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O Holy Night!

Like most old hymns, the 1847 French poem that was turned into what we know as “O Holy Night!” is rich in doctrine.  The title speaks of one, but the three verses would indicate four nights and proclaim the gospel from Jesus’ incarnation through His resurrection.

I.  Luke 2:8-15.  The first stanza tells the story of “the dear Saviour’s birth” on the first holy night.  The gospel is announced as “good news of great joy” for “all the people” although only Jewish shepherds go to see what God had done in Word becoming flesh.

O holy night, the stars are brightly shining, It is the night of the dear Saviour’s birth; Long lay the world in sin and error pining, ‘Till he appeared and the soul felt its worth.  A thrill of hope the weary world rejoices, For yonder breaks a new and glorious morn;

Romans 8 describes the world in sin and groaning for the sons of God to be revealed (v19-22), we who are baptized into Christ groaning inwardly awaiting our adoption and redemption (v23-25), and the Spirit interceding for us with groans too deep to understand (v26-28).  So, we sing …

Fall on your knees, Oh hear the angel voices! O night divine! O night when Christ was born. O night, O holy night, O night divine.

II.  Matthew 2:1-11.  A second holy night occurs about two years later but is often confused with the events surrounding the incarnation.  Here’s where the wise men following the star appear.  In this account, Jesus is found in a house, not a manger, to these gentiles’ “great joy,” showing that indeed the gospel is open to all.

Led by the light of Faith serenely beaming; With glowing hearts by his cradle we stand: So, led by light of a star sweetly gleaming, Here come the wise men from Orient land, The King of Kings thus in lowly manger, In all our trials born to be our friend;

Because He’s “King of Kings,” having died for us, we must obey the gospel and live for Him (1 Timothy 6:13-16).  He’s our high priest who can sympathize with our weaknesses and help us in our need (Hebrews 4:14-16), letting us sing:

He knows our need, To our weakness no stranger! Behold your King! Before Him lowly bend! Behold your King! your King! before him bend!

III.  Matthew 27:45-50.  The third holy “night” was between 12:00 and 3:00 p.m. when Christ was crucified for our sins (2 Corinthians 5:21), and the fourth was when He was resurrected “toward dawn” so we also might walk in new life through Him (Matthew 28:1-6; Romans 6:3-8).

Truly He taught us to love one another; His law is Love and His gospel is Peace; Chains shall he break, for the slave is our brother, And in his name all oppression shall cease, Sweet hymns of joy in grateful Chorus raise we; Let all within praise his Holy name!

Jesus taught us that everyone who sins is a slave to sin, and only He can set us free (John 8:31-36).  Though He Himself knew no sin, He became guilty for all of our sins at the cross.  Our response should be praise (Hebrews 13:15-16) and song:

Christ is the Lord, then ever! ever praise we! His pow’r and glory, evermore proclaim! His pow’r and glory, evermore proclaim!

Have you obeyed and are living faithfully the “good news of great joy” gained on these holy nights?

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Abide with Me

In Western thought the rich ruler’s question, “What must I do to inherit eternal life?” might be thought of as an event, but the Greek indicates the concept of abiding.  Perhaps it would be better asked, “How must I abide to inherit eternal life?”  Jesus goes to the heart of what is separating this man from Him by getting him to address his love of material possessions.  Once he has done that, then Jesus tells him to “come, follow me,” a continuous action to abide with Him (Luke 18:18-23).  The song, “Abide with Me,” encourages us to take hold of the heavenly joys that could be ours:

Abide with me: fast falls the eventide; The darkness deepens: Lord with me abide!  When other helpers fail, and comforts flee, Help of the helpless, O abide with me!

I.  Matthew 6:19-21.  The rich ruler chose earth over eternity.  Where our treasure is, there our heart is also.  So, is yours in heaven or on earth?  The rich ruler went away sad because he loved this world that is temporary and passing away (1 John 2:15-17).  The hymn continues:

Swift to its close ebbs out life’s little day; Earth’s joys grow dim, its glories pass away; Change and decay in all around I see; O Thou who changest not, abide with me!

II.  James 1:13-15.  The rich ruler chose sin over strength.  The tempter tempts us from the evil desires within us, yes, but we each are guilty when we give into that temptation and sin.  We choose our comfort in what pleases us rather than trusting in Jesus (John 14:1-6).  The song speaks of this too:

I need Thy presence ev’ry passing hour: What but Thy grace can foil the tempter’s pow’r?  Who like Thyself my guide and stay can be?  Thro’ cloud and sunshine, O abide with me!

