is what we do with them.
Do we let them so casually slip by, saying, “Maybe next time. There is always another day”? Expecting to live as long as Moses did-or, should we seize them?
We may not have as much time as we think.
Late English Theologian Dr. Leslie Weatherhead, calculated the average length of a life using the hours of one day to illustrate the importance of recognizing the brevity and value of time.
He concluded that if your age is 15, the time is 10:25 a.m. If your age is 20, the time is 11:34. If your age is 25, the time is 12:42 p.m. If you’re 30, the time is 1:51. If you’re 35, the time is 3:00. If you’re 40 the time is 4:08. At age 45, the time is 5:15. If you’re 50, the time is 6:25. By age 55, the time is 7:24. If you’re 60, the time is 8:42. If you’re 65, the time is 9:51. And if you’re 70 the time is 11 p.m.
Psalm 90:12 reminds us, “Teach us to number our days that we may apply our hearts to wisdom” (NKJV).
Or as the LivingBible puts it, “Teach us to number our days and recognize how few they are; help us to spend them as we should.”
To number your days is to keep careful watch over your time with the same kind of care and attention that we would give to budgeting, balancing your accounts, making sure there are always enough funds to make payments for the housing loan, the utilities, telephone bill, daily provisions, medicine and vehicle costs.
The more limited our income is, the more we would want to ensure that we are making the very best use of it.
‘Numbering our days’ is simply applying that same kind of discipline, but now with time instead of money.
It means optimizing the limited time we have left, planning your activities carefully and deciding what activities deserve more time and what deserve less.
It also means trying to save time whenever possible, so no hour is ever wasted.
As the apostle Paul wrote in Ephesians 5:15,16, we should “walk circumspectly, not as fools, but as wise, redeeming the time, because the days are evil.”
If you do not keep careful track of where your time is spent, you will find it difficult to accomplish everything that you need to do.
You will always be complaining that you do not have enough time.
Perhaps there have been “more than your fair share of those times when the twenty four hours of the day do not seem to be ever enough for you and you’ve heartily wished that you had a few thirty-six hour days or an eight-day weeks.
But the problem is often not a lack of time, but poor time management.
If you find yourself unable to fulfill your responsibilities because of what seems to be a shortage of time, it probably means you’re not managing your time well.
Jesus told the story of a man who went on a journey and left his money with his servants.
This was not an uncommon thing in those days.
A wealthy man or a ruler would have many servants in his household, from those who performed basic labor to those who managed the financial affairs of his household, even his business.
In many cases some of the man’s servants would be better educated and skilled than he was.
Those highly trusted slaves had a virtual free hand within their prescribed areas of responsibility while the owner was at home.
the owner would go on a journey, he would leave full authority in the hands of these key servants, who’d have the ancient equivalent of a power of attorney.
So Jesus described a scenario in which a wealthy man went on a journey and left the key servants in charge of his possessions.
It’s difficult for us to know exactly what sum he left them, but one possibility is that he gave the equivalent of $5,000 to the first servant, $2,000 to the second servant, and $1,000 to the third.
What Are You Investing Your Days & Time In?
What is Jesus’ story saying to us?
I think it’s quite obvious. Jesus is like that wealthy man who goes on a journey, which spans the day he left this earth to the far day he which he returns in the Second Coming.
We are the servants he has invested in, and we are to take what he has given us and use it for his glory while we await his return.
In the New Testament, a word that is often used for “slave” or “servant” is the Greek word doulos.
It’s a term that describes a unique class of servant, not someone who was made that way by constraint or by force.
A doulos was someone who had been freed by their master yet still chose to continue their service out of their love for their master.
The servant was so thankful for this pardon that he or she would willfully choose to serve.
The apostle Paul often referred to himself as a doulos, and that is what we are as followers of Jesus Christ.
Christ has paid an incredible debt for us.
He has pardoned us.
He has forgiven us.
And now we should become his voluntary servants, not because we have to but because we want to – because we love him.
We recognize that he has instilled certain things in our lives that we are to use for his glory.
Certain gifts.
Certain talents.
Certain resources.
Everything.
Paul wrote, “Don’t you realize that your body is the temple of the Holy Spirit, who lives in you and was given to you by God? You do not belong to yourself, for God bought you with a high price. So you must honor God with your body” (1 Corinthians 6:19–20 NLT).
Jesus said, “If any of you wants to be my follower, you must give up your own way, take up your cross daily, and follow me” (Luke 9:23 NLT).
This doesn’t mean that we must take a vow of poverty.
It simply means we recognize that it all belongs to God. Our lives belong to God.
Our families belong to God. Our possessions belong to God. Everything is his.
In Jesus’ story, the first servant took what he had, invested it, and received a 100 percent return.
He doubled his master’s investment.
The second, though he had less, did the same thing.
This demonstrates that it isn’t a person’s talent that matters as much as how he or she uses that talent.
God never demands from us the abilities we don’t have.
But He does demand that we should use, to the full, the abilities that we do possess.
We may not be equal in talent, but we should be equal in effort.
Take what God has given to you, do the most that you can with it for his glory.
God can do a lot with a little.
If you don’t believe me, just ask the boy with the five loaves and two fish who gave everything he had to Jesus.
It didn’t seem like a lot, but Jesus used them to feed a hungry multitude.
Jesus can take a little, bless it and multiply it.
He can use it beyond our wildest dreams.
How to “Number Your Days”
If we will humble ourselves, take what we have and offer it to God, if we will be willing to do to the utmost what He has placed before us and be faithful in the utmost to the little, littler, littlest things, then He will give us more to do.
I would rather try and fail than never try at all.
Any time you take a chance, you can fail.
But it’s better to try than to never take chances and never have anything happen in your life.
So seize the day.
Seize the moment.
Seize the opportunities before you.
Don’t put it off too long, because you may not have as much time as you think.
Be productive with your life.
Be productive with your time.
Seize the opportunities God has given you.
Seize God, the Father!
Seize God the Son!
Seize God the Holy Spirit!
In the name of God, the Father and God the Son and God the Holy Spirit,
Let us Pray,
Psalm 90 The Message
90 1-2 God, it seems you’ve been our home forever; long before the mountains were born, Long before you brought earth itself to birth, from “once upon a time” to “kingdom come”—you are God.
3-11 So don’t return us to mud, saying, “Back to where you came from!” Patience! You’ve got all the time in the world—whether a thousand years or a day, it’s all the same to you. Are we no more to you than a wispy dream, no more than a blade of grass That springs up gloriously with the rising sun and is cut down without a second thought? Your anger is far and away too much for us; we’re at the end of our rope. You keep track of all our sins; every misdeed since we were children is entered in your books. All we can remember is that frown on your face. Is that all we’re ever going to get? We live for seventy years or so (with luck we might make it to eighty), And what do we have to show for it? Trouble. Toil and trouble and a marker in the graveyard. Who can make sense of such rage, such anger against the very ones who fear you?
12-17 Oh! Teach us to live well! Teach us to live wisely and well! Come back, God—how long do we have to wait?— and treat your servants with kindness for a change. Surprise us with love at daybreak; then we’ll skip and dance all the day long. Make up for the bad times with some good times; we’ve seen enough evil to last a lifetime. Let your servants see what you’re best at— the ways you rule and bless your children. And let the loveliness of our Lord, our God, rest on us, confirming the work that we do. Oh, yes. Affirm the work that we do!
Glory be to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Ghost; as it was in the beginning, is now, and ever shall be, world without end. Amen, amen.
6 Now godliness with contentment is great gain. 7 For we brought nothing into this world, [a]and it is certain we can carry nothing out. 8 And having food and clothing, with these we shall be content.
The Word of God for the Children of God.
Glory be to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Ghost; as it was in the beginning, is now, and ever shall be, world without end. Amen, amen.
In a surprising program on HGTV, people go looking for tiny homes.
They don’t want an enormous monthly mortgage payment, and they don’t want to accumulate all kinds of unnecessary junk in their lives.
So they look at 200-squarefoot homes instead of 2,000 square-footers.
Some of these have a master bedroom you crawl into under the rafters, a children’s bedroom under the other end of the roof, and a kitchen, dining room, bath, and living room cleverly squeezed into one surprisingly small area.
Sometimes the biggest question they have to contend with is “Do we really need that bathtub? A shower takes up less space.”
In Japan, an old farmer’s futon was folded and stored in a closet each morning.
Presto! The bedroom became an instant living room!
“If we have food and clothing,” says Paul, “we will be content with that.”
Of course, if we live in daily colder climates, we might need a place to get in out of the icy blasts and a nice sized wood burning stove to stave off the cold nights.
If we are living daily in a more tropical climate, we might want to make more of a provision for places to keep cool – perhaps jury rig some kind of refrigerator?
I don’t know – because I have never lived year round in any tropical climate so I have no idea how they would create conditions to make ice cubes for lemonade.
But whether cold, warm or neutral climates, Apostle Paul’s point is well-taken.
Materialism sets all kinds of traps and temptations that can lead us astray from seeking after the things of God, after the life of my Savior upon the path of faith.
I know as most people do The tenth commandment which says that we — Do not covetour neighbors stuff (Exodus 20:17)— points the way to contentment.
If we always have a roving eye, hankering for our neighbor’s house, car, or power tools or lawnmowers, spouse, there will be no end to feeling unsettled.
But with the Holy Spirit living deep within our hearts, filling the void that would otherwise drive us to distraction, we should all have peace, contentment within.
Seasons With Our God: Great Gains through Godliness
1 Timothy 6:6-8 The Message
6-8 A devout life does bring wealth, but it’s the rich simplicity of being yourself before God. Since we entered the world penniless and will leave it penniless, if we have bread on the table and shoes on our feet, that’s enough.
When you and think of devoutly “gaining greatness” what comes to mind?
Personally, I have found in different seasons of my life that I’ve unknowingly picked up the view that “greatness” is only measured by my degrees of success over my degrees of my failures or how my abilities match up to someone else.
However, the Bible teaches us a completely different narrative, it teaches a more humbles truth about devout greatness.
This biblical view of greatness is radically different than what we encounter and what we would typically measure in the standards of living inside our world.
We are taught through the Word of God our greatness is steeped in Godliness.
Greatness in these eyes of God through the living Word of God, is directly tethered to the Gospel, who Jesus is and who He has called us to be in Christ.
We are reminded that to live is Christ and to die is gain.
