On The Sacrifice of Christmas

Luke 2:8-12 MSG  There were shepherds camping in the neighborhood. They had set night watches over their sheep. Suddenly, God’s angel stood among them and God’s glory blazed around them. They were terrified. The angel said, “Don’t be afraid. I’m here to announce a great and joyful event that is meant for everybody, worldwide: A Savior has just been born in David’s town, a Savior who is Messiah and Master. This is what you’re to look for: a baby wrapped in a blanket and lying in a manger.”

HARK! The Herald Angels Sing (John Wesley/George Whitfield c. 1740)

Hark! the herald angels sing, “Glory to the newborn King, peace on earth, and mercy mild, God and sinners reconciled!”  Joyful, all ye nations rise, join the triumph of the skies; with th’ angelic host proclaim, “Christ is born in Bethlehem!” Hark! the herald angels sing, “Glory to the newborn King!”

Christ, by highest heaven adored; Christ, the everlasting Lord; late in time behold him come, offspring of a virgin’s womb.  Veiled in flesh the Godhead see; hail th’ incarnate Deity, pleased as man with man to dwell, Jesus, our Emmanuel.  Hark! the herald angels sing, “Glory to the newborn King!”

Hail the heaven-born Prince of Peace!  Hail the Sun of Righteousness!  Light and life to all he brings, risen with healing in his wings.  Mild he lays his glory by, born that man no more may die, born to raise the sons of earth, born to give us second birth.  Hark! the herald angels sing, “Glory to the newborn King!”

Observation

Side note:  This Christmas Carol is my favorite of them all.  It was written by John Wesley and modified by George Whitfield, two of the preachers instrumental in the Great Awakening, a revival in England and the American Colonies in the 1700’s, setting free the offer of salvation from denominational boundaries.   “God and sinners reconciled … Mild he lays his glory by, born that man no more may die, born to raise the sons of earth, born to give us second birth.”  They invited men and women to receive the free gift of salvation in spite of their theological differences

Back to the song….  “Suddenly, God’s angel stood among them and God’s glory blazed around them. They were terrified.”  I think about these shepherds, the first strangers invited to the stable.  They were low on the Jewish value system – not chosen to continue in religious training, only fit to be out in the fields watching sheep, probably malodorous from infrequent bathing.  They certainly never expected to meet a king.  Perhaps they had enough religious training to expect Messiah to come as an adult – a great warrior king who would free them from Roman rule.  Yet, here they are bathed in blazing light and being told that the Messiah was a baby in a manger nearby in their own backwater town of Bethlehem.  I am sure they didn’t argue, but, when they recovered their senses, I wonder what they thought on the way to the stable.  Recognizing those at the top of the invitation list is worth noting.

Impact On Me

For me, Christmas is a time to recognize the sacrifice our Savior made from manger to the Cross.  He came as a baby so He could share in all we are and do, submitted to His parents and the other authority figures as He grew up, lived within the cultural rules of the day, and knew all that would be required of Him well before the Cross.  “Peace on earth, and mercy mild, God and sinners reconciled … Veiled in flesh the Godhead see; hail th’ incarnate Deity, pleased as man with man to dwell, Jesus, our Emmanuel … Mild he lays his glory by, born that man no more may die, born to raise the sons of earth, born to give us second birth.”

This song always reminds me that our God was willing  to give it all to reconcile with me, with us.  It also reminds me that He was not in a hurry.  He didn’t just drop Jesus down as a fully grown man to start preaching and teaching.  He was not moved by the expectations of the warrior Messiah who would free Israel from the latest conqueror.  He gave Himself in the God/Man Jesus as a baby and waited until around 30 years to start His 3-year ministry – 33 years that modeled how to live in that reconciled state.  Christmas reminds me that the sacrifice started at His birth.

Devotion

“Christ, by highest heaven adored; Christ, the everlasting Lord … Hail the heaven-born Prince of Peace!  Hail the Sun of Righteousness! … Glory to the newborn King!”  You are all of these and more! In my life of worshipping You, Lord, never let me forget that You came to provide salvation, reconciliation and indwelling for whosoever will come – to include all humankind.  The first invitees to worship You were the lowliest on the social totem pole, the cast offs, the culturally insignificant.  You value every soul and desire to embrace – to reconcile – each one to relationship with You.  As I sing the songs and enjoy the warmth and joy of the Christmas season, may I never take Your sacrifice for granted – from manger to the Cross.  Make it so in Jesus’ name.  Amen.

