The Christmas Story in One Verse

As one who sometimes struggles with assurance of his own salvation, I find great comfort in the fact that I love God’s Word and that love is one sign that salvation is true in your life. I take it literally, except when the nuances of language clearly delineate it as speaking in metaphors and symbols. I believe it is true in its entirety, rejecting any ideas of the world that the stories are myths and fables. I believe it speaks with the full authority of God Himself, having been written by men who were inspired by the Holy Spirit. I believe it is sufficient in itself and that it provides all the knowledge and wisdom of how to live this life, that it does not need man’s help in instructing us about the human heart, soul, and spirit.  I also believe it is a treasure trove of truth that in this life we will never exhaust its fruit and that it must be mined like a mine of precious jewels. These are but a sampling of why I love God’s Word.

Yesterday, being Sunday, was yet another opportunity to gather with brothers and sisters in Christ to hear it preached. And it was one of those sermons I always love. It was sermon that our pastor preached on one passage, one specific verse, and I am always fascinated by these sermons because they always show the depth of the scriptures, that you can spend forty-five minutes expositing and drawing out so much with just one verse.

Being the Sunday before Christmas, it was a Christmas message. Pastor Micah went a different direction than others have in the past. He chose this one verse.

John 1:14
And the Word became flesh, and dwelt among us, and we saw His glory, glory as of the only begotten from the Father, full of grace and truth.

Not the typical scripture for preaching the Christmas story, yet it really does capture the essence of Christmas and why it’s important.

Is there a more accurate statement that describes what happened on the day Jesus was born? The first chapter of John is a vital one because in it we find the doctrine of the deity of Christ. Jesus is the Word. Because He is the Word, we know He is eternal. Because He is eternal, we can know that the truth of His deity is true. Because He is God, then the Gospel makes sense. Christmas is about God coming down to earth and doing so as a man so that He could do what we cannot; live a perfect and sinless life. This made Jesus the one and only possible sacrifice for sin. This is why He is called the lamb of God.

Jesus came down to us and when He came as a babe in a manger, it was so much more than just that part of the story. He came as this verse says, full of grace and full of truth. Both are equally important in our lives. The truth of His sinless nature and why He came must not be allowed to pass by us. We are not like Jesus. We are the opposite. He came as a sinless man; we are sin-filled. Because he came as truth we are revealed as lost sinners and as those who cannot save ourselves. But because He also came full of grace, we have hope. When we receive the Christmas story as it is in truth, we can receive His gift; the gift of salvation and rebirth into His kingdom.

The depths of theology that one can dig into out of this verse are vast and deep. They tell the real story of Christmas. I suggest each of you take that journey. Find out for yourselves the wonders of the Christmas story by committing to a life-long journey that looks deeply into the joy of salvation through the reading and the study of God’s Word. Find a church in which the leadership is committed to making disciples through the saving and transformative power of God’s Word.

There is a gift for you this Christmas. Receive that gift. The gift of Jesus. The Word, that became flesh. The Word that dwelt among us. See the glory of this Jesus. Hear the truth He brought. Receive the grace he offers. He is full of grace and of truth. We need both.

This is the story of Christmas. And the Word became flesh, and dwelt among us, and we saw His glory, glory as of the only begotten from the Father, full of grace and truth.

Merry Christmas

Christmas Is Over. Now What?

Well, another Christmas has come and passed. The excitement and the joy of the season is gone. We’ve shopped, we’ve partied, we’ve sung all the songs, and then we all opened our presents. We gathered at the table and shared great meals and good family fellowship. Most of us even went to church at some point in the celebration we call Christmas, even some who only attend at times like these and maybe did so only out of the desire to honor mom or grandma.

 

It’s over now. The question that each of us must answer now is this; What do we do now? How do we ride out the rest of the winter?

 

The Bible tells more than the story of the baby Jesus being born in a manger. Though we often place the story of the wise men visiting Jesus with His actual birth, they really do not arrive until later. Take a look.

 

Matthew 2:1-2
 Now after Jesus was born in Bethlehem of Judea in the days of Herod the king, magi from the east arrived in Jerusalem, saying, "Where is He who has been born King of the Jews? For we saw His star in the east and have come to worship Him."

 

The magi arrived from the east in Jerusalem after Jesus was born. Their story is an interesting one, for in it, is embedded a question we all must ask ourselves. What were, or maybe even now, what are we looking for when we follow the call to go to Jesus? Matthew tells us that the magi saw His star in the east and they went to worship Him. Can we say the same?

