“Glory to God in the highest”

“Glory to God in the highest, And on earth peace, goodwill toward men!”   Luke 2:14

I wonder if some of us get our Christmas theology more from greeting cards than from the Bible.  Of course many (most?) Christmas (holiday?) greeting cards have had all things Christmas sponged away, but even the so-called “religious cards” tend to upend things a bit.  Many religious Christmas cards declare, “Peace on earth, good will toward men.”  That’s from the Bible, but is it possible that it is commonly misunderstood as something other than what it means in the Bible?

Conventional wisdom says the phrase means that because of Christmas we should all get along.  That is a nice idea.  I wish it were true.  To get at the real meaning, we need to read the rest of what the angels said that first Christmas.  “Glory to God in the highest” must precede the “peace on earth” part.  Why?  Because it is only as we acknowledge the glory of God that we can experience the peace on earth part.

But that’s not all, the “peace on earth” part is not primarily about peace between ourselves.  Jesus Christ came to make peace between all of us and God.  Though few are willing to acknowledge it, every time any of us disobeys God in even the smallest way, our disobedience is a declaration of war against God.  Jesus came to put an eternal end to that greatest of all hostilities.  He came as a Baby so He could die as a Man, so that we may be forgiven of our sins, so that there may be peace on earth between sinful men and our holy God.

I hope you have experienced the “peace on earth” part which is available only to those who have declared “glory to God in the highest.”  Merry Christmas!

The absolute sufficiency of Christ

And she will bring forth a Son, and you shall call His name Jesus, for He will save His people from their sins. Matthew 1:21

 “HE shall save.”  Jesus is the only Savior.  He needs no help from a church, from saints, from His blessed mother Mary, or from you or me.  Our works add nothing.  No amount of education, money, or good works can add anything to His finished work on the bloody cross and the empty tomb.  He shall save!

“He shall SAVE His people FROM THEIR SINS.”  From sin’s penalty, power, and someday from sin’s presence.  He saves me from my sin, not only by forgiving me of my sins, but also by providing me with His righteousness.  He forgives me not only in part, but in whole, taking away all my sin and shame.  All past sins,  all present sins, and all sins that I have not yet committed.  The big and the small sins.  The ones I am aware of and the ones I commit without thought or notice.  He forgives me, not by looking the other way as though my sins do not matter, but by taking them upon Himself.  He took my sins and the consequence for my sins and delivered me from sin’s death grip on my life.  He saved me from my sins with His holy and precious blood.

“He shall save HIS PEOPLE from their sins.”  His people are those who acknowledge that their ultimate and singular problem, is sin before a holy and righteous God.  Sin corrupts not only my spirit, but also my mind and will, leaving me unable and unwilling to reform myself.  Apart from God’s grace I have no desire for God.  I have no capacity to believe Him.  Why?  Because sin corrupted me at the core of my being.  That I do believe is due to His grace alone.  That  I do believe is because I am one of His people—one of those He came to save.

When we don’t know what God is doing

But while he thought about these things, behold, an angel of the Lord appeared to him in a dream…
Matthew 1:20

The Lord dispatched Gabriel to tell Mary about her miraculous pregnancy before she conceived.  But God didn’t say anything to Joseph until after (1) Mary was “found with child of the Holy Spirit” and (2) Joseph had to wrestle with what to do about his pregnant fiancé.  Why did God tell Mary before the fact and not Joseph until considerably later?

I cannot answer for God, and since His Word doesn’t address this question, I won’t speculate.  But consider:

• God doesn’t have to let us in on what He is doing.  That He does (when He does) is grace.  As for the timing of God’s communiqués, that too is entirely up to Him.

• When we do have to wait, and sometimes struggle with what is happening in our lives, waiting teaches us patience—a fruit of the Spirit.  Joseph’s struggles revealed his good and kind heart in not wanting to make a public example of Mary.

• In addition to the opportunity to grow in patience and see what is in our hearts, not knowing what God is up to affords us an opportunity to trust God, and give Him what He prizes in us above all things: faith (Heb. 11:6).

