Am I as faithful as a donkey?

"Listen, O heavens, and hear, O earth; for the LORD speaks, 'Sons I have reared and brought up, but they have revolted against Me. An ox its owner, and a donkey its master's manger, but Israel does not know, My people do not understand.'" Isaiah 1:2-3

 Oh how I can understand Israel's relationship with The Lord. I have been given so very much, in Christ, I have been given everything.  Yet, there is so much I don't know, understand and trust about my Master and Lord.  Israel revolted and sometimes I do to.  The faithfulness, grace and patience of our God is so clear all throughout the Old Testament because there is always the Promise of Hope and Redemption to come...there is a thread of the promised Seed, Jesus, from the very beginning.

How's my life looking in regards to this example today though?  Do I "know" my owner and master like the ox and donkey?  If a dumb non-thinking animal knows its master, how about me?    Of course we are much more radically loved than any ox or donkey and we have been given so much more as well!  Shouldn't my love and knowledge produce so much more?  It should but it doesn't always.

I am very thankful that I am not tossed out in my revolt....or slaughtered as if I am a rebellious donkey!  Instead, The Lord is patient and gracious and faithful as He was to Israel.  So He is to me.

God Speaks....

Hebrews 1:1-4

^"1 God, after He spoke long ago to the fathers in the prophets in many portions and in many ways, ² in these last days has spoken to us in His Son, whom He appointed heir of all things, through whom also He made the world. ³ And He is the radiance of His glory and the exact representation of His nature, and upholds all things by the word of His power. When He had made purification of sins, He sat down at the right hand of the Majesty on high, ⁴ having become as much better than the angels, as He has inherited a more excellent name than they."

I love the book of Hebrews and I particularly  love these first few verses.  There is so much to slow down, think about and ponder.  God.  God spoke.  He spoke the world into existence- now that is some kind of power, infinite power, just in His Word!  But that is not what causes me to marvel the most; it is the fact that God spoke long ago " to the fathers in the prophets in many portions and in many ways"...even after the fall of mankind in the garden, after the deliberate step of unbelief, disobedience and rebellion which plunged all of mankind into Adam's sinful spiritually dead likeness (Genesis 5:1-3)  God still spoke, He initiated, in many portions and ways.  He spoke in dreams and visions, by angels and donkeys.  He spoke in various ways and means....through signs and wonders, plagues and nature and so much more. 

Yet, "in these last days".  Did you catch that...."in these last days" He has "spoken to us in His Son, whom He appointed heir of all things, through whom also He made the world".  Most of the time when I think (or in the past have thought) of the "last days" I think of a time in the future and the scary parts of the book of Revelation.  THOSE are the "last days", they are coming somewhere down the road (hopefully not with me here!)  but that is not what Hebrews says- that the "last days" are somewhere far off in the future....."THESE last days" are the days of then and now, all the days since the finished work of Jesus Christ in the New Covenant.  In THESE last days....God the Father has spoken to us through His Son.  The culmination of all speaking done in the Old Covenant; the real message, the most important news since the beginning of time and the beginning of speech is God the Father speaking through the person and work of Jesus.  John 1:1-5;

^"1 In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. ² He was in the beginning with God. ³ All things came into being through Him, and apart from Him nothing came into being that has come into being. ⁴ In Him was life, and the life was the Light of men. ⁵ The Light shines in the darkness, and the darkness did not comprehend it."

God had been speaking for centuries in many different ways, but now was the time...the time for the Word to become flesh, for God to speak face to face. John 1:14-18;

^"14 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. ¹⁵ John *testified about Him and cried out, saying, “This was He of whom I said, ‘He who comes after me has a higher rank than I, for He existed before me.’” ¹⁶ For of His fullness we have all received, and grace upon grace. ¹⁷ For the Law was given through Moses; grace and truth were realized through Jesus Christ. ¹⁸ No one has seen God at any time; the only begotten God who is in the bosom of the Father, He has explained Him."

