Caesar or Jesus?

And it came to pass in those days that a decree went out from Caesar Augustus that all the world should be registered.
Luke 2:1 

The first name mentioned in the Christmas story is not Mary or Joseph, or even Jesus.  It is Caesar Augustus.  This man was great by virtually any measure.  He was the adopted son of Julius, who in effect founded the Roman Empire.  Augustus was a great military commander, defeating his arch rival Mark Antony for control of the empire.  He was a great religious reformer; one who believed that immorality and a lack of religion threatened the very fabric of Roman society.  He enacted many laws that promoted religion and morals, proclaiming himself the high priest of the religion of Rome.

This great man said he wanted the people of the empire to be counted, and that each had to go back to his own ancestral home to do so—and the world did as Augustus bid them.  Out of the millions of people who populated the Roman Empire, Joseph and Mary traveled to Bethlehem where their son Jesus was born. 

Augustus certainly never read their names on any census form—they simply were not important.  And yet, when historians mark the date of Augustus’ death, they say he died in 14 A.D.  The death of this once great man is dated in time based on the birth of the One not important enough to find a room in Bethlehem that holy night.  Kings and kingdoms will all pass away, but Jesus endures forever.

Thanking God for, what?

My brethren, count it all joy when you fall into various trials…
James 1:2

This week is Thanksgiving. 

Though we ought to be thankful year-round, Thanksgiving is a wonderful reminder of how much we have to be thankful for.  Of course, we tend to give thanks most readily for pleasant things.

But James reminds us that even our trials and tribulations, great or small, are also reasons for joyous thanksgiving.  Why? 

Not because they feel good in the moment, but because we know God is in control of all things—and because He purposes “various trials” for our good.  Trials test our faith.  Trials grow our patience.  Trials make us more like Christ.

So enjoy the pleasant things this Thanksgiving, but take a special moment to rejoice even in your trials.

Signs & wonders, and changed hearts

“He saved others; Himself He cannot save. If He is the King of Israel, let Him now come down from the cross, and we will believe Him.”  Matthew 27:42

How many times did Jesus’ spiritual enemies promise to believe Him? A bunch! They said these things though they had already seen Him do signs and wonders.  But they continued to ask Him to perform signs and wonders, promising to believe.  An observation and a suggestion:

First, signs and wonders do not cause anyone to believe. The Pharaoh who witnessed the plagues in Egypt but never believed is proof of that!  Rather than causing anyone to believe, if they do anything, signs and wonders confirm the faith of those who already do believe.  Because many of us feel desperation for non-believing family and friends, we are tempted to pray that when trials take place in that person’s life, that trauma, or a subsequent deliverance from the trauma by Lord will cause them to believe.

Second, knowing that people only believe because God graciously changes hardened unbelieving hearts into tender believing hearts, pray instead that God would demonstrate His mercy by changing their hearts—as only He can do. And don’t stop praying as long as that unbelieving friend or loved one is alive.  Who knows what God may do, or when!

Why did Cain kill his brother Able?

Now Cain talked with Abel his brother; and it came to pass, when they were in the field, that Cain rose up against Abel his brother and killed him.
Genesis 4:8

Why did Cain kill his brother Able?  Because God respected Abel’s worship, but not Cain’s (Genesis 4:3-7).  The first murder recorded in the Bible was about worship, and was therefore the first instance of religious persecution as well.  Incredibly, these were the first two offspring of the first two parents in human history, yet one killed the other as an act of religious persecution.  Religious persecution is not new.  And it continues to this day.

So we ask again, why did Cain kill his brother Abel?  Because he was resentfully angry that God respected Abel’s worship that he offered in faith (Hebrews 11:4).  Those who do not come to God through faith in Jesus Christ, or who do not worship God according to His Word hate those who do.  Their hateful anger is aimed at God for not accepting them on their own terms.  And as a result, since they cannot attack God directly, they take it out on God’s people.

