I Shall Not Want – a Christmas Message?

I noticed a really interesting trend on my blog over the last few days – I am always interested in what people are searching for, what people want to know about. In the last few days most of the people visiting searched for this -

I shall not want

Typically then, they end up at the Bible study I did on Psalm 23:1 earlier this year.

But could that be a Christmas message? I guess it isn’t directly related to the birth of Jesus. I guess if you stretch the analogy, Jesus being laid in a manger could link to the Lord is my Shepherd – but I think that is doing a lot of stretching…

The Lord is my shepherd, I shall not want.

What a great theme for Christmas! Jesus, our Lord, is the one who guides us. He is the one who directs us, who cares for us, who protects us. He is the one who leads us to where we can do what we are called to do. So what is left for us?

I shall not want.

I am not going to covet the biggest present, or whatever those around me got, or everything i see in the latest catalog. I am not going to focus on myself this Christmas – on what I want to get, on being first at the table to get the best part of the meal, on getting the most presents, on being the focus of attention. Instead, I can proclaim ‘The Lord, who condescended to become a man when He was born in a manger of the Virgin Mary, and who lived and died for my sins on a cross, only to rise again, is my shepherd. I certainly shall not want!’

What a great theme this Christmas!

A Tear in the Fabric – Christmas 2012

As we come to celebrate Christmas, what does it mean that Jesus was born into this world? I’m not looking at less significant arguments about the date and origin of December 25 – but what does it really mean that Jesus was born in this world?

To me, it seems that from the moment Jesus was conceived, the fabric of life – the way we thought we knew life and death to be – was torn, ripped up and set aside. The old way had passed – a new way has been set in front of us. We celebrate that in many ways, but often miss the significance – on the day Jesus was conceived, the world was irrevocably changed.

Apart from the very first 2 people on this earth, everyone has been conceived and born in essentially the same way. Until Jesus – born of a virgin.

Apart from 2 people(Enoch, Elijah), everyone’s life at some point came to an end. If you say that their life on this earth came to an end, then it applies to them all. Until Jesus.

When I think about it, this visual comes to mind.

Mark 15:33–39 (ESV)
And when the sixth hour had come, there was darkness over the whole land until the ninth hour. And at the ninth hour Jesus cried with a loud voice, “Eloi, Eloi, lema sabachthani?” which means, “My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?” And some of the bystanders hearing it said, “Behold, he is calling Elijah.” And someone ran and filled a sponge with sour wine, put it on a reed and gave it to him to drink, saying, “Wait, let us see whether Elijah will come to take him down.” And Jesus uttered a loud cry and breathed his last. And the curtain of the temple was torn in two, from top to bottom. And when the centurion, who stood facing him, saw that in this way he breathed his last, he said, “Truly this man was the Son of God!”

“And the curtain of the temple was torn in two”

No longer did sin have to be atoned for by the blood of sheep and goats. No longer did a high priest have to cleanse himself, and then go once a year only into the Holy of Holies to offer sacrifices for the sins of all of the people. We now have a High Priest in Jesus, who paid the full penalty for our sins, that we might be right with the father.

But there is more. For not only was the law changed, not only our relationship with God changed, not only the cycle of life changed, but also death.

Mark 16:1–7 (ESV)
When the Sabbath was past, Mary Magdalene, Mary the mother of James, and Salome bought spices, so that they might go and anoint him. And very early on the first day of the week, when the sun had risen, they went to the tomb. And they were saying to one another, “Who will roll away the stone for us from the entrance of the tomb?” And looking up, they saw that the stone had been rolled back—it was very large. And entering the tomb, they saw a young man sitting on the right side, dressed in a white robe, and they were alarmed. And he said to them, “Do not be alarmed. You seek Jesus of Nazareth, who was crucified. He has risen; he is not here. See the place where they laid him. But go, tell his disciples and Peter that he is going before you to Galilee. There you will see him, just as he told you.”

Jesus took death, and tore the fabric of life as we know it in two by being the first to rise from the dead. Jesus is alive, never to face death again, for He has conquered it!

That is such an utterly amazing thing to consider – that since Jesus, the world has never been the same. From conception, to His sinless life, to His death that paid for our sins, to His resurrection, everything about Jesus changed the world as we know it.

So how then are we living?

Do you live in light of the resurrection? Are you living as one who has not death to look forward to – but life eternal? For that is the core and substance of the Christian message. Your sins have been paid for, and you do not have death to look forward to – but life eternal. Life without sin, without fear, without pain, without suffering.

I sometimes really struggle with this concept. Our lives here on this earth seem so long – they seem so permanent. And yet – they are nothing in even in the history of people as a whole. I struggle sometimes to see the eternal aspect of my life – and to focus on what is important eternally, not this year, this month, this day, this hour! The apostle Paul has some great advice for us on that front.

Romans 8:18 (ESV)
For I consider that the sufferings of this present time are not worth comparing with the glory that is to be revealed to us.

What we face today is nothing compared to eternity.

So take a look at your life now – and ask yourself honestly – are you living in the light of the resurrection? Are you living as though this is not the only life we have to live, but just the life we have now before the resurrection comes for us too? What are you doing today that will have an effect for eternity?

