Merry Christmas from Bethlehem's Manger

Each Christmas I imagine what it was like to be in Bethlehem on that day when Jesus was born. I stand a short distance away and watch as the shepherds excitedly run to the stable and breathlessly look upon the scene before them. The undiscerning observer would have seen a humble, poor family unfortunate enough to arrive too late to get a room in Bethlehem. But to the shepherds who had received a crash course given by angels in Christology the scene was filled with glory and amazement. The shepherds, after a pause to gaze intently upon the face of the Christ child, joyfully explain what the angel had said to them not far away in a simple field outside of Bethlehem.

I wait patiently until the shepherds leave with their news of the new born Savior, then I humbly approach the stable. Timid to barge in unannounced, I wait until Joseph sees me. Then, with a knowing heart, he nods his approval, and I slowly step into the faint light of that little scene. Mary is tucking baby Jesus with a small wrapping, as she has done many times that night to make sure he is snug and warm. Then she lifts her eyes to me, and sweetly smiles. I shuffle closer to the manger, and look down into the face of the Son of God in human flesh. Suddenly every Christmas carol I ever heard bursts into song. Every Scripture verse on the incarnation I know explodes with fresh meaning and inspiration in my heart. I look at the lips of Jesus and think of how He spoke His Word into existence. I gaze upon His hands and think of the power that flung galaxies into space. I look into His eyes, and I see glory; the glory of God in the highest of heaven. And trembling with delight and awe I speak to Him. Out of my heart flows effervescent praise and joy. "Glory to God in the highest; Immanuel has come! All is well; God's redemptive plan is alive and assured. One day there will be a cross; one day there will be a resurrection, and one day the world will be filled with the knowledge of God. All because of this very night."

Soon I sense it is time to go. It is time to go back to pressure, stress, commitments and duties, dreams and challenges. It is time to go back to the job of living. But how can I ever see a sunrise or a sunset without thinking of the glory of God? How can I ever preach a sermon without thinking of the power of the Bethlehem's moment of glory? The world is still filled with problems, complications, bloodshed, sickness, and death. But hope is born in Bethlehem, and all is well. I can never be a pessimist again. Tomorrow will be a beautiful day!

Christmas Faithfulness

I have preached on the incarnation of Jesus Christ for many, many years. I never tire of thinking about the miraculous, majestic, magnificent meaning of the Son of God becoming man resulting in our salvation. The rich depth and cavernous truth contained in this biblical and doctrinal truth concerning the incarnation of Christ is overwhelming and enriching. How can any thinking Christian get bored with this story and message?

One of my very favorite parts of the incarnation of Jesus Christ is how the promise of Jesus' birth, the birth of Jesus itself, and the surrounding contextual narrative of the nativity manifests gloriously the faithfulness of God. The coming of Jesus Christ to earth proves once again that God is faithful, and He can (and ought to be) trusted as the dependable and trustworthy God. God's faithfulness is found everywhere in the biblical narrative concerning the promise and birth of Christ. Some messianic and divine promises fulfilled in Christ's birth include the following: God said in Micah that the Messiah would be born in Bethlehem (and it was so). Matthew explains that the birth of Jesus was the fulfillment of the prophecy of Isaiah that a virgin would conceive and bear a son, and His name would be called "Immanuel - God with us." The Magi coming from the east fulfilled the Old Testament promise that the Gentiles would come to Christ's light. Even Simeon's experience with the Christ-child eight days after Jesus was born, was a fulfillment of the promise God made to Simeon, indicating that Simeon would not die until he saw the Christ of God. That promise was fulfilled.

As we think about the faithfulness of God in the incarnation of Christ, let us ponder the following thoughts that seem to be profoundly imbedded in this incarnational truth:

1. God is by nature faithful, thus He is absolutely and immutably faithful to every promise He makes. He cannot be unfaithful.

2. God's faithful promises center in the person and saving work of Christ.

3. God's promises are intended for His covenant people; we can depend upon God undeniably.

4. Just as God's promises were fulfilled in Christ's first coming, so God's promises will be fulfilled in the second coming of Christ.

5. Redemption itself is anchored in the faithfulness of God to save His people in Christ.

6. God's promises are fulfilled in history in the remarkable experiences of God's people.

7. As Christians journey on to the celestial city, they should look to the faithful God who promises faithfully to faithfully care for them and fulfill their deepest hopes for divine glory. Heaven itself is colored with divine faithfulness.

