Daydreaming of Bethlehem: Little Did They Know (Dec10)

The African boy listened very attentively as the missionary explained why it is that Christians give presents to each other at Christmas time. "The gift is our expression of our joy over the birth of Jesus, and also our friendship with each other," she said. When Christmas day came, the young boy brought her a beautiful seashell. "Where did you ever find such an amazing shell?" she asked, as she stroked the gift.

The boy told her that the only place where they could be found was several miles away. "Why...why, it's just absolutely gorgeous—it is wonderful—but you shouldn't have traveled all that way to just get a gift for me." The boy's eyes brightened, and he answered, "Long walk part of the gift!" It is true! As with any gift, it is much more special when some thought has gone into it. Whether it is a homemade gift, or just something that truly shows we care about people, the long walk is part of the gift!

With Thanksgiving Day just behind us, and with Christmas coming up quickly—and all of the travel that is sometimes involved in celebrating these times with families and friends—we are reminded again that the trips themselves are important, too. Remember—in the Christian life, the real focus is not entirely upon the ultimate destination, namely Heaven, but also upon how we get there. Yes, each obedient step in holiness and purity before God is part of the gift! I wonder what it was like for Joseph and Mary, as they traveled just prior to that very first Christmas. It seemed to be all laid out for them. Luke 2: 1-3 tells us, "And it came to pass in those days, that there went out a decree from Caesar Augustus, that all the world should be taxed. (And this taxing was first made when Cyrenius was governor of Syria.) And all went to be taxed, everyone into his own city." On the surface, it appears that the emperor planned this census and taxation, but, no, it was all engineered by God—He had a greater plan in mind!

So what did Joseph, and his very pregnant wife, do about it? The next verse tells us—"And Joseph also went up from Galilee, out of the city of Nazareth, into Judea, unto the city of David, which is called Bethlehem; (because he was of the house and lineage of David:)" Hey, look at that! I typed that exactly as I found it in the KJV Bible, and it ends with one of those sideways "smiley face" things that people use in texting and emailing to express joy! Imagine that—Joy! I don't know that we would have guessed that—after all, the 90 mile trip would be a very difficult time for both of them, even if Mary did ride on a donkey. No donkey is mentioned, but Jesus did conclude His ministry by riding a donkey on His way into Jerusalem—so, why not begin it that way, too. Regardless, the long journey would give plenty of time to ponder and even daydream about what this whole thing would mean for everyone. The upcoming event in Bethlehem, would be the greatest gift ever, and their long walk would be a very big part of it!

The days were hot and the nights were cold, but they kept going. About 30 miles into it, they passed by Jacob's well, quite near the Samaritan village of Sychar, which, in the Hebrew means to "imbibe or drink." Oh, how the memories of their own history must of flooded in. Jacob had been one of the patriarchs, along with their own forefather, Judah. Genesis reveals that when Jacob, also known as Israel, was about to die, he blessed his children. When speaking to his young son Joseph, he went on to say, "Moreover I have given to thee one portion above thy brethren, which I took out of the hand of the Amorite with my sword and with my bow." (48:22) That plot of land contained the well. Little did they know, that their own son, Jesus, would meet a woman there, changing her life with His "living water," and saving her whole village. (John 4) A day or two later, off to the left, they would see yet another historical landmark—Jericho. Though it had been rebuilt, it was still enough to let the memories wash over them. Joshua—or Yeshua, the Hebrew word for "Jesus"—was called by God to cross the Jordan River and take the city of Jericho, but not in the traditional manner. No, these walls would come down by obedience—marching in silence, and then shouting and trumpet's blowing—"So the people shouted when the priests blew with the trumpets: and it came to pass, when the people heard the sound of the trumpet, and the people shouted with a great shout, that the wall fell down flat...and they took the city." (Joshua 6:20)

Now, a lot of smart and sophisticated people today don't believe that it happened like that, but Joseph and Mary did. Little did even they know, that much later, in the 1950's, famed archaeologist, John Garstang, would discover that the city was indeed burned with fire around 1400 BC. In more recent years, Lorenzo Nigro and Nico Marchetti would find the stone revetment wall at the base of the excavated site. Part of the mud-brick wall built on top of it was still visible and intact; amazing evidence of collapsed walls, just like the Bible said. Hebrews 11:30 tells us, "By faith the walls of Jericho fell down...", and by faith Joseph, Mary, and all of us can—and must—believe it! Little did those two travelers know it, but their own son, Jesus, would pass right through there on the way to the Cross, changing the lives of little Zacchaeus, blind Bartimaeus, and a host of others.

As soon as the sun began to set, they rounded the bend and closed in on Bethlehem. Off to their right, they passed the farm fields that had once belonged to their ancestor Boaz. With every clomp of the donkey's hoof, their daydream of those days unfolded. A great famine had come, and Elimelech took his wife, Naomi, and their two sons off to Moab. The men of the family died while there, but Naomi and her daughter-in-law, Ruth, returned to Bethlehem. To make a long story short, Boaz allows Ruth to glean in his fields, and in the end, he becomes her "kinsman-redeemer," purchasing back the family lands and name. They get married, have a child, "And the women...gave it a name, saying, There is a son born to Naomi (the boy's grandmother); and they called his name Obed: he is the father of Jesse, the father of David." (Ruth 4:17) In other words, Ruth and Boaz would be the great-grandparents of King David—the very lineage of Joseph and Mary. Little did they know, their little boy would become the kinsman-redeemer for all of us, purchasing our salvation!

