“But when the fullness of time was come, God sent forth His son, made of a woman, made under the law, 5. To redeem them that were under the law, that we might receive the adoption of sons.”
The birth of Jesus into this world was not an accident of history. The Bible is filled with promises that the Messiah would come to save His people. For example: “Now all of this was done, that it might be fulfilled which was spoken by the prophet, saying, ‘Behold a virgin shall be with child, and shall bring forth a son and they shall call His name Emmanuel, which being interpreted is, God with us.” Matthew 1:22-23 I want to share some of the scriptures which mention the birth of Christ, and the reason why we celebrate Christ’s birth. The first text is Galatians 4:4, which is the text printed above. According to this text Christ was born just at the right time, the time that God established for Him to come. Because of the various prophecies of Christ’s coming, the Jews had looked with hopeful anticipation for the birth of their Messiah. They had wondered when this would take place, and Paul wrote that He was born “when the fullness of time had come.” (This is Paul’s mention of what we call “Christmas” today.) He was born that we might receive the adoption of sons (and daughters.)” This is a good reason for us to celebrate the coming of the Son of God into the world. The second text is John 3:16: “For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son that whosoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life.” (This is John’s mention of what we call “Christmas.”) The wonderful reality here is that it was because of the great love that God has for us that He sent His Son into the world” in order to give us “everlasting life.” This is the world’s greatest love story. A look into the history of the world, and a look into the history of the Bible, we can see that it had to be love that sent Jesus into the world to save us. Our celebration of the birth of Christ is the ultimate celebration of the world. We do not need to forget, or ignore, this aspect of our celebration of Christ’s birth. The third text, 2 Corinthians 5:18-19, is another reminder of a great reason for us to celebrate Christmas: “And all things are of God, Who has reconciled us to Himself, and has given us the ministry of reconciliation: 19. To wit, that God was in Christ reconciling the world unto Himself, not imputing their trespasses unto them: and has given us the ministry of reconciliation.” It is amazing that our holy God took the initiative to reconcile us to Him, but it is more amazing that He has also given us the “ministry of reconciliation.” God saves us, and we in turn tell others about what He did for us in order for them to be reconciled to God. Think about these texts as you celebrate Christmas. Bro. Joe
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"I am the Lord: that is my name: and my glory will I not give to another, neither my praise to graven images."
When God says that He is a "jealous God," He is not speaking from insecurity. He is speaking out of concern for people who ignore Him, or worship other "gods." In the USA we are not overrun with "graven images," but we have surely come up with some good substitutes. Today, we have secularism. The strategy of secularists is to take all spiritual, or religious, things out of our society and put our Christian witness into a church ghetto. Secularists are doing a good job of helping destroy our country and God is not pleased, because "He will not give His glory to another." Closely tied to secularism is atheism. It appears to me that the national religion is becoming atheism. Say what you want, atheism is a religion today. Atheists have put their faith in the hope that there is no God. Then there is materialism. To a certain extent, we are all guilty of this. We are as guilty as the atheists and the secularists. We are enamored with "things" to the extent that we run up credit card debts that we cannot pay back. Now I'm really going to meddle. "Churchanity" is a "graven image." What is churchanity? Notice that this replaces Christianity. In churchanity we put buildings and programs ahead of Christ. Buildings and programs are important, but they are not our main focus. We are to focus on Christ and put Him at the head of our churches. (Read Colossians 1:16-18) He still means it. It is worth mentioning again that God is not insecure because of the things that we put into His place. God knows that we need Him and that no one can love us and give us security like He can. There is really nothing that can effectively take the place of God in our lives. We need the Lord above anything or anyone else in the world. Meditate on your life and where your loyalty lies, and if you have what could be called a graven image, discard it and concentrate on the Lord – Who alone can be your savior. Bro. Joe “Then Jacob gave Esau bread and pottage of lentils; and he did eat and drink, and rose up and went his way: thus Esau despised his birthright.”
