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."
3 However, brothers and sisters, I could not talk to you as to spiritual people, but [only] as to [a]worldly people [dominated by human nature], mere infants [in the new life] in Christ! 2 I fed you with milk, not solid food; for you were not yet able to receive it. Even now you are still not ready. 3 You are still [b]worldly [controlled by ordinary impulses, the sinful capacity]. For as long as there is jealousy and strife and discord among you, are you not [c]unspiritual, and are you not walking like ordinary men [unchanged by faith]? 4 For when one of you says, “I am [a disciple] of Paul,” and another, “I am [a disciple] of Apollos,” are you not [proving yourselves unchanged, just] ordinary people?
The Word of God for the Children of God.
Adeste Fidelis! Venite Adoremus! Dominum
Gloria! In Excelsis Deo! Alleluia! Alleluia! Alleluia! Amen.
I remember very vividly those moments in my young life when Mama standing in front of me, her hands poised on her hips, her eyes glaring with hot coals of fire and saying in no nonsense tones, “Just what is the big idea, young man?”
Instinctively I definitely knew that my mother was not asking me an abstract question about any theory outside of her own regarding right versus wrong.
Her question was not a question at all—it was a thinly veiled, soul piercing, “wait until your father gets home” accusation.
Her words were easily translated to mean,
“Why are you doing what you are doing?”
She was challenging me to justify my behavior with a valid idea.
Obviously, I had none – and knew better than to even try and offer one.
Some years ago, several “friends” asked myself and a whole “likeminded” group of “interested Christian’s” – in all earnestness – essentially the exact same question with the same exact intensity and purpose of the stare.
It was just the beginning of the New Year ….
They asked, “What’s the big idea of the Christian life anyway?”
They were interested in the overarching, ultimate goal of the Christian life.
To answer his question,
In my lay person’s mind, several thoughts came to the forefront as I just “watched” this group of people espouse their individual thoughts and those of their friends and their Pastors.
I fell back onto the theologian’s prerogative and gave them a Latin term I had just encountered, but not yet began to understand, in my own personal studies.
I said, to myself and to “them” as I read the Facebook conversation unfold:
From my own “youthful” Christian experience, I commented back to them;
“The big idea of the Christian life is Coram Deo – Life in our Savior Christ Jesus.
Coram Deo captures the essence of the Christian life.”
It was not long before that group of “like-minded Christians” had me banned entirely from commenting or posting any further – clearly, I got someone mad.
Clearly, I got a whole bunch of somebodies mad, offended a whole lot of souls.
In all likelihood, I offended people with what they perceived as “my hypocrisy.”
Clearly they were not going to give me any chance of redemption, were not the least bit interested in offering me mercy or forgiveness so to God be the Glory!
Over the intervening years of independent study of the scriptures and also the writing of these devotions, and an abundantly fervent effort at my prayer life,
I have since learned more about “Coram Deo”
It is nowhere near a thorough understanding because it is such a broad term.
It will mean different things to different people based on their experiences.
If you are reading this and you have been academically trained, and educated through Seminary or Schools of Theology and also have your degrees and your ordinations in hand – you will obviously have a higher understanding than I do.
Please feel free to enlighten me further on my “understanding” of this matter if my own “uninformed” and “uneducated” efforts at explaining it here fall a bit short.
What I have “discovered” is briefly this ….
This phrase literally refers to something that takes place in the presence of, or before the face of, God.
To live Coram Deo is to live one’s entire life in the presence of God, under the authority of God, to the glory of God.
To live in the presence of God is to understand that whatever we are doing and wherever we are doing it, we are all acting under the all judging gaze of God.
God is omnipresent.
There is no place so remote, so invisible to the naked eye of human kind, that we can escape His penetrating gaze. (Psalm 139:1-13)
To be aware of the presence of God is also to be acutely aware of His complete sovereignty.
The uniform experience of the saints is to recognize that if God is God, then He is indeed sovereign.
When Saul was suddenly confronted by the full refulgent glory of the risen Christ on the road to Damascus, his immediate question, “Who Are You, Lord?”
He wasn’t the least bit sure who was suddenly speaking to him, but he knew that whomever it was, was abundantly and certainly far sovereign over him.
Our Living under divine sovereignty involves more than a reluctant submission to sheer sovereignty which is suddenly motivated out of a fear of punishment.
It involves recognizing that there is no higher goal than offering honor to God.
Our lives, in that very instant of being in the Presence of our Savior are to be, become living sacrifices, oblations offered in a spirit of adoration and gratitude.
To live all of life Coram Deo is to live a life of integrity.
It is a life of wholeness that finds its unity and coherency in the majesty of God.
A fragmented life is a life of disintegration.
It is marked by inconsistency, disharmony, division, divisiveness, disunity, confusion, conflict, contradiction, spiritual immaturity, hypocrisy and chaos.
The Christian who compartmentalizes his or her life into two sections of the religious and the nonreligious has failed to grasp the big idea.
The big idea is that either all of our life is religious or none of life is religious.
To divide life between the religious and the nonreligious is itself a sacrilege.
I believe this means that if a person fulfills his or her vocation as a steelmaker, attorney, or laborer or homemaker Coram Deo, then that person is acting every bit as religiously as a soul-winning evangelist who lives to fulfill his vocation.
It means that David was as religious when he obeyed God’s call to be a shepherd and Warrior as he was when he was anointed with the special grace of kingship.
It means that Jesus was every bit as religious when He worked in His father’s carpenter shop, ministered to people, as He was in the Garden of Gethsemane.
There is much truth in our making the statement that integrity and maturity is found where men and women try to live their lives in a pattern of consistency.
It is a pattern that functions the same basic way in church and out of church.
It is a life that is open before God.
It is a life in which all that is done is done as “unto the Lord.”
It is a life lived by principle, not personality or expediency; by humility before God, obedience to the covenant precepts of God not prideful, blatant defiance.
A life lived under the tutelage of conscience, imprisoned by the Word of God.
Coram Deo. . . before the face of God. That’s the big idea. Next to this idea our other goals and ambitions become mere trifles.
Life lived fully, completely, abundantly in the presence of Savior Jesus Christ!
We are each “Sermons in Our Shoes” ….
Do you know, Oh Christian, you’re a sermon in shoes? Do you know, Oh Christian, you’re a sermon in shoes? Jesus calls upon you, to spread the gospel news, (1) So walk it, and talk it, a sermon in shoes. (2) Live it, and give it, a sermon in shoes. (3) Teach it, and preach it, a sermon in shoes. (4) Know it, and show it, a sermon in shoes. (Ruth Harms Calkin)
A “Coram Deo” reminder courtesy of the Holy Spirit, that where ever a Christian walks, whenever he or she talks, is expected to share the Gospel news to others.
Whether it be by one’s actions, attitudes, or personal testimony,
Coram Deo – by their baptism, a Christian is always “A Sermon In Shoes.”
Again and again as it is necessary in our immaturity to repeat it It goes along with something American evangelist Dwight L. Moody (1837-1899) once said:
“The preaching that this world most needs most is the sermons in shoes that are walking and talking with Jesus Christ.”
Coram Deo . . . in the presence and under the max authority of Jehovah God ….
Coram Deo … looking square into His eyes and lived before the face of God.
That’s the big idea.
Next to this idea all of our other goals and ambitions become mere trifles.
So, from within your own life experiences what is your understanding of;
“Coram Deo ….”
Is it what you “thought it was?”
Is it where you believed it was?
Be it RESOLVED then, this is what needs to be addressed to make it RIGHT …
In the name of God, the Father and God the Son and God the Holy Spirit,
Let us Pray,
THE COVENANT PRAYER IN THE WESLEYAN TRADITION ….
“I am no longer my own, but thine. Put me to what thou wilt, rank me with whom thou wilt. Put me to doing, put me to suffering. Let me be employed by thee or laid aside for thee, exalted for thee or brought low for thee. Let me be full, let me be empty. Let me have all things, let me have nothing. I freely and heartily yield all things to thy pleasure and disposal. And now, O glorious and blessed God, Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, thou art mine, and I am thine. So be it. And the covenant which I have made on earth, let it be ratified in heaven. Amen.”
Adeste Fidelis! Venite Adoremus! Dominum
Gloria! In Excelsis Deo! Alleluia! Alleluia! Alleluia! Amen.
23 Search me [thoroughly], O God, and know my heart; Test me and know my anxious thoughts; 24 And see if there is any wicked or hurtful way in me, And lead me in the everlasting way.
The Word of God for the Children of God.
Adeste Fidelis, Venite Adoremus! Dominum
Gloria! In Excelsis Deo! Alleluia! Alleluia! Alleluia! Amen.
The Life We Now Live is Often A Reflection of the Thoughts We Have Thought, Are Now Thinking.
Yes! I know that statement sounds rather obvious.
But is it one for which we ever stop, take any quality time to think about?
Or does it seem to be too obvious that we take it far too much for granted?
Consider this …..
The Winds go whichever direction they go.
Why?
Who but a weatherman or an airplane pilot or a sailor or a ships captain ever really cares about the “whatever” directions of the speeds it blows or shifts.
The Winds are just “there” and we acknowledge them and move on without a second or third or fourth thought – shrug our shoulders and fly away to glory.
Unless, of course – you are about to be in the middle of a blizzard or a tornado or a hurricane and are about to have your whole life major league rearranged.
Like whitewater rapids rushing you downstream, your thoughts move your life in the direction of their strongest currents.
The thoughts you and I think, believe, hold onto, ruminate, obsess about and use to support your decisions determine your view of everything and everyone around you, up to and including yourself.
You and I probably don’t stop and think about the power your thoughts have over our lives—which only increases the power they have to determine your decisions and shape your actions, determine the shifting sands of our life.
Simply put, what you and I think determines what you and believe.
Every thought in our brain produces a neurochemical change in your mind.
And these thoughts shape your life.
Once our thoughts determine what you believe, these beliefs then determine how you and I behave.
In many ways, you become what you think about.
Therefore, the better you and I grasp the importance of our thoughts, the better equipped you and I will be to change our lives in powerful kingdom of God ways.
Drawing on what the Word of God tells us about the power of our thoughts as well as what we can learn from modern psychology, particularly an area called cognitive behavioral therapy, we have the ability to change lives for the better.
We can live according to the principles and promises God gives us and enjoy being all that he created us to be or live according to cultures shifting winds.
Otherwise, our thoughts will continue to sweep us away in dangerous currents of clever deception, wild misinformation, and lies from our enemy, the devil.
God told us this truth more than 1,500 years ago: “For as thinks in his heart, so he is” (Proverbs 23:7).
God knows better than we can ever know, what we focus on mentally affects every single aspect of our lives because He created us that way. Isaiah 55:7-9
But, still, God calls us out of our day to day thoughts, our day to day obsessions over ourselves, our families, our friends, our finances, our health situations.
God is always ever more aware of what it is our lives are being challenged by.
Despite whatever the magnitude of whatever it is we are challenged by, we are still summoned to go forth “in the midst of these things” to be God’s witnesses.
We are summoned away from the great winds of our thoughts which blow us about in every which direction, by our Baptism we are still “Sermons in Shoes.”
Do you know, Oh Christian, you’re a sermon in shoes? Do you know, Oh Christian, you’re a sermon in shoes? Jesus calls upon you, to spread the gospel news, (1) So walk it, and talk it, a sermon in shoes. (2) Live it, and give it, a sermon in shoes. (3) Teach it, and preach it, a sermon in shoes. (4) Know it, and show it, a sermon in shoes. (Ruth Harms Calkin)
Think of it, about and upon it and believe mightily upon it, “a sermon in shoes.”
Psalm 139:23-24English Standard Version
23 Search me, O God, and know my heart! Try me and know my thoughts![a] 24 And see if there be any grievous way in me, and lead me in the way everlasting![b]
If you will recall, these very familiar verses, of the context of this psalm is David expressing his thoughts of his confidence that the Lord who knows all, and who thinks of, knows him intimately, can vindicate him in the midst of his accusers.
God knows that David is without blame–at least in terms of the accusations fired against him.
In these closing thoughts from, David is baring his soul, very willing to have the sum total of his very deepest, most intimate thoughts laid bare before the Lord.
Not only is he confident that such an examination will demonstrate that he is innocent of the crimes ascribed to him, but that he may also be made aware of any sinful thoughts which remain unacknowledged, that need to be dealt with.
In other words, David not only sought complete vindication before men, but also a complete sanctification, a complete healing of his soul before his God.
Verse 23 is not so much David granting the Lord permission to search his heart–the Lord hardly needs, nor asks, nor demands, for such permission.
He knows our hearts whether we want Him to or not.
Rather, David declares himself completely willing and utterly welcoming of such an indescribable magnitude of scrutiny by his Creator.
So sure is he of his innocence, that he knows the Lord will find nothing to hold against him with regard to the matter at hand.
We do not know exactly what this matter is, but David’s words challenge us: are we so sure of the truthfulness and sincerity of our words and the magnitude of our own “wildly windy” thoughts, we too would welcome the Lord’s examination of them?
As we have repeatedly noted, the Lord already knows our hearts, our motives, our worry and anxious thoughts and the honesty (or lack thereof) of our speech.
Is the thought of this something that makes us uncomfortable, or at peace?
If by our thoughts we feel at all uncomfortable, then maybe we are harboring additional thoughts and hidden, covert, and discrete motives we shouldn’t.
David’s “disquieting thoughts” are those thoughts which cause him to be troubled, or anxious.
Again, the challenge is whether we are at peace with our thought life.
Psalm 19:11-14The Message
11-14 There’s more: God’s Word warns us of danger and directs us to hidden treasure. Otherwise how will we find our way? Or know when we play the fool? Clean the slate, God, so we can start the day fresh! Keep me from stupid sins, from thinking I can take over your work; Then I can start this day sun-washed, scrubbed clean of the grime of sin. These are the words in my mouth; these are what I chew on and pray. Accept them when I place them on the morning altar, O God, my Altar-Rock, God, Priest-of-My-Altar.
When the light of God’s truth is shone upon our lives, do we squirm and hide, become disquieted, or do we stand before our Savior Jesus with confidence?
Do we want to bare our thoughts, do we want our sin to be illuminated by our Heavenly Father, so He might lead us away from that path to the eternal path?
Or do we want to stay quiet, stay hidden within wild winds of culture, hide our sin away from everyone, and try to protect it from the Lord’s cleansing grace?
Do you know, Oh Christian, you’re a sermon in shoes? Do you know, Oh Christian, you’re a sermon in shoes? Jesus calls upon you, to spread the gospel news, (1) So walk it, and talk it, a sermon in shoes. (2) Live it, and give it, a sermon in shoes. (3) Teach it, and preach it, a sermon in shoes. (4) Know it, and show it, a sermon in shoes. (Ruth Harms Calkin)
Think of it, about and upon it and believe mightily upon it, “a sermon in shoes.”
As we make our resolutions before the Lord, we need to be seriously willing to let go of all that “barely” disquiets us–every sinful thought, desire, and motive.
Our chief desire is not only to have a blameless reputation before men, but more importantly, to have, to live, to walk, to talk, to teach and preach of a character whose #1 goal is that it glorifies God in its reflection of His goodness and purity.
This requires us exposing ourselves to His refining fire, allowing Him to search out the depths of our hearts and draw out of us the remaining sin in our lives.
It won’t be even minimally pleasant, but it’s necessary if we are to be sanctified and even minimally useful and minimally fruitful unto the Lord in His kingdom.
God does know us.
We cannot pretend we are something we are not with him.
He knows us — inside and out, through and through.
This should liberate us to share a remarkable degree of intimacy with him, but most of us will choose to run far from such a close relationship with our Father.
If our desire, however, is to become more like him, more Christ-like, the only certain way to be transformed is by “inviting” him in to look at our hearts, our motivations, our desires – take our prayerfully “fruit laden” resolutions to Him.
In the name of God, the Father and God the Son and God the Holy Spirit,
Let us Pray,
O Lord my God, you are my shield and my strength. Help me to trust you with my decisions and my future. Let me lean on you with all my heart instead of relying on my own understanding. Give me clear guidance in my life Lord. As I submit myself and the magnitude of my thoughts to you, I know that you will direct my paths and I can have confidence that your direction is always the best way to go. Lord, bless me and keep me, make your face shine upon me. Turn your face towards me and give me my just portion of thy everlasting peace. Through Jesus Christ our Lord, Amen.
