Month: December 2020

“And she shall bring forth a Son, and thou shalt call His name JESUS: for He shall save His people from their sins.”
‭‭Matthew‬ ‭1:21‬ ‭KJV‬‬. This was a part of the angels message to Joseph when he was told about Mary being with child. And what a glorious message this was! To know that HE will save His people FROM their sins! Hallelujah! And contrary to the false doctrines of men, Jesus doesn’t save us to stay in our sins, NO! Oh how blessed we are to know that we have such a Glorious Saviour Who will save us from the awful shame and guilt of sin. He will save us from condemnation and punishment of sin. He will save us from the filth and defilement of sin. He will save us from the awful bondage of sin and even from the power that sin has over our lives. Thank God Jesus still saves to the uttermost! He is the All Sufficient Saviour! How sad it is that so many today fail to understand and believe what a Wonderful and Powerful Saviour Jesus is! How tragic that people are told that their sins are more than Jesus can set them free from! How sad that many are trusting in their own strength, or their good works to save them from sin. But let us who know Him rejoice, that the Saviour has come! And through His mighty power we can be saved from all sin.

“And she brought forth her firstborn Son, and wrapped Him in swaddling clothes, and laid Him in a manger…” Luke‬ ‭2:7‬ ‭KJV‬. Do we ever take time to consider Who it was that was laid in that animal feeding trough, called a manger? Do we ever consider what it means to say “Jesus condescended and came into this world”? This was the One Who stepped down from His eternal throne of glory to be laid in a manger. This was the One Who was clothed with glory, now come to be wrapped up in rags. Paul writes in Phil. 2:7 “He made Himself of no reputation, and took upon Him the form of a servant…”. This same Jesus, Who was the Light of Glory, chose to lay aside His exalted place in Heaven, to come here to live in poverty and for 30 years in obscurity. We read stories of missionaries selling themselves into slavery, giving up all, just to be able to get the Gospel to the slaves they were trying to minister to. But Jesus is God of very God! And He didn’t just step down to become one of us. The truth is, He went beneath us. He took all our sins upon Him and took the wrath of God against our sins! And He did all this, so He could lift us up, and restore us to our Heavenly Father. Let us thank and praise Him, that He was willing to step down for us.

“…Where is He that is born King of the Jews…?” Matthew‬ ‭2:2‬ ‭KJV‬‬. This was the question the wise men asked when they came seeking Jesus. They knew what most today seem to have forgotten, or choose not to believe. That Jesus did not come in order to become a King, but He was born as King. And knowing this, they came to worship Him as King. But the real question for us today is, “Where is King Jesus in our hearts and lives?” Is He in His rightful place in our lives? Is He reigning on the throne of our hearts? Is He being honored as Saviour and Lord, as the King that He truly is? Are we worshipping Him as King? Do we obey Him as our King? Part of the joy of that first Christmas morning was, that the King has come! The angels rejoiced that the King of Glory had come down to be born of a virgin, to dwell among men, and to become the Saviour we needed. It is only those who know Him and honor Him as King that can truly rejoice in His advent. So in this Christmas season, let us be thankful that THE King has come. And He still comes to reign in the hearts and lives of all who will humble themselves and honor Him as their King.

“And thou shalt be secure, because there is hope…” Job‬ ‭11:18‬ ‭KJV‬‬. What a wonderful blessing we have as God’s children to have this strong hope in Jesus Christ. The hope we have in Him keeps us secure in the midst of all circumstances. Though the enemy comes in like a flood, though our bodies weaken and decay, though nations rise and fall, yet we are secure as long as our hope in in Christ! Many today are losing their hope because of what is happening in our world. But as God’s children, may we keep in mind, that our hope is not based on anything or anyone in this world. Our hope is in the Christ of Calvary, Who loved us and gave Himself for us. Our hope is in His triumphant resurrection, where He defeated all the powers of hell that are against us. Our hope is in His Word and His promises, which assure us that it is better farther on! Yes, things may appear dismal when we look only at this world. But may God help us to lift our eyes to Jesus! To see Him as our Living Hope! And with our focus on Him and our faith in Him, we will always be secure.

“The eternal God is thy refuge, and underneath are the everlasting arms…” Deuteronomy‬ ‭33:27‬ ‭KJV‬‬. In this world we try to find security in many things. We imagine that we can become secure with enough money, or good health, or being a part of some stable organization. And in these things is where most people try to find refuge. It is the place the feel secure. And yet, the reality is, all that is of this world is in decay and growing weaker. But what a blessing for God’s children to know, that our Refuge is the Eternal, Unchanging God! Many businesses advertise about being a ‘safety net’. As if they are able to catch us when we fall? As if they can maintain their strength without ever weakening? All while we know everything here is going to perish. But as children of God we have the everlasting, unfailing arms of our Father beneath us! Oh may we take courage in these uncertain days! May we rest in these promises of Who our God is! He is our Eternal Unchanging Father Who endures forever. And we can always find refuge in Him.

