Gospel

Let’s Be Bold!

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10And the angel said to them, “Fear not, for behold, I bring you good news of great joy that will be for all the people. 11For unto you is born this day in the city of David a Savior, who is Christ the Lord. 12And this will be a sign for you: you will find a baby wrapped in swaddling cloths and lying in a manger.” 13And suddenly there was with the angel a multitude of the heavenly host praising God and saying,

14 “Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace among those with whom he is pleased!”

15When the angels went away from them into heaven, the shepherds said to one another, “Let us go over to Bethlehem and see this thing that has happened, which the Lord has made known to us.” 16And they went with haste…  Luke 2:10-16

God’s bold bid.

God has made a bid for relationship. The angel announced it to the shepherds: Christ the Lord has been born! In response the shepherds were bold to go and find Him.

Let’s be bold!

“Let’s be bold!” In my family that’s a request for doughnuts! But its also a bid for relationship. Its a bonding experience.

This holiday “let’s be bold!” I don’t mean to suggest we must all have doughnuts. But I do mean we could do something to bond in our significant relationships.

God has created us for relationships with Him, with ourselves, with people, and with the stuff of earth. During Christmas we celebrate and reflect on the birth of Jesus. According to the Scriptures, He came from the Communion of the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, entering into the relationships of humanity. He entered our relationships to show us who the Father is and to accomplish all that was required for us to enter into the communion of God. Jesus came to seek us, to save us, and to serve us by giving Himself for our forgiveness.

That was bold!

He got close to us in order to lift us up and include us in our Heavenly Father’s love.

Be Bold: Bond with Jesus.

In these holy-days I pray that you get closer to Jesus. You could:

Read the whole Gospel of Luke.

Read an inspiring book. (Here’s a list of free e-books.) 

Attend a worship service with friends and family.

Gathering in a 3+ just for the holiday time with people you don’t usually see.

Have a home worship and prayer time with family members who also follow Jesus.

Find a way to serve or share a meal with those who could use a hand-up, the gift of presence and an encouraging word.

Go on a walk with a family member and thank them for all the “gifts” and grace you have enjoy by being in relationship to them.

Be generous.

 

Hey, “Let’s be bold!”

 

What if we were not afraid?

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25Jesus said to her, “I am the resurrection and the life.Whoever believes in me, though he die, yet shall he live, 26and everyone who lives and believes in me shall never die. Do you believe this?” 27She said to him, “Yes, Lord; I believe that you are the Christ, the Son of God, who is coming into the world.”  John 11:25-27

45 Many of the Jews therefore, who had come with Mary and had seen what he did, believed in him, 46but some of them went to the Pharisees and told them what Jesus had done. 47So the chief priests and the Pharisees gathered the council and said, “What are we to do? For this man performs many signs. 48If we let him go on like this, everyone will believe in him, and the Romans will come and take away both our place and our nation.”  49But one of them, Caiaphas, who was high priest that year, said to them, “You know nothing at all. 50Nor do you understand that it is better for you that one man should die for the people, not that the whole nation should perish.” …53So from that day on they made plans to put him to death.  John 11:45-50, 53

Identity Issues

After Jesus made this extraordinary admission of his identity he proceeded to the tomb of Lazarus and called him out. Jesus radiates His glory in word and deed:

The Resurrection: Whoever believes in me, though he dies, shall live.

The Life: Whoever believes in me shall never die.

The body will fail us. Jesus will not.

The spirit of a person made alive in Christ will live though the body dies.

 A Threat to the Status Quo

The healing of Lazarus solidified the opinion of some people that Jesus was a threat. Can you imagine? What if the followers of Jesus were not afraid of death? For those authorities who rely on violence to retain their honour, their position and their influence a people who do not fear death is intolerable. So these authorities take a posture against Jesus and His people.

So, what if we were not afraid?

“You can kill the body, but the Lord will raise me up.” “To be absent from the body is to be with the Lord.” “You decide, is it better for us to obey people, or the Lord?” “Jesus is Lord.”

Where would we go? Who would we love? What convictions would remain? What trivial pursuits would we abandon?

So, what if you were not afraid?

What if heaven, our Lord, and His call loomed larger than death itself?

Anticipating Gloom or Glory?

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Anticipation

1Now a certain man was ill, Lazarus of Bethany, the village of Mary and her sister Martha. 2It was Mary who anointed the Lord with ointment and wiped his feet with her hair, whose brother Lazarus was ill. 3So the sisters sent to him, saying, “Lord, he whom you love is ill.” 4But when Jesus heard it he said, “This illness does not lead to death. It is for the glory of God, so that the Son of God may be glorified through it.”
John 11:1-4

Anticipation

The Gospel of Jesus changes the way we enter into each day. Jesus moves us to see all things through the perspective of the cross. When we do so, we will see glimpses of God’s glory.