As we give special attention to praying for the persecuted Church this Lord’s Day, let us understand why persecutors hate God, and by extension hate God’s people.  Let us pray not only for the persecuted, but for their persecutors.  And let us love God unwaveringly, so that if (when?) persecution comes our way, we will not falter but remain ever faithful.

Are you one of ten?

Then as He entered a certain village, there met Him ten men who were lepers, who stood afar off.  And they lifted up their voices and said, “Jesus, Master, have mercy on us!” So when He saw them, He said to them, “Go, show yourselves to the priests.” And so it was that as they went, they were cleansed. And one of them, when he saw that he was healed, returned, and with a loud voice glorified God, and fell down on his face at His feet, giving Him thanks.  And he was a Samaritan. So Jesus answered and said, “Were there not ten cleansed? But where are  the nine? Luke 17:12-17

 Ten lepers were healed.  Only one returned to praise Jesus.  What lessons can we learn from this?

It is evident that there are many who seem to be seeking God, when in reality they are only seeking answers to their problems.  What happens to these?  Sometimes they receive no answer and dismiss God because, “He failed to deliver the goods.”  In other cases God does deliver.  But having received what they want, these people promptly forget Who healed them.

Have you ever heard anyone say, “If God did this or that, I’d believe”?  It is not true.  They are lying.  God does all kinds of wonderful things in people’s lives.  People tend either to disregard what He does because He didn’t do what they wanted, or they take what He gives and continue to disregard Him.  Only a few actually regard the Lord and all that He does in their lives.  These return to worship and offer thanks.

Which kind are you? 

Do you want to be with Him?

Then the whole multitude of the surrounding region of the Gadarenes asked Him to depart from them, for they were seized with great fear. 
Luke 8:37

Jesus had just performed a great miracle by casting many demons out of a wild man.  The man was instantly seated in his right mind, and everyone there saw what had happened.  What would we assume everyone would be excited and want to see Jesus.  But no!  They wanted Him to go away!  Why?  Because “they were seized with great fear!”

What kind of fear was this?  It was an awareness that Jesus was unlike anything they had ever encountered!  Unbelievers want nothing to do with Jesus, who is Almighty God!

Contrast that with (v.38):

“Now the man from whom the demons had departed begged Him that he might be with Him.”

Those who have received His loving and gracious touch, unlike those who are afraid and want Jesus to go away,  want nothing more than to “be with Him.”

May we who know the Lord and have received His marvelous grace long to be with Him!

He is seeking His lost sheep

“What man of you, having a hundred sheep, if he loses one of them, does not leave the ninety-nine in the wilderness, and go after the one which is lost until he finds it?  And when he has found it, he lays it on his shoulders, rejoicing.”
Luke 15:4-5

Jesus was being criticized for interacting with sinful people.  He answered His detractors with a parable about the search for lost sheep.  Note the following:

• There is not as much attention focused on those in the flock — they are safe.  There is special attention given to seeking the one that is lost.

• The shepherd “goes after” the lost sheep.  I like the phrase, “goes after.”  It speaks of hot pursuit.

• The shepherd pursues the lost sheep “until he finds it.”  The hunt is not for a period of time, after which, hope is lost and the search abandoned.  No, the shepherd seeks until he finds his lost sheep.

• When the sheep is found, the shepherd carries it home.  He doesn’t scold or beat the sheep.  He carries it.  Think about that.  The lost sheep is probably a bit shaken up — maybe wounded to some degree.  There will be time for lessons about not wandering later.  For now, the shepherd gathers his sheep into his arms — and carries it.

• Though the shepherd’s patience has been tried through the ordeal, and he rejoices that the lost sheep has been found.  He is not as put off with having been put out as he is relieved that the lost sheep has been restored.

This is why so often Jesus was, and is, seen in the company of sinners.  He is seeking His lost sheep.