“Of old hast Thou laid the foundation of the earth: and the heavens are the work of Thy hands. They shall perish, but Thou shalt endure…” Psalms‬ ‭102:25-26‬ ‭KJV‬‬. When we think upon God’s unchangeable nature, one of the things for us to consider is, that while He will always endure, we will not. While God is eternal and unchanging, we have a limited time in this world and we are constantly changing. This verse reminds us that all of this physical creation, all of this universe and world, and we along with it, are going to pass away. These bodies we are in will become old and weak. Our minds will diminish. Everything we have tried to do on a physical level will be gone. One day, every atom of this physical existence will perish. But then, our soul, which is eternal will remain! Our spirit will return to God Who created us and there we will answer for our lives and enter an existence that will never change. So what we should be planning and living for is not this brief earthly existence, but that eternal one that awaits us all. So let us, as weak and changing people, living in an unstable world, learn to trust in and depend upon the God Who never changes! Let us anchor our souls in the One Who shall endure forever.

“But the Lord shall endure for ever…Psalms‬ ‭9:7‬ ‭KJV‬‬. One of the attributes of God that we do not often think of is His immutability, or His eternal unchanging existence. The Bible tells us “there is no variableness nor shadow of turning with Him”. Because we are in a constantly changing world, this concept is difficult for us to get our minds around. And so, when we ignore it, or don’t take time to properly consider it, we miss the blessing and the strength this brings to our souls. But take some time to consider, that God has always been the same and always will be. He has not grown old nor weary. He has not diminished in power or glory. He does not forget nor lose track of any part of His creation.  And the good news for us is, His love for us will always be the same! He will always be there for us in our time of need. He is not like a business institution or government that can weaken and become less. He does not decay like these physical bodies. No! He is always the same! What a tremendous blessing this is to know our Lord will endure for ever! Storms cannot move Him. Devils cannot shake Him. Sinners cannot wear Him down. And we as His children will never exhaust His eternal resources! “Jesus Christ the same yesterday, and to day, and for ever.” Hebrews‬ ‭13:8‬ ‭

“And call upon Me in the day of trouble: I will deliver thee, and thou shalt glorify Me.” Psalms‬ ‭50:15‬ ‭KJV. What a wonderful privilege we have to be able to call upon God when we are in need. And then to experience His deliverance, when He hears and answers our prayers, when He moves in ways that only He can, that is such a great blessing!‬‬ But how often do we follow through with the rest of what God says here in this verse? How often do we praise Him and give Him the glory for what He has done? Are we faithful to tell others what the Lord has done for us? And even as we do, are we doing it so others can see what fine Christians we are, or is our purpose to bring glory to God? But the reality is, these words mean much more than simply telling what God has done. They include living our lives, and doing all that we do in a manner that glorifies God. They mean living with a heart of gratitude towards God for all of His goodness and mercy to us. So let us live for God’s glory in everything. And as we do, our praise to Him and testimony for Him will be for the right reason.

“My defense is of God, Who saves the upright in heart.” Psalms‬ ‭7:10‬ ‭NKJV‬‬. What a comforting truth this is, for us to know that our Protector and Defender is God Himself. Many times in life we feel under attack. And the reality is God’s people have always faced attacks in this world. At times we feel attacked by individual people, sometimes from our own thoughts of past sin and failure, but always by our enemy the devil, working through these different avenues. And it is never easy or pleasant when we are under attack. Often the attacks are so intense that we wonder how we will make it through. And certainly, if we had to rely only on our strength, we would be defeated. But what a blessing, to know that the Almighty God, the One Who is our Father, our Saviour and our Friend, He is also the One Who defends us from the attacks of our enemies! So in the midst of our battles, may we take courage, that we are protected by the One Who cannot fail, Who has all power, and Who has never lost a battle. But remember, God will only defend those who are trusting Him to protect them. So by God’s grace, let’s live a life that is upright, keep our hearts right before Him, and keep close to Him, so that we can be among those whom God defends.

““You are the LORD God, Who chose Abram, And brought him out of Ur of the Chaldeans, And gave him the name Abraham; You found his heart faithful before You…” Nehemiah‬ ‭9:7-8‬ ‭NKJV‬‬. What a wonderful testimony of Abraham this was! That God found his heart faithful before Him. What more could be said of any person? What more could we seek for, than for our God to find us faithful? In this world we seek to do many things. We try to be good family members, hard workers, productive members of society, and a blessing to those around us. And certainly all of these things have their place in our lives as God’s children. But in all the seeking and striving that we do in this world, may we realize, that nothing is so important as being faithful to God. And as we are faithful to God first, the words of the song will be true of our lives, ‘Oh may all who come behind us find us faithful. May the fire of our devotion light their way. May the footprints that we leave, Lead them to believe. And the lives we live inspire them to obey. Oh may all who come behind us find us faithful’ (by John Mohr 1987). Only as we are faithful to God can we leave a Godly legacy behind us.