Merry Christmas!

Christmas. A time to sit back and take a break from the daily rush of life. I hope that during this day of rest, you take time to focus on who Christmas is truly about (Jesus Christ) and why He came (to live a perfect life, die for our sins, and rise again). May Christ's peace be with you this Christmas.

Luke 2: 1-20:

The Birth of Jesus Christ
1In those days a decree went out from Caesar Augustus that all the world should be registered. 2This was the first registration when Quirinius was governor of Syria. 3And all went to be registered, each to his own town. 4And Joseph also went up from Galilee, from the town of Nazareth, to Judea, to the city of David, which is called Bethlehem, because he was of the house and lineage of David, 5to be registered with Mary, his betrothed, who was with child. 6And while they were there, the time came for her to give birth. 7And she gave birth to her firstborn son and wrapped him in swaddling cloths and laid him in a manger, because there was no place for them inthe inn.

The Shepherds and the Angels
8And in the same region there were shepherds out in the field, keeping watch over their flock by night. 9And an angel of the Lord appeared to them, and the glory of the Lord shone around them, and they were filled with fear. 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 and found Mary and Joseph, and the baby lying in a manger. 17And when they saw it, they made known the saying that had been told them concerning this child. 18And all who heard it wondered at what the shepherds told them. 19But Mary treasured up all these things, pondering them in her heart. 20And the shepherds returned, glorifying and praising God for all they had heard and seen, as it had been told them.

Isaiah 53:3-5:

3 He was despised and rejected by men,
a man of sorrows, and familiar with suffering.
Like one from whom men hide their faces
he was despised, and we esteemed him not.

4 Surely he took up our infirmities
and carried our sorrows,
yet we considered him stricken by God,
smitten by him, and afflicted.

5 But he was pierced for our transgressions,
he was crushed for our iniquities;
the punishment that brought us peace was upon him,
and by his wounds we are healed.

The Authority of the Bible

I used this video last Wednesday at our Fellowship of Christian Athletes meeting, provided by Mars Hill Church in Seattle, Washington:

Antipsalm 23

Over on the Boundless blog, David Powlison has posted an article entitled Sane Faith, Part 1. In it he writes the Antipsalm 23, or what Psalm 23 would look like if God were not in our lives. He writes:

I'm on my own.
No one looks out for me or protects me.
I experience a continual sense of need. Nothing's quite right.
I'm always restless. I'm easily frustrated and often disappointed.
It's a jungle — I feel overwhelmed. It's a desert — I'm thirsty.
My soul feels broken, twisted, and stuck. I can't fix myself.
I stumble down some dark paths.
Still, I insist: I want to do what I want, when I want, how I want.
But life's confusing. Why don't things ever really work out?
I'm haunted by emptiness and futility — shadows of death.
I fear the big hurt and final loss.
Death is waiting for me at the end of every road,
but I'd rather not think about that.
I spend my life protecting myself. Bad things can happen.
I find no lasting comfort.xI'm alone ... facing everything that could hurt me.
Are my friends really friends?
Other people use me for their own ends.
I can't really trust anyone. No one has my back.
No one is really for me — except me.
And I'm so much all about ME, sometimes it's sickening.
I belong to no one except myself.
My cup is never quite full enough. I'm left empty.
Disappointment follows me all the days of my life.
Will I just be obliterated into nothingness?
Will I be alone forever, homeless, free-falling into void?
Sartre said, "Hell is other people."
I have to add, "Hell is also myself."
It's a living death,
and then I die.

Also, here's the real Psalm 23:

The LORD is my shepherd, I shall not be in want.
2 He makes me lie down in green pastures,
he leads me beside quiet waters,
3 he restores my soul.
He guides me in paths of righteousness
for his name's sake.
4 Even though I walk
through the valley of the shadow of death,
I will fear no evil,
for you are with me;
your rod and your staff,
they comfort me.
5 You prepare a table before me
in the presence of my enemies.
You anoint my head with oil;
my cup overflows.
6 Surely goodness and love will follow me
all the days of my life,
and I will dwell in the house of the LORD
forever.

He Must Increase...

I have been studying the Gospel of John in my personal Bible studies recently, and this verse stuck out to me:

"He must increase, but I must decrease." -John 3:30

This little phrase was said by John the Baptist, who modeled his whole life after this idea. He never drew attention to himself, but always sought to draw attention and glory to Christ until his death at the hands of Herod.

What a glorious testimony to how each one of us should live our lives. Just like John, we should seek to give of ourselves so that Christ may be glorified in everything. We must increase our time and devotion to Christ, while decreasing the focus we put on ourselves.