Did you catch verses 17and 18?  God spoke through Moses...through the Law.  Oh yes, the Law speaks but do we really understand the message of the Law??  It speaks truth but it also speaks more death.  It condemns.  It is God's perfection marked out and in doing so exposes man's inability to keep every single part of it.  The message of Jesus, God speaking....Jesus explaining the Father was He is the Law-keeper for us.  Jesus; born of a woman and born under the righteous requirements of the entire Law and living by faith in the Father to righteously keep the entirety of the Law for us.  Then willingly laying down His life for us.  By grace and personal faith in His Death, burial and resurrection, in our place, we can now live in "these last day" not only knowing Jesus and the Father but also being in relationship (on good terms, speaking relationship) with the Triune God!  Back to Hebrews 1:3-4;

³ And He (Christ)  is the radiance of His glory and the exact representation of His nature, and upholds all things by the word of His power. When He had made purification of sins, He sat down at the right hand of the Majesty on high, ⁴ having become as much better than the angels, as He has inherited a more excellent name than they."

Jesus...Word became flesh...God speaking...much better than any angel or Old Testament messenger.  Jesus has made purification of sins, through His life-death-burial-resurrection and is now seated at the right hand of the Father!  These are good last days....

December 24th & 25th- Good Christian Men, Rejoice!

Good Christian Men, Rejoice

Good Christian men rejoice
With heart and soul and voice!
Give ye heed to what we say
News! News!
Jesus Christ is born today!
Ox and ass before Him bow
And He is in the manger now
Christ is born today!
Christ is born today!

Good Christian men, rejoice
With heart and soul and voice
Now ye need not fear the grave:
Peace! Peace!
Jesus Christ was born to save
Calls you one and calls you all To gain His everlasting hall
Christ was born to save
Christ was born to save

Good Christian men (and women) rejoice!  With heart and soul and voice….Christ was born to save!  As we close this Advent season with the birth of Christ remember that He came to save.  Yes, He came to save us FROM the penalty of sin and death but He also came to save us TO Himself and His eternal purposes.

He came to save us from the fear of the grave but also to take up residence in our hearts, souls and voices.  Rejoicing with our lives as now, in Him, nothing can separate us from the love of God which is in Christ Jesus our Lord.  Nothing. There is no great gift.

Romans 8:31-39;

³¹ What then shall we say to these things? If God is for us, who is against us? ³² He who did not spare His own Son, but delivered Him over for us all, how will He not also with Him freely give us all things? ³³ Who will bring a charge against God’s elect? God is the one who justifies; ³⁴ who is the one who condemns? Christ Jesus is He who died, yes, rather who was raised, who is at the right hand of God, who also intercedes for us. ³⁵ Who will separate us from the love of Christ? Will tribulation, or distress, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or peril, or sword? ³⁶ Just as it is written,

“For Your sake we are being put to death all day long;
We were considered as sheep to be slaughtered.”

³⁷ But in all these things we overwhelmingly conquer through Him who loved us. ³⁸ For I am convinced that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor principalities, nor things present, nor things to come, nor powers, ³⁹ nor height, nor depth, nor any other created thing, will be able to separate us from the love of God, which is in Christ Jesus our Lord.

Good Christian men and women rejoice….in Christ we have been made good, we are loved, we are gifted with every spiritual blessing…we have been given a new heart, soul and voice. No matter what the circumstances or times...we are His!  Rejoice!  Merry Christmas!

December 23rd- We Three Kings

We Three Kings We three kings of Orient are Bearing gifts we traverse afar Field and fountain, moor and mountain Following yonder star

O Star of wonder, star of night
Star with royal beauty bright
Westward leading, still proceeding
Guide us to thy Perfect Light

Born a King on Bethlehem's plain
Gold I bring to crown Him again
King forever, ceasing never
Over us all to reign

O Star of wonder, star of night
Star with royal beauty bright
Westward leading, still proceeding
Guide us to Thy perfect light

The Gentile kings arrived in Jerusalem, a most logical place to find a king, and they do find a king, King Herod.  Imagine the palace upheaval.  A new king?  A star?  Foreign kings arrived to give homage and worship?  When the text says Herod was troubled, I think that is an understatement.  Sent on their way, they find Jesus in Bethlehem and worship and rejoice there…O Star of wonder guiding them to Thy perfect light.

