The Incarnation

There are many different pictures of Christmas as we know of the tree, the star, the presents, the garland, the carols, and the eggnog of course.  These are just some of the symbols we associate with like Mary and Joseph and the baby.  Other pictures of three wise men on camels making a journey to Bethlehem also come to mind as we think of Christmas.

Possibly the most significant symbol of Christmas is the nativity scene, and even at the center of the nativity scene is the baby in the manger.  He is the one described as "baby Jesus" or the "Christ child" and given the preeminence in the true meaning of Christmas.  Ironically though some nativity scenes don't even have a picture or replica of the baby in the manger as they are modified to become symbolic of the symbol itself.  But it would not be Christmas if there was no baby as he is the incarnation of God.

The doctrine of the incarnation is the teaching that God has come to the world "in the flesh" or in the body.  It was recently described in a sermon that the incarnation is not the coming of God to the world as it is often understood to be.  But the incarnation is the coming of God to the world as a man.  It is God becoming a human being, to be one of us, from the very beginning of life, and to experience every aspect of human life, even the birth as a baby.

The incarnation is a great, wonderful, and even mysterious doctrine in many ways.  It boggles the mind to even try to think of who God is in all his awesome existence and majesty.  But it can be even more amazing to think that the God of the universe has become a man, the God of creation has become part of creation.  And why?  To relate with humanity, to identify with us, and to live a perfect life so as to provide salvation for us in faith.  We know from Scripture that God has sent his only begotten Son into the world to save us from our sins, John 3:16.  God himself has come at Christmas.

Clearly, without the miracle of the incarnation there could be no Christianity at all.  Each year Easter is given great attention as Jesus laid down his life for us.  But without Christmas there could be no Easter, without the incarnation of God as a true man there could be no justification through his sacrifice.  Because Jesus lived a life without sin, in holiness, he alone is able to stand before God as our substitute.  Even more, without the miracle of incarnation there would be no miracle of resurrection, and we could not experience new life in Christ and grow in faith and sanctification.

Truly the celebration of Christmas is a celebration of life, the greatest life that ever lived in Jesus who is the Christ, our Savior.  This Spiritual life can also be 'incarnated' in us, that is, brought into our flesh, our lives, through our acceptance and faith in him.  The Holy Spirit can bring to us the same Spiritual life that was in Jesus of Bethlehem.  We will never be perfect and we will always be in need of Christ as our Savior, but we can become like Jesus through the ongoing work of the 'incarnation' of his life into ours.  He has gone before us and can sympathize with our weaknesses, and he can graciously restore us to our creation image.  He can change us through Spiritual growth and maturity as we live out his teachings in our lives.

The incarnation of God in Jesus was one of the most significant points of history and we celebrate this miracle at Christmas.  God invaded the world to become a man and live the life we could not live by ourselves.  We can experience this miraculous gift of life in Christ, and it all begins with faith in the incarnation of the Christ child at Christmas.

FAITH TODAY: Luke 2:10-11, "And the angel said to them, "Fear not, for behold, I bring you good news of great joy that will be for all the people.  For unto you is born this day in the city of David a Savior, who is Christ the Lord.""

Discipleship

As we study the Scriptures we see that Jesus chose twelve men to be his disciples.  A disciple is a student, one who learns from another in a specialized way as he is dedicated to that person as his teacher.  Jesus was well-recognized as a great teacher, and he also had other followers that accepted his words and learned from him.  But only twelve were called to be his primary disciples.  One of the initial men betrayed Jesus and was replaced, and then these twelve disciples became apostles, or the ones who established the foundation of the church. 

The discipleship Jesus taught his first students is also taught to every Christian.  Although there were only twelve initial disciples every Christian is called to a teacher-student relationship with Christ even today.  And there are great blessings for those who learn from Christ as we learn the truth of God and the path of righteousness in a world of sin and brokenness.  Even more, we discover that the teachings of Christ are eternal as God doesn't change through the ages of men.

