Two Purposes for Christmas

 

Little children, let no one deceive you. Whoever practices righteousness is righteous, as he is righteous. Whoever makes a practice of sinning is of the devil, for the devil has been sinning from the beginning. The reason the Son of God appeared was to destroy the works of the devil. (1 John 3:7–8)

When 1 John 3:8 says, “The reason the Son of God appeared was to destroy the works of the devil,” what are “the works of the devil” that he has in mind? The answer is clear from the context.

First, 1 John 3:5 is a clear parallel: “You know that he appeared in order to take away sins.” The phrase he appeared to occurs in verse 5 and verse 8. So most likely the “works of the devil” that Jesus came to destroy are sins. The first part of verse 8 makes this virtually certain: “Whoever makes a practice of sinning is of the devil, for the devil has been sinning from the beginning.”

The issue in this context is sinning, not sickness or broken cars or messed up schedules. Jesus came into the world to enable us to stop sinning.

We see this even more clearly if we put this truth alongside the truth of 1 John 2:1: “My little children, I am writing these things to you so that you may not sin.” This is one of the great purposes of Christmas — one of the great purposes of the incarnation (1 John 3:8).

But there is another purpose which John adds in 1 John 2:1–2, “But if anyone does sin, we have an advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous. He is the propitiation for our sins, and not for ours only but also for the sins of the whole world.”

But now look what this means: It means that Jesus appeared in the world for two reasons. He came that we might not go on sinning — that is, he came to destroy the works of the devil (1 John 3:8); and he came so that there would be a propitiation for our sins, if we do sin. He came to be a substitutionary sacrifice that takes away the wrath of God for our sins.

The upshot of this second purpose is not to defeat the first purpose. Forgiveness is not for the purpose of permitting sin. The aim of the death of Christ for our sins is not that we relax our battle against sin. The upshot of these two purposes of Christmas, rather, is that the payment once made for all our sins is the freedom and power that enables us to fight sin not as legalists, earning our salvation, and not as fearful of losing our salvation, but as victors who throw ourselves into the battle against sin with confidence and joy, even if it costs us our lives

SPIRITUAL ADULTERY IS ENMITY WITH GOD!

 

EVERYDAY IN THE WORD!

SATURDAY DECEMBER 24, 2022.

SUBJECT: SPIRITUAL ADULTERY IS ENMITY WITH GOD!

Memory verse: "Do not love the world or the things in the world. If anyone loves the world, the love of the Father is not in him." (First John 2 vs 15.) 

READ: James 4 vs 4 - 6:

4:4: Adulterers and adulteresses! Do you not know that the friendship of the world is enmity with God? Whoever therefore wants to be a friend of the world makes himself an enemy of God.

4:5: Or do you think that the Scripture says in vain, “The Spirit who dwells in us yearns jealousy”?

4:6: But He gives more grace. Therefore He says, “God resists the proud, but gives grace to the humble.”

INTIMATION:

Idolatry, outward or inward, is spiritual adultery—breaking our commitment to God in order to love something else. Turning from the worship of the true God to worshiping idols is idolatry. This can be either inward or outward. When one is not heartily committed to the worship of God, and is attracted to worldliness, it is spiritual adultery. Jesus described the people of His day as adulterous, even though they were religiously strict, because their hearts were far away from total commitment to the worship of the true God. Inwardly and outwardly they had idols they are committed to, and even worshipped other gods. 

As believers and members of the body of Christ—the church—we are the ‘wife’ (or bride) of Christ (Revelation 19 vs 7), and by faith, we can be clothed in His righteousness. Anything outside the total commitment to Him is spiritual adultery. The materialist is an adulterer in that he or she, though a member of the body of Christ, has wedded himself or herself to that which is of this world. Such person has broken the covenant made with Christ in order to give himself or herself to the world. Friendship with the world is enmity with God: If one loves the world, the love of the Father is not in his heart (First John 2 vs 15). Those who love activities and possessions of this world do not love the Father, for they are obsessed with the things of this world. 