Matthew 2:1-12;

1 Now after Jesus was born in Bethlehem of Judea in the days of Herod the king, magi from the east arrived in Jerusalem, saying, ² “Where is He who has been born King of the Jews? For we saw His star in the east and have come to worship Him.” ³ When Herod the king heard this, he was troubled, and all Jerusalem with him. ⁴ Gathering together all the chief priests and scribes of the people, he inquired of them where the Messiah was to be born. ⁵ They said to him, “In Bethlehem of Judea; for this is what has been written by the prophet:

⁶ ‘And you, Bethlehem, land of Judah,
Are by no means least among the leaders of Judah;
For out of you shall come forth a Ruler
Who will shepherd My people Israel.’”

⁷ Then Herod secretly called the magi and determined from them the exact time the star appeared. ⁸ And he sent them to Bethlehem and said, “Go and search carefully for the Child; and when you have found Him, report to me, so that I too may come and worship Him.” ⁹ After hearing the king, they went their way; and the star, which they had seen in the east, went on before them until it came and stood over the place where the Child was. ¹⁰ When they saw the star, they rejoiced exceedingly with great joy. ¹¹ After coming into the house they saw the Child with Mary His mother; and they fell to the ground and worshiped Him. Then, opening their treasures, they presented to Him gifts of gold, frankincense, and myrrh. ¹² And having been warned by God in a dream not to return to Herod, the magi left for their own country by another way.

December 22nd- O Holy Night (verse 3)

O Holy Night

Truly He taught us to love one another,
His law is love and His gospel is peace.
Chains he shall break, for the slave is our brother.
And in his name all oppression shall cease.
Sweet hymns of joy in grateful chorus raise we,
With all our hearts we praise His holy name.
Christ is the Lord! Then ever, ever praise we,
His power and glory ever more proclaim!
His power and glory ever more proclaim!

I really love this last verse.  Jesus was not just a teacher, an example…He was the Enabler, the Lord over all.  He came to do the work of the Cross to give us the power Source to do His work- to be His people.  He did all the work so that the Holy Spirit can dwell in the lives of His Believers.

The final hours of Jesus’ life were a “Holy Night” as well, completing the journey that was the Father’s will. The baby, grown into a man, was willing doing the work that the Father had given Him to do and He laid out an overview of His plan to His 11 disciples in John 13-17.   Love one another.  

The gospel He was about to accomplish was a gospel of love and peace, that satisfied God’s wrath and justice.   It would break chains and set brothers (and sisters) free…..oppression would cease for those who are in Him.  Christ is the Lord!  What praise should be on our lips!  His power and glory ever more proclaim!   

December 21st- O Holy Night (verse 2)

O Holy Night

Led by the light of faith serenely beaming,
With glowing hearts by His cradle we stand.
O'er the world a star is sweetly gleaming,
Now come the wisemen from out of the Orient land.
The King of kings lay thus lowly manger;
In all our trials born to be our friends.
He knows our need, our weakness is no stranger,
Behold your King! Before him lowly bend!
Behold your King! Before him lowly bend! 

This verse is talking about the Wisemen….in a few days we’ll look more closely at that account and the star “sweetly gleaming” showing them the way to the newly born Messiah.  Men from the east….Gentile men.  I just love the fact that Gentiles are a part of the birth story of Jesus!  This is so significant it isn’t even funny, so today we'll focus on that! 

