Gold, Frankincense, and Myrrh

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.”

SATAN IS MADE INEFFECTIVE WITH THE WORD!

 EVERYDAY IN THE WORD!

TUESDAY DECEMBER 10, 2024.

SUBJECT : SATAN IS MADE INEFFECTIVE WITH THE WORD!

Memory verse: “And they overcame him by the blood of the Lamb, and by the word of their testimony; and they loved not their lives unto the death.” (Revelation 12 vs 11.)

READ: Matthew 4 vs 1 - 11:

4:1: Then Jesus was led up by the Spirit into the wilderness to be tempted by the devil.

4:2: And when He had fasted forty days and forty nights, afterward He was hungry.

4:3: Now when the tempter came to Him, he said, “If You are the Son of God, command that these stones become bread.

4:4: But He answered and said, “It is written, ‘Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceeds from the mouth of God.’”

4:5: Then the devil took Him up into the holy city, and set Him on the pinnacle of the temple,

4:6: and he said to Him, “If You are the Son of God, throw yourself down. For it is written, ‘He shall give His angels charge over you,’ and, ‘In their hands they shall bear you up, lest you dash your foot against a stone.’”

4:7: Jesus said to him, It is written again, ‘You shall not tempt the Lord your God.’”

4:8: Again, the devil took Him up on an exceeding high mountain, and showed Him all the kingdoms of the world, and their glory.

4:9: And said to him, “All these things I will give You, if You wilt fall down and worship me.”

4:10: Then Jesus said to him, “Away with You Satan! For it is written, “You shall worship the Lord your God, and Him only you shall serve.”

4:11: Then the devil left Him, and behold, angels came and ministered to Him.

INTIMATION:

Our testimony of the reality of the Word is greatly feared by Satan, and he is totally disarmed and made ineffective by that. That was the weapon of Jesus against Satan's temptations in the wilderness. When the tempter, Satan, came with his temptations, Jesus simply reminded him of what the Word says, "It is written," and the tempter has no reply to it. The devil and his cohorts know the Scripture and tremble at the mention of God, but refuse to obey Him.

Jesus was able to resist all of the devil’s temptations because He not only knew Scripture, but He also obeyed it. Ephesians 6 vs 17 says that God’s Word is a sword to use in spiritual combat. Knowing Bible verses is an important step in helping us resist the devil’s attacks, but we must also obey the Bible. Note that Satan had memorized Scriptures, but he failed to obey it. Knowing and obeying the Bible helps us follow God’s desires rather than the devil’s.

The devil used Scripture to try to convince Jesus to sin! Sometimes friends or associates will present attractive and convincing reasons why you should try something you know is wrong. They may even find Bible verses that seem to support their viewpoint. Study the Bible carefully, especially the broader contexts of specific verses, so that you understand God’s principles for living and what He wants for your life. Only if you really understand what the whole Bible says will you be able to recognize errors of interpretation when people take verses out of context and twist them to say what they want them to say.

The devil offered the whole world to Jesus if Jesus would only kneel down and worship him. Today the devil offers us the world by trying to entice us with materialism and power. We can resist temptations the same way Jesus did. If you find yourself craving for something that the world offers, quote Jesus’ words to the devil: “You shall worship the Lord your God, and Him only you shall serve.” Satan is a fallen angel. He is real, not symbolic, and is constantly fighting against those who follow and obey God. Satan’s temptations are real, and he is always trying to get us to live his way or our way rather than God’s way. 

The excellent knowledge of the Word of God makes for a profitable and triumphant living. Your life is staunched on your believe in the Word. Believing builds up your faith, and faith comes from hearing the Word of God. To believe in the Word is accepting its existence, recognizing its value or advantage, and to have faith in its ability. The Word is the same as God (John 1 vs 1), therefore, believe in the Word is believe in God. All God's attributes are also associated with His Word. God assures us that all who honestly seek Him—who act in faith on the knowledge of God (the Word) that they possess (putting into practice or action the Word they believe) will be rewarded (Hebrews 11 vs 6).

Obedience to the engagement of the Word as well as observance of the declaration, is doing the Will of God, that is obeying the Word of God. Consequently obeying God; living the life of obedience and observance, guarantees a partnership with God in living your life, and ensures an ever profitable and classic living.

Prayer: Abba Father, forever, Your Word is settled in heaven. Endue me with Your excellent spirit in the knowledge and faith in Your Word that I may speak Your Word in season and out of season, to the glory and honor of Your name and to my profiting, in Jesus’ Name I have prayed. Amen.

PRAISE THE LORD!

Two Kinds of Opposition to Jesus

 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 UNIMAGINABLE MERCY OF GOD!

 EVERYDAY IN THE WORD!

MONDAY DECEMBER 09, 2024.

SUBJECT: THE UNIMAGINABLE MERCY OF GOD!

