Why Did God Come to Earth?

Why did God come to earth? What is so important down here that He would put on human flesh and walk among the wicked and the imperfect? Genesis reports that God regularly came to visit and walk with Adam and Eve in sweet fellowship (Gen 3:8). After the fall God came down to bring judgment and punishment (see Gen 11:5, 18:21). The Israelites built Him a sacred place where He could dwell among His chosen people – though they could not approach His presence (Ex 25:8). In one of the most heartbreaking scenes in the Old Testament, their idolatry became so great that He withdrew His presence and left the Temple (Ezk. 11:22-23).

So why did He come back? When John the Baptist, Jesus’ forerunner and cousin was born his father, after months of silence for his unbelief, declared the answer to our question in a song. He said, “[The Lord] has come . . . to bring salvation . . . to redeem . . . to show mercy . . . to rescue . . . to enable . . . to give us His holiness and righteousness . . . to forgive . . . to shine His light into our darkness . . . and to guide our feet into the path of peace” (Lk 2:67-80). Jesus Himself said that He had come to declare the Good News; “to proclaim freedom for the prisoners, and recovery of sight for the blind, to release the oppressed, and proclaim the year of the Lord’s favor” (Mark 1:38, Lk 4:18-21). He came to do the will of His Father, even unto death on a cross (Jn 4:34; Lk 22:42; Phil 2:8).

At the beginning of this devotional, I asked, “What is so important down here that He would put on human flesh and walk among the wicked and the imperfect?” You were. The writer of Hebrews said that Jesus endured the cross and all it entailed “for the Joy set before Him” (Heb 12:2). What was that Joy? You were. It gave Him great delight to know that you would be with Him forever and ever. God came for you Beloved; He came to make you His own child, His treasured possession (Is 43:4). All He did He did for you. You are that important to Him.  

Do You Love God?

My best friend turned me on to the stories of the martyrs of Christendom.  Martyrs are people who suffered persecution, and often death, for their faith in Jesus Christ. The first martyr was a man named Stephen, We’ll learn more about him on Monday. He died with the gospel on His lips and his eyes on Jesus (Acts 7:56). The history of the church is replete with men and women that “did not love their lives so much as to shrink from death” (Rev. 12:11). People like Perpetua and Felicity, John Wycliffe, William Tyndale, Bishop Ridley and Bishop Latimer, Martin Luther, and on and on and on even to the present day. Tertullian wrote, “The blood of martyrs is the seed of the church.”

But what enabled them to stand under such extreme abuse and the threat of death? And why did some give in to the demands and recant their testimony? What made the difference? We get a clue in the verse from Revelation above. And we find more in the book of James – who by the way was Jesus’ half-brother and was only converted after the resurrection (Acts 1:14). James wrote, “Blessed is the man who perseveres under trial because when he has stood the test, he will receive the crown of life that God has promised to those who love Him” (Ja 1:12). What makes someone die for their faith? They loved God.

Consider Jesus’ words in John, “Greater love has no one than this, that he lay down his life for his friends” (15:13). The Lord was talking about the love of one Christian for another, but could it not also apply to the Christian’s love for God? If we count God as even a friend, but more than a friend, as our Creator and Father and Redeemer, should we not also be willing to lay down our life for Him? Did He not do the same for us? How, then, should we love God? “. . . with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind and with all your strength” (Mark 12:30). With your thoughts, desires, actions, emotions, intentions, affections, obedience, and yes, your physical body – which may even mean death rather than denying your Beloved.

God has already expressed His love for you and me at the cross. Men and women throughout history have returned His love with their own lives. I’ll leave you today with the question all believers must answer: Do you love God?

He is Risen, Indeed

I’ve pondered and studied and all my words fall short. On this glorious Resurrection Sunday, hear the Word of the Lord.

When the Sabbath was over, Mary Magdalene, Mary the mother of James, and Salome bought spices so that they might go to anoint Jesus’ body. Very early on the first day of the week, just after sunrise, they were on their way to the tomb and they asked each other, “Who will roll the stone away from the entrance of the tomb?”

But when they looked up, they saw that the stone, which was very large, had been rolled away.  As they entered the tomb, they saw a young man dressed in a white robe sitting on the right side, and they were alarmed,

“Don’t be alarmed,” he said. “You are looking for Jesus the Nazarene, who was crucified.  He has risen! He is not here.  See the place where they laid Him. But go, tell His disciples and Peter, ‘He is going ahead of you into Galilee.  There you will see him, just as He told you.”

Mark 16:1-7

The tomb is still empty. Jesus is still alive.  And because He lives, you and I can have eternal life in heaven with Him. Beloved, There is no better day to repent and receive the Lord Jesus Christ than Easter Sunday.