Just a few hundred yards down the road, they came to the historic battlefield where the giant champion of the Philistines was defeated—utterly defeated by the teenager David. The story was vivid, as it took shape in yet another daydream. David, in explaining his willingness to fight the giant Goliath, told King Saul, "The Lord that delivered me out of the paw of the lion, and out of the paw of the bear, He will deliver me out of the hand of this Philistine. And Saul said unto David, Go, and the Lord be with you." (1 Sam. 17:37) Shunning the use of the king's armor, David gathered five smooth stones for his sling shot, and went out to meet the giant, saying to him, "Thou comest to me with a sword, and with a spear, and with a shield: but I come to thee in the name of the Lord of hosts, the God of the armies of Israel, whom thou hast defied...that all the earth may know that there is a God in Israel." (vss. 45-46b) One stone, and down came that Philistine—"the battle is the Lord's." (vs. 47b) Little did Joseph and Mary know—their son, Jesus, would one day conquer death by rolling away one, single, solitary stone!

The little hamlet of Bethlehem was right up ahead, but before the two travelers entered through the gate, they spotted the town well. Their daydreaming of Bethlehem began with a well, and now it would end with one—the well of Bethlehem! Many years before, when the garrison of the Philistines was located in Bethlehem, David and his "mighty men" were hiding nearby. 2 Samuel 23:15-16 records it—"And David longed, and said, Oh that one would give me drink of the water of the well of Bethlehem, which is by the gate! And the three mighty men brake through the host of the Philistines, and drew water out of the well of Bethlehem, that was by the gate, and took it, and brought it to David: nevertheless he would not drink thereof, but poured it out unto the Lord." Now the casual observer would have been appalled—what total disregard for the men's feelings and service! But, actually, it is just the opposite—out of utter respect for his courageous men, he poured out the water as a "drink offering," so to speak, unto the Lord. Yes, unto the Lord! What was about to happen in a stable was unto the Lord! Every step of that very long walk was unto the Lord—from Jacob's well and Jesus' living water to walls and giants falling flat on the ground to the ultimate in kinsman-redeemers—all of it, unto the Lord! Little did they know that many of the events in their son's life would later remind them of the prophetic markers they saw as they walked to Bethlehem. Yes, the long walk is part of the gift!

Through the Cracks: Church in Chains or Praise in Prison? (Nov10)

In 2002, the communist authorities seized a rural church in Laos and converted it into a jail. In order to instill fear and anxiety in the local Christians, six church leaders, including the pastor and his wife, were imprisoned there in stocks for several days. When Pastor Boonmy, from a nearby town, heard about this "church in chains," he decided to go there to encourage the captives, even though he knew that the police had already executed several pastors.

On Sunday morning, the pastor drove up with twenty of his congregation standing in the back of the truck. As the group approached the "jail" on foot, about half of them became frightened and turned back, while the rest drew closer to the armed guards. Knowing their brothers and sisters in Christ were suffering in stocks, they walked past the guards, stooped to get under the pole building, and began to sing. Yes, they were afraid, but they kept on singing through the large cracks in the rough wooden floor, and the imprisoned Christians were greatly encouraged and uplifted in their faith.

One of the policemen sent an elder under the building to stop the singing, but Pastor Boonmy said, "No, I can't stop that—praising and worshiping the Lord—I can't stop that!" About 15 minutes later, the police walked over, brandishing AK-47s, and ordered the church group to come out from under the building. Having done so, Pastor Boonmy yelled up to the others, "Don't worry, don't be afraid—the Lord knows all things, and He will help all of us." Praise God—that wasn't even the end of the story! You see, about a week later, the imprisoned Christians were set free. And due to international pressure, the church building was even returned to the Christians in 2006. Amazing! Our God is a great God, and greatly to be praised! Recently, I saw a church sign that said it all—"We can't praise Jesus too much!"

When Paul called the Colossian church to put off sin and put on love, peace, and truth, in part, he told them this—"Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly in all wisdom; teaching and admonishing one another in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing with grace in your hearts to the Lord. And whatsoever ye do in word or deed, do all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God and the Father by Him." (3:16-17) We find a similar thought, stressing the Spirit-given joy, as Paul speaks to the Ephesians. I really like the way Arthur Way puts it in his translation—"Speak out your thoughts to each other in psalms, in hymns, in chants inspired by the Holy Spirit. Let the sound of your singing, let the music of your hearts go up to the Lord in unceasing thanksgiving for all that He sends you, thanksgiving offered in the name of our Lord, of Jesus the Messiah, to God the Father." (5:19-20) Yes, unceasing! We must understand in this that no matter what happens, the indwelling Spirit of God—if truly indwelling—will fill us with a praising and thankful heart. When Paul wrote his first letter to the church in Thessalonica, he said, "Rejoice evermore. Pray without ceasing. In everything give thanks: for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus concerning you. Quench not the Spirit..." (5:16-19) Notice the "in everything"—if we don't, we will be quenching the Holy Spirit within us.

Perhaps I can cap this thought off with what the church in Corinth heard, and once again, I truly like Way's translation—"I will by all means pray in the Spirit's rapture...I will sing in the Spirit's rapture...Praising God in the Spirit's rapture." (1 Cor. 14:15,16) Now, don't misunderstand—Arthur Way is not referring to the event of rapture, the glorious catching up of the true, overcoming Church coming soon in these last of days, and described so aptly in First Thessalonians 4. No, he is speaking of such a glorious exposure to the Spirit and His ways, that our hearts and lives are filled with indescribable joy and praise—no matter what goes on around us. Herbert Lockyer once put it this way—"The history of the Church proves that whenever there was a mighty demonstration of the Spirit's power in revival, there was always a glorious outburst of praise. An evident sign that we are living in harmony with the mind and will of the Holy Spirit, is the way in which He can make us joyful—even when it seems there is nothing to sing about." Praise God for the Spirit of Praise!

