Glory to God in the Highest

"For to us a child is born, to us a son is given; and the government shall be upon His shoulder, and His name shall be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace."  Isaiah 9:6

What an incredible time it had to be.  A moment of awe and wonder.  I think the word wonder is a key word.  We see a full gamit of emotions from many different actors.  Joseph, Mary, the angels, the shepherds, the wise men.  The birth of Christ had a tremendous impact on the primary characters in the coming of Christ.  there is feeling of a great sense of awe.

There was great anticipation but how could they even begin to imagine the magnitude of these events.  Old Testament prophets Isaiah, Jeremiah, Micah, and Zechariah wrote about it but now the day was finally here.  Everything was about to change for the Jewish people and the rest of the world.  

The angels took their worship to a whole new level.  Since the beginning of time, they sang "Glory to God" but now the song was changed.  "Glory to God in the highest."  God's name is greatly to be praised but now it was "in the highest."  It was being elevated to higher heights.  Just in case there were some doubts as to the magnicance of God the angels gave the proclamation.

A couple of days ago I was at the hospital as my 7th grandchild was born into the world.  It was such an incredible event and yet it was nothing in comparison to that special birth.  But I look at my new grandson and I think to myself that Jesus did this.  This little baby, the Christ-child, had come to die for my sins.  He would suffer deeply at the hand of man but here He was.  I wish we could return to that place of wonder and understand this beautiful baby would one day grow into a man and then die on a cross.  Salvation has come to man.

Trust In the Lord

"Trust in the LORD with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding; 

in all your ways acknowledge Him, and He will direct your path."

 (Proverbs 3:5-6)

It has been a while since I have sat down to my blog and it goes without saying that a lot has gone on in my life since I last put 'pen to paper' (so to speak).

In the Summer of 2014 my wife, Celia, found a lump on her breast through self-examination and after a visit to the doctor that confirmed our fears.  Now there were decisions to tend to.  They did an xray and gave us our options.   The tumor was the size of a golf ball.  

Me with my two sons.

The first approach was a lumpectomy and removing many of the lymph nodes.  We had vacation plans so we did that first and after we came back, Celia had another xray to verify what the tumor would look like and it had grown to the size of a baseball in one months time.  The surgery went well but unfortunately the cancer wasn't completely removed so the next step was a double mastectomy.  

The surgery was a success so then began the long process of chemo and radiation.  My wife was incredible as she hardly missed any work and her spirits were high.  She went to work in the school radiating the love of God.  People constantly talked about how she remained so positive and always had a smile on her face.

Since then I have met many women who have had breast cancer and have had to go through the difficulty of it only to have their husbands leave them.  We've cried in lines at the register and had prayer together in parking lots and finding where the world will fail, God remains faithful.

Cancer is an ugly thing and it can take a lot from you but it can't take away the assurance and presence of God's love.   You see; He never fails!  In Romans Paul says 'we are more than victorious through Him Who loves us.'   He then goes on to say, "For I am persuaded that neither death nor life, nor angels nor rulers, nor things present, nor things to come, nor powers, ³⁹nor height, nor depth, nor any other created thing will have the power to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord!"  (Romans 8:38-39)

Sounds like a mighty fine place to rest if you ask me.

Do You Know What Time it Is?

"Jesus came out from the temple and was going away when His disciples came up to point out the temple buildings to Him.  And He said to them, 'Do you not see all these things?  Truly I say to you, not one stone here will be left upon another, which will not be torn down.' As He was sitting on the Mount of Olives, the disciples came to Him privately, saying, 'Tell us, when will these things happen, and what will be the sign of Your coming, and of the end of the age?'"  (Matthew 24:1-3) 

The rock group Chicago released a song back in the 70's that asked the question, "Does anybody really know what time it is?  Does anybody really care?"  You really have to wonder if people even care today, especially the church.  End times are coming and people act like it doesn't even matter.  The Bible talks a lot about time.  Solomon said in Ecclesiastes there is a time a purpose for everything under heaven. 

It should be natural for us to want to know; not that we should be consumed with the thought but that we would be prepared when it does happen.  Peter, James, John, and Andrew had a private audience with Jesus and so they asked Him when the end of the age would come about.  Jesus was always glad to take a teachable moment and give a description of things familiar.  He described the world by blending it with a description of the destruction of Jerusalem.  This wasn’t done to confuse but to make it where they could relate to it.