Or do you live as if Jesus had never conquered death? Do you live as if this is your only life – lets eat drink and be merry, for tomorrow we die?

As we celebrate Christmas, remember the reason we celebrate the birth of a little baby. Because from the very conception of that baby – the baby Jesus – the fabric of our existence was torn in two – and changed for eternity.

Easter Postscript – Onward Christian Soldier! Matthew 7:24-27

Matthew 7:24-27

“Everyone then who hears these words of mine and does them will be like a wise man who built his house on the rock. And the rain fell, and the floods came, and the winds blew and beat on that house, but it did not fall, because it had been founded on the rock. And everyone who hears these words of mine and does not do them will be like a foolish man who built his house on the sand. And the rain fell, and the floods came, and the winds blew and beat against that house, and it fell, and great was the fall of it.”

Holy week is over. For some, their annual (or maybe even biannual!) pilgrimage to the church is complete, and they will go back to their lives, comfortable knowing they have said their creeds, added a few prayers, maybe even had communion. In a way, they have waved their magic wand of blessing over the rest of the year, and will continue their lives unaffected.

This is not how it is meant to be.

Jesus is not a magic talisman we can wave at adversity. He is not just a ‘god’ in the sky we can pray to for blessing and wealth, protection and safety. A co worker (who was having a hard time with life) once said to me ‘I would pray to God every day if he would just give me strength. Does God give us strength?’ My answer was simple.

‘Yes, he does, but it is not a one way street. God is not a candy machine’.

‘I suppose not’, was the reply.

Many times during His ministry, Jesus admonished us not to just listen to His words, but to hear and act on them. The other writers of the New Testament believed the same thing.

James 1:22-25 (esv)

But be doers of the word, and not hearers only, deceiving yourselves. For if anyone is a hearer of the word and not a doer, he is like a man who looks intently at his natural face in a mirror. For he looks at himself and goes away and at once forgets what he was like. But the one who looks into the perfect law, the law of liberty, and perseveres, being no hearer who forgets but a doer who acts, he will be blessed in his doing.

So Holy week is over. We have celebrated not only the victory that Jesus won on the cross, but also His resurrection from the dead. We have all recognized anew our sinful natures, and prayed that God would help us, guide us, and forgive us.

But now that the week is over, what will you do?

Will you be like the wise man, who built his house on the rocks? Or like the man who looks in the mirror, and remembers, and in doing so is blessed?

Or will you choose to be like the foolish man, who builds his house on the sand and then even forgets what he looks like?

A choice lays before us all. Many of us have had a wonderful time during Holy week, communing with God and His word, but God doesn’t call us for Easter – He calls us for life. Will you follow?

Matthew 6:9-13 (esv)

“Our Father in heaven, hallowed be your name.
Your kingdom come, your will be done, on earth as it is in heaven.
Give us this day our daily bread, and forgive us our debts,
as we also have forgiven our debtors.
And lead us not into temptation,but deliver us from evil.“

Amen

Easter Sunday – Born Again – 1 Peter 1:3-5

1 Peter 1:3-5 (esv)

Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ! According to his great mercy, he has caused us to be born again to a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, to an inheritance that is imperishable, undefiled, and unfading, kept in heaven for you, who by God’s power are being guarded through faith for a salvation ready to be revealed in the last time.

He is risen!

The victory was won with Jesus death. When Jesus died on the cross, He had already taken on our sins, received the Fathers punishment for them, and delivered to us His righteousness – that we might be right before God.

And yet, there was one more thing that was to be done. Jesus was to become the firstborn of those of us who will be raised from the dead in the last days. But by rising from the dead when He did, the whole Christian church was set in motion.

First, Jesus had promised on multiple occasions that He would rise from the dead.

Second, it had been prophesied multiple times that the Messiah would rise from the dead.

Third, everyone was watching. The Jewish world at the time had heard Jesus preach and teach. They had seen his miracles. Because he was crucified during the important Passover feast, Jerusalem would have been full of people not just from the local surrounds, but Jewish people from around the ancient world, come for the annual feast that first defined them as a nation.

Not only was Jerusalem full of tourists and worshipers, but the religious leaders of the day also knew that Jesus had said He would rise from the dead. Concerned about this, they took action.

Matthew 27:62-66 (esv)

The next day, that is, after the day of Preparation, the chief priests and the Pharisees gathered before Pilate and said, “Sir, we remember how that impostor said, while he was still alive, ‘After three days I will rise.’ Therefore order the tomb to be made secure until the third day, lest his disciples go and steal him away and tell the people, ‘He has risen from the dead,’ and the last fraud will be worse than the first.” Pilate said to them, “You have a guard of soldiers. Go, make it as secure as you can.” So they went and made the tomb secure by sealing the stone and setting a guard.

Even despite the teaching of Jesus that He would rise from the dead, the leaders were not in the least concerned about it – because they knew He was dead! People don’t rise from the dead! But just in case his disciples decided to steal the body, they made sure that at least couldn’t happen.

And yet, in the end, He did rise from the dead. Just as both Jesus and the Prophets had spoken.