When You Pray

David was a King, and a gifted poet and writer. He was also a man with real hurts and real emotions. He expressed raw, deep, honest pain, wild, enthusiastic rejoicing, and the ebb and flow of faith and confidence we all experience.  Psalm 31 is one that covers the whole gamut. Take a moment and read this psalm and meet me back here.

This is a Psalm of Lament, a song David wrote when he felt trapped by his enemy (v. 4), weak with sorrow and grief (v. 9), and consumed by anguish (v. 10). He was being slandered and terrorized (v. 13). In vivid imagery he said, “I have become like broken pottery” (v. 12). Useless and only good for scraping painful sores (Job 2:8). David was about a low as a man can go.

And yet . . .

David took refuge in the Lord (v. 1). He cried out for rescue (v. 2), mercy (v. 9), and deliverance (v. 15). And then he put his whole trust in God. He called God his Refuge (v. 4), and rejoiced in His faithfulness (v. 14), goodness (v. 19), and wonderful love (v. 21). He poured out his broken heart, and poured in the healing balm of faith.

There is something I saw in this Psalm, that I believe is the key to trusting God in these hard, painful seasons. In verse 2, David pleads, “Be my rock of refuge; a strong fortress to save me. Then he immediately says, “Since you are my Rock and my Fortress, for the sake of Your name, lead and guide me” (v. 3). Do you see it? “Be . . . Since you are . . .” David asked, and then he trusted.  

I confess, very often I have prayed and then still fretted. I have pleaded and continued to worry. That is not the way of faith. Jesus said, “Whatever you ask for in prayer, believe that you have received it and it will be yours” (Mk 11:24). That’s NOT a “name it and claim it verse.” It is a “Be . . . Since you are . . .” verse.

I am praying over a very hard situation in my family right now. I trust that the Lord hears and cares and will act according to His wisdom and perfect will. You can too. You can be assured that He will hear and He will help (v. 22) “Be strong,” Beloved, “and take heart and hope in the Lord” (v. 24).

Acts: Repent

Repentance was the message of the Old Testament prophets. It was the message of the apostles and the church for thousands of years. But it is a message we scarcely hear today. The theme in most churches now is “All you need to do is believe, and you’ll be born again.” But is that all there is to salvation? Remember Jesus’ message at the beginning of His public ministry? “Repent and believe the good news” (Mark 1:15). Before we leave Acts 3, I want to sit on one verse in particular: “Repent, then and turn to God, so that your sins may be wiped out, that times of refreshing may come from the Lord” (v. 19).  

Why do we preach the Gospel? Because people are behaving badly or because they are lost? Do we tell them Jesus will make them nicer, kinder, and more responsible? Or that He will save them from their sins? Are we preaching a better life or eternal life? Are we pointing them to the blood-stained cross or to a warm, fuzzy feeling? Jesus didn’t die so that we would be better people – He died so that we would be saved people. Maybe the reason evangelism is waning is that we are not drawing lost souls to Jesus, we’re telling people to change their ways. We’re not preaching repentance from sins, we’re preaching a “gospel” of behavior modification. And maybe that’s the reason so many reject the message – in their estimation, they are behaving just fine thank you.

At the heart of the Gospel is the raw truth that we are all sinners separated from God and destined for hell, not because of our behavior but because of the sinful nature we inherited from Adam and Eve. Our behavior is the symptom; our sinful condition is the disease. Repentance – turning away from sin and turning to God is the only cure. Jesus shed His blood to wipe away our sins and make us acceptable to God. That is the whole Gospel.

Lost people do not need to be comforted in their sins; they need to be confronted with their sins. They need to run to the cross of Christ and fall down in honest repentance. Then they will be refreshed. Then they will be forgiven. Then the chains will be broken and they will know sweet freedom. The message of the gospel has always been “Repent and believe.” Beloved, tell them the gospel, the whole gospel, and nothing less than the gospel.

Praise!

The crowds lined the road with their cloaks and spread palm branches making a “royal carpet” for the King. They lifted their voices in praise, remembering all the wonders and miracles they had seen. They recognized that Jesus was fulfilling a long-awaited prophecy: Zion’s King would come, “righteous and having salvation, gentle and riding on the colt of a donkey” (Zec 9:9). Now here He was and they could not contain their Joy.

“Hosanna to the Son of David!

Hosanna in the highest!

Blessed is the king who comes in the name of the Lord!

Peace in heaven and glory in the highest!

(Matthew 21:9; Mark 11:9-10; Luke 19:38; John 12:13).

