God's Everything

"For in Christ all the fullness of the Deity lives in bodily form, and in Christ you have been brought to fullness."  Colossians 2:9-10a

The Reverend Ron Dunn used to say,  "Jesus is God's everything!"  The earmarks of our Christmas celebration highlight some of the major needs of man, and they are fulfilled in Jesus.

We string lights on our Christmas trees and our houses in an effort to counter the darkness of a sinful, painful world and the starkness of our everyday existence.  Jesus is the Light of this dark, evil world, and He brings goodness, brightness, and cheerfulness to our day-to-day lives.  Just as we use bright colors in ribbon, wrapping paper, and decorations, Jesus colors our lives with hope, peace, and joy.

Think of the wonderful, familiar music of Christmas.  Jesus brings music to the souls of those who walk closely with Him.

We give gifts in an effort to express recognition, appreciation, and love in a tangible way.  God has given us the greatest Gift ever given to show us how high and deep and wide His love is for us.  At Christmas we give generously to those who are less fortunate materially, and God gives to us, not only generously, but lavishly.  In fact, all good gifts ultimately come from God.

During the holidays we gather with family and friends with a desire to be loved.  Just as we are born into a physical family when we are babies, when we become Christians, God places us into His forever family with many brothers and sisters.  The fatherhood of God presupposes the brotherhood of man.  And Jesus is our Best Friend who sticks with us through all the parts of life.

When Jesus was born in Bethlehem, the supernatural, the miraculous entered this natural world.  When we light the Christ candle on the Advent Wreath, or as we ponder how we have celebrated the coming of Christ into the world, let us remember always that He is our Light, our Hope, our Peace, our Joy, our Love, our Gift, our Best Friend, and our Miracle--our Everything.

Father, thank You for the gift of Jesus and everything You have given us with Him.  Amen.

Love in Action

"Greater love has no man than this: to lay down one's life for one's friends."  John 15:13

"But God demonstrates his own love for us in this:  While we were still sinners, Christ died for us."  Romans 5:8

The world thinks of love as a sentimental, mushy kind of feeling.  Often worldly love is love because--you are attractive, etc., or love if--you do what pleases me, etc.  But Biblical love is love in spite of.  I loved my husband in spite of the fact that he was messy.  He loved me in spite of my tendency to pout when I was not pleased.  We loved each other in spite of all our shortcomings.

Biblical love is an action verb.  Biblical love forgives.  Proverbs 10:12 says,  "Hatred stirs up conflict, but love covers over all wrongs."  Ephesians 4:32 instructs us to "Be kind and compassionate to one another, forgiving each other, just as in Christ God forgave you."  Notice the actions, both what to do and what not to do, in the familiar passage of 1 Corinthians 13:4-7,  "Love is patient, love is kind.  It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud.  It does not dishonor others, it is not self seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs.  Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth.  It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres."  Biblical love is tough.  It hangs in there when the going gets rough.  If you want to know how you are doing in loving Biblically, put your name everywhere these verses say "love" and read this passage.  Are all these things true of you?

Biblical love encourages.  There are givers and there are takers in life.  Those who love Biblically are primarily givers.  Love is unselfish.  It focuses on others and sincerely cares about them.  Jesus told us to love our neighbors as we love ourselves.  1 Corinthians 8:1b says, "Knowledge puffs up while love builds up.” Hebrews 10:24-25a has this message,  "And let us consider how we may spur one another on toward love and good deeds, not giving up meeting together, as some are in the habit of doing, but encouraging one another..."

Biblical love sacrifices.  "But God demonstrates his own love for us in this:  While we were still sinners, Christ died for us."  Romans 5:8.  The highest expression of love man has ever known occurred when Jesus left heaven with all his glory and honor there to come to earth in the form of a man, subjecting His deity to humanity's limitations and dying on the cross for us.  That's what love looks like in action.

Father, since You have loved us, make us willing to allow You to love others through us with Your love.  Amen.

Jesus Gives Us Joy

"But the angel said to them,  "Do not be afraid.  I bring you good news that will cause great joy for all the people."  Luke 2:10

The coming of Jesus into the world is an event which brings us joy deep within our hearts. Jesus told His disciples,  "I have told you this so that my joy may be in you and that your joy may be complete.” (John 15:11) What did Jesus tell His disciples that brought them such joy? The verses that precede John 15:11 answer our question. They say,  "As the Father has loved me, so I have loved you. Now remain in my love. If you keep my commands, you will remain in my love, just as I have kept my Father's commands and remain in His love." (John 15:9-10)  This is great good news--the omnipotent God who created and sustains this vast universe loves us. These words of Jesus are for us as well as for His disciples.

How should we respond to such a great love from God Himself? Scripture gives us direction. Psalm 47:1 says, "Clap your hands, all you nations; shout to God with cries of joy..."  Verses 1-2 in Psalm 66 say, "Shout for joy to God, all the earth! Sing the glory of His name; make His praise glorious." Isaiah 12:5 exhorts us to "Sing to the Lord, for He has done glorious things; let this be known to all the world."

Not only do we rejoice and worship and praise God, but we pass the wonder of it all on to others. Paul said to Philemon, "Your love has given me great joy and encouragement, because you, brother, have refreshed the hearts of the Lord's people." (Philemon 1:7) Is there someone who needs your encouragement today?

We walk in obedience to God's commands because He loves us and we love Him. John wrote in 2 John 1:4, "It has given me great joy to find some of your children walking in the truth, just as the Father commanded us.”

The book of Jude closes with a beautiful doxology of praise which stems from the joy Jesus gives to those who are His. May it lead us in our worship of the Lord today.