Joseph had to wait, but in waiting, the sovereignty of God was displayed, the heart of Joseph was revealed, and the man God chose to raise His Son grew in faith.

Celebrating Advent as a Family

But Mary kept all these things and pondered them in her heart.
Luke 2:19

Most of us have lots of Christmas memories.  I hope that yours are good.  Mine are.  The first Christmas sure did provide a bundle of memories for Mary.  The things that filled her heart, no doubt, gave her much to ponder for the rest of her life.

• Advent devotions make for some great Christmas memories.  Here are a few simple pointers:

• You may not be able to do it every day, but you can do it some days.  Do as many days as you can.

• Use an Advent devotional book.  Profit from the ideas others have found beneficial.

• Be sensitive to the ages of your children.  You will have to adapt the devotionals so young kids will understand the main point.  Make it fun.  (Children love lighting and blowing out candles!)

• Read Scripture.

• Pray, giving everyone a chance to pray aloud.  Try praying for those to whom you sent Christmas cards, or those who sent you cards.  Use this to teach your children how to pray aloud in a group setting.

• Sing at least one Christmas song.

• It is great to do Advent devotions with a family, but if you are alone, make it a special time just between you and the Lord.

Make some memories.

Thanksgiving 2024

Oh come, let us sing to the LORD! Let us shout joyfully to the Rock of our salvation.  2 Let us come before His presence with thanksgiving; Let us shout joyfully to Him with psalms.
Psalm 95:1-2 

This Thursday is Thanksgiving Day for the people of the United States.  That’s good.  We need to be reminded to be thankful. We have so much to be thankful for as a nation—even in these spiritually dark times.

For the people of the Kingdom of God, it is Thanksgiving Day every day, and on into eternity.  And yes, we need to be reminded as well.  We have even more to be thankful for.  We are saved by (v.1) the “Rock of our salvation,” Jesus Christ, who loved us and gave Himself for us.  Ps. 95:3 reminds us that the Lord is “the great God, and the great King above all gods.”  We are reminded (vv.4-5) that He is the Creator and ruler over all things. 

Let us meditate on our Creator, our Savior, and our King.  And then let us spontaneously “Come before His presence with thanksgiving and shout joyfully to Him with psalms.” (v.2)  Let us “worship and bow down; let us kneel before the Lord our God, our Maker!” (v.6)

Since He never changes and since we owe not only our salvation but our existence to Him, truly every day is Thanksgiving Day!

What is finished?

So when Jesus had received the sour wine, He said, "It is finished!" And bowing His head, He gave up His spirit. John 19:30

Jesus’ cry, “It is finished!” was more than a reference to the end of His sufferings on that cruel Roman cross.  More importantly, it is a reference to the end of sacrifices for sin. 

Who but God knows how many animals were sacrificed in the Old Testament tabernacle and temple?  The sacrifices all ended when our Great His Priest offered Himself, the spotless Lamb of God as the once-for-all, never-to-be-repeated sacrifice for all of the sins of all of the people who would ever be saved.

No more sacrifices for sins!  Why?  Because Jesus is more efficacious than any and every other sacrifice for sin.

Now that our sins are completely and forever atoned for, we offer only the sacrifices of praise  (Hebrews 13:15), and of holy living (Romans 12:1).  And we do not offer these for forgiveness, but because forgiveness is complete in Christ!

Jesus on serving

"Then the righteous will answer Him, saying, 'Lord, when did we see You hungry and feed You, or thirsty and give You drink? When did we see You a stranger and take You in, or naked and clothe You? Or when did we see You sick, or in prison, and come to You?' And the King will answer and say to them, 'Assuredly, I say to you, inasmuch as you did it to one of the least of these My brethren, you did it to Me.' Matthew 25:37-40

From these words we learn at least two truths:

First, serving others is important.  It is specifically important to serve the least deserving, and those Christ calls His brethren (Christians).

This text does not mean that we can earn Heaven by serving.  Rather, serving validates our salvation because the redeemed serve.

