Advent-ure Day 12: Light of the World

Jesus came into the world to be the light of the world, and His truth and presence bring light in the darkness all around us. We, as Christians, possess that light, according to 2nd Corinthians 4:
6 For it is the God who commanded light to shine out of darkness, who has shone in our hearts to give the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ.
7 But we have this treasure in earthen vessels, that the excellence of the power may be of God and not of us.

You hear quite a bit about "light" during the Christmas season, and rightly so - we enjoy the Christmas lights, perhaps take part in a candlelight service, and think about Jesus, who came as the light of the world.  He has dispatched us to be the light of the world, according to the Sermon on the Mount in Matthew 5 - He calls us to be salt and light.  So, during this Christmas season, we can be reminded to follow and to radiate the light of Christ.

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It's Day 12 of 25: A Christmas Advent-ure, and it's the end of the second set of six items dealing with worshipping Jesus for His personality.  He is described as the "light of the world."  There's a verse in John chapter 8, and I want to set it up.  There was a group of men who were about to stone a women who had committed adultery.  After writing on the ground, Jesus said to them, in verse 7, "He who is without sin among you, let him throw a stone at her first."  He then wrote again, and one-by-one the
accusers went away. We pick up in verse 10:
10 When Jesus had raised Himself up and saw no one but the woman, He said to her, "Woman, where are those accusers of yours? Has no one condemned you?"
11 She said, "No one, Lord." And Jesus said to her, "Neither do I condemn you; go and sin no more."
12 Then Jesus spoke to them again, saying, "I am the light of the world. He who follows Me shall not walk in darkness, but have the light of life."

Jared Plesec was a Bible study leader for the Salvation Army in Cleveland, OH and was preparing to go to collect money in the iconic Red Kettle campaign when tragedy struck.  According to a story on the Faithwire website, Jared, who was 21, was "found shot in the head on Saturday morning in the lobby of his apartment complex, with police alleging that a 27-year-old man named William Jones is responsible, WKYC-TV reported.

The Faithwire story stated:

Witnesses also said that Plesec was sharing scripture with the accused when he was killed.

Described as kind, loving and compassionate, Plesec spent his time mentoring local kids and had aspirations of saving money for a car so that he could help bring people to church. The Salvation Army confirmed the tragic death in an email to WKYC on Sunday.

“Jared was an employee (youth worker) and church member of The Salvation Army Temple Corps Community Center in Collinwood. Jared died as he lived, sharing God’s love,” the statement read. “Jared passed away in full Salvation Army uniform with his Bible in hand leaving home on his day off to volunteer at The Salvation Army’s Red Kettle.”

A potential motive has not been established, the story said.

The article quotes Major Daniel Alverio of the Salvation Army.  Faithwire says that he "told WJC-TV that Plesec was never afraid of the neighborhoods he would preach in. Alverio said that Plesec lived to 'teach people who God was' and to 'love and care for people.'" Alverio is quoted as saying:

“I would talk to Jared often and he would say that he was not afraid. I would say ‘Jared, be careful in the streets.’ He said, ‘I’m not afraid. I know where I’m going’ and for him he would tell you to die is gain,” Alverio said. “Like he had no problem with the idea of being persecuted for the gospel.”

It does seem that Jared was in the wrong place at the wrong time.  He may or may not have lost his life because of the gospel, but appeared to be in a dangerous position, yet shared the gospel. The alleged murderer, according to information from WKYC used in the Faithwire story, allegedly "went on a carjacking spree after the shooting."

About Jared, Amante Crawley told Fox8: "He basically is the one that brought me to church. He showed me the light and everything that the Lord could do to me, how he could work through me. Anybody who did him wrong he just loved. He loved everyone. That's why I can't understand why someone would do this to him. He was a loving person..."

What a great example for all of us - Jared Plesec, 21 years of age, determined to share the light of the gospel of Christ.  There are three words that come to mind:

First of all, determination.  I don't know the circumstances under which Jared was sharing scripture with the man who allegedly took his life, but we can conclude it was an individual who may have posed a danger to him.  God may call us to go to uncomfortable or even dangerous situations in order to share our faith, and He can create in us a determination to do His will.

We also get a sense of Jared's compassion.  It was apparent that he was devoted to sharing his faith, and as we develop a real, Christlike love for people, it can create within us a willingness to follow Christ in sharing that love.

Finally, people loved Jared Plesec.  He had developed a reputation.  We can seek to build that type of reputation that is so strong that people will be drawn to Christ through our actions and it will enable us to stand, even when there is opposition and outright attacks against us. 

Advent-ure Day 11: King of Kings and Lord of Lords

Jesus is the source of power for us in the struggles we face each day. He is the King of Kings and Lord of Lords, and as 1st John 4 reminds us, "He who is in you is greater than he who is in the world."