Each time I read about Jacob and Esau, I am reminded that the only real hero in the Bible is God. The Bible always tells the truth about human beings, and this is not illustrated any better than with Jacob and Esau. Esau was the oldest of the fraternal twins, but because he was hungry, and because his brother Jacob knew his weaknesses, he sold his birthright to Jacob for a “mess of pottage.” (You can read the whole thing in Genesis 24:29-34.) We can learn some things from this sordid affair, which I think is one of the points of having the story in the Bible in the first place. Esau teaches us here of the futility of living only for the moment. Esau was famished and wanted something to eat. Jacob knew this and tempted him with the “mess of pottage.” Because Esau thought he was about to starve to death, he didn’t look beyond getting his stomach filled and sold his birthright to Jacob. It didn’t seem to occur to him that his birthright was more important than his stomach. I have to wonder if we have learned this lesson? We see all of the shiny objects, like wide-screen television sets, sleek cars, spiffy furniture etc. and we just have to have them, and so we go into debt to have them. We read all of the time about people who let credit card debts pile up until they could not possibly pay them, all to have the shiny objects that they can’t resist. I think that our government uses the Esau method as well. We just go on getting deeper and deeper into debt, building up a debt for our grandchildren and great grandchildren. (This is not a political statement. Both political parties have done a good job of getting us into debt.) This is only one illustration of our Esau-like behavior. I don’t want to appear too cynical, but I think sometimes that our economy is built around our insatiable appetites for things and for pleasure. We make decisions based on our desires rather than on common sense. I must confess that I have been guilty of this, as have you. I have wanted “things” to the point of getting into debt. Fortunately, I have learned from my mistakes and know that no “thing” and no pleasure is worth the price that I might have to pay for them. I trust that as you read about this, you will become aware of your own Esau-like tendencies and not give in to the temptations that abound in our affluent and immoral society. When Satan was tempting Jesus in Matthew 4, he showed him all of the kingdoms of the world and told him that He could have all of it if He would just worship him. Of course, Jesus did not succumb to that, and we can be grateful that our Savior was not Esau-like. Satan is not above throwing the same kinds of things in our faces. He wants to blind us to the futility of living for the moment and having momentary pleasure instead of having spiritual satisfaction. We need to remember what Jesus said about this in Matthew 16:24-27: “Then said Jesus unto His disciples, If any (person) will come after me, let him deny himself, and take up his/her cross and follow me. 25. For whosoever will save his/her life shall lose it: and whosoever shall lose his/her life for my sake shall find it. 26. For what is a (person) profited, if he/she shall gain the whole world, and lose his/her soul? Or what shall a (person) give in exchange for his/her soul? 27. For the Son of Man shall come in the glory of His Father with His angels: and then He shall reward every (person) according to his/her works.” (Of course I added “person” and “his/her” to the text.) What Esau lacked was self-denial. We would do well to look at our own lives and see if we are short on the virtue of self-denial. Bro. Joe “And it came to pass, as the angels were gone away from them into heaven, the shepherds said one to another, Let us now go even unto Bethlehem and see this thing which is come to pass, which the Lord has made known to us.”
Have you ever thought about what it would have been like to be in Bethlehem when Jesus was born? Martin Luther wrote that we think if we had been there we would have done something to help Christ. He wrote: “Yes you would! You say that because you know how great Christ is, but if you had been there at the time you would have done no better than the people in Bethlehem.” However, we return to Bethlehem each Christmas to celebrate Christ’s birth because we know how great He is. As we “return to Bethlehem” this year, let’s consider how we should return. We need to make our return personal. As Christ was God incarnate in Bethlehem, He is the personal incarnation of God in our lives. It doesn’t make any difference who was at the stable manger that night if you are not there in your mind and heart. It doesn’t make any difference what song the angels sang if you do not hear them in your mind and heart as you read about them in Luke. What does it matter that the shepherds heard the news about Christ if you have not heard it, or if you have not shared it with someone else? What difference does it make that gifts of gold, frankincense and myrrh were given to Him if you do not give Jesus the gift of yourself and your love, dedication and trust. When you return to Bethlehem this Christmas through song, pageantry, preaching and viewing manger scenes, remember that you have a personal stake in what took place there that night. What happened in Bethlehem has a lot to do with your life. We need to make our return meaningful. Who is that baby in the manger? He is the