"And they came with haste and found Mary and Joseph, and the Babe lying in a manger."
Luke 2:16
The angel didn't appear to religious or political leaders to announce the birth of Jesus, but he went to some lowly shepherds. I love the response of these men, they went right away, or made haste to fine this newborn Savior. I also love the fact that they did not have to be commanded to go and find Jesus. It seems the angel rightly accepts, that upon hearing the glad tidings of the birth of the savior, that the shepherds would want to find Him. And of course we see that they didn't have to be ordered to go, they believed the message delivered to them from God, and therefore were driven in haste to find Jesus.
The foundation of Christianity is not a set of rules or commands to follow. What motivates us, is our belief in the salvation given us in Jesus, who's birth we celebrate. Ours is not a faith that says, "I have to". Ours is a faith that says, "I want to", or "I get to", or better still, "I love to". We serve, we love, we read the Bible, we worship, because of the love that God has poured into us by His Son. Loving and serving the Lord is never a chore, it is indeed a great privilege. The shepherds have set a great example for us to remember, may the reality of the message of God's grace cause us to make haste, to seek out and worship our precious Jesus.
Monday, December 12, 2011
Monday, December 5, 2011
The Lord Is Good
"Oh, taste and see that the Lord is good; blessed is the man who trusts in Him!" Psalm 34:8
The Christmas season is a time when our taste buds really get a full work out, and its wonderful! This past week I was given a cookie snack that looked like an acorn. It looked cute enough, but tasted even better. It is very easy for me to describe to you what the snack looked like, I already mentioned it looked like an acorn, and that is easy for you to picture. It is a much more difficult task to describe to you how it tasted....it was a tasty, crunchy, peanut buttery, and chocolate, sort of treat. The fact is, that the words I use cannot give the true sense of how good this goodie tasted. The best I would be able to do is to give you one of these acorn cookies and say, taste and see for yourself how good it is.
Isn't it the same when we try to share exactly how wonderful it is to walk in Jesus? We can describe Jesus, who He is, what He has accomplished, and how to receive Him as Savior and Lord. But words can fall short when we try to explain His love, joy, and peace in our lives. The best we can do is present who He is, and plead, "Oh, taste and see that the Lord is good."
The key for us then, is to be continually walking in, and tasting of, the goodness of the Lord. Our best witness is being able to offer the fullness of life in Jesus, a life we know to be good because we have tasted of it ourselves.
The Christmas season is a time when our taste buds really get a full work out, and its wonderful! This past week I was given a cookie snack that looked like an acorn. It looked cute enough, but tasted even better. It is very easy for me to describe to you what the snack looked like, I already mentioned it looked like an acorn, and that is easy for you to picture. It is a much more difficult task to describe to you how it tasted....it was a tasty, crunchy, peanut buttery, and chocolate, sort of treat. The fact is, that the words I use cannot give the true sense of how good this goodie tasted. The best I would be able to do is to give you one of these acorn cookies and say, taste and see for yourself how good it is.
Isn't it the same when we try to share exactly how wonderful it is to walk in Jesus? We can describe Jesus, who He is, what He has accomplished, and how to receive Him as Savior and Lord. But words can fall short when we try to explain His love, joy, and peace in our lives. The best we can do is present who He is, and plead, "Oh, taste and see that the Lord is good."
The key for us then, is to be continually walking in, and tasting of, the goodness of the Lord. Our best witness is being able to offer the fullness of life in Jesus, a life we know to be good because we have tasted of it ourselves.
Thursday, November 10, 2011
Be Sound
"For God has not given us a spirit of fear, but of power and love and of a sound mind."
2 Timothy 1:7
Back in my high schools days on some boring Friday night, I talked a group of my friends into going on a scary adventure. We went and found what was rumored to be a haunted farm house. The house was located in the middle of an orange grove, so it was dark and spooky. There were no doors or windows left on the house so it was easy to enter. After looking through the house for a bit, I gathered everyone together so I could tell them why the house was haunted. I began to tell everyone a completely made up story, that was told to me by a completely made person. It was about a crazy farmer that lived in the house, who murdered his whole family. As I was telling this phony story I could see my friends starting to feel a little creepy, so I poured it on more. Pretty soon every noise from inside or outside the house seemed to be magnified, and everyone was getting even more scared. And then something amazing happened, I began to scare myself! I was making the story up, I knew it wasn't true, I knew it was fictitious, yet I was starting to get a little freaked out. At long last, there was a thumping creaking sound that came from another room that made us all scream and run for our lives.
