Do I Know You?

Have you ever been introduced to someone through other people's descriptions long before you met the person?  If so, were you disappointed or pleasantly surprised?

On the other hand, have you ever known someone all your life only to find a mystery in their person that you'd never guessed?

Both of these levels of acquaintance are applicable to our introduction to the Christ or Messiah.

You've Heard the Whisperings
Dr. Richard Liverance explains that the promise of a Messiah is the most ancient hope of humanity.

A misconception among many today is that Christianity began two thousand years ago. In reality, it began at the fall of mankind when God promised a "Seed" that would strike the head of the devil (Genesis 3:15). From that time forward, thousands of generations retold the expectation to their children and their children's children: There will some day be a Hero born who will save us.

When God chose Abram (later renamed Abraham), He further narrowed the promise (Genesis 12 and 15). The Seed would come through Abraham and would bless the whole world.

When in faith Abraham brought Isaac to Mt. Moriah to sacrifice him to Yahweh, we see a foreshadowing of the Heir to come.

“The fire and wood are here,” Isaac said, “but where is the lamb for the burnt offering?”

Abraham answered, “God Himself will provide the lamb for the burnt offering, my son.” (Genesis 22:7b-8)

Narrowing still further, Jacob announces that the Seed will be a King and be born from Judah's descendants (Genesis 49:8-12).

Why is this important? It's a telescopic lens focusing our attention on someone to come. Every birth in Judah's line could have been accompanied by a drum role. Is this the one?

But it's made clearer still. We're told where He'll be born.

"But as for you, Bethlehem Ephrathah, Too little to be among the clans of Judah, From you One will go forth for Me to be ruler in Israel. His goings forth are from long ago, From the days of eternity." (Micah 5:2)

Then Psalm 22 and Isaiah 53 go further to elaborate on the illustration we glimpsed on Mt. Moriah. This King would suffer and die for our sins.

Surely He took up our infirmities

and carried our sorrows,

yet we considered Him stricken by God,

smitten by Him, and afflicted.

But He was pierced for our transgressions,

He was crushed for our iniquities;

the punishment that brought us peace was upon Him,

and by His wounds we are healed.

We all, like sheep, have gone astray,

each of us has turned to his own way;

and the Lord has laid on Him

the iniquity of us all (Isaiah 53:4-6).

But You've Known This All Your Life!

In a sense, you're reading an assignment I was given this morning at church.

How many of you, who have sat here for years listening to the exposition of Scripture, could show through the Old Testament who Jesus was?

It is astounding. I've barely touched on the detailed predictions of the "Jewish" Scriptures concerning the Messiah. It is some of these passages that Jesus used to explained the prophecies concerning Himself to the two on the road to Emmaus (Luke 24:13-32). It is from these that Paul also argued the truth of Jesus as Messiah (Acts 17:2).

To most of us, this assignment isn't a hard task (although it is a necessary one to be able to voice what we know to be true). Yet I believe we often, like the disciples, have become so familiar with aspects of who Jesus is—with truths that we have memorized, with good habits of learning that we have formed—that we fail to grasp the fear of Him.

The transfiguration was one of the early moments that Jesus used to give three of His followers a glimpse of who He really was (Matthew 17). Peter, whose astonishment left his tongue loose, rattled something nonsensical till God the Father's voice boomed from heaven. The three fell on their faces before Him. All cliche's crumbled from their lips. Instead of giving Him answers, they seek the answers from Him.

We all need that revelation from God to scare us out of complacency; to understand, as my pastor pointed out this morning, that He did not come to bring peace to the earth, but to bring man peace with God (Matthew 10:34-39). 

The peace He puts in our heart becomes the power to obey. Those who reject this peace fight against those who have it and against the One who gives it. Our concern should not be with being agreeable, but with lovingly sharing the Truth. Some will hear and gladly receive it. Others will hate us for it. 

The claims of this Christ are such that every man ought to be busy fighting Him, or fighting for Him.
~G. Campbell Morgan 

If you have ten minutes to watch, I love the last part of this opening to The Passion of the Christ where Satan taunts Jesus. Suddenly Jesus stands and crushes the serpent's head—a beautiful visual illustration of a spiritual fulfillment.

