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Today your Savior was born in the town of David. He is Christ, the Lord. Luke 2:11 (NCV)
Jesus is born! The Messiah! The Savior! The Lord! He’s here! Right now! The promised one!
Can we even really imagine the excitement of that night on a lonely hill outside the small town ofBethlehem? We are told the angels sang, that they announced the birth of the savior. But who else was singing?
Years later when Jesus rode intoJerusalemamong the cheering crowds he was rebuked by the Pharisees and told to keep the crowd from praising him. His response? “If these people keep quiet the rocks themselves will shout out praise!”
Later, Paul would write, in Romans 8:22, that ‘creation groans’ awaiting the salvation that Christ would bring on his return.
So, were just the angels singing that night? Angels, remember, aren’t omniscient. They watched this spectacle unfold like the rest of us. This was their king. This was the one who they tended to in Heaven, now he was gone for a few years to walk among the humans! To mingle with this creation that the Bible tells us was made for him and by him. He was THE Lord!
Did the rocks struggle to contain themselves when the angels sang? Did the sheep in the pasture feel an unexplained joy when they heard the news? Were trees of the field stretching just a little closer to heaven that night as they rejoiced?
In the manger scene we see symbolized around the world, were the animals struggling for position to see this one whom they knew as Lord? Did even they feel something we humans didn’t understand?
This was something new! This was something unheard of! The creator of the world would now walk in his creation. The Lord of the universe left his throne to mingle with the very ones he formed from the dust. The master had returned to his home.
Today as I contemplate this verse I think it was much more than an announcement by an angelic choir. That one night all of creation stood in amazement and awe. The master designer was back to walk physically where he hadn’t walked since the day he created the world. To walk once again, side by side with the sons of Adam and Eve.
This Christmas season let us not lose sight of the awesome miracle that took place that night. The earth rejoiced in his coming. We would never be the same.
PRAYER: Lord Jesus. Amongst the glitter and lights, nestled in with the brightly colored packages and the joyful music, as I enjoy the company of those I love. Let me not forget that this night, long ago, would change all of us forever. Thank you that as my creator you also came to be my Lord and Savior. May I never lose sight of your extreme love for me. Amen.
He makes known secrets that are deep and hidden; he knows what is hidden in darkness, and light is all around him. Daniel 2:22 (NCV)
I love to camp. There is just something about the great outdoors and falling asleep to the soft noises of the night…most of the time. Several years ago I was camping alone in a favorite, nearby state park. At that time I had a small two man tent, just big enough to be cozy and warm in. The site next to me was occupied by a couple of young men. I watched them occasionally from my campfire as I read. In a word, they were strange.
They arrived shortly after I did on Friday night and set up camp. From the start it was obvious they didn’t camp much as they didn’t look prepared to camp at all. Shortly after their arrival they put up pieces of paper on the trees in their sight and then walked away. My curiosity overwhelmed me so I went to check on the paper. They were just a bunch of weird designs. Nothing made sense about these two the rest of the evening.
That night I was awakened by a strange noise. It sounded like someone fighting. No yelling, but the sound of punch after punch finding its mark. Then…silence. A few moments later I heard something that sounded like a body being drug through the woods. Had there been a murder? Was I fully awake or partially dreaming? I didn’t know. I knew one thing though. I was scared!
The sound came closer to my little tent and I froze. I didn’t dare look outside, and didn’t know if I was in danger or not! Then a new sound. The sound of a nearby tree cracking and slowly falling to the ground. I braced for impact. Then, nothing. Complete silence. As you can probably imagine, I didn’t sleep much the rest of the night.
The next morning my friends next door left. I noticed a small tree had fallen on the other side of my campsite, several yards from my tent. To this day I have no idea what I heard or what went on that night. As I thought through things the next morning I ascertained that most likely the thumping sounds were made by a passing bear and the tree could have fallen victim to that bear or just fallen from natural causes.
Physical darkness can be fearful for us, but physical darkness is nothing like the fear we in broad daylight. Those times when we wonder what is going on in secret before our eyes. Evil surrounds us. We question the motives of friends and foe, family members or co-workers.
Making it through the times of emotional or spiritual darkness involves trust and trust, on the human plane is risky at best. We trust our lover and then find we’ve been cheated on. We trust our employers until we hear our jobs are on the line. We trust our children until the police car pulls into the driveway.
Daniel was faced with a challenge. His life depended on the answer he would give. I don’t think Daniel was worried. He didn’t trust the King. He didn’t trust the men surrounding him. But he did trust his God.
You may be going through a period of time in your life when you are confused or scared by what you see around you. You may be nursing the wounds of being cheated on, lied about or deceived. You may have lost faith in all mankind and even started questioning God. During times of fear and confusion trust is the hardest thing to grasp ahold of and the most important thing to cling to.
We may not always know what is going on in the ‘darkness’ of our lives. We can know beyond a shadow of a doubt that our loving, gracious and merciful Father knows. We may have to endure a few times when we don’t understand what is going on around us. But he is a God of light. He doesn’t give light. He IS light. In his perfect time all things will be exposed. You can trust him to see you through the darkness.