On the Government I Choose


Isaiah 9: 2-7 NLT The people who walk in darkness will see a great light.  For those who live in a land of deep darkness, a light will shine.  3 You will enlarge the nation of Israel, and its people will rejoice.  They will rejoice before you as people rejoice at the harvest and like warriors dividing the plunder. 4 For you will break the yoke of their slavery and lift the heavy burden from their shoulders.  You will break the oppressor’s rod, just as you did when you destroyed the army of Midian.  5 The boots of the warrior and the uniforms bloodstained by war will all be burned.  They will be fuel for the fire.  6 For a child is born to us, a son is given to us.  The government will rest on his shoulders.  And he will be called:  Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace.  7 His government and its peace will never end.  He will rule with fairness and justice from the throne of his ancestor David for all eternity.  The passionate commitment of the Lord of Heaven’s Armies will make this happen!

Observation

Government can be defined as (1) the group of people with the authority to govern a country or state; (2) the system by which a state or community is governed: (3) the action or manner of controlling or regulating a state, organization, or people.  Essentially, government is the authority under which we choose to live.  In the United States, we have a democratic republic.  In the time of Jesus, there was a mix of dictatorship (Roman rule) and theocracy (religious rule).  All of these are human contructs and subject to the character, motives, ethics and morals of those who rule.  There is no guarantee of “fairness and justice” when humans are in control.  Please understand – until Jesus comes again, we need a human government and good representatives to do the best they can to administer law/justice, provide protection, and unify a people.

However, human governments are not eternal.  “For a child is born to us, a son is given to us.  The government will rest on his shoulders.  And he will be called:  Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace.  His government and its peace will never end.  He will rule with fairness and justice from the throne of his ancestor David for all eternity.”  So, we have a choice to choose the system under which we live, to choose who is our ultimate governing authority for now and forever.  In Christ we have a promise of fairness, justice, peace and protection that never ends.  To do this, we must set ourselves to live first by the laws of His government regardless of the environment and challenges of human authority.  Sometimes, it is difficult to do.

Impact on Me

This is not a political commentary.  I ache to see Jesus rule in and over the lives of those all over the world who are living in angst (a feeling of anxiety, apprehension, or insecurity) over current affairs.  I do not understand so much of what is happening throughout the world.  I don’t have a comforting answer to those agonizing over a God who allows war, pain, greed, power-hungry pursuits, or any of the other injustices of humanity.  My only answer is that the nature of my God is “Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace.” He is Savior, Constant Companion, Protector, Wise Teacher, Healer and so much more.  This is what I need to understand.

When I allow angst to rule my thoughts, my choices, my life, I am choosing human government over Jesus government.  To do so is to open the door to doubt, unbelief and sin.  I become one of those who walk in darkness.  I want to be full of the Light that leads people out of that deep darkness.  I will only do that if I allow Jesus to govern my thoughts, motives, actions and words.  This requires the surrender of my soul to respond according to His will and purposes, saying no to how my flesh wants to react.  This is a lifelong change that only Holy Spirit can accomplish as I give Him permission.

Devotion

I bow in worship to You, Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace.  I ache for all to submit to Your authority because it is saving, healing, resurrection life.  Help me to keep my motives, my actions, my words firmly rooted in Your will and purpose.  I want to be a lantern beaming with Your light into the deep darkness so others may choose to enter Your kingdom.  Make it so, in Jesus’ name.

On The Slippery Slope of Sin

Judges 16:18-19 (MSG) When Delilah realized that he had told her his secret, she sent for the Philistine tyrants, telling them, “Come quickly—this time he’s told me the truth.” They came, bringing the bribe money.  19 When she got him to sleep, his head on her lap, she motioned to a man to cut off the seven braids of his hair. Immediately he began to grow weak. His strength drained from him.

Observation

Samson was one of Israel’s Judges.  Judges is a book that records the ups and downs of Israel’s worship of God – while the Judge was alive, Israel honored God but after the Judge died, they didn’t.  An angel appeared to Samson’s mother before he was born to declare that Samson would be a Nazirite from birth.  He was under a divine mandate to live a special commitment to God by abstaining from wine, grapes, raisins, and fermented drinks in any form, avoiding contact with dead bodies, and not cutting one’s hair.  God endowed Samson with extraordinary strength which he used to fight and defeat the Philistines, Israel’s enemy.  Unfortunately, Samson allowed his personal life to be out of control – his temper, his indulgences, his sleeping around, his playing fast and loose with the rules of his vow – and, worst of all, he falls in love with a Philistine woman who lives in the Valley of Sorek (Grapes).  Since grapes in any form are forbidden to the Nazirite, it is fitting that his indulgences caught up with him here.

