He Came As One Of Us

"And she brought forth her firstborn Son, and wrapped Him in swaddling cloths, and laid Him in a manger, because there was no room for them in the inn." (Luke 2:7)

Now there's a mystery. God coming to earth and fully taking on humanity, experiencing the full gamut of the human existence, including the indignity of being born. He had to be changed and cleaned up like any other baby. When it was hot He sweated. When it was cold He shivered. He knew hunger and thirst. Thus "we do not have a High Priest who cannot sympathize with our weaknesses, but was in all points tempted as we are, yet without sin" (Hebrews 4:15).

"Let this mind be in you which was also in Christ Jesus, who, being in the form of God, did not consider it robbery to be equal with God, but made Himself of no reputation, taking the form of a bondservant, [and] coming in the likeness of men. And being found in appearance as a man, He humbled Himself and became obedient to [the point of] death, even the death of the cross." (Philippians 2:5-8)

Abundant Grace

"And the grace of our Lord was exceeding abundant with faith and love which is in Christ Jesus."
(1st Timothy 1:14)

Yes it was. And Christmas is such a wonderful time to remember that. In giving gifts we reflect the nature of God who gave such a wonderful gift to us in Christ Jesus. It boggles the imagination. Jesus Christ was given to us with one condition. The same condition that goes with any gift ever given -- it must be received. Imagine giving a gift on Christmas morning to someone only to be told, "I won't take it. I don't want it." You'd be pretty hurt wouldn't you?

God's grace is such a marvelous concept. God rescues us. He save us. He gives us Himself. He does this in spite of our sin and shortcomings. He does this, not because we are good, but because of His great love for us. Let's remember that this Christmas. We really do have so much to celebrate!

"How silently, how silently,
The wondrous gift is given
So God imparts to human hearts
The blessings of his heaven.
No ear may hear his coming,
But in this world of sin,
Where meek souls will receive him, still
The dear Christ enters in."

(O Little Town of Bethlehem by Phillips Brooks)

Thanks Giving

"And when you offer a sacrifice of thanksgiving to the LORD, offer it of your own free will." (Leviticus 22:29)

My wife has been posting daily notifications on Facebook about things that she is thankful for. I've noticed some others doing this too. Thankfulness is such a great heart attitude to cultivate. It keeps us, at the least, somewhat focused in the right direction.

As we approach Thanksgiving it is a wonderful attitude to hone in on. Look at the word. Thanksgiving is a combination of "thanks" and "giving." Thankfulness is a wonderful healthy heart attitude but it can only truly be done with a sense of giving -- it can't be done grudgingly or forced. It really has to come from within BUT it can be cultivated.

Cultivate it in the small things. Sometimes in the hustle and bustle of life we forget that. Be appreciative of the small things that others do for you. Let them know how grateful you are. Count the blessings that God has given you today. Take some time to express it to Him!

Not of this World

"I have given them Your word; and the world has hated them because they are not of the world, just as I am not of the world." (John 17:14).

This is tough for us to grasp sometimes. Most people want to be liked. Christians are no exception. Usually believers are actually pretty nice folk. Unfortunately, needing to be liked can be a trap. Jesus was never in bondage to making sure people liked him or accepted him. He went around speaking the truth without ever being in bondage by the need to convince. He spoke the truth and moved on. We can learn a lesson.

"Not of this world." That's a phrase that we struggle with sometimes. It seems (I leave room here that I could be wrong) to me that it' a phrase that doesn't seem to resonate as sharply among believers as it did 20 or 30 years ago. We want to reach out but I'm afraid that in our efforts to be "seeker friendly" we've found an excuse to comfort our need to be liked.

Jesus said that we would be hated. Isn't it interesting that you can talk about God as long as you keep it generic but the name of Jesus is offensive. Peter wrote (1st Peter 2:8) that Jesus is "a stone of stumbling and a rock of offense" to unbelievers.

The challenge for us is to not cave in out of our need to be accepted or to become hateful ourselves when we are hated. We are not of this world. We are pilgrims passing through but pilgrims with a very important assignment -- to share the love of Jesus in a lost and dying world.

