A Not So Nice Christmas

 Since the theme for our VBS is Christmas I thought it would be appropriate for us to look at a good Christmas story from the Bible.  So, here is one of my favorites.  It isn’t one of those cute stories you make Sunday School crafts from and it isn’t one you put in a children’s book.  The reason I like it is because it is real life.  It shows the reality of life that surrounded Jesus’ birth.  The picture of halo’s and a clean perfect baby that never cried sends the wrong picture.  Jesus came to this earth for a purpose, “to save his people from their sins…” (Matt: 1:21) and just like today there were a lot of forces trying to prevent that from happening.  Read the below story of what happens after the wise men come to visit Jesus in Bethlehem and hear the pain, the fear, the doubt that must have been swirling in the minds of people like Joseph and Mary. 

Matthew 2:13-18

¹³ Now when they had departed, behold, an angel of the Lord appeared to Joseph in a dream and said, “Rise, take the child and his mother, and flee to Egypt, and remain there until I tell you, for Herod is about to search for the child, to destroy him.” ¹⁴ And he rose and took the child and his mother by night and departed to Egypt ¹⁵ and remained there until the death of Herod.  This was to fulfill what the Lord had spoken by the prophet, “Out of Egypt I called my son.”

¹⁶ Then Herod, when he saw that he had been tricked by the wise men, became furious, and he sent and killed all the male children in Bethlehem and in all that region who were two years old or under, according to the time that he had ascertained from the wise men. ¹⁷ Then was fulfilled what was spoken by the prophet Jeremiah:

¹⁸ “A voice was heard in Ramah,
    weeping and loud lamentation,
Rachel weeping for her children;
    she refused to be comforted, because they are no more.”

Things to think about:

·         Think of the emotional swing for Joseph and Mary…Shepherds come to worship their son when he is born, a priest at the temple rejoices over him and proclaims him to be the savior, an old woman praises God that she was able to look upon his face, then foreigners show up with some really nice presents and worship your son!  They must be thinking, “it is going to be easy to raise this boy.  It’s good to be the mom/dad of the savior of the world.”

·         But, then Joseph has a dream and they have to pack up everything and flee for their lives!  Have you ever had to abandon everything and run for your life?  I haven’t, but I am sure that would be pretty scary.

·         What happened in Egypt?  Did Joseph get a job?  Did they have to beg for money?  Were they persecuted for being from Israel?  Were they poor or middle class?  Were there nights that Jesus went to bed hungry?  How long did that gold, frankincense and myrrh last?  They were in Egypt for years, long enough for a lot to happen.

·         Herod sounds like a great king doesn’t he?  I don’t think we have ever lived under a tyrant that is so evil and could get away with so much.  Think about what would happen today if the President of the United States got furious one day and killed all the babies 2 years and under in the entire county you live in.  How many children would that be?  How would you feel?  Would you think God had abandoned you?  Would you feel like evil had won the day and there was no hope for the future?  What a contrast – Jesus the savior of the world who comes to bring peace is welcomed to earth with pain and sorrow.  Almost to remind us what Jesus came to save us from!

·         The good news of Christmas is that even amidst all this pain and sorrow the hope is that Christ wins!  He conquered death and sin and offers us forgiveness and hope!  This life may be filled with moments of doubt, fear, and even death…but Jesus offers us true life in Him for all of eternity.  Thank you Jesus for the whole Christmas story!

Have a great week and Merry Christmas J

Rejoice in the Gospel

What causes you to rejoice?  Stop and really think about it.  A new baby being born?  A marriage?  A new job?  A promotion?  A great achievement by your kids?  What is it that makes you smile and keep on smiling every time you think about it?  Take a moment and think about those things right now, really, stop reading and think about those things until you smile.

Now that you are smiling let me as you a question.  Was one of those things that causes you to rejoice the idea that the gospel is advancing in this world and people are speaking the word of truth?  This isn’t supposed to make you feel guilty, but rather just an opportunity for us to think about what matters in our lives and what we rejoice over.  Today’s passage from the book of Philippians can help us prioritize our lives so that we see things properly and can rejoice over events that God wants us to rejoice over.  Let’s read it to see better what I am talking about.