O God, I know you are the one who “searches hearts and minds.” for our disquieted and disquieting thoughts. Yet because of the grace you demonstrated in Jesus, I am confident that you love me and will cleanse me. My heart is sorry for the sin I have committed, but I am really trying to serve you in honor and purity. Please fill me with your Spirit to enable me to become more like Christ. In the name of Your Son I pray.
Adeste Fidelis! Venite Adoremus! Dominum
Gloria! In Excelsis Deo! Alleluia! Alleluia! Alleluia! Amen.
15 “[a]I am the true Vine, and My Father is the vinedresser. 2 Every branch in Me that does not bear fruit, He takes away; and every branch that continues to bear fruit, He [repeatedly] prunes, so that it will bear more fruit [even richer and finer fruit]. 3 You are already clean because of the word which I have given you [the teachings which I have discussed with you]. 4 Remain in Me, and I [will remain] in you. Just as no branch can bear fruit by itself without remaining in the vine, neither can you [bear fruit, producing evidence of your faith] unless you remain in Me. 5 [b]I am the Vine; you are the branches. The one who remains in Me and I in him bears much fruit, for [otherwise] apart from Me [that is, cut off from vital union with Me] you can do nothing. 6 If anyone does not remain in Me, he is thrown out like a [broken off] branch, and withers and dies; and they gather such branches and throw them into the fire, and they are burned. 7 If you remain in Me and My words remain in you [that is, if we are vitally united and My message lives in your heart], ask whatever you wish and it will be done for you. 8 My Father is glorified and honored by this, when you bear much fruit, and prove yourselves to be My [true] disciples.
The Word of God for the Children of God.
Adeste Fidelis! Venite Adoremus! Dominum
Gloria! In Excelsis Deo! Alleluia! Alleluia! Alleluia! Amen.
We are going to begin the New Year of 2023 by addressing the Resolutions I pray we made – the resolutions to Know God better, acknowledging our Savior more.
Maybe if God can catch us early enough in our zeal to plan out, think through, pray up, read up and study up, He can achieve a momentum in us to accomplish that which we said we covenanted to do – that others may know our Savior too.
Remember I wrote yesterday about the distinct possibility that we may be the only Gospel anybody reads or has any real chance of modeling their lives upon.
I also mentioned from our Baptism, of our being a “Sermon in Our Shoes.”
As a reminder, here are the Lyrics to that children’s song again ….
Again, when I was in Sunday School, I fondly remember singing one of my favorite choruses called, “A Sermon in Shoes.”
The lyrics went like this:
Do you know, Oh Christian, you’re a sermon in shoes? Do you know, Oh Christian, you’re a sermon in shoes? Jesus calls upon you, to spread the gospel news, (1) So walk it, and talk it, a sermon in shoes. (2) Live it, and give it, a sermon in shoes. (3) Teach it, and preach it, a sermon in shoes. (4) Know it, and show it, a sermon shoes. (Ruth Harms Calkin)
The song is a reminder that where ever a Christian walks, he or she is expected to share the Gospel news to others.
Whether it be by one’s actions, attitudes, or personal testimony, a Christian is always a sermon in shoes.
It goes along with something that American evangelist Dwight L. Moody (1837-1899) once said:
“The preaching that this world desperately needs the most is the sermons in shoes that are walking with their Savior Jesus Christ.”
Indeed, it’s only fitting we are a sermon in shoes if we are walking with Jesus.
Several passages in the Bible refer to God’s people Israel as a vine planted by God – perhaps the most familiar words of reminder are those from Psalm 80.
Complete Jewish Bible Version ….
80 (0) For the leader. Set to “Lilies.” A testimony. A psalm of Asaf:
2 (1) Shepherd of Isra’el, listen! You who lead Yosef like a flock, you whose throne is on the k’ruvim, shine out! 3 (2) Before Efrayim, Binyamin and M’nasheh, rouse your power; and come to save us. 4 (3) God, restore us! Make your face shine, and we will be saved.
5 (4) Adonai, God of armies, how long will you be angry with your people’s prayers? 6 (5) You have fed them tears as their bread and made them drink tears in abundance. 7 (6) You make our neighbors fight over us, and our enemies mock us. 8 (7) God of armies, restore us! Make your face shine, and we will be saved.
9 (8) You brought a vine out of Egypt, you expelled the nations and planted it, 10 (9) you cleared a space for it; then it took root firmly and filled the land. 11 (10) The mountains were covered with its shade, the mighty cedars with its branches; 12 (11) It put out branches as far as the sea and shoots to the [Euphrates] River.
13 (12) Why did you break down [the vineyard’s] wall, so that all passing by can pluck [its fruit]? 14 (13) The boar from the forest tears it apart; wild creatures from the fields feed on it.
15 (14) God of armies, please come back! Look from heaven, see, and tend this vine! 16 (15) Protect what your right hand planted, the son you made strong for yourself. 17 (16) It is burned by fire, it is cut down; they perish at your frown of rebuke. 18 (17) Help the man at your right hand, the son of man you made strong for yourself.
19 (18) Then we won’t turn away from you — if you revive us, we will call on your name. 20 (19) Adonai, God of armies, restore us! Make your face shine, and we will be saved.
The overall idea is that, before Jesus came, Jehovah God took this rag tag group of chosen people and made a home for them where they could grow healthy and prosperous in a relationship with him.
But despite all that God did for his people, they failed to thrive.
Time after time, they wandered away from God in their sin.
They worshiped the gods of other nations.
They strayed from the path that God had placed them on.
Now, from John’s narrative we read Jesus is switching up the imagery about the vine saying that, ultimately, He has come as the true vine to give people the new opportunity to grow in a relationship with God, the way God always intended.
Practically speaking, the church has understood that this happens through spiritual disciplines, such as reading and studying Scripture and spending time in prayer, worship, confession, and fellowship an service within community.
And these things are never about scoring points with God or trying to make up for our sin.
Instead, they are all about staying connected to the vine so that we can thrive.
When we draw near to Jesus, we are supported, nourished, and sustained and able to bear for Him a high quality fruit in our day to day relationship with him.
Recognizing The Fruit God Produces In Us
Jesus compared genuine believers to branches that are grafted into Him so that they bear His good fruit.
He therefore warned that without Him, we can do nothing.
In fact, any branch that is not grafted in will be thrown into the fire to be burned.
The question becomes, what sort of fruit was Jesus referring to and how do we recognize if we are bearing His good fruit?
John 15:5-8 English Standard Version
5 I am the vine; you are the branches. Whoever abides in me and I in him, he it is that bears much fruit, for apart from me you can do nothing. 6 If anyone does not abide in me he is thrown away like a branch and withers; and the branches are gathered, thrown into the fire, and burned. 7 If you abide in me, and my words abide in you, ask whatever you wish, and it will be done for you. 8 By this my Father is glorified, that you bear much fruit and so prove to be my disciples.
The Fruit of God in our Lives
The Bible gives us a good indication of the type of fruit that God produces in us.
Good fruit of God’s light — a life that produces what is good, right, and true | Ephesians 5:8-9 ESV For at one time you were darkness, but now you are light in the Lord. Walk as children of light (for the fruit of light is found in all that is good and right and true),
Good fruit of obeying God’s commandment — love for another | John 15:12,16-17 ESV “This is my commandment, that you love one another as I have loved you… go and bear fruit and that your fruit should abide, so that whatever you ask the Father in my name, he may give it to you. These things I command you, so that you will love one another.
Good fruit of God’s wisdom — wisdom that is pure, peaceable, gentle, open to reason, merciful, impartial and sincere |James 3:17 ESV But the wisdom from above is first pure, then peaceable, gentle, open to reason, full of mercy and good fruits, impartial and sincere.
Good fruit of the Holy Spirit — the presence of the Holy Spirit who brings love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control | Galatians 5:22-23 ESV But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control; against such things there is no law.
Good fruit of God’s discipline — holiness and righteousness that is peaceful and good | Hebrews 12:10-11 ESV For they disciplined us for a short time as it seemed best to them, but he disciplines us for our good, that we may share his holiness. For the moment all discipline seems painful rather than pleasant, but later it yields the peaceful fruit of righteousness to those who have been trained by it.
Good fruit of knowing and conviction about God’s will — a life that is pleasing to God, filled with spiritual wisdom and understanding | Colossians 1:9-10 ESV … you may be filled with the knowledge of his will in all spiritual wisdom and understanding, so as to walk in a manner worthy of the Lord, fully pleasing to him: bearing fruit in every good work and increasing in the knowledge of God;
Good fruit of God’s righteousness — love, knowledge, and discernment that ensures our hearts remain pure and blameless before God |Philippians 1:9-11 ESV And it is my prayer that your love may abound more and more, with knowledge and all discernment, so that you may approve what is excellent, and so be pure and blameless for the day of Christ, filled with the fruit of righteousness that comes through Jesus Christ, to the glory and praise of God.
Good fruit of becoming “slaves” of God’s righteousness, set free from the bondage of sin — sanctification and eternal life | Romans 6:22 ESV But now that you have been set free from sin and have become slaves of God, the fruit you get leads to sanctification and its end, eternal life.
This good fruit is birthed from within us, through the Holy Spirit’s regeneration and renewal work in our hearts, minds, and souls.
Only God can make such fruit grow in us.
Titus 3:5-7 ESV he saved us, not because of works done by us in righteousness, but according to his own mercy, by the washing of regeneration and renewal of the Holy Spirit, whom he poured out on us richly through Jesus Christ our Savior, so that being justified by his grace we might become heirs according to the hope of eternal life.
1 Corinthians 3:7 ESV So neither he who plants nor he who waters is anything, but only God who gives the growth.
On our part, we need to maintain an honest and pure heart that abides in, or remains grafted to, Jesus so we continue to be nourished and protected.
Luke 8:15 ESV As for that in the good soil, they are those who, hearing the word, hold it fast in an honest and good heart, and bear fruit with patience.
Abiding in Jesus Christ
The act of grafting attaches a branch that has been carefully cut from a weak tree and fitted into a branch of another tree with strong, robust roots.
The grafted branch is held tightly in place for a period of time until it bonds with the tree and becomes one with it.
As it receives nourishment from its new roots and is pruned by an experienced gardener, it will bear an abundance of fruit, bursting with rich nutrients and flavor.
John 15:2 ESV … every branch that does bear fruit he prunes, that it may bear more fruit.
The tree that receives the new grafted branch inevitably suffers momentary damage because it loses a healthy branch in order to receive the new one and shares its resources with it.
This is the act of abiding in Jesus — staying loyal to and holding on tightly to Him so that we are nourished by Him.
Jesus also paid a price for each one of us to be grafted in and He graciously shares His inheritance with us.
At the same time, He also corrects and shapes us to become more like Him.
Such pruning does not always feel pleasant but it always bears “the peaceful fruit of righteousness to those who have been trained by it.”
Hebrews 12:10-11 ESV … he disciplines us for our good, that we may share his holiness. For the moment all discipline seems painful rather than pleasant, but later it yields the peaceful fruit of righteousness to those who have been trained by it.
This is a picture of us becoming one with Jesus in our hearts, so that we come to heavily desire what Jesus desires and that is to do our Heavenly Father’s will.
John 6:38,40 ESV For I have come down from heaven, not to do my own will but the will of him who sent me. For this is the will of my Father, that everyone who looks on the Son and believes in him should have eternal life, and I will raise him up on the last day.”
Not all grafts, however, are successful.
The attempted union can be broken off or destroyed by bacteria or disease.
Un-diseased branches can sometimes be successfully re-attached if they remain tender, but calloused hardened branches can only be discarded.
Ephesians 4:18-19 ESV They are darkened in their understanding, alienated from the life of God because of the ignorance that is in them, due to their hardness of heart. They have become callous and have given themselves up to sensuality, greedy to practice every kind of impurity.
In the book of Romans, the apostle Paul gave us another picture of grafting.
He described Gentile (non-Jewish) believers as branches from a wild olive tree that now receive rich nourishment from God’s special olive tree.
Romans 11:17 NLT And you Gentiles, who were branches from a wild olive tree, have been grafted in. So now you also receive the blessing God has promised Abraham and his children, sharing in the rich nourishment from the root of God’s special olive tree.
Paul warned us to not be complacent about abiding in Jesus because God can decide to break us off, if our hearts stop trusting and obeying Him.
We will slowly wither and die off, even if we were once alive in Him and bore some fruit in the past.
It is therefore important that we regularly resolve to check, re-check, if our graft into Jesus is still alive and well or is in any danger of coming apart.
Romans 11:20-22 NLT Yes, but remember—those branches were broken off because they didn’t believe in Christ, and you are there because you do believe. So don’t think highly of yourself, but fear what could happen. For if God did not spare the original branches, he won’t spare you either… But if you stop trusting, you also will be cut off.
What Affects Our Graft into Jesus?
When our hearts are not fully grafted into Jesus’, we experience fruitlessness, immature fruit, and fruits for death.
This happens because we are still:
Satisfied only by our own desires | Jude 1:12,16 ESV … shepherds feeding only themselves; waterless clouds, swept along by winds; fruitless trees in late autumn, twice dead, uprooted; These people are grumblers and complainers, living only to satisfy their desires. They brag loudly about themselves, and they flatter others to get what they want.
Caught up with the cares of this world |Luke 8:14-15 ESV And as for what fell among the thorns, they are those who hear, but as they go on their way they are choked by the cares and riches and pleasures of life, and their fruit does not mature.
Seduced by worldly riches | Luke 8:14-15 ESV And as for what fell among the thorns, they are those who hear, but as they go on their way they are choked by the cares and riches and pleasures of life, and their fruit does not mature.
Intoxicated with the pleasures of life | Luke 8:14-15 ESV And as for what fell among the thorns, they are those who hear, but as they go on their way they are choked by the cares and riches and pleasures of life, and their fruit does not mature.
Led by sinful desires eg. revenge, hatred, judgment, condemnation etc. | Romans 7:5 ESV For while we were living in the flesh, our sinful passions, aroused by the law, were at work in our members to bear fruit for death.
These are the things which will inevitably cut us off, away from Savior Jesus.
Staying Grafted In ….
The good news is that we can ask God to search our hearts and convict us when we are in danger of diverging from His will and losing His nourishment.
This calls for tender humble hearts that are willing to re-bind to Jesus.
Psalm 139:23-24 ESV Search me, O God, and know my heart! Try me and know my thoughts! And see if there be any grievous way in me, and lead me in the way everlasting!
God will always welcome us as we:
Luke 9:23-24English Standard Version
Take Up Your Cross and [DAILY] Follow Jesus
23 And he said to all, “If anyone would come after me, let him deny himself and take up his cross daily and follow me. 24 For whoever would save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for my sake will save it.
Become more resolved in our daily walk with our Lord and Savior Jesus to ….
Repent of our sins | Matthew 3:8 ESV Bear fruit in keeping with repentance.
Turn away from a life defined by this world | John 12:24-25 ESV Truly, truly, I say to you, unless a grain of wheat falls into the earth and dies, it remains alone; but if it dies, it bears much fruit. Whoever loves his life loses it, and whoever hates his life in this world will keep it for eternal life.
Grow in knowing and discerning God’s will for us | Philippians 1:9-11 ESV And it is my prayer that your love may abound more and more, with knowledge and all discernment, so that you may approve what is excellent, and so be pure and blameless for the day of Christ, filled with the fruit of righteousness that comes through Jesus Christ, to the glory and praise of God.
Seek to live out God’s Word with the right understanding | Matthew 13:23 ESV As for what was sown on good soil, this is the one who hears the word and understands it. He indeed bears fruit and yields, in one case a hundredfold, in another sixty, and in another thirty.”
God the Father is the perfect vinedresser and He will guide us continually, watering us when we feel dry and restoring our strength.
This is how we can recognize the Vine and Vine-Dresser, remain part of His well-watered, flourishing garden that bears numerous good and tasting fruits.
John 15:1 ESV “I am the true vine, and my Father is the vinedresser.
Isaiah 58:1-11 ESV
True and False Fasting
58 “Cry aloud; do not hold back; lift up your voice like a trumpet; declare to my people their transgression, to the house of Jacob their sins. 2 Yet they seek me daily and delight to know my ways, as if they were a nation that did righteousness and did not forsake the judgment of their God; they ask of me righteous judgments; they delight to draw near to God. 3 ‘Why have we fasted, and you see it not? Why have we humbled ourselves, and you take no knowledge of it?’ Behold, in the day of your fast you seek your own pleasure,[a] and oppress all your workers. 4 Behold, you fast only to quarrel and to fight and to hit with a wicked fist. Fasting like yours this day will not make your voice to be heard on high. 5 Is such the fast that I choose, a day for a person to humble himself? Is it to bow down his head like a reed, and to spread sackcloth and ashes under him? Will you call this a fast, and a day acceptable to the Lord?