But not everyone was so Joyful. The Pharisees, who followed Jesus everywhere looking for an opportunity to discredit Him, were among the crowd and they demanded, “Teacher, rebuke your disciples” (Lk 19:39). Shut them up. Make them stop. They are offensive. Matthew said the Pharisees “were indignant” (Mt 21:15). Sounds like our present culture, doesn’t it?

Jesus replied, “I tell you, if they keep quiet, the stones will cry out.” (Lk 19:40). All of creation knew and acknowledged that Jesus was the King, the Messiah, the Son of God – and they rejoiced. If man – who was made in God’s very image – would not praise the Creator, nature would. Because He was and is worthy of praise.

We live in a world that doesn’t believe in Jesus. And they don’t want you to either. And if you must believe in such fantasies, they demand that you keep it to yourself. They don’t want to hear His name. They don’t want to hear His Word. They don’t want to acknowledge sin. They don’t want to be confronted with righteousness. And they sure don’t want to hear His people praise Him.

So, what are we to do? Praise Him anyway. Praise Him louder. Praise Him longer. Praise Him when the sun rises and when it sets. Praise Him when the days are sweet. Praise Him when the storms hit. Praise Him in the church. Praise Him in your home. Praise Him in the public square. Praise Him in prison.

Because He must be praised. Don’t let the world stifle your Joy in the Lord. Don’t make the rocks cry out on your behalf. Beloved, pick up a palm branch and join the song:

“Blessed is He who comes in the Name of the Lord!”

The Greatest Story Ever Told

Did you know that the original Scriptures didn’t have chapter and verse numbers? When your pastor tells you to turn to a Bible book, chapter, and verse you can thank Stephen Langton (1150-1228), the Archbishop of Canterbury and French scholar, Robert Estienne (1503-59) for making it easier to find your way around. Langton divided the biblical books into chapters and Estienne added to the earlier work of Italian Dominican scholar Santi Pagnini (1470–1541) who started the numbering of the verses. The first English Bible to use chapters and verses as we have them today was the Geneva Bible in 1560.

But the original authors didn’t write with the intent of dividing up the Scriptures and sometimes we lose the continuity and context of their message. Take the Gospel of Mark, for example. Four accounts of Jesus’ miraculous works are divided into different chapters. They are often taught in separate sound bites but the events worked together to prove one theme.

Mark tells of Jesus calming a storm on a lake. As “a furious squall came up,” Jesus stood in the boat and “rebuked the wind and waves, [saying], “Quiet! Be still!” (vs. 37, 39). Of course, the wind and waves obeyed the One who called them into being. He displayed His power and authority over nature and creation (4:35-41).

After crossing the lake, Jesus was approached by a man with a legion of evil spirits, meaning between 3,000-6,000 demonic forces lived in him. The man was in constant torment. Jesus cast out the evil spirits (in the first mention of deviled ham). He proved his power and authority over the demons of hell (5:1-20).

Mark then recorded Jesus healing a woman who had suffered for twelve years of physical misery and social heartache. He commended her faith and displayed his power and authority over disease and human suffering of every kind (5:21-34). Finally, Jesus was brought into a home where a little girl lay dead. He walked into her room with His power and authority over death and brought the girl back to life (5:21-34).

Remarkably, Jesus returned to his hometown where “He could not do any miracles” because of the people’s lack of faith (6:1-6). In the one who proved His divine power over nature, demons, disease, and death. From creation to the impending return of the Lord Jesus Christ, the Bible is one story with one theme: the glory of God. It is the Greatest Story ever told. What better proof could there be?

The Rest of the Story

I’m living in the middle of a story that is causing me a lot of anxiety. I can’t see what is happening, I have no control over the particulars. I don’t know how this will end – or when. I am keeping an open prayer line to God and running to it often when panic wants to raise its ugly head. Somebody reading this can relate. I know a father with a demon-possessed son could too.  Please take a moment and read Mark 9:17-27 to get the scope of the story.

When we read accounts in the Bible today, as Paul Harvey said, we know “the rest of the story.”  But the people in the story didn’t.  Think about this from the father’s perspective – in real-time – as he stands before Jesus with pleading eyes, “If you can do anything, take pity on us and help us” (Mark 9:22).  Stay in the moment as we see Jesus turn to the child and speak with authority, “I command you to come out of him and never enter him again” (v. 25).  Watch as “the spirit shrieked, convulsed him violently and came out” (v. 26)” But wait, what did Jesus do?  The boy looks dead – like a corpse!  The father brought his boy to Jesus and Jesus made everything worse.