Memory verse: “For the mountains shall depart, and the hills be removed; but My kindness shall not depart from you, nor shall My covenant of peace be removed, says the LORD who has mercy on you." (Isaiah 54 vs 10.)

READ: Zechariah 3 vs 1 - 5:

3:1: Then he showed me Joshua the high priest standing before the Angel of the LORD, and Satan standing at his right hand to oppose him.

3:2: And the LORD said to Satan, “The LORD rebuke you, Satan! The LORD who has chosen Jerusalem rebuke you! Is this not a brand plucked from the fire?”

3:3: Now Joshua was clothed with filthy garments, and was standing before the Angel.

3:4: Then He answered and spoke to those who stood before Him, saying, “Take away the filthy garments from him.” And to him he said, “See, I have removed your iniquity from you, and I will clothe you with rich robes.”

3:5: And I said, “Let them put a clean turban on his head. So they put a clean turban on his head, and they put the clothes on him. And the Angel of the LORD stood by.

INTIMATION: 

Mercy signifies, in general, to feel sympathy with the misery of another, and especially sympathy manifested in act. Therefore, “mercy” has been defined as “not giving a person what he or she deserves.” This is exactly what God does for us. Our disobedience demands judgement! But God shows mercy toward us by providing an escape from sin’s penalty through Jesus Christ, who alone saves us from sin. When we pray for forgiveness, we are asking for what we do not deserve. Yet when we take this step and trust in Christ’s saving work on our behalf, we can experience God’s forgiveness.

In the passage we read today, Zechariah’s vision graphically portrays how we receive God’s mercy. We do nothing ourselves. God removes our filthy garments (sins), then provides us with fine, new clothes (the righteousness and holiness of God (Second Corinthians 5 bs 21; Ephesians 4 bs 24; Revelation 19 vs 8)). All we need do is repent and ask God to forgive us. When Satan tries to make you feel dirty and unworthy, remember that the clean clothes of Christ’s righteousness make you worthy to draw near to God. 

Satan accused (“opposed”) Joshua, who here represents the nation of Israel. The accusations were accurate—Joshua stood in filthy garments (sin). Yet God revealed His mercy, stating that He chose to save His people in spite of their sin. Satan is always accusing people of their sins before God. But he greatly misunderstands the breadth of God’s mercy and forgiveness toward those who believe in Him (Regelation 12 vs 10), for everyone who is a believer will be saved (John 3 vs 16). To be prepared, we can ask God to remove our clothing of sin and dress us with His goodness. 

God’s mercy is unbelievable. It goes far beyond what we can imagine. In accordance with His nature of being merciful, God wants to forgive us and bring us back to Himself. Some people will not learn this until their world has crashed in around them. Then the sorrow and pain seem to open their eyes to what God has been saying all along. God is so merciful that many times He holds us back from sinning against Him in ways we cannot even detect. Yes, most of the times, we have no way of knowing. God works just as often in ways we can’t see as in ways we can. 

Countless times throughout the Bible we see God showing His love and patience toward men and women in order to save them. Although He realizes that their hearts are evil, He continues to try to reach them. When we sin or fall away from God, we surely deserve to be destroyed by His judgement. But God has promised never again to destroy everything on earth until the judgement day when Christ returns to destroy evil forever

If God gives us the justice that we deserve, none would be able to stand before Him. But the human nature often makes us cry for justice when we feel abused and unfairly treated. In those moments, we forget the reality of our own sin and the righteous judgement we deserve. How fortunate we are that God gives us mercy and grace rather than only justice. The next time you ask God for fair treatment, pause to think what would happen if God gave you what you really deserve. Plead instead for His mercy. If God treated us as with justice alone and not with mercy, we would be wiped out by God’s wrath. God in His kindness forgives us instead of giving us what we deserve. 

Are you separated from God by sin? No matter how far you have wandered, God promises a fresh beginning if only you will turn to Him. Mercy is the nature and act of God, and peace is the resulting experience in the heart of man. 

Prayer: Abba Father, there is nothing I can do to thank you enough for Your mercy that has never failed me. I will stop at nothing to declare at all times Your goodness and mercy in my life. Endue me with the spirit of good works in response to Your unfailing mercy in my life, in Jesus’ Name I have prayed. Amen.

PRAISE THE LORD!

Bethlehem’s Supernatural Star

 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.

ESSENTIALS OF FAITH THAT PLEASES GOD!

 EVERYDAY IN THE WORD!

SUNDAY DECEMBER 08, 2024.

SUBJECT : ESSENTIALS OF FAITH THAT PLEASES 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: James 2 vs 20 - 26:

2:20: But do you want to know, O foolish man, that faith without works is dead?

2:21: Was not Abraham our father justified by works, when he had offered Isaac his son upon the altar?

