A Great New Year

"When you pass through the waters, I will be with you;
and through the rivers, they shall not overflow you. 
When you walk through the fire, you shall not be burned,
nor shall the flame scorch you." 
Isaiah 43:2

I was having lunch with a friend at a Chinese food restaurant, and after we finished eating we both cracked open our fortune cookies.  We both received good fortunes. My fortune said something about having a fulfilling and peaceful life, and his said that he would get to travel far and wide.  Of course neither of us took the cookie messages seriously, but it caused me to consider how grateful I am that I can look to the future with confidence because of the sure solid promises of God.

A new year is upon us and none of us know all that will take place, but we can enter this new year without fear, for God has promised that He will be with us.  No doubt, some will face circumstances that will sweep in like a flood or a fire, but rest assured, the Lord has promised the flood will not overflow you, and you will not be burned by the fire.

Our hope is not established by good fortunes found in cookies, or wishes, or happy thoughts.  We are established by the power and love of our gracious God.  By God's sovereignty we are blessed to be living in these amazing last days, and though it can get a bit crazy, as we set our focus on the Lord and His Word, His peace will reign.  He loves you, and He is doing a good work in you, so this is going to be a great year!

Come Join The Family

"The book of the genealogy of Jesus Christ,
the Son of David, the son of Abraham."
Matthew 1:1

The gospel of Matthew was written specifically for a Jewish audience, and has as its core theme, Jesus the King. 
The gospel begins with the genealogy of Jesus to show not only His humanity but also that He is from the kingly line of David.

Matthew includes women in the genealogy, which would not be typical especially when listing a royal lineage.  If the Holy Spirit's intent in the genealogy was to impress religious Jews these women would not have been included.  I believe the women being listed sends a wonderful message and an invitation that all can be part of The Kings family tree.

Tamar is in the family line of our Messiah and she is best known by bearing twins from her father in-law Judah.  Tamar was a prostitute from Jericho, and Ruth was from the despised people of Moab.  Bathsheba is mentioned and of course she is most known for her affair with David. Mary the mother of Jesus is in the genealogy and in those days she would not have been known at all, for she was a nobody from a nowhere town called Nazareth.

The blessed message of Christmas is that God truly has come as man, to save man. That God would have these women listed in the family line of His Son, gives such strong encouragement that we too can be part of His family.  The invitation has been extended, the door is wide open, come join the family!

Not By Works

"Knowing that a man is not justified by the works of the law but by faith in Jesus Christ, even we have believed in Christ Jesus, that we might be justified by faith in Christ and not by works of the law; for by the works of the law no flesh shall be justified."  Galatians 2:16

I was raised in a tradition that relied heavily on works.  I was taught and believed that I needed to keep up a steady flow of good works to remain in good standing with God.  If I blew it and sinned, I knew I had to do some sort of good works to make up for my failure.

I believed that Jesus died for my sins, but that my good works also played a part in my salvation.  I didn't understand at the time that relying on my own good works for salvation was an offense to the cross of Jesus.  Jesus' death on the cross accomplishes all that is needed for salvation, to teach that our good works are also needed, is akin to saying that Jesus didn't do enough on the cross.

Justification can be defined as the act of God whereby He declares the believing sinner righteous in Jesus Christ.  There is no room for our works in justification, it is an act of God in Jesus, as sinners we are to trust and receive the completed work of the Lord.

 

Joy

"He will again have compassion on us, and will subdue our iniquities.  You will cast all our sins into the depths of the sea" (Micah 7:19).

What a wonderful picture of the grace of God.  The prophet Micah speaks of God subduing iniquities, which literally means to trample down or crush.  How remarkable!  God does not broadcast our sins, or dangle them in front of us, or publish them on Facebook for the world to see. He chases them down, tramples them and casts them away into the depths of the sea.  Amazing grace how sweet the sound!

It is now the officially Christmas season.  I love the festivities of this season, the decorations, songs, fragrances, and even the shopping (not the parking!).  I'm sure you all know this, but let me remind you anyway. Christmas is not about the decorations and gifts, what will make this a truly joyous time is making sure we take the time to stop and ponder the grace of God in sending His Son.  Oh what great lengths God went to in subduing our iniquities. Our mighty Savior humbled Himself, became a man to trample down our sins, and cast them away from us.  Joy to the world!