Second, did you notice that the righteous didn’t think they served Christ by serving others?  Why is that?  I suspect there is an answer besides the obvious.  True servants are so engaged in serving, they are virtually unaware that they are serving because their focus is on serving others, not on what fine servants they are.

As the redeemed, let us be servants because we are saved by God’s grace.  Let us, without thought of self, serve as Christ serves us.  When we do, we serve Him.

Discerning which matters are essential, and which are not

Now John answered Him, saying, “Teacher, we saw someone who does not follow us casting out demons in Your name, and we forbade him because he does not follow us.” But Jesus said, “Do not forbid him…  For he who is not against us is on our side.” Mark 9:38-40

Here Jesus says that just because someone is not “with us,” that does not mean the person is “against us.”  Yet in another place (Matthew 12:30), Jesus said that if a person is not “for us,” the person is against us.”  Which is it?

Though it may seem like it, this is not a contradiction—if we understand both the two contexts and the heart of the Lord Jesus.

In the first instance, the meaning is that just because a person is not apart of our group, that doesn’t necessarily mean he is against us.  Such is the case with Christians who are not all members of the same church or group of churches.  We do not all have to agree on every detail.

However, when a person does not adhere to the essentials of the faith, that person is not with Christ, even though that one identifies him/herself as a Christian.

The challenge is to discern which matters are weighty enough to say we must be in agreement, and which matters leave room for differences.  The bottom line is not whether people are one with our group, but are they one with Christ and the gospel?  And when in doubt, let us seek to be more gracious than rigid.

Do you want to go away, too?

Then Jesus said to the twelve, "Do you also want to go away?" But Simon Peter answered Him, "Lord, to whom shall we go? You have the words of eternal life. John 6:67-68

Speaking of the level of commitment to Christ required of those who trust in Him for salvation, Jesus spoke figuratively of the need for believers to eat His flesh and drink His blood (v.53 & 63).  Many misunderstood and stopped following Him (v.66).

Turning to the twelve, Jesus asked if they too wanted to go away as well (v.67).  Peter wisely acknowledged that they could not forsake Him, because Jesus possessed, and therefore spoke, the words of eternal life (v.68).

When a person understands that following Jesus, and never turning away from Him, is the only way to inherit eternal life—where else could we possibly go?.  When we hear and understand the gospel, trust in, and follow Jesus—where else could we possibly go?

Those who understand this are virtually assured to experience temptations, and trials, and even persecution.  As difficult as these may be, and as often as we may temporarily stumble, those who are born again by the Holy Spirit of God will never ultimately forsake the Lord!

"But I say to you..."

"You have heard that it was said to those of old… But I say to you…” Matthew 5:21-22

Numerous times in the Sermon on the Mount Jesus proclaimed the words "You have heard that it was said to those of old… But I say to you…” 

In Jesus’ day, the religious leaders were known for citing various rabbis to add authority to their words.  Jesus reminded His hearers of what they had heard from esteemed rabbis. 

The Old Testament prophets frequently introduced their words, saying, “Thus says the Lord…”  They did this to remind their hearers that what they were about to hear were God’s words, not their own words.

By saying: “But I say,” Jesus claimed higher authority than the rabbis.

Likewise, Jesus set His word above even the prophets.  By saying, “But I say,” He was claiming to be God!

The God of the impossible

“The book of the genealogy of Jesus Christ, the Son of David, the Son of Abraham…” Matthew 1:1

YAY! It is October when most who read through the Bible plans start reading the New Testament!  So, how does Matthew begin?  With a genealogy.  Genealogies are not usually the most riveting reading, but the two genealogies of Jesus given in Matthew 1 and Luke 3 remind us of two essential truths about Jesus.  Matthew’s record traces Joseph’s family tree back to Abraham.  Luke’s gives record of Mary’s lineage clear back to Adam. 

Joseph and Mary were both from the kingly tribe of Judah, and were both descendants of David but their genealogies followed different paths.

