Merry Christmas!

 

“For a Child will be born to us, a Son will be given to us; And the government will rest on His shoulders; And His name will be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Eternal Father, Prince of Peace” {Is. 9:6 NASB}.

God Was In Christ: An Advent Reading Of Luke 24

 Day 24 Luke Chapter 24

We made it through all twenty-four chapters! Thank you for walking through Luke’s wonderful Gospel with me. I pray that these little devotions blessed you and helped to make your Advent season one of reflection and dedication to the Lord Jesus Christ.

“They said to one another, ‘Were not our hearts burning within us while He was speaking to us on the road, while He was explaining the Scriptures to us?’” (v. 32 NASB).

 This is one of my favorite passages in all of Scripture. I pray this prayer every day: May my heart burn within me as you open the Scriptures to me. If I had a time machine, the road to Emmaus would be my first choice so that I could eavesdrop on the Lord’s conversation with these two disciples. 

This account is the first of three post-resurrection appearances Christ made in the New Testament. Two men are walking to Emmaus just a few days after the crucifixion of the Lord. Jesus came upon them, though they did not recognize Him through their sorrow. He came to comfort them in their grief. I love the rendering of the KJV, NKJV, and the ESV, which says that Jesus drew near to them.

Together, these three men walked, and they listened as He encouraged them that what the women reported was true. Yet another glimmer of hope that the injustice from just a few short days before could be made right. Jesus opened their spiritual eyes so they could understand all that the Scripture spoke about Christ—His sufferings, death, and resurrection. He began with the Old Testament—Moses, the Prophets, and the Psalms. He was exactly who He claimed to be—the Christ, the Son of God, the promised Redeemer. No one was more worthy or qualified to explain the Scripture to them than the Prince of Peace—the very Word. His words were so full of power and life that their hearts burned within them; they were like a burning fire in them like many others who came before them who heard with joy the Words of the Lord:

My heart was hot within me, While I was musing the fire burned {Ps. 39:3 NASB}. 

“But if I say, ‘I will not remember Him Or speak anymore in His name,’ Then in my heart it becomes like a burning fire Shut up in my bones; And I am weary of holding it in, And I cannot endure it’” {Jer. 20:9 NASB}.

They tasted what John the Baptist declared about Jesus, that He would baptize with fire.

I cannot escape the language of drawing near. For that is just what God did in sending His Son. He drew near to us because we could not draw near to Him. He came to do for us what we could not do for ourselves. There was no way for us to draw close to Him because of our sin. But the Lord of Glory drew near and communed so that He could have a relationship with His fallen human creation. Jesus walked the road to Emmaus, and at their bidding, He broke bread with them. As soon as He blessed the bread and ate with them, their eyes were opened, and they recognized Him! He vanished before them, but they were witnesses to the Eleven that what the women proclaimed—that Jesus was indeed resurrected—and their hope was revived! 

In the quiet, cold night, Christ crept into the world unnoticed, except for a few lowly shepherds. While the world slept, the long-awaited promise—the Redeemer, Deliverer, and King of Glory drew near to the world that He loved so much, in a humble stable that holy night. 

He did for us what we could not do for ourselves; we now have the privilege of drawing near to Him:

“Let us draw near with a sincere heart in full assurance of faith, having our hearts sprinkled clean from an evil conscience and our bodies washed with pure water” {Heb. 10:22 NASB}.

 “Draw near to God and He will draw near to you” {Jam. 4:8 NASB}

 

 

 

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God Was In Christ: An Advent Reading Of Luke 11

 Day 11 Luke chapter 11

“And He said to them, When you pray, say: ‘Father, hallowed be Your name. Your kingdom come. Give us each day our daily bread. And forgive us our sins, For we ourselves also forgive everyone who is indebted to us. And lead us not into temptation.’” {Lk. 11: 2-4 NASB}.

