Month: December 2022

Our sins keep us from God. We are all guilty & implicated by our willful rebellion against Him. The result being, spiritual blindness or darkness in our lives. We try to fill this void but it doesn’t work, or as verses 9-10 tell us, “So justice is far from us, and righteousness does not reach us. We look for light, but all is darkness; for brightness, but we walk in deep shadows. Like the blind we grope along the wall, feeling our way like men without eyes. At midday we stumble as if it were twilight; among the strong, we are like the dead.” But we have a promised hope – this hope the certianity expressed by Isaiah in 9:2, “The people walking in darkness have seen a great light; on those living in the land of the shadow of death a light has dawned.” This confidence of Isaiah’s written in the “prophetic perfect” (have seen) speaking of this future light as if it had already happened. Jesus Christ is the light, His light shining forth in the darkness (John 1:4), the sun of righteousness rising with healing in its wings. (Malachi 4:2). Jesus came into the world to dispel the darkness & bring us into a right relationship with His Heavenly Father. We don’t have to walk in darkness any longer…we have hope.

Do you have room for Christ? You may counter with, “I have room, but my heart is so lowly, so base, so dirty.” It tells us here that Mary bound the baby Jesus in bands of cloth in order to keep her newborn clean, dry, and to maintain body heat…and placed him up off the dirty floor and away from drafts in a feed trough…which was far from clean itself. You may say, “I have room for Him, but I feel like my heart has been a den for beasts & devils.” The stable where Jesus was born was far from a spotless environment to bring a tiny baby. It housed cattle, sheep, goats, and assorted fowl…each with its unique odor & manure. Finally, you may say, “I have room for Christ, but my heart isn’t worthy of allowing a King in.” The place where God chose for His Son to be born was as undeserving & wretched as anywhere on earth…but yet, God saw fit for Jesus to be born right there. So when I ask you if you have room for Jesus…remember the stable. It doesn’t matter your past. It doesn’t matter the mess you’ve made of your life up to now. It only matters if you’re serious about turning your life around for Him.

The great Theologian, Charles Spurgeon, once wrote, “God with us” – it’s eternity’s sonnet, heaven’s hallelujah, the shout of the glorified, the song of the redeemed, the chorus of angels, the everlasting oratorio of the great orchestra of the sky.” They called Him Immanuel, God’s promise to His people…His answer to their fears. As far back as Joshua 1:9 we hear God’s reassurance, “For the Lord your God will be with you wherever you go.” Here in this verse in Matthew, the deity of Jesus Christ is revealed as Matthew cites Isaiah 8:8. And Jesus went on to become the ultimate & complete fulfillment of the “Immanuel” promise…commissioning His apostles and encouraging His Church…and at the end, reassuring them again with, “I am with you always, to the end of the age.” (Matthew 28:20) Jesus, Immanuel…His life the highest and holiest…entering through the most humblest of doors…a ordinary birth in a stable. There was no fanfare, no showy display, no flourish of trumpets…the only sound being that of the livestock. Oh, but in heaven there was the greatest celebration ever to happen…for God had come down to earth to dwell with His people.

What the angel was telling Mary was that she was about to become part of a miraculous conception…an original creation never seen before, but foretold about in Isaiah 7:14 by God Himself…”The virgin will be with child and will give birth to a son…” God addressed this even earlier when He pronounced judgment against Satan (the serpent) in Genesis 3:15, “I will put enmity between you and the woman, and between your offspring and hers; He will crush your head and you will strike His heel.” This verse ending with the promise of salvation for God’s people, often referred to as “The First Gospel” or the First Promise of Redemption in Scripture. But many people don’t believe in the so called fairy tale of the virgin birth…and then usually, don’t believe in Jesus either as the Son of God. But believing in the virgin birth is pivotal for you to trust in the life, death, and resurrection of the child she bore…the Son of God, Jesus Christ is His Name.