So, when we are weak, we recognize that is an opportunity for God to show His strength. 2nd Corinthians 12 says:
9 And He said to me, "My grace is sufficient for you, for My strength is made perfect in weakness." Therefore most gladly I will rather boast in my infirmities, that the power of Christ may rest upon me.
10 Therefore I take pleasure in infirmities, in reproaches, in needs, in persecutions, in distresses, for Christ's sake. For when I am weak, then I am strong.

The enemy's agenda is to destroy the plan of God, and He does that by luring the child of God into either outright sinful behavior, or at least into destructive self-reliance, in which we depend on ourselves rather than Him.  We allow our own ideas or those that the enemy plants into our minds to be the basis for our decisions rather than the Word of God.  We believe lies rather than hold to the truth.  Jesus walks with us, He is our champion, and wants to work in us to the glory of the Father.

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We begin another week of 25: A Christmas Advent-ure, and yesterday marked the second Sunday of Advent for churches who are commemorating it.  We are looking at 25 different areas or concepts this year, all centered around the theme, "Let's Worship Jesus."

We are looking at his personality, reflected in the various names by which our Savior is called.  Saturday, Day 9, dealt with Jesus our Redeemer, based on Titus 2:14 which tells us that Jesus "gave Himself for us, that He might redeem us from every lawless deed and purify for Himself His own special people, zealous for good works."

On Day 10, corresponding to Sunday, the emphasis was on Jesus our Wonderful Counselor, based on Isaiah 9:6: "For unto us a Child is born, Unto us a Son is given; And the government will be upon His shoulder. And His name will be called Wonderful, Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace."

Today, we rejoice in Jesus, who is called King of Kings and Lord of Lords, according to 1st Timothy
chapter 6, verse 15...let's get a running start - Paul is encouraging believers to...
14 ...keep this commandment without spot, blameless until our Lord Jesus Christ's appearing,
15 which He will manifest in His own time, He who is the blessed and only Potentate, the King of kings and Lord of lords,
16 who alone has immortality, dwelling in unapproachable light, whom no man has seen or can see, to whom be honor and everlasting power. Amen.

Jesus is our great and mighty power, and He stands with us and walks with us when we face the difficulties of life.  And, we can be reminded that He is available to be our source of power in our times of weakness.

Maybe you have heard of or read the story of a middle school student in Tennessee named Keaton Jones.  According to the Knoxville News-Sentinel:

Keaton's mother, Kimberly Jones, filmed him crying in the passenger seat of a vehicle after she said she picked him up from school "AGAIN" because he was afraid to go to lunch. "Keaton asked to do this," Jones wrote in a Facebook post.

In the video, Keaton said other students made fun of the way he looks, poured milk on him, put ham down his clothes and said he had no friends.

"People that are different don't need to be criticized about it," Keaton said. "It's not their fault. But if you are made fun of, just don't let it bother you. Stay strong I guess. It's hard. But it'll probably get better one day."

That day might just be today.

As of Sunday evening, Keaton's video had more than 18.5 million views and had been shared more than 369,000 times on Facebook. His message resonated with an eclectic mix of celebrities, who responded by condemning bullying, sharing their own experiences and lauding Keaton for his courage.

Among the celebrities: Chris Evans, who plays the role of Captain America, Dana White, who heads the UFC, talk-show host Sean Hannity, rapper Snoop Dogg, and a number of professional athletes, including players from the Tennessee Volunteers and NFL Titans.

This is a serious problem in our culture.  The News-Sentinel website also says that: "According to a federal study released on Tuesday, one in every five middle and high school students has complained of being bullied at school, while the number of reported incidents of sexual assaults on college campuses has more than tripled over the past ten years."

Writing for The Christian Post, speaker Nick Vujoicic stated:

Throughout my life I've seen that bullying is real and part of the dark side of human nature. Bullying has been with us as long as sin has existed.

Jesus Himself was a victim of constant bullying from His enemies. When the high priest questioned Jesus before His crucifixion, a temple official slapped Jesus in the face for daring to speak the truth. Jesus did not back down from these religious persecutors. Instead, He demanded to know why the official had lashed out.

Jesus was teaching us that no one should give in to being bullied or persecuted. We should put our faith into action, stand against those who would intimidate and persecute us and anyone else, and demand to be treated fairly.

As perhaps you know, Nick was born without limbs. He writes:

...I didn't tell my parents when I was picked on because I didn't want to upset them. I thought I could handle it myself, but I was wrong. I should have told them from the beginning. It is a lesson that I share with my audience, especially with young people.

Victims of bullying do need help. And parents must teach their children to be compassionate and Good Samaritans, to step up if they see such someone being mistreated.