PRAYER: Father God, I know these words are true, but it doesn’t make it much easier right now to be honest. I’m scared. I’m worried. I’m hurt. Everyone I’ve trusted has failed me, but I ask that you would empower me to trust you in the darkness. Amen.
But God gives us even more grace, as the Scripture says, “God is against the proud, but he gives grace to the humble.” James 4:6 (NCV
I have a friend I’ll call Jim. Jim is one of the most kind, gentle and wise men I know. He’s got a very demanding job and even though it gets stressful, I’ve heard him comment on the struggles of his job, but never the people he serves. I’m guessing from the way I see him interact with his wife of 30 years that he’s a good husband. They still hold hands, still talk openly of their love for each other, still respect the opinions of each other. Looking at his children, he must be a good dad. Family time is frequent and even though they all have families of their own, joint family vacations are an annual event. Watching the glee with which his grandchildren scramble to him, he’s a good grandpa too.
On a spiritual plane, Jim not only knows the Bible, he has the uncanny ability to take some of the most complicated truths of God’s word and bring them to a level even a child could understand. He’s a great teacher in his words as well as his actions. He doesn’t get into meaningless arguments and when he speaks, his words are hard to refute.
So why to I give you all this information? Because Jim is constantly talking about his need for grace and how undeserving he is of God’s love! I still shake my head on that one. He’s the most humble and faultless man I know. Sure he’s human, but compared to some others I know (especially me) he’s the most deserving person I know to receive God’s grace.
Human logic would agree with me that people like Jim are deserving of grace and receive more grace because of the way they act. James 4:6 would even appear, on the surface, to support that notion.
The problem with that argument is that God has given each of us the full measure of his grace available. People that are humble don’t receive more grace, they are more aware of their need of grace.
Too often people confuse being humble with being humiliated. To be humiliated means that my opinion of myself, or the opinions others have of me tells me that I’m completely worthless and hopeless. I have no future. I am of no earthly value.
Being humble, on the other hand, means I’m well aware of my inability to live the life I desire apart from the power of God. I have worth. I have ability. I have gifts and talents the benefit mankind. But I have them simply because of God’s grace. Humility simply means we realize our need.
The more humble we are, the more we realize our need for forgiveness and the effect our weaknesses have on our relationships with God, others and ourselves. The more we realize our need for forgiveness the more willing we are to forgive those who don’t deserve our forgiveness. The more we realize our need, the more patient we are with the faults and shortcomings of others.
Does God favor the humble more than others? Certainly not! The humble person favors God more because he realizes that without God he can never realize the potential he has through God.
The more we realize our need for God’s grace, the more that grace becomes available to us.
PRAYER: Lord God, I thank you for who I am. I thank you for my gifts, my talents, my abilities. I thank you that I am your masterpiece. But most of all, I thank you for your grace that empowers me to live to my fullest potential through your power, not my own. Help me live grace-fully in the presence of others so they are drawn to you. Amen.
“Look! I stand at the door and knock. If you hear my voice and open the door, I will come in, and we will share a meal together as friends. Revelation 3:20 (NLT)
Closed doors can send a variety of messages. We close doors for protection at night or when we leave home, making sure they are locked to keep out intruders. We close doors for privacy when we need time for ‘personal business’. We close doors for time to think about issues of the heart. Sometimes we close doors to hide. We could be hiding for simple reasons like a friendly game of ‘hide and seek’, of because we are guilty and afraid or ashamed. Generally speaking, a closed door means ‘do not disturb’.
Physical doors are relatively easy to deal with. We can see a door to a room or building and know if it’s open or closed. We can try the handle and tell if it’s locked or unlocked. In emergency situations we can break it down and enter by force.
The door to our heart is quite a different matter. The door to our heart is impregnable. We close the door to our heart for a variety of reasons. We close the door to our heart to protect us from further damage. We get hurt in love and vow never to be hurt again. We close the door to our heart due to fear. We opened it once and it was abused, neglected or stomped on. We are afraid to open it again because it may bring more pain. We close the door to our heart in anger when people or God don’t measure up to our expectations. We close the door to our heart when the feelings of guilt or inferiority are too great.
Perhaps you can add your own reasons to the list. Reasons why you have shut up your heart to others or to God. Some may be perfectly understandable. Others, you’d admit are suspect. Whatever the reason for your closed heart, here is something you need to know. Jesus is at the door knocking.
People knock at a door for two reasons. People knock at a door because they desire admittance. Let that sink in for a moment in regards to Jesus. He knows your heart. He knows every room. He knows every secret sin. He knows where you store the feelings of anger and hate and bitterness. He knows where the box of unforgiveness is stored and the jar of judgmental attitudes is found. Still, regardless of the condition of your heart, Jesus desires to come in.
The people in thechurchofLaodiceahad done some things that were repulsive to Jesus Christ. They are likened to a drink that is lukewarm when it should be hot or cold. Their condition is such that were they to be drunk, would be vomited out of a person’s mouth. Even so, Jesus longed to enter in. Such Grace! Such Mercy! Such Love!
