The Character Of God

 Exodus 34:1-8

As we start a new year, let’s consider how we view God.  Looking over your past years, however many they may be, what has been your perception of God?  Have you viewed Him as a divine tyrant, out to get you at any chance He may have?  Perhaps as someone who will clobber you whenever you slip up, or an unmerciful Judge?  Do you view Him as a remote deity, someone who does not get involved with the affairs of mankind?  Or do you view God as a Divine grandfatherly type figure, one who will give you a wink and a smile, no matter what you might do?  As we read our Scripture for today, from the Old Testament Book of Exodus, we will see some of the Divine attributes of God listed, and we can determine if our perception of God up until now is correct, and if we need to adjust how we perceive Him going forward.

As our Scripture passage opens, God is giving Moses a second set of the Ten Commandments (vs. 1-4).  The first set had been broken when Moses came down from Mt. Sinai, and saw the people of Israel worshipping a golden calf they had made, and engaging in perverse behavior.  In anger and frustration, Moses had thrown the first set of Ten Commandments on the ground, breaking them (Exodus 32).  Through the intercession of Moses, God forgave the people their sins, and He rewrote the commandments again upon stone tablets.

God could so easily have struck those people down.  Their sin was vile, especially when we realize that this was only a matter of a few short weeks after God had so powerfully and graciously delivered them from slavery in Egypt.  However, He didn’t, and He even provided a second set of the Law.  The repetition of giving the Ten Commandments a second time underlines God’s love and patience with us.  How many times does God have to start over again with us, teaching us the same lesson over and over again, because we keep falling?  For most of us, it is many times.

Moses, on top of Mt. Sinai the second time, received a new set of the Ten Commandments written upon stone.  Then the Lord God, within a cloud beside Moses, passed before him, proclaiming His Name and some of His attributes (vs. 5-7).  God was not bragging here.  Unlike people, God does not brag about achievements and feats He has done.  When He reveals who He is, it isn’t titles and achievements that He lists, but instead, the kind of character He has.  The Lord revealed to Moses His character and nature, which His Name proclaims.

Let’s look at what God says about His character.  He proclaimed that He is merciful, gracious, and long-suffering.  We see that all throughout Scripture.  Over and over again, instead of smiting the people because of their sins, He puts up with their faithlessness, and mercifully forgives them.  We can see that with ourselves, as well. How many times have we failed God, repeatedly falling into sin, and yet, He patiently puts up with us.  Instead of blasting us into oblivion, God mercifully forgives those who come to Him through the Lord Jesus Christ.  He is a good God, giving us only what is good for us, and He is truth, with no falsehood or evil in Him at all.

As God further proclaims His character, He tells how He will show mercy to thousands, forgiving their sins through the Blood of Jesus.  However, if they refuse to come to Him, God cannot forgive (vs. 7).  They, through their own choice, will be punished for their sins.  The unrepentant cannot experience forgiveness from the Lord.  However, once someone comes to Christ, the curse is broken (II Corinthians 5:17-19).

Many have wondered about the second half of verse 7, and if it means that God punishes children and grandchildren for the sins of their parents.  No, God does not.  However, this shows how the sins of one’s parents can become a generational curse, passing on to future generations.  Children often suffer for the sins of their parents.  Child abuse and alcoholism are examples of sins that are passed on for generations, along with things like selfishness and greed.  Jesus came to break the curse, and when we turn to Him for salvation, these curses can be broken.

As we look at these attributes of God given in this Scripture, we need to avoid portraying Him as having only our favorite characteristics.  Many people like to portray God as only loving and forgiving.  Some others as only a God of justice.  God has declared Himself to be merciful, gracious, and loving, but also just in punishing the guilty.  We must worship all of God, not just what we like.

My Eyes Have Seen Your Salvation

 Luke 2:25-38

As we begin a new year, let’s take a look at two characters in the New Testament who appear only once, and that very briefly, in the narrative of the life of Jesus.  These two are an elderly gentleman and an elderly lady, Simeon and Anna, who each had insight into who the infant Jesus was when they met Him.  Let’s take a look at who these two were, and their special encounters with Jesus.

As our Scripture begins, Joseph and Mary had brought the newborn Jesus to the Temple in Jerusalem to fulfill the Law.  As they were leaving the Temple, a very elderly gentleman approached them and requested to hold the Baby.  This man, Simeon, was a devout follower of the Lord God.  He loved the Lord, believing and obeying His Word.  As he would go to the Temple to pray, he probably frequently prayed that God would send His promised Messiah to the people.  Because of his devotion to the Lord, Simeon had received a special message from God that the coming of the long-awaited Messiah would happen soon, and that he would not die until he had seen Him (vs. 25-26).

The Scriptures do not indicate exactly how long ago this promise had been made to Simeon, but now he was an elderly man, so it could have been many years earlier.  However, Simeon did not give up the hope that he would get to lay his eyes upon the promised Messiah.  Now, on this day, he heard the Holy Spirit speaking to his heart, compelling him to go to the Temple (vs. 27). As he stood there, watching the many people coming and going, the Holy Spirit somehow indicated that the Babe in this one couple’s arms was the One. 

As Simeon took the Baby Jesus into his arms, he gave a short prayer of praise and thanks to God.  This brief song is known as the Nunc Dimittis, from the first two words of the Latin translation.  He thanked God for keeping His promise to him, and that now he can die in peace, as he saw God’s Promised One, the One who would bring salvation to the world, the One who would be the Light, not only to the people of Israel, but also to the Gentiles, all other nations, as well (vs. 29-32).

