Christmas 2015

"Therefore, when the time came for the eternal Son of God to be sent by his Father into the world, the work of the Holy Spirit was a quiet, unobtrusive work in the service of the Father and the Son. Through him the Father caused the Son to be conceived in Mary the virgin. So from the very beginning of Christ’s incarnation the Holy Spirit was quietly doing what needed to be done to put forward Jesus Christ as the Son of God and Savior of man." (John Piper)

"Infinite, and an infant.
Eternal, and yet born of a woman.
Almighty, and yet hanging on a woman’s breast.
Supporting a universe, and yet needing to be carried in a mother’s arms.
King of angels, and yet the reputed son of Joseph.
Heir of all things, and yet the carpenter’s despised son." (Charles Haddon Spurgeon)

"How shall we deal with such a child? Have our hands, soiled with daily toil, become too hard and too proud to fold in prayer at the sight of this child? Has our head become too full of serious thoughts … that we cannot bow our head in humility at the wonder of this child? Can we not forget all our stress and struggles, our sense of importance, and for once worship the child, as did the shepherds and the wise men from the East, bowing before the divine child in the manger like children?" (Dietrich Bonhoeffer)

"The enemy is not going to win. Christmas is but the beginning of the story. The baby brought light into the darkness, and He would break the back of the powers through His later death and resurrection. If you’re struggling this Christmas season, don’t forget the rest of the story!" (Thomas Rainer)

Prior posts:

Day 26 | Day 25 | Day 24 | Day 23 | Day 22 | Day 21 | Day 20 | Day 19 | Day 18 | Day 17 | Day 16 | Day 15
Day 14 | Day 13 | Day 12 | Day 11 | Day 10 | Day 9 | Day 8 | Day 7 | Day 6 | Day 5 | Day 4 | Day 3 | Day 2
Day 1

Christmas Thoughts 2015

“Behold, the virgin shall conceive and bear a son, and they shall call his name Immanuel” (which means, God with us). - Matthew 1:23

This passage, from one of the biblical accounts of Jesus birth, is fairly common and most of us have probably heard it or read it or sung it dozens, if not hundreds, of times over the years. In fact, one of the classic Christmas carols is "Come, O Come, Emmanuel". However, despite our familiarity with this statement of an angel to Jesus' step dad, if you're like me, you may have missed the stunning promise being made to all who would love and follow Jesus.

The promise spoken to Joseph, but in reality made to all who would align themselves with Jesus, is that through Jesus God would be with us. Now, most of us would acknowledge that if God is really God, he is everywhere all the time. That's simply part of being God. Since this is true, what's so special about Jesus coming to live among us so that God could be with us?  Here are just a couple of simple thoughts.

First the fact that God is everywhere doesn't guarantee his closeness or his favor. Have you ever been to a college or NFL football game? How about a concert or a Broadway show? How about shopping on Black Friday? In all of these situations you are physically close to a lot of people. But how many are you relationally close to? How many of the 70,000 people at the football game "have your back"? Very, very few, if any. But Immanuel means the God who is everywhere is now here for you. As we follow and trust in Jesus, he is on our side in ways we can't even imagine. And, looking forward to Good Friday, we can honestly say, Jesus has our back.

Second, there is an elephant in the room when it comes to our relationship with God. Most of us would rather not talk about it (thus the elephant in the room metaphor) but that doesn't change the reality. We would prefer to just wish it away or hope that somehow God might develop Alzheimer's. But ignoring or wishing away our problem with God doesn't remove it or resolve it. In fact it makes it worse. The problem is this: since the moment we were born, we have wanted to do things our way. We have offended, rejected, ridiculed and rebelled against God day after day for our entire lives. Even the "best" of us have done our good deeds in self directed ways, thus doubling down on the problem. 

Because of all of this, God really has no reason to come to be with us, much less to be on our side. And yet the promise is that he will. However, in order to do this, our problem must be resolved. We don't have the resources or the ability to fix the problem, but Jesus does.  So, implicit in the promise that Jesus will be God with us is an even deeper promise. Jesus will solve the problem that every man, woman and child on this planet has. We are sinners and rebels while God is holy and just. Jesus has come to take the just punishment owed to us so we can receive the gracious blessing of God being with us and for us.

And finally, while this may seem obvious, it is quite easily missed or minimized when we think about Jesus, especially at Christmas. If Jesus is to be Immanuel, which means God with us, he must be God. Why is this so important? Consider some of the additional promises made to those who trust in Jesus: We will one day be with him, Jesus is praying for us right now, We will have new bodies just like his, Nothing can take away God's love for us, and so many more. How can any of these promises be true, much less realized, if Jesus is not God?

So, as we celebrate and enjoy this great and glorious Christmas season, remember that Jesus is Immanuel for those who love him, follow him and trust him. May this Christmas be the one where we truly worship the savior king who is God with us. Immanuel.