Some people think that worldliness is limited to external behavior—the people we associate with, the places we go, the activities we enjoy. Worldliness is also internal because it begins in the heart and is characterized by three attitudes: (1) lust of the flesh—preoccupation with gratifying physical desires; (2) lust of the eyes—covering and accumulating things, bowing to god of materialism; (3) pride of life—obsession with one’s status or importance. When the serpent tempted Eve (Genesis 3 vs 6), he tempted her in these areas. Also, when the devil tempted Jesus in the wilderness, these were his three areas of attack.

It is unnatural for one to live a spiritually adulterous life. God created us to seek Him, not the world (Genesis 1 vs 26). Therefore, the spirit that lusts after the things of this world in order to ignore God had degenerated to the point of allowing Satan to control his or her desires. It is obvious that one cannot love God with the love with which God seeks to be loved, and at the same time, engage himself or herself in the pleasures of this world. However, those who have been consumed with the things of the world have taken their minds off that which is to come. And that which is to come is the destruction of all that for which one had worked in this world (Second Peter 3 vs 10).

God has blessed some believers with money and other possessions. They are wealthy because God has given them power to get it, and they should not allow their wealth to take the first place in their lives other than God. Avoiding spiritual adultery does not mean that the rich must forsake their riches, for many rich people have the gift of making money for the benefit of the work of the church. Though the rich are not obligated to give themselves into poverty, but they must not be obsessed by their wealth, and should be willing to share with others in need. 

Believers are not to attach themselves to the thinking of the world in a way that they are diverted from keeping their minds on those things that above. They must not be directed in their lives by the evil values and morals that are maintained by those deceived by Satan. It is impossible for one to love God with the intensity of love by which God demands that we serve Him, and at the same time, compromise his values and morals by living after the world. 

God extends His grace toward those that have humbly submitted to Him (See Romans 5 vs 20). Those who are arrogant will not submit their lives to the will of God. They resist submission, and thus, God resists giving His grace to them in order that they might be saved. God values self-control, a spirit of generosity, and commitment to humble service. It is possible to give the impression of avoiding worldly pleasures while still harboring worldly attitudes at one’s heart. It is also possible, like Jesus, to love sinners and spend time with them while maintaining a commitment to the values of God’s kingdom. Let nothing take away the first place of God in your life.

Prayer: Abba Father, in You I live, move and have my being. Nothing will ever take the first place in my life other than You. O Lord, give me the grace to forever keep my total commitment and obedience to You, in Jesus’ Name I have prayed, Amen.

PRAISE THE LORD!

SEEK THE LORD WITH ALL YOUR HEART!

 EVERYDAY IN THE WORD!

FRIDAY DECEMBER 23, 2022.

SUBJECT: SEEK THE LORD WITH ALL YOUR HEART!

Memory verse: "I have spoken in secret, in dark place of the earth; I did not say to the seed of Jacob, seek me in vain; I, the LORD, speak righteousness, I declare things that are right." (Isaiah 45 vs 19.)

READ: Jeremiah 29 vs 11 - 13:

29:11: For I know the thoughts that I think toward you, says the LORD, thoughts of peace and not of evil, to give you a future and a hope.

29:12: Then you will call upon Me and go and pray to Me, and I will listen to you.

29:13: And you will seek Me and find Me, when you search for Me with all your heart.

INTIMATION:

God is the Creator, and is present in His creation. He is close to every one of us. But He is not trapped in His creation—He is transcendent. This means that God is sovereign and in control, while at the same time He is close and personal. God owns all things, and according to His wise plan, He predetermines a future for all His creation. Consequently, He urges His people to call upon Him in confidence. His children need not despair because they have God’s presence, the privilege of prayer, and God’s grace. If they seek Him wholeheartedly, He will be found. 

God knows the future; He knows the end from the beginning (Isaiah 46 vs 10). And His plans for us are good and full of hope. As long as God, Who knows the future, provides our agenda and goes with us as we fulfill His mission, we can have boundless hope. This does not mean that we will be spared pain, suffering or hardship, but that God will see us through to a glorious conclusion. 

We are encouraged by a leader who stirs us to move ahead, someone who believes we can do the task he has given and who will be with us all the way. God is that kind of leader. 

God is love, and loves us greatly. He so loved us that He gave His only Son, Jesus Christ, to the world as a propitiation for our sins. Jesus came, took the form of man, suffered all things, and died the death we ought to have died for our sins. What an awesome sacrifice—One given His life for another, exchanging what is of immeasurable value with what is completely worthless—our sinful lives!