“He knows our need, our weakness is no stranger”….our need is the same as any other and weakness is no stranger.  Sin kills, destroys and weakens us and as we see this fact we start to see our greatest need for a Savior!  Jew-Gentile-slave-free-male-female…all need and all our weak.  Jesus the Messiah was born to meet that need and be our strength. Again- I love, love that the Gentiles were invited to the spectacular opening scene of the birth of Jesus. Take a look at what the work of Jesus did for the Jew and the Gentile;

Ephesians 2:11-20

^"11 Therefore remember that formerly you, the Gentiles in the flesh, who are called “Uncircumcision” by the so-called “Circumcision,” which is performed in the flesh by human hands— ¹² remember that you were at that time separate from Christ, ^[i]excluded from the commonwealth of Israel, and strangers to the covenants of promise, having no hope and without God in the world. ¹³ But now in Christ Jesus you who formerly were far off have been brought near by the blood of Christ. ¹⁴ For He Himself is our peace, who made both groups into one and broke down the barrier of the dividing wall, ¹⁵ by abolishing in His flesh the enmity, which is the Law of commandments contained in ordinances, so that in Himself He might make the two into one new man, thus establishing peace, ¹⁶ and might reconcile them both in one body to God through the cross, by it having put to death the enmity. ¹⁷ And He came and preached peace to you who were far away, and peace to those who were near; ¹⁸ for through Him we both have our access in one Spirit to the Father. ¹⁹ So then you are no longer strangers and aliens, but you are fellow citizens with the saints, and are of God’s household, ²⁰ having been built on the foundation of the apostles and prophets, Christ Jesus Himself being the corner stone, ²¹ in whom the whole building, being fitted together, is growing into a holy temple in the Lord, ²² in whom you also are being built together into a dwelling of God in the Spirit."

Let us remember that “O Holy night” and “Behold your King! Before him lowly bend!”….He is our King, our Head, our Husband, our Lord….for the Jew and the Gentile....anyone who trusts in Him, may He be praised!  

December 20th- O Holy Night (Verse 1)

O Holy Night

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 Spirit felt its worth.
A thrill of hope the weary world rejoices,
For yonder breaks a new and glorious morn.
Fall on your knees! Oh, hear the angel voices!
O night divine, the night when Christ was born;
O night, O Holy Night , O night divine!
O night, O Holy Night , O night divine!

The World had laid in sin and error for absolute ages….thousands of years. God had been speaking in many different ways but at the right time, after 400 years of silence, God spoke through His Son and His birth was announced by His messengers, angels.  It truly was a Holy night.  Jesus is much better than the angels and He came to redeem not the angels but mankind…image bearers marred by sin. God spoke;   

Hebrews 1:1-4

1 God, after He spoke long ago to the fathers in the prophets in many portions and in many ways, ²in these last days has spoken to us in His Son, whom He appointed heir of all things, through whom also He made the world. ³ And He is the radiance of His glory and the exact representation of His nature, and upholds all things by the word of His power. When He had made purification of sins, He sat down at the right hand of the Majesty on high, ⁴ having become as much better than the angels, as He has inherited a more excellent name than they.

Imagine the thrill of hope that the shepherds felt as they saw sky and heard the angels.  Imagine the thrill of hope and the rejoicing as the angels message was confirmed when they saw Jesus but this message was not just for them it was for the weary world…..let’s fall on our knees as the shepherds did!  