This is a classic example of how toying with temptation leads to being betrayed by sin.  Delilah is an example of indulging a temptation until it ripens into addictive, soul-owning sin. Surely, even if he was mesmerized by her, Samson had to suspect something was up when Delilah nagged him – and tested each method!! – until he gave up the secret of his strength (Judges 16:16-17 She kept at it day after day, nagging and tormenting him. Finally, he was fed up—he couldn’t take another minute of it. He spilled it.).  Sadly, he chose to indulge her – to live in the moment, to have his sinful pleasure, to ignore the truth- until it was his undoing as she delivered him into the hands of the enemy. 

Before this night, Samson could have voluntarily repented and reconsecrated himself – cut off his hair, offered the proscribed sacrifices and started over as a Nazirite bearing the public humiliation of his failure. He could have been restored before God. Unfortunately, he did not choose to do so and the Philistines extracted a far greater price to eventually bring him to that place of repentance and reconsecration.

Impact on Me

In Greek mythology there are stories of the Sirens, beautiful women who by their mesmerizing song would lure mariners to their deaths by shipwreck on rocky shores.  They symbolize the danger of temptation and the perils of giving in to seductive pleasures. Temptation sings a beautiful, sweet and hypnotizing song of promise and pleasure while in reality it draws us to destruction, away from our goal of sanctification, our desire to be holy, our commitment to follow, love and serve God well. We become distracted little by little until we find ourselves wandering, lost, weakened and ashamed. We get our eyes focused on that beautiful, sparkly, shiny thing and don’t notice until it is too late that we are being drawn into dangerous rocky areas that threaten shipwreck and death. We are already compromised, addicted, consumed by guilt and shame, fearful to admit what we have done, isolating ourselves from those who can love and support us.

Where are my Delilah’s, my sirens drawing me to sin and destruction?  Am I wiser than Samson?  Will I flee temptation rather than be drawn by its tempting siren song?  Why would I turn my ear to it when I can instead choose to listen to the songs of grace, love and mercy that God sings over me as His child?  Why do I find myself indulging my personal wants and desires like a spoiled child when I know they have no real eternal value and do not please my Father?  I know that setting aside my wants, desires, and dreams to follow God’s dreams for me will bring real peace, joy, contentment. This is something my own efforts could never produce, and are worth whatever I perceive as the cost to me. Why would I ever run away with shame when I can repent and be restored – whatever the price to me?

Devotion

You are the Lord Most High, Almighty, Everlasting, Holy One.  You are also my Redeemer, my Advocate, my Teacher, my Constant Companion throughout my life.  You know every step I take, every decision I make, every sin I might try to hide. Give me discernment to recognize and resist my Delilah temptations, the song of the Enemy’s sirens leading to sin and destruction.  I want to hear only the song You are singing over me (The Lord your God is with you, the Mighty Warrior who saves.  He will take great delight in you; in his love He will no longer rebuke you but will rejoice over you with singing. Zephaniah 3:17).  Lord, may I turn my ear and heart to Your song alone so I may please You in my journey.  Make it so in Jesus’ name, I pray.

On Grace, Grace, Grace

Hebrews 4:14-16 (MSG). Now that we know what we have—Jesus, this great High Priest with ready access to God—let’s not let it slip through our fingers. We don’t have a priest who is out of touch with our reality. He’s been through weakness and testing, experienced it all—all but the sin. So let’s walk right up to him and get what he is so ready to give. Take the mercy, accept the help.

Hebrews 4:14-16 (Phillips) Seeing that we have a great High Priest who has entered the inmost Heaven, Jesus the Son of God, let us hold firmly to our faith. For we have no superhuman High Priest to whom our weaknesses are unintelligible—he himself has shared fully in all our experience of temptation, except that he never sinned.  16 Let us therefore approach the throne of grace with fullest confidence, that we may receive mercy for our failures and grace to help in the hour of need.

“What could be better than a grace that washes all our shame away?  What could be better than Your great love?  What could be better than a grace that leads us home and makes a way?  What could be better than Your great love?”  From Sing and Shout by Matt Redman, Willie Weeks & Jorge Monders (c) 2013

Observation

We have been reading through Ezekiel.  This book always reminds me of Magical Mystery Tour by the Beatles.  I didn’t understand the imagery in those psychedelic songs and I don’t understand the imagery in Ezekiel.  Wheels within wheels, 4-faced flying creatures and an angry vengeful God keep me off balance and feeling dizzy.  God had extended grace and mercy over and over again to this ungrateful, disrespectful and unfaithful people,

  • a people who took Him for granted,
  • who ignored His commands in order to service their own pleasures,
  • who only sought Him when circumstances were dire,
  • who thought He could be fooled by insincere repentance, imperfect sacrifices and empty promises,
  • who treated Him like a servant at their beck and call. 