 

When I look back at what led me to Christ, I remember it was desperation. My life had become filled with worries and troubles that I just couldn’t find the answers to. Depression set into my core and led me to the point of hopelessness. It’s not that I no longer wanted to live, I did, I just couldn’t live without hope. We come to saving faith in Christ in many, different ways. Some people are blessed to be raised in church and simply receive Christ at some point in their youth, responding to the preparation of the soils of their hearts, as God used the witness of others. Others fall deeply into sins, sins that often lead to horrible addictions. Some live in perpetual pain or sickness. We all have a story. Mine is one of desperation.

 

Sometimes God does great miracles of deliverance, and people come to faith having been delivered of their sin, be they drugs, alcohol, or any of the other addictions. Some were healed from a sickness that offered no hope. But that just isn’t always the case. God does not always remove the pain of life and give us everything we long for.

 

The truth of the Christmas story is this; God sent Jesus to save us from our sins, so that like the wise men, we would begin a journey that culminates in us fallen before Him and simply worshipping Him.

 

Jesus has come. What will you do now? How will we live out the rest of this winter?

 

I offer that the answer is that we stop looking for things from Him and go on a journey to find Jesus. You don’t have to travel hundreds or thousands of miles. You only need to fall to your knees. You only need to lift your hands. You only need to stop running and simply go to Him in prayer. You simply worship Him.

 

As to your physical, emotional, and spiritual needs? Jesus has those. Worship Him by doing what He says, and He will handle them. I leave you today with His command as to what we are to do the day after Christmas.

 

Matthew 6:33
But seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness, and all these things will be added to you.

Gifts - It's What Christmas Is All About

Christmas is about gifts. It would be hard for most of us to deny that statement. And who hasn’t heard the old adage, it’s better to give than receive? All my life I’ve heard people say that and for many adults, they believe that. Not me. I’m not going to lie; I like getting gifts as much as giving them. Truthfully? Maybe more. Nothing cranks me up more than getting a gift. I’m very materialistic. I like stuff.

Yesterday, my family celebrated Christmas. We exchanged gifts and I got some cool stuff. Last night, my wife and I exchanged gifts. I got some cool stuff. This morning my youngest daughter will come over and we will, once again, exchange gifts. Whatever she gives me, will be cool stuff.

But you know what? Even though some of the stuff I got for Christmas is cool stuff, the reason I loved getting them goes beyond that. What I really love about getting a gift is that it means I have some one in my life, who took the time to give it to me. It doesn’t matter whether they spent hours walking a store struggling to pick something out, or they simply went on Amazon and selected off my wish list that I set up prior to Christmas. They still thought of me enough to do that. That means a lot to me. More than they know.

Oh, that saying I referred to above? It’s more than an old adage. It derives from a direct quote from the Bible and right from the mouth of Jesus as Luke quotes him.

Acts 20:35
 "In everything I showed you that by working hard in this manner you must help the weak and remember the words of the Lord Jesus, that He Himself said, 'It is more blessed to give than to receive.'"

Jesus, Himself, said “It is more blessed to give than to receive.” Hmm? Sounds like I have my priorities wrong. But no where here does Jesus say it’s not okay to receive. It is. But what Jesus is saying to us that we will find even greater joy when we give to others, than we get from others. As a matter of fact, it’s in the receiving of Him, upon which our entire future rests.

John 1:12
But to all who did receive him, who believed in his name, he gave the right to become children of God.

You see the best thing we can ever do, is to receive His gift. And that gift is the right to become children of God. No present under the tree will ever come close to being as wonderful as this gift. This is why we celebrate Christmas. This is why we exchange gifts. We give each other gifts and we receive gifts from each other because that is a picture of what God has done for us by sending Jesus into the world. That is what Christmas is about.

John 1:9-13
 The true light, which gives light to everyone, was coming into the world.  He was in the world, and the world was made through him, yet the world did not know him.  He came to his own, and his own people did not receive him.  But to all who did receive him, who believed in his name, he gave the right to become children of God, who were born, not of blood nor of the will of the flesh nor of the will of man, but of God.

Our salvation is a gift from God.

John 1:14
And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us, and we have seen his glory, glory as of the only Son from the Father, full of grace and truth.

That is the greatest Christmas gift ever. The Word became flesh. The baby was born in a lowly manger. But that baby is the King.

I love gifts. I love giving them, I love receiving them. When we do Christmas, we are painting a picture of the greatest gift ever given. The love of God. A love so great, so deep, so wide, that He would send His one and only Son, that in Him, we may have eternal life.

