"The Lord had said to Abram, 'Go from your country, your people and your father’s household to the land I will show you. I will make you into a great nation, and I will bless you; I will make your name great, and you will be a blessing. I will bless those who bless you, and whoever curses you I will curse; and all peoples on earth will be blessed through you.'" (Genesis 12:3)
Most people choose the opening chapters of Matthew or Luke when discussing Christmas. However, I decided to choose a different verse which proves that God had Christmas planned even during Old Testament times. Roughly 2,000 years before Jesus was born, God picked a wealthy, cosmopolitan man named Abram from the Babylonian city of Ur to be the ancestor of His chosen nation, Israel. Little did Abram (who was renamed Abraham) know that one of his descendants would be God's greatest gift to mankind: Jesus Christ.
At Christmas, we give gifts to each other and bless those whom we love. However, we are only able to do that because God first loved us. God is love, and we are only able to love each other because He gave us that ability. He loved us so much that He gave us His Son, Jesus Christ, so that we could have eternal life. This is what He meant when He told Abraham that He was going to bless all of the nations on earth through Him. He was going to use Israel as the vehicle for bringing Christ into the world. On top of that, He used Israel to preserve monotheism and to give us His Word, the Bible. No one has the Christmas Spirit more than Christ Himself. Even the myth of Santa comes from a devout Christian named Saint Nicholas.
So during this time of the year, open your presents. Spend time with your family. Reconnect with your friends and make new ones. However, most of all, reflect upon all the gifts that God has given you, including the greatest gift of all: Jesus Christ.
Merry Christmas!
Wednesday, December 26, 2012
Thursday, December 20, 2012
Your Deeds Will Reveal Your Faith
"I will expose your righteousness and your works, and they will not benefit you." (Isaiah 57:12)
If God exposed everything that you do in secret, how good would you look? In this verse, God was rebuking the ancient Israelites, who had become so evil that He referred to them as the "children of a sorceress" and the "offspring of adulterers and prostitutes" (Isaiah 57:3). They were worshipping idols and performing child sacrifices, yet they still thought that they were good enough to be right with God. However, before we condemn them for what they did, let's take a look at ourselves. Are they any different from the Christian college student who sacrifices her unborn child on the altar of convenience through abortion? Are they any different from the youth minister who seduces young women and watches endless hours of porn, yet still thinks that he is worthy of God's calling? Are they any different from the pastor and wife who sacrifice their marriage and family via divorce to the idols of selfish ambition? Is today's church truly a light to the world, or have we become the children of sorceresses, adulterers, and prostitutes?
Let me make a couple of things clear: we are not saved through good deeds. We are saved through a relationship with Jesus Christ, which can only be gained through turning away from our sin in our heart and accepting Him as our Savior. In addition, even when we are saved, we will screw up once in a while. This is because our transformation through the Holy Spirit is not complete until we are dead. That being said, people who consistently and deliberately commit acts of evil, while putting on a facade of superficial righteousness, will be exposed for the fakes that they are. In fact, the Bible strongly suggests that people who act like that are not truly saved at all, even though their origins may be in the church (1 John 2:19). So before you brag about how holy and righteous you are, take some time to truly examine your heart and your deeds. Include the ones that you think no one knows about. You know, the ones which God may decide to reveal if you keep doing them in secret. After that, ask yourself the following question: what do my deeds reveal about my faith?
If God exposed everything that you do in secret, how good would you look? In this verse, God was rebuking the ancient Israelites, who had become so evil that He referred to them as the "children of a sorceress" and the "offspring of adulterers and prostitutes" (Isaiah 57:3). They were worshipping idols and performing child sacrifices, yet they still thought that they were good enough to be right with God. However, before we condemn them for what they did, let's take a look at ourselves. Are they any different from the Christian college student who sacrifices her unborn child on the altar of convenience through abortion? Are they any different from the youth minister who seduces young women and watches endless hours of porn, yet still thinks that he is worthy of God's calling? Are they any different from the pastor and wife who sacrifice their marriage and family via divorce to the idols of selfish ambition? Is today's church truly a light to the world, or have we become the children of sorceresses, adulterers, and prostitutes?
Let me make a couple of things clear: we are not saved through good deeds. We are saved through a relationship with Jesus Christ, which can only be gained through turning away from our sin in our heart and accepting Him as our Savior. In addition, even when we are saved, we will screw up once in a while. This is because our transformation through the Holy Spirit is not complete until we are dead. That being said, people who consistently and deliberately commit acts of evil, while putting on a facade of superficial righteousness, will be exposed for the fakes that they are. In fact, the Bible strongly suggests that people who act like that are not truly saved at all, even though their origins may be in the church (1 John 2:19). So before you brag about how holy and righteous you are, take some time to truly examine your heart and your deeds. Include the ones that you think no one knows about. You know, the ones which God may decide to reveal if you keep doing them in secret. After that, ask yourself the following question: what do my deeds reveal about my faith?