The apostle Paul, in Romans 8 vs 32 and 35, clearly asks rhetorically; “He who did not spare His own Son, but delivered Him up for us all, how shall He not with Him also freely give us all things?”.....”Who can separate us from the love of Christ? Shall tribulation, or distress, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or peril or sword?...” 

He answered the questions, saying; “Yet in all these things we are more than conquerors through Him who loved us. For I am persuaded that neither death nor life, nor angels nor principalities nor powers, nor things present nor things to come, nor height nor depth, nor any other created thing, shall be able to separate us from the of God which is in Christ Jesus our Lord” (Romans 8 vs 37 - 39).

Therefore, if God gave His only begotten Son for you, He isn’t going to hold back anything that you require to live for Him. If Christ gave His life for you, He isn’t going to turn around to condemn or abandon you. Neither a strange land, sorrow, persecution, nor physical problems can break our fellowship with God. If God didn’t hesitate to put everything on the line for us, embracing our sinful and worthless condition and exposing Himself to the worst by sending His own Son, is there anything else He wouldn’t gladly and freely do for us? Certainly nothing!

Never despair to seek Him. His promises are public, and their fulfillment is sure. Don’t ever doubt Him. We never have to be uncertain when we have a God of truth and righteousness. In times of dire circumstances, it may appear as though God has forgotten you, but God may be preparing you for a new beginning with Him at the center.

Prayer: Abba Father, Your love for me and for the whole world is unparalleled. I cannot thank You enough for all You have done for me. O Lord, I know Your good thoughts for me, endue me with the spirit of absolute trust in You, obeying You in all things, in Jesus’ Name I have prayed, Amen.

PRAISE THE LORD!

God’s Indescribable Gift

 

If while we were enemies we were reconciled to God by the death of his Son, much more, now that we are reconciled, shall we be saved by his life. More than that, we also rejoice in God through our Lord Jesus Christ, through whom we have now received reconciliation. (Romans 5:10–11)

How do we practically receive reconciliation and exult in God? We do it through Jesus Christ. Which means, at least, that we make the portrait of Jesus in the Bible — that is, the work and the words of Jesus portrayed in the New Testament — we make that portrait the essential content of our exultation over God. Exulting in God without the content of Christ does not honor Christ. And where Christ is not honored, God is not honored.

In 2 Corinthians 4:4–6, Paul describes conversion in two ways. In verse 4, he says it is seeing “the glory of Christ, who is the image of God.” And in verse 6, he says it is seeing “the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ.” In either case you see the point. We have Christ, the image of God, and we have God in the face of Christ.

To exult in God, we exult in what we see and know of God in the portrait of Jesus Christ. And this comes to its fullest experience when the love of God is poured out in our hearts by the Holy Spirit, as Romans 5:5 says. And that sweet, Spirit-given experience of the love of God is mediated to us as we ponder the historical reality of verse 6, “For while we were still weak, at the right time Christ died for the ungodly.”

So here’s the Christmas point. Not only did God purchase our reconciliation through the death of the Lord Jesus Christ (Romans 5:10), and not only did God enable us to receive that reconciliation through the Lord Jesus Christ, but even now we exult in God himself, by the Spirit, through our Lord Jesus Christ (Romans 5:11).

Jesus purchased our reconciliation. Jesus enabled us to receive reconciliation and open the gift. And Jesus himself shines forth as himself the indescribable gift — God in the flesh — and stirs up all our exultation in God.

Look to Jesus this Christmas. Receive the reconciliation that he purchased. Don’t put the gift on the shelf unopened. And when you open it, remember God himself is the gift of reconciliation with God.

Exult in him. Experience him as your pleasure. Know him as your treasure.

GOD OUR SHEPHERD, AND GREAT PROVIDER!

 EVERYDAY IN THE WORD!

THURSDAY DECEMBER 22, 2022.

SUBJECT : GOD OUR SHEPHERD, AND GREAT PROVIDER!

Memory verse: "He who did not spare His own Son, but delivered Him up for us all, how shall He not with Him also freely give us all things?" (Romans 8 vs 32.)

READ: Psalm 23 vs 1 - 5:

23:1: The LORD is my shepherd; I shall not want. 

