Why Jesus Came

 Since therefore the children share in flesh and blood, he himself likewise partook of the same things, that through death he might destroy the one who has the power of death, that is, the devil, and deliver all those who through fear of death were subject to lifelong slavery. (Hebrews 2:14–15)

This, I think, is my favorite Advent text because I don’t know any other that expresses so clearly the connection between the beginning and the end of Jesus’s earthly life — between the incarnation and crucifixion. These two verses make clear why Jesus came; namely, to die. They would be great to use with an unbelieving friend or family member to walk them step-by-step through your Christian view of Christmas. It might go something like this, a phrase at a time:

“Since therefore the children share in flesh and blood . . . ”

The term “children” is taken from the previous verse and refers to the spiritual offspring of Christ, the Messiah (see Isaiah 8:18; 53:10). These are also the “children of God” (John 1:12). In other words, in sending Christ, God has the salvation of his “children” especially in view. 

It is true that “God so loved the world, that he gave [Jesus]” (John 3:16). But it is also true that God was especially gathering “the children of God who are scattered abroad” (John 11:52). God’s design was to offer Christ to the world, and to effect the salvation of his “children” (see 1 Timothy 4:10). You may experience adoption by receiving Christ (John 1:12).

“ . . . he himself likewise partook of the same things [flesh and blood] . . . ”

This means that Christ existed before the incarnation. He was spirit. He was the eternal Word. He was with God and was God (John 1:1; Colossians 2:9). But he took on flesh and blood, and clothed his deity with humanity. He became fully man and remained fully God. It is a great mystery in many ways. But it is at the heart of our faith — and what the Bible teaches.

“ . . . that through death . . . ”

The reason he became man was to die. As God pure and simple, he could not die for sinners. But as man he could. His aim was to die. Therefore he had to be born human. He was born to die. Good Friday is the purpose of Christmas. This is what most people today need to hear about the meaning of Christmas.

“ . . . he might destroy the one who has the power of death, that is, the devil . . . ”

In dying, Christ de-fanged the devil. How? By covering all our sin. This means that Satan has no legitimate grounds to accuse us before God. “Who shall bring any charge against God’s elect? It is God who justifies” (Romans 8:33) — on what grounds does he justify? Through the blood of Jesus (Romans 5:9).

Satan’s ultimate weapon against us is our own sin. If the death of Jesus takes it away, the chief weapon of the devil — the one mortal weapon that he has — is taken out of his hand. He cannot make a case for our death penalty, because the Judge has acquitted us by the death of his Son!

“ . . . and deliver all those who through fear of death were subject to lifelong slavery.”

So, we are free from the fear of death. God has justified us. Satan cannot overturn that decree. And God means for our ultimate safety to have an immediate effect on our lives. He means for the happy ending to take away the slavery and fear of the Now.

If we do not need to fear our last and greatest enemy, death, then we do not need to fear anything. We can be free. Free for joy. Free for others.

What a great Christmas present from God to us! And from us to the world!

BE ETERNITY CONSCIOUS!

 EVERYDAY IN THE WORD!

MONDAY DECEMBER 11, 2023.

SUBJECT: BE ETERNITY CONSCIOUS!

Memory verse: "While we do not look at the things which are seen, but at the things which are not seen. For the things which are seen are temporary, but the things which are not seen are eternal." (Second Corinthians 4 vs 18.)

READ: Psalm 39 vs 5 - 6:

Psalm 39:5: Indeed, You have made my days as handbreadths, and my age is as nothing before You; Certainly every man at his best state is but vapor.

39:6: Surely every man walks about like a shadow; Surely they busy themselves in vain; He heaps riches, and does not know who will gather them.

INTIMATION:

To make the most of your time on earth, you must maintain an eternal perspective. You should be mindful of eternal inheritance than what you can get now. Everything you see and have now will one day pass away. This will keep you from majoring on earthly things which are minor and help you concentrate on the thing that is eternal, and that is the ultimate! 

The ‘Faithful Christian’ will concentrate on the things that are eternal and not on the things that are of this world. His mind sees beyond this world to the existence of the new heavens and new earth that is yet to come. Therefore, he is not willing to sacrifice the eternal for the enjoyment of the temporary. Though the Christian may enjoy the benefits of this world, but should not  be obsessive over the temporary of this world to the exclusion of the eternal.