Wednesday, December 12, 2012
Your Obedience To God Reveals Your Love For Him
"If only you had paid attention to my commands, your peace would have been like a river, your well-being like the waves of the sea." (Isaiah 48:18)
If a parent tells their child not to put their hand on the hot stove, are they just trying to spoil their fun? If they tell them not to put their finger in the socket, are they just being rigid and intolerant? Then why is God accused of those things when He tells us not to do things which are just as harmful, if not worse? The answer is that He isn't. God created laws to protect us and to keep us safe. Like a parent who doesn't want to their kid to get their hand burned off or to get electrocuted, God doesn't want us to destroy our lives through immoral sexual behavior, alcohol addiction, and other deadly habits. The world claims that breaking God's rules is cool and thrilling. Yeah, I'll beat that playing Russian Roulette is cool and thrilling, too, until you blow your own head off! The fact is that sex within marriage and having lots of kids is a lot more fun than you think. On top of that, there's the added bonus that you don't have your heart ripped out of your chest every time that you break up with whatever hot babe or total stud muffin that you sleep with. Likewise, being a respectful, trustworthy, and diligent worker will make your career a lot easier. You don't need the headaches of the back-stabbing crooks who have to worry about vengeful coworkers and all sorts of legal mayhem throughout their lives. Being obedient will not necessary prevent you from calamity, but it will make sure that when it does happen, that it won't be your fault. Not to mention the fact that God honors those who are faithful to Him. Just ask Joseph or Daniel.
Now, there is one caveat that I want to make clear. Obeying God's laws will not get you into heaven. Only a relationship with Christ will do that. That being said, obeying God's laws after you become saved will not only allow you to develop your relationship with Him even further, but it will also allow you to attract other people to Jesus so that they can be saved from an eternity in hell, too. Not to mention that doing so is an opportunity to show Him just how grateful you are that He saved you to begin with.
"If you love me, keep my commands." (John 14:15)
Jesus Christ showed you how much He loved you by suffocating to death on a cross. Isn't it time that you show Him how much you love Him back?
If a parent tells their child not to put their hand on the hot stove, are they just trying to spoil their fun? If they tell them not to put their finger in the socket, are they just being rigid and intolerant? Then why is God accused of those things when He tells us not to do things which are just as harmful, if not worse? The answer is that He isn't. God created laws to protect us and to keep us safe. Like a parent who doesn't want to their kid to get their hand burned off or to get electrocuted, God doesn't want us to destroy our lives through immoral sexual behavior, alcohol addiction, and other deadly habits. The world claims that breaking God's rules is cool and thrilling. Yeah, I'll beat that playing Russian Roulette is cool and thrilling, too, until you blow your own head off! The fact is that sex within marriage and having lots of kids is a lot more fun than you think. On top of that, there's the added bonus that you don't have your heart ripped out of your chest every time that you break up with whatever hot babe or total stud muffin that you sleep with. Likewise, being a respectful, trustworthy, and diligent worker will make your career a lot easier. You don't need the headaches of the back-stabbing crooks who have to worry about vengeful coworkers and all sorts of legal mayhem throughout their lives. Being obedient will not necessary prevent you from calamity, but it will make sure that when it does happen, that it won't be your fault. Not to mention the fact that God honors those who are faithful to Him. Just ask Joseph or Daniel.
Now, there is one caveat that I want to make clear. Obeying God's laws will not get you into heaven. Only a relationship with Christ will do that. That being said, obeying God's laws after you become saved will not only allow you to develop your relationship with Him even further, but it will also allow you to attract other people to Jesus so that they can be saved from an eternity in hell, too. Not to mention that doing so is an opportunity to show Him just how grateful you are that He saved you to begin with.
"If you love me, keep my commands." (John 14:15)
Jesus Christ showed you how much He loved you by suffocating to death on a cross. Isn't it time that you show Him how much you love Him back?
Wednesday, December 5, 2012
Why Has God Blessed You?
"I will give you hidden treasures, riches stored in secret places, so that you may know that I am the Lord, the God of Israel, who summons you by name." (Isaiah 45:3)
Who was God speaking to in that verse?
A) An Israelite king?
B) A mighty pagan emperor?
C) Jesus Christ?
D) A high priest?
If you guessed 'B', then you are right! God was speaking to Cyrus the Great of Persia, the man who created the largest empire that the known world had ever seen up to that point. What's really interesting is that this prophecy was made when Persia was dominated by another Aryan tribe known as the Medes and when the big kid on the block was Assyria. Persia's predecessor on the world stage, Babylon, had not even come to power yet. Nonetheless, God already had a plan for Cyrus, even though he wasn't even born yet. While I do not know every reason that God decided to make Cyrus the most powerful man of His time, I do know the greatest one: to free the Jews from Babylon and to allow them to return to their homeland in Israel.
I learned in a class taught by Professor Marc Saperstein that the Jews actually showed Cyrus the prophecy about him in Isaiah after he conquered their oppressors. Cyrus was so moved that he decided to carry it out. From that and other historical facts about Cyrus' wise and humanitarian rule (including allowing freedom of religion in his empire), it is clear that God had not only blessed him with great wisdom and strength, but a just and loving heart as well. Whether or not Cyrus took the final step by putting his faith in the one true God is not clear. However, one thing is: he used the blessings that he was given to fulfill his earthly purpose.