Philippians 1:19-26 New King James Version
To Live Is Christ
19 For I know that this will turn out for my deliverance through your prayer and the supply of the Spirit of Jesus Christ, 20 according to my earnest expectation and hope that in nothing I shall be ashamed, but with all boldness, as always, so now also Christ will be magnified in my body, whether by life or by death. 21 For to me, to live is Christ, and to die is gain. 22 But if I live on in the flesh, this will mean fruit from my labor; yet what I shall choose I [a]cannot tell. 23 [b]For I am hard-pressed between the two, having a desire to depart and be with Christ, which is far better. 24 Nevertheless to remain in the flesh is more needful for you. 25 And being confident of this, I know that I shall remain and continue with you all for your progress and joy of faith, 26 that your rejoicing for me may be more abundant in Jesus Christ by my coming to you again.
Ponder that passage of text written from within a Roman prison for a moment!
That passage, the context of that passage alone, reveals how different we must more devoutly, humbly, view greatness and that it must be viewed through the lens of eyes, through eardrums and beating hearts set on a Kingdom mission.
We’re promised in the Word that we will find true contentment when we have a beating heart swelled with love, pumping out love and max desire for the Lord.
In 1 Timothy 6, the Apostle Paul has listed for his protégé Timothy, a detailed instruction about what living for Christ with a heart of contentment looks like.
It reveals that those seeking after God, seeking after, pursuing Christ will have peace and contentment with what they have and where God has placed them.
They will trust the Lord’s provision and timing.
They will know the difference between truth and lie.
Most importantly, they will know who is of God and who is not.
This is something of great gain.
This portion of scripture is just one of the many places where we see how we should be more devoutly, humbly, measuring out of our life’s “greatness”.
It isn’t based on us – it never should be, but on how Christ has called us to live.
This biblical perspective also changes everything for you and me when it comes to devoutly seeking after and finding contentment in the seasons God has us in.
It again realigns how we value “great things”.
Personally, as a brother to three sisters, an uncle to a niece, a step father to an adult son with his own growing son, I find myself in a season of life where I’m left giving far more than I am receiving – but even that paradigm is challenged.
In my season of recovering and rehabilitating from major Cardiac Surgery, I am in a season of having to receive an extra measure of care from my loving wife.
Most of the time my familial roles comes without accolades and pats on the back most days, and without bear hugs (praise God – ouch)and that’s okay.
However, this can sometimes leave me wondering if am I really making any lasting impact on the Kingdom of God God has me currently engaged with.
Does devoutly, humbly doing my daily tasks really lead to great gain for Jesus?
Truth be Told, somedays I find myself wondering exactly how long will it take to see, bear witness to the fruit of this labor of love that I do day in and day out.
I’m sure each of you readers have in some season of God experienced this too.
Regardless of what you do on a daily basis, have you found yourself asking of God through His Son Jesus, if what you’re doing is really making an impact?
The answer to that question is this, if you are devoutly, humbly seeking the Lord and His Son and on mission and ministry for His kingdom, then YES!.
Though it is probably unseen, we are making an impact and we are making great gains towards Godliness as you and I live for Christ where He has us.
My prayer is that in these our current seasons and circumstances in life, we will freely give God the space in our hearts to step in and take hold of all our hearts.
Let Him alone be the one to remind you that greatness is steeped in Godliness.
Let Him be the one who fills you with contentment in the roles He’s given you.
Covet the Gospel! Take the gospel forth! Covet, share the love of Jesus, and remind those around you that their “great gains” are found in Christ alone.
In the name of God the Father and God the Son and God the Holy Spirit,
Let us Pray,
Psalm 23 King James Version
23 The Lord is my shepherd; I shall not want.
2 He maketh me to lie down in green pastures: he leadeth me beside the still waters.
3 He restoreth my soul: he leadeth me in the paths of righteousness for his name’s sake.
4 Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil: for thou art with me; thy rod and thy staff they comfort me.
5 Thou preparest a table before me in the presence of mine enemies: thou anointest my head with oil; my cup runneth over.
6 Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life: and I will dwell in the house of the Lord for ever.
Lord, thank you for giving us your Word which paves the way for great gains in Godliness. Help me to look to you rather than my abilities and milestones. Help me to rest in the truth that you have called me to a life rooted in the Kingdom mission and how that alone is a great gift that will come with eternal reward – a lifetime of celebration with you. To live is Christ, to die is gain. Thanks be to God! Jesus’ name,
Glory be to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Ghost; as it was in the beginning, is now, and ever shall be, world without end. Amen, amen.
2 Now after Jesus was born in Bethlehem of Judea in the days of Herod the king, behold, [a]wise men from the East came to Jerusalem, 2 saying, “Where is He who has been born King of the Jews? For we have seen His star in the East and have come to worship Him.”
3 When Herod the king heard this, he was troubled, and all Jerusalem with him. 4 And when he had gathered all the chief priests and scribes of the people together, he inquired of them where the Christ was to be born.
5 So they said to him, “In Bethlehem of Judea, for thus it is written by the prophet:
6 ‘But you, Bethlehem, in the land of Judah, Are not the least among the rulers of Judah; For out of you shall come a Ruler Who will shepherd My people Israel.’ ”
7 Then Herod, when he had secretly called the [b]wise men, determined from them what time the star appeared. 8 And he sent them to Bethlehem and said, “Go and search carefully for the young Child, and when you have found Him, bring back word to me, that I may come and worship Him also.”
9 When they heard the king, they departed; and behold, the star which they had seen in the East went before them, till it came and stood over where the young Child was. 10 When they saw the star, they rejoiced with exceedingly great joy. 11 And when they had come into the house, they saw the young Child with Mary His mother, and fell down and worshiped Him. And when they had opened their treasures, they presented gifts to Him: gold, frankincense, and myrrh.
12 Then, being divinely warned in a dream that they should not return to Herod, they departed for their own country another way.
The Word of God for the Children of God.
Glory be to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Ghost; as it was in the beginning, is now, and ever shall be, world without end. Amen, amen.
Many people in ancient Judea were aware that the prophets of God had spoken of a Messiah who would one day come and finally, ultimately, set things right.
Most of these residents of Judea eagerly anticipated the wonderful things this Messiah would do for God’s people.
But, ironically, in the natural course of human events, most of them missed the arrival of Jesus – most had long since stopped praying with the expectation of their receiving an actual answer from God – actual physical, viewable, answer.
But far to the east there were Magi, scholars who studied the stars, and one night they noticed something new in their observations shining in the heavens.
Were they aware of prophecies about a Messiah?
Did they have the assumption that somewhere under that heavenly event, this promised Messiah, who would bring salvation for God’s people, had arrived?
To these scholars, a sign in the heavens meant something important, like the arrival of a new king, they started on a journey, a season of seeking after a star, a season of seeking God with inquiring minds to see what God might be doing.
Others Were Not So Eagerly Seeking Messiah’s Arrival
Matthew 2:3-6 New King James Version
3 When Herod the king heard this, he was troubled, and all Jerusalem with him. 4 And when he had gathered all the chief priests and scribes of the people together, he inquired of them where the Christ was to be born.
5 So they said to him, “In Bethlehem of Judea, for thus it is written by the prophet:
6 ‘But you, Bethlehem, in the land of Judah, Are not the least among the rulers of Judah; For out of you shall come a Ruler Who will shepherd My people Israel.’ ”
Isn’t it ironic that we can think we have every intention to seek God, but we ultimately have ulterior motives for doing so and we miss what he is doing?
When Jesus was born, seven centuries after the prophet Micah had prophesied where He would appear, His arrival was met with a variety of different reactions—and those responses are much the same today as they were then: hostility, and jealousy – perceived threats to our power base, indifference, or no faith.
King Herod was the epitome of hostility toward Jesus.
He stands for everyone who says to themselves, “I don’t mind some religious person sitting quietly in the back seat, but I don’t want anybody driving the car of my life.” “I am the “king of the kingdom, the one who is in authority here!”
A “king of their hill” who keeps quiet is acceptable; the one who makes higher claims on any person’s life, does not agree with what they already think, is not.
King Herod did all he could to ensure there would be no other authority, no other king to rival him and his authority over his kingdom (Matthew 2:16-18).
And many do so still today.
Jerusalem’s religious professionals of the day responded to the arrival of Messiah with prophetic indifference – some with well established fears.
Fears for their lives and personal safety – fears for what Herod would do to anyone – man, women or child – to ensure that Herod would remain #1.
When King Herod asked them about the coming of the Christ, they were able to go to the temple search their scrolls answer his questions with great specificity.
They were aware Micah had prophesied that He would be born in Bethlehem; but they were indifferent, they were so helpless to help, simply didn’t care.
Notice they wouldn’t make the effort, even take the time to make a six-mile journey to meet and worship the newly born, long-awaited King of the Jews.
They completely disregarded Him – perhaps in fear of him or to protect him.
Were they too busy with their religion to make time for their rescuing King?
Or were they welcoming and protective of the child, protective of the people?
Then there were the arrival of the wise men to the kings throne room, this group of foreign kings (?), astrologers who saw a star in the heavens, worked out what it was announcing, packed their bags, and responded to Jesus in faith.
What moved these powerful men who were authorities in their field, to presume on their king’s time, not to bow to him but to bow down at the cradle of a child?
How in these seasons of expectation and seeking a “king” does that happen?
How in these seasons of anticipation, of expectation and seeking “after one whose authority over a kingdom and its citizens is literally second to no one?”
Only by the power of God. And it was the wise, not Herod or the priests, who were the ones who “rejoiced exceedingly with great joy” (Matthew 2:10).
There is only one true dividing line between people.
It has nothing to do with ethnicity, skin color, intellect, sexual orientation, or political correctness or social justice or social status, authority of government.
Which “king or KING” do we the people seek after?
1 Samuel 8:1-12 New King James Version
Israel Demands a King
8 Now it came to pass when Samuel was old that he made his sons judges over Israel. 2 The name of his firstborn was Joel, and the name of his second, Abijah; they were judges in Beersheba. 3 But his sons did not walk in his ways; they turned aside after dishonest gain, took bribes, and perverted justice.
4 Then all the elders of Israel gathered together and came to Samuel at Ramah, 5 and said to him, “Look, you are old, and your sons do not walk in your ways. Now make us a king to judge us like all the nations.”