How crazy is that? I was able to get myself into a freaked out fearful state, with my own made up scary story! I had knowingly brought myself to a place of not being of sound mind.
There is good spiritual application to this story. It is very important for us to be of sound mind, to be disciplined in our thoughts and imaginations, and to be clear and sober in our reasoning. Our enemy knows how to get us to the place of an unsound mind, with one fearful thought, our mind begins skipping and our imagination begins to exaggerate situations, and presto, we freak out! At times the unsoundness is not even from the enemy, it is self-inflicted, we magnify circumstances or problems and we create scary scenarios that drive us to fear.
Our enemy loves to keep us unstable through fear. The best way for us to battle this, is to be disciplined in keeping our focus on the Lord and on His word. We need to learn to take our thoughts captive to Christ (2 Corinthians 10:5), and as we do, fear will wane and His peace will reign. Search His word for those promises that keep you heart and mind stayed upon Him.
2 Timothy 1:7
Back in my high schools days on some boring Friday night, I talked a group of my friends into going on a scary adventure. We went and found what was rumored to be a haunted farm house. The house was located in the middle of an orange grove, so it was dark and spooky. There were no doors or windows left on the house so it was easy to enter. After looking through the house for a bit, I gathered everyone together so I could tell them why the house was haunted. I began to tell everyone a completely made up story, that was told to me by a completely made person. It was about a crazy farmer that lived in the house, who murdered his whole family. As I was telling this phony story I could see my friends starting to feel a little creepy, so I poured it on more. Pretty soon every noise from inside or outside the house seemed to be magnified, and everyone was getting even more scared. And then something amazing happened, I began to scare myself! I was making the story up, I knew it wasn't true, I knew it was fictitious, yet I was starting to get a little freaked out. At long last, there was a thumping creaking sound that came from another room that made us all scream and run for our lives.
How crazy is that? I was able to get myself into a freaked out fearful state, with my own made up scary story! I had knowingly brought myself to a place of not being of sound mind.
There is good spiritual application to this story. It is very important for us to be of sound mind, to be disciplined in our thoughts and imaginations, and to be clear and sober in our reasoning. Our enemy knows how to get us to the place of an unsound mind, with one fearful thought, our mind begins skipping and our imagination begins to exaggerate situations, and presto, we freak out! At times the unsoundness is not even from the enemy, it is self-inflicted, we magnify circumstances or problems and we create scary scenarios that drive us to fear.
Our enemy loves to keep us unstable through fear. The best way for us to battle this, is to be disciplined in keeping our focus on the Lord and on His word. We need to learn to take our thoughts captive to Christ (2 Corinthians 10:5), and as we do, fear will wane and His peace will reign. Search His word for those promises that keep you heart and mind stayed upon Him.
Tuesday, November 1, 2011
Rest In His Word
Psalm 119:49-50 "Remember the word to Your servant, upon which You have caused me to hope. This is my comfort in my affliction, for Your word has given me life."
Words are very powerful. I heard on the radio this morning that the stock market had taken a major plunge because of word from Greece. I was on a hospital visit sitting with a family anxiously waiting word from a nurse. I recently got a prayer request from a man wondering about his health, as he was awaiting word from a medical lab regarding a test he had taken. And then there was the worry of a young man who knew word was coming from his mechanic as to how much money it would take to get his car running. All these folks were waiting on words that would bring sadness or relief, fear or joy.
Words are indeed powerful, and we can get words from anywhere, doctors, friends, teachers, lawyers, or co-workers. It is important to listen to man, but we must be wary not to set our hopes in the words of man, lest our lives be set on an unstable roller coaster type foundation. Our lives are not to be set on the words of man, but on the sure foundation of God's word and His promises. As we trust in His word we have hope, and comfort, and life, not matter what we hear from the world.
Words are very powerful. I heard on the radio this morning that the stock market had taken a major plunge because of word from Greece. I was on a hospital visit sitting with a family anxiously waiting word from a nurse. I recently got a prayer request from a man wondering about his health, as he was awaiting word from a medical lab regarding a test he had taken. And then there was the worry of a young man who knew word was coming from his mechanic as to how much money it would take to get his car running. All these folks were waiting on words that would bring sadness or relief, fear or joy.
Words are indeed powerful, and we can get words from anywhere, doctors, friends, teachers, lawyers, or co-workers. It is important to listen to man, but we must be wary not to set our hopes in the words of man, lest our lives be set on an unstable roller coaster type foundation. Our lives are not to be set on the words of man, but on the sure foundation of God's word and His promises. As we trust in His word we have hope, and comfort, and life, not matter what we hear from the world.