The Fruit Test

"But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, longsuffering, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control. Against such there is no law." (Galatians 5:22-23)

The fruit of the Spirit is outward evidence of our walk with God. When the conditions are right a tree produces fruit naturally. It doesn't have to strain and make fruit occur. If the soil is good and it gets the proper amount of rain and sunlight it will produce fruit. A healthy tree produces good fruit.

Likewise, when our walk with the Lord is healthy fruit is produced! The list in Galatians 5:22-23 provides a wonderful checklist for our lives. If something is missing what is the problem? It won't be God, it will be me. If I don't have peace or joy, why not? I can then talk to the Lord and see where I'm missing Him or if the problem is some kind of external stress He can help me deal with that also! We have an awesome Heavenly Father.

F.E.A.R.

"For God has not given us a spirit of fear, but of power and of love and of a sound mind." (2nd Timothy 1:7)

One of my favorite acronyms is for the word fear --False Evidence Appearing Real. Fear is one of the most powerful weapons the enemy can use against us. As believers we are called to only fear God. The fear in that context is a reverential awe not a stark raving terror. Fear works against in terrible ways. It makes us sick in body and soul. Fear is based in our belief of a bad outcome in a certain situation. The situation can involve pretty much anything but health, finances, job, and family seem to be the ones that really hit home. When developed to an extreme fear can lead to crippling phobias. Fear can also be an extremely tough thing to battle.

But "The weapons of our warfare are not carnal but mighty in God for pulling down strongholds, casting down arguments and every high thing that exalts itself against the knowledge of God, bringing every thought into captivity to the obedience of Christ" (2nd Corinthians 4-5). The weapons of our warfare are not carnal (natural) but they are MIGHTY! Take a close look at this passage and discern the argument Paul is making. Pulling down strongholds; casting down arguments; and everything that exalts itself against the knowledge of God and bringing thoughts (all of them) into captivity to the obedience of Christ. The battlefield here is the mind. Satan doesn't show up with his pitchfork, rather, he whispers in your head.

Meditating on a dread outcome is giving in to fear -- believing that "false evidence appearing real." Taking those thoughts captive changes the picture! To do that though we have to something else to stand on. To cast down an argument we have to have something to counter that argument with. How about the Word of God! The Word of God is full of wonderful promises for God's children but you won't know too many of them unless you get in there and dig them out!

How does this work? Let's say you are given a difficult task at work. You might start having negative thoughts like, "There's no way I can do this" or "This is just way too hard. I can't believe I got stuck with this." If you know the the Word that says, "I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me" (Philippians 4:13) then you can cast down those thoughts and bring them into captivity to the obedience of Christ. It is pretty simple but it does takes little discipline and perseverance. You can do it.

Don't let F.E.A.R. have its way in your life!

The 23rd Psalm

"Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me All the days of my life; And I will dwell in the house of the LORD Forever." (Psalm 23:6)

"Follow me on Facebook or Twitter." Social networking that combines the internet, cellphones and PDAs is really, really popular these days. Initially considered the domain of the young, people of all ages are now using technology to keep up with one another's activities in real time. With the right technology (and motivation to keep it up) people can literally stay connected and follow one another (in a virtual sense) around the world.

Long before Twitter and Facebook though there was a precious promise that David grasped. That was a promise that the goodness and mercy of God would follow him all the days of his life. The 23rd Psalm is truly a wonderful little psalm but I fear that sometimes we've heard it so much it loses its impact. It has been put on plaques and paintings and clocks (I have one myself) and needlepoint and hundreds of other things beside.

The reality, though, is that this psalm is an awesome revelation of the goodness of God. It has wonderful promises for His children and portrays His love and care in such a marvelous manner. Take some time to meditate on it today. Don't say "I've read it a thousand times, I already know it." Read it again. Let God speak to your heart. It'll encourage and bless you! God will once again reveal His goodness and mercy to you in new fresh ways!