23:2: He makes me to lie down in green pastures; He leads me beside the still waters.

23:3: He restores my soul; He leads me in the paths of righteousness for His name's sake.

23:4: Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil; For You are with me; Your rod and Your staff, they comfort me.

23:5: You prepare a table before me in the presence of my enemies; You anoint my head with oil. My cup runs over.

23:6: Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life; and I will dwell in the house of the LORD forever.

 

INTIMATION:

God is our provider or supplier of our every need. The apostle Peter says this, "According as His divine power has given us all things that pertain unto life and godliness, through the knowledge of Him that has called to glory and virtue" (Second Peter 1 vs 3). If He could give His life, what else can He not give us to lead a godly life. Because we don't have the resources to be truly godly, God allows us to "be partakers of His divine nature" in order to keep us from sin and help us live for Him. We receive this empowerment by the Holy Spirit at conversion. 

God knows the things we have need of before you ask Him (Matthew 6 vs 8), and we can trust Him to always meet our needs. Whatever we need on earth He will always supply, even if it is the courage to face death as Apostle Paul did. 

A shepherd takes care of the sheep. Figuratively, Jesus is referred to as the "Shepherd," of God's people - the "sheep." In John 10 vs 11, Jesus called Himself the "Good Shepherd." Who gives His life for the sheep. The sheep are completely dependent on the shepherd for provision, guidance, and protection. Jesus gives life. The life He gives right now is abundantly rich and full, and lived on a higher plane because of His overflowing forgiveness, love, and guidance. The life He gives is eternal, yet it begins immediately you embrace Him. In contrast, the thief—the devil—who steals, kills, and destroys. 

In Hebrews 13 vs 20, Jesus is called the "Great Shepherd." "Now may the God of peace who brought up our Lord Jesus from the dead, that great Shepherd of the sheep, through the blood of the everlasting covenant, make you complete in every good work to do His Will, working in you what is pleasing in His sight, through Jesus Christ, to whom be glory forever and ever. Amen." (Hebrews 13 vs 20 - 21.)

The verses detail the great significant results of His death and resurrection. These are; (1) His works in us to make us the kind of people that would please Him, and (2) He equips us to do the kind of work that would please Him. 

Jesus is also, referred to as the "Chief Shepherd" (First Peter 5 vs 4), who, on His return, will judge all people and give rewards of "crown of glory" that is eternal and unchanging to His faithful followers.

The Lord Jesus is the good shepherd, and we are His sheep, His obedient followers, and are wise enough to follow one who will lead us in the right places and in the right ways. When we allow God, our shepherd, to guide us, we have contentment. He knows the "green pastures" and "still waters" that will restore us. We will reach these places only by following Him obediently. When we choose to sin and go our own way, however, we cannot blame God for the environment we create for ourselves. Rebelling against the shepherd's leading is actually rebelling against our own best interests. 

Death casts a frightening shadow over us because we are entirely helpless in its presence. We can struggle with other enemies—pains, suffering, disease, injury and so on, but strength and courage cannot overcome death. It has the final word. Only one person can walk with us through death's dark valley and bring us safely to the other side—the God of life, our Shepherd. Because life is uncertain, we should follow this shepherd who offers us eternal comfort.

God offers us the protection of a host even when enemies surround us. The psalmist gave the coloration of the culture of the ancient Near East; At a feast, it was customary to anoint a person with fragrant oil. Hosts were also expected to protect their guests at all costs. Therefore, when He prepares a table before us in the presence of our enemies, He protects us, and anoints our head with oil. 

In the final scene of this psalm in the passage we read today, we see that believers will dwell with the Lord. God, the perfect shepherd and host, promises to guide and protect us throughout our lives and bring us into His house forever.

We must remember, however, the difference between our wants and needs. Most people want to feel good and avoid discomfort or pain. But our deepest needs are spiritual. Many Christians, even though they face unbearable poverty and hardship, still have enough spiritual nourishment to live for God. To have God is to have all you really need. God is enough. 

If you feel you don't have everything you need, ask (1) Is this really a need? (2) Is this really good for me? (3) Is this the best time to have what I desire? Even if you answer yes to all three questions, God may allow you to go without it, to help you grow more dependent on Him. He may want you to learn that you need Him more than you need to achieve your immediate desires. We may not get all that we want. By trusting in Christ, our attitudes and appetites can change from wanting anything to accepting His provision and power to live for Him.