Jesus said the temple would be utterly destroyed so they knew this could be no small feet.  The stones of the temple were massive and beautiful and yet Jesus says that not one would be left unturned.  The temple was constructed of white marble, and the blocks were of a phenomenal size.  Josephus says that these stones were, some of them, 50 feet long, 24 feet broad, and 16 feet in thickness.  Jesus is answering the question of the ages.  Is He describing events that we find taking place in our world today?

We can't know when this will happen but we can be aware of the events that will take place before the end comes.  Jesus said there would be "wars and rumors of wars" in vv. 6-7.  Of course that isn't saying a whole lot because war has been a regular occurrence throughout history.  But when we look throughout time it has become more deadly and vicious.  There are weapons of mass destruction that can reach across continents in a matter of minutes.  Paul gave us this description in 1 Thess. 5:1-3; "But of the times and the seasons, brethren, ye have no need that I write unto you.  For yourselves know perfectly that the day of the Lord so cometh as a thief in the night.  For when they shall say, Peace and safety; then sudden destruction cometh upon them, as travail upon a woman with child; and they shall not escape."  It is rather ironic that it will come at a time when peace will seem to be within our grasp and then will come sudden destruction.

We have also seen natural disasters that have taken place on a global scale.  We see famines brought about by floods and droughts.  Disease will spread in raging epidemic proportion.  Earthquakes will increase and become more violent.

The greatest and most difficult of signs will be the persecution of the believers.  Christians will be imprisoned and killed simply for their beliefs.  None of the disciples were exempt.  Christians will be hated merely because they follow Christ.  In a world that screams about love and tolerance it is those who have been born-again who will hated.

Then Jesus would speak of increased wickedness in the world (vv. 38-39).  It will be much like it was in Noah's day where people just lived for the pleasure of a moment.  Violence will increase while drug and alcohol abuse will become widespread and out of control.  Conditions will also be like they were in Sodom and Gomorrah.  Sex will be lose, free, and casual.  When we look around us we see immorality on the increase and perversion is rapidly becoming the norm.

Look around you.  What do you see in the world today?  Do you know what time it is?

For All Have Sinned

"For all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God."  Romans 3:23

 

   There are no exceptions.  I think it is part of our nature to think sometimes we aren't really so bad.  After all, we can always think of somebody who's done something worse.  Unfortunately, we lose sight of what sin really is.  When we are disobedient to God, we sin.  We can take away with us the fact that we have all done it.  Then Paul uses a Greek verb for 'fall short' that is written in the present tense.  So in other words all of us are in the process of sinning.

   Sin has been categorized, diminished, and diluted to the point where people don't even know what the truth is anymore.  There are 'little white lies' and 'half truths.'  Regardless of what you call them, they are still lies.  Some sins seem to be permissible under certain circumstances.  If we can minimalize it then we can do it without having to feel so guilty. 

   Sin is a problem in this world in so many ways.  Not only that, it is because of sin that we need a cure; we need a doctor.  If we are sinners and always in the position of coming up short, how can we be made right with God?  That is the point after all. 

   The Bible uses a legal term called 'justification' which simply means to be made right.  Something has to happen to make us acceptable that will negate the sin in our lives.  If we try and remedy it ourselves then our sin will always be before us and we can never measure up to God's standard and in the end we will stand convicted.  Verse 24 says, "Being justified as a gift by His grace through the redemption which is in Christ Jesus;"

A Faith That Rests

 It's not about me.

 "I thank Christ Jesus our Lord, who has strengthened me, because He considered me faithful, putting me into service,   ¹³even though I was formerly a blasphemer and a persecutor and a violent aggressor. Yet I was shown mercy because I acted ignorantly in unbelief;   ¹⁴and the grace of our Lord was more than abundant, with the faith and love which are found in Christ Jesus.    ¹⁵It is a trustworthy statement, deserving full acceptance, that Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners, among whom I am foremost of all.    ¹⁶Yet for this reason I found mercy, so that in me as the foremost, Jesus Christ might demonstrate His perfect patience as an example for those who would believe in Him for eternal life."    1 Timothy 1:12-16

I was driving in my car one day when I pulled up behind somebody at a stop and I couldn't help but notice their bumper sticker.  It said "It's all about me!"  That sure seems to be the attitude in this world we live in today. 