III.  2 Corinthians 4:7-10.  The rich ruler chose terror over triumph.  We’re bound to have struggles in this life, but only through Jesus can we have victory (1 Corinthians 15:54-57).  And only in an abiding relationship with Jesus can we truly know His love (John 17:14-23).  Let us not, choose to be condemned with the world instead:

I fear no foe with Thee at hand to bless; Ills have no weight, and tears no bitterness; Where is death’s sting? Where, grave, thy victory?  I triumph still, if Thou abide with me! 

For each of us, there may be something different that keeps us from abiding with Jesus.  Let us not be like the rich ruler who was sad because he was unwilling to give up temporary treasure for a heavenly reward.  As the song concludes:

Hold Thou thy cross before my closing eyes; Shine through the gloom, and point me to the skies; Heav’n’s morning breaks, and earth’s vain shadows flee; In life, in death, O Lord, abide with me!

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I Have Sinned

David is described as a man after God’s heart (Acts 13:22), but that doesn’t mean that he was perfect.  That’s good news for us!  Because, as we strive to also chase after God’s heart, we can become disheartened when we sin.  By exploring how David handled his return to God, we can better travel this narrow path (Matthew 7:13-14) ourselves.

I.  2 Samuel 12:1-15.  The man after God’s heart admits he has sinned.  David didn’t seem to see his sin with Bathsheba or her husband Uriah, and so God dispatched the the prophet Nathan with a parallel story.  The king saw the wrong and pronounced judgment on the wrongdoer.  That’s when Nathan was able to confront David with his sin.  Rather than ignore, justify, or pass blame for his sin as Adam and Eve did (Genesis 3:12-13), the man after God’s heart admitted to his sin.

II.  Psalm 51:1-17.  The man after God’s heart repents of his sin.  Though it may not be part of scripture, most scholars agree that the titles attached to the Psalms are very old.  The title attached to Psalm 51 indicates that this is David’s attitude after he had sinned.  It’s an attitude of repentance.  In this psalm, David takes ownership of his sin and acknowledges that only God can cleanse him from it.  More than that, he appeals for renewal of a right spirit within him, a restoration to the joy of his salvation, and to be upheld by God.  Only then can he teach sinners how to return to God.

III.  Ezekiel 18:21-23.  Admitting and repenting define a man after God’s heart.  Only if we live according to the Spirit and not the flesh can we avoid the eternal consequences of death and live (Romans 8:12-13)!  This means that like David we must admit and repent of our sins as we all must one day give an account to God (Hebrews 4:11-13).  There’s a process for repentance (2 Corinthians 7:10-11).  His kindness is meant to lead us to it (Romans 2:4-5), and He desires it (2 Peter 3:9-10).  Those after God’s heart will do it, and Jesus’ sacrifice on the cross will pay the consequence for their sins if they are in Christ (Romans 3:21-26).

Those who don’t admit, repent, and remain outside of Christ will have to pay the consequences of their sins on Judgment Day.  Are you ready for that day to come?

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A Strong Tower

Proverbs 18.10, 12

Your name, O Lord, to us is a strong tower,
In you we find protection, peace, and power.
The righteous run to you to be secure.
When danger falls, of you we can be sure.

The present world is full of hateful harm,
Rise up, O God, to save us by your arm;
Our honor is to know our humble need,
The Christ as Lord and Savior is our creed.

The vicious hordes of sin would hunt us down,
The flood of willful evil would make us drown.
By our own strength we cannot win this war.
We cry, O Lord — open the Kingdom’s door!

Read the book, Choose! 13 Choices to Transform Your Heart and Soul.

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Between You and Your God

The impact of the gospel becomes real at the moment Jesus cries out with “My God, My God, why have you forsaken me?” while on the cross.  This is the whole reason for the “good news” in the first place.  Man, who is separated from God because of sin, can not pay back the debt he owes, so God becomes a man, who does not sin, to pay back man’s debt to God.

I.  1 Corinthians 15:1-4.  From incarnation to intercession, Jesus’ redemptive work at the cross and the tomb is called a matter of first importance and works together to save us (Hebrews 7:23-25).  We each choose to obey or not obey the gospel (Romans 6:1-18) as Jesus overcomes our sin problem (Isaiah 59:1-4) by having our sins punished in Himself (2 Corinthians 5:21) and then solving our grave problem by resurrecting from the dead.

II.  Romans 7:18-20.  Sins are either those we commit (when we do what we shouldn’t) or omit (don’t do what we should).  Even the smallest hint of either will separate us from a holy God (Ephesians 4:17–5:7).  If we just look at the seven deadly sins (although every sin is deadly!), we can see how they all overlap in and work to destroy individuals’ spiritual, physical, and emotional/mental realms.  We need Jesus’ redemptive work of the gospel to remove the separation that sin has made between us and God.