O, how I long to be selflessly and totally consumed with the things of Christ. I want to consider all for His glory and not my own. So for me, this has become the theme verse of my life.

What are your thoughts?

Isaiah 53:10-12

10But the LORD was pleased

To crush Him, putting Him to grief;

If He would render Himself as a guilt offering,

He will see His offspring,He will prolong His days,

And the good pleasure of the LORD will prosper in His hand.

11As a result of the anguish of His soul,

He will see it and be satisfied;

By His knowledge the Righteous One,

My Servant, will justify the many,

As He will bear their iniquities.

12Therefore, I will allot Him a portion with the great,

And He will divide the booty with the strong;

Because He poured out Himself to death,

And was numbered with the transgressors;

Yet He Himself bore the sin of many,

And interceded for the transgressors.

And here ends the song where it began- with Christ in glorified and His ransomed many forgiven of their sins and in awe of Him. For these reasons, God was pleased to crush Him, not in the sense that God took pleasure in Jesus' pain and suffering. But it was His will to do so, so that God might save sinners and glorify His Son. Notice that in the same verse that it says God is pleased to crush His Son, it also says that the good pleasure of the Lord will prosper in His hand.

The last two verses speak of what Christ earned in suffering, namely His glory as Savior and our salvation and peace between us and Our Father. Christ justified us by earning our justification. In doing this, He was numbered with the transgressors not only in His physical death by hanging between two thieves, but also in the fact that He was counted sin on our behalf and bore the sin of many (2 Corinthians 5:21).

And because of His sacrifice, willingly given and paying the full penalty of our sin, bearing God's wrath and our judgment, He has earned for us our salvation. We can rejoice in the assurance that if we trust in Christ, our sins are forgiven and we will live with Him in glory forevermore. Please, understand the sacrifice that Jesus made for you and believe in these words, for they are the source of life.

Praise the Lord for what He has done. Hallelujah!

Isaiah 53:7-9

7He was oppressed and He was afflicted,

Yet He did not open His mouth;

Like a lamb that is led to slaughter,

And like a sheep that is silent before its shearers,

So He did not open His mouth.

8By 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

For the transgression of my people, to whom the stroke was due?

9His grave was assigned with wicked men,

Yet He was with a rich man in His death,

Because He had done no violence,

Nor was there any deceit in His mouth.

Here we see that though Christ's death was graphic as previously described and the most excruciating and undeserved pain that anyone has ever endured, Jesus never opened His mouth to defend Himself or complain. Trexton puts it this way: "Meekly and without protest the Servant accepts His sentence to death and suffers execution. Although innocent, He is given a felon's grave." Ultimately, Christ's silence was not an admission of guilt, but instead a sign of His utter willingness.

However, Christ was vindicated in His burial. Because Joseph of Arimathea took Christ's body, He was not buried with the criminals, but instead in with a rich man.

Also, in this passage we see another image that is used to represent Christ- that of the Passover Lamb. So, not only is He the Good Shepherd who looks after His sheep, but also the Sheep who is sacrificed for His people. In fact, this is the image we see at the end of time. Through His sacrifice, Christ achieved the glory of not only being Creator, but Savior as well (Revelation 5:11-13).

Interesting note, this was the portion that was being read by the Ethiopian Eunuch when Phillip shared the Gospel with Him (Acts 8:26-34)

Isaiah 53:4-6

4Surely our griefs He Himself bore,

And our sorrows He carried;

Yet we ourselves esteemed Him stricken,

Smitten of God, and afflicted.

5But He was pierced through for our transgressions,

He was crushed for our iniquities;

The chastening for our well-being fell upon Him,

And by His scourging we are healed.

6All of us like sheep have gone astray,

Each of us has turned to his own way;

But the LORD has caused the iniquity of us all

To fall on Him.

Here begins in earnest the description of Christ's sacrfice. The first thing that we notice in these verses is that it is our sin that He died for. This passage makes it perfectly clear that He was without fault and that His death was not punishment for anything within Himself. Even so, when the onlookers saw Christ dying, many believed that it was well-deserved. After all, it is the crowd who killed Him. But He was not dying for His own sins, for He had none. Instead, He was pierced through for our transgressions and crushed for our iniquities.

We must never forget this significant truth, for this is the core of our faith, the hope of our salvation. If Christ had been dying for His sins or as a result of some sin, it would mean that He was a false Messiah and not worthy to be followed and His atonement would have done nothing for us.