6 “Is not this the fast that I choose: to loose the bonds of wickedness, to undo the straps of the yoke, to let the oppressed[b] go free, and to break every yoke? 7 Is it not to share your bread with the hungry and bring the homeless poor into your house; when you see the naked, to cover him, and not to hide yourself from your own flesh? 8 Then shall your light break forth like the dawn, and your healing shall spring up speedily; your righteousness shall go before you; the glory of the Lord shall be your rear guard. 9 Then you shall call, and the Lord will answer; you shall cry, and he will say, ‘Here I am.’ If you take away the yoke from your midst, the pointing of the finger, and speaking wickedness, 10 if you pour yourself out for the hungry and satisfy the desire of the afflicted, then shall your light rise in the darkness and your gloom be as the noonday. 11 And the Lord will guide you continually and satisfy your desire in scorched places and make your bones strong; and you shall be like a watered garden, like a spring of water, whose waters do not fail.
Therefore, Oh Baptized Christian, in 2023, Let it Be it resolved ….
My God, My Savior, My Most Precious Holy Spirit ….
“Open mine eyes that I may see, visions of truth God hath for me ….”
“Place in my hands the wonderful key that shall unclasp and set me free….”
“Open mine eyes, Illumine me, Spirit Divine ….”
Do you know, Oh Christian, you’re a sermon in shoes? Do you know, Oh Christian, you’re a sermon in shoes? Jesus calls upon you, to spread the gospel news, (1) So walk it, and talk it, a sermon in shoes. (2) Live it, and give it, a sermon in shoes. (3) Teach it, and preach it, a sermon in shoes. (4) Know it, and show it, a sermon shoes. (Ruth Harms Calkin)
In the name of God, the Father and God the Son and God the Holy Spirit,
Let us Pray,
God of Grace, Creator of all life, plant us in the soil of your grace. Nurture us with the strength of Christ, the vine of everlasting life. Enlighten us with the wisdom of your Spirit, which flows through us today and all days. Abide in us, that we may abide in you and live in your love. In your holy name, we pray. Amen.
Adeste Fidelis! Venite Adoremus! Dominum
Gloria! In Excelsis Deo! Alleluia! Alleluia! Alleluia! Amen.
9-10 Besides being wise himself, the Quester also taught others knowledge. He weighed, examined, and arranged many proverbs. The Quester did his best to find the right words and write the plain truth.
11 The words of the wise prod us to live well. They’re like nails hammered home, holding life together. They are given by God, the one Shepherd.
12-13 But regarding anything beyond this, dear friend, go easy. There’s no end to the publishing of books, and constant study wears you out so you’re no good for anything else. The last and final word is this:
Fear God. Do what he tells you.
14 And that’s it. Eventually God will bring everything that we do out into the open and judge it according to its hidden intent, whether it’s good or evil.
The Word of God for the Children of God.
Adeste Fidelis! Venite Adoremus! Dominum
Gloria! In Excelsis Deo! Alleluia! Alleluia! Alleluia! Amen.
HAPPY NEW YEAR 2023 TO ONE, TO ALL!
Last year at this time, most of us were making promises to ourselves saying;
“This year, things are going to be different!
“I do not know what needs too change, but I’m definitely going to change it!”
I’m going to be a better spouse.
I’m going to be a better Parent or Grand Parent.
I’m going to spend more time with my family.
I’m going to be a better neighbor.
I’m going to spend more time reading my Bible.
More time loving God.
More time praying to God.
More time loving others besides myself.
More time serving others besides myself.
More money in my tithing.
This is the year I get my ducks in a row!”
Just by a simple show of hands, (remember we are operating on an honor system – God is watching!) who has stuck to their new years resolutions?
You know what they say about New Year’s resolutions?
They usually go in like a lion the new year and out like a lamb on the other!
Here is a link to a recent article of the most popular Resolutions for Year 2023:
How do your own personal 2023 resolutions stack up against the articles?
Surprised or Nor Surprised?
On your highest honor as a Baptized Christian ….
Remember – God is watching you and is right now definitely reading your soul!
A new year gives us an opportunity to start fresh and better ourselves.
Come the middle of January (or sooner) we somehow forget our resolutions and go marching straight as an arrow right back into our old barely flexible ways.
It is so easy to forget the commitments and resolutions we make at New Year’s.
This is quite literally the the very first day – the 1st Sunday of the New Year.
We’re going to begin by hitting the ground with both feet in perpetual motion.
January 1st of any year is a popular time for humanity to reset habits and goals.
It’s important for us to align our New Year’s resolutions with the Bible, but for us mommas, or you daddy’s we often use this as a time to think about all of the things we want to change about our self image, our parenting, our marriage.
We then take this list of our self-style discontents and make goals to fix them.
After all, that’s what New Year’s resolutions are all about – bettering ourselves, our short and long term circumstances and our short and long term situations.
Your list might include some version of the following:
I want to be healthier and more active, maybe go to the beach more often this summer so I’ll set a weekly routine where I go to the gym three times a week.
I want to be skinnier and lose 20 pounds, so I’ll stop eating desserts every day.
I want to be little more patient with myself, my spouse my kids, my co-workers, my boss or supervisor at my job so I’m going to work on effective communication skills.
I want a more family household income, so I’m going to work towards a promotion or find a new client or find a way to become self-employed and to work from home.
To be clear, there is nothing wrong with setting goals and wanting to better yourself and move your family forward.
But as women and men who are striving to center ourselves around the gospel, we need to tread cautiously.
It’s important to know how to align our New Year’s resolutions with the Bible.
Are your goals aligned with God’s Word?
Are your motivations coming from a heart focused on things above or set on worldly things?
Are you focused too much on the one or two areas that YOU think need improvement while ignoring what God is trying to show or teach you?
What do your New Year’s resolutions directly or indirectly teach your children?
HOW TO ALIGN YOUR NEW YEAR’S RESOLUTIONS WITH THE BIBLE
As you sit down to write your New Year’s Resolutions this year, consider these 6 questions and scriptures to align your goals with God’s Word.
1. DO YOUR NEW YEAR’S RESOLUTIONS GIVE GOD THE GLORY?
Not to us, Lord, not to us, but to your name give glory because of your faithful love, because of your truth. Psalm 115:1 (CSB)
Everything we do first and foremost needs to give God every ounce of glory.
Every decision. Every action. Every breath.
Can you continue to give God glory while working towards your New Year’s resolution?
Will the result of achieving your goals give God glory, or take away from it?
2. DOES YOUR NEW YEAR’S RESOLUTION HONOR YOUR BODY, A TEMPLE OF THE HOLY SPIRIT?
Do you not know that your bodies are temples of the Holy Spirit, who is in you, whom you have received from God? You are not your own;you were bought at a price. Therefore honor God with your bodies. 1 Corinthians 6:19-20 (NIV)
I’m going to dive a little deeper into this one because men and women tend to put a lot of downward pressure on themselves with this particular topic.
If you have a New Year’s resolution that is about your body, whether it’s losing weight or dressing yourself in a new wardrobe, quitting smoking, or dying your hair, looking like an Olympic weight lifter -ask self – is it giving God glory?
Bottom line: It’s God-honoring to want your body to be healthy.
It’s worldly to want our bodies to look a certain way just because someone else says it should. Set resolutions that produce a healthy body and a content heart.
3. CAN YOU COMPLETE YOUR NEW YEAR’S RESOLUTION AND KEEP GOD FIRST IN YOUR LIFE?
So do not worry, saying, ‘What shall we eat?’ or ‘What shall we drink?’ or ‘What shall we wear?’ For the pagans run after all these things, and your heavenly Father knows that you need them. But seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well. Matthew 6:31-33 (NIV)
It’s good to be diligent about reaching our goals, but nothing should ever take priority over our relationship and obedience to God.
Don’t push God to the back burner while you’re working on your New Year’s resolutions.
Achieving your New Year’s resolutions will never fulfill you like God will.
4. IS YOUR NEW YEAR’S RESOLUTION BUILDING ETERNAL VALUE?
“Do not store up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moths and vermin destroy, and where thieves break in and steal. But store up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where moths and vermin do not destroy, and where thieves do not break in and steal. For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.
“The eye is the lamp of the body. If your eyes are healthy, your whole body will be full of light. But if your eyes are unhealthy, your whole body will be full of darkness. If then the light within you is darkness, how great is that darkness!
“No one can serve two masters. Either you will hate the one and love the other, or you will be devoted to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve both God and money. Matthew 6:19-24 (NIV)
Making money isn’t a bad thing.
Striving to “store up treasures on earth” instead of treasures in heaven is the issue.
Verse 21 is key here. It’s easy to figure out where your heart is – the things you hold most dear point straight to it.
Is money (or something that money can buy) taking a hold on your heart?
Is your New Year’s Resolution revealing a heart issue or building eternal value in Christ’s kingdom?
5. IS YOUR NEW YEAR’S RESOLUTION GOING TO BE A SOURCE OF ANXIETY FOR YOU?
Do not be anxious about anything, but in every situation, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus. Philippians 4:6-7 (NIV)
If you are going to be worrying about your progress and obsessing over your past history of successes or failures in achieving any previous resolutions, it’s probably not a very good or very realistic goal for you.
God calls us to put our anxieties on him, through prayer, not squarely upon us, we can resolve to live square in His peace which transcends all understanding.
Why would we want to put anything unrealistic between us, that kind of peace?
6. HAVE YOU PRAYED ABOUT YOUR NEW YEAR’S RESOLUTION?
Rejoice always, pray constantly, give thanks in everything; for this is God’s will for you in Christ Jesus. 1 Thessalonians 5:16-18 (CSB)
Prayer is God’s way of communicating directly to us.
Pray before, during, and after writing your New Year’s Resolutions asking God to reveal to you any issues with your goals.
Before tackling them, pray about the best way to work towards them.
Ground yourself in the Word of God in fervent prayer.
Then get started!
Ecclesiastes 12:9-11New Living Translation
9 Keep this in mind: The Teacher was considered wise, and he taught the people everything he knew. He listened carefully to many proverbs, studying and classifying them. 10 The Teacher sought to find just the right words to express truths clearly.[a]
11 The words of the wise are like cattle prods—painful but helpful. Their collected sayings are like a nail-studded stick with which a shepherd[b] drives the sheep.
True resolutions are supposed to point the way home to God.
But some choose to believe that getting lost in their self-image is the aim of spirituality: forget that you exist, that the world exists, that good and evil exist.
Just shed these illusions, immerse your self image into the image of God which God gifted exclusive to you as He knitted and weaved you together before birth.
dissolve yourself in the divine ocean like a grain of salt.
Many people today want to either “get high” on God, or “get high” on self, in a big noisy “in” crowd, with big lights and music, in an experience as popular, as mesmerizing as, the effects of an injection of a powerful psychedelics’ drug.
God calls us to be devoted to his Word and to follow the example of Jesus, taking up the cross of kingdom service.
Being resolved to Being found in Savior Jesus Christ is what perfects human life.
When we are found in Christ, we come to terms with his death as well as our own. Christ’s wisdom grounds us like embedded nails, helping us to make peace with our frailties even when we are young and we feel immortal.
In Christ, we also find life to the fullest— with freedom from fear, shame, and soul-crushing perplexities.
Life becomes a meaningful adventure, a race, a journey filled with awareness of God’s love for us all.
Citizens of Heaven or Denizens of the World
Philippians 3:20-21The Message
20-21 But there’s far more to life for us. We’re citizens of high heaven! We’re waiting the arrival of the Savior, the Master, Jesus Christ, who will transform our earthy bodies into glorious bodies like his own. He’ll make us beautiful and whole with the same powerful skill by which he is putting everything as it should be, under and around him.
C.S. Lewis observed that if you aim to be successful only on earth, you may never get to heaven even as the things of earth slip away.
But if you aim for the things of heaven, not only will the Lord graciously bring you there; Jehovah will also make your life on earth something wonderful.
So if you aim only for the self-images born of life on this earth, you get nothing.
But if you aim for heaven, you get everything—Abundant life to the Maximum.
This is Paul’s point too as he rounds out Philippians 3.
We all are citizens of one country or another here on earth.
But believers in Christ have a far more important status as citizens of heaven.
God Resolved: All of our identity falls into line under our heavenly citizenship.
Paul pointed this out for the Philippians because then—and now—there are all kinds of influences distracting us from giving God’s kingdom first place in our New Years Resolutions and in sum total, our hearts, our souls and our lives.
We receive messages like this every day: live for the moment, go for the gusto, do whatever feels right, look out for number one – that being our self-image.
All this, Paul claims, makes people enemies of the cross.
It all amounts to self-centered living and reflects none of Christ’s selflessness.
But if we live “created in the image of God” as Christ’s people, then one day we will be made like Jesus, arrayed in all the glory and majesty of God’s kingdom!
ULTIMATE RESOLUTION FOR THE YEAR 2023 – FULLY RELY UPON GOD, THE FATHER, AND GOD THE SON AND GOD THE HOLY SPIRIT
Your ONLY Resolution for This Coming New Year
9 “I have loved you even as the Father has loved me. Remain in my love. 10 When you obey my commandments, you remain in my love, just as I obey my Father’s commandments and remain in his love. 11 I have told you these things so that you will be filled with my joy. Yes, your joy will overflow! 12 This is my commandment: Love each other in the same way I have loved you. 13 There is no greater love than to lay down one’s life for one’s friends. 14 You are my friends if you do what I command. 15 I no longer call you slaves, because a master doesn’t confide in his slaves. Now you are my friends, since I have told you everything the Father told me. 16 You didn’t choose me. I chose you. I appointed you to go and produce lasting fruit, so that the Father will give you whatever you ask for, using my name. 17 This is my command: Love each other. John 15:9-17 NLT
Would you or I resolve to totally depend upon Jesus Christ?
I mean totally depend upon Him?
Here’s the way you can tell—are you resting in Him today?
I reflected much on that vain desire, which had pursued me for so many years, of being in solitude in order to be a Christian. I have now, thought I, solitude enough; but am I therefore the nearer being a Christian? Not if Jesus Christ be the model of Christianity. Reverend John Wesley, Founder of Methodism
You see, when you are totally committed to Jesus Christ, you rest in Him. You realize that for your every need, it is necessary for Him to supply all of it.
Have you ever looked at a branch? It has no other source of life than the vine.
If you asked that branch, “What’s your secret for your healthy leaves and fruit?” the branch would answer, “My secret is that I’m resting in the vine.”
“But what about your needs?” you ask.
“I know I have needs, but that’s not my responsibility.
My resolution, My ONLY Resolution, is to rest in the vine’s ability to provide.
I don’t produce the fruit. I just bear it.”
Are you resting in our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ today and all tomorrows?
Will you choose to rest in Him for the next 365?
Obey His Commandments?
Remain in His Love?
Be Filled with HIS Joy?
Be Filled to Overflowing?
Love one another as Jesus FIRST loved Us?
Make a Friend?
Be a Friend?
Bring a Friend to Christ?
Choose God, the Father?
Choose God the Son?
Choose God the Holy Spirit?
Choose Ministry and Mission, Mercy and Service unto your neighbors?
Do all the good you can, by all the means you can, in all the ways you can, in all the places you can, at all the times you can, to all the people you can, as long as ever you can. Reverend John Wesley, Founder of Methodism
John 13:34-35 Amplified Bible
34 I am giving you a new commandment, that you [a]love one another. Just as I have loved you, so you too are to love one another. 35 By this everyone will know that you are My disciples, if you have love and unselfish concern for one another.”
I remembered that there’s an old song with the words ….
“Do you know, O Christian, You Are A Sermon in Shoes?”
These words have stuck with me as a powerful illustration for life.
Do you know, Oh Christian, you’re a sermon in shoes? Do you know, Oh Christian, you’re a sermon in shoes? Jesus calls upon you, to spread the gospel news, (1) So walk it, and talk it, a sermon in shoes. (2) Live it, and give it, a sermon in shoes. (3) Teach it, and preach it, a sermon in shoes. (4) Know it, and show it, a sermon shoes. (Ruth Harms Calkin)
The children’s song is a reminder that where ever a Christian walks, or talks he or she is expected to share the Gospel news to others.