Just read the Book of Psalms; so many of them were written in the wake of extreme hardship and catastrophic disappointment, and yet, most praise God right in the middle of it all. One of those Psalms, namely the 18^th , is also found within the context of the circumstances in which King David found himself. In 2 Samuel 22:2-4, we read this—"...The Lord is my rock, and my fortress, and my deliverer. The God of my rock; in Him will I trust: He is my shield, and the horn of my salvation, my high tower, and my refuge, my saviour; thou savest me from violence. I will call on the Lord, who is worthy to be praised: so shall I be saved from mine enemies." In the next chapter, just prior to his dying words, this embattled king is described as, "the sweet psalmist of Israel." Centuries later, his own descendant—the King of kings and the Lord of lords, also went to his dying moments on the Cross of Calvary with the sweet words of the Psalms on His lips, inspired by the Holy Spirit—the Spirit of Praise! (Mark 14:26)

I suppose if anybody in the Bible could understand this praise like David and Jesus Himself, it would be Paul and Silas. Acts 16 lays it all out for us—"And the multitude rose up together against them: and the magistrates rent off their clothes, and commanded to beat them. And when they had laid many stripes upon them, they cast them into prison, charging the jailer to keep them safely: who, having received such a charge, thrust them into the inner prison, and made their feet fast in the stocks." (vss. 22-24)
So, how would Paul and Silas react to such horrendous circumstances? Would they be a "church in chains," or would they "praise in prison?" The story continues—"And at midnight Paul and Silas prayed, and sang praises unto God,"(vs. 25a)—"prayer and singing in the Spirit's rapture." And, Praise God—"the prisoners heard them," perhaps right through the cracks—only this time, the praying and singing was coming from the ones in the stocks. And as soon as they released that glorious praise, "...there was a great earthquake, so that the foundations of the prison were shaken: and immediately all the doors were opened, and everyone's bands were loosed." (vs. 26)

All glory be to God Almighty! The guard, being awakened by the whole thing, proceeded to try to kill himself, thinking the prisoners had escaped. But Paul called out to him and assured him that all were still there. The guard, "called for a light, and sprang in, and came trembling, and fell down before Paul and Silas, and said...Sirs, what must I do to be saved? And they said, Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, and thou shalt be saved, and thy house." (vss. 29-31) Belief! Once captive to sin, but now free to believe! True, saving belief—this is the amazing result of surrendering to the Spirit of Praise. The guard and his family were miraculously saved—with Jesus, no one just falls through the cracks. No matter your problem; no matter your circumstance—praise the Lord—for you can not praise Jesus too much!

Helen Berhane, in her book, "Song of the Nightingale," recounts her two year long captivity, under horrendous conditions, in her native Eritrea. Her crime? Loving Jesus and sharing her faith in Him. For this, she was horribly tortured, but even then, she would not deny Him. She says, "I want to give a message to those of you who are Christians and live in the free world: You must not take your freedom for granted...If I can sing in prison, imagine what you can do for God's glory in your freedom." Certainly, we, in the United States, have many more religious freedoms than many other countries, but don't be blind to the fact that those freedoms are diminishing quickly. More and more, the pressure will be on to give praise and glory to many other things than Jesus, and simply call it "tolerance." The late Richard Wurmbrand, having spent years in communist jails for his faith, once wrote, "Other prisoners and even the guards very often wondered at how happy Christians could be under the most terrible circumstances. We could not be prevented from singing, although we were beaten for this. I imagine that nightingales, too would sing, even if they knew that after finishing, they would be killed for it." Yes, it is indeed time for the true church of Jesus Christ to sing—to sing right through the cracks. All praise and thanksgiving are certainly due to the Spirit of Praise, the Holy Spirit. Let captivity be in the past—be free to believe! So which is it going to be? A church shackled by the chains of conformity to the world, OR, glorious praise right in the midst of the prison? Good question!

A Short Story About Self-Explanatory Things (Oct10)

Recently, I was thinking of things that are self-explanatory. By definition, that shouldn't take too long, right? Surely you have heard of "one liners," haven't you? By definition, they are pretty self-explanatory, as well. For example, what do you call a boomerang that doesn't work? A stick! Or how about this—why are there so many Smiths in the phone book? They all have phones! Or this—how do crazy people go through the forest? They take the psycho path. Or this one—what do you call cheese that isn't yours? Nacho Cheese. Well, that one may take a little explanation! "Not-chor" cheese—get it?

Oh, I can't let this one go by—what has four legs, is big, green, fuzzy, and if it fell out of a tree, it would kill you? A pool table! OK, maybe I should have let it go, but I think they tell a story—a very short story—one that is self-explanatory. I have often thought of writing a book or two, but much of my time is consumed in writing these messages—short stories, of sorts—almost 200 of them. Recently, I ran across a book entitled, "The Art of Story Writing," with a chapter devoted to the short story. The author, Nathaniel C. Fowler, Jr., writes, "It has been said that it is more difficult to write a short story than it is to compose a novel. The short story, to be successful, must cover its ground, not only by the words it contains, but by inference. It must pass quickly from one scene to another; the dialogue must be bright and snappy; and, as in a play, the author must make his characters self-explanatory to a large extent."

Praise God—in the short story that follows, we will see how it works. First, the subject—the Holy Spirit, and the Scripture's reference to His "eternalness." Hebrews 9, in discussing the inadequacies of the old sacrifices to pay the price for sin, declares, "How much more shall the blood of Christ, who through the eternal Spirit offered Himself without spot to God, purge your conscience from dead works to serve the living God?" Rotherham, the theologian, translates this phrase, "Who through an age-abiding Spirit." Concerning this, Herbert Lockyer, once wrote, "In this arresting title, the eternalness of the Spirit's being is emphasized, who never was any other than He is, and cannot be any other than He is, nor who can ever be any other than He was. It was through, or by, the grace and strength of the Eternal Spirit that Christ, the Eternal Son, offered Himself up to the Eternal God as a ransom for sin." Yes, the Holy Spirit is surely the active Agent and Witness at Calvary, taking away your sin and mine!