Ironically, the brevity of life on this earth has been of little concern to many people. They spend so much time securing their lives on earth but take little or no thought about where they will spend eternity. Wisdom, riches, and personal achievements matter very little after death—and everyone must die. We must not build our lives on perishable pursuits, but on the solid foundation of God. Then even if everything we have is taken away, we still will have God, Who is all we really need anyway.

Nothing seen or experienced in this life is worth the eternal life with God, and nothing we have here on earth will matter a thing in eternity. Even now, so much of what we waste our energy on will not matter even a year from now, much less for eternity. Don't trade your life for temporary things. The Bible, in First Corinthians 7 vs 31, says, "....For the form of this world is passing away." We should be unhindered by the cares of this world, not getting involved with the burdensome pursuit of earthly things, and should deal as sparingly as possible with the things the world thrusts on you because the world, as you see it, is on its way out.

You've probably heard the expression "You can't take it with you.” That is absolutely right. But the Bible says you can send it on ahead by investing in people who are going there! The Bible, in First Timothy 6 vs 18 - 19, says, "Let them do good, that they are rich in good works, ready to give, willing to share, storing up for themselves a good foundation for the time to come, that they may lay hold of eternal life." Be wise, be selfless, and be rich in good works.

Because life is so short, there is folly in trying to amass riches. For this reason, the wise see past the temporary futility of riches in order to focus on those things that go beyond life. By the time one realizes the futility of a wasted life in seeking riches, it is often too late to repent and turn to God. Jesus warned us on distractions by earthly things when He said in Luke 9 vs 62, "No one, having put his hand to the plow, and looking back, is fit for the kingdom of God." What does Jesus want from us? Total dedication, not halfhearted commitment. We can't pick and choose among Jesus' ideas and follow Him selectively; we have to accept the cross along with the crown.

Prayer: Abba Father, by You all things consist. Endue me with the spirit of complete obedience and trust in You for You are the Owner of all things. I pray that the cares of this world will not hinder me from fighting the good fight of faith that I may lay hold of eternal life, in Jesus’ Name I have prayed, Amen.

PRAISE THE LORD!

Gold, Frankincense, and Myrrh

 When they saw the star, they rejoiced exceedingly with great joy. And going into the house, they saw the child with Mary his mother, and they fell down and worshiped him. Then, opening their treasures, they offered him gifts, gold and frankincense and myrrh. (Matthew 2:10–11)

God is not served by human hands as though he needed anything (Acts 17:25). The gifts of the magi are not given by way of assistance or need-meeting. It would dishonor a monarch if foreign visitors came with royal care-packages.

Nor are these gifts meant to be bribes. Deuteronomy 10:17 says that God takes no bribe. Well, what then do they mean? How are they worship?

Gifts given to wealthy, self-sufficient people are echoes and intensifiers of the giver’s desire to show how wonderful the person is. In a sense, giving gifts to Christ are like fasting — going without something to show that Christ is more valuable than what you are going without. 

When you give a gift to Christ like this, it’s a way of saying, “The joy that I pursue (notice Matthew 2:10! “When they saw the star, they rejoiced exceedingly with great joy”) — the joy that I pursue is not the hope of getting rich by bartering with you or negotiating some payment. I have not come to you for your things, but for yourself. And this desire I now intensify and demonstrate by giving up things, in the hope of enjoying you more, not things. By giving to you what you do not need, and what I might enjoy, I am saying more earnestly and more authentically, ‘You are my treasure, not these things.’”

I think that’s what it means to worship God with gifts of gold and frankincense and myrrh. Or whatever else we may think of giving to God.

May God awaken in us a desire for Christ himself. May we say from the heart, “Lord Jesus, you are the Messiah, the King of Israel. All nations will come and bow down before you. God wields the world to see that you are worshiped. Therefore, whatever opposition I may find, I joyfully ascribe authority and dignity to you, and bring my gifts to say that you alone can satisfy my heart, not holding on to these gifts.”

THE POWER OF SPEECH!