Whether it be by one’s actions, attitudes, or personal testimony, by their own Baptism, Life in Christ, every single Christian is always “a sermon in shoes.”
It goes along with something that American evangelist Dwight L. Moody (1837-1899) once said:
“Unquestionably, The preaching that this world needs the most is the sermons in shoes that are walking with Savior Jesus Christ.”
Throughout my years as a pastor, I worked diligently to deliver sermons that help people hear God’s Word, but what about showing myself to be a sermon?
Through my longer years trying to be a “good Christian” I have often been told that I may be the ONLY Gospel anyone ever reads or tries to model their life by.
That is an enormous responsibility to be 100% accountable to God for!
When Jesus taught, “I am the true vine,” he made clear that all the work of fruit bearing was to the glory of God, his Father.
As Jesus’ followers, we are called to bear fruit for God’s glory also.
This means showing that we are Jesus’ followers, connected to him by the promised Holy Spirit.
And by the power of the Holy Spirit working in us, we will “bear much fruit.”
This fruit bearing takes shape in a variety of ways.
However, it is always motivated by our friendship and our love for our Lord.
Be it, therefore, Resolved – My Only Resolution for the Year of Our Lord 2023;
To Fully Rely on God who is always and forever will be: NUMBER ONE!
In the name of God, the Father and God the Son and God the Holy Spirit,
Let us Pray,
We Pray… For healing…prepare us for surprises. For strength…prepare us for surprises. For vision…prepare us for surprises. For transformation…prepare us for surprises. For messengers and messenges…prepare us for surprises. For community…prepare us for surprises. For acceptance – of ourselves and others…prepare us for surprises. For making room at our tables…prepare us for surprises. For Truth-seeking…prepare us for surprises. For support…prepare us for surprises. For Common Ground…prepare us for surprises.
Be it therefore Resolved ….
As it was in the beginning, is now and ever shall be ….
In our Homes, Families, Neighbors, Neighborhoods, our Work across the Globe ….
Upon the Oceans and the Seas, Upon Continents, in Worlds Without End ….
Walk beside us, O Holy One, as we question and welcome, as we challenge and invite, as we discover and understand, as we see, touch, taste, smell, and listen for the Newness awaiting us in 2023.
May we, Your Beloved Children, Your Body, walk forward together side by side.
Glory Be to The Father and to the Son and to the Holy Spirit ….
Adeste Fidelis, Venite Adoremus! Dominum
Gloria! In Excelsis Deo! Alleluia! Alleluia! Alleluia! Amen.
7-9 I’ll make a list of God’s gracious dealings, all the things God has done that need praising, All the generous bounties of God, his great goodness to the family of Israel— Compassion lavished, love extravagant. He said, “Without question these are my people, children who would never betray me.” So he became their Savior. In all their troubles, he was troubled, too. He didn’t send someone else to help them. He did it himself, in person. Out of his own love and pity he redeemed them. He rescued them and carried them along for a long, long time.
The Word of God for the Children of God.
Adeste Fidelis! Venite Adoremus! Dominum
Gloria! In Excelsis Deo! Alleluia! Alleluia! Alleluia! Amen.
Celebrating God as God is Celebrating Us!
God’s Prophet Isaiah invites us to look back on a year of God’s grace drawing to a close and to look ahead to another year of God’s grace that is just beginning.
Celebrating What the Lord has Done for Us!
In the ancient calendar used by the Romans, from which our calendar was created, the name of each month had a meaning.
For example the month of February was so named because that was the time of the year for a feast called February.
Lupercalia was a pastoral festival of Ancient Rome observed annually on February 15 to purify the city, promoting health and fertility. Lupercalia was also known as dies Februatus, after the purification instruments called februa, the basis for the month named Februarius.
Some of the months were named for the false gods that the Romans worshiped. March was named after Mars, the god of war.
May was probably derived from the goddess Maia.
June was named after the goddess Juno.
The months July and August were named, respectively, after Julius Caesar and his successor, Caesar Augustus. September, October, November, and December were named for the numbers seven, eight, nine, and ten in the Latin language.
That was the order in which those months fell in the Roman calendar.
One month in the ancient Roman calendar that had an especially descriptive name was January.
The Latin word janua means a door or window from which a person may look both ways, in other words, in and out–forward and back.
Historians say that January is also derived from the name Janus, a common household god among the Romans.
He was often depicted facing in two directions.
Basically, he was looking forward and back.
As we stand at the doorway looking back on 2022, to the first month of January and a new year in 2023, we will naturally look back over the way we have come.
We also naturally look ahead to the new year and where we are going.
As we celebrate, prepare ourselves and our families, friends and neighbors later this New Year’s Eve, we have to look at the year just past, the year lying ahead.
May we through our Love of God, through our Love for Word of God share in the coming of the New Year – Celebrate the coming of tonight’s midnight plus One Minute, be moved with anticipation, with confident expectation, to greet, God!
Celebrating the Grace of God in our Lives!
I. Look back on it in appreciation
II. Look ahead to it with anticipation
Our biblical text comes from the end of Isaiah’s prophecy.
Isaiah had just described the miraculous changes the Messiah—the promised Savior, would bring to God’s people in the chapters previous to our text.
Here Isaiah went on to describe the effect His preaching would have on those in Israel who were faithful to God.
He introduces the final section of his prophecy by recalling all of God’s ancient mercies, the ceaseless acts of loving kindnesses bestowed upon His Children.
Isaiah 63:7-9Amplified Bible
God’s Ancient Mercies Recalled
7 I will tell of the loving kindnesses of the Lord, and the praiseworthy deeds of the Lord, According to all that the Lord has done for us, And His great goodness toward the house of Israel, Which He has shown them according to His compassion And according to the abundance of His loving kindnesses. 8 For He said, “Be assured, they are My people, Sons who will not be faithless.” So He became their Savior [in all their distresses]. 9 In all their distress He was distressed, And the [a]angel of His presence saved them, In His love and in His compassion He redeemed them; And He lifted them up and carried them all the days of old.
To these ancient words, still ever true, we should all say, “Alleluia! Amen.”
It reminds us that throughout all of our days, the Lord has been kind to us.
Tonight, at midnight minus one minute we should all regale each other, tell of the abundance of his kindnesses, deeds, from 2022 which God is to be praised.
Tonight, at midnight plus one minute, we should all proclaim and claim and to hug all of God’s coming mercies and loving kindnesses, His grace in year 2023.
These ancient words from Isaiah’s prophecy reminds us to look back in appreciation of God’s grace in 2022 and to look ahead with anticipation and with confident expectation, for more of God’s miraculous grace in year 2023.
We don’t have to look very far back in the year that is ending to be reminded of God’s undeserved love.
In fact we really only have to look back one week.
A week ago tonight was Christmas Eve.
We were reminded, through the celebration of His Gospel, Christ was born to live the holy life we did not live, to die under the just punishment for our sins.
The clearest and most complete reminder of God’s kindness and love for us.
We rejoice, through the celebration of His Word, that we have had the privilege to once again celebrate his first birthday and speak about his great love for us.
But obviously our spiritual blessings for 2022 weren’t confined to Christmas.
For the last 52 Sundays our God has fed us with his Word when we gathered for praise and prayer and worship.
We followed Jesus to the cross, we shouted, “He is risen!”
We listened to the words and works of our Savior God.
In Bible study, and Sunday school, through the children’s ministries, and too, through our personal time in God’s Word we have found healing and hope.
We have felt God’s presence and been reassured of his love when we sinned.
As we celebrate God’s grace tonight, at midnight minus one minute, we look back in gratitude and appreciation of a whole year of enjoying the Word of God and all of the abundance of Father, Son, Holy Spirit, that it has brought to us.
In 2022 we also often received the pledge that we are forgiven children of God as we received the body and blood of Christ in the Lord’s Supper.
There Jesus invited us to eat and drink the proof that full payment for our sins has been made.
At His Passover table we were reminded that too we will eat and drink with him in the Kingdom of heaven.
Although we have many things to be thankful for this New Year’s Eve we are most thankful for those Means of Grace Jehovah God has given us–His Word and Sacraments.
The person speaking in our text from Isaiah acknowledged that the Lord had done many good things for his people.
The Lord had brought his people out of slavery in Egypt.
He gave them a land flowing with milk and honey.
He repeatedly defeated their enemies.
Through mighty miracles he had protected his people and prospered them.
He blessed their crops and their other sources of income.
He did all these things because of his compassion and love.
They were God’s people and enjoyed all the benefits of being God’s people..
This reminder of what God did for his people of old reminds us of what God does for his people today.
He still does great things for us.
Who of us can’t tell of the kindnesses of the Lord?
Take a moment to look back in appreciation for all that the Lord has done for us this past year.
Who of us can’t tell of the deeds for which God is to be praised?
Our Lord has given us abundant life, shelter, food, and clothing this past year.
We have enjoyed the blessings of family and friends and neighbors.
We have enjoyed God’s creation for another year.
The Lord provided us with blessings beyond belief, way more than we can use.
But someone might legitimately say not everything in 2001 was all that good.
What about the continued presence of covid19?
Someone might say, “I had troubles and problems from day one of 2022.”
“In fact this year was one of the worst I have ever had. I lost my job. I was sick. My wife and children too. I faced financial problems and other troubles. 2022 was not a good year at all, I really don’t see all that much God has done for me.”
Yes, we face the temptation to feel that way and have those kinds of thoughts.
But when Isaiah recorded these words from verses 7-9, he could have said something similar to that.
He and other believers faced persecution.
Their country was under the threat of foreign invasion.
Outwardly speaking, for him, things were very bad and seemed very uncertain.
Yet, Isaiah knew that no matter how bad things looked God was with him and his people, Isaiah knew that he could only see things from a human perspective.
If he could look at things from God’s perspective he would know that God was gravely concerned about him, doing everything possible for his eternal good.
If this Isaiah were to be reading these ancient words in 2022, from his ancient context and perspective, how might he now reflect back upon the grace of God?
Because of God’s grace great clouds of witnesses can look back at this year with real appreciation – no matter what has happened the Lord has been good to us.
We are reminded that even when things looked bad in 2022 God was with us.
Isaiah 63:9Amplified Bible
9 In all their distress He was distressed, And the [a]angel of His presence saved them, In His love and in His compassion He redeemed them; And He lifted them up and carried them all the days of old.
In verse 9 we are told, “In all their distress he too was distressed.”
God was distressed with us in our distress.
Through all the trials and troubles we faced in 2022 God was both empathetic and sympathetic to us.
It should always makes us feel better when someone knows what we are going through, when someone understands, when someone can relate to our stories.
Hebrews 4:14-16Amplified Bible
14 Inasmuch then as we [believers] have a great High Priest who has [already ascended and] passed through the heavens, Jesus the Son of God, let us hold fast our confession [of faith and cling tenaciously to our absolute trust in Him as Savior]. 15 For we do not have a High Priest who is unable to sympathize and understand our weaknesses and temptations, but One who has been tempted [knowing exactly how it feels to be human] in every respect as we are, yet without [committing any] sin. 16 Therefore let us [with privilege] approach the throne of grace [that is, the throne of God’s gracious favor] with confidence and without fear, so that we may receive mercy [for our failures] and find [His amazing] grace to help in time of need [an appropriate blessing, coming just at the right moment].
We have a great High Priest – Immanuel, God With Us, God Within Us – Jesus, who gives us anticipation of grace, everlasting expectation of faith, hope, love.
That is a reason to celebrate God’s grace. Our God felt the pain we felt. When we were shedding our tears of sorrow our God was watching us, caring about us.
Verse 9 of our text continues, “and the angel of his presence saved them.”
We may never know the full measure of all those ‘close calls’ we had last year.
We may never know how many disasters the Lord protected us from.
We may have repeatedly walked through the valley of the shadow of death and not even known it. But we do know the Lord’s presence saved us from disaster.
He sends his angels to protect us and he shelters us under his protecting hand.
Verse 9 concludes, “In his love and mercy he redeemed them; he lifted them up and carried them all the days of old.”
Through everything God was there.
As we celebrate God’s grace this New Year’s Eve we look back with appreciation for God’s protection.
The Lord Jehovah said through Isaiah in 46:3-4,
“I have upheld since you were conceived, and have carried since your birth. Even to your old age and gray hairs I am he, I am he who will sustain you. I have made you and I will carry you; I will sustain you and I will rescue you.”
From our youth to our old age God promises to be with us.
From year to year God will sustain and help us.
Through good times and bad times the Lord carries us.
As we take those few precious moments to look back and reflect at another year of our faithful God’s protection and love, may we look back at it in appreciation.
46 1-3 God is a safe place to hide, ready to help when we need him. We stand fearless at the cliff-edge of doom, courageous in seastorm and earthquake, Before the rush and roar of oceans, the tremors that shift mountains.
Jacob-wrestling God fights for us, God-of-Angel-Armies protects us.
4-6 River fountains splash joy, cooling God’s city, this sacred haunt of the Most High. God lives here, the streets are safe, God at your service from crack of dawn. Godless nations rant and rave, kings and kingdoms threaten, but Earth does anything he says.
7 Jacob-wrestling God fights for us, God-of-Angel-Armies protects us.
8-10 Attention, all! See the marvels of God! He plants flowers and trees all over the earth, Bans war from pole to pole, breaks all the weapons across his knee. “Step out of the traffic! Take a long, loving look at me, your High God, above politics, above everything.”
11 Jacob-wrestling God fights for us, God-of-Angel-Armies protects us. (
With the utmost expectation and confidence, may we celebrate God’s grace!
What reason did God have for allowing troubles into our lives this past year?
He used all these things to draw us into a much closer relationship with Him.
To remind us that the Lord is our strength and our only way out of trouble.
He teaches us where to go for help.
He teaches us how to be strong and face the attacks of the devil and this world.
Our struggles in 2022 have made us stronger Christians.
Have we learned to rely on God more fully?
I fervently pray the answer to that question is an unequivocal Yes!
I fervently pray we can even look back on the bad things of this past year with appreciation for our God has been with us,. God has carried us and protected us.
II.
The other part of our New Year’s celebration is looking ahead.
We make resolutions.
We make plans.
We look forward to another year of God’s grace.
That gives us a great advantage over many who will celebrate New Year’s Eve tonight.
We go forward with God’s grace. We can look ahead to 2023 with anticipation.
What is the one thing we look forward to with anticipation in 2023?
It is God’s mercy and grace.
We know that we will definitely, decisively fail and fall many times.
We know that we will fall short of God’s perfect and holy will.
But we also know that our Lord’s mercy is new every day.
We know that our God will forgive us through the blood of his Son Jesus Christ.
No matter how badly we stumble next year our God will have mercy on us.
We have blown it many times this past year and will blow it again next year, but our God will continue to extend us His grace and will have mercy and forgive us.
Will we look ahead unto 2023 with anticipation of God’s grace and forgiveness?
Will we also confidently, expectantly, eagerly look forward to 2023 with joy, anticipation because of the blessing of God’s Word for another 52 Sundays?
Will we once again find renewed faith, renewed hope and comfort in the Word?
For another year will we be built up in our faith and find guidance for our life?
In 2023 will we see souls enter the kingdom of God through the sacrament of Baptism?
Will we grow in love for one another as we stand together before an altar and receive the body and blood of our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ?
Will 2023 be a good year no matter what happens or how it happened because we have the one thing we need – the means by which God brings us his grace?
We have his Word and Sacraments.
Reality is, Truth is still that instead of looking ahead to 2023 with anticipation there are many of our neighbors who will look ahead with fear and trepidation.
What will the new year hold?
Will the economy be good or bad?
Will companies lay people off or will many be hiring?
Will taxes go up or down?
Will our investments go up or down?
What about covid19?
What about the ongoing scourge violence and senseless crime in our streets?
How wonderful it is for us to be confident that the no matter what happens God will be with us and care for us.
He promises to provide all that we need.
We may experience setbacks but the Lord will only do what is best for us.
And what about the potential problems we might face in 2023?
What if we lose a loved one or lose our job?
What if we ourselves get acutely sick?
What if our spouse or our children get acutely ill?
What if some physical or natural disaster strikes?
What if economic disaster strikes at our bank accounts?
Perhaps there will be another wave of the pandemic.