Bill Conger, who is a school counselor, shared information on the LifeWay website, based on the book, The Bully Blockers Club, by Teresa Bateman.  He writes:

• Ignore/Avoid: Bullies want attention. Don't give it to them.
• Be a friend: Sometimes bullies don't know the right way to be a friend. Try winning them over with kindness.
• Don't be a pushover: In a clear, firm voice, look your intimidator in the eye and tell him to leave you alone.
• Tell an adult: Let the adult in charge of the area where the bullying occurs know what's going on.
• Build a club: Combine forces with other friends. The bully is less likely to pick on children who are in a group.

Conger also says, "If these tips to empower your child to handle her troubles don't work, then you may want to step in."

Vujicic and Conger both stress the importance of others stepping into a bullying situation.  Keaton now has a whole army of powerful friends to show him support.  But, we also recognize that once the attention dies down, he will need the support of people in the local school, as well as fellow students to stand with him, to help him deal with the taunts and actions of the bullies.

And, ultimately Christian students can be a force to help those who are being bullied, and to even show kindness toward the bullies, in an effort to get them to stop - if they don't know Christ, it provides a witnessing opportunity all the way around.

This is yet another issue in which the body of Christ can step up and help.  The Focus on the Family website says:

Schools are responsible for providing a safe environment for all who attend, including a schoolwide culture in which bullying is definitely not acceptable. This goes well beyond cracking down on individual bullies. It requires an ongoing, comprehensive effort involving students, teachers, administrators and support staff that is designed to increase awareness of bullying, improve adult supervision, and generate rules and a social climate that clearly discourage bullying. The staff and teachers must also provide protection from all forms of bullying.

Churches should clearly teach young and old alike that bullying directly contradicts the life and teaching of Jesus Christ. It was He, after all, who sought out the outcasts and powerless and who taught the critical importance of helping "the least of these."

I have to admit that recently, I have read in the Montgomery Advertiser about efforts of the faith community to get involved in the lives of students and their families.  Just yesterday, there was a front-page article about the backpack program, which helps to provide food for students and their families on the weekends.  There is also a group of church leaders who are attempting to bring hope for students.  The church and the school can be powerful partners in shaping the lives of young people.

Christians can stand with those who are being mistreated or who are less fortunate in a number of ways; just as Christ, our King of Kings and Lord of Lords, has stood and continues to stand with us.  We need a powerful friend, and Jesus is that friend that sticks closer than a brother, according to the book of Proverbs. We can appropriate God's resources in our own lives and depend on His mighty power, and we can be challenged to tell and demonstrate to others the power we have discovered.

Advent-ure Day 8: Son of Man

Jesus was teaching His disciples on servanthood, and we can read in Mark 10:
43b ...whoever desires to become great among you shall be your servant.
44 And whoever of you desires to be first shall be slave of all.
45 For even the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give His life a ransom for many."

The image of Jesus we see here is that of a servant, and He calls us to exhibit a servant spirit.  After all, He left his position in heaven, humbled Himself as a man, so that as a man, He could be the perfect sacrifice for our sins.  His submission to death on a cross is a piercing picture of what it truly means to serve.  At Christmas - and throughout the year - we can be challenged to demonstrate His love and become characterized by the way that we serve.

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We are continuing to focus, during this Advent season, on reasons why we praise Jesus, our Savior, who came to earth so that we might come into a knowledge of Him through salvation.  There is a 25-day Advent Guide available at the Faith Radio website and in the Faith Radio app, called, 25: A Christ-mas Adventure.

Yesterday, after highlighting 6 prophecies out of the hundreds that Jesus fulfilled, I moved into worshipping Jesus for His personality, who He is.  He is the Son of God, and described Himself as
the Son of Man. Matthew 16 says:
13 When Jesus came into the region of Caesarea Philippi, He asked His disciples, saying, "Who do men say that I, the Son of Man, am?"
14 So they said, "Some say John the Baptist, some Elijah, and others Jeremiah or one of the prophets."
15 He said to them, "But who do you say that I am?"
16 Simon Peter answered and said, "You are the Christ, the Son of the living God."

Jesus was completely divine - the Son of God; yet, He was born of a human, so He can also be called the Son of Man.  We're reminded that He is the Incarnation - God in the flesh, and that He is Immanuel (Emmanuel) - God with us.  He partook of humanity so that we could, in essence, encounter the divine - He made it possible for God Himself, through His Holy Spirit, to live in us!

So, I think it's instructive to think of ourselves as vessels to be used by Him, representatives of Christ - it's been said that Christians are to be "Jesus with skin on."

On this "Famous Friday," examining how God shows up in popular or celebrity culture, I want to turn to two people who are quite familiar to television viewers - the patriarch of the Duck Dynasty family, Phil Robertson, and his wife, affectionately known as Miss Kay.  The Faithwire website has the story of an act of compassion that involved the Robertsons when they were on a trip to New York City and Washington, DC:

Miss Kay explained in a video uploaded to Phil Robertson’s Facebook page on Thursday that she decided to seek out the maid who cleaned her room so she could give her a thank you gift, explaining how the interaction sparked a conversation about the gospel.

