Meet the Nativity.

Thank you to David Robertson who introduced me to a series of videos produced by "Speak Life" - an organisation that I have known for many years. The videos are available on YouTube, but I plan to publish them here, on my blog, over the next few days. I just know that you will enjoy watching them - I trust that they will speak to every heart. Ignore the date mentioned at the end!!



For our free book offer, visit http://MeetTheNativity.com

Love came down at Christmas.

Human beings have many different ways of indicating their love for one another and, every now and then, someone comes up with a really original idea. I recall reading, many years ago, a newspaper report that told of a young lady who, on her birthday anniversary, received the largest parcel she had ever seen. The delivery men carried it, very carefully, into the house and, with mounting excitement, she began to open it. To her utter amazement - and great delight - the parcel suddenly burst open, and out jumped her boyfriend! He had decided that the best possible gift he could give her, in order to express his love for her, was himself.

For so many, the Christmas season has been wrapped up with ever-increasing commercialisation; with food, and fun, and festivities. However, if we remove the wrapping, we discover that is is, basically, Almighty God - the Creator and Sustainer of all that is - giving Himself in order to show His love for mankind. The angel's message to Joseph was that the Child to Whom Mary would give birth, would be called "Immanuel" - "God with us" (Mt.1:23); while my personal favourite "Christmas text" is found, not in the familiar birth narratives, but in that best-known of New Covenant verses, Jn.3:16 - "For God so loved the world that He gave His one and only Son, that whoever believes in Him shall not perish, but have eternal life."  And that "eternal life, by the way, is not some "pie in the sky when you die", but something you receive here and now!

"God is Love", John assures us in one of his letters (I Jn.4:16) and, in the Incarnation, He expressed Himself in Jesus, "His indescribable Gift" (II Cor.9:15). Christmas is the beginning of a love story that goes on to Resurrection Day, when the Babe in the manger becomes the Christ on the Cross, suffering and dying for our salvation - and rising from the dead, victorious over death, and hell, and the grave!

Most of those who read this blog will receive a number of gifts tomorrow, each of them an indication of the love of the giver. Be sure that, if you have never received it before, you accept the greatest Gift of all - Jesus, and the salvation He offers.

... and a Christmas thought: Wise men sought Jesus; they still do!

The Name of the Lord Jesus

As we have been reminded over recent days, when Joseph, the carpenter of Nazareth was informed by his betrothed, Mary, that she was already pregnant, he was prepared to quietly divorce her (betrothal was not marriage, but it was much more serious than our modern "engagement").  However, before he could do so, he had a dream in which an angel appeared to him, and said: "Joseph, son of David, do not fear to take Mary your wife, for that which is conceived in her is of the Holy Spirit; she will bear a son, and you shall call His name Jesus, for He will save His people from their sins." (Matt 1:20-21).  

In Biblical times, a person's name expressed the character or attributes desired for a child by his or her parents. Thus the angel's explanation of the name "JESUS," which means "YHWH saves" or simply "salvation": "He shall save His people from their sins."

 

There is only one Saviour! As Peter informed the crowd at the first Pentecost of the Christian era: "... there is no other name under heaven given among men by which we must be saved." (Acts 4:12); but His name does save!  John states, quite unequivocally, that: "... to all who received Him, who believed in His Name, He gave power to become children of God; who were born, not of blood nor of the will of the flesh nor of the will of man, but of God." (John 1:12-13).

 

Those who do receive Christ are thenceforth associated with His name - and therefore with His Person and work. First they are to be baptised "... in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit." (Matt 28:19). They are then to order their lives in a way that honours His name. "Let every one who names the Name of the Lord depart from iniquity." (II Tim 2:19).

He has given many gracious promises of answered prayer if we pray in His Name: "You did not choose Me, but I chose you and appointed you that you should go and bear fruit and that your fruit should abide; so that whatever you ask the Father in My Name, He may give it to you." (John 15:16-17).