2:22: Do you see that faith was working together with his works, and by works faith was made perfect?

2:23: And the Scripture was fulfilled which says, “Abraham believed God, and it was accounted to him for righteousness.” And he was called the friend of God.

2:24: You see then that a man is justified by works, and not by faith only.

2:25: Likewise, was not Rahab the harlot justified by works when she received the messengers and sent them out another way?

2:26: For as the body without the spirit is dead, so faith without works is dead also.

INTIMATION:

The Bible also shows us that not just any faith will do. We cannot expect God to be pleased with a faith just because we approve of it. The faith that pleases God is a belief that comes from God, not from some other source or from within ourselves. Therefore, the essentials of the faith that pleases God must be (1) Faith in Christ, (2) Obedient faith, (3) Faith that passes the test. 

1. Must be Faith in Christ. 

There is a popular idea that you need a genuine and enthusiastic faith of some kind, but it doesn't really matter what you believe. It could be a belief in yourself, or your guardian angel, or the spirits of your ancestors, or in the earth mother, or in a god, or in some great teacher. God teaches us however, that only faith in His Son Jesus Christ will be pleasing to Him. Since Jesus Christ is the only way to God the Father, it is very essential for all people to have faith in Him (See John 3 vs 16 & 36; 14 vs 6). 

2. Must be obedient faith with works.

Though we are not justified by what we do in any way, but true faith always results in good deeds. Faith brings us salvation, active obedience demonstrates that our faith is genuine. The deeds referred to here is good deeds toward one’s fellow man. Such deeds are the manifestation of one’s faith. 

There is this popular idea that faith stands alone and is not complemented by anything, certainly not by anything we do. It is a belief without works, and cannot be perfected by works. But this is not true. The Bible certainly teaches that works on their own, without belief, are useless. The apostle Paul especially makes this clear. However, this does not mean that works are out of the question, because the Bible also certainly teaches that belief on its own, without works, is equally useless. James especially makes this clear. So we need to know that neither works alone nor belief alone will please God. (See James 2 vs 20 - 24.) 

3. Must be Faith that passes life’s tests.

Another popular idea is that faith makes all troubles go away, and if you have troubles then this shows a lack of belief on your part. This was not true for Job. His troubles came because he had faith rather than because he lacked it. The same was true of the apostle Paul. Disciples of Christ may find their belief tested by troubles. This is not a time to question your belief, but rather a time to lean on it. A faith that endures through trials is pleasing to God.

The godly life in Christ brings persecution because Satan will rise up against all that God represents in this world. Certainly God uses Satan’s work against him, therefore, many trials are an occasion for spiritual growth and development of character. Since God uses Satan’s work against him, then persecution and trials manifest that God is going to use Satan’s work to accomplish something that is good in the life of every believer in that stead. (See James 1 vs 2 - 3; First Peter 5 vs 6 - 11.)

Let us, therefore, covet the faith that will make us well pleasing to God. The apostle Paul states thus; “Therefore we make it our aim, whether present or absent, to be well pleasing to Him. For we must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ; that each one may receive the things done in his body, according to what he has done, whether good or bad.” (Second Corinthians 5 vs 9 - 10.)

Prayer: Abba Father, thank You immensely for the gift of Your Son, Jesus Christ, and Your grace to build up myself on my most holy faith in Him. I most sincerely wish to covet the faith pleasing to You, that I may please You in my good works, in Jesus’ Name I have prayed, Amen.

PRAISE THE LORD!

Messiah for the Magi

 Messiah for the Magi

Now after Jesus was born in Bethlehem of Judea in the days of Herod the king, behold, wise men from the east came to Jerusalem, saying, “Where is he who has been born king of the Jews?” (Matthew 2:1–2)

Unlike Luke, Matthew does not tell us about the shepherds coming to visit Jesus in the stable. His focus is immediately on foreigners — Gentiles, non-Jews — coming from the east to worship Jesus.

So, Matthew portrays Jesus at the beginning and ending of his Gospel as a universal Messiah for all the nations, not just for Jews.

Here the first worshipers are court magicians, or astrologers, or wise men not from Israel but from the East — perhaps from Babylon. They were Gentiles. Unclean, according to the Old Testament ceremonial laws.

And at the end of Matthew, the last words of Jesus are, “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. Go therefore and make disciples of all nations” (Matthew 28:18–19).

This not only opened the door for us Gentiles to rejoice in the Messiah; it added proof that he was the Messiah. Because one of the repeated prophecies was that the nations and kings would, in fact, come to him as the ruler of the world. For example, Isaiah 60:3, “Nations shall come to your light, and kings to the brightness of your rising.” 

So, Matthew adds proof to the messiahship of Jesus and shows that he is Messiah — a King, and Promise-Fulfiller — for all the nations, not just Israel.