6 But the thing displeased Samuel when they said, “Give us a king to judge us.” So Samuel prayed to the Lord. 7 And the Lord said to Samuel, “Heed the voice of the people in all that they say to you; for they have not rejected you, but they have rejected Me, that I should not reign over them. 8 According to all the works which they have done since the day that I brought them up out of Egypt, even to this day—with which they have forsaken Me and served other gods—so they are doing to you also. 9 Now therefore, heed their voice. However, you shall solemnly forewarn them, and show them the behavior of the king who will reign over them.”
10 So Samuel told all the words of the Lord to the people who asked him for a king. 11 And he said, “This will be the behavior of the king who will reign over you: He will take your sons and appoint them for his own chariots and to be his horsemen, and some will run before his chariots. 12 He will appoint captains over his thousands and captains over his fifties, will set some to plow his ground and reap his harvest, and some to make his weapons of war and equipment for his chariots.
It is the chasm, the grand canyons, raging rivers, between unbelief—whether or not that unbelief manifests itself as hostility or indifference—and unbelief.
We may take note, make harsh commentary that the Western world grows in hostility to a God who insists on ruling His world, but we should also note that “religious” people are also at risk of unbelief: the unbelief of high indifference.
Proverbs 3:5-8 New King James Version
5 Trust in the Lord with all your heart, And lean not on your own understanding; 6 In all your ways acknowledge Him, And He shall [a]direct your paths.
7 Do not be wise in your own eyes; Fear the Lord and depart from evil. 8 It will be health to your [b]flesh, And strength[c] to your bones.
Those of us “wisest of the wise ones” who have all heard the Christmas story countless times, who know our Old Testaments, and who are in church Sunday by Sunday are not immune to the indifference that is seen in a lack of joy over the Lord and a lack of response to His word when it calls us to change our plans.
And whoever we are, or however wise we believe we are if we won’t have Jesus as our King in this life, we won’t live in His kingdom on the other side of death.
If we choose to ask Jesus to leave us alone, either in our hostility or in our wise only and alone in our own eyes, religiosity, He will leave us alone—forever.
Our response to our seasons of seeking after Jesus has high eternal significance.
Look highly upon Him who came to die for hostile and indifferent sinners, then, and in that season of “king gazing” allow His great love to soften your heart so that you may respond to Him in real, joyful, obedient faith, today and every day.
Psalm 13 New King James Version
Trust in the Salvation of the Lord
To the Chief Musician. A Psalm of David.
13 How long, O Lord? Will You forget me forever? How long will You hide Your face from me? 2 How long shall I take counsel in my soul, Having sorrow in my heart daily? How long will my enemy be exalted over me?
3 Consider and hear me, O Lord my God; Enlighten my eyes, Lest I sleep the sleep of death; 4 Lest my enemy say, “I have prevailed against him”; Lest those who trouble me rejoice when I am moved.
5 But I have trusted in Your mercy; My heart shall rejoice in Your salvation. 6 I will sing to the Lord, Because He has dealt bountifully with me.
We either seek after a king or we seek after a KING to have #1 authority over us.
But, will we recognize and acknowledge and confess we all know the difference?
We pray for healing but might not recognize healing that has already occurred.
We will ask for prosperity without pausing to give thanks for the ways God has already provided.
The good news of Jesus is far too magnificent to be contained, yet it can still be missed if we ourselves are complacent or indifferent in our search for our king.
The king of this world?
The KING of all the expanse of the heavens above, our hearts, the earth below.
But when we are open to seeing what God is doing, the wonder of his mighty acts can move us from seasons of being so very far away from his presence we are no heavenly good to seasons of our approaching him with sincere worship.
In the name of God, the Father and God the Son and God the Holy Spirit,
Let us Pray,
Psalm 27:1-9 New King James Version
An Exuberant Declaration of Faith
A Psalm of David.
27 The Lord is my light and my salvation; Whom shall I fear? The Lord is the strength of my life; Of whom shall I be afraid? 2 When the wicked came against me To eat[a] up my flesh, My enemies and foes, They stumbled and fell. 3 Though an army may encamp against me, My heart shall not fear; Though war may rise against me, In this I will be confident.
4 One thing I have desired of the Lord, That will I seek: That I may dwell in the house of the Lord All the days of my life, To behold the [b]beauty of the Lord, And to inquire in His temple. 5 For in the time of trouble He shall hide me in His pavilion; In the secret place of His tabernacle He shall hide me; He shall set me high upon a rock.
6 And now my head shall be [c]lifted up above my enemies all around me; Therefore I will offer sacrifices of [d]joy in His tabernacle; I will sing, yes, I will sing praises to the Lord.
7 Hear, O Lord, when I cry with my voice! Have mercy also upon me, and answer me. 8 When You said, “Seek My face,” My heart said to You, “Your face, Lord, I will seek.” 9 Do not hide Your face from me; Do not turn Your servant away in anger; You have been my help; Do not leave me nor forsake me, O God of my salvation.
Father in heaven, separate me from my wisdom, keep me from having such a narrow view of your saving grace that I miss the wonderful things you are doing. By my Jesus
Glory be to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Ghost; as it was in the beginning, is now, and ever shall be, world without end. Amen, amen.
24-28 “‘For here’s what I’m going to do: I’m going to take you out of these countries, gather you from all over, and bring you back to your own land. I’ll pour pure water over you and scrub you clean. I’ll give you a new heart, put a new spirit in you. I’ll remove the stone heart from your body and replace it with a heart that’s God-willed, not self-willed. I’ll put my Spirit in you and make it possible for you to do what I tell you and live by my commands. You’ll once again live in the land I gave your ancestors. You’ll be my people! I’ll be your God!
The Word of God for the Children of God.
Glory be to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Ghost; as it was in the beginning, is now, and ever shall be, world without end. Amen, amen.
Our passage from Ezekiel speaks comforting words.
Here the Sovereign Lord promises to use his people to declare his holiness among the nations.
But the question is: were the people of Israel up to this most difficult task?
Already in Egypt we have seen their repeated hesitation to follow God.
They grumbled and complained, twisting and turning against God’s will, refusing to trust him.
And then once they established their home in the promised land, their disobedience spiraled out of control – read the book of Judges.
We these words for ourselves and we wonder if it was even going to be possible for the people of Israel, on their own, reveal the holiness, righteousness of God.
And TBT, the sad fact was that it was completely impossible for them to do so.
But in this passage, as well as others sprinkled throughout Ezekiel and the other prophets, we will find God’s own promise to bolster the hearts, minds, and wills of his people by putting His Spirit in them.
He promises to cleanse them from their impurities and give them a new heart.
To take hearts of the hardest stone and create in them a heart of flesh for God.
God himself, through the Holy Spirit, makes his people a witness to the nations.
Just as the people of ancient Israel fell short in following God, so each one of us struggles to be holy – our hearts are no less than theirs – made of hardest rock.
When a Child Smiles Your Heart Grows Three Sizes
In Dr. Seuss’s classic Christmas tale, How the Grinch Stole Christmas, the Grinch suffers from having a small heart.
The source of his heart problem is his severely negative outlook on life, an absence of feeling joy clear, a lack of understanding the meaning of Christmas.
Only the very most negative feelings give him the greatest satisfactions in life.
Anything that might bring even 1% joy or happiness is to be immediately gone.
As the story goes, the Grinch tries to put a stop to Christmas, but in the end, as a little child smiles at him, he comes to understand what Christmas is all about, his heart grows three sizes! This heart change makes a big difference in his life.
I’m not very sure what Dr. Seuss’ intentions were when he wrote the story back in 1957, it was a few years before I was born, but it certainly comes across as a Christian parable to me that parallels the change that takes place in a person’s life when he or she comes to understand the true meaning of Christmas: the birth of Immanuel, God’s only Son, was born to save His people from their sins. (Matthew 1:21)
Matthew 1:20-23 The Message
20-23 While he was trying to figure a way out, he had a dream. God’s angel spoke in the dream: “Joseph, son of David, don’t hesitate to get married. Mary’s pregnancy is Spirit-conceived. God’s Holy Spirit has made her pregnant. She will bring a son to birth, and when she does, you, Joseph, will name him Jesus—‘God saves’—because he will save his people from their sins.” This would bring the prophet’s embryonic revelation to full term:
Watch for this—a virgin will get pregnant and bear a son; They will name him Immanuel (Hebrew for “God is with us”).
When the light of the Good News of Jesus dawns upon the heart of a person, God replaces the heart of stone, with a new, fleshy heart – a new person emerges.
As the Apostle Paul wrote, “Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation, the old has gone, the new has come!”(2 Corinthians 5:17)
“Welcome Christmas – While we stand – Heart to heart – And hand in hand.”
It might just make all the difference in the world.
Holy Child of Bethlehem, Descend to us, we pray; Cast out our sin and enter in; Be born in us today!
We hear the Christmas angels The great glad tidings tell; O come to us, abide with us, Our Lord Emmanuel! (from O Little Town of Bethlehem)
We celebrate the real meaning of Christmas because of the power Jesus brought to change our hearts-the power of a child to smile at us, to melt our cold hearts.
Going Deeper with God and your families, your friends, your neighbors too:
Give an example of a time when you changed your mind about something.
How did the words or actions of others influence your change of heart?
Towards the end of the story “How the Grinch Stole Christmas,” what happened that caused the Grinch to change his mind about Christmas? What lessons might we learn from the story?
How has understanding the true meaning of Christmas made a difference in your life?
Even more Quality Family Time:
Gather your family together and watch the classic half-hour Christmas cartoon, How the Grinch Stole Christmas.
Then, using the content above, pick up your bibles and lead your family in a devotional discussion about how Jesus has the power to change our hearts.
Pray the Spirit into your family time,
Emmanuel
Emmanuel, Emmanuel, His name is called Emmanuel God with us, revealed in us His name is called Emmanuel We love Him so, we love Him so, His name is called Emmanuel
Call on the Holy Spirit today and ask Him to fill you, your family, friends and neighbors’ hearts so that you can be holy and reflect his holiness in his world.
He will turn hearts of hardest stone into a heart of truest love and goodness.
In the name of God, the Father and God the Son and God the Holy Spirit,
Let us Pray,
Lord, I thank you for all you’ve done for me. I just pray that you would change me, oh God. Please guide my heart, from stone to flesh, and help me to grow into the person you want me to be. Rather than me following my own ways, please purify my heart and make me more like you. Please guide my path and help me take steps that will guide me toward your plan for my life and not my own whims. In Jesus’ name I pray.
