God With Us

"Behold, the virgin shall be with child and shall bear a son, and they shall call His name Immanuel, which translated means, "God with us." (Matthew 1:23)

God with us. The tragedy in Newtown, CT this last week brings these words into stark relief. God with us. We watch that kind of evil unfold and ask why? We wonder how such things could happen? We get a glimpse into the darkness that resides in the hearts of men and find ourselves shocked at what we see. But we shouldn't be. The whole sordid tale of humanity is marred by a whole lot of ugliness. We cry out for answers and for safety. The anti-gun crowd and pro-gun crowd are gearing up for the inevitable clash over gun regulation. I read an article this morning about the connection between psychotropic drugs and school shootings. Investigators are looking at the shooter, his mother, his family, his background and his mental illness for an answer into why. We want answers and we want to see that it never happens again.

It will happen again. Sin is, unfortunately, a present reality for the human experience. We don't like to talk much about sin anymore -- not even in churches, but it is what it is. Jeremiah 17:9 tells us, "The heart is deceitful above all things, And desperately wicked; Who can know it?" We tend now, in our culture, to judge God according to the standards of man. God can't be good or even real because people are judged. I wonder how many people who don't believe in Hell are now hoping that Hell exists -- at least for Adam Lanza anyway. This kind of event knocks us off of our easy platitudes and wishful thinking. Man struggles enough with Jesus. The history of man without God is ugly.

God with us. God help us, because we so desperately need Him. Culturally we seek to marginalize God until tragedy strikes. We don't want Him in the public discourse. We don't want Him in our schools. We don't want Him in our politics. Have your religion, but keep it to yourself. We tell kids that they are just animals like all the other animals and then we wonder why they behave like animals. You're just another monkey off the family tree, not a very special person, created in the image of God.  We make life cheap by killing some 50,000,000 unborn babies and we wonder why people don't value life. Morality and virtue are outdated and subjective. The United States of America has never been a theocracy, but it has been a nation with a God consciousness for most of its existence. Despite revisionist history that is just the truth. If you don't believe me forget what some people now say and go back and read the history -- it's all there in black and white and pretty darned clear.

God with us. That's what Christmas is all about. The answer was not in the law or in the hearts of men or the strength of men or the goodness of men. God became the answer, in part, because there is no other answer. Never has been. In a sin riddled world the answer to the question is still Jesus. What question? Every one that matters. Sadly, Jesus was the answer for Adam Lanza. Jesus is the answer for these children who have gone to the presence of God. Jesus is still the answer for those who are left behind. 

In Jeremiah 8:22 the prophet asks the question, " Is there a balm in Gilead?" In Matthew 12:20 we read about Jesus: "A bruised reed He will not break, And smoking flax He will not quench, Till He sends forth justice to victory." Our prayers are with those left behind in Newtown. Our hearts go out to them. There are lots of victims here. As we search for answers, maybe, just maybe some will find the real answer.  

'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." (John 3:16)

No Other Name

"Nor is there salvation in any other, for there is no other name under heaven given among men by which we must be saved." (Acts 4:12)

Jesus Christ is still "the way, the truth, and the life" and no one comes to the Father except by Him (John 14:6). Salvation is by no other. It was only Jesus Christ who made a way for each of us when we could not make a way for ourselves. He paid my blood debt and bought me eternal relationship with God. It's not cool to believe that anymore. We like to believe that all paths lead to God, but that's just not the truth according to God's Word. Jesus Himself said that the person who doesn't believe is "condemned already" (John 3:18). No amount of monkeying around with scripture can change that. As His follower it's not my job to change the message to make it palatable -- if I were to do that it would, in fact, prove that I am not much of a follower of His. I live according to what He has said, not according to what I think or want to believe.

"For by grace you have been saved through faith, and that not of yourselves; it is the gift of God, not of works, lest anyone should boast." (Ephesians 2:8-9)

This salvation comes by faith, in other words, we receive it by believing God. In Romans Paul writes that we must confess with our mouths that Jesus Christ is Lord and believe in our hearts that God has raised Him from the dead (Romans 10:9). God has purchased our salvation for each of us, but we must receive it by faith. In Galatians 3:22 we read that "the scripture has confined all under sin, that the promise by faith of Jesus Christ might be given to those who believe." Hebrews 10:39 says that "But we are not of those who draw back to perdition, but of those who believe to the saving of the soul." Perdition means destruction.

Judgment is not a popular topic anymore, but the Bible is clear that judgment awaits those who reject Jesus. 2nd Thessalonians 1:8-10 makes that abundantly clear: "in flaming fire taking vengeance on those who do not know God, and on those who do not obey the gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ. These shall be punished with everlasting destruction from the presence of the Lord and from the glory of His power, when He comes, in that Day, to be glorified in His saints and to be admired among all those who believe, because our testimony among you was believed." There's that belief again.