Ezekiel was prophesying judgment day for them, the end of grace and mercy, the harvest of what they had sowed.  As it was in the days of Noah, God had reached His limit. 

We live in a culture that struggles with the temptation to create a vanilla god (like the idols of old) whose character is suspect, and standards are shaped by our individual pleasures, selfish desires, and profit-seeing agendas.  This is a hedonistic pursuit of living for the day, seeking after pleasure, thrills, and power, blurring the lines between good and bad, right and wrong, truth and fabrication.  The old covenant (the blessings and curses of Deuteronomy 28) was made with Abraham, a covenant that could be broken by the human side of the agreement. So, our God, the One True God, whose character is holy and standards are the highest, is ever faithful to keep His promises, so God kept to His side of the agreement and delivered His promised blessings and curses upon the nation.  When I wonder if God will also find an end to grace and mercy for this day and age, I remind myself that those of us who belong to Christ are in a new covenant, one that makes us family.

Impact on Me

Whenever I am reading through the Old Testament prophets, I am so grateful for the Cross, the new covenant in Christ and grace, grace, grace.  People are no different now than they were then; there will always be the faithful and unfaithful, grateful and selfish, greedy and generous (sad to say, I am a human and subject to human inconsistencies, failings and just plain sinning).  However, the old covenant was based on an agreement between God and Abraham with blessings and curses affecting the whole community; violation brought separation, destruction and other undesirable consequences to the nation.  The new covenant is based on a covenant between God and the one man, Jesus Christ, Who will never violate the agreement, Whose performance is perfect, Who will never again be separated from God; in Him, we find an ever-loving merciful advocate, free access to the throne room, a patient, loving, merciful Father and gushing waterfalls of grace, forgiveness, and restoration based on Jesus’ faithfulness. 

This new covenant is for each individual who comes seeking this grace and redemption.  In this there is hope for us!  

  • In Him, I have free and forever access to the presence of God;
  • in Him, I have an advocate Who will fight for my redemption, restoration, and reputation when the enemy accuses and tries to shame me before the Father;
  • in Him, I am adopted as a child of God, not just a subject of the Kingdom. 
  • In Him, I am so greatly loved that I am assured of great, gushing waterfalls of grace and mercy, not because of me, but because I am in Him. 
  • In Him, I can do all things He asks of me through His presence and power strengthening me. 

Devotion

Lord God, Merciful Father, Redeemer, Constant Companion, Teacher and Lover of my soul, You are worthy of all honor, glory and praise.  I am not sure that I can ever fully comprehend the height, depth and expanse of what Jesus has done for me, what He has provided for me, what He will do in and through me if I allow Him the freedom to do so.  I want to be that living sacrifice that makes my life of maximum impact and effect in bringing others to the knowledge of and surrender to Him.  May I be faithful to follow well, love well, serve well and finish well in His name so that my life gives God joy in His heart.  Make it so in the name of Jesus.

On The Lord Has No Equal

Isaiah 40: 12-31

Who else has held the oceans in his hand?  Who has measured off the heavens with his fingers? Who else knows the weight of the earth or has weighed the mountains and hills on a scale?  13  Who is able to advise the Spirit of the Lord?  Who knows enough to give him advice or teach him?  14  Has the Lord ever needed anyone’s advice?   Does he need instruction about what is good?  Did someone teach him what is right or show him the path of justice?

15  No, for all the nations of the world are but a drop in the bucket.  They are nothing more than dust on the scales.  He picks up the whole earth as though it were a grain of sand.  16  All the wood in Lebanon’s forests and all Lebanon’s animals would not be enough to make a burnt offering worthy of our God.  17  The nations of the world are worth nothing to him.  In his eyes they count for less than nothing—mere emptiness and froth.

18  To whom can you compare God?  What image can you find to resemble him?  19  Can he be compared to an idol formed in a mold, overlaid with gold, and decorated with silver chains?  20  Or if people are too poor for that, they might at least choose wood that won’t decay and a skilled craftsman to carve an image that won’t fall down!

21  Haven’t you heard? Don’t you understand?  Are you deaf to the words of God—the words he gave before the world began?  Are you so ignorant?  22  God sits above the circle of the earth.  The people below seem like grasshoppers to him!  He spreads out the heavens like a curtain and makes his tent from them.  23  He judges the great people of the world and brings them all to nothing.  24 They hardly get started, barely taking root, when he blows on them and they wither.  The wind carries them off like chaff.