It is noteworthy that Matthew doesn’t say Jesus was Joseph’s son.  He wasn’t.  It says Joseph was “the husband of Mary, of whom was born Jesus.”  Mary was Jesus’ mother, but Joseph was not Jesus’ father.  This affirms the virgin birth.

There is no possible way to orchestrate that—unless you are God.  He is and He did.

Be encouraged that Jesus is our Savor, and that no matter what you may be going through—God has everything under His sovereign, powerful, and loving control!

God's Word calls for response

“This day is holy to the Lord your God; do not mourn nor weep.” For all the people wept, when they heard the words of the Law. Then he said to them, “Go your way, eat the fat, drink the sweet, and send portions to those for whom nothing is prepared; for this day is holy to our Lord. Do not sorrow, for the joy of the Lord is your strength.” Nehemiah  8:9-10

The people of Nehemiah’s day wept when they heard the Law, not because it was so beautiful, but because it was so damning.  Nehemiah encouraged the people to stop weeping, to rejoice that they had God’s law (to know what God expects), and to joyfully engage in charity and obedience.

What should be the reaction of we who not only have God’s law (which condemns) but also the Gospel of Jesus Christ by which we are forgiven, and delivered from the Law’s curse? 

First, let us weep for joy over the Gospel’s liberation.  While all are not given to shedding actual tears, those who are not moved by the gospel in light of the Law may not have understood the Gospel.

Second, no one has or ever will be right with God because of their obedience or charitable acts.  The only way to be right with God is through faith in Jesus Christ and in what He has done for us by taking our sin and guilt upon Himself on the cross.  We who have received His gift of forgiveness are to be employed with joyful obedience and charitable deeds—not to gain God’s approval, but because He has made us acceptable through simple faith in Christ. 

So, hear the Law and the Gospel.  React in joy and in grateful obedience.  It is the fitting response by those who get it.

Hose house are we working on?

3Then the word of the Lord came by Haggai the prophet, saying,  4“Is it time for you yourselves to dwell in your paneled houses, and this temple to lie in ruins?” 5Now therefore, thus says the Lord of hosts: “Consider your ways! 6“You have sown much, and bring in little; You eat, but do not have enough; You drink, but you are not filled with drink; You clothe yourselves, but no one is warm; And he who earns wages, Earns wages to put into a bag with holes.” Haggai 1:3-6

The problems God’s people faced in Haggai’s day were really no different from the problems in ours.  Working much and ending up with little.  Eating and drinking, but never having enough.  And no matter how many hours we work or how much money we make, there is always more month at the end of the money.

Haggai was God’s alarm clock sounding to awaken the people from their spiritual slumber.  The message: “The reason for your problems is that you are building your own houses to the neglect of the house of God.”

In Haggai’s day the neglected temple was a literal building.  The household of God that is neglected today is the church (not the building).  As it was in Haggai’s day, so it is today.  Many who profess faith in Christ are pouring themselves into their houses to the neglect of the house of God.  What houses are we pouring ourselves into to the neglect of the church?  For some it is literal houses.  Others drain themselves on their careers.  Others, trying to raise families make idols out of their children.  A complete list would include everything that people could care about—that is allowed to eclipse God in the hustle-bustle busyness of life.

When the alarm sounded to the people of Jerusalem in 520 B.C., they got to work and the temple was built.  Whoever has ears, let him hear the alarm that has been ringing ever since Haggai.

Not converted. Not converted. Converted!

Now I, Nebuchad-nezzar, praise and extol and honor the King of heaven, all of whose works are truth, and His ways justice. And those who walk in pride He is able to put down. Daniel 4:37

King Nebuchadnezzer had an encounter with Daniel’s God when Daniel interpreted the king’s dream in Daniel 2.  He reacted by proclaiming that Daniel’s  God was the “God of gods” (2:47).  But the king remained unconverted.

In Daniel 3, the king witnessed a miracle as the three Jews survived the fiery furnace.  As a result, he proclaimed that “there is no God who can deliver like this” (3:29).  But he remained unconverted.