And our need for a Messiah is explained in verse 6, All of us like sheep have gone astray. Geoffrey W. Grogan, commentating on this writes: "Like sheep, our going astray is willful and purposeless." He also mentions that this image, that of the Good Shepherd is "probably a suggestion that this is an offense against love as well as holiness, for the Divine Shepherd is a tender loving image in the Bible."

And yet, though we all sinned against God's love as well as His holiness, it was an act of that same love in perfect accordance with God's holiness that secured for us our salvation.

Isaiah 53:1-3

1 Who has believed our message

and to whom has the arm of the LORD been revealed?
2 He grew up before him like a tender shoot,

and like a root out of dry ground.

He had no beauty or majesty to attract us to him,

nothing in his appearance that we should desire him.
3 He was despised and rejected by men,

a man of sorrows, and familiar with suffering.

Like one from whom men hide their faces

he was despised, and we esteemed him not.

In the beginning of this chapter, the prophecy switches to prophetic past tense which is the natural tense for those of us who now live after these events.

Who has believed... revealed implies that few would believe when Christ came. This was certainly fulfilled when Christ came and died. Israel did not recognize the arm of the Lord and for this reason He was despised and rejectd by men. But even though Christ was despised and rejected and misunderstood, God watched and guided every detail of Christ's life as shown in 2a.

No stately form means that though Christ was and is the King Eternal, He did not come with any royal garb or emblem that showed Him to be a king. And though His way did not make sense to man, the Lord's might was in this all the way.

Lastly, this section begins the description of Christ's atoning death, which will be further discussed in the coming verses. For now, note that before His death, Christ was first despised by men and forsaken by them. But notice that these verses do not simply leave the blame on others, but is all inclusive in stating that we esteemed Him not. Christ's blood is on all our hands and tomorrow we will see what this means for us.

Isaiah 52:13-15

13 Behold, My servant will prosper,
He will be high and lifted up and greatly exalted.
14 Just as many were astonished at you, My people,
So His appearance was marred more than any man
And His form more than the sons of men.
15 Thus He will sprinkle many nations,
Kings will shut their mouths on account of Him;
For what had not been told them they will see,
And what they had not heard they will understand.

First, I would just like to point out that this Servant Song can be best understood in the context of the entire book of Isaiah (and with the whole Bible, or course).

This song (a loose term, it's not actually meant to be sung, necessarily) begins with the end in mind. When Christ returns, He will be before all people and high and lifted up and greatly exalted. This provides a sense of assurance for the latter verses in which we will be told the awful things that will befall this Servant (that is, Christ). It's almost as if we're being told, "Before you hear all the horrible things that are going to happen, you need to know that it will all turn out fine in the end. Actually, it will turn out better than fine. It will all work perfectly for the glory of My Son."

The phrase marred more than any man refers to the great torture that Jesus endured. It was so extreme that Jesus would not even be recognized as human and the people would be greatly astonished.

We also see here in the midst of a clear prediction of the Jewish Messiah a glimpse of God's unchanging heart for all people. For this reason, it says sprinkle many nations. Not only would the Jews receive forgiveness salvation, but people of all nations (Praise the Lord!). The term sprinkle refers to the priestly intercession that Christ would make on behalf of all who would accept the sacrifice that is going to be explained.

Essentially though, these three verses are more about the consequences of Christ's suffering than the suffering itself. The suffering itself will be further explained in the coming verses.

My Attempt at Exegesis

This week, leading up to Resurrection Sunday (Easter), I will be exegeting, or trying my best to interpret one of the Servant Song's from Isaiah, the one of Isaiah 52:13-53:12. This is the clearest prophetic prediction and reference to Christ and it is full of the grace and love of God as well as His justice in punishing His Son for our sins. This is also one of my favorite passages in all of Scripture. I will be splitting the 15 verses up into groups of three, so please bear with me as I attempt to explain this passage in my own words.

Thank you.

Amazed by Grace

I am so thankful that even on days when I complain and don't honor God as I ought to, I am still drenched in the mercy of God. Even when I'm down right disobedient and ungrateful, God still extends His grace to me. For me, when I recognize God's grace in these times, I am most amazed by ít and led to repent of my wrong attitudes and pride.

I guess I shouldn't be surprised though, because God's not the one that's unfaithful.

The Lord's lovingkindness never ceases. His mercies never fail. They are new every morning. Great is Your faithfulness. "The Lord is my portion," says my soul, "therefore I have hope in Him."
-Lamentations 3:22-24

Fear and Death

(This is my sixth post on fear)

The Focus of Fear
Love Vs. Fear
The Language of the Bible
What is Fear?
New Post Series on Fear



Yesterday, I attended the funeral of a man that my mom called her "second dad". It was a sad time, but a good chance to remember this man who was a Marine to the core and who loved his family and friends. The memories that were shared and the service in its entirety was a good chance for everyone to grieve their loss. All in all, I think it was good experience.