Tuesday, October 25, 2011
Best Effort
2 Chronicles 31:21 "And in every work that he began in the service of the house of God, in the law and in the commandment, to seek his God, he did it with all his heart. So he prospered."
A few years back, I was invited by some friends and family to go watch them run the Long Beach Marathon. I let them know I would go, and then decided a couple of weeks before the race, that as long as I was going to be at the race, I may as well run it with them. I had been doing some running and felt I was in pretty good shape, I had also run a couple of marathons so I figured I could run another one pretty easily. I was very casual about the race, and showed up race day having done very little training.
I started the race just fine, but around mile 16, my legs, my back, my lungs, and my stomach, all let me know that I should not have ventured to run this 26.2 miles with such a nonchalant attitude. I finished the race but felt miserable. My legs were cramped, I was dizzy, and I lost my cookies a couple of times. My race recovery, which should have taken a couple of days, took a couple of weeks. Usually when I do something boneheaded the Lord has a lesson for me, and this time the lesson was simple....never take on a difficult task halfheartedly.
This application of this lesson is both practical and spiritual. The Lord desires that our commitment to Him be wholehearted. He does not want dabbling, nonchalant followers, but those who have counted the cost and desire to put forth full effort.
Our halfhearted efforts for the Lord usually end up in our getting hurt or burned, and our witness being discredited. On the contrary, our greatest power and joy and peace come in those times that we give the Lord our best. Our call to the Lord is a long distance race, let's set our hearts to be disciplined, giving Him our best every single day.
A few years back, I was invited by some friends and family to go watch them run the Long Beach Marathon. I let them know I would go, and then decided a couple of weeks before the race, that as long as I was going to be at the race, I may as well run it with them. I had been doing some running and felt I was in pretty good shape, I had also run a couple of marathons so I figured I could run another one pretty easily. I was very casual about the race, and showed up race day having done very little training.
I started the race just fine, but around mile 16, my legs, my back, my lungs, and my stomach, all let me know that I should not have ventured to run this 26.2 miles with such a nonchalant attitude. I finished the race but felt miserable. My legs were cramped, I was dizzy, and I lost my cookies a couple of times. My race recovery, which should have taken a couple of days, took a couple of weeks. Usually when I do something boneheaded the Lord has a lesson for me, and this time the lesson was simple....never take on a difficult task halfheartedly.
This application of this lesson is both practical and spiritual. The Lord desires that our commitment to Him be wholehearted. He does not want dabbling, nonchalant followers, but those who have counted the cost and desire to put forth full effort.
Our halfhearted efforts for the Lord usually end up in our getting hurt or burned, and our witness being discredited. On the contrary, our greatest power and joy and peace come in those times that we give the Lord our best. Our call to the Lord is a long distance race, let's set our hearts to be disciplined, giving Him our best every single day.
Monday, September 26, 2011
Hold Tight
"For he held fast to the Lord; he did not depart from following Him, but kept His commandments which the Lord had commanded Moses." 2 Kings 18:6
I have great memories of bringing my children out into the ocean waves for the first time. I guess I saw it as a fatherly type responsibility, sort of like teaching them to ride a bike. I would let them warm up a bit by playing with them in the ankle deep water, and then I would take them in my arms and venture out into the deeper water and the bigger waves. I can still almost feel the octopus suction grip they would have on me as we would get knocked by the waves. There was always fun and laughter as long as my grip was strong on them, and theirs on me.
To me this gives a great picture of one of Judah's best kings, Hezekiah. The word tells us that as Judah's king, "there was none like him", and we are told the main reason why, "he held fast to the Lord". And so we have a great picture of Hezekiah, one of the best and strongest kings, clinging tightly to his God, like a child clinging to his dad in the waves.
Hezekiah became king in a very difficult time. His father was a horrible king, who promoted idolatry and even went so far as to board up the temple. Also during that time, Assyria was a powerful enemy that kept threatening Hezekiah. The young king was indeed venturing out into the bigger waves, yet we see he was bold and strong because he clung to God.
We are living in days of rough and choppy seas. Our tendency might be to remain on shore, or to stay in the safe ankle deep water. But we all know that the Lord would call us to the adventure of greater depths and bigger waves. Its important to remember, His call it not to the waves, but to His arms, and He will never be shaken, nor will He ever fail. What a blessed lesson we learn from good king Hezekiah, who was a good king because in the midst of difficult days, "he held fast to the Lord".