The birth of Jesus was foretold in the Old Testament Book of Micah 5:2, “But you, O Bethlehem Ephrathah, who are too little to be among the clans of Judea, from you shall come forth for Me One Who is to be Ruler in Israel Whose coming forth is from of old, from ancient days.” The Wise men who came seeking Him were Gentile court advisors & ancient astrologists who spent their time interpreting astronomical phenomena and pouring over foreign literature. In their studies they came upon the prophecy of another Gentile named Balaam in Numbers 24:17 who said, “I see Him, but not now; I behold Him, but not near; a star shall come out of Jacob, and a scepter shall rise out of Israel; it shall crush the forehead of Moab and break down all the sons of Sheth.” The Wise men themselves and their travels were written about in Psalm 72:10-11, where it tells us, “The kings of Tarshish and of distant shores will bring tribute to Him; the kings of Sheba and Seba will present Him gifts. All kings will bow down to Him and all nations will serve Him.” The Wise men came searching for the King of kings and Lord of lords…the One Who would ultimately bring God’s universal dominion to earth…and Jesus was His name.

Throughout Biblical history a remnant always remained. From crisis to crisis…terrible ordeal to invasion by enemy troops, God providentially watched over the Israelites to preserve them from complete annihilation & to accomplish His ultimate plan and purpose for the world. Isaiah 11:11 tells us that “The Lord reached out His hand to reclaim the remnant left of His people, leading them from the four corners of the earth.” In order, as we’re told in Isaiah 9:7, that the coming Messiah would reign on David’s throne and over his kingdom establishing & upholding it forever. How? The zeal of the Lord Almighty will accomplish this…God’s passion and ardor for His people guaranteeing that He Himself would fulfill and carry out His promise.

God’s messenger Gabriel delivered these astonishing words to a bewildered young girl named Mary. But the whisperings this prophesy harken as far back as to II Samuel 7:16 when God establish His covenant with King David and promised him that his house, kingdom, & throne would be established forever. This covenantal promise was again repeated throughout the Old Testament in places like Psalm 89:4. “I will establish Your line forever and make Your throne firm through all generations.”… to the familiar passage in Isaiah 9:6-7…to Jeremiah 33:17 & Micah 4:1-8. Gabriel’s message to Mary had been firmly set in place by God before the beginning of time…that the Messianic reign of the Lord would set up a Kingdom that would never be destroyed, relinquished, or abdicated.

Jesus Christ, the Messiah, is foreshadowed & foretold throughout the Old Testament. In this familiar passage from Matthew’s account of the birth of Jesus, we find the corelating prophecy in Psalm 130:8 which says, “He Himself will redeem Israel from all their sins.” The Writer of this Psalm was well aware that there was no one without sin, but expressed hope in God’s mercy and divine intervention to liberate mankind from their sins. In Luke 1:68, Zechariah prophesied of this deliverance when he said, “Praise be to the Lord, the God of Israel, because He has come and has redeemed His people.” Later, in Luke 24:44, Jesus ties these Scriptures together for His disciples…”These are My Words that I spoke to you while I was still with you, that everything written about Me in the Law of Moses and the Prophets and in the Psalms must be fulfilled.”

Discipline & self-control are the true marks of a wise person. Or as Proverbs 14:29 tells us, “Whoever is slow to anger has great understanding…” But not taking offense at cutting remarks also requires discretion, prudence, and godly insight…and is a life-long journey of offering forgiveness in the face of willful unrighteousness by another. James 1:19 reminds us, we are to be quick to hear, slow to speak, and slow to anger. So in order to honor God in our lives, patience & forgiveness must be the rule of thumb.

This Chapter in Amos is only 13 verses long, but within it God’s ominous indictment is repeated 5 times, “Yet you have not returned to Me.” Here Amos confronts the rulers of Israel with their wicked and unjust ways…pointing out both social & religious sins of the people and calling them to repentance. He reviews what God has done in the past as warnings for their rebellion…famine, blight, plagues, & military defeats…but still the people refuse to turn back to God…so now God’s judgment must follow and His punishment would surely take place. Even despite God’s repeated mercy the people remained ungrateful & unrepentant…and so Amos ended the Chapter with this outright chilling phrase, “Prepare to meet your God, O Israel.”