Again, I fervently we hear the ancient words of Isaiah from verse 9:
“In all their distress he too was distressed, and the angel of his presence saved them. In his love and mercy he redeemed them; he lifted them up and carried them all the days of old.”
In any distress which might come flowing down our way in 2023, God will be with us – Jehovah will rescue us and carry us through even the worst of times.
So how does our knowledge of God’s grace and goodness for this new year affect our plans for 2023?
How do we look ahead with confident anticipation in a God pleasing way?
We put all our dreams and goals in the Lord’s hands.
We have to be careful how we look forward with anticipation.
We are given this New Year’s advice in James 4:13-15,
“Now listen, you who say, “Today or tomorrow we will go to this or that city, spend a year there, carry on business and make money.” Why, you do not even know what will happen tomorrow. What is your life? You are a mist that appears for a little while and then vanishes. Instead, you ought to say, “If it is the Lord’s will, we will live and do this or that.”
As we look forward to 2023 with anticipation, expectation we recognize it will only be by God’s grace and only according to God’s will that we make our plans.
That experience allows me to ‘stand before you’ this day and ‘preach’ this text from Isaiah 63:7-9 with confident expectation of its contemporary fulfillment.
In the good times and in the bad times God is with us.
As God’s children we tell of all the good things he has done for us.
In 2022 we have enjoyed his love, and grace, and blessing.
We have enjoyed his Word and Sacraments.
He has been with us through everything.
He has felt our pain and sorrow.
We look back in appreciation. We also look forward with anticipation.
We also look forward believing God will be with us again in that New Year.
He will provide us with what we need both physically and spiritually.
He will comfort us and share our pain and sorrow.
Today or tonight as we ring in the new year 2023, celebrate God!
Celebrate God’s grace.
Celebrate Grace that moves us to reflect back on God with appreciation.
Celebrate Grace that allows us to look forward to God with anticipation.
Celebrate Grace that allows us to look forward to God with confidence.
Celebrate Grace that allows us to look forward to God with expectation.
Celebrate God EVERYDAY as God Celebrates Us EVERYDAY! Amen.
In the name of God, the Father and God the Son and God the Holy Spirit,
Let us Pray,
Psalm 19 The Message
19 1-2 God’s glory is on tour in the skies, God-craft on exhibit across the horizon. Madame Day holds classes every morning, Professor Night lectures each evening.
3-4 Their words aren’t heard, their voices aren’t recorded, But their silence fills the earth: unspoken truth is spoken everywhere.
4-5 God makes a huge dome for the sun—a superdome! The morning sun’s a new husband leaping from his honeymoon bed, The daybreaking sun an athlete racing to the tape.
6 That’s how God’s Word vaults across the skies from sunrise to sunset, Melting ice, scorching deserts, warming hearts to faith.
7-9 The revelation of God is whole and pulls our lives together. The signposts of God are clear and point out the right road. The life-maps of God are right, showing the way to joy. The directions of God are plain and easy on the eyes. God’s reputation is twenty-four-carat gold, with a lifetime guarantee. The decisions of God are accurate down to the nth degree.
10 God’s Word is better than a diamond, better than a diamond set between emeralds. You’ll like it better than strawberries in spring, better than red, ripe strawberries.
11-14 There’s more: God’s Word warns us of danger and directs us to hidden treasure. Otherwise how will we find our way? Or know when we play the fool? Clean the slate, God, so we can start the day fresh! Keep me from stupid sins, from thinking I can take over your work; Then I can start this day sun-washed, scrubbed clean of the grime of sin. These are the words in my mouth; these are what I chew on and pray. Accept them when I place them on the morning altar, O God, my Altar-Rock, God, Priest-of-My-Altar.
Adeste Fidelis! Venite Adoremus! Dominum
Gloria! In Excelsis Deo! Alleluia! Alleluia! Alleluia! Amen.
10 Now there was a famine in the land; and Abram went down into Egypt to live temporarily, for the famine in the land was oppressive and severe. 11 And when he was about to enter Egypt, he said to Sarai his wife, “Listen: I know that you are [a]a beautiful woman; 12 so when the Egyptians see you, they will say, ‘This is his wife’; and they will kill me [to acquire you], but they will let you live. 13 Please tell them that you are [b]my sister so that things will go well for me for your sake, and my life will be spared because of you.” 14 And when Abram entered Egypt, the Egyptians saw that Sarai was very beautiful. 15 Pharaoh’s princes (officials) also saw her and praised her to Pharaoh; and the woman was taken [for the purpose of marriage] into Pharaoh’s house (harem). 16 Therefore Pharaoh treated Abram well for her sake; he acquired sheep, oxen, male and female donkeys, male and female servants, and camels.
17 But the Lord punished Pharaoh and his household with severe plagues because of Sarai, Abram’s wife. 18 Then Pharaoh called Abram and said, “What is this that you have done to me? Why did you not tell me that she was your wife? 19 Why did you say, ‘She is my sister,’ so that I took her as my wife? Now then, here is your wife; take her and go!” 20 So Pharaoh commanded his men concerning him; and they escorted him on his way, with his wife and all that he had.
The Word of God for the Children of God.
Adeste Fidelis! Venite Adoremus! Dominum!
Gloria! In Excelsis Deo! Alleluia! Alleluia! Alleluia! Amen.
ABRAHAM’S FAITH AND FAILURES
The time between God’s promise to Abraham and its fulfillment spanned about twenty five years! During that time, Abraham made several wrong attempts to help God fulfill His promise. There were times, also, when Abraham made some decisions that revealed a definite lack of faith and decisive distrust in God.
ABRAHAM FAILS! GOD’S FAITHFULNESS
Despite obvious failings amidst his successes, Abraham is a wonderful example of a man who lived by faith but continued to make mistakes in judgement. The bottom line is we’ll fail yet God continues to remain faithful to His promises to Abraham, even in the midst of Abraham’s bad decisions and faithless choices.
OUR FAILURES AND GOD’S FAITHFULNESS
We are told there are two ‘inevitables’ in life: death and taxes.
In leading with your life as a follower of Christ, I believe there are two other ‘inevitables’ we need to be more acutely aware of as well: faith and failure.
As Abraham’s descendants today, we will still inevitably and faithfully fail our God. Thankfully though God’s faithfulness in the face of our inevitable failures is, only but by the indescribable grace and faithful mercy of ABBA God still true.
For His promise to us is still, “Let not your hearts be troubled” “I will never leave you nor forsake you” (John 14:1; Deuteronomy 31:6; Hebrews 13:5).
Our failures in our faithfully living for God will never deter God’s promises!
But now we come to Genesis 12 verses 10-20 to a time of failure in Abram’s life.
II. The Failure of Abram (Genesis 12:10-20)
Though he began with faith, a time of trouble leads to disobedience and doubt.
It all begins with growing, maturing sense of desperation, a time of famine.
12:10. Now there was a famine in the land, and Abram went down to Egypt to dwell there, for the famine was severe in the land.
I do not know if Abram should have gone to Egypt or not.
The way this part of the story reads, it sounds to me like it was a bad decision on Abram’s part to go to Egypt.
Nowhere do we read in the scriptures is Abram directly or indirectly condemned for his decision to go down to Egypt, but later developments, as made evident in this passage from Genesis, makes it clear his actions did not stem from faith.
Abram did not consult God, but acted independently.
No altars were built in Egypt which are mentioned, nor are we told that Abram ever called upon on the name of the Lord that he and Sarai should journey there.
His request of Sarai [later in the passage] also reflects his spiritual condition. It would thus be safe to say that Abram’s faith failed in the face of that famine.”
So we can’t be certain, but it seems that God wanted Abram to stay in Canaan – even with a famine.
Where God guides, He provides.
It was not God’s intention for Abram to leave Canaan and go to Egypt.
Now a time of testing had come upon Abram.
Not a time of plenty, but a time of wanting.
A time of famine.
Abram faced a choice.
He could stay in the land God had called him to, and trust in God to provide, or he could leave the land and trust in man, specifically the Egyptians, to provide.
Abram did what most of us do in times of trouble.
Abram trusted in man.
Abram stopped believing in God’s promises, and left for Egypt.
Through this whole chapter, we read of God speaking to Abram to tell him where to go.
We read of God appearing to Abram.
We read of Abram building altars and calling on the name of the Lord.
We read none of those things here.
In a time of trial, Abram ignored the promises of God, turned to Egypt for help.
This will become a pattern for Israelites.
Later, in another famine, Jacob and his entire family moves to Egypt.
This eventually leads to the enslavement of the Israelites to the Egyptians.
During the time of the kings, many of them made alliances with Egypt through marriage or treaties rather than trusting in God for help.
Many of the prophets warned the people of Israel about turning to Egypt for help rather than turning to God.
All of this began when Abram, the man of faith, turned to Egypt rather than turning to God.
This shift in trust leads to another failure.
He begins a pattern of lying.
Genesis 12:11-13. And it came to pass, when he was close to entering Egypt, that he said to Sarai his wife, “Indeed I know that you are a woman of beautiful countenance. Therefore it will happen, when the Egyptians see you, that they will say, ‘This is his wife’; and they will kill me, but they will let you live. Please say you are my sister, that it may be well with me for your sake, and that I may live because of you.”
Abram knows that his wife is beautiful, and that Egyptians are notorious for wanting to marry the most beautiful women.
If there was a husband in the way, it was okay to murder that husband.
So Abram concocts a lie to tell the Egyptians.
He is going to ask his wife to lie for him, so he asks her by beginning with a compliment.
Hopefully, we men compliment our wives more often than just when we want something from her.
Here, Abram wants Sarai to lie for him.
It really is only a half lie, for Sarai is Abram’s half sister (Genesis 20:12).
This is how Abram justified his lie.
It’s a little white lie.
What could it hurt?
It is also a pragmatic lie.
If Abram tells the truth, he might end up violently losing his life.
But notice what this lie does.
It not only reveals a lack of trust in God’s promises, but it also threatens their fulfillment.
In Genesis 12:10, Abram begins to trust in the Egyptians to keep him alive, now Abram is trusting in his wife.
I heard one pastor preach, “Abram was clinging to his wife’s petticoat for protection and blessing, rather than to the promises of God.”
Not only this, but his actions were a direct threat to his wife’s purity and the fulfillment of God’s promises.
God promised descendants to Abram.
Inherent in this promise is a promise that neither Abram or Sarai would not die until this promise is fulfilled.
20/20 hindsight being what it is with all of the commentaries we have to judge,
We can probably say Abram was not wrong in considering the possibility that someone would appreciate his wife as more beautiful and desire her for a wife.
Absent the cultural, historical context, we can probably also judge that it was not even wrong to suppose that someone might even kill him to marry her.
If we were doing an after-action debriefing with him, Abram was wrong to assume that this would happen and that the only way to prevent it was to lie.
Nowhere is the sure, certain promise and the protection of God considered.
Sinful deception is therefore begun before any real danger is ever experienced.
Abram has stopped trusting in God, and is fearful of a some danger not even encountered yet, and so turns to his own plans to provide his own protection.
Notice from Genesis 12:12 that Abram only thought the Egyptian men would find Sarai attractive.
And it was a common occurrence for men to murder other men just to get their wives.
Abram wanted to avoid being murdered so he decided to use this half truth about Sarai being his sister.
In such a situation, Abram, posing as Sarai’s brother, could agree to a marriage, but would insist on a long betrothal period.
Then, when the famine in Canaan was over, they could just pick up and leave.
No harm done.
It was the perfect plan.
But as the saying goes, “The best laid plans of mice and men often go astray.”
In verse 14, things seem to begin just fine.
Genesis 12:14. So it was, when Abram came into Egypt, that the Egyptians saw the woman, that she was very beautiful.
Abram was right.
He had a beautiful wife.
The Egyptian men saw her and thought she was beautiful.
Many of them are probably thinking of marrying her.
So far, Abram’s plan was working out just right.
But something happens in Genesis 12:15 that Abram never counted on.
Genesis 12:15. The princes of Pharaoh also saw her and commended her to Pharaoh. And the woman was taken to Pharaoh’s house.
It never entered Abram’s mind that Pharaoh might be interested in Sarai.
While Abram could put off the plans of other men, Pharaoh would not take no for an answer.
He took her into his palace, awaiting the time of the consummation of the union.
Part of this involved giving gifts to Abram.
Genesis 12:16. He treated Abram well for her sake. He had sheep, oxen, male donkeys, male and female servants, female donkeys, and camels.
During this time, Sarai would likely undergo a relatively long period of preparation for her presentation to Pharaoh very similar to the preparation Esther went through before presenting herself to King Ahasuerus (Esther. 2:12-14).
Can you or I imagine the lonely, agonizing nights Abram must have spent, wondering what was going on in the palace?
Abram had asked Sarai to lie so that it would go well with him (verse 13).
And it did go well.
Pharaoh sent many gifts to Abram and treated him royally.
The only thing which kept Abram from enjoying his treatment was the realization of what it meant.
Pharaoh was giving these things to Abram as a dowry.
It did go well with Abram, but without Sarai, his wife.
I believe you and I can see ourselves doing an intervention here: Prosperity is never a blessing without the peace which comes from being right with God.
But God is not thwarted by lies, doubt or our mistakes.
His promises are not so easily broken by man.
He made promises to Abram, and although Abram has stopped trusting in those promises, and is living in sin and deception, God intervenes, not only to protect Sarai and Abram, but also protect the faithful fulfilling of His promise to them.
Genesis 12:17-19. But the Lord plagued Pharaoh and his house with great plagues because of Sarai, Abram’s wife. And Pharaoh called Abram and said, “What is this you have done to me? Why did you not tell me that she was your wife? 19Why did you say, ‘She is my sister’? I might have taken her as my wife. Now therefore, here is your wife; take her and go your way.”
Abram was confronted by Pharaoh and soundly rebuked.
Abram had no excuse or explanation.
So far as we are told, he did not utter a word in his defense.
No doubt this was the wise thing to do in the light of Abram’s offense.
Pharaoh was not one to be challenged or angered unnecessarily.
Today, we can see the raging irony of the situation is obvious.
Here is a pagan correcting a prophet (cf. 20:7).
It was a sharp royal rebuke that Abram would painfully remember.
How sad, however, that Abram could not dare to speak, for this no doubt hindered any testimony to his faith in the living God Who had called him.
Christian conduct in the face of adversity does greatly affect their credibility.
Genesis 12:20. So Pharaoh commanded his men concerning him; and they sent him away, with his wife and all that he had.
We see here the patience of God with Abram, for Abram comes away from his mistake with more blessings and riches than when he came.
Abraham becomes richer than he was.
This is a curious discipline.
You would think that God would discipline Abram in a different way.
Rather than make Abram richer because of his lack of trust, you would think God would make Abram a bit more poorer and then to make him more wiser.
Well, these extra riches are double-edged.
Negatively, this is probably how Abram received Sarai’s maidservant Hagar.
When it comes down to it, every failure significantly impacts a relationship because any degree or measure of personal failure in life involves people.
We will read later his marriage to Sarai was negatively impacted. how Hagar inevitably becomes a great stumbling block to Sarai and Abram later in life.
for it is through Hagar that Abram risks making his greatest mistake ever.
But the positive aspect of this blessing is that it shows God’s great love and patience with Abram.
God is not out to destroy and punish Abram for his lack of trust.
No, God is showing Abram love and patience.
God is showing Abram longsuffering and kindness.
Even when Abram stops trusting in God, and makes his bad decisions, God continues to watch over Abram, and even bless him despite those decisions.
Today, we might even conjecture as to how foolish Abram’s fears must have appeared in the light of history.
In order to avoid a famine, Abram was forced to face down a Pharaoh.
The might of Egypt was not employed against him, but was commanded to assure his safe arrival in Canaan.
Indeed, Abram left Egypt even richer than he had come.
But none of this was the result of Abram’s faithless and dishonest actions.
It was the product of undeserved grace and mercy and providential care.
I am not saying you should go out and sin to see if God will bless you even though you’ve sinned.
That’s not the lesson of this story.
Possibly, Abram would have been much more blessed if he had stayed in Canaan.
Maybe many of the Canaanites would have left, and Abram would have received some of the land right then – we really don’t know what would have happened.
The point of this devotional account is God remains faithful to us, even when we are faithless.
Above it all, most of us literally have no desire to be known as ‘failure experts’.
And He can bless us, even when we are “experts,” have PhD’s in being wrong.