“I went to find the lady that cleaned my room … and I found her and she thought she was in trouble,” Miss Kay said. “But I said, ‘No, I just want to give you something’ and I gave her something and then I gave her a big hug and I kissed her on the cheek.”

The cleaning woman began to cry and continued to hug Miss Kay, which surprised the former A&E star quite a bit.

The story relates that Miss Kay learned that in 14 years at that hotel, the lady had "never been hugged by a customer."

Then, Phil began to share the gospel with her. He is quoted as saying:

“I got a piece of paper and I drew an arrow coming down out of heaven … I said, ‘Two thousand seventeen years ago, year one, God came down in flesh.’ She said, ‘Really?'” he recounted. “I said, ‘Yup … he died on the cross for all of our sins, yours and mine. And they put him in a tomb, three days later he resurrected from the dead, he came back to life.'”

He asked her if she believed that and she said she did.  Phil suggested that she find a Bible, as well.

There are several takeaways from this story, and the first is rather obvious: we have opportunities to share the love of Christ with people on a regular basis.  The question then becomes whether or not we are allowing the Spirit to lead us to those individuals and then to speak through us to share truth.

We also see that the door for the gospel to be shared was preceded by an act of kindness.  Now, there is a lot of charity going around at Christmas, rightfully so, as we reflect on the enormous act of sacrifice that Jesus did for us.  And, believers should be known at Christmas - and throughout the year - for our compassion and our generosity.  Our willingness to give of ourselves can soften hearts so that they be more sensitive to the message of the gospel.  We can remember that Jesus, the Son of Man, became human so that humans could know Him, now works through human beings to share His love.

I also think there is an element of being sensitive to those who serve.  We encounter people who are in service positions or service industries regularly - you may serve in that type of capacity.  From store cashiers, to restaurant waiters and waitresses, to hotel employees, to those who collect our garbage and keep our cities rolling; not to mention law enforcement and military people - we should pay more attention to their service and not hesitate to show kindness, not taking their work for granted.   

Advent-ure Day 7: Son of God

There has been a lot of emphasis this week in the news about the city of Jerusalem, and we find in
Luke 19 that Jesus wept over that city. We read:
41 Now as He drew near, He saw the city and wept over it,
42 saying, "If you had known, even you, especially in this your day, the things that make for your peace! But now they are hidden from your eyes.
43 For days will come upon you when your enemies will build an embankment around you, surround you and close you in on every side,
44 and level you, and your children within you, to the ground; and they will not leave in you one stone upon another, because you did not know the time of your visitation."

Here, we see the compassion of Jesus for a city full of people whom He wished to redeem; in fact, just days after this passage occurred, He would actually be put to death by leaders in that city, with the approval of many of its residents.  But, Jesus did not give up on them, even extending forgiveness on the cross; and He doesn't give up on us, either - even when we are hard-headed or hard-hearted, He reaches out in compassion and desires to draw us to Himself.

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At Christmas and during our celebration of Advent, we can recognize that God has a plan. The fall in the Garden did not take Him by surprise, no, He had His plan to restore and redeem His people - it involved His Son, who was there in creation and who was foretold in subsequent years.  In our Advent guide, 25: A Christmas Advent-ure, we see there is much for which to worship Jesus, including His personality - who He is.  And today, we reflect on Jesus, the Son of God.  John 3:16 reminds us:
16 For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life.

There has been much discussion over the past few days about President Trump's announcement that the United States would recognize Jerusalem as the capital of Israel, and would ultimately move the U.S. Embassy from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem.  The BBC website states:

Mr Trump described the move as "a long overdue step" to advance the Middle East peace process.

It continues:

Speaking at the White House, the US president said he had "judged this course of action to be in the best interests of the United States of America, and the pursuit of peace between Israel and the Palestinians".

He said he was directing the US state department to begin preparations to move the US embassy from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem.

This is a political move, certainly, but there are spiritual implications - we can see in God's Word that Jerusalem was the seat of government, where David and subsequent kings over the kingdom of Judah reigned.  And, a reestablished Jerusalem, a new Jerusalem, will be the place in which Jesus will reign as King of Kings and Lord of Lords.

Psalm 122 states:
3 Jerusalem is built As a city that is compact together,
4 Where the tribes go up, The tribes of the Lord, To the Testimony of Israel, To give thanks to the name of the Lord.
5 For thrones are set there for judgment, The thrones of the house of David.
6 Pray for the peace of Jerusalem: "May they prosper who love you.
7 Peace be within your walls, Prosperity within your palaces."