Two thoughts about us, life, and worship

“Where is He who has been born King of the Jews? For we have seen His star in the East and have come to worship Him.” Matthew 2:2

When I began writing this weekly devotional in 1985, I called it the weekly “worship meditation.”  The purpose was to give those attending the Sunday worship service something to read before the service began.  Its goal was to help people corral their thoughts and set their minds on worshiping God.

Over the years, this weekly spot in the bulletin has become more of a devotional than a specific “worship meditation.”

Today, this is a worship meditation.  Think of the Magi (aka the wise men).  They made a long and an arduous journey to Jerusalem, probably from faraway Persia.  They had only a star to guide them.  But they were resolute—not only about making the rigorous journey, but about what they were going to do when they found the King of the Jews.  They were going to worship Him.

Two thoughts about us, life, and worship:

First, every week has its challenges and our minds are not always focused on worship.  But at the end of our weekly journey, on the Lord’s Day, let us be resolute that along with our brothers and sisters, we will worship the Lord on His Day in church.

Second, our entire lives are a journey.  Throughout our lives we are not always focused on worship.  But at the end of life’s journey, when we are glorified and in His presence, we will, at last, worship Him without any hindrances whatsoever.  Let us worship the Lord every Lord’s Day with an eye to our future worship in Heaven.

A day of rejoicing, and eating together!

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 8:10

Nehemiah 8 is one of my favorite chapters in the Old Testament.  It is probably because I am a preacher and the chapter is about preaching.  Great stuff!  I was particularly struck this time through by the people’s response to the preaching.  The people were cut to the heart by the preaching.  They wept, partly because they were hearing the Word of God, with which many of them were no doubt unfamiliar.  The wept due to conviction since they were hearing the Law.

Nehemiah then comforted the people saying the day on which we hear God’s Word preached, is to be a day of rejoicing.  Yes, we are convicted, but we are also comforted by the message of God’s grace in the gospel!

In addition, Nehemiah exhorted the people to share food with those who have none prepared.

1. We can do this by remembering to give to benevolence.

2. We can also do this by making it a point to (a) Attend the monthly lunch prayer meeting (every 4th Sunday), and (b) by bringing food to share before prayer.

3. We can do this by faithfully attending our Home Fellowships and bringing food to share.

4. We can do this by inviting someone from church for lunch or even dinner on a Sunday afternoon of evening. (Try inviting someone you have never had a meal with!)

Sunday: It is a day of conviction, rejoicing, and eating together!

Speaking up can be scary, but...

“Yet who knows whether you have come to the kingdom for such a time as this?"

Esther 4:14

Queen Ester, who was Jewish, not Persian, was providentially made the queen of Persia.  Sadly there isn’t space to retell that interesting story found in the first three chapters of Esther.  But in the providence of God she was strategically placed to make the difference between the life or death of all the Jews in Persia.  It was risky for her to speak up, not only because she would have been killed herself, but her husband, the king, didn’t even know she was Jewish!

Esther’s uncle, Mordacai urged her to take that risk, saying, “who knows whether you have come to the kingdom for such a time as this?”  She spoke up and the Jewish people were spared!

What has this to do with you and me?  We are probably never going to save a race of people from annihilation, but God has providentially placed each of us in every one of the relationships we have with others.  Many with whom we have contact do not know Christ.  It is scary to speak up sometimes, but if we do not, who knows what will happen to those God has placed in our lives?

Please remember mercy in Your judgment!

TEKEL, you have been weighed in the balances and found wanting; PERES, your kingdom is divided and given to the Medes and Persians.”
Daniel 5:27-28

It is from this biblical account that we get the phrase: “the handwriting is on the wall.”  In the midst of much revelry in the Babylonian palace, God sent a message to the Babylonians.  It was a message of doom!  And Babylon fell—that very night!

The cryptic “handwriting on the wall” that only Daniel could interpret, was clear:  “You have been weighed [judged] and found wanting [judged as guilty].”  Sentence was also passed: Babylon was to be turned over to her enemies, who in their case was the ascending Medo-Persian empire.