How are you using the blessings that God has given you? Have you asked Him why He has given you your skills and talents? Is there someone whom He wants you to help with your abilities? You may not be the most powerful ruler in the world, but God has given you a blessing and a purpose. Cyrus was brave enough to fulfill his. Be brave enough to fulfill yours.
Who was God speaking to in that verse?
A) An Israelite king?
B) A mighty pagan emperor?
C) Jesus Christ?
D) A high priest?
If you guessed 'B', then you are right! God was speaking to Cyrus the Great of Persia, the man who created the largest empire that the known world had ever seen up to that point. What's really interesting is that this prophecy was made when Persia was dominated by another Aryan tribe known as the Medes and when the big kid on the block was Assyria. Persia's predecessor on the world stage, Babylon, had not even come to power yet. Nonetheless, God already had a plan for Cyrus, even though he wasn't even born yet. While I do not know every reason that God decided to make Cyrus the most powerful man of His time, I do know the greatest one: to free the Jews from Babylon and to allow them to return to their homeland in Israel.
I learned in a class taught by Professor Marc Saperstein that the Jews actually showed Cyrus the prophecy about him in Isaiah after he conquered their oppressors. Cyrus was so moved that he decided to carry it out. From that and other historical facts about Cyrus' wise and humanitarian rule (including allowing freedom of religion in his empire), it is clear that God had not only blessed him with great wisdom and strength, but a just and loving heart as well. Whether or not Cyrus took the final step by putting his faith in the one true God is not clear. However, one thing is: he used the blessings that he was given to fulfill his earthly purpose.
How are you using the blessings that God has given you? Have you asked Him why He has given you your skills and talents? Is there someone whom He wants you to help with your abilities? You may not be the most powerful ruler in the world, but God has given you a blessing and a purpose. Cyrus was brave enough to fulfill his. Be brave enough to fulfill yours.
Sunday, December 2, 2012
Be "Exclusive" With God
"I am the Lord; that is my name! I will not yield my glory to another or my praise to idols." (Isaiah 42:8)
Imagine that you just proposed to your future wife and she said that she would marry you as long as you let her bring her ex-boyfriends to shack up with you all in the house. Or that your future husband wants you to let his ex-girlfriends move in right after he carries you over the threshold or he won't go through with the wedding. Would you put up with that? No! That would be unreasonable and insulting. Yet, that is what you are asking God to do when you expect Him to let you into heaven when you practice a different religion or have idols in your life.
When you get married, you need to cast aside all members of the opposite sex besides your spouse and make your wife (or husband, if you are a woman) the only love of your life. It is only under those circumstances that you will truly experience the amazing emotional and sexual fulfillment that God intended for you to have. Likewise, when you come to Christ, you must remove anything else in your life that is competing for your love and worship. It is only under those circumstances that you will truly experience the amazing love and spiritual fulfillment that God intended for you to have. This includes things which are normally good, such as family, work, and money. This doesn't mean that you should give up all your worldly possessions and live a life of solitude in a cave in Utah. It simply means that if you have to choose between God and those things, you must choose God. In order to choose God, you must choose His Son, because Christ is the only way to get to God.
"Jesus answered, “I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me." (John 14:6)
Marriage, when "exclusive" between a man and a woman, and pursued selflessly, is the best possible human relationship. Following Christ is like that, but to the infinite power. When it is an exclusive, selfless relationship between you and Jesus, it is the best possible relationship that you will ever have. Period.
Imagine that you just proposed to your future wife and she said that she would marry you as long as you let her bring her ex-boyfriends to shack up with you all in the house. Or that your future husband wants you to let his ex-girlfriends move in right after he carries you over the threshold or he won't go through with the wedding. Would you put up with that? No! That would be unreasonable and insulting. Yet, that is what you are asking God to do when you expect Him to let you into heaven when you practice a different religion or have idols in your life.
When you get married, you need to cast aside all members of the opposite sex besides your spouse and make your wife (or husband, if you are a woman) the only love of your life. It is only under those circumstances that you will truly experience the amazing emotional and sexual fulfillment that God intended for you to have. Likewise, when you come to Christ, you must remove anything else in your life that is competing for your love and worship. It is only under those circumstances that you will truly experience the amazing love and spiritual fulfillment that God intended for you to have. This includes things which are normally good, such as family, work, and money. This doesn't mean that you should give up all your worldly possessions and live a life of solitude in a cave in Utah. It simply means that if you have to choose between God and those things, you must choose God. In order to choose God, you must choose His Son, because Christ is the only way to get to God.
"Jesus answered, “I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me." (John 14:6)
Marriage, when "exclusive" between a man and a woman, and pursued selflessly, is the best possible human relationship. Following Christ is like that, but to the infinite power. When it is an exclusive, selfless relationship between you and Jesus, it is the best possible relationship that you will ever have. Period.
December Prayer Project: Jennifer Lawrence!
(Photo from www.wikipedia.org)
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)