This thought quickly led me to the next—the "omniness" of God. In the dictionary, there are over 60 compound words that begin with "omni," referring to "all." Many of them are pretty self-explanatory—omniactive, omniproductive, and omnipatient, just to name a few. There are three, however, that describe the Holy Spirit very well. Mr. Fowler gives a warning with regards to this issue—"Many short story writers make a great mistake in attempting to handle too many characters and situations. It is better to have not more than two or three prominent characters..." And that is what we have here, namely three. The first being the description "Omnipresent,"—the ability to be present everywhere at the same time. One way in which this is true is in how He dwells within His people. If He is actually residing in His born-again Christians—and He is—then, He is everywhere they are, and that is all over the world—at the same time!

Praise God—it is even grander than that! David, in Psalm 139, declares, "Whither shall I go from thy spirit? Or whither shall I flee from thy presence? If I ascend up into heaven, thou art there: if I make my bed in hell, behold, thou art there. If I take the wings of the morning, and dwell in the uttermost parts of the sea; even there shall thy hand lead me, and thy right hand shall hold me." (vss.7-10) The child of God can never move beyond His care, guidance, and supporting strength. Glory to God—He is with us in all situations—in whatever the present and the future brings. As we face troublesome times, this is often a huge comfort, but there is a flip-side to every coin. Sometimes we think we can get by with sin if we just do it in secret. But remember—God sees all; He is omnipresent. Mr Fowler also said, "The characters should show diverse characteristics. There should be no two of them alike—each one should appear to be sort of a specialist of his kind." And that we see as we move to our second focus—the Holy Spirit is also omniscient. Omni is "all," and science is "knowledge." Therefore, omniscience is all-knowing, all-wise, and implies a knowledge of things past, present, and future.

Yes, everything that pertains to God, Christ, Satan, man, heaven, earth, and even Hell, is known to the Spirit, for He has searched all things. Paul tells us, "...as it is written, Eye hath not seen, nor ear heard, neither have entered into the heart of man, the things which God hath prepared for them that love Him. But God hath revealed them unto us by His Spirit: for the Spirit searcheth all things, yea, the deep things of God." (1 Cor.2:9,10) Paul goes on to say that only God can know the things of God. In our own strength, we can't really understand the things of eternity—many think they can, but not really! Since it is the Spirit that alone can, do you see why the Church today is in such need to be filled and baptized with the Holy Spirit? In many places, He has been replaced by entertainment, hype, and worldly ways, and the people don't even seem to care!

Part and parcel with omniscience is the fore-knowledge of God—the ability to know the end from the beginning, and the knowledge of things before they come to pass. I must admit that I got pretty hung up on this aspect of omniscience and fore-knowledge back when I was in seminary. I couldn't, in my own mind, reconcile the free-will we obviously have, and the sovereignty of God. I bought into a very popular line of thought at the time—Process Theology. It took away the problem by bringing down God to the level of my Spirit-less professors and myself. It basically said that God, too, was in process, only able to know the past as past and the future as future. That is, it is not until the future becomes present that God can know it as such—prior to that, He only knows the possibilities, not what is actually going to happen. Baloney! If that were true, then King David, inspired by the Holy Spirit, couldn't have prophesied some 1,000 years before Judas lived that the latter would be the one to betray Jesus. (Acts1:16). And don't forget how Agabus, "signified by the Spirit that there should be a great dearth throughout all the world: which came to pass in the days of Claudius Caesar." (Acts 11:28) Praise God—His Spirit is NOT in process; He is the all-knowing, ever-knowing God of the Universe—yes, truly omniscient!

Now, having before us these two "very diverse char-acteristics," as Mr. Fowler suggests, we turn briefly to the third. The Holy Spirit is also omnipotent! From the first reference to Him in the Bible, to the very last—He is pictured as the embodiment of power and the personification of omnipotence—indeed, totally powerful. Remember? In Genesis 1:2, "The Spirit of God moved upon the face of the waters," totally changing chaos into order. And at the end of the Bible, Revelation 22:17 tells us, "And the Spirit and the bride say, Come. And let him that heareth say, Come. And let him that is athirst come. And whosoever will, let him take the water of life freely." All-powerful, from one end to the other! The unlimited power that God has is pretty self-explanatory, making itself obvious in virtually every story in the Bible. When Mary was informed about her upcoming pregnancy, she was told that the Holy Spirit was the "power of the Highest," and that He was going to overshadow her, influencing her with unlimited divine favor. The result of which was Jesus, the Messiah. Later, during the ministry of Jesus, He was ridiculed and defamed by the religious leaders of the day. The source of His miracles was pretty self-explanatory, but they still accused Him of doing everything by the power of Satan, a.k.a. Beelzebub.

While they were accusing Him of the epitome of blasphemy, it was actually just the opposite—they were the blasphemers. Jesus explained, even though it was pretty self-explanatory—"...if I by Beelzebub cast out devils, by whom do your sons cast them out? Therefore shall they be your judges. But if I with the finger of God cast out devils, no doubt the Kingdom of God is come upon you." (Luke 11:19-20) Yes, the finger of God! In the Greek, the word, "finger," is "daktulos," referring to a literal finger. It comes from the number ten, obviously insinuating the fullness of both hands—all ten fingers reaching out to accomplish the will of the Spirit in a very powerful way. Always present, fully knowing, and totally powerful—why do we so often let other people and other things take control? What should we do about it? Well, that's pretty self-explanatory, isn't it???