But what got me thinking was that in the service Psalm 23 was read. In it, David says, "Though I walk through the shadow of death, I will fear no evil."

Though there are different interpretations of this, I think what David is saying is that he will not fear death or any evil in it. This is monumental because, as humans, the fear of death has to be one of the biggest fears in our lives. And yet David, speaking of going through death, says that he will not fear evil. Why?

The answer is that death is what David calls a shadow. But what does that mean? You see, for those whose trust is in the Lord, death is nothing more than a shadow. It might be dark and scary and might make you shiver when it passes over you, but it is absolutely harmless. Shadows never hurt anyone.

And that is what death is to us. It might look scary and painful, but it can't hurt us. Not ultimately, and not if our hope is in the Lord. Death is simply a passage into life. And not just life, a life that is infinite joy and bliss without any pain, sickness, sorrow, or death ever again. It is through death that we attain this life. Just as once the shadow passes over us the sun will shine again.

Pure through the Refining Fire

In Matthew 5:8, Jesus says "Blessed are the pure in heart, for they shall see God." I have mulled over this verse in my mind a good bit lately, and I have finally come to realize (as with many portions of Scripture) that this verse has more to it than I first thought.

The obvious meaning of the verse is that those who are pure (cleansed, without blemish) will see God when they die because they will go to Heaven. In that sense, it simply means that those who are saved are washed by Christ's blood and therefore made pure in heart. And in Greek, the heart was the center of being. Therefore, we see that those who are saved will see God because He will purify them with His blood. While I believe that this is definitely true, I believe there's more to this than first appears.

It is most certainly and unequivocally true that when we are saved, Christ's blood and righteousness cover us, (1 Corinthians 1:30; Hebrews 9:22) we are seen as pure in God's eyes and we do not need to add anything to Christ's work in order to get to Heaven. We are secure and pure. This is what is called redemption and it is completed in the moment we believe in faith on the Lord Jesus.

But there is another work that is done through the Holy Spirit and Christ's sacrifice within our lives that is not completed at the beginning of our salvation. In fact, it's not even completed in this lifetime. That work is called sanctification.

Sanctification is a continuous work of the Holy Spirit in which we are set apart and made to be like Christ. And we will never be completely like Christ until we reach Heaven (1 Thessalonians 5:23-24). As long as we are on this earth, we are still sinning. So, in that sense, we are not pure. Even our hearts are not pure yet, because our hearts desire things that are not of God (Romans 7:15-23)

This leads me to think about the word pure. In a sense we are pure, but in another we're not. Our lives are still full of sin, but we are able to enter the gates of Heaven, because when God looks at us He sees the purity of Christ. We have attained saving righteousness (purity) because Christ has given it to us, but we have not attained purity of actions or heart. Not yet.

So when Jesus says that the pure in heart shall see God, He is not just referring to the purification that comes through salvation. In that sense, all Christians are pure in heart. But this purity of the heart is one that comes not instantly like salvation, but slowly in the process of sanctification. Katharos, the Greek word for pure in this verse, first means "purified by fire"(Greek Lexicon, emphasis mine).

So, how does this definition apply to this verse? You see, for us to be sanctified, to be purified, we must go through fire. But what kind of fire? I think that it could be said that when we, as Christians pass through difficult times in our lives with perseverance (whether it's a death or sickness or divorce or losing a job or whatever difficulty it may be), it is for our purification. These are the means by which God seeks to sanctify us and perfect us. No one has a great spurt of growth in their faith or is revealed the deep secrets of God in the easy times of life. And if people do grow in the good times, it is because they have learned to trust God in the difficult times beforehand.

So purity of heart is a result of going through the fires of hard times. I hope that this encourages us as we go through the tough times. Never think that God lets anything happen that is not for our good (Romans 8:28). Everything, whether good or bad, will ultimately be used for our good and purification. May we be purified through the fire by God's good will.

Love Vs. Fear

(This is my fourth post in my series on fear.)
The Language of the Bible
What is Fear?
New Post Series on Fear

My basketball coach in elementary school, Dan Wentworth who was also a pastor once said "Hate is not the opposite of love. Fear is." Though I am not certain that I agree that fear and love are complete opposites, there is a definite correlation. In fact, 1 John 4:18:

"There is no fear in love; but perfect love casts out fear, because fear involves punishment, and the one who fears is not perfected in love."

But to examine the idea further, I want to look to the Bible's definition of love which is most clearly stated in 1 Corinthians 13:4-8 and look at it's relation to fear.