Glory be to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Ghost; as it was in the beginning, is now, and ever shall be, world without end. Amen, amen.
29 But she was greatly troubled at the saying, and considered in her mind what sort of greeting this might be. 30 And the angel said to her, “Do not be afraid, Mary, for you have found favor with God. 31 And behold, you will conceive in your womb and bear a son, and you shall call his name Jesus.
32 He will be great, and will be called the Son of the Most High; and the Lord God will give to him the throne of his father David, 33 and he will reign over the house of Jacob for ever; and of his kingdom there will be no end.”
34 And Mary said to the angel, “How shall this be, since I have no husband?” 35 And the angel said to her,
“The Holy Spirit will come upon you, and the power of the Most High will overshadow you; therefore the child to be born[a] will be called holy, the Son of God.
The Word of God for the Children of God.
Glory be to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Ghost; as it was in the beginning, is now, and ever shall be, world without end. Amen, amen.
Opinions? It is not Jesus’ birth which is so remarkable but His conception.
When the angel appeared before her, announced that although she was a virgin, Mary would have a baby who would rule the entire universe, she simply asked the most sensible question possible: “How?”
And with that single question of “How?” asked in the loneliness of the moment, the miracle, mystery moment, we arrive at the very heart of the Christian story.
How was this child to be conceived?
How was God’s own created and ordered human physiology going to be set aside – where a man and a women come together and have sexual intercourse and by God’s own mystery and miracle moment, one sperm enters one egg and conception happens, life begins and God goes to work to weave together a baby.
Psalm 139:13-18 Revised Standard Version
13 For thou didst form my inward parts, thou didst knit me together in my mother’s womb. 14 I praise thee, for thou art fearful and wonderful.[a] Wonderful are thy works! Thou knowest me right well; 15 my frame was not hidden from thee, when I was being made in secret, intricately wrought in the depths of the earth. 16 Thy eyes beheld my unformed substance; in thy book were written, every one of them, the days that were formed for me, when as yet there was none of them. 17 How precious to me are thy thoughts, O God! How vast is the sum of them! 18 If I would count them, they are more than the sand. When I awake, I am still with thee.[b]
God was going to make it happen.
By some unknowable miracle, by some unknowable mystery, He would do it.
The language of being “overshadowed” reminds us of God’s divine presence being symbolized to the Israelites by a great cloud pillar (Exodus 40:34-38).
The conception, in other words, would be miraculous, would be mysterious and would be undeniably supernatural too, able to be accomplished by God alone.
As Apostle Paul contemplated, pondered, worked through the theology of the incarnation, he wrote, “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” (Galatians 4:4-5).
He emphasized that the Redeemer had to be human so that He would be of the same nature as those whom He came to save: a man dying for mankind.
But it was equally imperative that the true Redeemer should be perfectly holy, perfectly righteous because no sinful person could effect atonement for the sins of others – He had to be Immanuel—God with(in) us—and He had to be man.
The early Christians hammered out the incarnation’s implications and came up with ways to describe the one who was conceived by the Spirit in Mary’s womb, coming to the true convictions that have passed down to us in the early creeds.
Our spiritual forefathers identified the wonderful mystery of the incarnation, bowed before the mystery and miracle of it, and affirmed through the holy scriptures that indeed Jesus was, is, and remains, very God and very man.
The idea that God would supernaturally invade this world shouldn’t surprise or discomfort us.
Considering how hardcore sin is, it takes a supernatural invasion of God into individuals’ lives, after all, to bring them to living faith, just as God sovereignly wonderfully worked a miracle in Mary’s womb in order to bring us – Redeemer.
Jesus told Nicodemus that unless someone is born from above—a birth brought about by God through His Spirit—they would not see God’s kingdom (John 3:3).
If we have been brought to salvation, it is only because God alone has done it.
You did no more to save yourself than Mary did to become pregnant with your Savior – the “How?” of salvation is forever answered only by – “God did it.”
What is God calling me to do as I go about my day today?
How is God calling me to think differently?
How is God calling me to be wonderfully, mysteriously, different?
How is God miraculously reordering my heart’s affections — what I love?
Ephesians 2:8-10 Revised Standard Version
8 For by grace you have been saved through faith; and this is not your own doing, it is the gift of God— 9 not because of works, lest any man should boast. 10 For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand, that we should walk in them.
So, kneel today before the wonder, miracle and mystery of God taking on flesh.
And bow today before the wonder and mystery of God redeeming you – for that, no less than the virgin birth of the Son of God, is the supernatural work of God.
In the name of God, the Father and God the Son and God the Holy Spirit,
Let us Pray,
Psalm 139:1-18 Revised Standard Version
The Inescapable God
To the choirmaster. A Psalm of David.
139 O Lord, thou hast searched me and known me! 2 Thou knowest when I sit down and when I rise up; thou discernest my thoughts from afar. 3 Thou searchest out my path and my lying down, and art acquainted with all my ways. 4 Even before a word is on my tongue, lo, O Lord, thou knowest it altogether. 5 Thou dost beset me behind and before, and layest thy hand upon me. 6 Such knowledge is too wonderful for me; it is high, I cannot attain it.
7 Whither shall I go from thy Spirit? Or whither shall I flee from thy presence? 8 If I ascend to heaven, thou art there! If I make my bed in Sheol, thou art there! 9 If I take the wings of the morning and dwell in the uttermost parts of the sea, 10 even there thy hand shall lead me, and thy right hand shall hold me. 11 If I say, “Let only darkness cover me, and the light about me be night,” 12 even the darkness is not dark to thee, the night is bright as the day; for darkness is as light with thee.
13 For thou didst form my inward parts, thou didst knit me together in my mother’s womb. 14 I praise thee, for thou art fearful and wonderful.[a] Wonderful are thy works! Thou knowest me right well; 15 my frame was not hidden from thee, when I was being made in secret, intricately wrought in the depths of the earth. 16 Thy eyes beheld my unformed substance; in thy book were written, every one of them, the days that were formed for me, when as yet there was none of them. 17 How precious to me are thy thoughts, O God! How vast is the sum of them! 18 If I would count them, they are more than the sand. When I awake, I am still with thee.[b]
Glory be to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Ghost; as it was in the beginning, is now, and ever shall be, world without end. Amen, amen.
36 And behold, your relative Elizabeth in her old age has also conceived a son, and this is the sixth month with her who was called barren. 37 For nothing will be impossible with God.” 38 And Mary said, “Behold, I am the servant[a] of the Lord; let it be to me according to your word.” And the angel departed from her.
The Word of God for the Children of God.
Glory be to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Ghost; as it was in the beginning, is now, and ever shall be, world without end. Amen, amen.
Luke 1:37cNew International Version
37 For no word from God will ever fail.”
This verse allows us to know the authority of God’s word.
God is as good as His word, and His word shall be accomplished, and that which is accomplished lasts forever.
For example, God used His word to create the heavens and earth and all things; He promised to give Sarah over childbearing age a child and blessed Abraham; and His word also made the blind see, the lame walk and Lazarus come alive.
Plenty of historical facts bore witness to the authority and power of God’s word.
And even more, God’s word can change us, can save us and can bring us the light and hope.
When in these times and seasons of max celebration and unspeakable joy we are pained in failures and setbacks, God’s word can comfort us, help us regain faith.
When we are confused about life and unable to find direction, God’s word will guide us forward.
When we live in sin and cannot free ourselves, God’s word can show us the way of practice so that we can break free from the shackles of sin.
The Lord Jesus said, “Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceeds out of the mouth of God.”
From this we can each see that God’s word practically gives us the supply of life.
Therefore, it’s so important to read God’s word and we can put it into practice.
What if we were asked why God’s Word is Important?
Luke 1:37 New International Version
37 For no word from God will ever fail.”
When the angel Gabriel visited the unsuspecting Mary with news of her being highly favored and chosen to carry and give birth to God’s only son on earth, he left her with a spoken promise that we can all hold onto (Luke 1:37).
In our socially and politically engineered world today, where countless people are rewriting God’s Word to say things He isn’t saying and to support causes that go against His will, we need to remember that God’s Word will never fail.
Especially now with the weight of socially, politically, globally changing times, there are individuals and groups are believing God’s Word needs a new spin on it and updating, a cultural modernization to keep up with the changing times.
But these are foolish, untrue thoughts, attitudes because they are dead wrong.
2 Corinthians 4:4 explains the source behind their ideas. “The god of this age has blinded the minds of unbelievers, so that they cannot see the light of the gospel that displays the glory of Christ, who is the image of God.”
2 Corinthians 4:3-4 The Message
3-4 If our Message is obscure to anyone, it’s not because we’re holding back in any way. No, it’s because these other people are looking or going the wrong way and refuse to give it serious attention. All they have eyes for is the fashionable god of darkness. They think he can give them what they want, and that they won’t have to bother believing a Truth they can’t see. They’re stone-blind to the dayspring brightness of the Message that shines with Christ, who gives us the best picture of God we’ll ever get.
When people so arrogantly or so naively think they can rewrite what God said and meant, they are only revealing their lack of knowledge and faith in Him and exposing their underlying uninformed, or badly educated unbelief in His Word.
As John 8:47 explains, “Whoever belongs to God hears what God says. The reason you do not hear is that you do not belong to God.”
John 8:42-47 The Message
42-47 “If God were your father,” said Jesus, “you would love me, for I came from God and arrived here. I didn’t come on my own. He sent me. Why can’t you understand one word I say? Here’s why: You can’t handle it. You’re from your father, the Devil, and all you want to do is please him. He was a killer from the very start. He couldn’t stand the truth because there wasn’t a shred of truth in him. When the Liar speaks, he makes it up out of his lying nature and fills the world with lies. I arrive on the scene, tell you the plain truth, and you refuse to have a thing to do with me. Can any one of you convict me of a single misleading word, a single sinful act? But if I’m telling the truth, why don’t you believe me? Anyone on God’s side listens to God’s words. This is why you’re not listening—because you’re not on God’s side.”
Still, God’s Word cannot really ever be changed, rewritten, or torn down.
In fact, it can’t even be touched, damaged, or modified in any way that lasts.
Humans do not have any of the power or authority to make His word void.