PeaceMAKER

Joe Stowell, author and President of Cornerstone University, spoke recently at a chapel service. While musing over the statement by the angels to the shepherds, he paused over "peace on earth." 

We don't see peace on earth. Did the angels lie or where is the peace they promised?

Is this the peace the shepherds would have imagined? Is this the peace you would have imagined?

The answer over what peace the angels shouted for joy (the adult) Jesus explains privately to His disciples:

Peace I leave with you; My peace I give you. I do not give to you as the world gives. Do not let your hearts be troubled and do not be afraid. ~John 14:27

Why should their hearts be threatened with fear when they have His peace? Because He does not give the peace for which the world looks. No treaties will be signed, because of this "peace on earth." Wars won't cease (as you have seen). Persecution and famine may touch your family. What good then is this peace?

So much of what we think of as good has to do with outward comfort, universal peace, physical health, financial wealth... If we've grown up with this, we assume it is our right. If we have been deprived, we make it our aim. But God turns our purpose on its head.

The Apostle Paul in Romans uses Abraham as an example for us. He assumes our familiarity with the patriarch's life and the promise (covenant) God gave to him that He would bless the world through his unborn offspring. As Abraham and his wife Sarah passed childbearing age, he still believed God's promise of a son...

being fully persuaded that God had power to do what He had promised. This is why “it was credited to him as righteousness.” The words “it was credited to him” were written not for him alone, but also for us, to whom God will credit righteousness—for us who believe in Him who raised Jesus our Lord from the dead. He was delivered over to death for our sins and was raised to life for our justification. ~Romans 4:21b-25

THIS is the Source of peace. When the angels sang, they knew without doubt that this Baby would fulfill the mission for which He came to earth. They too believed their Master would keep His word.

I wonder if they knew then that the peace they proclaimed would cost His life. This is the hope of Christmas!

Therefore, since we have been justified through faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ, through whom we have gained access by faith into this grace in which we now stand. And we rejoice in the hope of the glory of God.

Not only so, but we also rejoice in our sufferings, because we know that suffering produces perseverance; perseverance, character; and character, hope. And hope does not disappoint us, because God has poured out His love into our hearts by the Holy Spirit, whom He has given us. ~Romans 5:1-5

This Baby born—God with us—lived for thirty years in obscurity, rose in momentary fame, died a criminal's death, buried in a stranger's tomb, rose to complete our peace with God. 

Because of this peace, we now can live beyond our physical comforts. In fact, we can suffer and be glad! We can have sorrow and feel joy! Why? Because peace with God is greater than our understanding of peace, greater than our hope for comfort, greater than our longing for belonging.

Now what?

 

Peacemakers! We are called to be peacemakers. 

A colleague of mine is filming a documentary on the early church in the days of the Roman Empire. Interestingly, although some emperors accused the Christians of bad conduct, the citizens of Rome knew this was false. 

It was the Christians who adopted the babies the Romans piled in heaps to let die. It is the Christians who stayed behind during a plague to nurse the sick and dying (many of them dying as a result). Sound like today? No, it doesn't really, does it?

Today, we protest homosexuality at military funerals! Today, we mimic the Muslims and burn their "sacred" book. Today, we think that pursuing social justice is compromising the Gospel. Today, our divorce statistics rival the rest of the world.

Doesn't it move you to tears to see the name of Jesus run through the mud by our actions, our compromising? I'm sure it moves Him to tears. What a blaspheme of His name!

Matthew 5:9 may be more accurately applied to some Christians (as Dr. Stowell pointed out) as—"Blessed are the troublemakers." Other Christians may live it as—"Blessed are the compromisers."

But Jesus said—

Blessed are the peacemakers, for they will be called sons of God.

If you have accepted the gift of rebirth offered because of Jesus' sacrifice for you, you know the peace of God—the peace with God. If you know it, share it. 

Peacemakers who sow in peace raise a harvest of righteousness. ~James 3:18

This doesn't mean you don't speak up for what is right. Quite the contrary! Yet, in pursuing justice, remember to be motivated by mercy (compassion with love) and to walk humbly with your God (Micah 6:8)

I Heard the Bells on Christmas Day
Their old familiar carols play,
And wild and sweet the words repeat
Of peace on earth, good will to men.