God used Babylon to judge His people, Judah—not because Babylon was righteous—far from it!  Then God judged Babylon for her many sins!  How?  By turning her over to her enemies.

God has richly blessed and used the United States.  But we have been systematically turning from God and toward every form of debauchery.  How long will God forebear with us?  He is patient, but He is also holy and righteous.  Unless God is pleased to bless this sinful country with a spiritual awakening, it is only a matter of time before God may turn us over to our enemies.  In many ways, He has been turning us over to our sin (Romans 1:24), and our government shows more concern for our ideological enemies than to our own citizenry.

God be merciful to us, and if judgment is inevitable, please remember mercy in Your judgment!

He sought us when we were not looking!

For thus says the Lord GOD: “Indeed I Myself will search for My sheep and seek them out.” Ezekiel 34:11

Ezekiel wrote a fair amount about the “false shepherds” in Israel in his day.  They did not care for the spiritual well-being of the sheep [people] God had put in their care.  Through the prophet, God contrasted those false prophets with the True Shepherd He promised to send in the coming New Covenant.  That True Shepherd is Jesus.  Didn’t Jesus say:

“I am the good shepherd; the good shepherd lays down His life for the sheep.” (John 10:11)

and

“I am the good shepherd, and I know My own and My own know Me, even as the Father knows Me and I know the Father; and I lay down My life for the sheep.” (John 10:14-15)

In Ezekiel 34:11 the prophet foretold how the True Shepherd would search for His sheep and seek them out—meaning that His search would end in finding His sheep.  And isn’t that exactly what Jesus has done and continues to do?

“For the Son of Man has come to seek and to save that which was lost.” (Luke 19:10)

What good news and cause for rejoicing is it that He did not wait for us to seek and find Him (which we would never do), but rather, when we were lost Jesus came to seek and to save His lost sheep.

Oh, worship the Good and True Shepherd if you have been sought and found by Him!

When we we know he Lord?

“And there you shall remember your ways and all your doings with which you were defiled; and you shall loathe yourselves in your own sight because of all the evils that you have committed. Then you shall know that I am the LORD...” says the Lord GOD. Ezekiel 20:43-44

1 1 1

That is the number of times in Ezekiel that the Lord says “they will know that I am the Lord.”  This tells us that God is not hiding Himself from us.  He is a God of self disclosure. 

In 20:43-44, God says when we are aware of our sinfulness before God “Then you shall know that I am the LORD..."

There is no theology test one must pass to be saved, but the only people who know the Lord are those who understand their sinful state before God who is holy.  This is essential because unless a person knows something of his or her need for forgiveness, that person will never cry out to God in faith asking for His forgiveness.

I pray that you know your need for God’s forgiveness and have received His forgiveness through faith in Jesus Christ.  That is what it means to know the Lord.

If you haven’t trusted Christ, I pray that the Lord will show you something of His holiness, which will reveal your sinfulness, and I pray that you will trust in Jesus who alone can forgive sin.

This is what it means to know the Lord.

Let us plead with God for mercy for the USA

Turn us back to You, O LORD, and we will be restored; Renew our days as of old,  22 Unless You have utterly rejected us, And are very angry with us!
Lamentations 5:21-22

The book of Lamentations, written by the prophet Jeremiah, is the heart cry of the man of God in the wake of God’s judgment of Judah.  The nation had turned away from God so severely for so long, that God gave them over to their enemies, the Babylonians.  Their sin was so great and perverse that the judgment was also great and severe.

Jeremiah’s perspective was spot on!  Unless God would be gracious to turn the people back to Him, and restore them—it wasn’t going to happen.  From a human perspective, revival may look like people turning to God, but people do not turn to God unless God turns them to Himself!  This does not preclude our responsibility to turn to God, but the consequences of sin always includes our inability to turn to Him if He does not supernaturally turn us.