When one considers the city of Jerusalem and the re-establishment of the nation of Israel, these are reminders of the plan of God, who appeared to Abraham and revealed that He would choose a people unto Himself.  God has always had His hand on Israel, and we can emphasize that He is talking about that lineage of the Jewish people, whom He wants to bring to Himself.  Of course, all people must come to God through His Son, Jesus Christ.

Unfortunately, there are younger Christians that don't see the relationship between the Church and Israel as important as I believe the Bible teaches.  A new LifeWay Research survey says that:

Three-quarters (77 percent) of evangelicals 65 and older say they support the existence, security and prosperity of Israel. That drops to 58 percent among younger evangelicals, those 18 to 34.

Four in 10 younger evangelicals (41 percent) have no strong views about Israel.

Scott McConnell, Executive Director of LifeWay Research says that, “For the most part, younger evangelicals are indifferent about Israel..."

This concerns author Joel Rosenberg, who is one of the underwriters of the survey, who is quoted in the survey summary:

“Unless the church gives younger believers a healthy, balanced, solidly biblical understanding of God’s love and plan for Israel, overall evangelical support for the Jewish state could very well plummet over the next decade as millennials represent an ever-larger percentage of the overall church body,” Rosenberg said.

Chosen People Ministries was also an underwriter, and its President, Mitch Glaser, said: “I am concerned for the obvious decline in support for Israel among millennial followers of Jesus, who either do not know what they believe or do not seem to care."

Here are some more of the findings:

• Forty-five percent say the Bible has had the biggest influence on their views of Israel.
• Sixty-three percent say they support Israel primarily because “God gave the land of Israel to the Jewish people.”
• Twenty-two percent are not sure if biblical promises about the land of Israel are still in force.
• Eighty percent say God promised the land of Israel to Abraham and his descendants for all time.
• Eighty percent say the rebirth of Israel in 1948 was a fulfillment of biblical prophecy.

I do believe that the establishment of the nation of Israel was a political event with spiritual implications, including the fulfillment of Biblical prophecy.  And, we read in the Old Testament extensively about God's relationship with His chosen people.  He continued to reach out to them and love them, calling on them to return to Him when they had departed.  

And, then, just outside Jerusalem, on that special night, God's Son came into the world to provide that way of salvation - for not only the Jewish people, but for all who were "grafted," as the Bible says in Romans 11, into that plan.  Now, salvation is provided for all who will accept Christ, but all must come through Him.  God's dealings with Israel point to the compassion and tenacity with which He deals with His people, and I believe Israel still plays a key role in God's plan for the earth.

The story of Christmas shows us how God appeared to two Jewish people and how He sent His Son into the world on a winter's night outside Jerusalem.  God has a grand plan for the world, and we each have a role in it - and we recognize that He has a plan for each of us; we enter in through salvation in Jesus Christ, and as we have been made part of His Kingdom, adopted into His family, we can depend on Him to guide our lives so that we might be glorified in us.

Advent-ure Day 6: Died on a Cross

In Colossians 2, we find a passage that underscores the power of the cross.  We pick up in the 2nd
half of verse 13:
(13b) ...He has made alive together with Him, having forgiven you all trespasses,
14 having wiped out the handwriting of requirements that was against us, which was contrary to us. And He has taken it out of the way, having nailed it to the cross.
15 Having disarmed principalities and powers, He made a public spectacle of them, triumphing over them in it.

At Christmas, we certainly focus on the cradle, but we must also focus on the cross.  The manger emphasizes the humanity of Jesus, and that is important, because he lived and died as a man, a perfect man, uniquely qualified to served as that perfect sacrifice.  But, the cross and the resurrection cause us to honor the divinity of Jesus, the One who humbled Himself before death, but death could not hold Him and the power of sin was defeated.  We honor our Savior, who gave Himself at the cross.

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It's Day 6 of this year's Advent emphasis, 25: A Christ-mas Adventure, and this week, we are talking about worshipping Jesus for what He's fulfilled.  There are hundreds of prophecies that we find in the Old Testament about who Jesus is, His lineage, His role, and what He would do.  In Psalm 22, we find a stunning account of what actually occurred on the cross in His crucifixion.  Here are just a few verses:

In the 1st verse, we read words that Jesus actually spoke on the cross: "My God, My God, why have You forsaken Me? Why are You so far from helping Me, And from the words of My groaning?"

Now, let's move down to verses 14-19:
14 I am poured out like water, And all My bones are out of joint; My heart is like wax; It has melted within Me.
15 My strength is dried up like a potsherd, And My tongue clings to My jaws; You have brought Me to the dust of death.
16 For dogs have surrounded Me; The congregation of the wicked has enclosed Me. They pierced My hands and My feet;
17 I can count all My bones. They look and stare at Me.
18 They divide My garments among them, And for My clothing they cast lots.
19 But You, O Lord, do not be far from Me; O My Strength, hasten to help Me!