Hebrews 12:4-11Amplified Bible
A Father’s Discipline
4 You have not yet struggled to the point of shedding blood in your striving against sin; 5 and you have [a]forgotten the divine word of encouragement which is addressed to you as sons,
“My son, do not make light of the discipline of the Lord, And do not lose heart and give up when you are corrected by Him; 6 For the Lord disciplines and corrects those whom He loves, And He punishes every son whom He receives and welcomes [to His heart].”
7 You must submit to [correction for the purpose of] discipline; God is dealing with you as with sons; for [b]what son is there whom his father does not discipline? 8 Now if you are exempt from correction and without discipline, in which all [of God’s children] share, then you are illegitimate children and not sons [at all]. 9 Moreover, we have had earthly fathers who disciplined us, and we submitted and respected them [for training us]; shall we not much more willingly submit to the Father of [c]spirits, and live [by learning from His discipline]? 10 For our earthly fathers disciplined us for only a short time as seemed best to them; but He disciplines us for our good, so that we may share His holiness. 11 For the time being no discipline brings joy, but seems sad and painful; yet to those who have been trained by it, afterwards it yields the peaceful fruit of righteousness [right standing with God and a lifestyle and attitude that seeks conformity to God’s will and purpose].
Sometimes He does discipline us, for He disciplines those He loves.
But sometimes He wins us over with grace and mercy.
He teaches us to be faithful to Him by revealing His faithfulness to us.
This is a step forward in Abram’s faith development.
He has learned that God is a God of love, not of fear.
He has learned that God is a God of abundant blessing, not of destruction.
He has learned that God keeps His promises, even when we do not.
When our faith no longer knows where to look, God’s eyes are 100% upon us!
When our faith slides, slips and stumbles, God does not!
When our faith falls asleep, enters a coma on us, God remains awake!
When our faith plants us on our faces on the ground and fails, God does not!
Abram has learned when God promises the end, He also provides the means.
You and I do not, and cannot, accomplish God’s will with evil methods.
These are wonderful truths for Abram to have learned, and will aid him as he continues to grow and develop into the father of faith we all know and love.
As we close out 2022 and prepare ourselves to enter upon a New Year in 2023;
Are you and I anticipating, expecting, facing a time and a season of testing?
Can you and I safely say God has called you and me to something, and all it seems is He has called you and me into a time of true faith versus famine?
Keep trusting.
Do not short circuit the test.
If you and I try to bypass the test, God will just make you and me face a different test in a different way in a different place to achieve the same outcome for God.
If Abram had been given the choice of tests – a life lived through a famine or his wife in a Pharaoh’s harem – we can rest sure he would have chosen the famine.
And then in the end, Abram had to go back to living through a famine anyway.
Of course, he had been abundantly blessed by God with more animals and more servants to aid him, but the famine just made it more difficult to feed them all.
When God puts you and me in a faith versus famine test, do not try to bypass it.
Just pass it.
Do not sidestep it.
Walk through it.
Abram has gone from faith to failure, and now back to faith.
It is an oft-repeated, much cyclical lesson, we can learn much from ….
by our inevitable faults, the magnitude of our failings and failures ….
– by our faithfulness to God in prayer – we will see how long it lasts.
Immanuel, Immanuel, His name is called Immanuel ….
God with us,
God within us,
God revealed in us ….
God being revealed through us ….
His name is still, to this day and beyond, called Immanuel ….
John 17:6-12Amplified Bible
6 “I have manifested Your name [and revealed Your very self, Your real self] to the people whom You have given Me out of the world; they were Yours and You gave them to Me, and they have kept and obeyed Your word. 7 Now [at last] they know [with confident assurance] that all You have given Me is from You [it is really and truly Yours]. 8 For the words which You gave Me I have given them; and they received and accepted them and truly understood [with confident assurance] that I came from You [from Your presence], and they believed [without any doubt] that You sent Me. 9 I pray for them; I do not pray for the world, but for those You have given Me, because they belong to You; 10 and all things that are Mine are Yours, and [all things that are] Yours are Mine; and I am glorified in them. 11 I am no longer in the world; yet they are still in the world, and I am coming to You. Holy Father, keep them in Your name, the name which You have given Me, so that they may be one just as We are. 12 While I was with them, I was keeping them in Your name which You have given Me; and I guarded them and protected them, and not one of them was lost except [a]the son of destruction, so that the Scripture would be fulfilled.
Do not fear becoming a ‘failure expert’ and allow it to paralyze you from learning to lead with your life.
Faith-filled, Faithfully Learn through all degrees of failure how to lead your own life well by recovering from your failure for Jesus has prayed for you.
There is nothing more beautiful to Jesus than to see His prayer to His Father answered in and through you, through your failings and through your raisings.
He knows there is a source of strength to be found in those who recover from their failure.
All because they have come to know through recovery that their source is Him.
The One who prayed for firm faith to remain in Him before they ever wiped the fruit of the vine from their “leaking lips” and promptly went out and failed.
Our Struggle between Faith and failureis always an inevitable one for all of us.
Genesis to Revelation – all the promises of God remain 100% faithful and true!
The war has already been won so you may win your battle.
If maybe today, you are one who feels like a ‘faith in God failure expert’
I now join with God, the Father, Son, Spirit, in praying that you recover well.
In the name of God, the Father and God the Son and God the Holy Spirit,
O Lord, Mighty in Power, equally mighty in grace and mercy and forbearance, You say that I should have faith in You so that I will be upheld. I do, Mighty Lord. I give over the full measure and weight of my failings and failures over to you. I place all my faith in You. You strengthen me. Your divine life force keeps my spirit alive and burning fiercely for You. I know that with You I can overcome anything. Thank You for remaining faithful to Your chosen people. Thank You for guiding me in my life and helping me to become a vessel for Your will. I pray that I may continue to put my faith and trust in You because You know all things. You know what the hearts of Your people need, and I believe You will help me through whatever this life brings. Amen.
Adeste Fidelis! Venite Adoremus! Dominum!
Gloria! In Excelsis Deo! Alleluia! Alleluia! Alleluia! Amen.
25 To You, O Lord, I lift up my soul. 2 O my God, in You I [have unwavering] trust [and I rely on You with steadfast confidence], Do not let me be ashamed or my hope in You be disappointed; Do not let my enemies triumph over me. 3 Indeed, none of those who [expectantly] wait for You will be ashamed; Those who turn away from what is right and deal treacherously without cause will be ashamed (humiliated, embarrassed).
4 Let me know Your ways, O Lord; Teach me Your paths. 5 Guide me in Your truth and teach me, For You are the God of my salvation; For You [and only You] I wait [expectantly] all the day long. 6 Remember, O Lord, Your [tender] compassion and Your loving kindnesses, For they have been from of old. 7 Do not remember the sins of my youth or my transgressions; According to Your lovingkindness remember me, For Your goodness’ sake, O Lord.
8 Good and upright is the Lord; Therefore He instructs sinners in the way. 9 He leads the humble in justice, And He teaches the humble His way. 10 All the paths of the Lord are lovingkindness and goodness and truth and faithfulness To those who keep His covenant and His testimonies. 11 For Your name’s sake, O Lord, Pardon my wickedness and my guilt, for they are great.
12 Who is the man who fears the Lord [with awe-inspired reverence and worships Him with submissive wonder]? He will teach him [through His word] in the way he should choose. 13 His soul will dwell in prosperity and goodness, And his descendants will inherit the land. 14 The secret [of the wise counsel] of the Lord is for those who fear Him, And He will let them know His covenant and reveal to them [through His word] its [deep, inner] meaning. 15 My eyes are continually toward the Lord, For He will bring my feet out of the net.
The Word of God for the Children of God.
Adeste Fidelis! Venite Adoremus! Dominum!
Gloria! In Excelsis Deo! Alleluia! Alleluia! Alleluia! Amen.
O soul are you weary and troubled No light in the darkness you see There’s light for a look at the Savior And life more abundant and free
Turn your eyes upon Jesus Look full in his wonderful face And the things of earth will grow strangely dim In the light of his glory and grace.
To lift up our eyes upon Jesus ….
To look full in His wonderful face ….
To Let the things of this earth grow strangely dim ….
In the light of His Glory and Grace ….
Not in the darkness of my fears ….
Where the things of this earth grow not so strangely magnified ….
Where the things of this world go and grow not so strangely out of control ….
On you, O Lord, we depend; in you we trust, on you we wait and in you we take refuge. O Lord, unless you bless us, we perish.
To lift up our souls to God sets us apart from all who lift up their souls to fear, who look for happiness and refuge not from God, His Son Jesus and Holy Spirit, but, happiness from within dread in their own wisdom or strength or riches.
We lift up our souls unto and into the light of the God of our salvation, not to the dark of these vanities, but to you, O Lord, because you are the center of life.
To you, Immanuel, God with us, God within us, I Lift up my soul ….
You are the great King over all; You are the creator of all things.
This very cosmos that can so astonish us is the robe of glory with which you have clothed yourself.
25 To you, O Lord, I lift up my soul. 2 O my God, in you I trust; let me not be put to shame; let not my enemies exult over me.
From this foundational stance spring two requests.
The first is that we not be put to shame.
We ask that God not abandon us, leave us disgraced, lost, but that instead he prize us and remain always committed to our future for the sake of his name.
Our second request is that we be shown the Lord’s ways.
We plead not only for mercy but for power and wisdom to live holy lives.
If the first request asks God to stay with us and be committed to our future, the second request asks that we stay with God and remain committed to his future.
25 To you, O Lord, I lift up my soul. 2 O my God, in you I trust; let me not be put to shame; let not my enemies exult over me. 3 Indeed, none who wait for you shall be put to shame; they shall be ashamed who are wantonly treacherous.
Can you and I recall a time when a stranger approached us out of the blue and asked what you and I believe about Savior Jesus Christ and the Christian faith?
I easily imagine that you and I have had very few, if any, experiences like that.
I can easily imagine that you and I have a lingering fear about this encounter.
To our shame we have this fear – a shame we may not know the Lord, may not be living the life which the Lord, our Savior calls us to live – “to be His Light.”
“To be His Salt and His Light unto the Gentiles… draw them closer to Immanuel.
Immanuel, God who came to Live with Us ….
Immanuel, God who came to Live within Us ….
Immanuel, God who came to Connect with us ….
Immanuel, God who came to Converse with us ….
Immanuel, God who came to share, shout, one or two Hallelujah’s with us.
Immanuel, God who came to dispel the myth that darkness always wins over.
Turn your eyes upon Jesus Look full in his wonderful face And the things of earth will grow strangely dim In the light of his glory and grace
His word shall not fail you he promised Believe him and all will be well Then go to a world that is dying His perfect salvation to tell
Turn your eyes upon Jesus Look full in his wonderful face And the things of earth will grow strangely dim In the light of his glory and grace
Psalm 25:5-10Amplified Bible
5 Guide me in Your truth and teach me, For You are the God of my salvation; For You [and only You] I wait [expectantly] all the day long. 6 Remember, O Lord, Your [tender] compassion and Your lovingkindnesses, For they have been from of old. 7 Do not remember the sins of my youth or my transgressions; According to Your lovingkindness remember me, For Your goodness’ sake, O Lord.
8 Good and upright is the Lord; Therefore He instructs sinners in the way. 9 He leads the humble in justice, And He teaches the humble His way. 10 All the paths of the Lord are lovingkindness and goodness and truth and faithfulness To those who keep His covenant and His testimonies.
To Live, Be Alive and Be Living the Truth
The ever living and always active Word of God calls Christians be alive in God, to live with God, to live in such a way that the truth of Christ is evident in our lives.
The power of our ever alive, living God’s abundant life through the Gospel is displayed, magnified, in the life of a believer by the transformation it brings.
One of the most common metaphors for truth in the Scripture is ‘light.’
In John 8, verse 12 Jesus says:
“Again Jesus spoke to them, saying, “I am the light of the world. Whoever follows me will not walk in darkness, but will have the light of life.”
Jesus says that those who follow Him will not walk in darkness.
His truth will illuminate their path.
The apostle John writes in 1 John 1:5-7,
“This is the message we have heard from him and proclaim to you, that God is light, and in him is no darkness at all. If we say we have fellowship with him while we walk in darkness, we lie and do not practice the truth. But if we walk in the light, as he is in the light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus his Son cleanses us from all sin.”
What do these ancient passages seek to teach us in these contemporary times?
They tell us God still matters, Immanuel still matters, Holy Spirit still matters!
They tell us we still matter just as much as God, Immanuel, Holy Spirit matters!
It means to be a Christian is to live a life that accords with the truth of God.
Jesus says that whoever follows Him, those are the ones who will have light.
John says the ones who walk in the darkness are not truly born again, no matter what they might say or believe about the nature of their relationship with God.
What this means is that if someone walks in the darkness (i.e. not according to God’s truth), they are not fully following Jesus, because if they were following Jesus fully and completely they would have the light, because Jesus is the light.
The good news is that Christians have truth to live by.
John 14:1-3Amplified Bible
Jesus Comforts His Disciples
14 “Do not let your heart be troubled (be afraid, cowardly). Believe [confidently] in God and trust in Him, [have faith, hold on to it, rely on it, keep going and] believe also in Me. 2 In My Father’s house are many dwelling places. If it were not so, I would have told you, because I am going there to prepare a place for you. 3 And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come back again and I will take you to Myself, so that where I am you may be also.
As you and I follow Jesus, as you and I grow in your relationship with Him, you and I will learn truth, you will live truth, and little by little, or lot by lot, we will be living by the truth and your life, my life too will be completely transformed.
It is a glorious thing to live the truth, to walk in the light of God’s Word, to learn practical biblical principles of everyday life, and to grow in your love for God.
I have discovered that it’s a rather curious thing: that many people fear coming unto Christ because they think or believe that they will have to make all kinds of radical changes in their life; they will have to utterly obey this rule or that rule.
Maybe because of this Christmas season we now find ourselves in this position.
Perhaps, blessedly, new worshippers, worshippers who were never introduced to Immanuel, curious neighbors, worshippers who left the church because of some disagreement or because life’s overwhelming circumstances, come in.
The truth is that yes, when you and I turn away from our sin, you and I will have to definitely give up some “many treasure things,” but it is also true when we live the truth of God’s word, and turn away from those things which anger God, He changes our desires so that we’ll desire Him more than we do those things.
That’s because when we are living the full truth, we are living life the way that God always meant for it to be lived, the way which God created life to be lived.
1 Peter 3:8-15Amplified Bible
8 Finally, all of you be like-minded [united in spirit], sympathetic, brotherly, kindhearted [courteous and compassionate toward each other as members of one household], and humble in spirit; 9 and never return evil for evil or insult for insult [avoid scolding, berating, and any kind of abuse], but on the contrary, give a blessing [pray for one another’s well-being, contentment, and protection]; for you have been called for this very purpose, that you might inherit a blessing [from God that brings well-being, happiness, and protection]. 10 For,
“The one who wants to enjoy life and see good days [good—whether apparent or not], Must keep his tongue free from evil and his lips from speaking guile (treachery, deceit). 11 “He must turn away from wickedness and do what is right. He must search for peace [with God, with self, with others] and pursue it eagerly [actively—not merely desiring it]. 12 “For the eyes of the Lord are [looking favorably] upon the righteous (the upright), And His ears are attentive to their prayer (eager to answer), But the face of the Lord is against those who practice evil.”
13 Now who is there to hurt you if you become enthusiastic for what is good? 14 But even if you should suffer for the sake of righteousness [though it is not certain that you will], you are still blessed [happy, to be admired and favored by God]. Do not be afraid of their intimidating threats, nor be troubled or disturbed [by their opposition]. 15 But in your hearts set Christ apart [as holy—acknowledging Him, giving Him first place in your lives] as Lord. Always be ready to give a [logical] defense to anyone who asks you to account for the hope and confident assurance [elicited by faith] that is within you, yet [do it] with gentleness and respect.
We ought to be prepared for such encounters, to be sure; the apostle Peter tells us to be always be ready to give a reason for the hope we have (1 Peter 3:15).
But opportunities to explain what we believe most often result not from these random encounters with strangers but from the way we live day in and day out before those who know us well.
How we live and what we believe ought to reflect our attachment to Christ.
This is one reason why Peter says Christians are “a people for [God’s] own possession” (1 Peter 2:9).