Luke 2:8-20

⁸ In the same region there were some shepherds staying out in the fields and keeping watch over their flock by night. ⁹ And an angel of the Lord suddenly stood before them, and the glory of the Lord shone around them; and they were terribly frightened. ¹⁰ But the angel said to them, “Do not be afraid; for behold, I bring you good news of great joy which will be for all the people; ¹¹ for today in the city of David there has been born for you a Savior, who is Christ the Lord. ¹² This will be a sign for you: you will find a baby wrapped in cloths and lying in a manger.” ¹³ And suddenly there appeared with the angel a multitude of the heavenly host praising God and saying,
¹⁴ “Glory to God in the highest,
And on earth peace among men with whom He is pleased.”
¹⁵ When the angels had gone away from them into heaven, the shepherds began saying to one another, “Let us go straight to Bethlehem then, and see this thing that has happened which the Lord has made known to us.” ¹⁶ So they came in a hurry and found their way to Mary and Joseph, and the baby as He lay in the manger. ¹⁷ When they had seen this, they made known the statement which had been told them about this Child. ¹⁸ And all who heard it wondered at the things which were told them by the shepherds. ¹⁹ But Mary treasured all these things, pondering them in her heart. ²⁰ The shepherds went back, glorifying and praising God for all that they had heard and seen, just as had been told them.

December 19th- Hark, the Herald Angels Sing (verses 2 and 3)

Hark, the Herald Angels Sing!

Christ by highest heav'n adored
Christ the everlasting Lord!
Late in time behold Him come
Offspring of a Virgin's womb
Veiled in flesh the Godhead see
Hail the incarnate Deity
Pleased as man with man to dwell
Jesus, our Emmanuel
Hark! The herald angels sing
"Glory to the newborn King!"

Hail the heav'n-born Prince of Peace!
Hail the Son of Righteousness!
Light and life to all He brings
Ris'n with healing in His wings
Mild He lays His glory by
Born that man no more may die
Born to raise the sons of earth
Born to give them second birth
Hark! The herald angels sing "Glory to the newborn King!"

Emmanuel veiled in flesh, offspring of a Virgin’s womb….the Word and the Light of men.   Jesus Christ- fully God in Deity and fully flesh identifying with humanity.  Jesus the Son of Righteousness, Prince of Peace.  Jesus explained the Father to us by His life fulfilling the Law to completion and then willingly laying down His life to purchase us a second birth.  Oh what a beautiful Life-song of Redemption! 

John 1:1-5

“1 In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. ² He was in the beginning with God. ³ All things came into being through Him, and apart from Him nothing came into being that has come into being. ⁴ In Him was life, and the life was the Light of men. ⁵ The Light shines in the darkness, and the darkness did not comprehend it.”

John 1:14-18

^“14 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. ¹⁵ John *testified about Him and cried out, saying, “This was He of whom I said, ‘He who comes after me has a higher rank than I, for He existed before me.’” ¹⁶ For of His fullness we have all received, and grace upon grace. ¹⁷ For the Law was given through Moses; grace and truth were realized through Jesus Christ. ¹⁸ No one has seen God at any time; the only begotten God who is in the bosom of the Father, He has explained Him.”

Hark! The herald angels sing…"Glory to the newborn King!"  Oh the angels sang to proclaim the birth of Jesus!  Imagine the sky on the hillside….angels announcing the Good News.  Jesus was born to live the Good News then dying to purchasing the Good News of His Gospel.  Hark!

December 18th- Hark, the Herald Angels Sing (Verse 1)

Hark, the Herald Angels Sing

Hark the herald angels sing
"Glory to the newborn King!
Peace on earth and mercy mild
God and sinners reconciled"
Joyful, all ye nations rise
Join the triumph of the skies
With the angelic host proclaim:
"Christ is born in Bethlehem"
Hark! The herald angels sing
"Glory to the newborn King!"

King Jesus is here! King of kings and Lord of lords.  Jesus. How are you rejoicing this season?  How’s your heart in these last few hectic days?  Is it joyful?  What are you listening too?  The Truth or the lies?  Hark!  I don’t know about you but I don’t use the word “Hark” in my daily language?  Hark- listen- pay attention- hear- attend too….Hark.

Christmastime is a challenge for me to “harken” to the right things. It is much easier to “hark” to the things of this world.  Remember to take some time to listen.  Listen to the good news of the celebration of the birth of the King….the One who reconciled God and sinners.  Hark!

Here is a link to the song;  http://youtu.be/wbdvo019mgM