Have you received the gift?

As you celebrate Christmas, and both give and receive, remember that all good things come from God. But the best gift ever given is the giving of Jesus.

Receive the gift. Share the gift. Tell others that Jesus came into the world to save us from our sins. That God has given us this wonderful gift. Tell them to receive it and the right to become children of God. That’s the greatest gift. We can receive it. We can share it.

Merry Christmas to all and to all a good night!

 

 

Naughty or Nice? Which list Are You On This Very Christmas Day?

I must confess that oftentimes I am overcritical and judgmental. We went to church this morning and I saw a woman with one of those cheesy red Christmas shirts that have some dumb saying on it. Now I’m not so legalistic that I think you must wear a suit and tie to church. I didn’t even get dressed up this morning, I attended church in blue jeans and a shirt Jane gave me for Christmas that probably fits more in a cowboy church than a traditional service. But I do believe in reverence of God. I have been critical of the kind of things like wearing your hat and drinking coffee during the service. I wrestle with these things because I know that what we wear on the outside doesn’t matter, it’s having a true heart of worship that matters. But still I think there should be SOME limit to how we appear when worshipping, shouldn’t there?

This woman had on, as I said, a really cheesy Christmas shirt that said in bold letters, “The Naughty List Is Underrated”. Now I get it; it’s just a joke. But wear it to church? On Christmas day?

But you know the Holy Spirit has an amazing way of waking a person up and revealing the truth. You see, in light of the birth of Christ, being on the naughty list is exactly why Jesus was born. In truth; all of us are on that list. Obviously, the naughty list refers to Santa and the object of a little kid is to be good all year so that they can make the good list and get presents on Christmas morning. Failure to be good and the subsequent result of finding your name on the naughty list will cause a kid to get only a lump of coal in lieu of good stuff like toys and sweets. But as much as I love the Santa fantasy of Christmas, it is just that; childhood fantasy.

As I pondered all this the Holy Spirit reminded me of why Christmas is so special. You see Jesus did not come down from glory to be born in a manger because someone was good and deserved to be loved by Him. No, He came to save sinners. He came into this world to reach out His hand of grace and mercy to those on the naughty list. He said it Himself in Luke 5:32 saying “I have not come to call the righteous but sinners to repentance.”

The Gospel is good news for those of us humble enough to admit which list we are on. Why? Because Romans 5:6 tells us that “while we were still helpless, at the right time Christ died for the ungodly.” He died for me and He died for you. Romans 5:8 reminds us that “God demonstrates His own love toward us, in that while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us.” Jesus didn’t wait for us to be promoted from the naughty list to the good one to come.

No, our goal should not be to make the naughty list each year. While Jesus did say that He didn’t come to call the righteous but to call sinners, do not let the end of that verse escape you. He called us to repentance. He calls us to be holy and through the Holy Spirit He empowers us to start a new journey on the path to that holy life. But it is a journey. That journey began in a manger and then went through a cross where Jesus would die to be sure we would receive the gift of salvation. And now because He is the Great Emmanuel, He dwells within those who call Him Lord and Savior. The greatest gift of all time is the gift of Jesus.

So if you’re like me, you probably missed out on the Santa good list this year. But Santa isn’t God. Thanks to Jesus I did not receive a lump of coal. Instead I received the joy of knowing Jesus and knowing His Father who now dwells within my heart through the Holy Spirit. It was not a gift I deserved nor a gift I earned. It was a gift; a gift given in the fullness of a love so deep and so wide that it transcends any gift ever given. What more could a man want or need? And Jesus wants you to have this gift this very day. Take hold of it. Cherish it. Share it.

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Merry Christmas.

What Now?

Christmas has finally arrived and by now all over America children have opened their gifts. Their excitement last night made sleep hard as they couldn’t wait for this morning to finally come. But today is the day and now all the anticipation has reached its zenith. For the parents it’s relief, though there are meals to be made and people to entertain, for the most part the chaos, if not over, will soon have passed.

What now? What happens tomorrow? For many of us, including me, depression will set in. The party will be over and real life will slip back in. Many of us spent too much money and tomorrow we will be scratching our heads wondering how we will pay off the credit card. Though most will wait for New Years, the decorations will need to come down. Here in the Midwest the weather will turn and winter will set in. This year was special because Christmas fell on a Friday but the weekend will whiz by and Monday, I know don’t say it, but it will be back to work. Where did Christmas go, will soon be the cry.