III.  Romans 14:10-12.  We must own our sins before Jesus can take them away.  This means letting their devastating impact to our souls and the awaiting judgment for them truly strike us.  Then, we can appreciate what Jesus has done for us and can obey the gospel by believing (John 8:24), repenting of our sins (Luke 13:3), confessing Jesus as Lord (Romans 10:9), and being baptized into His Name for the forgiveness of sins (1 Peter 3:21).

But the gospel doesn’t stop there … as those who have come into Christ must continue to live obediently (Philippians 2:12-13).  Jesus has died for you.  Are you living in Him?

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Oasis of peace

Father in Heaven, with the new year advancing quickly, time rushing by, life speeding on, let me live in the oasis of your peace.

Help me to be before I do.

Sanctify our people. Purify our motives and actions. Redeem us each day in our straying thoughts and wandering feet.

Bring our friends and family members to the truth. Convert them to Christ, away from sin and deceit. Rescue them from their doom.

Lead us to fight against our self-love and narrow interest, against the evil within and the wicked who would drown the righteous with their wrongdoing. Continue reading “Oasis of peace”

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Violence of man

Thank you, Lord, that our brethren in Strasbourg, France, were not among those killed or hurt. We grieve for those who lost their lives and others who are now fighting to live in the hospital.

Our hearts hurt for those two killed and the two wounded by a Palestinian gunman in Israel’s west bank.

Father, help governments to deal wisely and apprehend terrorists without curbing the liberty of their citizens.

We grieve as well for the five people killed by the depressed man who entered a cathedral in Campinas, Brazil, and then killed himself.

So much harm and hurt in this world! We know this to be the result of man’s sin and distance from yourself.

Save from the violence of man, O Lord, but save especially from the consequences of our own sin, redeem and restore us to your self.

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Kingdom in second place

Lord God, we have sinned. We plead forgiveness.

We confess that we have squandered our time, our energies, our resources on fleeting things. We acknowledge that your kingdom has been put in second place. We realize that we have failed to obey the Lord Jesus by proclaiming his salvation with every creature in this world.

We admit that we know Disney better than Daniel. We have sought out hilarity more than holiness. Seriousness and dedication are lacking. We’d rather shop the aisles of our favorite store than share the gospel with our neighbor.

Forgive us, Lord, and turn us from our sins.

Amen.

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What Distance Gapes

Before your glory, O God, we see our sin —
Hideous, horrible, ripping you from our souls —
What distance gapes between your holiness
And our uncleanness! Woe is me! — Woe!
The hand must cover the mouth: “Impure! Impure!”
To wash our hearts, to whom, to whom must we go?

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Cats & Minnows, Dogs & Sows

Just before bed, I sanded the second coat of joint compound on some bedrooms now that we’re empty-nesters.  To keep dust from billowing throughout the house, I stapled a plastic sheet between the dining room and the hallway.  It also had a second purpose: to keep our cat out of the dust.

That was not to be.  When we got out of bed the next morning, we found a very distressed pet covered in white powder meowing on the wrong side of the plastic.  Curious, she had nosed her way under the sheet and then found herself unable to exit–much like a minnow would enter a trap.

We were unhappy with her, but because we love her, we got her out and dusted her off.  Within minutes of setting her down, though, we were dismayed to find her once again on the other side of the plastic!

As I often do, I saw this as a spiritual illustration.  God tries to protect us by giving us clear limits for living our lives, but we rail against the translucent sheet, believing that He is keeping us from worldly ‘fun’ we could be having.  Sometimes, we’re just curious.  Often we believe that we can just nose under the plastic a little, but a little turns into more until we’re trapped.  We cry out for help, and God rescues us, dusts us off, and sets us back to safety.  He’s perhaps a bit disappointed that we went past the limits He has set up for us, but He loves us.

But then we do the unimaginable.  We return to the very sin that we’ve been saved from.  We once more go beyond the plastic and find ourselves covered in white powder.  Sometimes we curse ourselves for once more being deceived and think ourselves unloved or incapable of obedience.  Often we turn against God, believing Him incapable of keeping us from our situation.

Eventually, we can find ourselves in the situation of those spoken of in 2 Peter 2:19-22:

“… a man is a slave to whatever has mastered him. If they have escaped the corruption of the world by knowing our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ and are again entangled in it and overcome, they are worse off at the end than they were at the beginning. It would have been better for them not to have known the way of righteousness, than to have known it and then to turn their backs on the sacred command that was passed on to them. Of them the proverbs are true: “A dog returns to its vomit,” and, “A sow that is washed goes back to her wallowing in the mud.”

We must not be a washed sow wallowing once again in the mud or a dog returning to its vomit.  Rather, we must submit to our good Father’s limits, knowing they are there for our good.  Then we won’t be a minnow caught in a trap — or a dust-covered cat beyond the plastic.