One of the primary requirements then is to learn from the teachings of Christ himself.  We must read the Scriptures directly to know what it says.  We must ask ourselves 'What does it say, what does it mean, and how does it apply to life.'  To be sure of what it says we should compare translations one to another and even reference the original language.  To know what it means we must not ask what it means to me, but what it means objectively, or to God.  We need to know the immediate context historically and grammatically, and then compare this with the plenary context.  Also, we should cross reference each passage with other similar teachings as Scripture interprets Scripture.  God's truth is never contradictory, and we must not read a pretext into the text or context. 

We also see that Christ calls all believers to a certain amount of sacrifice.  To the fishermen Andrew and Peter, Jesus called them to leave their nets and follow him as he would make them fishers of men.  The sacrifices the disciples made in the physical world were repaid abundantly in the spiritual world as they won great numbers of followers.  This discipleship also requires dying to ourselves and picking up our cross in the same way so that we deny sinful activities and learn spiritual strength. 

In the same way Jesus calls his disciples to a life of obedience.  In order for any person to learn from another they must do what that teacher says and not just say they believe.  We cannot learn to pray by only studying prayer academically, we must pray.  We cannot learn to be responsible at work by sleeping in from our jobs or skipping out from practice in sports.  We must be diligent to be on time and earnest in our obligations. 

As Christian disciples we become lifelong students of the Word of God and develop a worldview that places Christ above all things.  We learn to think Biblically and not be conformed to the pattern and principles of the world.  In the power of the Holy Spirit we seek to worship Christ as both Creator and Savior in our everyday lives.  In short, we see the preeminence of Christ in all of life as we learn that He is the Lord of life. 

Our faith in Christ cannot grow or mature if we are partially committed to Christ.  But because of the truth we know from Christ in Scripture, we learn to accept the sacrifices, obedience, and Lordship that he calls us to live by.  We come to realize we can only have true faith if we first fall before him in repentance and submission.  Jesus calls us to be his disciples in our hearts and minds so that we would live out our faith in every aspect of the world.  And this is a joy, not a burden to live for Christ as he has told us, "my burden is easy and my yoke is light." 

FAITH TODAY:  Luke 9:23, "And he said to all, "If anyone would come after me, let him deny himself and take up his cross daily and follow me.""

 

Inspiration

Everyone needs inspiration and Christians need the inspiration of Christ.  From the Old Testament, we learn that God has created mankind in his own image.  Even more, God has created the entire universe to reveal his existence and thus the greatness of his power and glory.

Sunrise at Perdido Key - Oct 2014

In Psalm 19:1-3, we read, "The heavens declare the glory of God; and the firmament shows his handiwork.  Day unto day utters speech, and night unto night reveals knowledge.  There is no speech nor language where their voice is not heard."  King David teaches us that every day we can be reminded of God's existence, power, and glory.

We can have a personal relationship with Christ as we learn from Romans 8:1-2, "There is therefore now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus.  For the law of the Spirit of life has set you free in Christ Jesus from the law of sin and death."  To be "in Christ" we must accept and receive Christ and then walk in the Spirit and not in the flesh.  He is the God of creation and he can recreate our souls to be restored to the image of Christ as we were made to be.  The Apostle Paul teaches us that we can live in new life by being in Christ and walking in his Spirit.

We find more inspiration through the Light of the Word of God as we see in 1 John 1:5-7.  "This is the message we have heard from him and proclaim to you, that God is light, and in him is no darkness at all.  If we say we have fellowship with him while we walk in the darkness, we lie and do not practice the truth.  But if we walk in the light, as he is in the light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus his Son cleanses us from all sin."  John exhorts us to walk in the light of Christ which we can find in the truth of Scripture.  And if we sin there is a remedy, for, "if we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness," v.9.  The Apostle John gives us great inspiration to know we can walk in truth and we can be forgiven from our sin.

From both natural and special revelation, we find inspiration from God in Christ through the Holy Spirit.  David, Paul and John all remind us that Christ is the Light of the world and in him, we can find the inspiration of eternal life.

FAITH TODAY: Psalm 27:1 - "The LORD is my light and my salvation; whom shall I fear?  The LORD is the stronghold of my life; of whom shall I be afraid?"

The Promises of God

One of the key areas for finding Spiritual growth is to learn and believe the promises of God in Scripture.  Often life can be difficult with our many responsibilities to fulfill and difficulties to overcome.  But we are not alone, we are not without hope or guidance.  God is the eternal wellspring of hope in all the universe.  There's an encouraging thought!  He sees the end from the beginning and everything else in between.  And he's in control.  He has a plan and has promises for those who love him. 