Jesus, an innocent man, a perfect man, became the perfect substitute for our sins.  He was nailed to a cross in our place, so that through Him, we who deserved to die might live with Him eternally.  That's why during Christmas, while we celebrate the manger and the nativity, we should also keep our eyes on the cross.  

That's a message communicated by the 7-foot crosses that Faith Radio has been distributing during the past 3 weeks.  A few remain; contact us to learn more.

We can also pay attention to the message that is communicated in many of the songs, the carols, we hear and sing during the holiday season.

And, worship leaders are paying attention to the rich theology of redemption that is found in familiar carols, including more than just the first verses, a concept embraced by Andrew Lucius, who is associate pastor of music and worship at Bull Street Baptist Church in Savannah.  A recent Baptist Press article says that:

This Christmas, Lucius and other worship leaders are urging churches not to neglect subsequent verses of favorite hymns like "Joy to the World!" "Silent Night," "Hark! The Herald Angels Sing," and "O Come, All Ye Faithful."

The article continues:

Those verses shape worshipers' souls, they say, and are rich in theological truth like:

-- "Son of God, love's pure light";

-- "Veiled in flesh the Godhead see, hail the incarnate deity"; and

-- "Word of the Father, now in flesh appearing."

The article quotes Lucius as saying that the widow "who's going through the Christmas season the first time this year without her husband ... needs more than the first verse of 'Joy to the World!'" He adds, "She needs to sing, 'No more let sin and sorrow grow, nor thorns infest the ground. He comes to make His blessings flow far as the curse is found.'"

The piece also states: "Scott Aniol, associate professor of church music at Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary, told Baptist Press 'a lot of Christmas hymns are narrative in nature and tell the whole incarnation story ... If you skip a stanza, you're missing a chunk of the narrative.'"  Ariol points out that the third stanzas of hymns tend to contain the climax of that narrative.

Mike Harland, director of LifeWay Worship, encourages churches to not only sing neglected verses of carols, but also to sing less well-known carols.

The article also offers some suggestions from Harland, Ariol, and Lucius:

-- Sing fewer hymns but more verses.

-- Organize times of carol singing outside normal worship services.

-- Sing medleys of carols that include only lesser-known verses.

-- Don't shy from singing musically challenging hymns like "O Holy Night" with the congregation. People's "familiarity with it actually overcomes the difficulty of singing it," Harland said.

God has given us music for our enjoyment and experience of Him, as well as our instruction.  He, as our Creator, originated the concept, and there's something special about singing and even listening to music.

Songs, including hymns and carols, are containers of messages that can touch the soul.  That is why our musical choices can have a profound impact on how we live and what we think.  Exposure to music that carries a message that is consistent with the Bible can help to shape our thoughts and even our worldview.

We celebrate Jesus coming to earth, but it's helpful at Christmas to also think about the entirety of the gospel story.  And, that involves the cross; the reminder of God's love to us, made available through loving Savior who gave His life so that you and I might live.

Advent-ure Day 5: Suffered For Our Sins

In Hebrews 2, we read about the suffering that Christ endured so that we might come into a
relationship with Him:
9 But we see Jesus, who was made a little lower than the angels, for the suffering of death crowned with glory and honor, that He, by the grace of God, might taste death for everyone.
10 For it was fitting for Him, for whom are all things and by whom are all things, in bringing many sons to glory, to make the captain of their salvation perfect through sufferings.

We suffer for various reasons, and we can choose to let our suffering defeat us or to fulfill God's intent - to make us more like Jesus.  He suffered shame, pain, humiliation, and death - not that He needed character development, like we do, but so that He might be the perfect sacrifice for our sins and offer us the opportunity to come into a relationship with Himself.  In our suffering, the Lord desires to do a healing, purifying, and strengthening work in us.

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It's Day 5, and we are one-fifth through this year's Advent emphasis, 25: A Christmas Advent-ure, with the theme, "Let's Worship Jesus."  Today, we look at a passage in which the Old Testament
points to the suffering our Savior would endure. It's from Isaiah 53:
3 He is despised and rejected by men, A Man of sorrows and acquainted with grief. And we hid, as it were, our faces from Him; He was despised, and we did not esteem Him.
4 Surely He has borne our griefs And carried our sorrows; Yet we esteemed Him stricken, Smitten by God, and afflicted.
5 But He was wounded for our transgressions, He was bruised for our iniquities; The chastisement for our peace was upon Him, And by His stripes we are healed.

The New Testament also deals with the issue of Christ's suffering - in fact, 1st Peter 2:24 states: "who Himself bore our sins in His own body on the tree, that we, having died to sins, might live for righteousness--by whose stripes you were healed." 

In 1st Peter 4, we read:
1 Therefore, since Christ suffered for us in the flesh, arm yourselves also with the same mind, for he who has suffered in the flesh has ceased from sin,
2 that he no longer should live the rest of his time in the flesh for the lusts of men, but for the will of God.