Matthew 5:17-19 English Standard Version
Christ Came to Fulfill the Law
17 “Do not think that I have come to abolish the Law or the Prophets; I have not come to abolish them but to fulfill them. 18 For truly, I say to you, until heaven and earth pass away, not an iota, not a dot, will pass from the Law until all is accomplished. 19 Therefore whoever relaxes one of the least of these commandments and teaches others to do the same will be called least in the kingdom of heaven, but whoever does them and teaches them will be called great in the kingdom of heaven.
Whether people are being deceived, really believe what they are promoting is true or knowingly determined to tear down God’s Word, all their efforts are in vain As Psalm 119:89 confirms,
“Your word, Lord, is eternal; it stands firm in the heavens.”
Psalm 119:89-96 The Message
89-96 What you say goes, God, and stays, as permanent as the heavens. Your truth never goes out of fashion; it’s as relevant as the earth when the sun comes up. Your Word and truth are dependable as ever; that’s what you ordered—you set the earth going. If your revelation hadn’t delighted me so, I would have given up when the hard times came. But I’ll never forget the advice you gave me; you saved my life with those wise words. Save me! I’m all yours. I look high and low for your words of wisdom. The wicked lie in ambush to destroy me, but I’m only concerned with your plans for me. I see the limits to everything human, but the horizons can’t contain your commands!
God’s Unchanging Word
Although some individuals, groups may think they can rewrite and reword what God is saying to us, they are actually powerless to do so because His word comes with an everlasting promise, to stand eternally (1 Peter 1:25) to never, ever fail.
1 Peter 1:22-25 The Message
22-25 Now that you’ve cleaned up your lives by following the truth, love one another as if your lives depended on it. Your new life is not like your old life. Your old birth came from mortal sperm; your new birth comes from God’s living Word. Just think: a life conceived by God himself! That’s why the prophet said,
The old life is a grass life, its beauty as short-lived as wildflowers; Grass dries up, flowers wilt, God’s Word goes on and on forever.
This is the Word that conceived the new life in you.
To help us in understanding how God’s word is lasting and never changes, Isaiah 40:8 describes, “The grass withers and the flowers fall, but the word of our God endures forever.”
Isaiah 40:6-8 The Message
6-8 A voice says, “Shout!” I said, “What shall I shout?”
“These people are nothing but grass, their love fragile as wildflowers. The grass withers, the wildflowers fade, if God so much as puffs on them. Aren’t these people just so much grass? True, the grass withers and the wildflowers fade, but our God’s Word stands firm and forever.”
Likewise, we read and diligently ponder the admonition from these words …
Spoken by Jesus Himself …
Matthew 24:32-35 The Message
32-35 “Take a lesson from the fig tree. From the moment you notice its buds form, the merest hint of green, you know summer’s just around the corner. So it is with you: When you see all these things, you’ll know he’s at the door. Don’t take this lightly. I’m not just saying this for some future generation, but for all of you. This age continues until all these things take place. Sky and earth will wear out; my words won’t wear out.
The Living Word
God’s Word is not like human words written in the past.
“For the word of God is alive and active. Sharper than any double-edged sword, it penetrates even to dividing soul and spirit, joints and marrow; it judges the thoughts and attitudes of the heart”(Hebrews 4:12).
Because God’s Word is living, it is timeless, untouched by changing times, and able to speak to hearts through all generations.
“So is my word that goes out from My mouth: It will not return to Me empty, but will accomplish what I desire and achieve the purpose for which I sent it” (Isaiah 55:11).
Isaiah 55:8-11 The Message
8-11 “I don’t think the way you think. The way you work isn’t the way I work.” God’s Decree. “For as the sky soars high above earth, so the way I work surpasses the way you work, and the way I think is beyond the way you think. Just as rain and snow descend from the skies and don’t go back until they’ve watered the earth, Doing their work of making things grow and blossom, producing seed for farmers and food for the hungry, So will the words that come out of my mouth not come back empty-handed. They’ll do the work I sent them to do, they’ll complete the assignment I gave them.
In ordering priorities, organizing our thoughts, choosing our words, let us all speak, write, share God’s Word over our own whenever given the opportunity.
Whereas our own words may at times fall flat, become outdated, or fail to have a good lasting effect, God’s Word is never void or falls short of its divine purpose.
A Sure Foundation
Because God’s Word is, from beginning to end, sure, solid and steadfast, we can count on it being a strong unbreakable foundation for us to build our lives upon.
We can have absolute assurance, maximum confidence in God’s Word because it doesn’t change with the times, or politics, or culture – it will not fail us, ever.
We can ground ourselves, base every day of our lives, on its principles because modern-day thoughts and opinions do not change the 100% truth of His word.
As 1 Corinthians 3:11 reminds us, “For no one can lay any foundation other than the one already laid, which is Jesus Christ.”
1 Corinthians 3:11-15 The Message
5-9 Who do you think Paul is, anyway? Or Apollos, for that matter? Servants, both of us—servants who waited on you as you gradually learned to entrust your lives to our mutual Master. We each carried out our servant assignment. I planted the seed, Apollos watered the plants, but God made you grow. It’s not the one who plants or the one who waters who is at the center of this process but God, who makes things grow. Planting and watering are menial servant jobs at minimum wages. What makes them worth doing is the God we are serving. You happen to be God’s field in which we are working.
9-15 Or, to put it another way, you are God’s house. Using the gift God gave me as a good architect, I designed blueprints; Apollos is putting up the walls. Let each carpenter who comes on the job take care to build on the foundation! Remember, there is only one foundation, the one already laid: Jesus Christ. Take particular care in picking out your building materials. Eventually there is going to be an inspection. If you use cheap or inferior materials, you’ll be found out. The inspection will be thorough and rigorous. You won’t get by with a thing. If your work passes inspection, fine; if it doesn’t, your part of the building will be torn out and started over. But you won’t be torn out; you’ll survive—but just barely.
Intersecting Faith and Life:
John 1:1-5 GOD’S WORD Translation
The Word Becomes Human
1 In the beginning the Word already existed. The Word was with God, and the Word was God. 2 He was already with God in the beginning.
3 Everything came into existence through him. Not one thing that exists was made without him.
4 He was the source of life, and that life was the light for humanity.
5 The light shines in the dark, and the dark has never extinguished it.
John 14:1-7 English Standard Version
I Am the Way, and the Truth, and the Life
14 “Let not your hearts be troubled. Believe in God;[a] believe also in me. 2 In my Father’s house are many rooms. If it were not so, would I have told you that I go to prepare a place for you?[b]3 And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again and will take you to myself, that where I am you may be also. 4 And you know the way to where I am going.”[c]5 Thomas said to him, “Lord, we do not know where you are going. How can we know the way?” 6 Jesus said to him, “I am the way, and the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me. 7 If you had known me, you would have known my Father also.[d] From now on you do know him and have seen him.”
Jesus said; “Let not your hearts be troubled. Believe in God; believe also in Me”
Jesus said to him, “I am the Way and the Truth and the Life. No one comes to the Father except through me.”
Take time in these next coming weeks to commit to truly reading God’s Word.
At Christmas, make a gift of a study Bible, In the New Year, resolve to ask God alone to reveal His truth to you and show you how to apply it to your daily life.
Develop the habit in the coming year, if you’re uncertain what God’s Word says about a situation, resolve to check His Word first before making any decision.
When sorely tempted to choose what the world tells you to do over what God says is right, commit to following and trusting His Word over worldly advice.
In the name of God, the Father and God the Son and God the Holy Spirit,
Let us Pray,
Psalm 119:9-16 GOD’S WORD Translation
9 How can a young person keep his life pure? ⌞He can do it⌟ by holding on to your word. 10 I wholeheartedly searched for you. Do not let me wander away from your commandments. 11 I have treasured your promise in my heart so that I may not sin against you. 12 Thanks be to you, O Lord. Teach me your laws. 13 With my lips I have repeated every regulation that ⌞comes⌟ from your mouth. 14 I find joy in the way ⌞shown by⌟ your written instructions more than I find joy in all kinds of riches. 15 I want to reflect on your guiding principles and study your ways. 16 Your laws make me happy. I never forget your word.
Glory be to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Ghost; as it was in the beginning, is now, and ever shall be, world without end. Amen, amen.
Refrain: Go tell it on the mountain, over the hills, and ev’rywhere; go, tell it on the mountain that Jesus Christ is born.
1 While shepherds kept their watching o’er silent flocks by night, behold, throughout the heavens there shone a holy light. [Refrain]
2 The shepherds feared and trembled when lo, above the earth rang out the angel chorus that hailed our Savior’s birth. [Refrain]
3 Down in a lowly manger the humble Christ was born, and God sent us salvation that blessed Christmas morn. [Refrain]
26 Now in the sixth month the angel Gabriel was sent from God to a city in Galilee named Nazareth, 27 to a virgin [a]betrothed to a man whose name was Joseph, of the [b]descendants of David; and the virgin’s name was [c]Mary. 28 And coming in, he said to her, “Greetings, favored one! The Lord [d]is with you.”
The Word of God for the Children of God.
Glory be to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Ghost; as it was in the beginning, is now, and ever shall be, world without end. Amen, amen.
In an instant, in one moment of time, young Mary’s life was forever changed.
As the angel of the Lord spoke about her future, Mary went from an obscure Jewish teenager to the hand-selected mother of the long-awaited Messiah.
In that exact moment, everything changed when she understood her destiny.
This obscure teenage girl Mary didn’t have nor know any power or popularity, wealth or fame; nothing was great about her we don’t even know her last name.
Yet in this great moment she was chosen by God above all women throughout all time to bring the greatness of God’s salvation and healing into this world.
The bearer of God’s greatness in her womb, it’s the kind of salvation needed by both paupers and presidents, rich and poor, black, white, known and obscure.
And such healing would become the spark of life in the darkness of dead men’s souls, and bridge the one great divide between lost humanity and a loving God.
Yet her journey was not without difficulty as she had to deal with practical facts: not fully understanding God’s plan, or God’s greatness, all of those judgmental people speaking lies about her, about the coming greatness of her own first born son, her own doubts and fears, and trusting God to vindicate and protect her – Mary’s story was that trial of faith – yet she made it through and so can we.
Because like Mary, we are all, in our own God-ordained way, anointed, called to bring something extraordinary into the world – the Greatness of our great God.