Philippians 1:12-18a

¹² I want you to know, brothers, that what has happened to me has really served to advance the gospel, ¹³ so that it has become known throughout the whole imperial guard and to all the rest that my imprisonment is for Christ.¹⁴ And most of the brothers, having become confident in the Lord by my imprisonment, are much more bold to speak the word without fear.

¹⁵ Some indeed preach Christ from envy and rivalry, but others from good will.¹⁶ The latter do it out of love, knowing that I am put here for the defense of the gospel. ¹⁷ The former proclaim Christ out of selfish ambition, not sincerely but thinking to afflict me in my imprisonment. ¹⁸ What then? Only that in every way, whether in pretense or in truth, Christ is proclaimed, and in that I rejoice.

Things to think about:

·         A great question to ask from verse 12 is, “what really happened to Paul?”  Paul wants the church in Philippi to know that what has happened to him has served to advance the gospel, so what has happened to him?  Well, here is what he says to the Corinthian church,

^“24 Five times I received at the hands of the Jews the forty lashes less one. ²⁵ Three times I was beaten with rods. Once I was stoned. Three times I was shipwrecked; a night and a day I was adrift at sea; ²⁶ on frequent journeys, in danger from rivers, danger from robbers, danger from my own people, danger from Gentiles, danger in the city, danger in the wilderness, danger at sea, danger from false brothers; ²⁷ in toil and hardship, through many a sleepless night, in hunger and thirst, often without food, in cold and exposure.”  (2 Corinthians 11:24-27)

·         He is currently under house arrest in Rome awaiting a trial that could cost him his life…but all of that has served to advance the gospel – in that he rejoices (verse 18)

·         Even while in prison for sharing the gospel Paul continues to share the gospel, with the imperial guard no less!  How many of us would give up at some point?  Would we feel as if God had abandoned us, as if we were faithful, but God was not?  When trials come and hardships cause us to change our plans or if it seems as though our work was for nothing we have the option of sitting in self-pity and doubt or like Paul continue to share the gospel and rejoice that God is using any and all situations to get His good news to the world!

·         Do you think verse 14 is a little weird?  Read it again and what seems wrong with it?  Why would Paul’s imprisonment make people more confident and bold to speak without fear?  Wouldn’t it make them more afraid?  “If I share I will go to jail like Paul…”  Why do you think that statement causes them to be bold and not afraid?

·         Verses 15-17 talk about people that are sharing Christ in different ways, good and bad, but in the end Paul rejoices that no matter how it is happening Christ is being preached.  I do not think Paul is talking about false gospels here or people spreading lies about Jesus, but they are talking about Jesus so yeay!  What is happening is that the news of Paul’s imprisonment, and the work of the believers was becoming so well-known and causing so many disruptions it was being talked about by everyone.  People were discussing Jesus because they had a hard time believing anyone would go through what Paul was going through and still hold to their beliefs.  Jesus, Paul, Christianity, started to become the “water cooler” discussion topic.  Some shared Christ with the goal that others would believe and be saved, while others shared Christ to explain why Paul was in prison…”He just won’t give up on his beliefs – he believes that this guy named Jesus is Lord and that he died on a cross in Jerusalem, but is still alive today…etc.”  And whether they planned it or not they were sharing the gospel with people – and that caused Paul and the other believers to rejoice.  May our actions, attitudes, and words represent Christ in such a way that people talk about it.  When they talk about us and what we are doing whether they plan it or not may they share the gospel with people that need to hear it! 

·         May we be people that rejoice over the gospels advance in this dark world!  Yes it is good to rejoice at new babies, weddings, promotions, etc.  But let us not forget that eternity hangs in the balance and Jesus is the only way to be saved – so when people hear the good news of forgiveness in Christ – Rejoice! Rejoice!  Rejoice!

An attitude that shows

Sometimes while reading our Bibles we get to passages that seem to be “flyover” passages that don’t stand out to us as being particularly important.  We may even wonder why they are in the Bible at all.  “Why was that necessary to include in God’s eternal Word?”  I have those thoughts sometimes myself, so don’t worry.  But, I think there are still some valuable truth’s in passages that may seem, at first glance, to be throw-away sections.  Today’s Bible Time is one of those sections.