And in despair I bowed my head:
"There is no peace on earth," I said,
"For hate is strong and mocks the song
Of peace on earth, good will to men."

Then pealed the bells more loud and deep:
"God is not dead, nor doth He sleep;
The wrong shall fail, the right prevail,
With peace on earth, good will to men."

~Henry Wadsworth Longfellow, 1867

Now may the Lord of peace Himself continually grant you peace in every circumstance. The Lord be with you all! (2 Thessalonians 3:16)

Merry Christmas! His peace to you!

Russian Roulette

Does life ever seem to you like a game of Russian Roulette? Especially when it comes to tragedy?

At times it has for me. Just emotionally, of course; my brain doesn't buy it. There have been times when it feels a gun is placed to all our heads. Click. Nothing, so you go on living. Bang. Someone near you dies or is hurt.

Thankfully, I know that life isn't random events. It's this knowledge that reigns in my feelings.

I read this morning the well-quoted and loved passage of Psalm 139. There David goes into great detail on God's care of him, of His watch over who he is today, of His creation of him in the womb, and of His knowledge of exactly how many days he has and how they will play out.

All the days ordained for me
were written in your book
before one of them came to be.

What are you going through today? Sickness? Worry? Grief?

[Yahweh], You know when I sit and when I rise;
You perceive my thoughts from afar...
You are familiar with all my ways...
You hem me in—behind and before;
You have laid Your hand upon me...
Where can I flee from Your presence?
...even the darkness will not be dark to You; 

He knows. He is there. The darkness may hide Him from our perception, but you were in His plan before the earth was formed. He has not forgotten you. There is no chance He will forget you.

For I am confident of this very thing, that He who began a good work in you will perfect it until the day of Christ Jesus. (Philippians 1:6)

Yahweh who planned your existence, formed your body and designed your mind, personality, and gifts, will hold on tightly to you. Hold tightly to Him.

Search me, O God, and know my heart;

test me and know my anxious thoughts.
See if there is any offensive way in me,
and lead me in the way everlasting.

(Psalm 139:23-24)

Come On and Rescue Me

Life is lonely. We don't like to think of it that way, but at our core we are all alone.

Nine months in the womb is the closest we ever get to being constantly near someone. As we get older, we make friends and often marry. For a while, that one or two fill an emptiness, bring laughter, share tears. Often memories create a feeling of satisfaction greater than the reality of the relationship or event.

Eventually, each one lets us down.We'll feel a sense of rejection or betrayal. That is when we realize, we are, in a sense, a floating island occasionally running alongside another shore.

This may sound depressing, but if you've read this far, you have felt it in yourself. It's reality. But, it's not all negative. There is something good about this ache.

When people fail us, there are many other ways we try to fill this void: pets, work, money, possessions, thrills, alcohol, travel, pornography, parties, and even constant church or charitable activity. The purpose is to keep from thinking, keep from feeling the emptiness.

In essence, we are trying to flee from ourselves.

What's the good news?

That loneliness means something. It is evidence that we were made for something that satisfies. Something that not only sooths an ache, but quenches a thirst.

SomeOne made us to not be random and temporary. SomeOne wants a relationship. SomeOne who is above creation, above circumstances, never to reject our cry to Him for help.

Through Jesus, Yahweh made a way for Him to have a relationship with fallen humans. Though He does not need us, He knows we were designed to need Him.

How great is His compassion to reach our need and ignore our fist.

Submit therefore to God. Resist the devil and he will flee from you. Draw near to God and He will draw near to you. Cleanse your hands, you sinners; and purify your hearts, you double-minded. (James 4:7-8)

Now is the day of salvation. When you are aching, when you feel the loneliness, remember and reach out for the hand of God.

Only fellowship with God touches lonely hearts with peace.

Unity vs. Unanimity

Growing up in the church, I've seen what disagreements can do to a congregation. For some reason, our western churches, or at least those in the U.S., feel we should avoid disagreements. If people cannot agree on everything, then those who think differently start their own church, go to a church they agree with, or begin a new denomination.