Our Koinonia, our intimate connection to Jesus as those who are in Him and belong to Him and Live for Him is comprehensive.
That means we are not at liberty to believe whatever we want; we are not free to form our own views of marriage, of sexuality, of finance, or of anything else.
Our view is now to reflect that of our Messiah and Teacher, Jesus.
But He is not content with His disciples simply knowing the truth.
They also need to be living the truth:
“If you know these things, blessed are you if you do them.” (John 13:17)
Believing must lead to doing. We are not free to behave in any way we like either, then. Our conduct is to reflect that of our sacrificial Savior, Jesus.
Many contemporary religions and secular creeds require nothing of your lifestyle; they leave you free to live as you please.
In fact, many make their guiding principle: you do what seems right to you.
But the call to Christian discipleship is utterly different, for at its heart it is a call to follow a King who is not you.
Psalm 25:10-15Amplified Bible
10 All the paths of the Lord are lovingkindness and goodness and truth and faithfulness To those who keep His covenant and His testimonies. 11 For Your name’s sake, O Lord, Pardon my wickedness and my guilt, for they are great.
12 Who is the man who fears the Lord [with awe-inspired reverence and worships Him with submissive wonder]? He will teach him [through His word] in the way he should choose. 13 His soul will dwell in prosperity and goodness, And his descendants will inherit the land. 14 The secret [of the wise counsel] of the Lord is for those who fear Him, And He will let them know His covenant and reveal to them [through His word] its [deep, inner] meaning. 15 My eyes are continually toward the Lord, For He will bring my feet out of the net.
God has strewn our path with hopeful, hope-filled, faithful, faith-filled and joyful and joy-filled, encouraging promises, scattered throughout His Word.
He has pledged to lead us in the paths of righteousness and make the way we take straight and secure.
But can we trust His promises?
Can we be certain that His Word is true?
Can we be certain that His Word is faithful?
Can we be certain that His Word is Grace filled?
Indeed we can and this truth is expressed in many of the early psalms of David.
Often in the Book of Psalms, we see David lifting up his heart to the Lord in prayer and praise and calling out to Him for guidance and pardon.
His prayers often contain a request for God’s help in the face of his enemies, which demonstrates a quiet and expectant confidence which declares that God is trustworthy, God is graceful, faithful to His Word and will not let him down.
The promises of God are founded on nothing less than the perfection of God’s holy nature.
They are rooted in the eternal faithfulness of His everlasting Word, and His Word is securely anchored on the rock of our salvation which is Jesus…
Whose name is ‘Faithful and True’ – “for Faithful is He who hath promised, Who also will do it.”
It was David who knew this to be true in his own life, and we find him reflecting on the wonder of the Lord as he prayerfully considers the goodness of God and His faithfulness in meeting sinners and teaching them the way of truth.
“All the paths of the LORD are lovingkindness and truth,” he writes,
“His ways lead to gracious love, and He shows His fidelity towards those who keep His covenant and His testimonies.”
The faithfulness, joyfulness, peacefulness, mercy, goodness, and grace of God, are no less true today than during that time when David discovered the Lord was his Shepherd, Who yet gently leads him beside the still waters, faithfully guides him into the way of peace, guards him in the valley of the shadow, and still he prepares a plentiful table of good things in the midst of all his enemies.
Only as we remain in Christ, rest in His love, walk in the path He has planned for us, we will discover all His paths are strewn with joy, goodness and grace.
O soul are you weary and troubled No light in the darkness you see There’s light for a look at the Savior And life more abundant and free
Turn your eyes upon Jesus Look full in his wonderful face And the things of earth will grow strangely dim In the light of his glory and grace
Immanuel, God within us, is working in our lives with an eternal perspective, and it is only as we walk in harmony with the Lord, remain in accordance with His revealed plans and purposes that we will remain in harmony with His truth.
The way we travel may not be the path of our choosing, we expected to trudge.
The path we take will be covered with difficulties and dangers… but His truth is sufficient, His faithfulness is sufficient for every eventuality we may encounter.
He is the ONLY One who knows exactly, exactingly, the best way for each of us to take for He is the WAY, the TRUTH, the LIFE and we need to trust Him to lead us aright, even when the route is overshadowed by dark and thunderous clouds.
As we trust His Word, carry out His will, abide in Him, and He is us, we will bear the fruit of patience and hone our faith in Him.
His Way, Truth, Life will lead us deeper into fellowship with Himself, enable us to mature in the faith, grow in grace, and gain a deeper knowledge of the holy… for He desires us to enjoy a satisfying and unbroken communion with Himself.
The Lord knows that only as we Koinonia, commune with Him and obey His new commandment to, “love as I have loved,” will He be able to fully, joyfully faithfully pour His streams of living water through us, equip us to be channels of peace, comfort and refreshment to all those with whom we come in contact.
The call to the Christian life is not merely to believe the gospel but to “let your manner of life be worthy of the gospel of Christ” (Philippians 1:27).
We all fall short.
Do you have someone helping you, and whom you can help, in identifying areas of behavior which are not yet worthy of the gospel?
Lock arms with a brother or sister in Christ, shine the light of God’s Word on one another, and seek to bring the truth to life!
The church is God’s primary appointed means of reaching His world. You are part of that. But do not expect those around you to ask about the gospel—still less to repent and believe the gospel—if you are not living out that gospel:
You are writing a gospel, A chapter each day, By deeds that you do, By words that you say. Men read what you write, Whether faithless or true, Say! What is the gospel According to you?
Anonymous
In the name of God, the Father and God the Son and God the Holy Spirit,
Let us Pray,
Immanuel, as we now look back on an old year, anticipate a new one, may we look to you at all times to uphold us and make us strong, that we not go down to defeat.
Lead me, Immanuel, in the path of Your choosing. Lead me I pray, along a level path, for Your name’s sake… for Your grace, peace and faithfulness are without measure. Thank You, ABBA Father, that You are a wise, and truthful and faithful God and the One who leads and guides, and You are the One Who corrects and trains, so shepherd Your Children along the path of Your choosing. I trust You to lead us along the path of grace, truth, and righteousness all the days of my life. This I ask in Jesus’ name!
Adeste Fidelis! Venite Adoremus! Dominum!
Gloria! In Excelsis Deo! Alleluia! Alleluia! Alleluia! Amen.
14 The Word became flesh and blood, and moved into the neighborhood. We saw the glory with our own eyes, the one-of-a-kind glory, like Father, like Son, Generous inside and out, true from start to finish.
15 John pointed him out and called, “This is the One! The One I told you was coming after me but in fact was ahead of me. He has always been ahead of me, has always had the first word.”
16-18 We all live off his generous abundance, gift after gift after gift. We got the basics from Moses, and then this exuberant giving and receiving, This endless knowing and understanding— all this came through Jesus, the Messiah. No one has ever seen God, not so much as a glimpse. This one-of-a-kind God-Expression, who exists at the very heart of the Father, has made him plain as day.
The Word of God for the Children of God.
Adeste Fidelis! Venite Adoremus! Dominum!
Gloria! In Excelsis Deo! Alleluia! Alleluia! Alleluia! Amen.
The apostle John was one who saw the glory of the Word made flesh.
John was one who physically and spiritually gazed on Him in wonder and praised and worshipped at the true feet of Jesus Christ, his Lord and his God.
John lived with Him, walked with Him, talked with Him, and touched Him.
John, a simple fisherman, spent over three years of his life with Jesus, listening intently to His gracious words, astonished by His amazing truth, watching Him attentively as He fulfilled the prophetic Scriptures, and beholding His glory, the indescribable glory as of the only begotten of the Father, full of grace and truth.
Yes, John, a hard working, skilled and simple fisherman, could proclaim with authority: “In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God and the Word was God, and the Word became flesh and dwelt amongst us.”(John 1:1)
John, the fisherman, with both eyes, his heart and his soul saw His glory, the glory as of the eternal God shining in the very face of the Lord Jesus Christ.
The sum total of the eternal, omnipotent, infinite glory of God was reflected in Jesus Christ.
The combined attributes of the living God were reflected in the human person of the only begotten of the Father, the God-Man, Jesus Christ the righteous.
Over, and over again, John and the other disciples gazed on the perfection of the sinless Son of Man, and the glory which was seen in Him was a reflection of the exact image of the glory of God, the Father, both full of grace and full of truth.
The eternal Son of God in the person of the sinless Son of Man was full of God’s grace and goodness, which alone qualified Him to become our One, only perfect Savior and sacrifice for sin.
The Incarnate Word of God, made in the likeness of human flesh, was also full of truth which alone qualifies Him to be the One and the Only perfect source of God’s completed revelation.
Revelation (truth) from God, our Father in heaven, came through the eternal Son of God Who became the perfect Son of Man:
Hebrews 1:1-4Amplified Bible
God’s Final Word in His Son
1 God, having spoken to the fathers long ago in [the voices and writings of] the prophets in many separate revelations [each of which set forth a portion of the truth], and in many ways, 2 has in these last days spoken [with finality] to us in [the person of One who is by His character and nature] His Son [namely Jesus], whom He appointed heir and lawful owner of all things, through whom also He created the universe [that is, the universe as a space-time-matter continuum]. 3 The Son is the radiance and only expression of the glory of [our awesome] God [reflecting God’s [a]Shekinah glory, the Light-being, the brilliant light of the divine], and the exact representation and perfect imprint of His [Father’s] essence, and upholding and maintaining and propelling all things [the entire physical and spiritual universe] by His powerful word [carrying the universe along to its predetermined goal]. When He [Himself and no other] had [by offering Himself on the cross as a sacrifice for sin] accomplished purification from sins and established our freedom from guilt, He sat down [revealing His completed work] at the right hand of the Majesty on high [revealing His Divine authority], 4 having become as much superior to angels, since He has inherited a more excellent and glorious [b] name than they [that is, Son—the name above all names].
Salvation (grace) came through the only begotten Son of the Father, the unique God-Man, Christ Jesus the righteous: “For by grace are You saved, through faith in HIM and not of works, lest anyone should boast.” (Ephesians 2:8-10)
God was not content just to proclaim his message — his Word — to us!
Jehovah God, Creator God, Pre-Existing God, was not satisfied that only prophets could reveal his coming message — his Living Word — unto us!
God wasn’t willing that his message, his Word, be confined to a book.
No, God’s ultimate message, his Word, is Jesus. God’s message, God’s Word, is Jesus coming in human flesh to live as one of us to reveal God to us.
This incarnation made grace and truth and abundant life accessible, touchable, palpable, and available and very much physically visible unto our human eyes.
Yet, even in an all too confining and limited human skin and burdened with human mortality, God’s glory, God’s grace, God’s truth, could not be hidden.
In all of God’s Neighborhoods ….
In all of those ancient Neighborhoods and Communities ….
And EXACTLY RIGHT NOW ….
In all of our very own Neighborhoods and Communities …..
GUESS WHAT GOD’S GRACE AND TRUTH HATH REVEALED FOR US?
“full and unfailing, undying love, full unyielding, maximum faithfulness”
absolutely, completely, fully, utterly, ultimately, eternally revealed in Immanuel!
God came near.
God became touchable.
God became knowable.
God became visible to our naked eyes.
God became huggable.
God became palpable.
God became relatable.
God became conversational.
God became connectional.
God became genuine.
God became real and fully capable of being experienced.
Grace and Truth came near.
Grace and Truth became touchable.
Grace and Truth became knowable.
Grace and Truth became visible to our naked eyes.
Grace and Truth became huggable.
Grace and Truth became palpable.
Grace and Truth became relatable.
Grace and Truth became conversational.
Grace and Truth became connectional.
Grace and Truth became genuine.
Grace and Truth became real and fully capable of being experienced.
God’s trusted message of Grace and Truth became max real in Jesus, the Word!
John 1:14-18New King James Version
The Word Becomes Flesh
14 And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us, and we beheld His glory, the glory as of the only begotten of the Father, full of grace and truth.
15 John bore witness of Him and cried out, saying, “This was He of whom I said, ‘He who comes after me [a]is preferred before me, for He was before me.’ ”
16 [b]And of His fullness we have all received, and grace for grace. 17 For the law was given through Moses, but grace and truth came through Jesus Christ. 18 No one has seen God at any time. The only begotten [c]Son, who is in the bosom of the Father, He has declared Him.
This is a stunning, breathtaking declaration.
It first announces that a miraculous crossing of the great divide—between heaven and earth, between eternity and time, God and man—took place.
God’s Son came to earth to dwell among us.
As God had walked in the garden in the cool of the day with Adam and Eve (Gen. 3:8), so God’s Son came in the wearying heat of human struggle to live with us.
What is it about God that He loves us so much?
What is it about God that He so strongly desires to live with us?
What is it about God that He so strongly desires to live within us?
What is it about God that He so strongly desires to be connected with us?
What is it about God that He so strongly desires to be relatable with us?
What is it about the availability of God’s Grace and Truth, we want to know why we are even aware of our own irresistible need to be asking God all of these questions?
In the name of God, the Father and God the Son and God the Holy Spirit,
Let us Pray,
Holy and loving God, my Abba Father, thank you for the Scriptures, the prophets, the scribes, and the scholars. Thank you most of all for Jesus, who came as your Word in human skin. Thank you for coming to my neighborhood and showing me how to live and how much you love me. As we journey through the Gospel of John, please make your presence and your will known to me as I get to know your Son better.
Heavenly Father, thank You for sending Your only begotten Son into Your streets, Your neighborhoods and Your communities to become the unique ‘God-Man’ Who alone is full of grace and truth, Who alone was qualified, worthy to become our perfect, Kinsman-Redeemer, to die on the Cross as our heavenly substitute for sin. We gather to Exalt, Glorify and Magnify His holy name, Praise His holy name.
Adeste Fidelis, Venite Adoremus! Dominum!
Gloria! In Excelsis Deo! Alleluia! Alleluia! Alleluia! Amen.
146 Praise the Lord! (Hallelujah!) Praise the Lord, O my soul! 2 While I live I will praise the Lord; I will sing praises to my God as long as I live. 3 Do not trust in princes, In mortal man, in whom there is no salvation (help). 4 When his spirit leaves him, he returns to the earth; In that very day his thoughts and plans perish. 5 How blessed and graciously favored is he whose help is the God of Jacob (Israel), Whose hope is in the Lord his God, 6 Who made heaven and earth, The sea, and all that is in them, Who keeps truth and is faithful forever, 7 Who executes justice for the oppressed, Who gives food to the hungry. The Lord sets free the prisoners.
8 The Lord opens the eyes of the blind; The Lord lifts up those who are bowed down; The Lord loves the [a]righteous [the upright in heart]. 9 The Lord protects the strangers; He supports the fatherless and the widow; But He makes crooked the way of the wicked. 10 The Lord shall reign forever, Your God, O Zion, to all generations. Praise the Lord! (Hallelujah!)
The Word of God for the Children of God.
Adeste Fidelis! Venite Adoremus! Dominum!
Gloria! In Excelsis Deo! Alleluia! Alleluia! Alleluia! Amen.
This beautiful Psalm is a song of praise that rejoices in the unalterable character and eternal beauty of the Lord.
It extols, it glorifies, it magnifies the greatness of His character, and it rejoices over the unalterable, unchangeable glories and indescribable majesty of our Creator God as, verse after verse, Psalmist reflects on the wonder of His name.
The author reminds us that the Lord is very great and highly to be praised.
The Lord our God is clothed with majesty and honour and brings justice to the oppressed. The Lord provides food for the hungry, sets the prisoners free, cares for His people, opens the eyes of the blind, lifts up those that are bowed down, and He is a righteous God Who loves the righteous, who loves justice and mercy.
The psalmist meditates on the greatness of his God and encourages us all to do the same.
He rejoices in the eternal faithfulness and gracious wisdom of the Lord and ponders over the majestic works of His hand.
The thoughts and the meditations of the Psalmist build into a crescendo of praise as he centers on the steadfastness of the Lord his God, Who is from everlasting to everlasting.
And finally he bursts forth from his joyful meditation on the insurmountable wonders of the Lord his God, by crying out.
“I will sing to the LORD as long as I live. I will praise my God to my last breath!”
The joy of the Psalmist is inescapably contagious, for when we spend our days reflecting on the eternal faithfulness of the Lord and turn our hearts, souls to meditate upon the beauties of His name, we will also rejoice in His wonderful works, His grace and mercy, His wisdom and might, His faithfulness and love.