Background: The Apostle Paul was in jail for preaching the gospel.  He was sent to Rome and put under house-arrest while he awaited a judgment from the Caesar.  While in jail Paul could have companion and fellow evangelists visit and he conducted a lot of ministry while under house arrest.  He also wrote a number of letter (many of which are included in our New Testament).  One letter was to Timothy, a fellow Christian who Paul was discipling and training to preach and teach the gospel.  At the end of Paul’s letter to Timothy Paul adds some personal requests and information that at first may seem unimportant.  But, let’s read it together and see what we can learn from Paul’s closing remarks to his friend in this letter.

2 Timothy 4:9-22

⁹ Do your best to come to me soon. ¹⁰ For Demas, in love with this present world, has deserted me and gone to Thessalonica. Crescens has gone to Galatia, Titus to Dalmatia. ¹¹ Luke alone is with me. Get Mark and bring him with you, for he is very useful to me for ministry. ¹² Tychicus I have sent to Ephesus. ¹³ When you come, bring the cloak that I left with Carpus at Troas, also the books, and above all the parchments. ¹⁴ Alexander the coppersmith did me great harm; the Lord will repay him according to his deeds. ¹⁵ Beware of him yourself, for he strongly opposed our message. ¹⁶ At my first defense no one came to stand by me, but all deserted me. May it not be charged against them! ¹⁷ But the Lord stood by me and strengthened me, so that through me the message might be fully proclaimed and all the Gentiles might hear it. So I was rescued from the lion's mouth. ¹⁸ The Lord will rescue me from every evil deed and bring me safely into his heavenly kingdom. To him be the glory forever and ever. Amen.

¹⁹ Greet Prisca and Aquila, and the household of Onesiphorus. ²⁰ Erastus remained at Corinth, and I left Trophimus, who was ill, at Miletus. ²¹ Do your best to come before winter. Eubulus sends greetings to you, as do Pudens and Linus and Claudia and all the brothers.

²² The Lord be with your spirit. Grace be with you.

Things to think about:

·         Without knowing anything else about Demas in verse 10 – what do you think he struggled with?  If you were given the choice to stay with a friend under house arrest and maybe be accused yourself and possibly killed for your faith – or go to another city and distance yourself from a condemned man…which would you choose?  Why?  It isn't that easy is it?

·         How would you define “being in love with this present world” to be in your life?  What do you love too much in this world that it holds you back or takes you out of ministry?

·         What would it take to have a reputation like Mark?  Do people think of us and say, “oh they are great for ministry, very useful?”  It may be hard at first and we may not get things right all the time, but may we be people that put ourselves out there and serve in ways that cause people to think…”oh yeah, I want them to help over here…”

·         Did Paul seem bitter or angry with Alexander?  Or, did Paul let God be the judge and knew that in the end justice would be done?  May we be people that in the midst of injustice we hold out the hope that “Vengeance belongs to the Lord” and God will make all things right in the end.

·         Read verse 16 again.  Does that surprise you?  I was expecting – “they all deserted me, curse them all…or, they all left me, good riddance I didn't need them anyway” instead you hear Paul say, “they all deserted me – don’t hold that against them!”  Forgiveness, mercy, understanding, even when personally abandoned…may we be people with that same attitude!

·         Notice too that Paul was saved from the lion’s mouth in verse 17 and then in verse 18 he says, “the Lord will rescue him from every evil deed”…but how does the sentence finish?  Rescued to “bring me safely into his heavenly kingdom…”  Paul had an eternal perspective on what it meant to be rescued.  Rescue me from the lions or rescue me from being killed today – but if you don’t I know I have been truly rescued from all the evil deeds, even if they burn me alive, because I have been rescued from death itself!  I have been given access to the eternal kingdom of heaven!  We often pray for temporary rescue…may we be people that pray and long for eternal rescue, so that no matter what happens here on earth we know we will be brought safely into his heavenly kingdom!

·         Oh, and don’t forget the cloak J