The Most Dangerous Book in the World (Sep10)

It is currently banned or restricted in 52 countries all over this globe. Countless numbers of them have been destroyed, and many school districts in this so-called Christian nation have discouraged or forbidden it to be brought into the classroom. Teachers have even been fired for doing so. So what horrible document are we talking about here? Is it child pornography, or song lyrics that promote suicide, or something that is obviously just as dangerous?

No, it's the Holy Bible! Yes, the Bible has been called the most dangerous book in the world because it makes the human race face up to their failings and depravity. It confronts sin, and a lot of people don't like that today. Back in the 18^th Century, well-known atheist and French author, Voltaire, once held up a copy of the Bible, and boldly shouted, "In 100 years, this book will be forgotten and eliminated." Quite ironically, shortly after his passing, the Geneva Bible Society bought Voltaire's house, and used it for a print shop. To print what? You guessed it, Bibles!

You might think that a book that millions have died for, would have a more provocative title, like, "The Ultimate Q and A Book," or, perhaps, "How Not to Go To Hell," or even, "Jesus is Definitely Coming Back, and He is Not Very Thrilled." But, the fact is, it's the Holy Bible! You see, that is why it is so dangerous—if the Bible is what it claims to be, namely the very Word of God, then it claims authority over everyone in the universe. Perhaps I can liken it to a police officer who pulls up behind you with flashing lights—he is claiming authority over you. If you pull over, you have agreed to that rule, but if you don't, you have rejected the power of the officer's claims—and you will eventually get caught anyway, and even arrested! Many people will—in the end—have their self-satisfying view of life "pulled over" by the truth of their Maker. Maybe the Holy Bible should come with a warning label—"Danger...This Book contains the explicit and infallible words of God, and the way you respond to them will determine your eternal destiny!" Remember Voltaire? He said that those words would be forgotten and eliminated—maybe he was right! Literally, no, but I think there are many ways to forget and to eliminate something.

Yes, many ways! Through the years, I have run in to many people who say they believe every word of the Bible, but when asked about it, they don't have any idea what it says! Others say it's boring, and that becomes their "ironclad" excuse. Still others assert they hang on every word, when, in fact, they twist its meaning to suit them. They say they are being obedient to God's Word, but they often take it out of context to meet their own self-satisfying view of life. Yes, and still others say they can't understand it. I think the problem is not so much what they don't understand, but what they do understand only too well—God is the ultimate authority and will judge all of these responses Even when we respond rightly, and surrender to the Lordship of Jesus, that is still judgment as we die to self. I heard of one church's Sunday School that writes in the flyleaf of all the Bibles presented to its students, "Either this Book will keep you from sin, or sin will keep you from this Book." I think the fear of the Lord is really the key—is God God or not? Actually, there will be no real understanding without the power of the Highest—the Holy Spirit, who actually inspired the Word of God.

I would like to take a look at this from the vantage point of the relationship between the 2^nd and 3^rd Persons of the Trinity—the Son and the Holy Spirit. Rene' Pache, one of Europe's outstanding evangelical scholars, in his work, "The Person and Work of the Holy Spirit," says of the fellowship between Jesus Christ and the Spirit, "The unity between the Son and the Spirit is marked by the fact that the attitude adopted by men toward one determines that which they maintain toward the other. He who rejects Christ, resists the Holy Spirit; he who yields entirely to Jesus, is used
by the Holy Spirit." In order to get the drift of this, we must first delve into a title that is given to the Holy Spirit—the Spirit of Jesus. You see, the name, "Jesus," used almost 600 times in the gospels alone, is referring specifically to the human being born of Mary. She had been told, "The Holy Ghost shall come upon thee, and the power of the Highest shall overshadow thee: therefore also that holy thing which shall be born of thee shall be called the Son of God." (Luke 1:35) The Holy Spirit will produce something holy within all who let Him overshadow and dwell within. So, from conception, Jesus had the Spirit, and that was the Spirit of Jesus!

Secondly, the Spirit is called the Spirit of Christ. In Paul's discussion of how the Spirit delivers us from the power of sin, he says—by the inspiration of the Holy Spirit—"So then they that are in the flesh cannot please God. But ye are not in the flesh, but in the Spirit, if so be that the Spirit of God dwell in you. Now if any man have not the Spirit of Christ, he is not of His." (Romans 8:8,9) This "Christ" is the preexistent 2^nd Person of the Trinity, who came down to this earth to fill the man Jesus, hence, the Spirit of Christ. And, thirdly, the Spirit is called the Spirit of Jesus Christ, putting the human and the divine together. This double title is only used 6 times in the gospels, while it was a favorite of Paul's, being used 66 times. Peter and John employed it 21 times. In other words, the Holy Spirit is inextricable connected to Jesus, so, be very careful what you do with either!

This, I think is amazingly seen in yet another title that shows the relationship between the 2^nd and 3^rd Persons of the Godhead—that of Witness. When challenged by the Jewish authorities, Peter and the other apostles declared, "We ought to obey God rather than men. The God of our fathers raised up Jesus, whom ye slew and hanged on a tree. Him hath God exalted with His right hand to be a Prince and a Saviour, for to give repentance to Israel, and forgiveness of sins. And we are His witnesses of these things; and so is also the Holy Ghost, whom God hath given to them that obey Him." (Acts 5:29b-32) They were testifying to seeing Jesus crucified and killed, and then they made the outstanding claim that the Holy Spirit was also an eye-witness. Since all the apostles are gone, the Spirit remains the only living Witness in the world to all that Jesus Christ suffered for our redemption. In His darkest hour, even though He felt forsaken, he was comforted by the fact that the Spirit of God was right there—with Him and in Him! Dr. Elder Cumming, in his volume, "Through the Eternal Spirit," states this clearly, "There were human witnesses of the outward tragedy, but the Spirit, who had been the lifelong companion of Jesus Christ's deepest and most secret thoughts, was the One Solitary Witness of the infinite and eternal value which enforced and informed the sacrifice." Quite simply, because He was there, the Spirit can illuminate all that the Cross means—a totally changed heart and life, stemming from a complete willingness to come into the order of God.