 EVERYDAY IN THE WORD!

SUNDAY DECEMBER 10, 2023.

SUBJECT : THE POWER OF SPEECH!

Memory verse: "You are snared by the words of your mouth; You are taken by the words of your mouth" (Proverbs 6 vs 2).

READ: Psalm 141 vs 3; Proverbs 18 vs 21; James 3 vs 2:

Psalm 141: Set a guard, O LORD, over my mouth; Keep watch over the door of my lips. Proverbs 18:21: Death and life are in the power of the tongue, and those who love it will eat its fruit.

James 3:2: For we all stumble in many things. If anyone does not stumble in word, he is a perfect man, able to bridle the whole body.

INTIMATION:

When one realizes that words are the coin of the kingdom, and words can be either a cursing influence or a blessing, he or she will learn to value the power of speech. The Bible states that word is a seed (Luke 8 vs 11), and if spoken from a poisoned mind, it is a disaster. An idle word spoken aloud may fall into the soil of someone's heart and poison his entire life. And a good word spoken heals a broken heart. Realizing the power of speech, one should be careful of the words that he or she utters.

Multitude of people fail in life because they speak failure. What you say locates you. You cannot rise above your own words. If you speak defeat, failure, anxiety, sickness, and unbelief, you will live on that level. Neither you nor anyone else, no matter how clever, will ever live above the standard of their words. This spiritual principle is unalterable. If your words are foolish, trifling, unpractical, or disorganized, your life invariably will be the same way. Those who realize the power of speech will often use it to their own advantage. Therefore, those who know the power of speech must assume responsibility for what they say. Learn to control your tongue. Avoid careless speech because it is a vicious habit. 

With your words, you constantly paint a picture of your inner self. Jesus said, "Out of the abundance of the. Heart the mouth speaks" (Matthew 12 vs 34). If you think back on your life, you will probably agree that most of your troubles have been tongue troubles. No one can live without sometimes losing control of his or her tongue. The tongue is the hardest member of the body to control and the last thing that is to be brought under control in one’s life.

In our memory verse, the Bible says, "Whoever guards his mouth and tongue keeps his soul from troubles." Numerous troubles are caused by an unruly tongue! Words spoken in the heat of the moment—words of anger, words of harshness, words of retaliation, words of bitterness, words of unkindness—these words produce trouble for us. 

In the passage we read today, David knowing the power of speech, prayed God to set a guard over his mouth, to keep watch over the doors of his lips, knowing that in it lies the power of life and death. It's really important that we let God help us overcome our unruly speech habits, for our words can work blunders and get us into trouble. 

The apostle James said this of the mouth, "With it we bless our God and Father, and with it we curse men, who have been made in the similitude of God. Out of the same mouth proceed blessing and cursing. My brethren, these things ought not to be so. Does a spring send forth fresh water and bitter from the same opening? Can a fig tree, my brethren, bear olives, of a grapevine bear fig? Thus no spring yields both salt water and fresh.” (James 3 vs 9 - 12.) 

At times our words are right and pleasing to God, but at other times they are violent and destructive. Refuse to have a bad speech habit. We are made in God's image, but the tongue gives us a picture of our basic sinful nature. God works to change us from inside out. When the Holy Spirit purifies a heart, He gives self-control so that the person will speak words that please God. 

We should endeavor to always speak the good things God has promised us, and avoid speaking sickness, defeat, bondage, lack, and failure. Also, repudiate a dual speech habit. For, instance, you say at one moment, "With His stripes I am healed" (Isaiah 53 vs 5) and at the next moment, "But the pain is still there." A negative speech often produces negative result. 

Go to higher level of living in the kingdom of God. Believe that you are who God says you are. Think that way. Talk that way. Act that way. Train yourself to live on the level of what is written about you in God's Word. Do not permit your thoughts, your words, or your actions to contradict what God says about you.

Prayer: Abba Father, give me the grace to always speak the right and pleasing words in every circumstances in my life, and that my words be filled with love from a humble heart for You and others at all times, in Jesus' Name I have prayed. Amen.

PRAISE THE LORD!