Savior, “Who is Christ the Lord.” He is your redeemer, your Savior who has forgiven you for your sins. He has delivered you from the power of Satan’s darkness. He has delivered you from the guilt that sin has piled on you which has possibly kept you depressed. It is this Christ who was born in Bethlehem who has brought new inspiration into your life. He has inspired you with new wonder. He has inspired you with new love, love that He has not only given to you, but love that you can now give to others. Because of Christ you have been set free to forgive people and to love them instead of hating them, dreading them and not forgiving them. Because of Christ your life has new meaning. You no longer live for just the moment. You have an eternal perspective that you did not have before Christ came into your life. Because of Christ you have peace of heart that is beyond your understanding and you have “joy unspeakable and full of glory.” Remember all of this as you return to Bethlehem this Christmas. We need to remember that the Christ who was born in Bethlehem is here. John H. Meyer wrote: “He wants tourists, beggars, and souvenir hawkers to pause, listen and respond. He wants today’s shepherds and Wise Men in the form of factory workers, clerks, teachers, students, lawyers, executives, farmers and business people to stop, listen and be confronted with His redemption in Christ Jesus. More important than your being there is the truly good news that He is here.” It is ironic that we return to Bethlehem in order to remember that He is here too. It is important that you make your return to Bethlehem personal and meaningful. Above all else, remember that He is with you and will never forsake you. In the hustle and bustle of this Christmas season, pause and give thanks to God for the gift that He sent to Bethlehem and to all the world – and praise Him. Bro. Joe “Our soul waits for the Lord: He is our help and our shield.”
We citizens of the USA are not known for our great patience. All you have to do is drive for a few miles on Interstate 75 and you will get an illustration of our impatience. Everybody seems to be in a great hurry to get God only knows where. I’m not very big on waiting myself. My family gets a lot of laughs on daddy and granddaddy with my “beat the crowd” mentality when we go out to eat. But one lesson I have learned, however, is to be patient with God and wait on Him. There is no “beating the crowd” with Him. If you serve God, you serve at His timing because, after all, He is God. The first thing that might answer the title question is that He is God and we really have to wait on Him, but the Bible tells us in various places of advantages of waiting on the Lord. You probably already know what Isaiah 40:31 tells us about waiting on the Lord. Here it is, “But they that wait upon the Lord shall renew their strength.” I have found this to be true in my own life and ministry. Any time that I have gotten ahead of God, I have paid a price for it. The Lord Jesus will let us get out on our own sometimes, but He does this to show what we can do in the flesh – which isn’t a whole lot. Psalm 27:14 has the answer as to how our strength is renewed: “Wait on the Lord: be of good courage, and He shall strengthen your heart: wait, I say, on the Lord.” It is true that God wants to use our time, talents and treasures, but we must use them in His strength, and to have that we must wait on Him. Psalm 37:7 speaks to the importance of waiting on God: “Rest in the Lord, and wait patiently for Him: fret not thyself.” Waiting on God brings rest and serenity into our lives. In fact, Jesus made a statement that I frequently quote in speaking and writing from Matthew 11:30, “Come unto me all you that labor and are heavy laden and I will give you rest.” This does not mean that we come to Jesus and wait on Him that we can sit down and do nothing. The rest that He gives us is rest in our hearts and minds. What I have learned, but not yet as good as I would like, is that Jesus meant what He said in that verse and if I turn my worries over to Him, He will lead me through the issue if He doesn’t lead me around it. You will find the same to be true in your life. It is certain that we do not live in a peaceful and quiet world, but we do have a Savior who will help us to be peaceful and quiet. Psalm 40:1-2 is another passage from Psalms that reveals to us why we should wait on the Lord: “I waited patiently for the Lord; and He heard my prayer and set my feet upon a rock, and established my goings.” Waiting on the Lord brings stability in our lives. I love the word picture that is given by, “He set my feet on a rock.” We know that this is not literal, but it means that when we wait on the Lord, we are standing on solid ground. The hymn says it this way, “On Christ the solid rock I stand, all other ground is sinking sand.” When we try to find stability in the world, we discover that stability is hard to come by there. There is too much “sinking sand” in the world. As soon as one problem is solved, another one arises. I have found in my life that I can handle these “sinking sands” when I stand on the solid rock. I hope that I have shown you why you should wait on the Lord, and that you will commit yourself to do it. Bro. Joe "For all have sinned, and come short of the glory of God. 24. Being justified freely by His grace through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus."