The final use of "name" in the Bible stresses our eternal identification with His name.  In the glorious revelation given to John, he sees the new Jerusalem, and can write: "There shall no more be anything accursed, but the throne of God and of the Lamb shall be in it, and His servants shall worship Him; they shall see His face, and His Name shall be on their foreheads." (Rev 22:3-4)  as we are united with Him in the age to come. 

Of course, Matthew also makes reference to another Name of the Lord Jesus -  "Emmanuel" which means "God with us".  If He is not with you, then you are not His; if you are not His, then you will not be in that new Jerusalem.   He has come that He might save you from your sins but, like the gifts you may have been offered just a couple pf days ago, His gift of eternal salvation may be accepted - or rejected.  It is a gift of inestimable worth.  Receive it now - and know His presence with you for the remainder of your mortal life; and then throughout eternity.

Puzzle time!

It's a quiet Sunday afternoon, here in the static (mobil-home) near to Bayas, in the Gironde Department of France.  The process of purchasing a permanent home closer to Bergerac has commenced and, by the summer, we hope to be given the keys, and to be able to attend to a few jobs that will be more easily completed if we are not in full residence!

With only about eighteen days to go before the UK General Election - probably the closest one in generations, if the polls are anywhere close to the truth - and with the promise of at least one more post on that subject, I thought that it was time for some light relief with one of my, now famous (!!), quizzes!  This one has to do with celestial beings.  I wonder how much you know!   The correct solution will be posted in a few days!

1.  Heavenly creatures, having four faces, four wings, hands like a man, and wheels full of eyes., are called .......?

2.  Isaiah saw some other celestial beings.  "... each one had six wings; with two he covered his face; with two he covered his feet; and with two he did fly." and they cried "Holy! Holy! Holy! is YHWH Sabaoth (the LORD of Hosts)."  They were .......?

3.  Satan's name, before he fell into sin was ......?

4.  In a dream, Jacob saw some angels of God who were ascending and descending a ......?

5.  After the angel of the LORD announced the coming birth of Samson, he ascended to heaven in the ...... of an altar.  What is the missing word?

6.  The name of the heanenly being who told Mary that she would give birth to Jesus was ......?

7.  A donkey saw a threatening angel, and saved a prophet from death by its actions.  What was the name of the prophet?

8.  The angel who strove with the devil over the body of Moses was named .......?

9.   Disciples of Jesus will, one day judge which celestial beings?

10. Angels are more powerful than humans.  True/False? 

Saviour

In my personal devotions, I have just started to read through the Gospel according to Luke.   This is, of course, not the first time that I have read through this book, penned by a Gentile medical doctor, writing as one who has carefully researched his material, for the immediate benefit of someone named "Theophilus"(which may be the name of a specific individual but which may also, according to a translation of the Greek, be a general 'title' - "lover of God"), all under the inspiration of God the Holy Spirit.  However, as so often happens when one reads the Living Word of the Living God, a word; a phrase; a sentence; jumps out in a way that had not been noticed on any previous occasion!

This morning, my allotted passage was Luke 1:39-80, and the little phrase that stood out was at the beginning of the newly-pregnant Mary's song of praise when she visited her older relative, Elizabeth - herself miraculously pregnant with the child who would be known as John the Baptiser.  That song is commonly referred to as "The Magnificat" (from the Latin translation), and the first sentence commences: "My soul magnifies the Lord, and my spirit rejoices in God my Saviour, ..." (Luke 1:46-47).

Saviour!  This is a wonderful title for God.  Mary's words are a reminder that He is a personal Saviour.  He is the Saviour of all who accept that they are sinners deserving nothing but His wrath, and judgement, and punishment; who recognise that there is nothing that they can ever do about that; but who also accept the sacrifice of the Lord Jesus, as he paid the price for their sin.

Of course, He is also "... the Saviour of the world." (John 4:42).  However, this is not to suggest that all will be saved!   What it shows is that His work on the cross is sufficient for all - but it is only efficient for those who believe.