Jude 1:24-25, "To him who is able to keep you from stumbling and to present you before his glorious presence without fault and with great joy--to the only God our Savior be glory, majesty, power, and authority, through Jesus Christ our Lord, before all ages, now and forevermore.  Amen.”

Maintaining Peace

"Therefore, as God's chosen people, holy and dearly loved, clothe yourselves with compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness and patience.  Bear with each other and forgive one another if any of you has a grievance against someone.  Forgive as the Lord forgave you.  And over all these virtues put on love, which binds them all together in perfect unity.  Let the peace of Christ rule in your hearts, since as members of one body you were called to peace.  And be thankful."  Colossians 3:12-15

Peace is an elusive commodity in this old world.  From suicide bombers and all the other terrorist acts overseas to fractured relationships with other people to the tragedies of life that may befall us, it seems that the disturbance of peace lurks around every corner.  Is there anything we can do to keep peace in our lives?

There are several aspects to peace.  For instance, there are many calamities of life which we are helpless to prevent, but trusting God through the ones that come to us helps us go through them with peace in our hearts.  God promises to give His perfect peace to those who put their trust in Him. We need to keep our peace with God by obeying His commands and confessing and repenting right away when we sin.

One of the most painful disturbances of our peace comes when we quarrel with someone we love.  It helps us maintain a peaceful life when we deal with love, compassion, mercy, and forgiveness to the people in our lives.  We are particularly exhorted to keep the unity and the peace which Jesus has given to His body, the church.  We have some important bonds with our fellow believers.  D. Martyn Lloyd-Jones said,  "We are all equally sinners...We are all equally helpless...We have all come to one and the same Savior...We have the same salvation...We have the same Holy Spirit...We have the same Father...And finally, we are all marching and going together to the same eternal home.  It is a knowledge and appreciation of these things that will draw us together."

So, not only do I wish you a Merry Christmas, but I wish you a Christmas filled with God's peace in your heart and in your relationships.

Father, thank You for that peace that passes understanding that is available to us.  What a precious gift.  Amen.

Threat or Promise

"For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life."  John 3:16

I recently passed a billboard which said,  "When you die, you will face God."  Let me ask you a question.  How do you feel about that statement, that "When you die, you will face God"?  Do you consider it a threat or a promise?  Those who are threatened by it most likely have never trusted Jesus to be their Savior, so they are without His help, without hope for the future, and without God in their lives.  Their future prospects are worse than dismal, and the only resources they have are the ones they themselves can generate.

If, on the other hand, the promise of meeting God fills you with great anticipation at being face to face with your heavenly Father who created and adopted you; and with your Savior, who died so you could be forgiven and become a member of God family; and with the Holy Spirit who guides, comforts and empowers those who belong to God, you are greatly blessed.  Your life is infused with God's supernatural power and wisdom.  Regardless of your circumstances on earth, you have the hope of a glorious future.  The Baby of Bethlehem, whose birth we celebrate during the Christmas season, has brought help for the helpless, hope for the hopeless, and lives in the hearts of all who belong to God through Him.  And the invitation to come to Christ is open to all who want to do so and will put their faith in Him.

    

Father, today I pray for all those who do not know You through your Son.  May they realize that a threatening future can become the precious promise of God when they trust Jesus as Savior, and may they act on that knowledge.  Amen.

We Would Like to See Jesus

“…we would like to see Jesus.”  John 12:21

One year, several days before Christmas, I put a manger scene on the table in my entry hall.  Mary, Joseph, and the baby Jesus were placed inside the stable.  The wise men and some shepherds were gathered closely around the stable, worshipping the baby.  Some camels, a cow, some sheep, and a goat completed the grouping.

My granddaughter, Mary Frances, who was 3 years old, walked over to see the crèche.  She took one look and began rearranging the figures, pulling the animals, the shepherds, and the wise men back away from the manger.  When I asked her why she was doing that, her reply was God’s Christmas message to me.  She said, “So I can see Jesus.”

This was a reminder to me of how easy it is to allow other things to obscure my view of Jesus and how important it is to move aside anything that blocks my sight of Him.

Hebrews 12:2, “Let us fix our eyes on Jesus, the author and perfecter of our faith…”

Lord Jesus, may I never allow anything to keep me from seeing you.  Amen.

Appreciation

"Every good and perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of the heavenly lights, who does not change like shifting shadows."  James 1:17

Everything we have and everything we are has come to us as gifts from God. Jesus reminded us of that in the last part of John 15:5, when He said, "Apart from me you can do nothing." Think about it. Apart from God we would never have been born. Apart from Him, our hearts would cease to beat and our lungs would stop breathing. Whether we acknowledge it or not, we are completely dependent upon the God Who created us to sustain us.

I have seen this question two or three times lately,"If today you had only what you thanked God for yesterday, what would you have?" Just how appreciative are we of all that God has done for us and given us? A little chorus says, "God is so good," and then "God is so good to me!" If God has been good to us, He is certainly due our appreciation, our gratitude, our praise, and our worship. It is a good thing to set aside one day a year to give thanks to God as a nation, but surely we should thank Him everyday and often more than once a day, because He lavishes His blessings upon us, not only daily, but many times during the day. Lamentations 3:22-23 says,  "Because of the Lord's great love we are not consumed, for his compassions never fail. They are new every morning; great is your faithfulness."

Challenge: Try thanking God every night when you go to bed for five specific things He has given you or done for you that day.  Caution: this may be habit forming. I hope it is. Happy Thanksgiving!

Father, thank You for life and salvation and all of Your multitudinous blessings.  May we live in a constant attitude of appreciation and thankfulness for all You have done for us and all You have given us.  Amen.