We can be forgiven for our sins, because Jesus came into this world, lived a perfect life, died on the cross for our sins, was resurrected and lives forever to intercede for us and to save us. Because of this we can come to Jesus for forgiveness of our sins and we will receive it. At least that’s what 1 John 1:9 tells us: “If we confess our sins (Jesus) is faithful and just to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.” Jesus is “faithful and just” to forgive us for our sins. “Faithful” means that He will always forgive us, and “just” means that He, and He alone, is qualified to forgive us for our sins. The purpose of this article is to share with you the meaning of Christmas. First, Christmas means that the time was right on God’s timetable for the Messiah to come into the world. Galatians 4:4-5 reveals to us that “When the fullness of time was come, God sent forth His Son, made of a woman, made under the law, 5. To redeem them that were under the law, that we might receive the adoption of sons.” Those two verses are loaded with meaning and to fully explain them would take more space than I can take just now. Suffice it to say that Jesus was born into this world at just the right time. Why? Because God said that the time was right. At that time all of the Old Testament prophecies about Christ and types of Christ were fulfilled. Our text from Isaiah 9 is a good example of what I mean. Revelation 13:8 refers to Jesus as “the lamb slain from the foundation of the world.” In 1 Peter 1:20 Peter wrote: "He (Christ) was chosen before the foundation of the world..." This means that it had been God’s plan since before time began that the “Lamb” would be slain for us. Second it means what I have alluded to above, that Christmas means that because Jesus came into the world, we can be saved from our sins. Romans 3:23 declares, “For all have sinned and come short of the glory of God.” Sin is pervasive in this world, and we are defenseless against it except for Jesus. Romans 3:24 completes the thought that was begun in Romans 3:23: “Being justified freely by His grace through Third, Christmas means that we can live better lives. Look around you at the devastation that sin has caused in this world and be grateful that God provided the means for us to not be ruled by it. We will always have to deal with sin as long as we are on this earth, but we do not have to be ruled by it. Sin promises all kinds of pleasure, but it only ends up bringing destruction into people’s lives. Thank God that in His infinite wisdom, He has provided a way for us to escape the prison that sin creates. Because of Jesus we can cease to do those things which are detrimental to our spiritual, mental and physical well-being. Because of Jesus we can begin to do those things that will bring real satisfaction in life. I have tried it both ways in my life, and I have found that the Jesus way is better. Christmas means more than this, but what I have written should be sufficient to help you have a merry Christmas. Do not worry, as some have, that December 25 is not the real birthday of Jesus. We are celebrating the fact that He was born, not when He was born. Just celebrate that, “Unto us a child is born..." Bro. Joe “Giving thanks unto the Father, which has made us meet to be partakers of the inheritance of the saints in light. 13. Who has delivered us from the power of darkness, and has translated us into the kingdom of His dear Son. 14. In whom we have redemption through His blood, even the forgiveness of sins.”
I looked up the word "delivery" in my Bible and this text is what I found. It exactly fit the outline that I had figured in my mind. Here is what I thought and what I found. God Delivers Us From: Paul wrote that God delivers us from darkness. The world system is under the darkness of Satan. We need to be delivered from this darkness, and God provided a way for us to be delivered from darkness. Through Christ, we are “made to be partakers of the inheritance of the saints in light. Who has delivered us from the power of darkness.” John tells us that “God is light and in Him is no darkness at all.” (1 John 1:5) In John 8:12, Jesus referred to Himself as "the light of the world.” It is through faith in Jesus that we have been delivered us from Satan’s world of darkness. Call upon Christ to, either thank Him for deliverance, or to ask Him to deliver you . God Delivers Us Into: Paul wrote that “God has delivered us from the power of darkness, and has translated unto into the kingdom of His dear Son.” We changed kingdoms when we received the redemption that Jesus offered. Here is what happened: “In whom we have redemption through His blood, even the forgiveness of sins.” It is the old, old story that is ever new. We have been saved, redeemed, through the sacrificial blood of Jesus Christ that was shed on Calvary’s cross. Then through Jesus, “the light of the world,” we become, what Jesus called us: “the light of the world.” As the redeemed of Jesus, we also invite people to come out of the kingdom of darkness, into the kingdom of light. (At this point you can shout hallelujah, or just stay a loud “amen.”) God Delivers Us In: I want to make one more short point before I close this article. I have discovered, and I think that the Bible verifies, that Jesus delivers in the midst of whatever problems we might encounter. I have discovered this in my life over and over again. God delivers us from our problems, around our problems, or through our problems. This is God’s delivery system, claim it or share it. Let the light of Jesus shine through you. Bro. Joe (This is one of my favorite Christmas articles. I hope you enjoy it and will be blessed by reading it.)