145 I will extol you, my God and King, and bless your name forever and ever. 2 Every day I will bless you and praise your name forever and ever. 3 Great is the Lord, and greatly to be praised, and his greatness is unsearchable.
4 One generation shall commend your works to another, and shall declare your mighty acts. 5 On the glorious splendor of your majesty, and on your wondrous works, I will meditate. 6 They shall speak of the might of your awesome deeds, and I will declare your greatness. 7 They shall pour forth the fame of your abundant goodness and shall sing aloud of your righteousness.
But to do so, we must learn from Mary’s experience.
1. Commit Ourselves to Personal Righteousness
“Personal righteousness” refers to a commitment by believers to live their life consistent with our great God’s high calling to carry His light into a lost world.
Matthew 5:13-16 New American Standard Bible
Disciples and the World
13 “You are the salt of the earth; but if the salt has become tasteless, how [a]can it be made salty again? It is no longer good for anything, except to be thrown out and trampled underfoot by people.
14 “You are the light of the world. A city set on a [b]hill cannot be hidden; 15 nor do people light a lamp and put it under a [c]basket, but on the lampstand, and it gives light to all who are in the house. 16 Your light must shine before people in such a way that they may see your good works, and glorify your Father who is in heaven.
We must commit to display integrity, purity, honor, respect and holiness.
Our lives should be examples for others to emulate – not perfect lives without fault, failure or messiness, but lives consistent with being on a mission for God.
We must hold on to, we must cling to God’s grace, not as an excuse to sin, but as a motivating force to present our whole selves to God live honorably before God.
Romans 12:1-2 New American Standard Bible
Dedicated Service
12 Therefore I urge you, brothers and sisters, by the mercies of God, to present your bodies as a living and holy sacrifice, [a]acceptable to God, which is your [b] spiritual service of worship. 2 And do not be conformed to this [c]world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, so that you may [d]prove what the will of God is, that which is good and [e]acceptable and perfect.
We should neither become judgmental nor a stumbling block to those who desperately need to experience His humbling greatness, Christ’s forgiveness.
Personal righteousness is an enormous battle that we commit to fight in order to be messengers, examples, of God’s love that helps lead people to salvation.
And I believe a life of “personal righteousness” was a factor in “Hailing Mary” Mary’s favored anointing by our great God to bear the Messiah for mankind:
Luke 1:26-28 Revised Standard Version
The Birth of Jesus Foretold
26 In the sixth month the angel Gabriel was sent from God to a city of Galilee named Nazareth, 27 to a virgin betrothed to a man whose name was Joseph, of the house of David; and the virgin’s name was Mary. 28 And he came to her and said, “Hail, O favored one, the Lord is with you!”[a]
These verses imply that Mary, who was divinely chosen for this extraordinary task, was chosen partly because of her commitment to personal righteousness.
In fact, the Word makes it clear that there is a connection between personal righteousness and God’s decision to entrust great responsibilities to people.
This also implies lackluster personal righteousness limits the effectiveness of the individual in their being God’s messenger, their message in their success.
Hebrews 12:1-2 Revised Standard Version
The Example of Jesus
12 Therefore, since we are surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses, let us also lay aside every weight, and sin which clings so closely, and let us run with perseverance the race that is set before us,2 looking to Jesus the pioneer and perfecter of our faith, who for the joy that was set before him endured the cross, despising the shame, is seated at the right hand of the throne of God.
Anything less than focused commitment to personal righteousness will become our own millstone, weight standing in the way of our God-given assignment.
And I am quite convinced that if we would fight as vehemently for personal righteousness as we do for social righteousness, or pointing out the sins of the world, we would greatly impact the world in much more GOD profound ways!
2. Make Our Not So Great Selves Available Unto God
1 Corinthians 1:26-31 The Message
26-31 Take a good look, friends, at who you were when you got called into this life. I don’t see many of “the brightest and the best” among you, not many influential, not many from high-society families. Isn’t it obvious that God deliberately chose men and women that the culture overlooks and exploits and abuses, actually chose these “nobodies” to expose the hollow pretensions of the “somebodies”? That makes it quite clear that none of you can get by with blowing your own horn before God. Everything that we have—right thinking and right living, a clean slate and a fresh start—comes from God by way of Jesus Christ. That’s why we have the saying, “If you’re going to blow a horn, blow a trumpet for God.”
Translation – neither you nor I have to be ‘great’ to do great things for God!
Notice here what Mary later says of herself on behalf of future generations:
Luke 1:46-55 The Message
46-55 And Mary said,
I’m bursting with God-news; I’m dancing the song of my Savior God. God took one good look at me, and look what happened— I’m the most fortunate woman on earth! What God has done for me will never be forgotten, the God whose very name is holy, set apart from all others. His mercy flows in wave after wave on those who are in awe before him. He bared his arm and showed his strength, scattered the bluffing braggarts. He knocked tyrants off their high horses, pulled victims out of the mud. The starving poor sat down to a banquet; the callous rich were left out in the cold. He embraced his chosen child, Israel; he remembered and piled on the mercies, piled them high. It’s exactly what he promised, beginning with Abraham and right up to now.
Luke 1:46-48 New Living Translation
The Magnificat: Mary’s Song of Praise
46 Mary responded,
“Oh, how my soul praises the Lord. 47 How my spirit rejoices in God my Savior! 48 For he took notice of his lowly servant girl, and from now on all generations will call me blessed.
“Lowly Servant Girl,” “Low estate” means someone who is low in rank, considered vile, or who is humiliated.
It describes a person who is down and out, rejected, despised, overlooked or simply not popular!
Although it can’t be proven, some people believe Mary was perhaps the least in her father’s house, as if she were under some particular contempt and disgrace among her family – like the belittled Cinderella archetype of ancient Israel.
Regardless, whatever her actual social place in her family, it is clear that Mary felt there was nothing “favored” extraordinary about Mary! Yet, God chose her.
Why?
The Word of God for His Children demonstrates that she made herself available to God; “unfavored” to be used by Him to carry out His extraordinary mission.
In her own “unfavored” “humbled and lowly estate,” She was willing to make room, in her “unfavored by man” life, in her virgin womb, for God to use her.
I might guess if we took a hard look at our “unfavored lives” our own “humble estates” busy schedules, our wildly diverse priorities, most of us would mirror Martha, the sister of Mary Magdalene rather than Mary, the mother of Jesus.
Luke 10:38-42 New Living Translation
Jesus Visits Martha and Mary
38 As Jesus and the disciples continued on their way to Jerusalem, they came to a certain village where a woman named Martha welcomed him into her home. 39 Her sister, Mary, sat at the Lord’s feet, listening to what he taught. 40 But Martha was distracted by the big dinner she was preparing. She came to Jesus and said, “Lord, doesn’t it seem unfair to you that my sister just sits here while I do all the work? Tell her to come and help me.”
41 But the Lord said to her, “My dear Martha, you are worried and upset over all these details! 42 There is only one thing worth being concerned about. Mary has discovered it, and it will not be taken away from her.”
Translation – our “blessed and highly favored” schedule is probably packed too full to focus on the “blessed, highly favored” things of God, matter most in life.
At times, our “favored” lives get so cluttered, so over-burdened that we don’t have time or mental space to be available for God to use in any significant way.
If that somehow unfavorably resonates with you, then it’s time bring them back into favorability, to reorganize, reprioritize some things; we must intentionally make ourselves fully available so that we are able to carry out anything He asks.
3. How Well Do We Understand the Purpose of Favor?
One of the most memorable words of the angel’s announcement was “Rejoice, highly favored one, the Lord is with you…” (Luke 1:28).
Many times, we will intentionally misunderstand favor in our society.
God’s favor is not all about a blessing, good breaks and open doors, favorable versus unfavorable circumstances in order to increase personal or social status.
Rather the purpose of divine favor is to anoint us, to bring God into our spheres of awareness, which allows us to accomplish what God needs done in our lives.
– Joseph found favor with Potiphar, found favor in prison, and found favor with Pharoah…because his purpose was to serve as Prime Minister over Egypt in a time of great famine.
– Young David found favor in the eyes of the prophet Samuel, and God touched David’s sling shot with favor to defeat the giant Goliath in battle…because his purpose was to serve as King of Israel.
– Daniel found favor in the courts of the wicked King Nebuchadnezzar…because his purpose was to serve as the prophet of the LORD to the nations.
– Esther found favor in the eyes of the King of Persia…because her purpose was to serve as an intercessor to save her people from destruction.
Favor is not as much for our person, as it is for our purpose.
Even so, when we commit our humbled unfavorable selves to God, that mindset then status of “favored by God” does positively affect our lives in many forms.
4. But Are We, like Mary, Willing to Risk Everything
Think of what young Mary risked to bring the salvation of God into the world.
Imagine all of those dinner conversations with her parents.
Or the angry, hushed argument raging between her parents, Joseph’s parents.
Imagine the “eyes and gossip” of her village community, what it felt like to walk to the marketplace, sit in synagogue or look into Joseph’s wounded eyes.
For Mary to fulfill her God-given assignment, she had to release control and risk it all: her reputation, family and friends, her financial security – her life.
In the culture of that day, she could have been severely humiliated, divorced, and ultimately stoned to death for adultery while being betrothed to Joseph.
Whatever God entrusts you to bring into the world, regardless of your sphere of influence, be aware there could a day, might be a high and mighty personal cost.
Jesus did not try to hide this aspect of being His disciple.
Luke 9:22-24 New Living Translation
22 “The Son of Man[a] must suffer many terrible things,” he said. “He will be rejected by the elders, the leading priests, and the teachers of religious law. He will be killed, but on the third day he will be raised from the dead.”
23 Then he said to the crowd, “If any of you wants to be my follower, you must give up your own way, take up your cross daily, and follow me. 24 If you try to hang on to your life, you will lose it. But if you give up your life for my sake, you will save it.
One of the greatest challenges for many of us, especially in Western society, is seeing, acknowledging, publicly confessing ourselves as God’s actual servants.
We will allow ourselves to forget that as believers, we have given our lives over to Christ, we are no longer our own; rather, we have been bought with a price.
The Christ who created us and redeemed us from death now has the sovereign right to direct our lives and our actions in it, regardless of perceived risk to our most favored plans, our most favored social standing or financial well-being.
But every person who lives, who impacts the world in a significant way for God understands this truth.