Secondly, a knock at the door means that the person knocking realizes and respects the right of the owner to keep the door closed. I don’t have to open the door of my house, my room, my business to you. I don’t have to open the door of my heart to Jesus.
Jesus Christ will never force himself on you. He’ll always respect your right to choose, but he earnestly desires for you to choose him so he can enter in and built a relationship of love and grace. He earnestly desires to come in and help clean out the corners of your heart that haven’t been touched in a long time.
I grew up hearing sermons on this verse in a variety of ways to refer to winning the lost to Christ. While there may be some justification to that line of thought, the letter was written to the church. Jesus stands at the door and knocks and calls to us. Will you recognize his voice? Will you realize his desire to enter in to heal those damaged rooms of your soul? He’s waiting patiently. He’ll never force himself on you. He loves you too much for that.
PRAYER: Lord Jesus, you know my heart. You know the doors I’ve closed to you and others. You know the feelings of guilt and fear I have when I think of opening those doors. Thank you for your grace and mercy. Empower me by your Spirit to be willing to open myself completely to you. Every door. Every closet. In your name I pray, Amen.
But you, LORD, are a shield around me, my glory, the One who lifts my head high. Psalm 3:3 (NIV)
King David has gone down in history as being a mighty warrior, battling giants, defeating perennial enemies of God’s people and bringing peace to the Promised Land. He was a courageous leader. Patiently waiting until God placed him on the throne, building around him a loyal and respected army, unifying the twelve tribes ofIsraeland making her a force to be reckoned with. Throughout the Old Testament, in the years following David, the Kings of Israel are compared to David in their military valor, leadership and perhaps most importantly, their allegiance to the God of Israel.
With all of his victories, there was one battle that King David never consistently overcame: the battle for his heart. While he is referred to as the ‘man after God’s own heart’, David’s heart wandered from the path he so desperately wanted to follow.
David’s struggle with the heart is shown in its ugliest form in the story of Absalom, the son of David who so longed for his father’s attention that he was driven to start a rebellion among David’s own people. A rebellion that tore the palace apart, dividedJerusalem, and threatened to destroy the nation ofIsrael.
We can weather the storms from the outside with courage, but the battle for our hearts, the battle from within can destroy us. During this time of humility and disgrace, David is driven from the throne, and pens the words of Psalm 3. Tucked away in the words of this song from his heart, verse 3 offers us encouragement during our time of weeping and anguish; during those times when love has been ripped from our hearts.
Three truths from this little verse should energize us to follow him:
“You are my shield around me…” The word shied is better translated as a buckler, as a coat of armor that encircles a man entirely as he goes into battle. We are protected from the attacks the great enemy uses against us. Those attacks may come from people, even from religion. Those attacks may come from above us, below us or behind us. What a wonderful picture for us to hold on too. Se can’t possibly see all the attacks that are coming our way, but our shield and protector, the Creator-God of the universe, our Heavenly Father who loves us with a never ending love, has set his power on protecting us from attack.
“You…are my glory”. Does Gods’ protection mean we won’t suffer? No. Does it mean there won’t be hardship? No. But along with the things God allows into our lives is the promise that he will strengthen us to endure and grow stronger. In the midst of his humiliation, when many of his most loyal subjects deserted him and he was forced to leave in shame, David remembers that some day he would return in triumph. He may not have been sure how that would come about, but he trusted his Lord. Present suffering didn’t keep David from seeing future deliverance. Whether sitting on the throne, or running in disgrace, David was confident his God would deliver him. How true for us as well. As we endure this present struggle on the journey of life; during those times when the wounds of our heart seem unbearable, our hope is eternally set on the Lord.
“You, Lord…lift my head high.” It’s easy to spot someone on the street who is enduring hardship and pain. They walk with their heads towards the pavement. It could be a momentary struggle or a life-long battle they are facing. Their pain could be recent or the festering puss of a wound scabbed over, but full of infection below the surface.
The person who lives in confidence walks with his head held high. His eyes are to the future, not the present. His focus is on others, not himself. Their eyes are full of life, not of emptiness and sorrow. During those times when the pain is too great; the pressure too severe; the future too dark and worrisome, we in our human frailty can not so much as lift our heads to see the future that lay ahead of us.
No worries. Our lord and savior Jesus Christ lifts our head for us. When the journey is too harsh and the enemy too great for us to see our way through, we need only see Jesus. Are you struggling in the journey? Let him be the one to lift your head. Trust him to show you the hope you have for the future. He is your shield of protection. He believes in you when everyone else abandons you. He shows you hope for your future.
PRAYER: Lord God, I’m tired. The attacks from outside aren’t nearly as painful as the battle that rages within. Thank you for your promise of protection. Help me to feel your arms around me. Thank you for your salve of healing for my wounds. Empower me to live strong in adversity. Thank you for lifting my head so I can see the future glory you have for me. Amen.
Mike Fisk & Built with Grace 