“And the word was made flesh and dwelt among us, (and we beheld His glory, the glory as of the only begotten of the Father,) full of grace and truth.” This post on Christmas surprisingly is not from Matthew or Luke, but from John. John does not record the pageantry of Christmas like Matthew and Luke, but he does give us the Christmas narrative in just one verse. What John does is give us the theological significance of the coming of Christ into the world. I will illustrate what I mean in the post. John points out that the “word was made flesh.” This, of course, is about the incarnation, or the infleshment, of the Son of God.” The Good News Bible, which had some success in the late sixties and early seventies, translated this as “the word was made a human being.” While I was not exactly carried away with that particular Bible, I thought that this translation made a vivid point about the word becoming flesh. He was made flesh through the virgin birth, as predicted in Isaiah 7:14. It also stands out that when the word was made flesh, His crib was a manger – a feed trough. The miracle was that God came down to man – period. John points out that He “dwelt among us.” This is a reference to the fact that Jesus lived a normal human existence in a family. The family that Jesus came to was a common family, a carpenter’s family. He lived a common life among common people. This is good news for all common people, for Jesus indentified with us in His coming. Jesus experienced life in every way, except for sin. Hebrews 4:15 tells us that: “For we have not an high priest which cannot be touched with the feeling of our infirmities; but was in all points tempted like as we are , yet without sin.” It has to be comfort to us that our Savior understands our struggles. In a parenthetical statement, John informs us that “we beheld His glory, the glory as of the only begotten of the Father.” Of course, we can refer to the great miracles that Jesus performed, such as, walking on water, turning water into wine, healing the infirm, stilling a storm, etc. John, however, along with Peter and James, beheld His glory at the transfiguration. This was not seen by anyone but those three disciples, but it had to be a life-changing experience for them. Thank God that it was recorded in the Gospels for us. What happened there was indescribable, but it did show forth the great glory of Jesus. It is my opinion that what they got a glimpse of was a heavenly vision of the Son of God. No one else has seen Jesus like this, but one day all believers will. John shared with us that Jesus was “full of grace and truth.” In John 14:6, Jesus referred to Himself as “the way, the truth, and the life.” He revealed the truth about God in His teachings that are recorded in the New Testament for us. He revealed the grace of God by His treatment of people, which is also recorded in the New Testament for us. The New Testament makes it plain that Jesus treated all people the same, the rich and the poor. Jesus healed poor people, like Bartimaeus; He healed rich people like Jairus’ daughter, which He actually raised from death. He walked among the poor and the rich. One of His most famous conversions was Zacchaeus, who was a wealthy tax collector. Indeed, Jesus, the incarnate Son of God, was “full of grace and truth.” I understand that we usually think of the Christmas story in terms of shepherds and Wise Men, which Matthew and Luke wrote about, but John, in his usual fashion, got right to the point of who and what the incarnate Son of God was and is. Bro. Joe “And I say unto you, Ask and it shall be given you; seek and you shall find; knock and it shall be opened unto you.”
