Christmas

It is Christmas Day as I am writing this, so here are a few thoughts about Christmas. First of all, it isn't found in the Bible as a religious observance. Much is said about remembering the death of Jesus (Matt. 26, Mark 14, Luke 22, 1 Cor. 10 & 11) and His resurrection. But while His birth is detailed in the book of Luke, there isn't any sign of a birthday celebration in the early church. Nor do we know the time of Jesus' birth; it doesn't appear to have been in December, however, by the fact that shepherds were in the fields, which they likely wouldn't have been in December. The timing is all conjecture.

Still, the Bible makes quite an event of the birth of Christ. And it is a beautiful and true story of the birth of a king. You've heard the expression, "Wise men still seek Him." It is true; they sought Him at His birth and they seek Him now.

There has always been confusion over the person of Jesus, however. At the time of Jesus' birth, there were Jews who had been anticipating the birth of a king. But they were expecting an earthly king, one like King David from their history, one who would rule the earth, and overpower the oppressive Roman government. Even the governors were nervous when they heard a king had been born, thinking wrongly that Jesus would rule on earth. And Herod went so far as to order the death of all boy babies 2 years old and under, hoping to kill the king.

But Jesus said, "My kingdom is not of this earth." We know that it is a spiritual kingdom, and that He rules from heaven. And the prophet Daniel said in Daniel 2:44, "And in the days of these kings the God of heaven will set up a kingdom which shall never be destroyed; and the kingdom shall not be left to other people; it shall break in pieces and consume all these kingdoms, and it shall stand forever." The spiritual kingdom of Jesus will have no end.

What a great king is our Jesus! Let us be sure and worship Him!

Worship God

Our Father has always wanted to be worshipped. Throughout the Old Testament, God gave specific instructions to His people as to how He wanted to be worshipped. This started in the time of Adam and Eve and continues to this day. The ways have changed through the ages, but this was always at the direction of Him, not us; i.e., we are to do it His way.

In the New Testament, the pattern of worship changed. In Acts 20:7, we read, "Now on the first day of the week, when the disciples came together to break bread, Paul, ready to depart the next day, spoke to them and continued his message until midnight." Here we see the example of worship on Sunday by the church. We also learn that they were taking the Lord's Supper, communion, on Sunday.

When we realize that Jesus loved the church, died for the church, we must realize that we must be a part of the church. The book of Acts and the letters to follow are full of instruction regarding the church. Many of the New Testament books are written to the churches, not to specific individuals.

Another instruction in the NT regarding worship is that we come to worship Him. We often think about our worship as being good for us. We are edified, encouraged, built up, get to be with other Christians. But really, it is about worshipping Him; not about us. Jesus, giving us the Lord's Prayer in Matthew 6 said, "Our Father in heaven, hallowed be Your name. Your kingdom come, Your will be done...." This is about Him. Yes, the prayer addresses us as well, but it begins and ends with Him. We must focus our prayers, our worship on Him. If we give Him our worship, our devotion, it will be as James 4:8 says, "Draw near to God and He will draw near to you."

In conclusion, we must worship our Lord as a part of His church. We must follow the pattern given to us in the NT by worshipping on Sunday with other Christians, and we must (and surely we want to) partake of the Lord's Supper to commemorate His death.

Thanks for reading! Have a good week.

Jesus' Blood

Blood plays a major role in the Bible. As Jesus was hanging on the cross, He had blood flowing from the wounds of the nails. (As an aside, did you know that there is no reference in the Bible to nails being driven through the hands and feet of Jesus? The only way we know that nails were used is in the story of Thomas, sometimes called "doubting Thomas", where he said he would not believe unless he saw the scars on Jesus from the nails.) Jesus also had a bloody back where He had been whipped and scourged. His head was bloody from the crown of thorns. He had lost a lot of blood.

Looking back into history, we recall from Exodus 13 that God instructed His people to put blood on the doorposts so that when God brought a plague against the Egyptians, His people, the Israelites, would be passed over in the plague; hence, the Passover feast of the Jews. Blood had a major role in the people of God being saved.

Blood is significant to the Christian being saved today. We read in Romans 6, that just as Jesus died, we die through the act of baptism; and just as He was raised from the dead, we are raised in newness of life to be a new creature. Thus, we are saved through the death of Jesus.

The Bible even gives a look into the future in regards to blood. In Revelation 19, starting with verse 13, it describes a view into heaven, "He was clothed with a blood dipped in blood, and His name is called 'The Word of God.' And the armies in heaven, clothed in fine linen, white and clean, followed Him on white horses." This is His followers, all in white with no stains, all because Jesus has blood on Him, our blood. We are saved by the blood of Jesus.

Thanks for reading. See you next week.

Luke Warm

Jesus taught the importance of a real commitment to Him. He says in the letter to the Laoticean church, Revelation 3:15, 16, I know your works, that you are neither cold nor hot. I could wish you were cold or hot. So then, because you are lukewarm, and neither cold nor hot, I will vomit you out of My mouth." That is strong language, but it shows how strongly our Lord feels about being in the middle somewhere, half-hearted, half committed.

This reminds me of a cup of coffee. Most of us like our coffee hot. Some like it cold. But nobody wants lukewarm coffee; there just isn't anything more useless than that. If we hired a lawyer to represent our case, we would insist that he be firmly committed to our cause; nothing lukewarm.

Jesus, over and over again, taught the lesson that full commitment was all that would be accepted. Early in the sermon on the mount, Matt. 5, He said that we must let our light shine, not hide it under a basket. He taught that a tree must bear fruit; if it is fruitless, cut it down. In Luke 9, "If anyone desires to come after Me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross daily, and follow Me. " And when He called His apostles to come follow Him, He did not let them go take care of a lot of loose ends and chores. He wanted commitment right then.

We must make sure that our commitment and service to Him is not "lukewarm." He wants us; our hearts, our love, our whole self. Thanks for reading....and have a blessed week!