As like the Psalmist we will blend the noisiness of our joyful, joy-filled voices with the heavenly choir that proclaims, “Holy, holy, holy.” Hallelujah! Amen.
Isaiah 9:6-7 Amplified Bible
6 For to us a Child shall be born, to us a Son shall be given; And the government shall be upon His shoulder, And His name shall be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace. 7 There shall be no end to the increase of His government and of peace, [He shall rule] on the throne of David and over his kingdom, To establish it and to uphold it with justice and righteousness From that time forward and forevermore. The zeal of the Lord of hosts will accomplish this.
Immanuel, God with us and within us!
Jesus – our Wonderful Counselor!
Immanuel, God with us and within us!
Jesus – our Mighty God!
Immanuel, God with us and within us!
Jesus – our Everlasting Father!
Immanuel, God with us and within us!
Jesus – our Prince of Peace!
Say it over and over and over again ….
Sing it over and over and over again ….
Shout it over and over and over again ….
All of heaven needs to be shaken …. needs to reverberate …. Hallelujah!
Jesus, the second person of the Trinity, existed long before he was born on this earth. As God, He does not have a beginning; He IS the source of all things.
Before the world existed, he lived in eternal glory and had perfect communion with the Father and the Holy Spirit.
He was the Word that was with God in the beginning (John 1:1-2).
He was coequal, coeternal, and consubstantial with God.
He was not created; He is one with the Creator. “Through him all things were made,” and nothing that was made was made without him (John 1:3).
The universe was in God’s mind before the foundations of the earth were laid.
The starry worlds were created by him.
He measured the waters of the seas in the hollow of his hand and weighed the dust and the sands, all the rocks and trees of the earth on his precision scale.
He called by name each and every one of the stars in the heavens, and none of them is lacking in splendor. He brought into existence the things that did not exist and created everything from nothing, for his glory and our enjoyment.
As our ultimate provider and protector, the Son born to us is called Everlasting Father; Wonderful Counselor; Prince of Peace! He loves us and came to save us!
Psalm 146:1-2Amplified Bible
The Lord an Abundant Helper.
146 Praise the Lord! (Hallelujah!) Praise the Lord, O my soul! 2 While I live I will praise the Lord; I will sing praises to my God as long as I live.
Psalm 146 is a rousing song of praise that celebrates God’s faithfulness.
And today, as we say “Merry Christmas,” as we sing “Merry Christmas,” as we shout “Merry Christmas” back into the heavens we celebrate the birth of Savior Jesus, reminded within this psalm to praise the Lord, put our trust in him alone.
For the name of God and God alone alone is worthy to be exalted, deep into the deepest and furthest depths of the infinite expanse of all of the heavens above.
For God and God alone is worthy to be glorified and praised!
For God and God alone is worthy to be honored, magnified, worshiped!
For God and God alone “reigns forever . . . for all generations.”
“A Christmas Alleluia”
is a contemporary song by Chris Tomlin celebrating the day of Christ’s birth.
It recalls the scene and song of the angel hosts of heaven, singing,
“All glory to our God and King!”
And it calls us to sing “Alleluia,” which means “Praise the Lord!”
We give praise because “Christ, the Savior of the world . . . has come!”
We sing “Alleluia” because Christ’s is the highest name of all.
Joy to the World (Sir Isaac Watts, 1674-1748)
1. Joy to the world, the Lord is come! Let earth receive her King; let every heart prepare him room, and heaven and nature sing, and heaven and nature sing, and heaven and nature sing.
2. Joy to the world, the Savior reigns! Let all their songs employ; while fields and floods, rocks, hills, and plains repeat the sounding joy, repeat the sounding joy, repeat the sounding joy.
3. No more let sins and sorrows grow, nor thorns infest the ground; he comes to make his blessings flow far as the curse is found, far as the curse is found, far as the curse is found.
4. He rules the world with truth and grace, and makes the nations prove the glories of his righteousness, and wonders of his love, and wonders of his love, and wonders of his love.
With joy and expectation, with highest anticipation, we are reminded in Psalm 146 that God is the Maker of all things and that “He remains faithful forever.”
With the coming of Immanuel, God fulfills his promises to send the Messiah, the Savior; to be forever with us and forever within – us he is faithful forever.
Immanuel – our Mighty Counselor, Everlasting Father, and Prince of Peace …
Jesus, Christ our King is born!
And because of his birth, life, death, and resurrection, He demonstrates his supremacy over all. He comes to uphold “the cause of the oppressed” and to give “food to the hungry.” He “sets the prisoners free . . . gives sight to the blind,” and “brings justice and mercy,” “lifts up those who are bowed down.”
And because Christ Jesus Lives,
And because Christ Jesus Reigns forever,
we sing “Alleluia” to our Eternal King; we “Praise the Lord all our life!”
we shout “Alleluia!” to our Eternal King; we “Praise the Lord all our life!”
we PRAY “Alleluia!” to our Eternal King; we “Praise the Lord all our life!”
In the name of God, the Father and God the Son and God the Holy Spirit,
Let us Pray,
“I will sing to the LORD as long as I live. I will praise my God to my last breath!”
Joyful, joyful, we adore thee, God of glory, Lord of love; hearts unfold like flowers before thee, opening to the sun above. Melt the clouds of sin and sadness; drive the dark of doubt away. Giver of immortal gladness, fill us with the light of day!
Mortals, join the mighty chorus which the morning stars began; love divine is reigning o’er us, binding all within its span. Ever singing, march we onward, victors in the midst of strife; joyful music leads us sunward, in the triumph song of life.
Adeste Fidelis! Venite Adoremus! Dominum!
Gloria! In Excelsis Deo! Alleluia! Alleluia! Alleluia! Amen.
5-7 During the rule of Herod, King of Judea, there was a priest assigned service in the regiment of Abijah. His name was Zachariah. His wife was descended from the daughters of Aaron. Her name was Elizabeth. Together they lived honorably before God, careful in keeping to the ways of the commandments and enjoying a clear conscience before God. But they were childless because Elizabeth could never conceive, and now they were quite old.
8-12 It so happened that as Zachariah was carrying out his priestly duties before God, working the shift assigned to his regiment, it came his one turn in life to enter the sanctuary of God and burn incense. The congregation was gathered and praying outside the Temple at the hour of the incense offering. Unannounced, an angel of God appeared just to the right of the altar of incense. Zachariah was paralyzed in fear.
13-15 But the angel reassured him, “Don’t fear, Zachariah. Your prayer has been heard. Elizabeth, your wife, will bear a son by you. You are to name him John. You’re going to leap like a gazelle for joy, and not only you—many will delight in his birth. He’ll achieve great stature with God.
15-17 “He’ll drink neither wine nor beer. He’ll be filled with the Holy Spirit from the moment he leaves his mother’s womb. He will turn many sons and daughters of Israel back to their God. He will herald God’s arrival in the style and strength of Elijah, soften the hearts of parents to children, and kindle devout understanding among hardened skeptics—he’ll get the people ready for God.”
The Word of God for the Children of God. Gloria! In Excelsis Deo! Alleluia! Amen.
Every story has a preface – it is what needs to be said before diving in.
It often sets the stage, the tone, for the masterpiece ready to unfold.
Sometimes it is direct author commentary, and many times it explains the story before the story –
as famed Radio Broadcaster, Commentator the late Paul Harvey might say;
“There Will Always be a Story before the Rest of the Story.”
Luke 1:1-4The Message
1 1-4 So many others have tried their hand at putting together a story of the wonderful harvest of Scripture and history that took place among us, using reports handed down by the original eyewitnesses who served this Word with their very lives. Since I have investigated all the reports in close detail, starting from the story’s beginning, I decided to write it all out for you, most honorable Theophilus, so you can know beyond the shadow of a doubt the reliability of what you were taught.
Narrator Luke begins his Gospel, lays the foundation for why he is writing this letter to Theophilus, he shares with us an amazing moment in history.
So that we can know “beyond the shadow of doubt” the truth of the stories we have read, been told, our whole lives, the reliability of what we were all taught.
To that much desired end, Luke introduces us to a righteous priest named Zachariah and his wife Elizabeth. We are told that they are obedient to God’s law, and have grown old, past the years they could have had any children.
Zachariah, a priest in the line of Aaron, happens to be on his regular rotation duty at the temple in Jerusalem, and is “set apart” chosen as the priest to enter and burn incense before the Lord – this is his once-in-a-lifetime opportunity.
This would be the one and only time Zechariah would enter the Holy Place.
What a responsibility and privilege! As he enters, he brings the incense, representing the prayers of God’s people, before the presence of the Lord.
Zechariah also brings his own prayer, the desires and longings of his heart.
This is incredibly refreshing to me.
When approaching the throne room of God, Zachariah is honest.
He quietly tells God what is really on his mind and in his heart.
Too often, when we are in church and given an opportunity to share a prayer request, we first default to sharing other people’s troubles and not our own.
We don’t come right out and shriek that we struggled with reading God’s Word this week, or that we messed it up as parents or as human beings that morning, or we desperately need God to show up in the midst of a shredded relationship.
Even in our own private time, when we are supposed to be communing with God alone, we first give a glossed over report so we can make things quick and easy.
Why is that?
Why are we afraid to spend the time to be real, to be broken and raw, why are we so timid about unleashing all of ourselves before the One God we know loves us?
It’s exhausting being “all clammed up, neat-and-tidy, its all okay” Christians.
In Luke’s Narrative, Zachariah is clammed up, he offers no prayers for himself.
Maybe Zechariah was tired, long the righteous man before God, but where were the expected “abundant rewards” and “heavens open floodgate of blessings?”
Zacharias had no children to pass his priestly knowledge and experience to.
There was no hope of any coming generations to further his family lineage.
He loved and served the Lord his God with everything he had for many years.
He loved his wife Elizabeth with the same fervor he loved and served His God.
In this hushed place where few people ever enter, Zechariah cannot help but share his burdens when he has been charged with interceding for his people.
God’s answer for Zachariah’s faith – breaks the 400-year silence of heaven.
Luke 1:13-17 The Message
13-15 But the angel reassured him, “Don’t fear, Zachariah. Your prayer has been heard. Elizabeth, your wife, will bear a son by you. You are to name him John. You’re going to leap like a gazelle for joy, and not only you—many will delight in his birth. He’ll achieve great stature with God.
15-17 “He’ll drink neither wine nor beer. He’ll be filled with the Holy Spirit from the moment he leaves his mother’s womb. He will turn many sons and daughters of Israel back to their God. He will herald God’s arrival in the style and strength of Elijah, soften the hearts of parents to children, and kindle devout understanding among hardened skeptics—he’ll get the people ready for God.”
A son…with the spirit and power, style and strength of faith of the great Elijah the Prophet….heralding….preparing the people for the coming of the Lord…
Emmanuel, God with us, God within us, the promised Messiah, is coming soon.
And, Zechariah’s son will lead the way, pointing the Jews back to their long-awaited Savior – softening the hearts of parents to children. kindling devout understanding among even the very hardest, harshest of scorners and skeptics.
God raised up Elijah during a dark time in Israel’s history, where their most evil king prevailed to lead the people’s hearts to betray the God who loved them.
God gave Elijah the gift of fervent, powerful, intercessory prayer (James 5:17-18)
Elijah obeyed God’s plan and stood up, alone, to face those idol-worshippers on Mount Carmel. He called down fire from heaven, and God demonstrated His great power, proving He was God, and the people turned back to their Sustainer.
However, Elijah was also threatened, became fervently scared and ran away to the very deepest wilderness, to the mountain of God, seeking direction, help.
God sent His ravens to feed Elijah when Elijah had 100% given up on himself.
God Himself miraculously answered, comforted him and gave him instructions.
All of this will come to life in new ways as Zachariah’s coming John “will turn many Israelites back to the Lord their God, back to a devout understanding!”
But long years of personal doubt, of severe questioning, of God, had dulled his faith, had made Zacharias cynical and critical of himself and critical of God.
He openly questioned the angels words of prophecy – threw them back into the angels face – probably with not so much as even a respectful glance upward.
The angel responded and disciplined Zachariah for his actions towards him.
Zechariah can’t speak when he leaves the temple because he doubted God’s word, he will not be able to say a word until he sees with his own eyes the birth of his son, until he hears the baby’s cry and holds his son in his own hands.
Now, he has a little more than nine-months to quietly meditate on the angel Gabriel’s words, to “to talk and to walk back” his own behaviors and actions.
The story before the story is about to collide with the One who wrote them all.
God caught Zechariah in the fulfillment of divine promises — fulfillment that occurred with the coming of the Messiah. God had chosen Zechariah, along with his wife Elizabeth, to play crucial roles in God’s great coming story of His grace.
Zechariah experienced the once-in-a-lifetime opportunity as a priest to burn incense [1] at the great Temple in Jerusalem.
While performing his duties, a heavenly messenger visited him and revealed that he and his aged and barren wife Elizabeth, like Abraham and Sarah would have a son and that son would bless many, would lead many to their Messiah.
Despite being well past the age to have children!
Zacharias had a significant story to tell that would reverberate over all history!
God was answering their prayer.
The messenger told Zechariah to name their son, John. He obeyed, and God used Zechariah’s “simple” testimony of faith, obedience to bless the world.
Zacharias gets only the briefest of mentions in the pages of holy scripture.
But, his story transcends the ignominy of that very briefest of mentions ….
His lonely, quiet and much reserved story now transcends generations ….
Adds enormously, magnificently to that “great cloud of witnesses” who have come before this generation, live now in this generation, born into future ones.
Zacharias’ story becomes a great lesson for anyone of our own faith journey’s.
As but the briefest of testimonies to turn our hearts back to God’s, provide for us that great Holy Spirit opportunity to gain more understanding of God’s plan.
In this Christmas season, indeed in all coming seasons, We have a story too!
A God favored, indescribably prized and abundantly valued story to tell to our family, friends, and co-workers, our neighbors in God’s own neighborhood,
God, our Father Matters!
Immanuel, God with us and Within us Matters!
God, the Holy Spirit, our Intercessor, Matters!
We have our Doubts and those Doubts Matter to God, our Father!
We have our faith, steadfast or wavering or absent, and that Faith matters!
We have our fellowship, Koinonia, with God, our Father, Son and Holy Spirit.
That fellowship, that connection, that Koinonia, absolutely matters to God!
Our faith or absence thereof in that Koinonia, absolutely matters to our God!
Become more humble and more devout in our praise, prayers, our worship, of the One who abundantly blessed, who’s coming again to take us unto Himself.
Become more aware of, to acknowledge, to recognize, to act upon the relevance and significance, the great privilege, and greater responsibility of our humble role as the Body of Christ, God’s accountable church ministering into the world.
Faith of our fathers, living still, in spite of dungeon, fire, and sword; O how our hearts beat high with joy whene’er we hear that glorious word! Refrain: Faith of our fathers, holy faith! We will be true to thee till death.
2. Faith of our fathers, we will strive to win all nations unto thee; and through the truth that comes from God, we all shall then be truly free. (Refrain)
3. Faith of our fathers, we will love both friend and foe in all our strife; and preach thee, too, as love knows how by kindly words and virtuous life. (Refrain)
In the name of God, the Father and God the Son and God the Holy Spirit,
Let us Pray,
Psalm 113English Standard Version
Who Is like the Lord Our God?
113 Praise the Lord! Praise, O servants of the Lord, praise the name of the Lord!
2 Blessed be the name of the Lord from this time forth and forevermore! 3 From the rising of the sun to its setting, the name of the Lord is to be praised!
4 The Lord is high above all nations, and his glory above the heavens! 5 Who is like the Lord our God, who is seated on high, 6 who looks far down on the heavens and the earth? 7 He raises the poor from the dust and lifts the needy from the ash heap, 8 to make them sit with princes, with the princes of his people. 9 He gives the barren woman a home, making her the joyous mother of children. Praise the Lord!
Father, my Creator, Perfecter of Faith and faithfulness, please accept my meek efforts at learning and living obedience, including in the little, clear, and simple things, as an offering of my love to you. Grant me such grace as I can handle in the moments of my doubts and failures, to turn back to such testimonies as Zacharias’, to become more devout, more understanding. Take that and my obedience and bring glory to your name and a blessing to your people whether others know of my part in your plan or not. In Jesus’ name, to his glory, I offer you this humble prayer and my life. Adeste Fidelis! Gloria! In Excelsis Deo! Alleluia! Alleluia! Alleluia! 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). 