Prayer: Abba Father, You are my Shepherd and Provider. Lead me in the path of righteousness that I may always dwell in Your presence. Give me the grace to serve You acceptably with  the talents, abilities, and resources You have given me, this is my utmost heart desire, in Jesus' Name I have prayed, Amen.

PRAISE THE LORD!

That You May Believe

 

Now Jesus did many other signs in the presence of the disciples, which are not written in this book; but these are written so that you may believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God, and that by believing you may have life in his name. (John 20:30–31)

I feel so strongly that among those of us who have grown up in church and who can recite the great doctrines of our faith in our sleep, and yet who can yawn through the Apostles’ Creed — that among us something must be done to help us once more feel the awe, the fear, the astonishment, the wonder of the Son of God, begotten by the Father from all eternity, reflecting all the glory of God, being the very image of his person, through whom all things were created, upholding the universe by the word of his power.

You can read every fairy tale that was ever written, every mystery thriller, every ghost story, and you will never find anything so shocking, so strange, so weird and spellbinding as the story of the incarnation of the Son of God.

How dead we are! How callous and unfeeling to your glory and your story, O God! How often have I had to repent and say, “God, I am sorry that the stories men have made up stir my emotions, my awe and wonder and admiration and joy, more than your own true story.”

Perhaps the galactic movie thrillers of our day can do at least this good for us: they can humble us and bring us to repentance, by showing us that we really are capable of some of the wonder and awe and amazement that we so seldom feel when we contemplate the eternal God and the cosmic glory of Christ and a real living contact between them and us in Jesus of Nazareth.

When Jesus said, “For this purpose I have come into the world” (John 18:37), he said something as crazy and weird and strange and eerie as any statement in science fiction that you have ever read.

Oh, how I pray for a breaking forth of the Spirit of God upon me and upon you; for the Holy Spirit to break into my experience in a frightening way, to wake me up to the unimaginable reality of God.

One of these days lightning is going to fill the sky from the rising of the sun to its setting, and there is going to appear in the clouds the Son of Man with his mighty angels in flaming fire. And we will see him clearly. And whether from terror or sheer excitement, we will tremble and we will wonder how we ever lived so long with such a domesticated, harmless Christ.

These things are written — the whole Bible is written — that we might believe — that we might be stunned and awakened to the wonder — that Jesus Christ is the Son of God who came into the world.

The Birth of the Ancient of Days

 

Then Pilate said to him, “So you are a king?” Jesus answered, “You say that I am a king. For this purpose I was born and for this purpose I have come into the world — to bear witness to the truth. Everyone who is of the truth listens to my voice.” (John 18:37)

This is a great Christmas text even though it comes from the very end of Jesus’s life on earth, not the beginning.

Notice: Jesus says not only that he was born, but that he “came into the world.” The uniqueness of his birth is that he did not originate at his birth. He existed before he was born in a manger. The personhood, the character, the personality of Jesus of Nazareth existed before the man Jesus of Nazareth was born.

The theological word to describe this mystery is not creation, but incarnation. The person, not the body, but the essential personhood of Jesus existed before he was born as man. His birth was not a coming into being of a new person, but a coming into the world of an infinitely old person.

Micah 5:2 puts it like this, 700 years before Jesus was born:

But you, O Bethlehem Ephrathah, who are too little to be among the clans of Judah, from you shall come forth for me one who is to be ruler in Israel, whose coming forth is from of old, from ancient days.

The mystery of the birth of Jesus is not merely that he was born of a virgin. That miracle was intended by God to witness to an even greater one; namely, that the child born at Christmas was a person who existed “from of old, from ancient days.”

And, therefore, his birth was purposeful. Before he was born he thought about being born. Together with his Father there was a plan. And part of that great plan he spoke in the last hours of his life on earth: “For this purpose I was born and for this purpose I have come into the world — to bear witness to the truth. Everyone who is of the truth listens to my voice” (John 18:37).

He was the eternal Truth. He spoke only the truth. He acted out the greatest truth of love. And he is gathering into his eternal family all those who are born of the truth. This was the plan from ancient days