Speaking of "comfort," Jesus spoke of it, too—"If ye love me, keep my commandments. And I will pray the Father, and He shall give you another Comforter, that He may abide with you for ever; Even the Spirit of truth; whom the world cannot receive, because it seeth Him not, neither knoweth Him: but ye know Him; for He dwelleth with you, and shall be in you." (John 14:15-17) This "Comforter," in the Greek, is "parakaletos," specifically referring to one who invites us to holiness, exhorts us away from sin, and even consoles and helps us, interceding all of the way—no matter the situation. Obviously, this comforting does not condone sin, and, Praise God—it never will!

It is significant to remember that Jesus said the Spirit would be another comforter, intimating that He Himself was the first. The word, in the Greek, is "allon," meaning "another of the same kind," rather than, "heteros," referring to "another of a different kind." In other words, the Holy Spirit continues what Jesus Christ began to do while He was on this earth. The Spirit will NOT use other techniques. He will teach and strengthen us, just as Jesus did—with the power of the Highest, and not by entertainment or warm, fuzzy sermons. He will comfort and console in the midst of very difficult situations, just as Jesus did—with no soft-soaping or ignoring the sin. He will intercede in prayer, like Jesus did—without encouraging the satisfying of the self-life. He will also be a friend forever, just like Jesus—in total honesty, inviting us into the glorious life of obedience to the true Word of God. Remember—how you see Jesus, and respond to Him, determines what role the Holy Spirit will play in your life. Reject Jesus, and you resist the Holy Spirit; submit to the Son, and the Spirit will use you mightily! Yes, it's quite dangerous—you might actually end up living to the glory of God, and not to yourself! Imagine!

Beggars Can Be Choosers (Feb 10)

Recently, my family and I went out to a restaurant for my birthday. The mother, father, and teenage daughter across the aisle received their meals, but the latter complained that hers was cold—no, this is not the updated version of Goldilocks! When the waitress returned, she was told that none of their meals were satisfactory, and all the plates were taken back to the kitchen. We heard them scheming about it, but little did we know how far they would go with it!

When their meals were returned to them, they sat there poking at them and mumbling. The waitress was called back to remove all of the meals again! She stacked the plates on top of each other and carted them off. The manager was called in—he apologized profusely, insisting they all order new meals—on the house! Were they just a very hard family to please with a complaining spirit, or was the whole thing a scam? I think it was both! In any case, their lack of love and honesty were evidenced in all the lying and cheating. Afterward, I thought I should probably have told the manager, but the way our sinful society is to day, I think he already knew—I'm sure it was not the first time, and certainly won't be the last. Oh, by the way, before we left the restaurant, I overheard the mother whisper to the dad, “Don't leave a tip!” Ironically, at the very same time, 2 million were homeless in Haiti, and 200,000 was the updated projected death toll. In Matthew 24, Jesus warned that when earthquakes became more frequent and severe, His return would be right around the corner. It was once reported that 7.2 and greater quakes occurred only once per decade before 1900. From 1900 to 1949, there were 3 every decade; 9 in the 1950's; 13 in the 1960's; 56 in the 70's; and 74 in the 80's. I never heard the results of the 1990's, but at the same rate, it would have been about 125. I'm sure this recent one will not be the last. Looting and anger abounded in Haiti, but there were exceptions. Several Christians, having lost their homes, as well as their loved ones, were out in the street—not griping and complaining—but waving their Bibles and praising God. Why? Because they knew that God was in control. They knew that it was sin that brought selfishness and death into this world—not God! They knew that God did send His own Son to suffer and die on the Cross of Calvary to take away our sin! Their only focus was Jesus! It is now reported that a Christian man, working in Haiti for Compassion, Intl., was rescued after 65 hours under 6 floors of his hotel. Thinking he might die, he scrawled a blood-stained note to his two young sons, encouraging them not to hate God.

You see, we all have choices. I can't imagine living like that family in the restaurant—complaining about everything; bugged at everybody; angry with every circumstance, and totally self-consumed. I pray that being faced with the hardship of a Haiti or worse, the grace of God would direct my choices of feelings and reactions. Towards the end of Moses' dealings with the rebellious house of Israel, he said, “I call heaven and earth to record this day against you, that I have set before you life and death, blessing and cursing: therefore choose life, that both thou and thy seed may live.” (Deut. 30:19) Years later, Joshua would tell them a similar thing--”Now therefore fear the Lord, and serve Him in sincerity and in truth: and put away the gods which your fathers served on the other side of the flood, and in Egypt; and serve ye the Lord. And if it seem evil unto you to serve the Lord, choose you this day whom ye will serve...but as for me and my house, we will serve the Lord.” (Joshua 24:14,15) We can learn much of these things from Jesus Himself. In His Sermon on the Mount, near the beginning of His ministry, Jesus said, “Blessed are the poor in spirit: for theirs is the Kingdom of Heaven.” (Matt. 5:3) That is, those who are not all full of themselves, prideful, and self-consumed, have already inherited the rule of God in their lives. This, “poor,” in the original Greek, refers to a beggar crouching in obvious need. We, too, are in obvious need of God's rule in our hearts and lives. There is a saying today, “Beggars can't be choosers.” But I totally disagree—beggars can be choosers, and, in fact, must be. We saw this evidenced in Haiti. We have choices in this life, and we must begin early on to make the right ones—just as Jesus did. In the first twelve years of His boyhood, we are told, “...the Child grew, and waxed strong in spirit, filled with wisdom: and the grace of God was upon Him.” (Luke 2:40) When He turned twelve—the official age of manhood and responsibility in Judaism—He was called, “a son of the law.” He made very clear the direction He had chosen when He said He would be about His “Father's business,” (Luke 2:49)—not His “step-father” Joseph, but His Heavenly Father, God Almighty. It is interesting to note that the word “business” is not even in the Greek, so it could be translated that He would be about His Father—not just focused on His service to God, but on God Himself—a deep, personal, and intimate relationship.