Early on in Genesis, we read that Abraham was called to leave his homeland and go to a new country to serve the Lord.  Genesis 12:2, "I will make you a great nation; I will bless you and make your name great."  Abraham was called to follow God to the "promised" land.  He was to be the father of the faith and his lineage would lead to the promised Messiah.  Genesis 12:7, "Then the LORD appeared to Abram and said, 'To your descendants I will give this land.'"  The Lord often reminds us of who he is so that we can trust in him.  Genesis 15:1, "Do not be afraid, Abram.  I am your shield, your exceedingly great reward."  Abraham needed to trust that God would protect him, and God needed to assure Abraham that there was great reward in trusting him. 

Yet on such a pilgrimage Abraham must have been unsure of his future on many occasions.  When he asked how he could believe that God would bless him in his old age with a son and the descendants that were promised, God directed Abraham's attention to the heavens.  Genesis 15:5, "Then He brought him outside and said, 'Look now toward heaven, and count the stars if you are able to number them.'  And He said to him, 'So shall your descendants be.'"  And in verse 6 we read, "And he believed in the Lord, and he accounted it to him for righteousness."  Here we see the great promise of faith, the righteousness of God given to Abraham unto salvation. 

The author of Hebrews also speaks of people with faith who trusted the promises of God throughout the Old Testament.  In Hebrews 11:9-10 we read, "By faith he (Abraham) dwelt in the land of promise as in a foreign country, dwelling in tents with Isaac and Jacob, the heirs with him of the same promise, for he waited for the city which has foundations, whose builder and maker is God."  And in v.12, "Therefore from one man (Abraham), and him as good as dead, were born as many as the stars of the sky in multitude – innumerable as the sand which is by the seashore."  Here we see a key point about the promises of God.  Sometimes we receive them here in this life, sometimes we do not.  But they are always fulfilled.  As we see about from Hebrews 11:13, "These all died in faith, not having received the promises, but having seen them from afar off were assured of them, embraced them and confessed that they were strangers and pilgrims on the earth."  These people of faith in Hebrews 11 were people who were called from an earthly country and their promise was the "exceedingly great reward" of being with God in the heavenly country. 

One other great promise of God we should meditate upon from time to time is found in Paul.  In Philippians 1:6 we see, "Being confident of this that He who has begun a good work in you will complete it until the day of Jesus Christ."  We can be sure that God will not leave any work unfinished or incomplete.  He promises to be with us and to work with us until the day we meet him.  He is the Alpha and Omega of the faith.  He will keep his promises because he delights to work in us as we walk in faith, and therefore to be glorified in us.  Let's remember from time to time the great promises of God.

FAITH TODAY:  Genesis 15:1, "After these things the word of the Lord came to Abram in a vision, saying, 'Do not be afraid, Abram.  I am your shield, your exceedingly great reward." 

Desiring God

One of my favorite books that has made a huge impact on my life is John Piper's Desiring God.  The subtitle is "Meditation of a Christian Hedonist."  It would be difficult to summarize the whole book but to highlight a few points I would encourage you with these.

Christian "Hedonism" sounds suspect on the surface and Piper describes it on p.28, (revised edition), as a philosophy of life built on finding our happiness or pleasures in God.  It might also be called a theology of life in finding our happiness in God.  A small difference perhaps but it helps in discovering a theocentric view of life, and, that God seeks our pleasure in him.

Hedonism by definition is a philosophy of seeking self-directed pleasure for ourselves.  Is it inherently sinful?  For selfish reasons alone I believe it would be.  But Christian Hedonism by definition is seeking joy and pleasure in God.  Our sinful natures however can easily twist this pleasure in God to become pleasures from God.

Desiring God is not the same as just desiring pleasure though.  From God, and in Christ, we not only can receive our joy and pleasure, we also can receive - strength, wisdom, peace, reconciliation, redemption, purpose, dignity, hope, eternal life, and even life abundantly here and now, life indeed!  It's much more than just pleasure.