Of the Father's Love Begotten

(HT to Kevin DeYoung Of the Father's Love Begotten)

Of the Father’s love begotten,
Ere the worlds began to be,
He is Alpha and Omega,
He the source, the ending He,
Of the things that are, that have been,
And that future years shall see,
Evermore and evermore!

At His Word the worlds were framèd;
He commanded; it was done:
Heaven and earth and depths of ocean
In their threefold order one;
All that grows beneath the shining
Of the moon and burning sun,
Evermore and evermore!

He is found in human fashion,
Death and sorrow here to know,
That the race of Adam’s children
Doomed by law to endless woe,
May not henceforth die and perish
In the dreadful gulf below,
Evermore and evermore!

O that birth forever blessed,
When the virgin, full of grace,
By the Holy Ghost conceiving,
Bare the Saviour of our race;
And the Babe, the world’s Redeemer,
First revealed His sacred face,
evermore and evermore!

This is He Whom seers in old time
Chanted of with one accord;
Whom the voices of the prophets
Promised in their faithful word;
Now He shines, the long expected,
Let creation praise its Lord,
Evermore and evermore!

O ye heights of heaven adore Him;
Angel hosts, His praises sing;
Powers, dominions, bow before Him,
and extol our God and King!
Let no tongue on earth be silent,
Every voice in concert sing,
Evermore and evermore!

Righteous judge of souls departed,
Righteous King of them that live,
On the Father’s throne exalted
None in might with Thee may strive;
Who at last in vengeance coming
Sinners from Thy face shalt drive,
Evermore and evermore!

Thee let old men, thee let young men,
Thee let boys in chorus sing;
Matrons, virgins, little maidens,
With glad voices answering:
Let their guileless songs re-echo,
And the heart its music bring,
Evermore and evermore!

Christ, to Thee with God the Father,
And, O Holy Ghost, to Thee,
Hymn and chant with high thanksgiving,
And unwearied praises be:
Honour, glory, and dominion,
And eternal victory,
Evermore and evermore!

When Sleep Doesn't Come

Behold, he who keeps Israel will neither slumber nor sleep. (Ps 121:4)

I have to thank God that I usually have very little trouble sleeping. I can have hard days and I can have long days, but when my head hits the pillow, its usually lights out. But every once in a while...sleep doesn't come. Sure sleeplessness provides an opportunity for prayer or a little extra reading or perhaps a bowl of Cherrios (my favorite sleeplessness remedy). Yet, I think the tossing and the turning, the mind that won't relax, hanging on to yesterday or anticipating tomorrow, the body that is wired for some unknown (or maybe well known) reason all can be viewed as gifts from God to remind us (again) that our rest (physical and spiritual) must be in Him.

Here is a reality that many of us know, but most of us fail to embrace. The message of the Bible from beginning to end is that God is lovingly and sovereignly in control of our lives. Isn't that the point of Mt 6, especially verses 25-34? And yet we live our lives as if we have sole control over everything. Even when things don't quite go our way, we think of what mid course corrections we can make, what lessons we can learn, how we can make improvements to what ever that didn't go our way. Yet, with all of this self focus, God gives us these gracious reminders that we are not even in control of our own sleep.

Of course, we need to remember that God's objective isn't simply to demonstrate His raw power and control. No, as a loving Creator, He always has twin objectives. For those who don't know Him, He is posting yet another sign post that He exists and that our lives are ultimately empty and pointless without Him. And for those who do know Him, He is calling us as a loving Father to rest and trust in Him. Perhaps Heb 4:10 says it best "for whoever has entered God's rest  has also rested from his works as God did from his"

In the end, sleep is good since it too is a gift from God.(Ps 127:2) But I think sleeplessness is good as well, because God can be glorified even in what he periodically withholds.

For God Alone be the Glory

He will wipe away every tear

He will wipe away every tear from their eyes, and death shall be no more, neither shall there be mourning, nor crying, nor pain anymore, for the former things have passed away. - Rev 21:4

Without a doubt, there will be many amazing, indescribable moments in heaven. Worshiping purely before the throne. Gazing with inexpressible gratitude upon Jesus' pierced hands and feet and side. Walking the streets of gold with long separated loved ones. And so many more.

But I wonder, what will it be like to have God our Father wipe away every tear from our eyes?

Tears of sorrow? Gone.

Tears of regret? Gone.

Tears of pain? Gone.

Tears of loss? Gone.

The striking thing is that these tears of our won't simply dry up. They won't just vanish by a command of an almighty sovereign Lord. No He will personally blot them up. He will come to each of us and dry them Himself. He can do this because Jesus has absorbed the penalty for the sin those tears represent. And Jesus' victory over sin and death and the grave has reversed the very cause of our tears.

Remember this, whatever tears you may shed today, God will wipe them from your eyes one day. The journey from here to there may be difficult and there may be many more tears along the way. But the day is coming (soon, I pray) when the God who wept with us will come to you personally and remove the last effect of a sinful, dying world.

And then our joyful, tearless, life begins!

To God Alone be the Glory