It is actually during the next 18 years, when He is a teenager and a young adult, that we come into an even clearer picture of the choices before Him. Following His trip to the temple at age 12, we are told—”And He went down with them, and came to Nazareth, and was subject unto them: but His mother kept all these sayings in her heart. And Jesus increased in wisdom and stature, and in favor with God and man.” (Luke 2:51,52) What a remarkable statement—He was SUBJECT to His parents. In the Greek, it refers to an habitual, continuous obedience to a God-given authority. Bengal, the renowned commentator once wrote about this—”Even before, He had been subject unto them; but this is mentioned now, when it might seem that He could, by this time, have exempted Himself. Instead, Jesus leaves all young people a shining example to follow.” Obviously, many today have chosen a different path. Herbert Lockyer put it this way—”In these modern permissive times, when it is felt that children should be given free, unrestricted expression, many of them cease to be subject to their parents, feeling that their parents should be subject unto their self-chosen ways of freedom.” Praise God—Jesus chose the far better path, and we can, too! That subjection made possible many increases in His life. First, we are told He increased in wisdom. In the earliest part of His childhood, Scripture said He was filled with wisdom. But now, we can picture an ever-expanding mind, engrossed with the Hebrew Scriptures and steeped in all of the prophecies that concerned Him. He pondered the psalms and the prophets, becoming evermore convinced of His purpose—the salvation of the world. His was an undying thirst for the wisdom and the ways of God, which He would come to personify. Subjection to the Lord will do that! Secondly, we are told that He increased in stature. Many think that this refers to His age or His size, and that it does. If He was like all the other Jewish boys of that day, Jesus attended the synagogue school until He was 15 years old. At this time, He joined His earthly father in the carpenter shop, and I'm sure that nothing shoddy ever left His hands. I'm sure His fine oxen yokes and plows sparked His teachings about taking His yoke upon us, and not looking back in the field of life while plowing. But its not just about age or height; it's about an ever-increasing maturity. What a call to us to not stay back in a baby, toddler, or even teenage Christianity, when God promises so much more through His sanctification. Yes, the toil of divinity truly revealed the divinity of toil. The choice is ours, as well!

Thirdly, He increased in favor with God and man. This is not to suggest He ever lacked such favor or grace, for even in His earlier years we find that the grace of God was upon Him. The gentleness and grace of His character endeared Him to all who knew Him. His honesty and goodness must have attracted many to the doors of His carpenter shop. Surely people liked to be near Him, to see His smile, to hear His voice, and to watch His ways. Hebrews 13:9 says, “...it is a good thing that the heart be established with grace.” Increasing in grace and graciousness became His because of His humility. The same choices are before us, due to the grace of God, which is the power of God to live for God. But wait a minute—if He was so well liked, what happened to bring people to the point where they wanted Him dead—even in His own hometown? Could it have been the gospel? When He began His ministry, it was with these words—”The time is fulfilled, and the Kingdom of God is at hand: repent ye, and believe the gospel.” (Mark 1:15) Yes, the call is to repent, hate sin, and turn to God! And won't the indwelling Christ be about the same call in us? Paul once wrote, “Let this mind be in you, which was also in Christ Jesus.” (Phil. 2:5) It's a choice—a crucial one—see your need to leave the complaining spirit behind and let Jesus be in total control! Beggars CAN be choosers—choose to deny self and submit to Jesus!

An Unlikely Angel: Good Luck or Glory? (Jan 10)

Rev. James A. McClung tells the story—his own story. It was in November 1975 when his father-in-law had his first heart attack. During his recuperation, the pastor had their five-year-old twins to take care of by himself. And that is when it happened—little Walt developed a medical condition, that, through the weeks ahead, turned out to be quite serious. It was a mass in his right side, and within a day, he was in surgery for kidney problems.

As it turned out, Walt's little sister, Tondra, had the same congenital kidney defect, and was in need of the same surgery. On Christmas Eve night, both were hospitalized with tubes going every which way, awaiting even more surgery. Both parents tried to get to sleep in chairs next to their children, but they were just too exhausted. The pastor felt he should have enough faith to spare, but in the midst of the pain, he felt lost. “Oh, God,” he prayed, “I really need to know that you are with us in this. You gave us such a special child in your Son, Jesus, and we need to feel your presence somehow! Somehow, Lord. Amen!”

About 6:00 in the morning, there was a knock on the hospital room door. Believe it or not, it was Santa Claus! No stuffed tummy or fake beard—this one looked real, all right. He called out the kid's names, and they shot straight up in their beds. Their faces were lit up with joy. He gave them their gifts, and claimed he needed to get back to the North Pole. The pastor went out into the hall to thank him, but Santa was nowhere to be found. When he asked the nurses, they said there had been no one there. Was it a dream? It couldn't have been—the whole family had seen him. The pastor stopped by the hospital chapel and breathed a prayer of gratitude—God had answered his prayer. Somehow, God had sent someone! Hebrews 13:1-2 tells us, “Let brotherly love continue. Be not forgetful to entertain strangers: for thereby some have entertained angels unawares.” Could that Santa have been an angel? Unlikely to us, but if God wanted it to be so, could it not have been? Is not God in control? Can He not do all things, as He sees fit? Of course!

