A Story Without End

The unmatched, inconceivable, incomprehensible, exhaustless story of Bethlehem.  The very idea that God would humble Himself and become a human being!  For real?  Yes, for REAL! 

            The many different stories that have come down to us from so many different cultures and people groups, show with what longing people have held to the original promise of God.  No matter how far from God, no matter how fallen from the original creation we have degenerated, we have looked and cried for the fulfillment of that first promise:  “God said to the serpent...I will put enmity (hatred) between you and the woman, between your seed and her SEED...”  (Genesis 3:14-15)  From Eve's joyous hope at the birth of her firstborn:  “I have gotten a man from the Lord”, (Genesis 4:1) down through the centuries the hope still burned, though it grew dim and almost went out.  All people everywhere looked for the time when a Savior would come to us to save us from the power and penalty of our sin. 

              We have chafed under the lash of our taskmaster – Satan.  And while there have been people who lived for God, who set worthy examples of what God can do for us in breaking the chains of the devil, yet they too were sinners and unable to help anyone else.  We needed, and still need, power outside of ourselves, yet wielded by Someone Who understands us completely.  The “Desire of all nations” (Haggai 2:7) must come, but how long O Lord, how long?

            “In the fullness of the time” set by our Heavenly Father, Whose purposes know no haste nor delay, “God sent forth His Son, made of a woman, made under the law, that He might redeem them that are under the law, that we might receive the adoption of sons.”  (Galatians 4:4-5)  Whoa! Redemption from sin is great, but to also be taken in as God's children?  To be treated as God treats His Son?  This is beyond comprehension!  To be as pure and holy as Jesus the Son of God? To be overcomers as He overcame?  To bask in the approbation of the Father?  What a glorious privilege, yea destiny, is ours! And all because of a Baby born in a manger in Bethlehem.            

            While we are never God as the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit are, yet because of that Baby born in Bethlehem we can be “partakers of the divine nature”. (2 Peter 1:4)  Because of that Baby of Bethlehem, in Whom was mysteriously blended the Divine and the human, there can be in us a blending of the human and the divine.  “Unto you is born this day in the city of David a Savior Who is Christ the Lord.” (Luke 2:11)  That Baby, born into this world as any other baby is born, nurtured and marked as any other human is nurtured and marked in the womb of a mother; that infant now has grown up and has been seated at the right hand of God on the throne of the universe!  Jesus, the Son of Man, at God's right hand, shows us how loved we are by God. That Baby reveals the plans God has for every human baby born into this world.  “How precious are Your thoughts unto me, O God!  How great is the sum of them!”  (Psalm 139:17)

Christmas Should Mean Sacrifice

           What does Christmas mean to you?  Is it a time for the sharing of presents with family or other people you know, as well as "with yourself" as the ads like to say?  Is it a time of joy, or a time of stress?  Is it a time of inner peace or a time of rushing and worrying and making plans?  Is it all about me and mine, or does it include thoughts of the Christ child being born?  While many people might say it's about Jesus' birth, what does your activity, your life, really say?

            Christmas really should be all about sacrifice.  "She brought forth her firstborn son, wrapped Him in swaddling clothes, and laid Him in a manger."  (Luke 2:7)  The term "swaddling clothes" really denotes strips of cloth that were wrapped around the limbs of an infant for protection.  Joseph and Mary were very poor, and the various pictures, whether in paintings or programs, where we see them in their nice colorful clothing along with the Baby, a pillow under His head with nice thick blankets tucked around Him, while appealing to the eye are incorrect as far as reflecting reality. 

            I've been thinking about the Majesty of Heaven laying aside His Divine Glory, veiling Himself in humanity and being born and then wrapped in the cloth strips which the term "swaddling clothes" really means.  It is a term that has a medical meaning which refers to strips of cloth used as bandages.  In thinking about those cloth strips my mind went to Psalm 118:27 - "Bind the sacrifice with cords...."  Jesus came to earth as a sacrifice.  Not only a sacrifice on the cross for our sins, but He was bound to humanity with ties that are never to be broken.  "Unto us a child is born, unto us a son is given..."     "God so loved... that He gave...."  It is the Son of Man who shares the throne of the universe. 

            God did not give His Son for just a 33 year life span on earth, but forever.  For all eternity the second member of the Godhead will maintain His humanity.  Satan intended to bring about an eternal separation between God and man, but instead God gave His Son to redeem, restore, and forever bind us to Himself with cords of self sacrificing love.

            How is it now with me?  The command in Romans 12:1 clearly states:  "Present your (my) body a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable  to God...."  Because of His love for me God gave all He had.  Will that sacrifice awaken love in me for God, and lead me to give my all to God?  Christmas really should mean sacrifice.  The sacrifice of God for a lost and broken world, and the sacrifice of me and all I have for God and His service to others.

Nation of Laws or Mobs

     The United States of America has long prided itself as a nation ruled by laws.  The same law applies to the rich and powerful as to the poor and weak.  At least that is what we have long claimed.  But if we look at reality what do we see?  I would suggest we are no longer a nation controlled by law, but rather by mobs.

     One way we see this is that a law is no longer something enacted "by the people" in an election.  Now it is declared by a judge in reaction to "loud" agitation by a large mob.  I call it a mob because a  "group"  is defined here as a collection of people who endeavor to gain something by peaceful and lawful means.  A "mob"  is a collection of people who seek change by intimidation, threats, and / or violence. 

     More and more we see demands based on people's feelings.  Threats and accusations are made against people based, not on evidence of a broken law, but on feelings and perceptions;  whether or not these are based on reality.  Evidence and facts no longer seem to matter.  How someone feels is the idol where many seem to bow.