Scripture once again leads us back into the subject of prayer. Jesus had a habit of praying. He knew that He needed to commune with Father to strengthen Himself for the work set before Him. How I would love to lay peacefully nearby to listen to Jesus as He spoke with the Father. The disciples had this privilege. They hung on every word that flowed from His mouth. The disciples witnessed His prayer life and how He connected with Father in a beautiful, intimate relationship; they wanted the same. The disciples knew Jesus prayed confidently and faithfully, and He nurtured His prayer life {see Day 5 for earlier writing on the subject}. They asked Him to teach them to pray the same way.

Jesus begins by teaching them to approach the Father with reverence and awe. God is our Father and His Name is to be hallowed. We are to pray that His kingdom comes to the earth and operate as it does in heaven and for His will to be done. He also taught us to ask for daily provision for our needs; He cares about every need we have and by bringing our needs to Him, we are demonstrating our trust in Him. Jesus also charges us to ask for forgiveness for our sins, however, our forgiveness hinges on our ability to freely forgive others. We are also to ask for God to deliver us out of situations that would cause us to sin. We will never be exempt from temptations—but we are strengthened to overcome them with God as our Father, Christ as our intercessor, and the Holy Spirit as our Comforter and Helper. Pray to be delivered from the evil in this world because we are not of this world though we must reside here.

We are God’s children and we have, through Christ, the right to ask God for anything—especially when asking for help to live the way He instructs and to spread the Good News of the Gospel. Jesus taught us that we don’t have the things we need because we have not asked. He reveals through a parable (vv. 5-13) that we must be persistent in our prayers. 

We must ask, seek, and knock. Jesus promises that the Father is good and will give to those who ask of Him when we pray in the manner Jesus taught:

“If you then, being evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your heavenly Father give the Holy Spirit to those who ask Him?” (v. 13).

Reach out to the Father. Come to Him in awe and wonder, knowing that He cares for you and will take care of you. Cultivate your relationship with the Father by coming to Him through Jesus Christ. Stand in awe that the Creator of the universe came to love you and set you free and reconcile you so that this wonderful, awesome relationship is possible.

 

~Out of love for humans God became human.

~The reason for God’s love of man or woman lies not in man or woman, but only in God Himself. [1]

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[1] Dietrich Bonhoeffer, The Mystery Of Holy Night (New York: Crossroad Publishing Company, 1996), 33.

God Was In Christ: The Doctrine of the Incarnation, An Advent Journal Introduction

God was in Christ. This truth pierces my soul and floods my heart. What if not for the wonderful and mysterious incarnation of Christ? This is the claim of Christianity; that Jesus of Nazareth was the Son of God, fully divine, and took on human nature, fully man, for the salvation of mankind. 

The doctrine of the Incarnation is that Jesus is God, and all the divine attributes of God are contained within Him, according to the Scriptures, and have been a part of Christian orthodoxy and tradition for centuries. He was in the beginning with God. He left the glory of heaven and came to earth in the form of a man; was born in a stable in Bethlehem and redeemed the world. The Gospel of John tells us who Jesus is: “In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was in the beginning with God...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” (Jn. 1:1-2,14 NASB). 

Christ is the Second Person of the Trinity or Godhead, the Son of God, and the Logos. Saint Athanasius of Alexandria, a Christian theologian, Church Father, and chief defender of Trinitarianism, wrote in his On The Incarnation, “All the attributes usually only applied to the one God—wisdom, truth, light, righteousness, virtue—the Son is, not as properties that he has acquired outside himself nor as if he were himself merely an attribute of God, but he is these things in himself.”[1] The prolific author of the book of Hebrews says that Christ is what it is to be God and the very imprint of the Father. This has been the Christian tradition for over 2,000 years.

For by the sacrifice of His own body He did two things: He put an end to the law of death which barred our way; and He made a new beginning of life for us, by giving us the hope of resurrection. ~Athanasius

Some depart from the doctrine because they cannot grasp the hypostatic union of Christ {the joining of both natures}. Some diminish the deity of Christ while others diminish His humanity. The most prominent argument against the Incarnation is that it is not in Scripture. However, during this Advent journey, we will walk through the Old and New Testaments, and see for ourselves that the Incarnation is embedded throughout the Bible. Not only is Christ God Incarnate, but He is the glorious pre-existent Second Person of the Godhead. Jesus fulfilled prophecy through the Incarnation for He had to come, it was necessary for our salvation.