For example, we will see the Apostle Paul in his epistles constantly reaffirm his submission to Christ.
Romans 1:1-4 Amplified Bible
The Gospel Exalted
1 Paul, a [a]bond-servant of Christ Jesus, called as an apostle (special messenger, personally chosen representative), set apart for [preaching] the [b]gospel of God [the good news of salvation], 2 which He promised beforehand through His prophets in the sacred Scriptures— 3 [the good news] regarding His Son, who, as to the flesh [His human nature], was born a descendant of David [to fulfill the covenant promises], 4 and [as to His divine nature] according to the Spirit of holiness was openly designated to be the Son of God with power [in a triumphant and miraculous way] by His resurrection from the dead: Jesus Christ our Lord.
A “bondservant” was someone who had been purchased as a slave.
At the time appointed for them to be set free, they elected to stay with their master for life and serve them, because of love.
Ultimately, that’s what it takes to bring divine greatness to the world in an impactful way.
By Covenant, it requires we that love Jesus so much that, even though we must reprioritize things in our lives to reflect His character, intentionally make room in our schedules to answer His call at any time, and to be courageous enough to step out in our unfavored status in life, in a faith well beyond our comfort zone.
We devote our lives and everything we do to favorably serve Him as our Savior.
It may seem unfavorably impossible now, but nothing is impossible with God!
He is greater than our human limitations, He can find favor in our unfavorable circumstances to prepare and position us for every good thing He has planned.
In the name of God, the Father and God the Son and God the Holy Spirit,
Let us Pray,
Psalm 16 Complete Jewish Bible
16 (0) Mikhtam. By David:
(1) Protect me, God, for you are my refuge. 2 I said to Adonai, “You are my Lord; I have nothing good outside of you.” 3 The holy people in the land are the ones who are worthy of honor; all my pleasure is in them.
4 Those who run after another god multiply their sorrows; To such gods I will not offer drink offerings of blood or take their names on my lips.
5 Adonai, my assigned portion, my cup: you safeguard my share. 6 Pleasant places were measured out for me; I am content with my heritage.
7 I bless Adonai, my counselor; at night my inmost being instructs me. 8 I always set Adonai before me; with him at my right hand, I can never be moved; 9 so my heart is glad, my glory rejoices, and my body too rests in safety; 10 for you will not abandon me to Sh’ol, you will not let your faithful one see the Abyss. 11 You make me know the path of life; in your presence is unbounded joy, in your right hand eternal delight.
Glory be to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Ghost; as it was in the beginning, is now, and ever shall be, world without end. Amen, amen.
13-16 Do you want to be counted wise, to build a reputation for wisdom? Here’s what you do: Live well, live wisely, live humbly. It’s the way you live, not the way you talk, that counts. Mean-spirited ambition isn’t wisdom. Boasting that you are wise isn’t wisdom. Twisting the truth to make yourselves sound wise isn’t wisdom. It’s the furthest thing from wisdom—it’s animal cunning, devilish plotting. Whenever you’re trying to look better than others or get the better of others, things fall apart and everyone ends up at the others’ throats.
17-18 Real wisdom, God’s wisdom, begins with a holy life and is characterized by getting along with others. It is gentle and reasonable, overflowing with mercy and blessings, not hot one day and cold the next, not two-faced. You can develop a healthy, robust community that lives right with God and enjoy its results only if you do the hard work of getting along with each other, treating each other with dignity and honor.
The Word of God for the Children of God.
Glory be to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Ghost; as it was in the beginning, is now, and ever shall be, world without end. Amen, amen.
According to 1 Kings 3 in the Bible, In a dream, a young new King Solomon was told by God that he could ask for anything he wanted, and he would receive it.
He is given what amounts to a “blank check” signed, guaranteed 100%, by God.
Instead of asking for a long life, riches, popularity, or power, Solomon asked for wisdom – he understood that the “wisdom that comes from heaven” is the one thing we need more than anything else if we are to be what God wants us to be.
According to our reading from the third chapter of James for today, wisdom is not some intellectual pursuit or intellectual gift that makes us more intelligent.
True wisdom does not come from a high I.Q. or from high scores on high school aptitude tests or college entrance exams.
True wisdom is a gift from God, given to help us live life as God expects us to.
It is the kind of wisdom that literally effects every area of our everyday lives.
Says James,
“The wisdom that comes from heaven is first of all pure; then peace-loving, considerate, submissive, full of mercy and good fruit, impartial and sincere.”
As we eagerly or not so eagerly watch and we wait, as we anticipate and expect the world around us to either fly apart at the seams or for our Savior’s second Advent, which ever one comes first, this is the #1 wisdom each one of us needs.
Putting our faith into practice, hearing God’s Word, speaking and teaching God’s Word and doing it, begins with asking God for his wisdom (James 1:5).
James 1:5-8 The Message
5-8 If you don’t know what you’re doing, pray to the Father. He loves to help. You’ll get his help, and won’t be condescended to when you ask for it. Ask boldly, and ask believingly, without a second thought. People who “worry their prayers” are like wind-whipped waves. Don’t think you’re going to get anything from the Master that way, adrift at sea, keeping all your options open.
Without praying for our “blank check” we can’t be what God wants us to be.
Wait for God.
Anticipate God
Expect God.
Listen for God.
Hear God.
Be mindful of God.
Pray for the presence of the Holy Spirit to help you experience as King Solomon had those thousands of years ago -“the wisdom that comes to us from heaven.”
Why? Because It Is God’s Wisdom Our World Needs!
James 3:13-18 Easy-to-Read Version
True Wisdom
13 Are there any among you who are really wise and understanding? Then you should show your wisdom by living right. You should do what is good with humility. A wise person does not boast. 14 If you are selfish and have bitter jealousy in your hearts, you have no reason to boast. Your boasting is a lie that hides the truth. 15 That kind of “wisdom” does not come from God. That “wisdom” comes from the world. It is not spiritual. It is from the devil. 16 Where there is jealousy and selfishness, there will be confusion and every kind of evil. 17 But the wisdom that comes from God is like this: First, it is pure. It is also peaceful, gentle, and easy to please. This wisdom is always ready to help people who have trouble and to do good for others. This wisdom is always fair and honest. 18 People who work for peace in a peaceful way get the blessings that come from right living.
Considering our education system, listening to what is being “taught” to the children as the truth, it is incredibly easy to confuse wisdom and intelligence.
If someone allegedly has all the right answers and an encyclopedic knowledge of seemingly every subject known to man, and particularly of Bible verses, we may be prone to assume that they are wise — and they each very well could be.
But equally true is that they may well not be, for raw intellectual ability and the capacity to retain a vast number of facts don’t necessarily equate with wisdom.
In his epistle, the author James correctly links wisdom not with just knowledge alone but also with good conduct and meekness.
The one who is truly wise in God’s sight will act in a way that accords with the humility (Philippians 2:3-4), gentleness (Ephesians 4:2), joy (1 Thessalonians 5:16) that God asks of His people.
God, who needs no counselor (Romans 11:34), doesn’t need us either to impress Him with what we know or with what we want other people to believe we know.
God tells us what draws His appreciative gaze is the man or woman, girl or boy, who is “humble and contrite in spirit and trembles at my word” (Isaiah 66:1-2).
Isaiah 66:1-2 English Standard Version
The Humble and Contrite in Spirit
66 Thus says the Lord: “Heaven is my throne, and the earth is my footstool; what is the house that you would build for me, and what is the place of my rest? 2 All these things my hand has made, and so all these things came to be, declares the Lord. But this is the one to whom I will look: he who is humble and contrite in spirit and trembles at my word.
James has a memorable phrase for this approach to ourselves and to life:
“the meekness of wisdom.”
A genuinely wise person knows exactly how much they will never know.
They know that however much they come to know, it is only ever going to be a tiny portion, miniscule fraction, of the vastness of the knowledge that God has.
Intelligence marked by wisdom will not be polluted by our showy displays of grandiose verbosity or railroad others with “gold medal” intellectual vigor.
Instead, such a measure of wisdom will be marked by a kingly humility which will always aim to build others up with whatever we have—be that physical, or intellectual, spiritual, or emotional strength.
Wisdom echoes the prophet Isaiah, who acknowledged, “The Lord God has given me the tongue of those who are taught, that I may know how to sustain with a word him who is weary” (Isaiah 50:4).
Isaiah 50:4-9 Easy-to-Read Version
God’s Servant Depends on God
4 The Lord God gave me the ability to teach, so now I teach these sad people. Every morning he wakes me and teaches me like a student. 5 The Lord God helps me learn, and I have not turned against him. I will not stop following him. 6 I will let those people beat me and pull the hair from my beard. I will not hide my face when they say bad things to me and spit at me. 7 The Lord God will help me, so the bad things they say will not hurt me. I will be strong. I know I will not be disappointed.
8 God is with me, and he is the one who shows that I am innocent. So no one can say I am guilty. If anyone wants to try to prove me wrong, they should come here, and we will have a trial. 9 But look, the Lord God helps me, so no one can prove me guilty. As for them, they will all be like worthless old clothes, eaten by moths.
The truly wise maintain a high view of God, a sober view of themselves, and a generous view of other people.
How do I know if I have a high view of God?
If I am constantly aware of just how much I depend on Him for everything.
How will I know if I have a sober view of myself?
If I admit I am aware of my own shortcomings and understand that all I have is only what I have received from God—if by my own public and private lifestyle, if I am in the habit of pointing away from myself instead of towards myself.
How do I know if I have a generous view of other people?
If I am routinely building them up instead of cutting them down.
This is the sort of wisdom from above which pleases God, which the world so desperately needs from you and me—a gentle yet strong expression of wisdom that demonstrates itself in our speech, good conduct and consistent meekness.
As we watch and we wait, just how does this not so eagerly challenge us today?
As we go about our daily affairs waiting for Christmas, waiting for the promise of a new and we pray a better year ahead, how does God’s wisdom challenge us?
As we anticipate and expect How does this, will this, challenge us tomorrow?
How will will either of us eagerly pursue living with this true wisdom today?
In the name of God, the Father, and God the Son and God the Holy Spirit,
Let us Pray,
Psalm 24 New International Version
Psalm 24
Of David. A psalm.
1 The earth is the Lord’s, and everything in it, the world, and all who live in it; 2 for he founded it on the seas and established it on the waters.