Jesus suffered so that we might be brought into the conformity of His will for us; we suffer so that He might manifest the end result of His suffering in us.  We learn through suffering - sometimes it's of our own doing, through mistakes that we make and can learn from.  Sometimes we suffer because we live in a fallen world.  Other times, we are attacked by the enemy because of our righteousness.  But, in all things, we can become perfected through our suffering.

Jack Phillips fits into the latter category.  He is the cake baker in Colorado who declined to provide a cake for a gay couple who had been married in another state and wanted to celebrate that union,. He was taken to task by a civil rights commission in Colorado and the state Supreme Court ruled against him, saying that he "discriminated" against the so-called "couple."  The case is before the U.S. Supreme Court, with oral arguments today.  According to Bruce Hausknecht of Focus on the Family, the legal team is arguing that Jack's free speech rights would be violated.  Phillips was being forced by the courts to use his art to communicate a message that violates his conscience.  Jack is suffering because of a calculated decision that he made to stand on principle.

Lysa TerKeurst of Proverbs 31 Ministries is suffering the effects of living in this fallen world and, of course, we recognize, under the sovereign hand of God. According to a piece on the ChristianHeadlines.com website, Lysa was diagnosed with breast cancer in October and had surgery almost a month ago.  She has now been declared to be cancer-free.

The story states:

After a battle with illness last summer, undergoing surgery that removed a large section of her colon, and then recently facing divorce with her husband of 25 years, Lysa says that it was hard to even share this recent diagnosis with so many supporters who have continued to pray for her through difficult days.

She announced the diagnosis on her blog, "I've sort of dreaded this moment of telling you guys, I really am fine, but I think because I've been through so much in the past couple of years...I've just kind of been dreading telling you because I think people will think, 'What in the world?"

She also wrote, according to the article:

Not one prayer you’ve whispered on behalf of my family has been wasted. God is moving and we are so thankful. Art and I are both praying for a miracle and walking the road to healing.

We are clinging to the promises of God on this journey full of twists and turns, ups and downs. There is often a process God will take people through to prepare us for the Promise.

We are a work in process. And this process is often messy and unpredictable. I don’t know exactly what tomorrow will look like but I do know who I’ll be looking to… the Lord… whose love is unfailing and whose hand is the safest place to entrust my hope.”

Through Jesus' death, through His sufferings, He became the perfect sacrifice for us.  And, through that sacrifice, we can experience, not a suffering-free life, but new life that sustains us even when we are suffering.  Remember, the trying of our faith produces patience.

We know that we suffer for many reasons - and as much as it is the result of our own missteps, we can learn that we are facing consequences and learn to do better the next time.  We can also know that God offers forgiveness to us when we sin and will empower us to walk in triumph over its power.  So suffering because of sin can propel us to rely on Christ to experience victory.

We also recognize that there is suffering that occurs just simply because we live in this world. It's an imperfect world full of imperfect people.  There will be relationships that get crossways with each other; there will be diseases that come into our bodies; we will experience natural disasters and face the deep loss of friends and loved ones.  Name it, the world has it - but in the midst of those sufferings, there is hope in the Lord; He is our refuge and strength, the Psalm says, and He is our "ever-present help" when we face trouble.

Finally, we are called to put on the armor of God, recognizing there is suffering that comes into our lives because we are doing the right thing.  We may experience persecution because we are exalting the name of Christ.  The enemy is roaming about, flexing His muscles "like a roaring lion."  But, we can exercise our own spiritual muscles and appropriate the power of God so that we might overcome the schemes of the evil one.

Advent-ure Day 4: Tribe of Judah

As we continue with our Advent readings here on Faith Radio, there are several readings that deal with the bloodline of Jesus.  We read that He was from the tribe of Judah of the bloodline of David. And, spiritually speaking, we have been adopted into that royal bloodline, with an incredible spiritual lineage. 1st Peter 2 says:
9 But you are a chosen generation, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, His own special people, that you may proclaim the praises of Him who called you out of darkness into His marvelous light...

We were born into sin and needed a Savior; humanity was fallen and God made a way through sending His Son to die for us.  He met all the qualifications; He fulfilled every single one of the prophecies written about Him.  We can be convinced that Jesus is our Savior, Redeemer, and King. He reigns, not on an earthly throne, but over the earth and the entire universe - Lord of all creation! And, we can invite Him to reign in our lives!

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It's Day 4 of December, Day 4 of 25: A Christmas Advent-ure, and here on this Monday, let's catch up on the two items from the weekend.  The first 6 areas deal with prophecy, as we can be motivated to worship Jesus because of what He has fulfilled.