Sweeter sounds than music knows,
Charm me in Emmanuel’s Name;
All her hopes my spirit owes
To His birth, and Cross, and shame.

When He came the angels sung,
“Glory be to God on high”
Lord, unloose my stammering tongue;
Who shall louder sing than I?

Did the Lord a man become,
That He might the law fulfil,
Bleed and suffer in my room,
And canst thou, my tongue, be still?

No; I must my praises bring,
Though they worthless are, and weak;
For, should I refuse to sing,
Sure the very stones would speak.

O my Saviour, Shield, and Sun,
Shepherd, Brother, Lord, and Friend—
Every precious name in one!
I will love Thee without end. ~ John  Newton

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[1] Athanasius, On The Incarnation (Yonkers: St. Vladimir’s Seminary Press., 2011), 33. 

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God Was In Christ: The Doctrine of the Incarnation, An Advent Journal

 Advent is upon us once again; I am not sure where this year went. On one hand, it seemed sluggish, and on the other that it slipped away like a gust of wind. During this Advent season, I am praying for a fresh wind of the Holy Spirit to awaken a dry and weary soul; A dry and weary land. We need the Lord now more than ever to sweep over us and refresh our weariness. What a wonderful time to draw near to Him and to seek Him like at no other time.

I have mulled over what to write in the space during Advent. The traditional liturgy is to go through the four themes of Advent, along with the Advent wreath of hope, love, peace, and joy. Depending upon one’s tradition, the four themes fall in different order. I wrote about them here the last Advent season. I have also previously written about the prophecies of Christ in the Old Testament and how He fulfilled them in the New Testament. I encourage you to read them and see how beautifully intertwined the two glorious Testaments are to each other.

I love the Old Testament. Sadly, I have heard several teachers of God’s Word admonishing people to “detach” themselves from the Old Testament and that breaks my heart. One would not have the New Testament if not for the Old Testament; they fit hand-in-glove. I love how Lockyer states this truth:

 “A devout Hebrew scholar has pointed out that the Old Testament is a book of consonants without vowels, as Hebrew students know. But Christ came as the Alpha and the Omega, the initial and final vowel of the New Testament Language, to all the vowel points to the old revelation; to be the interpreter of difficulties and the filler of gaps. And so, as Luther exhorts, ‘In the Word thou shouldest hear nothing else than thy God speaking to thee.’^”[1]

I have also recently learned that many of Christ’s followers do not fully understand the doctrine of the Incarnation—that Christ preexisted in the Old Testament. He did not begin at Bethlehem, for God has no beginning and no end. Psalm 90:2 declares, “Before the mountains were born
 or you brought forth the whole world, from everlasting to everlasting you are God” (NASB). This is but one verse but there are many that support God’s claim. This is going to be my Advent theme—God Was In Christ: The Doctrine of the Incarnation.

“Now all these things are from God, who reconciled us to Himself through Christ and gave us the ministry of reconciliation, namely, that God was in Christ reconciling the world to Himself, not counting their wrongdoings against them, and He has committed to us the word of reconciliation. Therefore, we are ambassadors for Christ, as though God were making an appeal through us; we beg you on behalf of Christ, be reconciled to God.” {2 Cor. 5:18-19 NASB emphasis added}.

I may be revisiting some of the prophecies in the Old Testament concerning Christ, but I want to walk you through the Scripture—the Old and New Testaments—to show you Christ, the Second Person of the Godhead, and how God, who was in Christ, came to be God in man.

This is not the conventional Advent devotion, but I pray that you will follow along through His Word and that by gaining a full understanding of the Incarnation, that you will embrace this season of Advent with a fresh zeal to draw near to Him and to await His presence.