He is risen!

The deception didn’t take place. Instead, Jesus rose from the dead and appeared, physically (including eating and drinking to prove he was real, as even the disciples were still struggling with the resurrection) in front of many people, including the 11 disciples, the women, and at least 500 other followers in the coming days (1 Corinthians 15:6)

Lets just be skeptical for a moment. We know Jesus had died. Apart from a few writings at the end of the Gospels, how do we know he did in fact rise from the dead? For me, they key is this – those who wrote that He rose from the dead went on to proclaim it until their deaths. And not easy deaths! We know that many were imprisoned, beaten, stoned to death, beheaded and crucified. They all went to their graves believing and proclaiming not only the death of Jesus – but also his bodily resurrection.

I know that if I was making up a story, I sure wouldn’t have gone through torture and death to perpetuate a lie! And it is not like 1 or 2 proclaimed it and suffered – they all did. The died with the knowledge that Jesus had risen.

We know Jesus died on the cross. We know He rose from the grave, and ascended to heaven.

He is Risen! Hallelujah!

1 Peter 1:3-5 (esv)

Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ! According to his great mercy, he has caused us to be born again to a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, to an inheritance that is imperishable, undefiled, and unfading, kept in heaven for you, who by God’s power are being guarded through faith for a salvation ready to be revealed in the last time.

The victory was won when Jesus died on the cross, but He was risen for us, as a final proof of what He had done, not only for the disciples then, but also for us now. The resurrection and public appearances of Jesus after that day remain for us as a proof of not only what Jesus has done for us, but to give us hope for the future, where we will also be resurrected into eternity, to ‘an inheritance that is imperishable, undefiled, and unfading, kept in heaven for you’.

Thank you Lord for what you did for us that Passover, almost 2000 years ago. Thank you that through your great mercy and love, you made us right with you again. Help us to grasp in some way the work that you did, that we might be truly thankful, that we might praise you as we should, and that we might follow you and honor you for the rest of our time here on this earth. In Jesus’ name. Amen.

Easter Saturday – Day of Despair – Isaiah 53:7-9

Isaiah 53:7-9 (esv)

He was oppressed, and he was afflicted,yet he opened not his mouth; like a lamb that is led to the slaughter,and like a sheep that before its shearers is silent,so he opened not his mouth. By oppression and judgment he was taken away;and as for his generation, who considered that he was cut off out of the land of the living, stricken for the transgression of my people?  And they made his grave with the wicked and with a rich man in his death, although he had done no violence, and there was no deceit in his mouth.

The victory was won. The problem was, no one knew it yet.

The gospels record nothing of what happened on the day after Jesus death. It was the Sabbath – there was nothing they could do. As Jews, in Jerusalem, at the time of the Passover feast, they would have obeyed the law and done no work, only meditated on Gods Word and maybe gone to the temple. Maybe they even stayed in the upper room and mourned.

We know Jesus predicted His death – and also His resurrection. But we also know from the gospels that the disciples still didn’t understand. Right now, they were tired, lost, dejected, confused and upset.

“We thought He would restore Israel.”

“What went wrong?”

“I was sure He was the one!”

“He did so many great things! What went wrong? Was it us?”

“Why Lord?”

“Why???????”

Psalm 30:4-5 (esv)

Sing praises to the Lord, O you his saints, and give thanks to his holy name.
For his anger is but for a moment,and his favor is for a lifetime.
Weeping may tarry for the night,but joy comes with the morning.

The disciples didn’t know it yet, but joy was just around the corner – it would come in the morning. The victory was won – they just didn’t know it yet. Sin was defeated, but they were still blind to the victory.

Today was the day to give up all of their hopes, their dreams. Today was a day of despair.

Why we might ask? In some ways, the disciples still were affected by the teaching of the day. Whilst he was alive, even John the Baptist wasn’t sure if Jesus was the One – he sent his disciples to ask Jesus about it! The teaching of the day centered on the Messiah returning and restoring the Jewish Kingdom in power and glory. They expected it to happen immediately. They wondered why Jesus was teaching people to love and forgive, instead of showing up with an army and ridding the land of the scourge of Roman rule. They had, in the end, misunderstood the prophecy and scriptures.

The disciples had sat under Jesus teaching for 3 years – and yet, even they still hadn’t fully grasped what Jesus was doing. Today, all of their human hopes and dreams would fade away.

To be replaced by Gods plan.

I think even today, God sometimes allows is to go through the dry times. The hard times. Times of even despair. We do not go through those times as punishment as some may think, but we go through them so God can truly work in our lives. We experience those times that some of our inferior man made dreams might fall away – and be replaced with Gods prefect will and plan for our lives.

Romans 8:28 (esv)

And we know that for those who love God all things work together for good, for those who are called according to his purpose.

Lord God, thank you for the work you did for us on the cross, not only that you took our sins and paid the penalty for our wrongs, but that you gave us your righteousness, that we could be right with the Father. Help us to understand your will, your good and perfect will, that we would do in our lives what is best for your Kingdom. In Jesus Name. Amen.

(Photo : flickr / Mourner)