But hedonism is a good term in one sense, in that we can connect pleasure with God.  Often we cannot see the connection but believe God wants to take away our happiness.  Piper shows us this connection in Scripture and that this is a central doctrine and truth from God.  He shows us that finding our pleasure in God drives out our desire for sin.  It's purifying when we develop a thirst for God that cannot be compared to anything this world has to offer.  And this is redemptive, it brings us back to who we were created to be, and it sanctifies us in the image of Christ.

The world however shows us the emptiness of seeking pleasure from temporal things.  This pleasure does not last and it does not satisfy our souls because we were made to find our happiness with God.  But we can find joy in all things that God has created when we see God as the source and Giver of all good gifts and Christ as the Redeemer of our souls.  The world severs the gifts from the Giver.  The Christian hedonist connects the gifts and the Giver, and because of this, we seek to glorify God as the Creator and Giver of all good gifts.

Football?  Sports?  Music?  Romance?  Jurisprudence?  Academics?  Yes, indeed!  The sport, competition, fun, fellowship, teamwork, purpose, drive, goals, commitments, justice, mercy, hunger for significance, missionary work, all this can glorify God when we use our talents for him.  But the Christian should never sever these from God and for his glory.  And in a broken world, we must not forget his commandments, which are not burdensome when we have his joy.

A biblical faith drives us to desire God in all things.  God has created all the universe for the good of knowing him.  God is the Creator and Redeemer and he seeks our praise, he seeks our fellowship and our glory in him.  This theocentric perspective of life is exactly what Desiring God is all about.  To desire God and to know him and glorify him in all things is exactly what God is seeking.  He seeks our praise, and in fact, he delights in his glory above all.  And this is amazing.

FAITH TODAY:  Psalm 37:4 - "Delight yourself in the LORD, and he will give you the desires of your heart."

Be Transformed

Possibly one of the greatest aspects of the Christian faith is being transformed into the image of Christ.  The Apostle Paul calls Christians to this life of transformation in Romans 12:1-2.  

Paul says, “I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, to present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable to God, which is your reasonable service.  And do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, that you may prove what is the good and acceptable and perfect will of God.”  

This life of transformation is a Spiritual life that is oriented to God and brings humility and peace through a changed heart and mind.  Our hearts change as we see ourselves as sinners and hopelessly lost without Christ.  For Paul describes in Romans 3:10-11, "As it is written, there is none righteous, no, not one; there is none who understands; there is none who seeks after God."  

In Romans 3:21,23, Paul further explains to us, "But now the righteousness of God apart from the law is revealed ... through faith in Jesus Christ, to all and on all who believe."  Because it is by faith it is not by works, it is a gift from God, we cannot earn it, and we must receive it and live by it.  This gift of salvation should humble us completely.  

The transformed life begins then with being led by and filled with the Holy Spirit. In Romans 8:12-14, Paul explains, "Therefore, brethren, we are debtors - not to the flesh, to live according to the flesh.  For if you live according to the flesh you will die; but if by the Spirit you put to death the deeds of the body, you will live.  For as many as are led by the Spirit of God, these are the sons of God."  Our sinful nature can be changed or transformed only by the Holy Spirit working within us.  But we must submit ourselves to Him.

We are also commanded not to conform to the world.  The ways of man may seem right to us but we must not accept accommodation to anything that is opposed to the God of the Bible.  God is holy and even as we are saved by grace we are also called to be faithful to Christ.  How can we know?  Clearly, we can know God's will by examining Scripture and then our motives.  Are we willing to be different from what is popular and fashionable?  The changing norms of culture reflect the progress and priorities of man.  And even though we have technological progress we who are in faith must always uphold the Moral Law of God.  

This life in the Spirit is the life that is being transformed into the likeness of Christ.  We can be transformed when our hearts are regenerated and our minds are steadfast upon the Word.  The Lord will remind us of the truth and we must set aside our selfish desires in order to obtain the Spiritual life.  It is only through our submission to Christ, as we are in Christ, that the Spirit of God will transform us into his image.  Amen, it is true.

FAITH TODAY: John 14:15 - "If you love Me, keep My commandments.  And I will pray the Father, and He will give you another Helper, that He may abide with you forever - the Spirit of Truth, whom the world cannot receive, because it neither sees Him nor knows Him; but you know Him, for He dwells with you and will be in you."