Jesus returned to Bethany anticipating God’s glory. His disciples returned to Bethany with dread. They likely dreaded the grief of Lazarus’ death. They definitely dreaded  the looming conflict with Jerusalem’s authorities. Thomas and the disciples admired Jesus so much they could not imagine life without their leader. (Read the rest of John 11)

But in it all, Jesus wanted them to anticipate seeing God’s glory.

Your Outlook for Today

What are you anticipating today?

Some days our expectations are light and joy. Some days our morning begins with darkness and gloom. Through it all, the Spirit of God would condition us to anticipate the Kingdom of God breaking in so we can get a glimpse of the glory of Jesus.

A Prayer to See God’s Glory

Here’s my prayer for you as I join with the Apostle Paul in his prayer:

14When I think of all this, I fall to my knees and pray to the Father, 15the Creator of everything in heaven and on earth. 16I pray that from his glorious, unlimited resources he will empower you with inner strength through his Spirit. 17Then Christ will make his home in your hearts as you trust in him. Your roots will grow down into God’s love and keep you strong. 18And may you have the power to understand, as all God’s people should, how wide, how long, how high, and how deep his love is. 19May you experience the love of Christ, though it is too great to understand fully. Then you will be made complete with all the fullness of life and power that comes from God.

20Now all glory to God, who is able, through his mighty power at work within us, to accomplish infinitely more than we might ask or think. 21Glory to him in the church and in Christ Jesus through all generations forever and ever! Amen. Ephesians 3:14-21

Selfies and The Chorus of Condemnation

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1Therefore, there is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus, 2because through Christ Jesus the law of the Spirit who gives life has set you free from the law of sin and death. 3For what the law was powerless to do because it was weakened by the flesh, God did by sending his own Son in the likeness of sinful flesh to be a sin offering. And so he condemned sin in the flesh, 4in order that the righteous requirement of the law might be fully met in us, who do not live according to the flesh but according to the Spirit.  Romans 8:1-4

Take a picture of yourself. Go ahead.

Now look at it.

When you see yourself what do you hear?

What’s the voice in your heart?

Are you dominated by critique? A highlight real of your failures?

Do you hear a chorus of “Should have!” “Why not?” and “Shame!”

Or do you hear our Heavenly Father’s affirmation?

“You are not condemned.”

“I gave my Son for you.”

“Hey, those other voices are death to you; My Spirit is life to you.”

“You are free from this chorus of death.”

“You are free from this curse of sin.”

“I know your weaknesses better than you do.”

“I want you to know my strength for you better than you do.”

“You are loved. Live by my Spirit’s power and My Son’s good work at the Cross.”

The courage to silence the voice of condemnation comes as we cherish the Holy Spirit’s accentuation of Jesus’ grace towards us.

 

I looked up “advent.”

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“Advent:  the coming or arrival, especially of something extremely important: the advent of the computer.”

I’m laughing.  Yes the computer is important;

To many people more important than Jesus.

We are into the third week of Advent. Its a season of prayer and reflection on the coming of Jesus at the incarnation. Its a season where we can nurture our expectation of His return to set all things right.

The advent of Jesus.

Extremely important.

God had been preparing people for the arrival of Jesus.

He even had the place of Jesus’ advent picked out: Bethlehem.

2 But you, O Bethlehem Ephrathah,

who are too little to be among the clans of Judah,

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.

3Therefore he shall give them up until the time

when she who is in labor has given birth;

then the rest of his brothers shall return

to the people of Israel.

4And he shall stand and shepherd his flock in the strength of the Lord,

in the majesty of the name of the Lord his God.

And they shall dwell secure, for now he shall be great

to the ends of the earth.

5And he shall be their peace.
Micah 5:2-4

When the discussion of the Messiah’s birthplace came up during Jesus’ ministry, some ruled Jesus of Nazareth out. They knew according to the Scripture the Messiah was to be born in Bethlehem. But they didn’t know His whole history. Jesus had been born in Bethlehem in the line of David according to the promise of God.

God is in on the details.

Now is the season of Advent. Its a Christian tradition designed to help us reflect through prayer on the Scripture regarding Jesus’ incarnation and His meaning for our lives. Its also a season to help us anticipate His ultimate return to set all things right. We are beneficiaries and participants in His work and mission to redeem.

The Scripture says of Jesus: He shall stand and shepherd his flock in the strength of the Lord, in the majesty of the name of the Lord his God. And they shall dwell secure, for now he shall be great to the ends of the earth. And he shall be their peace.

Extremely important.