Love is patient. Fear is anxious. It worries about what is going to happen, what might go wrong and what others might think. It focuses on its own inadequacy and not the other person.

Love is kind. Fear can be hurtful and is too focused on itself and the problems that it faces to consider others.

Love is not jealous. Jealousy is wanting what someone else has, often as a result of a fear of not being as good as someone else. And, in relationships, jealousy for the other person's attention may be out of a fear of losing them.

Love does not brag. Fear will boast of itself lest others think little of them.

Love is not arrogant. Fear, and especially worry, is self-centered and only concerned with its own welfare.

Love does not act unbecomingly. Fear can cause people to do wild and strange things. And, if one fears looking "uncool", they may do many things to change that.

Love does not seek its own. Fear seeks its own safety and welfare.

Love is not provoked. Those who fear others' opinions may get defensive and angry easily.

Love does not take into account wrong suffered. Fear worries that if they do not deal with the wrong done them, it will not be dealt with.

Love does not rejoice in unrighteousness. Fear does not rejoice in anything, lest it be caught off guard.

Love rejoices with the truth. Fear contradicts the truth or distorts it.

Love bears all things. Fear worries that the weight will crush it.

Love hopes all things. Fear has no hope.

Love believes all things. Fear can't believe that which might cause it to look foolish or cause it lose control of itself.

Love endures all things. Fear worries that over time it might buckle under the pressure.

Love never fails. Fear always succeeds.

Love is an attribute of God (1 John 4:7). Fear is not.

War!

During one of my pastor's sermons a couple of weeks ago, he read 2 Corinthians 10:3-5:

3For though we walk in the flesh, we are not waging war according to the flesh. 4For the weapons of our warfare are not of the flesh but have divine power to destroy strongholds. 5We destroy arguments and every lofty opinion raised against the knowledge of God, and take every thought captive to obey Christ,

Though I've heard this passage many times throughout my life, this particular time it struck me that this passage means more than I first realized. I think I've often assumed that this passage, particularly verse 3, only is meant to point out that we do not fight a physical war, but a spiritual one.


And though that is true, I realize now that this verse means more than that. This verse can apply to all areas in which we "war" in this world. I think specifically of how this verse could apply to the debates we may have with the world- the war of ideas.

To war according to the flesh in the war of ideas would be to do so with hostility, arrogance, condescension, and anger. It would also mean that we would argue without listening to the other side and try to attack not only the other person's argument, but also their character and credibility.

Conversely, if we are to debate in such a way that we are not warring according to the flesh, then we will defend our ideas with graciousness, humility, and kindness, affirming what we can about the other person while patiently pointing out the flaws of the other side. We will do our best to listen to the concerns of others and not immediately shut out their ideas. And we will focus solely on the arguments themselves, not on attacking the person.

Anyway, that's just one way I believe this verse can be applied and in the future I'm sure that I will only come to see that it means more than I've seen now. Just one more testimony to how God's Word goes much deeper than the surface.

The Language of the Bible

(This is my third post in my series on fear)
What is Fear?
New Post Series on Fear

When I try to think about fear from a Biblical perspective, I'm constantly brought back to how the Bible speaks about the confidence, the courage, and the surety that comes with faith. For instance, though the Bible talks about our need to fear God in a sense of reverence, Hebrews 4:16 says:

Therefore let us draw near with confidence to the throne of grace, so that we may receive mercy and find grace to help in time of need.

We can draw near with confidence. Where is the fear in that? And to where? To the throne of grace. We need not fear that when we come to God with our transgressions and shortcomings that we will not be good enough, because God has lavished His grace upon us. And, even though God cannot stand to look upon sin, when we come before Him through the blood of Christ, we need not fear that He will cast us aside. And if we need not fear God, who should we fear?

Also, 2 Corinthians 5:8 says:

we are of good courage, I say, and prefer rather to be absent from the body and to be at home with the Lord.

Here, in talking about death, one of the greatest fears that all humans have at some point, Paul says that Christians are of good courage. Why? Because death has no hold on us and it has been defeated through Christ's resurrection.

Along with these, the Bible says several times, "Do Not Fear" (Isa. 41:10; Isa. 43:1; 1 Chron. 28:20) You see, the logic behind all of this, is that once we know Christ and our sins have been forgiven, we have no need to fear because God is on our side and nothing can separate us from the love of Christ (Rom. 8:31-35). It doesn't matter if we get cancer or we go blind or we lose our house or even if we die, we have nothing to fear because God is for us. No matter what happens, we will live with Him for eternity and all our fears will be washed away.