The United States is not a covenant nation as was Israel.  He has made no promises to us as He did to them.  But when surveying the whole of human history, one would be hard pressed to name many nations (maybe any?) that have received God’s blessings as the U.S. has.  And God’s blessings have not merely been physical prosperity.  Our once great nation has been blessed spiritually like no other.

But we have turned away from Him, celebrating every form of sinful debauchery.  Unless He turns us, we cannot turn.  Let us plead with Him that He will turn us!

The danger of visions of grandeur

“And do you seek great things for yourself? Do not seek them…”
Jeremiah 45:5a

These were the words of God through the prophet Jeremiah to Baruch.  You may remember that Baruch was Jeremiah’s personal secretary and scribe.  Because Baruch worked for the great prophet Jeremiah, he may have been tempted to think of himself as more than Jeremiah’s servant.  Maybe this was why the Lord lovingly, yet poignantly, reminded Baruch not to seek greatness for Himself.

The message of these words can apply to any of us who ever have visions of grandeur.  The message is not hard to decipher.  It is simply that we must not seek any elevated position or notoriety for ourselves.  If God is pleased to bestow it, we must not shirk it, but neither dare we seek it.

One of the key elements of the gospel is that we Christian are sinners who can do nothing to commend ourselves to God.  This is why we need a Savior who alone can save His people from our sins!  Understanding the gospel, according to Paul in Ephesians 2:8-9, disallows any “boasting.”  Why?  Because when we know God’s Holiness, and our sinfulness, all boasting will be in the Lord, rather than in ourselves.

Take a moment and praise the Lord for His incredibly kind grace, remembering that “Salvation is of the Lord” (Jonah 2:9), and not of ourselves.

Footnote: Someone asked how this is to be understood in light of Paul writing in 1 Timothy 3:1 that desiring the office of elder is good. The answer lies in understanding that seeking to be a leader on the Church is good unless, one is seeking that position for self-promotion or aggrandizement. Rightly understood, desiring to be an elder is a desire to serve in humility!

The second to the last person you want to be

And the LORD said to me, "The prophets prophesy lies in My name. I have not sent them, commanded them, nor spoken to them; they prophesy to you a false vision, divination, a worthless thing, and the deceit of their heart.
Jeremiah 14:14

The last person you want to be is a person who claims to speak for God, but does not speak what God says.  That person is a false prophet and that person will have Hell to pay on Judgment day.

The second to the last person you want to be is the person who listens to false prophets and embraces their lies.  God not only pronounces judgment on the false prophets in (v.15):

Jeremiah 14:15  Therefore thus says the LORD concerning the prophets who prophesy in My name, whom I did not send, and who say, 'Sword and famine shall not be in this land'—'By sword and famine those prophets shall be consumed!

God also has a few choice words for those who follow the false prophets in (v.16):

Jeremiah 14:16  And the people to whom they prophesy shall be cast out in the streets of Jerusalem because of the famine and the sword; they will have no one to bury them—them nor their wives, their sons nor their daughters—for I will pour their wickedness on them.'

This is a stark reminder that we are responsible to test the prophets, listen to those who legitimately speak for God and have nothing to do with those who tickle people’s ears for the sake of popularity as they tickle ears with lies.

God is big. We are small.

Thus says the LORD: “Heaven is My throne, And earth is My footstool. Where is the house that you will build Me? And where is the place of My rest? For all those things My hand has made, And all those things exist,” Says the LORD. “But on this one will I look: On him who is poor and of a contrite spirit, And who trembles at My word.” Isaiah 66:1-2

I love these two verses.  They remind me that a right perspective and relationship with God enlarges God and diminishes me!

He is the God of the Heavens. 

He rules over all things!

He does not need anything from me since the only things I have, have been made by Him in the first place.

All He looks for in me is that I know how tiny I am in His presence. 

He looks for those who know they are spiritually bankrupt.

As for my attitude, He looks for genuine sorrow for having sinned against Him (that’s what being contrite means!).