I have great memories of bringing my children out into the ocean waves for the first time. I guess I saw it as a fatherly type responsibility, sort of like teaching them to ride a bike. I would let them warm up a bit by playing with them in the ankle deep water, and then I would take them in my arms and venture out into the deeper water and the bigger waves. I can still almost feel the octopus suction grip they would have on me as we would get knocked by the waves. There was always fun and laughter as long as my grip was strong on them, and theirs on me.
To me this gives a great picture of one of Judah's best kings, Hezekiah. The word tells us that as Judah's king, "there was none like him", and we are told the main reason why, "he held fast to the Lord". And so we have a great picture of Hezekiah, one of the best and strongest kings, clinging tightly to his God, like a child clinging to his dad in the waves.
Hezekiah became king in a very difficult time. His father was a horrible king, who promoted idolatry and even went so far as to board up the temple. Also during that time, Assyria was a powerful enemy that kept threatening Hezekiah. The young king was indeed venturing out into the bigger waves, yet we see he was bold and strong because he clung to God.
We are living in days of rough and choppy seas. Our tendency might be to remain on shore, or to stay in the safe ankle deep water. But we all know that the Lord would call us to the adventure of greater depths and bigger waves. Its important to remember, His call it not to the waves, but to His arms, and He will never be shaken, nor will He ever fail. What a blessed lesson we learn from good king Hezekiah, who was a good king because in the midst of difficult days, "he held fast to the Lord".
Saturday, September 3, 2011
Don't Move The Furniture!
2 Kings 16:10 ".....and saw an altar that was at Damascus; and King Ahaz sent to Urijah the priest the design of the altar and its pattern, according to all its workmanship."
King Ahaz had been in Damascus, and while there he took a liking to an altar that he saw in one of the pagan temples. He sent the design of the altar back to a priest in Jerusalem, who built a replica of that altar and put it in the temple in Jerusalem. God had given Moses the exact plans for the tabernacle and altar and all the utensils used for worship and sacrifice. Now, Ahaz in his pride saw an altar that fit his tastes better and figured he could replace that which God had designed.
It is always a danger for us to try and develop a god of our own making, to create in our own imaginations a god that suites our tastes better than the true God. God has revealed Himself to us in His word and through His Son Jesus Christ. There are many things God has revealed of Himself that may not be fashionable in society today. At times it gets difficult, as we who trust in the revelation of God's word, might be called intolerant, closed minded, simple, or foolish. The temptation might be to try and spruce up the gospel, to add something to it, or tone it down a bit, so that it might be more palatable to the world.
Ahaz saw an altar in the world that seemed to fit him better than the altar God had planned. We don't know all of the kings motives, perhaps the Damascus altar was more up to date, or more attractive to the world's eyes, or maybe he fell into the trap of thinking that if its new its better. This much we do know, the king clearly felt the altar of the world was better than the altar designed by God. Ahaz eventually began changing the whole temple around so he might worship the way he wanted, and finally just closed the temple off completely.
I pray that we may all be grounded and steadfast in our faith, for we are under constant pressure from every direction, to "update" our God, or to "modernize" our beliefs. Our God is perfect, we need to resist the temptation to move the furniture so as to make Him fit us better.
King Ahaz had been in Damascus, and while there he took a liking to an altar that he saw in one of the pagan temples. He sent the design of the altar back to a priest in Jerusalem, who built a replica of that altar and put it in the temple in Jerusalem. God had given Moses the exact plans for the tabernacle and altar and all the utensils used for worship and sacrifice. Now, Ahaz in his pride saw an altar that fit his tastes better and figured he could replace that which God had designed.
It is always a danger for us to try and develop a god of our own making, to create in our own imaginations a god that suites our tastes better than the true God. God has revealed Himself to us in His word and through His Son Jesus Christ. There are many things God has revealed of Himself that may not be fashionable in society today. At times it gets difficult, as we who trust in the revelation of God's word, might be called intolerant, closed minded, simple, or foolish. The temptation might be to try and spruce up the gospel, to add something to it, or tone it down a bit, so that it might be more palatable to the world.
Ahaz saw an altar in the world that seemed to fit him better than the altar God had planned. We don't know all of the kings motives, perhaps the Damascus altar was more up to date, or more attractive to the world's eyes, or maybe he fell into the trap of thinking that if its new its better. This much we do know, the king clearly felt the altar of the world was better than the altar designed by God. Ahaz eventually began changing the whole temple around so he might worship the way he wanted, and finally just closed the temple off completely.
I pray that we may all be grounded and steadfast in our faith, for we are under constant pressure from every direction, to "update" our God, or to "modernize" our beliefs. Our God is perfect, we need to resist the temptation to move the furniture so as to make Him fit us better.
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