Two Kinds of Opposition to Jesus

 When Herod the king heard this, he was troubled, and all Jerusalem with him. (Matthew 2:3)

Jesus is troubling to people who do not want to worship him, and he arouses opposition against those who do. This is probably not a main point in the mind of Matthew, but it is an inescapable implication as the story goes on.

In this story, there are two kinds of people who do not want to worship Jesus.

The first kind is the people who simply do nothing about Jesus. He is a nonentity in their lives. This group is represented at the beginning of Jesus’s life by the chief priests and scribes. Matthew 2:4 says, “Assembling all the chief priests and scribes of the people, [Herod] inquired of them where the Christ was to be born.” So they told him, and that was that: back to business as usual. The sheer silence and inactivity of the leaders is overwhelming in view of the magnitude of what was happening.

And notice, Matthew 2:3 says, “When Herod the king heard this, he was troubled, and all Jerusalem with him.” In other words, the rumor was going around that someone thought the Messiah was born. The inactivity on the part of the chief priests is staggering: why not go with the magi? They are not interested. They are not passionate about finding the Son of God and worshiping him. 

The second kind of people who do not want to worship Jesus is the kind who are deeply threatened by him. That’s Herod in this story. He is really afraid. So much so that he schemes and lies and then commits mass murder just to get rid of Jesus.

So today, these two kinds of opposition will come against Christ and his worshipers: indifference and hostility. I surely hope that you are not in one of those groups.

And if you are a Christian, let this Christmas be the time when you ponder what it means — what it costs — to worship and follow this Messiah.

THE LOVE OF GOD!

 EVERYDAY IN THE WORD!

SATURDAY DECEMBER 09, 2023.

SUBJECT: THE LOVE OF GOD! 

Memory verse: "For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life." (John 3 vs 16.)

READ: Romans 5 vs 5 - 8:

5:5: Now hope does not disappoint, because the love of God has been poured out in our hearts by the Holy Spirit who was given to us.

5:6: For when we were yet without strength, in due time Christ died for the ungodly.

5:7: For scarcely for a righteous man will one die: yet perhaps for a good man some would even dare to die.

5:8: But God demonstrates His own love toward us, in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us.

INTIMATION:

The love of God was manifested by the death of the Son for those who were unworthy. God sent Jesus Christ to die for us, not because we were good enough, but just because He loved us. If the death of Jesus on the cross were the result of debt that God had to pay for the merit of those who kept the law and performed meritorious deeds, then there would be no manifestation of love and grace. However, since Jesus died for us the unworthy sinners—to pay the wages of sin we owed—then love and grace are manifested. Whenever you feel uncertain about God’s love for you, remember that He loved you even before you turned to Him.

The problem of being human is the fact that we cannot live in a manner that is sinless before God. Therefore, we cannot live in a manner that would merit the mercy of God. Mercy is not given out of debt, but out of love and grace. God’s mercy is not something that we merit according to law. It is given out of love and not on the basis that it is legally earned. When we realize how far God had reach to bring us out of sin, we realize how far we were in sin and how hopeless our situation was in sin. However, regardless of our sinfulness, God loved us to the extent that He sent His Son to die for our sins.

If one’s knowledge of God’s love offering of Jesus on the cross does not stimulate a loving response to God, then one’s heart is hardened. It is not a heart that is fit for eternal dwelling. Because God has first loved us, we love in response (Romans 5 vs 8). Because He had mercy on us, we have mercy toward others. The nature of the hearts that are fit for eternal dwelling is merciful because of love.

God’s action toward man was the result of love. Therefore, “We love Him because He loved us first” (First John 4 vs 19.) One must not exercise a simple belief in Jesus, but rather God’s grace to us on the cross through Jesus must stimulate an obedient faith response. The faith response is the condition, “But without faith it is impossible to please Him, for who comes to God must believe that He is, and that He is rewarder of those who diligently seek Him.” (Hebrews 11 vs 6.) Those who do not respond to God’s grace by obedient faith will perish from the presence of God. But those who do believe and respond, will have life because they will remain in the presence of God throughout eternity.