In Daniel 4, God gave the king a prophetic dream about what was to happen to him.  Daniel interpreted the dream, challenging the king to repent, to avoid judgment.  The King disregarded the warning.  God gave him a whole year to repent, but instead of humbling himself, he swelled in His pride. 

So God struck the king with insanity for seven years after which he looked up to God.  His sanity was restored and he became a worshiper of the one true and living God (4:34). This time the king was converted!

A key lesson to be learned from this brief overview of these three stories from Daniel is that salvation is not based witnessing miracles, or even on words acknowledging God as God.  Salvation is by the grace of God, resulting in humbling ourselves before Him, and surrendering to Christ.  Let us not forget that.

The messenger's responsibility

...whoever hears the sound of the trumpet and does not take warning, if the sword comes and takes him away, his blood shall be on his own head. He heard the sound of the trumpet, but did not take warning; his blood shall be upon himself. But he who takes warning will save his life. But if the watchman sees the sword coming and does not blow the trumpet, and the people are not warned, and the sword comes and takes any person from among them, he is taken away in his iniquity; but his blood I will require at the watchman's hand.' Ezekiel 33:4-6

God’s messengers have an awesome responsibility: to declare God’s Word to people.  There is a two-sided principle associated with this.  First, if the messenger faithfully declares God’s message of warning, and the people fail to respond in obedience, their blood is on their own heads.

Second. if the messenger fails to deliver God’s message, and therefore the people do not repent, their blood is on the hands of the messenger!

The purpose for this arraignment is to impress upon the messengers the importance of faithfully delivering God’s message.

This does not mean that if we fail to proclaim the gospel, we will be lost!  It means it is a serious sin to withhold the gospel.  For believers, along with every other sin, this serious sin of failing to declare the gospel was paid for by Christ’s death on the cross.  But that does not lessen the sinfulness of not telling people about Jesus!

Let us thank God that the redeemed will not be lost for failing to evangelize.  And let the redeemed not irresponsibly settle to sin against the Lord by failing to point others to Christ.

We contributed nothing because we had nothing to contribute

'Thus says the Lord GOD to Jerusalem: "Your birth and your nativity are from the land of Canaan; your father was an Amorite and your mother a Hittite. As for your nativity, on the day you were born your navel cord was not cut, nor were you washed in water to cleanse you; you were not rubbed with salt nor wrapped in swaddling cloths. No eye pitied you, to do any of these things for you, to have compassion on you; but you were thrown out into the open field, when you yourself were loathed on the day you were born. "And when I passed by you and saw you struggling in your own blood, I said to you in your blood, 'Live!' Yes, I said to you in your blood, 'Live!' Ezekiel 16:3-6

These are some of the most shockingly graphic verses in the Bible.  For a good portion of the chapter, God recalls His kind grace showered on Israel when she was a discard among the peoples of the earth.  And yet God took pity on a Israel, saving her and making her beautiful.

May encourage you to read the first fourteen verses of chapter 16?  When you do, do not limit your thoughts to Israel.  This story is true (spiritually) of every person God saves.  It is as true of the New Testament Church as it is for OT Israel.  Read the verses and be reminded that when we were without value and unable to do anything for ourselves, He saved us!  He did it all.  We contributed nothing because we had nothing to contribute.

As a footnote, read through to verse 34 in which God chronicles Israel’s rejection of Him and of His love.  Pray with me that we do not act similarly toward the Lord.  

Praise God for His mercy and His patience.

God's faithfulness in the hardest of times

Through the LORD's mercies we are not consumed, Because His compassions fail not. They are new every morning; Great is Your faithfulness.
Lamentations 3:22-23

These verses of comfort and assurance are beloved by many.  And well they should be.

If you have been comforted by Jeremiah’s words, have you ever been struck by the context?  They are in the book of Lamentations.  Webster’s dictionary defines a lamentation as an expression of sorrow, mourning, or regret.  The book of Lamentations is a series of laments penned by the prophet, Jeremiah, when Jerusalem was devastated by the Babylonians.  It was a horrific massacre of people and destruction of the once great city.