On Friday, we went to Genesis 3, in which God pronounced the ultimate victory over the enemy, even though he had lured Adam and Eve into sin, resulting the fall of humanity.  But, we recognize that God had a plan, a plan to bring us back into fellowship with Himself.  It would be done through His Son, Jesus, about whom we read in the Old Testament.

Isaiah 7:14 points to this coming of our Messiah: "Therefore the Lord Himself will give you a sign: Behold, the virgin shall conceive and bear a Son, and shall call His name Immanuel."  We see the fulfillment of this verse in the first chapter of Matthew, as an angel spoke to Joseph in a dream,
saying:
21 And she will bring forth a Son, and you shall call His name Jesus, for He will save His people from their sins."
22 So all this was done that it might be fulfilled which was spoken by the Lord through the prophet, saying:
23 "Behold, the virgin shall be with child, and bear a Son, and they shall call His name Immanuel,"which is translated, "God with us."

In our third reading, we see that the Bible accurately predicted where Jesus was to be born. Micah 5:2 says: "But you, Bethlehem Ephrathah, Though you are little among the thousands of Judah, Yet out of you shall come forth to Me The One to be Ruler in Israel, Whose goings forth are from of old, From everlasting."

So, Jesus would be born of a virgin - in Bethlehem. Now we come to the fourth reading of the Advent-ure, which is in Genesis 49:10.  Let's actually get a running start by beginning in verse 8:

8 "Judah, you are he whom your brothers shall praise; Your hand shall be on the neck of your enemies; Your father's children shall bow down before you.
9 Judah is a lion's whelp; From the prey, my son, you have gone up. He bows down, he lies down as a lion; And as a lion, who shall rouse him?
10 The scepter shall not depart from Judah, Nor a lawgiver from between his feet, Until Shiloh comes; And to Him shall be the obedience of the people.

So, we get a clear picture of the lineage of Jesus from the Old Testament - in fact, Jesus fulfilled over 300 prophecies written about Himself; with this provision, we can be certain that He is our Messiah. God's words are iron-clad.

Our lineage can tell us a lot about ourselves.  We can gain some insight into why we are like we are, how we came to be where we are, and even realize some aspects of our behavior that we can be proud of or not so proud of.  We can learn from our ancestry, and we can appreciate who God has made us to be and why we are here, how we are wired by Him for His glory.  And, when we encounter negative elements about our ancestors, we can seek to go in a different direction.  So, there's a lot to be said about our lineage.

There's a lot about lineage that is important in Great Britain, even heightened these days with the prospect of a royal wedding.  Ancestry plays a major role in the sustenance of the monarchy there. Prince Harry, the son of Prince Charles and the late Princess Diana, the grandson of Queen Elizabeth II, has announced his engagement to Meghan Markle, who is American, and, according to People magazine, her "mother is African-American and her father is Caucasian."

People also reported on her religious heritage.  An article states:

Although she attended a Catholic high school, she was not raised Catholic: Her father is an Episcopalian — which is essentially the Church of England in the United States — and her mother is a Protestant. Jason Knauf, Prince Harry’s Communications Secretary, confirmed that Meghan will be “baptized and confirmed” into the Church of England ahead of her wedding.

As perhaps you know, the Queen is recognized as the head of the Church of England.  Certainly, there is fascination about Markle's background - she is American, she has been married before, her parents are of different races, which, according to People, has exposed her to racism and discrimination.  And, she may be the product of a mixed religious background.

I think we do have to be careful to recognize that the Biblical picture of baptism is that sacrament is an outward demonstration of the inward act of accepting Christ as Savior.  Not surprisingly, the article does not relate this act to the practice of Biblical Christianity.

In the British system, lineage is important.  There are certain, iron-clad immutable principles in the practice of the palace.

In the plan of God, lineage is important, too.  And, God has established His throne on certain iron-clad principles and has appointed Jesus, His Son, born on earth in a certain way in a certain place of a certain tribe, to sacrifice for our sins and to sit at His right hand.

In the U.K., position is determined by birth.  In the Christian faith, position is determined by our identification with Jesus.  While our natural ancestry is important and can help to shape our personality and even our ideals, we also recognize we can have a new spiritual ancestry - while faith can be modeled by parents and relatives, ultimately, we have to decide for ourselves whether or not we will follow Christ in salvation. 

The ancestry of Jesus was pre-determined by God - it came to pass.  And, we can trust God to manifest a new spiritual ancestry in our hearts - we have come to be part of His family; we have been redeemed by His blood and adopted as children of God.  We know we can be born again if we meet the qualifications of believing in Him and confessing His Lordship, according to Romans 10.

It's more than a symbolic ritual or an attempt to embrace an outward demonstration of religious practice; no, we can have a new nature in Him and allow His characteristics to flow through our lives.  It's not a matter of what we can do to change or to "be better" somehow - it's based on our humility before Him, admitting we are sinners and cannot save ourselves.  We were born into sin, but we can be raised to new life by being born again.