The point of Luke 11:9 is that we need to persevere in prayer. We have the idea that when we pray, we should expect God to immediately give us what we pray for. Sometimes He does, but what He wants us to do is pray and keep on praying. There is really no such thing as “amen” in our prayer lives. It is a never-ending joy and privilege that God has given us. What does Luke 11:9 teach us about perseverance in prayer? It tells us to ask. James wrote in James 4:2b: “You have not because you ask not.” Sometimes we fret and worry and get all tied up in knots because we forget the simple thing of asking God. There are other times when we ask, but we ask with wrong motives and God knows that we do not need what we asked for. Here is what James wrote about it in James 4:3: “You ask, and receive not, because you ask amiss, that you may consume it upon your lust.” This is also translated: “so that you may spend it upon your pleasures.” We need to weigh our motives for asking for whatever we think we need. God knows our hearts and He knows our real needs, and He answers our prayers based on what He knows we really need. Anyway, we are told to ask, and the idea is to keep on asking. I have heard people say that we need to ask one time and stop asking for that particular thing. I haven’t found that to be true in my life. It tells us to seek. I know what “seek” means, but to be more precise I decided to look it up in the dictionary. It means to “search, inquire, to endeavor.” This is where perseverance comes in. When we ask and seek it means that we are endeavoring to realize God’s answers to our prayers. Sometimes this can mean that while we pray, we are endeavoring to find out what God wants us to do in answer to our prayers. When we pray and seek it is important that we seek that which will be productive in our lives. It is this kind of praying and seeking that will keep us from straying from what God really wants of us. One of the most important elements of prayer is to find out what it is that God wants us to do – and then do it. It tells us to knock. When I read this, I thought of the word “opportunity.” It is in praying, seeking and knocking that we discover the great opportunities for our lives, meaning the opportunities that God wants to give us. In Acts 16, Paul wanted to go into a place called “Bithynia,” but the Holy Spirit didn’t let he and his party go there. In Acts 16:9, Paul had a vision of a man from Macedonia, who said: “Come over into Macedonia and help us.” In other words the real opportunity that Paul had was in Macedonia. He went to Macedonia and opened up a whole new frontier of missions in Corinth and Greece. I think that Paul grasped this opportunity because he asked God for His guidance, he sought what it was that God wanted him to do, and he kept knocking in prayer until he got an answer. When God closes a door, it is because He has something better and more productive for us. Grasp the real significance of Luke 11:9 for your own prayer life. Bro. Joe “Now therefore, fear the Lord, and serve Him in sincerity and truth: and put away the gods which your fathers served on the other side of the flood, and in Egypt; and serve ye the Lord.”
Every Christian is a servant of God. We can be effective or ineffective servants, but we are servants. Through the Holy Spirit, God has gifted every Christian to serve Him. This means that there is something for every Christian to do for God. This service can be achieved in the church or in the community. We need to consider ourselves as servants of the lord. Joshua 24:14 tells us how to serve God. Our service should be reverent. “Fear the Lord” does not mean that we are to be afraid of God as if He was a hobgoblin intending to harm us . This is what a lot of people think this means. What it means is that we are to reverence God and hold Him in great awe. How can we read the Bible, believe what we read, and not hold Him in awe? Think of Jesus healing the sick, stilling storms, turning water into wine, etc. When we reverence God, we do not want to displease Him, particularly in the area of our service for Him. Our service should be sincere. When we serve sincerely, we put our hearts and souls into our service. For example, if a person has the gift of hospitality and serves as an usher in the church, he will not greet people half-heartedly. He will greet people in a sincere, Christian spirit. That makes a difference to people. If a person has the gift of encouragement, he or she will seek to encourage people wherever they are. This means that they would encourage people at work, at the mall, at a ball game – wherever. Sincerity goes a long way towards bringing people into the kingdom of God. Our service should be steadfast. When we serve the Lord, we serve Him according to His truth. This means that we hold steadfastly to the word of God as we serve. We are not to be “tossed about by every wind of doctrine.” Whatever we do, we are to stick to the Bible and what it commands. This will lead to stability in service. When we serve according to biblical truth, we do not stop serving because of adversity or disagreement. A lot of people quit serving when they encounter problems with people. We must keep on serving in spite of the obstacles and persevere in our service for the Lord. Our service should be exclusive. Joshua told the Israelites to “put away the gods which your fathers served.” Jesus said that we “cannot serve God and mammon." We are not in religious service, which can mean anything. We are servants of the Lord Jesus Christ and we are to serve Him and Him alone as led by the Holy Spirit. Keep in mind that you are a servant of God if you are a Christian. Serve Him! Bro. Joe |
AuthorDr. Joe Beauchamp is the author of this blog and website. Categories
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