3 Who may ascend the mountain of the Lord? Who may stand in his holy place? 4 The one who has clean hands and a pure heart, who does not trust in an idol or swear by a false god.[a]
5 They will receive blessing from the Lord and vindication from God their Savior. 6 Such is the generation of those who seek him, who seek your face, God of Jacob.[b][c]
7 Lift up your heads, you gates; be lifted up, you ancient doors, that the King of glory may come in. 8 Who is this King of glory? The Lord strong and mighty, the Lord mighty in battle. 9 Lift up your heads, you gates; lift them up, you ancient doors, that the King of glory may come in. 10 Who is he, this King of glory? The Lord Almighty— he is the King of glory.
Lord, our God, Author of all life, Giver of every good and perfect gift, grant us our portion of your wisdom to help us understand your Word and to live by it every day. Guide us into peaceful, wise living that shows your love. In Jesus name, Amen.
Glory be to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Ghost; as it was in the beginning, is now, and ever shall be, world without end. Amen, amen.
31-33 Jesus answered them, “Do you finally believe? In fact, you’re about to make a run for it—saving your own skins and abandoning me. But I’m not abandoned. The Father is with me. I’ve told you all this so that trusting me, you will be unshakable and assured, deeply at peace. In this godless world you will continue to experience difficulties. But take heart! I’ve conquered the world.”
The Word of God for the Children of God.
Glory be to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Ghost; as it was in the beginning, is now, and ever shall be, world without end. Amen, amen.
I Will Lift Up My Eyes Praying for Peace in the Chaos
“If there is really a God you want me to believe in, why then is there always so much chaos, trouble everywhere we look, why doesn’t God just take it away?”
Standing in a super market check out line getting my groceries for the week, I got into a line where the customer ahead of me was trying to engage the clerk.
Her message was a simple one in this Christmas season – Happy Holidays and of course, Merry Christmas – but the cashier responded – not in my streets, not in my neighborhood, not in my city where I always read about someone killed.
The cashier’s experience was obviously very different and was far more tragic.
She then told the customer ahead of me that her neighbors son was just killed by someone- yet to be caught – who walked up to that teenager and shot him.
A Christmas Season now checkered, now colored, by that worst kind of chaos – the loss of a son who was out trying to shop for a Christmas gift for his mom.
Pick up any local newspaper, watch any local news channel, turn on your own computer or iPad or Smartphone and that kind of news is literally everywhere.
Your own life is moving along at its own good pace, in its own good place, in a state of relative peace and quiet and tranquility – then comes the belly buster.
The reality that not all is well, not all is peaceful, not “kosher in their kitchen!”
Things go real somber, sullen and quiet in your own heart in a real big hurry.
Just how fast can peace, joy and the good life life turn on the proverbial dime?
How fast can it turn into something we want to throw away as far as we can?
How does this truth color and checker our own Christmas experience realizing that the person or the people we encounter directly in front of us, the silent and quiet ones, are those whose place of peace, joy and goodwill is now, shattered?
Stop, and think about that today as you go about your day at work or in school.
As you smile, please quietly reflect, fervently pray for those who pass you by.
Reflect on today’s verse from the Gospel of John Chapter 16 verse 33, perhaps making a substantial effort to memorize it and then mightily pray it forward:
John 16:33 Amplified Bible
33 I have told you these things, so that in Me you may have [perfect] peace. In the world you have tribulation and distress and suffering, but be courageous [be confident, be undaunted, be filled with joy]; I have overcome the world.” [My conquest is accomplished, My victory abiding.]
Pray it forward for the people on the highways and the streets you drive on as you go to work, or go to school, or go to the supermarket and get your groceries, for the strangers on the stores and in the streets, as you watch that daily news.
Keeping in mind that Jesus never promised His followers the absence of trouble.
Nowhere in any of His Gospel narratives does He teach to us, preach to us, that as a result of His coming, dying, rising, and ascending, the world is going to be that more peaceful place or that our place in it is going to be more comfortable.
In TRUTH, what He says to us is this: “In the world you will have tribulation.”
Sometimes we desperately want to import to now that which is promised only for then—that is, for the eternal future of peace of which Christ has assured us.
We might want to claim only for ourselves, just for today all those promises—of God, all the blessed assurances of Jesus’ salvation – wealth, healing, or absence of tribulation—that God intends to bring into fruition during the age to come.
Except, there is an important caveat which Jesus’ commanded us not to ignore:
John 10:11-18 Easy-to-Read Version
11 “I am the good shepherd, and the good shepherd gives his life for the sheep. 12 The worker who is paid to keep the sheep is different from the shepherd. The paid worker does not own the sheep. So when he sees a wolf coming, he runs away and leaves the sheep alone. Then the wolf attacks the sheep and scatters them. 13 The man runs away because he is only a paid worker. He does not really care for the sheep.
14-15 “I am the shepherd who cares for the sheep. I know my sheep just as the Father knows me. And my sheep know me just as I know the Father. I give my life for these sheep. 16 I have other sheep too. They are not in this flock here. I must lead them also. They will listen to my voice. In the future there will be one flock and one shepherd.[a]17 The Father loves me because I give my life. I give my life so that I can get it back again. 18 No one takes my life away from me. I give my own life freely. I have the right to give my life, and I have the right to get it back again. This is what the Father told me.”
There are a few others who are standing in front of us, working right next to us, driving and walking right by us, shopping in the same stores as us, in front of us in the super market check out lines, behind the cash registers serving our needs.
We do not know their stories, we are not privy to their lives at home or at work.
We know they have their stories, and blessed assurance, Jesus knows them all!
Yes, His kingdom has broken into our world with the advent of Christ.
But you, me, we, and all of those people around us, still await its full benefits.
And we “leave someone, their “known but to God” story behind, not prayed for?
And if we make the mistake of thinking that God has promised us today what He has in fact only promised us in eternity, then we will certainly be disappointed, and we will run the risk of turning our backs on Him on the basis that we did not pray for and deliver, He did not deliver what He had never actually promised us.
But though like Jesus taught in that Upper Room to His disciples, we can expect to encounter trouble and tribulation right now simply because we follow Jesus as our King, we’ll pray for others, we still have hope for true peace in this world.
Apostle Paul writes, “Since we have been justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ” (Romans 5:1, emphasis added).
This is a peace with God that we can claim now as our own.
This is a peace with God we can, always should be, fervently praying forward.
For us and all of those who are around us, it is ultimate freedom from the fear of judgment and death, from recrimination, and from all the dredging up of all the vileness that Christ has already – once and forever – 100% dealt with at Calvary.
The true gospel is the “good news of peace through Jesus Christ” (Acts 10:36).
We still have trials.
We will groan, suffer under the weight of sin—both our own and that of others.
But in the good news of the gospel we have a true and steady peace, even in turbulent times.
“Let not your hearts be troubled,” says Jesus, “neither let them be afraid” (John 14:27).
We may not feel like it’s true today, but the #1 unchangeable truth remaining is our Lord and Savior Jesus has already overcome the world and all its troubles.
We await His second Advent, the day is not yet here when He will dry all the tears from your eyes, but you can know that that day will arrive, for there is nothing in all of the world that can prevent Jesus bringing His final victory.
In the meantime, you can know, we can know, you and I can share, we can pray it forward at every kingdom opportunity that Jesus always stands with you and me and everybody else, by His Holy Spirit, no matter what “trouble” meets us.
What tribulation faces you today?
What tribulation do we not face but others directly in from of us, assuredly do?
Be sure that Jesus is with you in it and that Jesus will bring you through it—that Jesus will bring them through it too for He has overcome the world! Take heart!
1. Blessed assurance, Jesus is mine! O what a foretaste of glory divine! Heir of salvation, purchase of God, born of his Spirit, washed in his blood. Refrain: This is my story, this is my song, praising my Savior all the day long; this is my story, this is my song, praising my Savior all the day long.
2. Perfect submission, perfect delight, visions of rapture now burst on my sight; angels descending bring from above echoes of mercy, whispers of love. (Refrain)
3. Perfect submission, all is at rest; I in my Savior am happy and blest, watching and waiting, looking above, filled with his goodness, lost in his love. (Refrain)
Blessed Assurance Text: Fanny J. Crosby, 1820-1915
This IS My Story: Blessed Assurance Jesus Is Mine
In that Upper Room, Jesus told the disciples that he, and they, would suffer.
And, even though the disciples would experience mourning and pain after Jesus’ death, the Holy Spirit would be sent, would come to comfort them.
Ultimately, the disciples’ peace would be in Christ; a peace which is eternal.
The unavoidable truth is that we all have trouble in this life, Christian or not.
But we also have a Mighty God who in the beginning spoke, brought order from the chaos, light from the darkness, creation from the great void of nothingness, who is with us-with that sacred and blessed assurance we are to be courageous, encouraged, no matter what we face as our #1 hope is Jesus who has overcome.
We can be at peace, can face anything; as we too have overcome because of Him.
In the name of God, the Father and God the Son and God the Holy Spirit,
Let us Pray,
Psalm 16 Easy-to-Read Version
A miktam of David.
16 Protect me, God, because I depend on you. 2 Some of you[a] have said to the Lord, “You are my Lord. Every good thing I have comes from you.” 3 But you have also said about the gods[b] of this land, “They are my powerful gods. They are the ones who make me happy.”
4 But those who worship other gods will have many troubles. I will not share in the gifts of blood they offer to their idols. I will not even say their names. 5 Lord, you give me all that I need. You support me. You give me my share. 6 My share[c] is wonderful. My inheritance[d] is very beautiful. 7 I praise the Lord because he taught me well. Even at night he put his instructions deep inside my mind.[e]
8 I always remember that the Lord is with me.[f] He is here, close by my side, so nothing can defeat me. 9 So my heart and soul will be very happy. Even my body will live in safety, 10 because you will not leave me in the place of death. You will not let your faithful one rot in the grave. 11 You will teach me the right way to live. Just being with you will bring complete happiness. Being at your right side will make me happy forever.
Glory be to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Ghost; as it was in the beginning, is now, and ever shall be, world without end. Amen, amen.
Loving God, Living God, Loving Hope, Living Hope, Loving Living Life His Way! "Many things are possible for the person who has hope. Even more is possible for the person who has faith. And still more is possible for the person who knows how to love. But everything is possible for the person who practices all three virtues." - Brother Lawrence (1605-1691), Practicing the Presence of God (1692). 