As we move into the New Year of 2010, it is important to remember that angels are not just a “Christmas” thing—angels have become big business year round. Books, figurines, jewelry—you name it—many have taken the opportunity to capitalize on them, and often for the wrong reason. Books, even in “Christian” Book Stores, suggest that people find out the name of their “guardian angel” and communicate with it. The Bible, however, calls this occult, with these “angels” being “familiar spirits”, and therefore, demonic—yes, angels alright, but “fallen angels.” (Isaiah 8:19-20) The ungodly New Age movement not only uses the Biblical term “familiar spirits,” but others such as “spirit guides” and “ascended masters.” In so doing, they are listening to demonic spirits and not the one true God. Some take angels simply as good luck charms, thinking they are safe as long as they have one pinned on. Praise God if the pin or necklace reminds you of God's glory, but don't think the jewelry has any power of its own. It does not!

Others have taken the concept of angels, expanding on the theme far beyond the Scriptures. For example, the Apocryphal Books of Enoch and Tobias began to develop a hierarchal order of angels—Seraphim, Cherubim, Thrones, Principalities, Powers, Virtues, Archangels, and just “regular” angels. This list of nine was further elaborated on in the fifth century, by Middle Eastern scholar Dionysius, as well as by Pope Gregory. At the end of the 15^th Century, a stained glass window depicting all nine could be found in St. Peter's Church Hungate, in Norwich. John Milton, in his classic “Paradise Lost,” focusing on the state of things before the rebellion of Satan, mentions it as well. Sounds very authoritative, doesn't it? But it's not! While the Bible does mention each of these nine names, nowhere does it suggest that they all refer to different levels of angels. That has all been made up, and people assume it's true. Listen—we do not have to believe everything the world says about angels, or anything else for that matter. Why don't we just believe what the Word of God tells us, for that is the only reliable source. Angels were created by God as ministering spirits, and God is the only one who has the authority to speak about them.

Let me give you an example of how listening to any other voice can lead us astray. In Luke 1, the priest Zacharias has an encounter with an angel as he was performing his duties in the temple— “...there appeared unto him an angel of the Lord standing on the right side of the altar of incense. And when Zacharias saw him, he was troubled, and fear fell upon him. But the angel said unto him, Fear not, Zacharias: for thy prayer is heard; and thy wife Elisabeth shall bear thee a son, and thou shalt call his name John.” (vss. 11-13) Later in the conversation, the angel identifies himself as Gabriel. While non-biblical sources say he was a archangel, the Bible does not. In fact, the only two places where the Holy Scriptures mention Archangels are in 1^st Thessalonians, blowing the trumpet at the Rapture—and the angel isn't even named—and in Jude 1, where an Archangel by the name of Michael is described. Quite simply, Gabriel is never called an Archangel, and yet you hear that all the time. Maybe he was one, but we can't call him that unless the Bible says so. We do not have to believe what we hear about angels unless it comes from God and His holy Word.

Another thing we can see in this is the true purpose of angels as ministering spirits—they are not good luck charms or a magical way to get something out of God. They proclaim the purposes of God in order to prepare us in the spirit of repentance for what God has for us next. Right after Gabriel prepares the way for Zacharias, he does the same for Mary—”And in the sixth month the angel Gabriel was sent from God unto a city of Galilee, named Nazareth, to a virgin espoused to a man whose name was Joseph, of the house of David; and the virgin's name was Mary. And the angel came in unto her, and said, Hail, thou that art highly favored, the Lord is with thee: blessed art thou among women.” (vss. 26-28) Do you see it? Gabriel goes on to elaborate just how great Jesus would be, just like he did concerning Zachariah's and Elisabeth's boy, who would be the one to prepare the way for the Lord. All of the way through the Christmas Story, it is the same way—preparation for hearts to perceive and receive the glory of God. Praise God—this “glory” is His splendorous weightiness—His unfailing opinion of Himself!

An angel also appeared to Joseph in a dream, preparing his heart to stay in God's plan and marry his beloved Mary. Once they arrived in Bethlehem, and the baby was born, “...there were in the same country shepherds abiding in the field, keeping watch over their flock by night. And, lo, the angel of the Lord came upon them, and the glory of the Lord shone round about them: and they were sore afraid. And the angel said unto them, Fear not: for, behold, I bring you good tidings of great joy, which shall be to all people. For unto you is born this day in the city of David a Savior, which is Christ the Lord.” (2:8-11) Moments later, the entire sky was filled with the angelic host, giving glory to God. This all went very far to prepare them to seek Jesus, find Him, and worship Him. But that's not all—to proclaim Him to all who would listen. Unlikely? No, it's what happens when God's splendor is seen!

Once Jesus began His ministry, we read of two other appearances by angels. After Jesus was baptized by His forerunner, John the Baptist—Zachariah's and Elisabeth's son—He was led up into the wilderness by the Holy Spirit. And the purpose? To be tempted of Satan, and thereby, making plain that He would follow what God said, and not the word's of another. Matthew 4:11 says, “Then the devil leaveth Him, and, behold, angels came and ministered unto Him.” The second time was at the close of His ministry, in the Garden of Gethsemane—”And there appeared an angel unto Him from Heaven, strengthening Him.” (Luke 22:43) On His way to the Cross, Jesus refused to be rescued by thousands of angels, so that God's glory would be seen and embraced. Yes, these angels are ministering spirits, and every one of them is a messenger sent from God with a very purposeful message—the life-transforming Gospel of Jesus Christ—not just at Christmas, but all through the year. Just like this past Christmas Season was a preparation for the truth of Christmas, as we enter this New Year of 2010, let us seek Jesus and become even more prepared for the fullness of His glory to live within us. Steve Merkel, the Christian song writer, wrote, “He made a way in a manger, to make a way to the Cross.” Praise God—the way has been prepared. Will you walk in it?