He looks for those who are bowed in awe, not only in His presence, but also at the mere hearing of His Word.

How does all that square with this world that screams at us to esteem and believe in ourselves?  Hmmm...

What a Comforter Jesus is!

“Comfort, yes, comfort My people!" Says your God. "Speak comfort to Jerusalem, and cry out to her, That her warfare is ended, That her iniquity is pardoned; For she has received from the LORD's hand Double for all her sins.” Isaiah 40:1-2

Isaiah’s words are about Jesus, the Messiah.

There is no comfort like the comfort Jesus gives His people.  In fact apart from Jesus, there is no real comfort.

The comfort Jesus gives, He gives exclusively to His people.

The comfort we receive from Jesus comes from His Word.  As He spoke and the universe appeared, He speaks comfort to His people.

The comfort the Lord gives is based on His having ended our warfare with sin.  We still fight many battles, but He has won the war on behalf of those He came to save!

The source of the comfort Jesus gives His people is that our sins are forgiven—completely, forever, and irrevocably!

The grace by which we have received the Lord’s comfort is twice as good as we thought our sins were, and His grace is twice as wonderful as His wrath that we deserved—and that wrath was infinite!

What a comfort our Savior is!

Forgiven. Purchased. Overwhelmed by His love.

Then the LORD said to me, "Go again, love a woman who is loved by a lover and is committing adultery, just like the love of the LORD for the children of Israel, who look to other gods and love the raisin cakes of the pagans." Hosea 3:1

Hosea was a prophet to the northern kingdom of Israel when they were sinfully and rebelliously worshiping pagan gods.  Hosea was called to the unenviable task of marrying a harlot who would be unfaithful to him, as a picture of Israel’s spiritual harlotries against God.  Sure enough Hosea’s wife ran after other lovers as Israel ran after false Gods.

Throughout her harlotries, she believed that her lovers were providing for her.  Unbeknownst to her, it was Hosea who from afar continued to support her even in her unfaithfulness.  When her lovers ad their way with her, they kicked her to the curb and she ended up on the slave block.  Due to her wild living, she was reduced to a level of worthlessness that no one bid for her.  No one but Hosea who bought her back to again be his wife.

Imagine how she must have felt upon experiencing Hosea’s love.

This is not only the story of the nation of Israel, it is the story of everyone who has ever been or ever will be saved.  God made us for Himself.  We sinfully rebelled against Him chasing the false god’s around us. Then, when we were worthless, the Lord purchased us for Himself—not with money and grain, but with His blood.  “For God so loved...that He gave His only begotten Son.”

Whenever you think of the love of God, and especially when you think of how the redeemed are called the Bride of Christ, remember Hosea and his adulterous wife.  And be overwhelmed with loving gratitude.

Dare we blame God for our sin?

"O My people, what have I done to you? And how have I wearied you? Testify against Me. For I brought you up from the land of Egypt, I redeemed you from the house of bondage…”
Micah 6:3-4

Through the prophet Micah, the Lord asks His sinful erring people, “What have I done to you?” He asks rhetorically, as though He may have done something wrong to them that warranted their disobedience. 

God continues, reminding them in the rest of verse 4 and verse 5, that He saved them from their 400-year bondage in Egypt.  He gave them good leaders in Moses, Aaron, and Miriam.  He protected them from being cursed by Balaam.

God had only done them good, yet they rebelled against their benevolent Benefactor, chasing after the false gods of their pagan neighbors.

I am sure it doesn’t need to be said, but I will anyway: Isn’t the same true regarding every one of us?  What has God done to Christians to cause us to sin?  Has He not saved us?  Has He not provided leadership for us?  Has He not protected us from the world that would have done away with us if it could have?

Lord, forgive us of our sins.  Help us to remember Your kindness, grace and mercy—that You saved us!  And by the blood of Christ, no less!  You have provided leadership.  You have protected us.  O Lord, may we remember these things that we would never turn away, much less against You! Amen!