The immediate context of chapter three is filled with reminders, not only of the death and destruction at the hands of the Babylonian conquerors, but also that the loss was the righteous will of God in judging His people who, for the most part, had turned away from Him.  God repeatedly warned the people through the prophets, but they refused to repent.

Then in the midst of the sorrows: “Through the LORD's mercies we are not consumed, Because His compassions fail not. They are new every morning; Great is Your faithfulness.”

Two lessons: (1) Even in the midst of the most grim of sad times, our sovereign God is in control and remains compassionate.  (2) May our formerly blessed nation beware, lest God, in His compassion, pulls the plug on our currently godless nation

God warns us because He is compassionate

And the LORD God of their fathers sent warnings to  them by His messengers, rising up early and sending them, because He had compassion on His people and on His dwelling place. But they mocked the messengers of God, despised His words, and scoffed at His prophets, until the wrath of the LORD arose against His people, till there was no remedy. 2 Chronicles 36:15-16

The role and duty of those who are sent by God to proclaim His truth includes comfort and peace.  But more importantly they are sent to warn God’s people with “doctrine, for reproof, for correction, [and] for instruction in righteousness.” (2 Timothy 3:16)

God sends these messengers because He compassionately desires that we repent rather than continue in sin that condemns us.  Strong doctrinal preaching that calls for repentance is evidence of God’s love.

This same preaching is often [usually?] rejected, even by God’s people.

As the scripture clearly promises, those who reject God’s gracious warnings, will in the end suffer God’s righteous wrath.

In the end, there is no remedy from God’s final wrath.

Let us, therefore, worship the Lord for His gracious warnings, heed His words that lead to genuine repentance, and escape His fury by His grace alone.

Spotting and praying for false prophets

Then the prophet Jeremiah said to Hananiah the prophet, “Hear now, Hananiah, the Lord has not sent you, but you make this people trust in a lie.  Therefore thus says the Lord: ‘Behold, I will cast you from the face of the earth. This year you shall die, because you have taught rebellion against the Lord.’” So Hananiah the prophet died the same year in the seventh month.  Jeremiah 28:15-17

Not all “prophets” are prophets of God.  Hananiah is a case in point.  He not only spoke lies to God’s people, he claimed that he was speaking God’s words (v.2).  Like many today who present themselves as messengers of God, Hananiah wanted to speak encouraging words to the people.  That is a noble ambition.  Who doesn’t want to be an encouragement?  Who doesn’t desire to be loved for being the bearer of glad tidings?

But what if God’s message to His people in that place and in that time is not so rosy?  The true prophet of God must faithfully declare the Word of God without regard to the content of the message and how the people might accept or reject it.

Sadly, in every age, including our own, there are many who claim to speak for God who speak only positive, uplifting messages to soothe their hearers and gather a following.

Look at what God’s true prophet had to say to Hananiah the false prophet: “The Lord has not sent you... you make the people trust in a lie… this year you shall die because you have taught rebellion against the Lord.”

May those who claim to speak for God do so with fear and trembling, and may God have mercy on those who play the role of Hananiah in our day.

Might we be more shaken?

“And the posts of the door were shaken...” Isaiah 6:4

These words in Isaiah chapter six relay what happened to Isaiah when he found himself in the presence of the Lord. Upon closer look, the shaking of the place was connected with the singing "Holy, Holy, Holy is the Lord of hosts; the whole earth is full of His glory."

Although we seek God, and His presence—not merely the manifestations of His presence—might our assemblies be more "shaken" if we sang with more awe and wonder at God's presence?

We read of a similar New Testament experience in Acts 4:31. "And when they had prayed, the place where they were assembled together was shaken."

Dear ones, when we assemble together, let us come in a prayerful attitude, pleading for, and anticipating God to manifest His holy presence in our midst.  Let us sing enthusiastically with our hearts, souls, minds, and collective strength (He deserves nothing less).  And let us wait on the Lord to shake not the building, but the hearts of His people.