Last year during Advent, I also read the Gospel of Luke each day and journaled what Scripture burned in my heart (you may find them here). I am going to repeat that devotion this year; A chapter of the gospel of Luke every night leading up to Christmas Eve. Luke’s Gospel account has twenty-four chapters one for each night of Advent. Will you read along with me? I will post a reminder each day along with a few insights as to what touches my heart in each chapter of this beautiful, glorious story of the Christ child. I pray you will join me in this Advent Journal. Though Advent begins tonight, start reading Luke on Tuesday evening to end on December 24th {unless of course you wish to begin tonight}.

Happy Advent to you. I pray the presence of the Lord Jesus Christ fills you to overflow with His hope, love, peace, and joy, that only He can give.  

 

One Single Name:

Who is this child whom the prophets foretell

And over whose birth heaven and earth exult?

Only in stammering can one speak his name,

Can one try to describe

What is encompassed in his name.

Words pile up and pour out in a rush when they are to say

Who this child is.

Indeed, strange combinations of words, otherwise unknown to us,

Come into being

When the name of this child

Is to pass human lips:

“Wonderful Counselor,” “Mighty God,”

“Everlasting Father,” “Prince of Peace.”

Every one of these words has endless depths,

And all of them together try

To express only one single name: Jesus. ^[2]

 

 

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^[1] Lockyer, Herbert, All The Messianic Prophecies (Grand Rapids: Zondervan, 1973), 25-26.

^[2] Dietrich Bonhoeffer, The Mystery Of Holy Night (New York: Crossroad Publishing Company, 1996), 36.

Merry Christmas

Therefore the Lord Himself will give you a sign: Behold, a virgin will be with child and bear a son, and she will call His name Immanuel {Is. 7:14}.

For a child will be born to us, a son will be given to us; And the government will rest on His shoulders; And His name will be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Eternal Father, Prince of Peace. There will be no end to the increase of His government or of peace, On the throne of David and over his kingdom, To establish it and to uphold it with justice and righteousness From then on and forevermore. The zeal of the Lord of hosts will accomplish this {Is. 9:6-7 NASB}.
And it came to pass in those days, that there went out a decree from Caesar Augustus that all the world should be taxed. (And this taxing was first made when Cyrenius was governor of Syria.) And all went to be taxed, every one into his own city. And Joseph also went up from Galilee, out of the city of Nazareth, into Judaea, unto the city of David, which is called Bethlehem; (because he was of the house and lineage of David:) To be taxed with Mary his espoused wife, being great with child. And so it was, that, while they were there, the days were accomplished that she should be delivered. And she brought forth her firstborn son, and wrapped him in swaddling clothes, and laid him in a manger; because there was no room for them in the inn.

And there were in the same country shepherds abiding in the field, keeping watch over their flock by night. And, lo, the angel of the Lord came upon them, and the glory of the Lord shone round about them: and they were sore afraid. And the angel said unto them, Fear not: for, behold, I bring you good tidings of great joy, which shall be to all people. For unto you is born this day in the city of David a Saviour, which is Christ the Lord. And this shall be a sign unto you; Ye shall find the babe wrapped in swaddling clothes, lying in a manger. And suddenly there was with the angel a multitude of the heavenly host praising God, and saying, Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace, good will toward men. {Lk. 2: 1-14 KJV}.






                                  

A weary world rejoices......

The promised Redeemer is here

An Advent Poem

The season is upon us Advent is here

I hope for the day that You will appear

You came to earth to dwell among

Immanuel, God with us, Heaven’s Song

Lord we prepare our hearts to receive You

You are the hope of Israel, and our hope too

God our Savior, the promised One from old

The Word from the beginning, arrival foretold

We will go out with joy, and be led forth with peace 

The angels deliver the message, our joy will never cease

The Christ Child has arrived goodwill toward all men

Shout for joy to God, all the earth! Our joy is full amen!

For God so loved the world, He gave His only Son

We were all sinners, lost, gone astray, undone

A stable in Bethlehem received the Holy Child

Not in pomp and circumstance, but meek and mild

Behold the Lamb of God who takes away our sin

The radiance of God's glory and the image of His being, 

The sinless Servant and redeemer wrapped as a baby boy

Glory to God in the highest, it is good news of great joy

in the city of David, born for you a Savior, who is Christ the Lord. 

Piper Green © 2016

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