The message of the gospel comes to a focus in our memory verse. God’s love is not static or self-centered; it reaches out and draws others in. Here God sets the pattern of true love, the basis of all love relationships—when you love someone dearly, you are willing to give freely to the point of self-sacrifice. God paid dearly with the life of His Son, the highest price He could pay. Jesus accepted our punishment, paid the price for our sins, and then offered us the new life that He bought for us. When we share the gospel with others, our love must be like Jesus’—willingly giving up our own comfort and security so that others might join us in receiving God’s love.

Now, look at the conclusion of the whole matter as the apostle Paul says, “....We are more than conquerors through Him who loved us. For I am persuaded that neither death nor life, nor angels nor principalities nor power, nor things present nor things to come, nor height nor depth, nor any other created thing, shall be able to separate us from the love of God which is in Christ Jesus our Lord.” (Romans 8 vs 37 - 39.)

These verses contain one of the most comforting promises in all Scriptures. Believers have always had to face hardships in many forms: persecution, illness, imprisonment, and even death. These sometimes cause them to fear that they have been abandoned by Christ. But Paul exclaims that it is impossible to be separated from Christ. His death for us is proof of His unconquerable love. Nothing can separate us from Christ’s presence. God tells us how great His love is so that we will feel totally secure in Him. If we believe these overwhelming assurances, we will not be afraid.

Prayer: Abba Father, I am complete in You, and have Your fullness in Christ. You have blessed me with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places. I am in You, and You in me. Strengthen me with might according to Your glorious power that I may be fruitful in every god work, worthy of Your calling and fully pleasing You, in Jesus’ Name I have prayed, Amen.

PRAISE THE LORD!

Bethlehem’s Supernatural Star

 “Where is he who has been born king of the Jews? For we saw his star when it rose and have come to worship him.” (Matthew 2:2)

Over and over the Bible baffles our curiosity about just how certain things happened. How did this “star” get the magi from the east to Jerusalem?

It does not say that it led them or went before them on the way to Jerusalem. It only says they saw a star in the east (Matthew 2:2) and came to Jerusalem. And how did that star go before them in the little five-mile walk from Jerusalem to Bethlehem as Matthew 2:9 says it did? And how did a star “rest over the place where the child was”?

The answer is: We do not know. There are numerous efforts to explain it in terms of conjunctions of planets or comets or supernovas or miraculous lights. We just don’t know. And I want to exhort you not to become preoccupied — not to become fixated — on theories that are only tentative in the end and have very little spiritual significance.

I risk a generalization to warn you: People who are exercised and preoccupied with such things, as how the star worked and how the Red Sea split and how the manna fell and how Jonah survived the fish and how the moon turns to blood, are generally people who have what I call a mentality for the marginal.

You do not see in them a deep cherishing of the great central things of the gospel: the holiness of God, the ugliness of sin, the helplessness of man, the death of Christ, justification by faith alone, the sanctifying work of the Spirit, the glory of Christ’s return, and the final judgment. They always seem to be taking you down a sidetrack with some new article or book that they’re all excited about dealing with something marginal. There is little rejoicing over the great, central realities.

But what is plain concerning this matter of the star is that it is doing something that it cannot do on its own: It is guiding magi to the Son of God to worship him.

There is only one Person in biblical thinking that can be behind that intentionality in the stars: God himself.

So, the lesson is plain: God is guiding foreigners to Christ to worship him. And he is doing it by exerting global — probably even universal — influence and power to get it done.

Luke shows God influencing the entire Roman Empire so that the census comes at the exact time to get an insignificant virgin to Bethlehem to fulfill prophecy with her delivery. Matthew shows God influencing the stars in the sky to get a little handful of foreigners to Bethlehem so that they can worship the Son.

This is God’s design. He did it then. He is still doing it now. His aim is that the nations — all the nations (Matthew 24:14) — worship his Son.

This is God’s will for everybody in your office at work, and in your classroom, and in your neighborhood, and in your home. As John 4:23 says, “The Father is seeking such people to worship him.”

At the beginning of Matthew we still have a “come-see” pattern. But at the end the pattern is “go-tell.” The magi came and saw. We are to go and tell.

But what is not different is the purpose and power of God in the ingathering of the nations to worship his Son. The magnifying of Christ in the white-hot worship of all nations is the reason the world exists.