Where did the idea begin that unity meant never disagreeing?

One definition of unity that I feel best reflects the biblical idea is this: something whole or complete formed by combining or joining separate things or entities.

Someone once pointed out the diversity of Jesus' disciples: zealots (fighting against Rome), tax collectors (working for Rome), and fishermen (paying the taxes to Rome). The miracle of their unity lay in their following Jesus.

However, many times Jesus had to break up their arguments. What caused the friction? Pride. Jesus kept reminding them that it wasn't about them. After the ascension and the coming of the Holy Spirit, the somewhat cowardly, often prideful disciples became the courageous apostles spreading the Good News to the world and (most) dying for their faith.

What made the difference?

Although they had been with Jesus, they had not yet been changed by Jesus. Once their sins were paid for and they became filled with the Holy Spirit, their contemplations went from self-ward to God-ward. They saw disagreements as a means for improvement (as my Pastor pointed out from Acts 6:1-7). When all the Christians desired God's glory and the salvation of souls, their individual tastes and opinions became secondary (Acts 4:32-35).

Proberbs 27:17 says, "As iron sharpens iron, so one man sharpens another." How does iron sharpen iron? By the friction of rubbing the two pieces together. One of the best ways for our own sharp edges to be shaped is by dealing with people who annoy or disagree with us.

Jesus said, "If you love those who love you, what credit is that to you? Even 'sinners' love those who love them" (Luke 6:32). And to His followers He said, "By this all men will know that you are My disciples, if you have love for one another" (John 13:35).

Being cleansed by Jesus and having love for one another is how Christians become "something whole or complete formed by combining or joining separate things or entities" or, I would add, quirks and personalities.

The apostle Paul said, "If it is possible, as far as it depends on you, live at peace with everyone" (Romans 12:18). This verse infers that if you do nothing, there will not be peace. Peace is the action taken against the natural result of division. Solving differences of opinion is part of creating peace.

James explains how we are to view our internal struggle for our own way.

But if you harbour bitter envy and selfish ambition in your hearts, do not boast about it or deny the truth. Such “wisdom” does not come down from heaven but is earthly, unspiritual, of the devil. For where you have envy and selfish ambition, there you find disorder and every evil practice (3:14-16).

Instead, James lays the framework in which we should deal with differences.

But the wisdom that comes from heaven is first of all pure; then peace-loving, considerate, submissive, full of mercy and good fruit, impartial and sincere. Peacemakers who sow in peace raise a harvest of righteousness (3:17-18).

And how do we obtain this wisdom?

If any of you lacks wisdom, he should ask God, who gives generously to all without finding fault, and it will be given to him (James 1:5).

Instead of viewing differences as a cause for parting, let's begin to think constructively about what God can do in and through us as we seek His wisdom, react in love, and pursue peace.

If Looks Could Kill...

I listened to an interesting speaker, Collin Smith, on my way to church this evening. Truth be told, I listened mainly because of his Scottish accent.

It was only the last five or ten minutes, and Pastor Collin was speaking on the sixth commandment--"You shall not murder." We all have a tendency to think, "Phew! Safe on this one. I've never murdered anyone." He suggested that maybe the connotation is broader than we realize.

If broadened, Pastor Collin suggested that this could encompass a belittling comment, look, or gesture; anything that lessens the value of a person in someone else's eyes. Because every person is created in God's image, they have value. By putting them down, in a sense destroying their value, we are destroying someone in the image of God...murdering that image.

Pastor Collins is referring to Jesus statement in the Gospels:

"You have heard that it was said to those of old, 'You shall not murder; and whoever murders will be liable to judgment.' But I say to you that everyone who is angry with his brother will be liable to judgment; whoever insults his brother will be liable to the council; and whoever says, 'You fool!' will be liable to the hell of fire. So if you are offering your gift at the altar and there remember that your brother has something against you, leave your gift there before the altar and go. First be reconciled to your brother, and then come and offer your gift.
(Mat 5:21-24)

Jesus takes the hurtful things we say or think about another person as very serious business. How serious do you take other people's reputations? I don't know about you, but I think I have some apologizing to do.

"If possible, so far as it depends on you, live peaceably with all." (Rom 12:18)