     Some years ago I was driving along Interstate 40 traveling home from Texas to Ohio.  Shortly after crossing into Tennessee I was pulled over by a State Trooper.  He told me I was not speeding and he wasn't going to give me a ticket, but he asked me about my travel, who my parents were and what job did my Dad do.  He asked me what was in my trunk, and then asked what I would say if he wanted me to open my suitcase.  By the way, I am white.  I knew I was being profiled.  I was driving alone, west to east, out of state tags, and he was looking for drug traffickers.  I fit the profile, and he was only seeking to uphold the law.

     I could have made a demand for my "rights" against an "unreasonable search".  But that would just escalate the situation.  Perhaps I should have shouted about injustice and  "bullying".  I could have been taken to the station and gone to court.  Instead, I cooperated and was soon on my way. 

     This is the way God wants us to act.  When Jesus was here He lived under a very corrupt and repressive government.  A soldier could tell you to carry his load for a mile to give him a rest.  You had to stop whatever you were doing and obey.  Jesus said:  "whosoever shall compel thee to go a mile, go with him two."  (Matthew 5:41)  And just before in verse 39 He said:  "Do not resist evil, but whoever hits you on one cheek, turn to him the other also."  We often talk about "turning the other cheek" and how to get around that command, but we usually forget about the command:  "Do not resist evil".  Even if a law enforcement person is treating us in an evil manner, trampling on our rights, and "throwing his weight around", those words of Jesus stand as the command for a Christian.  1Peter 2:23 tells us Jesus set the example for us:  "when He was reviled, reviled not again.  When He suffered, He threatened not...."  He committed Himself to God and left all judgment in His hands. According to the Bible, (Romans 13:1-5 is very clear on this), a Christian is to resist the government only if there is a direct command to go against God's Word.  Otherwise we are to submit.  That is what Jesus did. 

     But in the America of today, we see more and more rule by mob.  More and more people are not looking at what the law says.  From the president on down laws are only enforced, or followed, if it fits with my personal feeling.  Just like Pilate in the days of Jesus, leaders today seem afraid to go against the mob.  Afraid to stand up for real justice and right.  Justice seems to be whatever the mob wants.  And weak, evil hearted politicians and judges go along with it.

     This is going to lead right into what Bible Prophecy has predicted for the last days.  Jesus told us the whole world is going to be arrayed against those who seek for Righteousness and Truth.  We will talk about this at another time.

Resting In God

Resting in God.  That is what Righteousness by Faith is all about.  Living the right (righteous) way because we are trusting in God to plan for us.

Many of us think we already do trust in God and that we will do whatever His plan for us involves.  But what we really mean is that we will do whatever God makes so plain that we cannot possibly be mistaken. And of course He must tell us the whole plan, provide a complete and detailed course of action, and of course should go along with what makes perfect sense to me.  But that would not build faith, so God does not work that way. 

The first thing every day I must give myself to God completely.  Self must be dead!  We are told plainly we must "die daily" {1Corinthians 15:31).  We have to "take up our cross" (Luke 9:23) anew every day.  Then, when things don't go the way we want (because they won't), we are to just trust that God is in control.  Refuse to fret and worry.  When Jesus was faced with things happening differently, such as being faced with a crowd when He wanted to rest, He had faith that our Heavenly Father had a different plan and trusted Him for whatever strength necessary to deal with what was there.  "So utterly was Christ emptied of self that He made no plans for Himself. He accepted God's plans for Him, and day by day the Father unfolded His plans. So should we depend upon God, that our lives may be the simple outworking of His will."  {DA 208}  (underlining supplied)

Notice it is to be the outworking of HIS will.  We are so filled with the idea of personal liberty and freedom that we really don't know how to NOT choose our own way.  Self and self-centeredness is so ingrained in us that we need to plead with God every day to help us overcome this horrible vice of self worship.  When God sees that we are truly sincere in this desire to truly have Him in control, He will put us through some experiences that are very painful - like a crucifixion.  Self must die if we are to be eternally saved. 

And the only way to survive this crucible is to rest in God.  As long as we are struggling with the temptation, as long as we want something different, there will be pain and suffering.  But once we surrender there will come peace.  We will be given strength to bear whatever comes along.  This is why Jesus spent so much time in prayer.  He was tempted as a human, and He had to maintain His humanity and resist as a human.  He must not revert to His natural Divine nature in order to rebuff the devil. 

"It was a difficult task for the Prince of Life to carry out the plan which he had undertaken for the salvation of man, in clothing his divinity with humanity. He had received honor in the heavenly courts, and was familiar with absolute power. It was as difficult for him to keep the level of humanity as it is for men to rise above the low level of their depraved natures, and be partakers of the divine nature."  {RH, April 1, 1875} 

We especially see this in the garden of Gethsemane.  Behold Jesus struggling with the temptation to leave ungrateful, wicked humanity to its chosen doom.  The sin is not in the temptation, or the struggle.  The sin is in the refusal to submit to God.  And here Jesus was victorious!  See the peace and strength that was His when He submitted to death for us:  "The humanity of the Son of God trembled in that trying hour. He prayed not now for His disciples that their faith might not fail, but for His own tempted, agonized soul. The awful moment had come--that moment which was to decide the destiny of the world. The fate of humanity trembled in the balance....   His decision is made. He will save man at any cost to Himself. He accepts His baptism of blood, that through Him perishing millions may gain everlasting life....   Christ's agony did not cease, but His depression and discouragement left Him. The storm had in nowise abated, but He who was its object was strengthened to meet its fury. He came forth calm and serene...."  (DA 693-694)

It is our privilege to have the same rest in God that Jesus had.  This is the beginning of Righteousness By Faith.  "Come unto Me all ye who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest."  (Matthew 11:28)