Now, freeze the scene right here and consider this: just as the father lived out his story in real-time, you and I are also living out our story without the advantage of a written script that tells us how it all ends.  All we know is, right now, at this moment, the anxiety is high.

“But Jesus . . .” these are the most precious words in the Bible to me.  “But Jesus took [the boy] by the hand and lifted him to his feet” v. 27).  Wonder of wonders, the boy is not dead – he is alive – and healed!  He runs into his father’s arms with a smile of triumph. His father bends to kiss his son’s head with a look of amazement and Joy.

May I remind you not to give up on Jesus?  He can see the end from the middle. That moment when all seems lost, just as it was for this father, might be the moment just before all is found. Bring your need to Jesus, give Him room to work, and don’t lose hope. Beloved, your story isn’t over yet.

Do It Again, Lord

God, I need a miracle.

I need You to part the sea again (Ex. 14:21).

I need You to bring water from a rock again (Ex. 17:5-7).

I need You to bring down the walls again (Jos. 6:20).

I need You to make the sun stand still again (Jos. 10:13).

I need You to take down the giant again (1 Sam. 48-49).

I need You to keep the oil flowing again (2 Ki. 4:1-7).

I need You to make the ax head float again (2 Ki. 6:1-7).

I need You to move the shadow back again (2 Ki. 20:10).

I need You to stand in the fire again (Dan. 3:25).

I need You to shut the mouths of lions again (Dan. 6:22).

I need You to calm the storm again (Matt. 8:23-27).

I need You to heal and raise the dead again (Mk. 5:21-43).

I need You to feed the multitudes again (Matt. 14:13-21; 15: 29-39).

I need You to walk on the water again (Matt. 14:22-33).

I need You to take out the demon again (Mk 1:21-26).

I need You to open blind eyes again (Matt 20:29-34).

I need You to turn water into wine again (Jn 2:1-11).

I need You to turn little into much again (Jn. 6:5-13).

I need You to make the lame not just walk, but jump again (Acts 3:1-10).

I need You to set the prisoner free again (Acts 12: 1-17).

I’m not asking for much Lord. Just a miracle. You did it before. I need you to do it again.

Advent 2022: Pondering Christmas

Image: “Mary and Baby Jesus” by Jean Keaton
 https://www.jeankeatonart.com/…/pro…/mary-and-baby-jesus

I posted a meme earlier in the week of Jesus saying, “Listen carefully. I don’t want to end up with four different versions of this.” It’s funny, but there is a reason for the four gospels. Each author, under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit, wrote to a different “target audience.”  Matthew wrote to assure the Jews that Jesus was the long-awaited Messiah. Mark wrote to the Romans while Luke’s intended audience was the Greeks. John, some scholars say, wrote “Heaven’s perspective” revealing Jesus as the divine Son of God. When you read all four gospels in harmony, it is like turning a diamond to see all the different facets that make up the whole. Only Matthew and Luke covered the birth narrative.

Luke’s purpose in writing his Gospel account was to “carefully investigate everything from the beginning,” using the testimonies of “those who from the first were eyewitnesses and servants of the word” (Luke 1:3, 2). Tradition holds that one of those eyewitnesses was Jesus’ mother Mary. That is why we find such a rich account of our Savior’s birth. Who would be better to retell that wonderful story?

Luke added:  “Mary treasured up all these things and pondered them in her heart (Luke 2:19). That always touches my heart as a mother. I have my own “treasures” of my son’s birth and early years that I often pull out and remember. Every mother has a treasure trove of memories from the birth of her children. Mary had much to ponder and no doubt wonder what it all meant. Gabriel’s announcement to her – “You will be with child and give birth to . . . the Son of the Most High” (Luke 1:31, 32). Her cousin Elizabeth’s greeting – “Blessed are you among women, and blessed is the child you will bear” (Luke 1:42). Joseph’s loyalty – “Joseph did what the angel of the Lord had commanded him and took Mary home as his wife” (Matthew 1:24). The long, difficult journey while she was heavy with Child (Luke 2:4-5). The mean and lowly stable and the animals who witnessed the birth (Luke 2:6-7). A group of stunned shepherds talking excitedly about a chorus of angels and the brightness of God’s glory (Luke 2:8-18).

No doubt she remembers counting His fingers and toes and smoothing the curl on the top of His head as He slept contently in her arms. For the moment He was Mary’s sweet little baby boy, but he also held the hope and promise of God’s redemption for the whole world.

For the remaining days before Christmas, let’s spend some time pondering who this Baby in the manger truly was. Let’s look for the details of the Christmas story. Then let’s join Mary and treasure them up in our hearts and remember them all year long.