Top Five?

Way back in college, I had to take a course that introduced the basics of leadership in order to become a Resident Assistant, or an RA, in my dormitory.  That was a long time ago but I've never forgotten the discussion on our priorities in life and how important it is to maintain those priorities when the schedule gets busy.

If you've ever been entangled with the tyranny of the urgent you'll know firsthand how difficult maintaining priorities can be.  But, they're important.  So, what are your priorities?  Here are mine.

God, Family, Work, Ministry, Extra.

These can be broken down a bit and described in different ways as each of these can be a little vague as we first look at them.

First of course, at least for the Christian, is making God the center or top priority in our lives.  In other words, our faith comes first as we are called by God to live for him and even make him the Lord of our lives.  And as time has gone by I've seen modifications to my priorities in that I've defined them a bit differently since I first began.  Now, I would say that God means theology first, or knowing God as he truly is described in Scripture.  My faith then proceeds from this truth or knowledge of God.  And this faith and knowledge of God are absolutely essential for all other parts of life, especially when the inevitable challenges and tribulations of life come.

Secondly, and this isn't much of a stretch for most people, would be Family.  But how do we define family?  First, it is in marriage and then it is in our children and relatives.  Marriage comes first as we see God created Adam and then Eve, as a help meet, or as a companion.  This companionship or friendship is the heart of marriage, and marriage is the core of a family, and family is the fundamental institution for society and culture.  Companionship also shows the oneness that God created in marriage as a practical illustration of the heavenly marriage between Christ and the church.  It is of utmost importance and central to the marriage relationship.  But, then there are the kids, who we raise to grow up and go out, to start their own families as well.  Even more, there is the extended family of siblings and relatives.  All of our family is defined and constituted by our faith and knowledge of God.

Thirdly, we see that our Work, or vocation, is a high priority with God.  This is our calling as God has gifted each of us with a unique set of interests, talents, and skills.  The reason God has given us these gifts is so that we would use them and become productive in our lives.  We find great significance in life when we are doing the work we are good at, or what we are interested in doing.  It can be difficult at times to develop our gifts as we can lack the opportunity to get an education or the time and money.  But, discovering and developing those skills must become a priority for us to grow to maturity.  Finding our talents leads to inspiration in life as we grow in our faith and knowledge of God.

Fourthly, is our calling to Ministry.  This priority may be a debatable point in two ways.  First, there are many who believe that ministry must be a higher priority in our lives, after all that's why God created us, right?  And there are others who would argue that it should not be a priority at all if we are not in the full-time ministry.  But if we look carefully at Scripture we see that all Christians are called to some sort of ministry.  One of the great doctrines of Scripture is "the priesthood of all believers" where we know that all our work in essence is part of our ministry or vocation.  So if we are gifted to be an accountant but not gifted as a preacher, we can see a great part of our ministry is to become the best accountant or business person we can be.  We also are always called to use our gifts to bear Spiritual fruit and serve all people in works of mercy and service.

Lastly, and in a general way, is the category of Extra.  This was first described in college as extra-curricular and anything that was over and above academic work.  But in all of life, it stays the same, we have to have a category for fun, relaxation, refreshment, social times, vacation, sports, hobbies, etc.  This usually is difficult to keep as the fifth priority because it is so tempting to let it creep up on the higher priorities.  But, it needs to be there, and it needs to be there as the fifth priority.  We have to have some fun in order to flourish or thrive.  We can't be all work and no play.  It's even part of the doctrine of Sabbath rest and worship.  Our souls need refreshment, plain and simple.

It is imperative to also understand that these categories are not only sequential, they are interchangeable at times.  The fifth priority doesn't have to always come after the fourth, or else it may never come.  We may need to go for a jog after work before we go to a committee meeting at night.  We may need to start work at 2am and yet get a quiet time in Scripture later that afternoon.  We may need to put in ten hours a day at work for a season, but sooner or later, we have to seek a balance with work to help our family grow and thrive.  It's always a delicate balance, but without a plan or a priority list, it becomes impossible to keep life together.  This leads us back to priority One, to God who can keep all of life together as we keep Him the highest priority in all things.

FAITH TODAY:  Colossians 1:17 - "He is before all things, and in him, all things hold together."