Christmas' Consolation

Every year at Christmas I am freshly struck by the awesomeness of the incarnation of Jesus Christ. I enjoy preaching a series of Christmas sermons on the nature and meaning of the incarnation each and every year. And I never fail to find wonderfully fresh meaning from the biblical text outlining the powerful message of God becoming flesh and dwelling among us.

I was reading through Luke chapter 2 when I was gripped by verse 25 and a word contained therein. The passage deals with Simeon. Simeon had received a message from God that stated that he would not die until he had seen the Lord's Christ (verse 26). In verse 25 the Scripture describes Simeon's life as one of "waiting for the consolation of Israel." What a remarkable implication is given here concerning the meaning and impact of the life and work of the Messiah, Jesus Christ! Simeon was waiting for the Messiah, by whom would come the consolation of Israel. The Greek word for "consolation" is akin to the word used for the Holy Spirit ("comforter") in John's Gospel. It includes the ideas of peace, serenity, comfort, blessedness, and favor. Later, in verses 29-30 Simeon prayed to God having seen and recognized Jesus as the Messiah, "Lord, now you are letting your servant depart in peace...for my eyes have seen your salvation." Jesus Christ is our salvation, our consolation.

Jesus Christ is called by the Apostle Paul in 1 Timothy 1:1 "our hope." The world today is talking a great deal about hope. Where lies the hope of the world? What can give the world a sense of joyful expectation of futuristic blessing? The answer lies not in the life or work of a politician, national leader, or human achievement. The hope for the world resides in Jesus Christ alone. In Christ alone our sins are forgiven by virtue of His atoning work on the cross, in Christ alone we are given eternal life, in Christ alone we are rightly related to God, in Christ alone we fulfill our human purpose for which God created us, in Christ alone we will ultimately reside in and enjoy the glory of God forever and ever. Christ alone is the hope for forgiveness, eternal life, justice, and goodness in this world. What a glorious consolation!

As we celebrate the Christ child in the manger this Christmas, let us remember who He really is and what He really means. In Him, in Christ Jesus, is all the hope of mankind. Christ is our CONSOLATION.

America's Syncretistic Christianity

Every biblically grounded, Scripturally informed, and theologically sound Christian pastor knows a very sad secret about American evangelical Christianity: it is eclectic! This is not a new phenomenon, and it has been a challenge for a very long time. Many life-time church going people think they remember a time when "all was well" with the church. They might regale others with anecdotal recollections about "back when I was a kid, church was great!" But the truth is that church in every generation had challenges to face and flaws to mend. One might be surprised to note that by Acts chapter 6 the first church in Jerusalem already had a major problem to fix. This birthed what we think is the ministry of the deacon.

But the problem has developed in the modern era to the point that the church is definitely in danger of losing the gospel of Jesus Christ. Some might suggest that the gospel is already lost, and we don't know it.

Colleen Carroll Campbell said in a recent editorial entitled, "Christmas Wars Begin Within" (St. Louis Post-Dispatch, Thursday, 17 December 2009) that the problem of eclecticism in American Christianity has reached critical mass. She states that in a recent survey by the Pew Foundation that 22 percent of those who call themselves Christian believe in reincarnation, 23 percent believe in astrology, 23 percent believe that spiritual energy resides in objects (i.e. trees and crystals), 17 percent believe in the power of casting of spells or curses, 17 percent believe they have been in the presence of ghosts, and 14 percent believe in the veracity of fortune tellers and psychics. These are folks who would claim to believe in Jesus, the Bible, and Christian teaching. You can't get more syncretistic than that!

We are certainly "reaping" what we have "sown" in the churches for many years. One of the biggest problems with Christianity in America for decades surprisingly has been Christian ministry of the pastors, denominations, and churches. The pragmatic theme of "bigger is better, quicker is best" has been the watch word of the American church. Raising money, manufactured conversions, and theological animosity are taking their toll. The new wave of post-modern Christian leadership is not helping, because their call is for the church to be culturally relevant. Today we are told we must change to survive. I agree, but the change we are given by post-modern Christian leadership is to back off our hangups, retool biblical doctrine, and become more culturally sensitive. One gigantic post-modern seeker-friendly church did a survey of its ministry some years ago, and it discovered that the church was not producing disciples of Jesus Christ. For a brief moment I hoped the next statement that the staff and church would make would be something like this, "We realize now that we need to go back to the sufficiency of Scripture and the teaching of the doctrines of the Christian faith as the means of growing disciples." But no, they next stated that they need to take another survey and find out what the culture wanted now. Incredible imbecility! What will the next harvest be? I shuddered to think about it.