Let me say this and make this perfectly clear; "It's not about me."  Oh sure, sometimes I forget that but it still doesn't change the fact.  It has never been nor will it ever be about anything that I have done.  I like to think of myself as a good person but I know that because of the precious blood of Christ I'm saved.  He came into this world to die for our sins.  So actually, it's all about Him.

C. H. Spurgeon said, "My faith rests not in what I am, or shall be, or feel, or know, but in what Christ is, in what He has done, and in what He is now doing for me."

I love that word "rests."  That is a place of peace; free from all worries or cares.  He extended His grace to me and I received it.  He reached down to me in mercy and I have been set free.  No matter how hard I might have tried there is never anything I could have done to earn it.  It's God's gift.

Surely, it is my faith (and He gave me that too by the way) but it's value is found in Whom it is resting.  The answer is Jesus Christ.

 

 

Who Will You Serve?

Choice of Service

Joshua 24:15; “If it is disagreeable in your sight to serve the LORD, choose for yourselves today whom you will serve: whether the gods which your fathers served which were beyond the River, or the gods of the Amorites in whose land you are living; but as for me and my house, we will serve the LORD.”

Life is full of choices.  We make them each and every day.  It is said the  * "average adult makes 35,000 decisions every day."  You can argue that number but the fact is we make a lot of choices each and every day.  That is mind-boggling; as if life weren't already complicated enough.  Stop, go; turn left, turn right, go straight; etc.  What am I going to wear, what am I going to eat, whom shall I marry?  We don't give much thought to most of our decisions. Many of these choices affect us and other people in so many ways.  

My Dad taught me something really important among many other things and that was when I consider the choices I should weigh all things through a Kingdom purpose.  Too many of us make our decisions based upon what we think rather than on what God says.  Joshua says his choices all hinged on serving the LORD.  Do we use the same standard?  Even in the church we can have the tendency to circumvent God because, after all, we know so much better than He does.

Each and every day we live is a blessing.  We seldom give thought to the idea that each moment could be our last.  If you knew today would be your last, would it change what you do?  Would you make it count for God?  

We make choices based upon who it is that we serve.  For people who only think of themselves will base their decisions on a world-view of things.  If my heart is on serving God then what happens to me doesn't matter.  I can know that I will always make the right choices.  In a world that would have us think and do things differently we would always have remorse.  "If I would have only done things differently."  Of course then, it is too late.  I must also say that you can be doing things for your church and still not be doing Kingdom-purpose work.

Whatever you do, you must make a choice.  Will you choose to serve the gods of this world or will you serve God?



*http://reitmeier.blogspot.com/2006/04/how-many-decisions-do-you-make-each.html

The Meaning of Christmas

Luke 2:10-11; "Do not be afraid; for behold, I bring you good news of great joy which will be for all the people; for today in the city of David there has been born for you a Savior, Who is Christ the Lord."

That first Christmas changed everything.  What excitement as the angel appeared to those shepherds with the "Good News." 

Since then, things sure have changed.  Christmas has taken on so many different interpretations even to the ones that don't recognize the birth of Christ.  They call it a myth.  How sad.  John really said it in John 1:5.  He said, "The Light shines in the darkness, and the darkness did not comprehend it."

Then there is all the commercialism.  I think the gifts are wonderful but it has become something of excesses.  Then people get upset over not getting anything or not getting what they wanted.  The gifts are all fine but "The Gift" should really be our focus.  It's the gift that keeps on giving; the gift that cannot be outgiven.

Stephen Curtis Chapman wrote a song that expresses it beautifully. 

No, it's not in the snow that may or may not fall
And it's not in the gifts around the tree
It's in the love heaven gave, the night our Savior came
And that same love can still be found wherever you are
'Cause Christmas is all in the heart
And the joy can still be found, wherever you are
'Cause Christmas is all, all in the heart

May the real joy of Christmas be found in our hearts.  Merry Christmas!!!