In Matthew 28 and Mark 16 we read where Jesus commanded us to go into the world as His witnesses. We carry the most wonderful news in the history of mankind. The word gospel, literally means "good news." We carry the good news because there is bad news for those who reject the Jesus. We are salt and light in a messed up world.

Salvation is by no other.

What a Wonderful Gift!

"As God has said: "I will dwell in them And walk among them. I will be their God, And they shall be My people." (2nd Corinthians 6:16)

What a precious promise from the Word of God! What a wonderful fulfillment we have in Christ. "I will be their God and they shall be my people." I believe that in this verse we really see the heart of God. Adam walked with God in the cool of the day. Abraham was called the "friend of God." David had a heart after "God's own heart." We were created for fellowship with God.

I believe that this verse expresses the heart of God. He loves humanity. He paid the greatest price that we could be pardoned. He really couldn't have made it any simpler. But, someone might ask, why not just accept everyone regardless? I could write a really long response to that but here's a question to ponder -- is it the fault of the gift giver if someone refuses to accept their gift?

"But the Scripture has confined all under sin, that the promise by faith in Jesus Christ might be given to those who believe." (Galatians 3:22)

My Rock and My Salvation

"He alone is my rock and my salvation; he is my fortress, I will not be shaken." (Psalm 62:6)

I am so thankful that we have a heavenly Father who loves and cares for us so much! Hebrews 4;16 says that we can "come boldly to the throne of grace, that we may obtain mercy and find grace to help in time of need." I have seen the goodness of God manifested in my life over and over again. Not just in emotional help to deal with problems but in real tangible "God episodes" where His provision and help came to bear. God still works in His people just as he always has. When you are in a hard place look to Him. Run into Him.

I love the picture in Hebrews 4:16. We run boldly to the throne of grace. When we do that we find mercy and grace when we most need it -- not when everything is just right and we have it all together but when things are hard and we've made mistakes. That's a verse we can can grasp in the midst of our brokenness and pain. In the throes of our fallen nature we can run boldly into Him because of what Jesus has done for us!

Psalm 46:1 says that "God is is our refuge and strength, A very present help in trouble." Look to Him first. Don't try to fix everything in your own strength and when that doesn't work try God. Run into Him first. Ask Him for wisdom and help. Trust that He is at work in your life. We serve a wonderful God.

"Whosoever hears these sayings of Mine, and does them, I will liken him to a wise man who built his house on the rock: and the rain descended, the floods came, and the winds blew and beat on that house; and it did not fall, for it was founded on the rock" (Matthew 7:24-25).

In Need of a Savior

"For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life. For God did not send His Son into the world to condemn the world, but that the world through Him might be saved. He who believes in Him is not condemned; but he who does not believe is condemned already, because he has not believed in the name of the only begotten Son of God. And this is the condemnation, that the light has come into the world, and men loved darkness rather than light, because their deeds were evil." (John 3:16-19)

John 3:16 is possibly the most well known Bible passage but you really need to see it in context to get the full impact. God sent His son to rescue us -- that we might be saved. He who does not believe is condemned already. That's powerful. We are born in sin. We are born into darkness. That's a little unpalatable. We like to think that children are sweetness and light and little blank slates full of goodness. The truth is somewhat different. The Word of God places a heavy responsibility on parents to raise and train their children. Why? Because humans don't have to be taught to do wrong. They have to be taught to do right.

Folks love to whine about the transgressions of Christianity. They'll point to the inquisition, the Crusades, witch hunts or religious wars as proof. That's a game they don't want to play. Yes, some terrible things have been done in the name of Jesus by people who, for the most part, were probably not believers. And yet,the evil that so-called Christians have done is a pittance when compared to those who have rejected God. This last century witnessed the rise of some of history's biggest mass murderers at the head of atheist regimes. I know a few deluded souls who actually claim that Hitler was a Christian but he rejected Jesus Christ for a bizarre blend of mysticism and Norse-Germanic mythology. Hitler was no more a follower of Jesus Christ than was Mohammed.

Man apart from God is pretty nasty. We were created to know Him and outside of that fulfillment are angry, searching and selfish. The heart of man is rebellion. The heart of man is to rule and dominate his fellow man. Look at history. Look at the world today. Western intellectuals are scared to death of Christians while refusing to take a look at the rest of the world. It's not such a wonderful place is it? That's why we needed to be rescued. We need a savior because we are completely unable to save ourselves. But men love darkness, rather than light.

The Only Way