25   “To whom will you compare me?  Who is my equal?” asks the Holy One.  26  Look up into the heavens.  Who created all the stars?  He brings them out like an army, one after another, calling each by its name.  Because of his great power and incomparable strength, not a single one is missing.  27  O Jacob, how can you say the Lord does not see your troubles?  O Israel, how can you say God ignores your rights? 

28 Have you never heard?  Have you never understood?  The Lord is the everlasting God, the Creator of all the earth. He never grows weak or weary.  No one can measure the depths of his understanding.  29 He gives power to the weak and strength to the powerless.  30  Even youths will become weak and tired, and young men will fall in exhaustion.  31 But those who trust in the Lord will find new strength.  They will soar high on wings like eagles.  They will run and not grow weary.  They will walk and not faint.

Observation

“To whom can you compare God?“  The questions in this passage are still relevant to us today.  It is easy for us to forget Who our God is.  When we call Him Father, are we comparing Him to our earthly father?    When we call Jesus our Savior, Redeemer, Advocate, are we equating Him with people who have helped to rescue, support or defend us?  When we call Holy Spirit our Teacher, Advisor, Comforter, are we comparing Him to a person who has stood in that place for us?  Whether our experience was good, bad or non-existent, there is no comparison.  There is no doubt that the anointing of our God flows through people into our lives, but they are instruments of His grace, His love, His power. 

“13  Who is able to advise the Spirit of the Lord?  Who knows enough to give him advice or teach him? 14  Has the Lord ever needed anyone’s advice?   Does he need instruction about what is good?  Did someone teach him what is right or show him the path of justice?”  The temptation is to make God more like us, to humanize Him, to expect Him to downsize to our human condition and motivations.  This allows us to be “mad” at God for not living up to our expectations, our wants, our fixes for the challenges we encounter.  Instead of the questions above, some ask, “How can God be good if He allows …..”  The blank can be filled in with pain, suffering, death, evil to persist and so on.  The truth is that He sees all of time and is still working His original plan instituted in the Garden of Eden.  He also sees each one of us and, if we allow, will lead us, support us, strengthen us on the pathway He has marked out for us.  “But those who trust in the Lord will find new strength.  They will soar high on wings like eagles.  They will run and not grow weary.  They will walk and not faint.”

Impact on Me

I am always arrested by verses like these – ones that remind me of the awesome holiness, greatness of majesty and immeasurable power of our God.  I am marvel at His love and care for each of us, and reminds me where I should always put my trust regardless of my best plans.  Isaiah is speaking from the experience of God’s presence when he says, “Who is like God?”  You can “hear” the wonder in his words, how small and insignificant he feels before Him (“God sits above the circle of the earth.  The people below seem like grasshoppers to him!”).  How humbled, how small, Isaiah is as he contemplates the vastness, greatness and overwhelming presence of our God.  YET we are assured that we are the apple of His eye, His beloved, His children, His focus in all the universe.  There is no way that we deserve or can earn this, no way we can ever be like Him, no one to compare to Him.

There is a real difference between acknowledging this only in my head and living it out in my life by actually giving myself into His control regardless of whether I understand or not, being content to wait on and trust in Him, giving Him the freedom to use me as a blessing or a sacrifice to accomplish His will and purpose.  Head knowledge alone will struggle to make comparisons and eventually strip Him of His omnipotence, His incomparable majesty, wonder and power by ranking Him with earthly powers, what can be achieved by human means, allowing us to rationalize that He is more like us than we are like Him, that we can somehow manipulate Him to please us, that He is our servant rather than ours to serve. However, this is impossible to do if ever you actually enter into His presence, approach His throne, are overwhelmed/humbled by His Holiness, and then see His eyes look upon you with recognition, tenderness, and love. It is an awesome and life-changing experience to enter the throne room of grace and find yourself an honored guest.  

Devotion

Lord, You are the everlasting God, the Creator of all the earth. You never grow weak or weary.  No one can measure the depths of Your understanding.  I marvel at how far above my understanding is Your glory, might and wisdom and, yet, You see and know me personally.  I want to soak in Your presence which is without compare.  Help me to live in Your throne room, always bowing my will and my choices to Yours, trusting in Your plans and pathway for me regardless of the personal cost to me. Just to see Your face and know that My life gives You joy in Your heart will be enough. Make it so in the power and authority given to me in the name of Jesus.