There are many, even today, who are willing to accept that Jesus of Nazareth was a good Teacher - and He was.  There are many who believe that if we all lived by His teaching, the world would be a much better place - and it would.  The Bible teaches, clearly, that He was Almighty God, having taken on human flesh, that He might save us from the penalty, the power and, ultimately, the presence, of sin.  This is teaching that is "... sure and worthy of full acceptance, that Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners." (I Tim 1:15).

Be sure that you know Him as your personal Saviour, and Lord, and be able to echo the words of Mary: "My soul magnifies the Lord, and my spirit rejoices in God my Saviour, ..."    It will be for your good, and to His eternal glory.

One week to go!

Yes!  This time, next week, will be Christmas day.   Only six more shopping days - if one uses Sunday!  For some, it is a time of  unwanted pressure and anxiety: frantic last-minute shopping when a gift arrives from a relative who had been forgotten!  For others, it’s sweet sentimentality: a time for the children; Mary, and Joseph, and the infant in a manger.   For yet others, it’s no more than a mid-winter festival that brings an opportunity for an extra party, or two.

Oddly enough, the verse from the Bible that best sums up Christmas – from a Christian perspective – is one of the best-known in the New Testament.  It’s John 3:16 – “For God loved the world so much that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have eternal life.”  That verse speaks to me of three simple things.

There’s a fact – “God loved the world ...”  Not just the nice people; the good people; the charming people; but the world – the unlovable and the unlovely; those who are loved by no-one else; those who never give Him a thought; those who rebel against Him, and use His name as nothing other than a profanity.  Love, according to the Christian Gospel, is the very mainspring of the Being of God.  “God is love”, writes the early apostle, John. (I Jn.4:8,16).  And part of the wonder of this is that it’s not a scientific theory to be changed in the light of fresh evidence or experimentation; it’s not a legal speculation to be argued over in a judicial court; it’s not some popular idea to be maintained only while it’s fashionable.  It’s a Biblical fact - “God so loved the world”.   And it’s the basic message behind this Christmas season.        

But the love, even of Almighty God, if it were merely passive and un-communicated, would not be sufficient.  And so, after directing our thoughts towards the fact, this well-known verse goes on to speak of an act.  “God loved the world so much – that He gave His only-begotten Son…”    And here is the love of God being put into action.  God so loved, that He gave.   And He gave sacrificially – even giving Himself in the Person of the only-begotten Son.

Christmas is traditionally the time for giving.  And isn’t it wonderful to remember that, at the very first Christmas, the greatest and best Gift that could ever be, was given?  God gave His own Son; putting His love into action; giving the very best that He had; giving all that He had.

A fact; an act; and a pact.  That’s the third thing of which that well-known verse speaks.  “... that everyone who has faith in Him should not perish but have eternal life.” God’s love; God’s Gift; are not mere handouts.   Free they may be – but the Christian faith teaches that they are only so to those who are willing to enter into a living relationship with that same God through the Son; only to those who have faith in Him; who put their trust in Him; who receive Him with humble and thankful hearts. 

And that’s the true heart of CHRISTmas!

                                                     

                                                       

Emmanuel

Only four more sleeps, as we used to say to twin boys whom we fostered for about four years.  Four more sleeps, and when we awake, it will be Christmas Day!  On Sunday, in Wishaw Baptist Church, we were reminded of those words from Matthew's account of the Gospel - words spoken to Joseph in a dream, as he considered quietly breaking his betrothal with Mary, who was now pregnant: "... an angel of the Lord appeared to him in a dream, saying, 'Joseph, son of David, do not fear to take Mary your wife, for that which is conceived in her is of the Holy Spirit; she will bear a Son, and you shall call His Name Jesus, for He will save His people from their sins.'  All this took place to fulfil what the Lord had spoken by the prophet: 'Behold, a virgin shall conceive and bear a Son, and His Name shall be called Emmanuel' (which means, God with us)." (Matt 1:20-24).  We looked, specifically, at the Name "Emmanuel", and its given meaning of "God with us".

The clip below shares some words from the great Baptist preacher of an earlier era, Charles Haddon Spurgeon - but in a manner which Spurgeon would not even have imagined!