The last few years we Christians have bemoaned the world’s attitude toward the season. The world does not want Jesus in any of this. So we fought hard to say Merry Christmas instead of Happy Holidays. We made sure we got the manger scenes into the world. We complained that our schools teach our kids about Islam and ignore our Christian beliefs.

So now what? Christmas is over and we’ve put away the manger scene.

The answer is simple and is found in the Book of Matthew.

Matthew 17:1-4
“And after six days Jesus took with him Peter and James, and John his brother, and led them up a high mountain by themselves.  And he was transfigured before them, and his face shone like the sun, and his clothes became white as light.  And behold, there appeared to them Moses and Elijah, talking with him.  And Peter said to Jesus, “Lord, it is good that we are here. If you wish, I will make three tents here, one for you and one for Moses and one for Elijah.”

Peter so desperately wanted to do something here for Jesus. So do we. God Himself has spoken in His Word, not only to Peter, but also to us.

Matthew 17:5
“He was still speaking when, behold, a bright cloud overshadowed them, and a voice from the cloud said, “This is my beloved Son, with whom I am well pleased; listen to him.”

I love this. Did you catch it? Peter was still speaking and God Himself cuts him off. In other words, “Hey Peter, stop trying to do things for Jesus of your own accord and do one simple thing; listen to Him.”

In the coming week many of us will make these things called resolutions. We will come up with a list of things we are going to do this year. While most of us want to lose weight and get into shape, nothing wrong with that, as Christians we need to consider Jesus as we start a new year.

We need to listen to Him. Our pastor’s theme for his Christmas message was “How well do we keep Christmas?” In other words what impact does the birth of Christ have on our life? If we are going to call ourselves Christians then we need to address this question. We need to commit ourselves to obeying Jesus.

So I leave you this morning with that thought. As you wrap up Christmas, pun intended, what will you do with the leftovers? Will you go on in the new year with fear about the future? There is plenty to fear. We can worry about ISIS, our investments, our jobs, and everything else there is to worry about or we could stop and hear what God is saying. “This is my beloved Son, with whom I am well pleased; listen to him.” He gave us a book; it’s called the Bible. He gave us the Holy Spirit and He will teach us all things the Word of God has for us. He sent His Son and through His death and resurrection we now have access to the Father through the Son to talk with God anytime we want through prayer. Because of Christmas and the birth of Jesus, we have no excuse not to listen to Him.

Merry Christmas to all and may the blessings of God be upon each of you in the coming days, months, and years. Listen to Jesus and 2016 will be a great year.

The Un-Opened Gift

What if you bought someone you loved a gift, the greatest gift they could ever dream of and they came over Christmas Day and when you gave them the gift they said thank you and then set it down and never opened it? Maybe they even took it home with them but five, ten years later they had never opened it?

Christmas is about gifts; we all know that. And behind the idea of giving gifts we say is the true meaning of Christmas. Jesus is the reason for the season we cry. Say Merry Christmas not Happy Holidays, we moan over and over to the world.

But the truth is to those who never open the real gift of Christmas, which is the gift of salvation that comes wrapped in the grace and mercy of God, there really is no Merry in Christmas.

To celebrate the birth of Christ in any way only to say Merry Christmas, it’s the best time of the year, without surrendering your life to Him, is simply ignoring the truth. Jesus came to save sinners; that is good news, but most are unwilling to agree with Him in their own depravity.

Many will sing out this Christmas a song that echoes what the Angels said upon His birth, “Peace on earth, Good will to men! But that is not what the angels proclaimed. Hear what the Word of God says, from Luke 2:14, "Glory to God in the highest, And on earth peace among men with whom He is pleased." That peace is conditional.

We all know there is no peace on earth. Not yet, though it will come when Christ returns. Jesus said this Matthew 10:34, “Do not think that I have come to bring peace to the earth. I have not come to bring peace, but a sword.” Jesus would go on in that scripture reading to explain the cost of following Him. Those are whom He will bring a peace to as the angel proclaimed that day. That peace is peace with God, the peace we need to be restored into fellowship with our Holy God, which includes eternal peace in Heaven. Paul reminds us in Romans 5:1  “since we have been justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ. “ But that peace is only for those who will not just look at the gift of the birth of Christ that we see in the celebration of Christmas, but those who will actually open the gift.

Christmas will come and go. All those “Merry Christmas’s” will mean nothing to most to whom we say it. I am not saying we shouldn’t say Merry Christmas. I say let’s have a blast with it all. But let’s not stop with Merry Christmas. Let’s find a way to get people to open the real gift of Christmas; Christ Himself.