Negative Christianity - the Latest Trend

Since when did it become cool to be negative to Christians and to Christian thought? No, I am not talking about pagans; I am talking about cool, modern (post-modern!) Christians who demonstrate their loyalty to Christ by being apologists for the worldly culture and polemical enemies of traditional Christianity. There was a time when Christians gave traditional Christian thought the benefit of the doubt (too much benefit of the doubt, probably), but now the trend is to attack everything traditionally Christian in the name of openness and Christian "cool." I begin to see how the religionists who think of themselves as "with -it" will become the persecutors of those who dare to speak prophetically to the secular culture. These so called "Christian evangelists" will continue to back themselves up beyond the point of irrelevancy; no, they will be backed up to oblivion.

The Lord of Life

On this Easter Sunday we Christians celebrate the day of all days, the life of all lives, the victory of all victories.  On that Easter Sunday morning, before the sun rose over the eastern horizon, the Son of Light had risen from the tomb.  The FACT that Jesus arose physically, materially, really, and gloriously is not to be disputed by serious students of the biblical text.  But we must ask, "WHY is this glorious fact significant?"

This is significant because of the gift of life that Jesus gives to all who trust in Him as Savior and Lord.  "Because I live", said Jesus, "you shall live also (John 14:19)."  Yes, sweet Jesus, You live, indeed you live.  I rejoice in Your victory and life.  But because You live, I shall live also!  I do now live.  I live the life of God living in me.  I live that mystical, transcendent existence that comes from experiencing and knowing that God lives in the life of humanity.  What joy, peace, love, and hope abounds and supersedes the greatest trial.  The light of life glows with an other worldly job because of the living Jesus. 

But more, yes more, I shall never die because I am living the life of Jesus, the resurrected Lord of Life.  Jesus said, "He who believes in Me will never die (John 11:26)."  I will never die; how can that eternal life ever cease to live?  The living Christ, living in me, will ever live within the context of the saved sinner's soul.  And one day, by the promise and grace of God, my grave will open and my mortal remains will shine with ethereal glory, fashioned after the exalted Christ. And I will forever be with the Lord in His place of love, holiness, and light.  

Yes, Jesus is the Lord of life, and those who know Him, receive Him, live in Him, will live forever in glory.

"Behold, the Man!"

"Pilate then took Jesus and scourged Him.  And the soldiers twisted together a crown of thorns and put it on His head, and put a purple robe on Him; and they began to come up to Him and say, 'Hail, King of the Jews!' and to give Him slaps in the face.  Pilate came out again and said to them, 'Behold...I find no guilt in Him.'  Jesus then came out, wearing the crown of thorns and the purple robe.  Pilate said to them, 'Behold, the Man!"  (Gospel of John 19:1-5)

On this Good Friday, let us BEHOLD THE MAN!

Behold the man who is also God, full of grace and truth, expressing in life, mind, and words the heart of God the Father, about whom the angels sang on that starlit night over Bethlehem.

Behold the man who is the perfect servant of the heavenly Father doing His will and being obedient to the Father to the point of death upon the cross.

Behold the man who bears the weight of the sinner's guilt; counted as guilty before the Law and God's justice, enduring the full force of divine wrath and punishment that the sinner may go free.

Behold the man who loves His sheep so much that He gives Himself them.

Behold the man who sees the light of glory glistening over the distant horizon where time and eternity will be changed because of the cross, and as such gives Himself to the malevolent deeds of sinners for the "joy set before Him."

Behold the man who will purchase the sinner's forgiveness and justified state in His blood.

Behold the man who will rise again in glorious triumph over death.

Behold the man who will ascend to the right hand of God the Father to intercede for His darling church.

Behold the man who will come again to take His rightful place before the world and history as King of kings and Lord of lords.

Behold the man who will one day kiss His church-bride full mouth with joy and love, and take her home to His heavenly place where they will live in eternal bliss shining with divine glory.

Yes, with joy, awe, wonder, mystery, and love - BEHOLD THE MAN!