What a blessing this must have been to Simeon, to finally hold in his arms the One who would redeem from their sins all who would come to Him!  In order to have received that promise God had made specifically to him, Simeon needed to be listening and alert to God each and every day.  He was not told in advance exactly what day this would happen for him.  Simeon needed to keep in communion and fellowship with God each day, waiting in hopeful anticipation.  And he needed to be ready to act when the word came.  He couldn’t say to himself that he was feeling his age, and didn’t want to make the hike to the Temple that particular day.  If he had, he would have missed the only chance he would have to see the Savior.  No, Simeon was listening and ready to act.

Following his prayer of praise and thanksgiving to God, Simeon spoke directly to the Virgin Mary, Jesus’s mother.  He told her that Jesus was going to bring about the fall and the rising of many, and many would be against Him.  He also told her that she would experience grief, as well (vs. 34-35).  The Virgin Mary would, indeed, experience great personal grief as she would watch her Son, Jesus, be crucified.

With Jesus, there is no neutral ground.  People either joyfully accept Him, or totally reject Him.  To all those who reject Jesus, He is a stone of stumbling (I Peter 2:8).  Today, many are turned away by the un-Christian like conduct of some who claim to be Christians.  Though there were some in Israel who accepted Jesus, He was “spoken against” by the vast majority (vs. 34).  They rejected, hated, and crucified Jesus, their Messiah.

As our Scripture passage concludes, Luke mentions another elderly person who recognized the Baby Jesus as the promised Messiah, and gave praise and thanks to God, and that is the prophetess Anna (vs. 36-38).  She was an 84 year old widow, whose husband had died after 7 years of marriage, undoubtedly many years earlier.  Anna spent her days in Temple, in prayer and fasting.  She, too, was actively awaiting the coming Messiah, and the Holy Spirit revealed to her, in addition to Simeon, that this Baby was the Promised One.

Both Anna and Simeon believed God and His Word.  They were actively awaiting the Messiah, and were ready to act upon His Word when the Holy Spirit revealed to them that He was there.  Had they slacked off, and not been actively listening for His Word, they would have missed this great opportunity.  Let us always be ready and waiting upon God in His Word.

In The Fullness Of Time

 Galatians 4:4-5

Do you like to wait for things to happen?  I am not always very patient.  If we have been promised something, we don’t want to wait years and years for the promise to be kept.  We want them to keep the promise right now, today!  How about a promise that has been made, that took multiple centuries to be kept?  We might give up hope that this promise would ever be kept.  Today’s Scripture from the Apostle Paul’s letter to the Galatians speaks about the promise God made, and when it was fulfilled.  Let’s look at this passage.

Throughout the Old Testament, we read of the promise of the coming Messiah.  The very first prophecy of the Messiah was given to Eve at the time when she and Adam were cast out of the Garden of Eden (Genesis 3:15).  The promise continued to be given all throughout the Old Testament, to Abraham, Moses, David, etc.  The promise was not fulfilled until the birth of Jesus, which happened in approximately 4 BC., which would have been about a thousand years after King David, and about two thousand years after Abraham.  We might wonder why God didn’t send the Messiah back in their day?  Why not at the time of David or Abraham?  Why not even earlier, perhaps shortly after Noah disembarked from the ark?  The world sure could have used a Messiah at any of those times.  And why necessarily in Israel?  Why not in any other location on the earth?

As our Scripture passage opens, we read God’s Word through the Apostle Paul, and he begins with the words “the fullness of the time had come”.  God sent Jesus in the fullness of time, at just the right time.  Not too early, nor too late, but just at the right time.  What made approximately 4 BC the right time?  To give an answer, we need to look back into our history books.  Throughout ancient history we see various civilizations come and go all throughout the world.  Most of these civilizations were localized, and remained isolated from the rest of the world.  There were hundreds of different languages and even more dialects spoken all around the world.  There was no “lingua franca” or language that could be understood by many people, across many countries.  That is, not until the days of Alexander the Great (356-323 BC).  As he conquered land from the Balkan peninsula and southeastern Europe, northern Africa, and to the borders of the Himalayan mountains, he brought Greek culture, and more importantly, the Greek language to everyone there.  By the time of Jesus’s birth, just about everyone could speak Greek, in addition to their own native language.

When Jesus was born, the world was right in the middle of the reign of the powerful and mighty Caesar Augustus, the first Roman Emperor, and the beginning of the Roman Empire.  The Romans considerably expanded upon Alexander’s empire.  Latin quickly became a second common language, along with Greek.  The Romans brought stability to the land with their laws and government, and importantly, brought paved roads throughout the empire, some of which can still be seen today.  Travel was now swift and safe.  Add these together, two common languages, swift and safe travel, and the Gospel message of Jesus could easily be spread all around the world.

Had Jesus been born at the time of Abraham, or even David, His message of salvation would not have been able to be spread to the rest of the world.  However, when He was born, at the “fullness of time”, within a few short years after the Resurrection, His message was spread all throughout the Mediterranean world, and by a few more years, it had gone to the farthest reaches of the Roman Empire, into Britain, throughout the Middle East, Armenia, down into parts of Africa, India, etc.  That could not have happened earlier.

If Jesus had been born outside of the Roman Empire, or what once was the Greek Empire, in any other location, His message of salvation would not have been able to be spread throughout the world, either.  Think of any other location on the globe, and at the time of 4 BC, would His message have been able to be spread throughout the world like it was from Jerusalem at that time?

In God’s timetable, when the exact religious, cultural, and political conditions of His perfect will were in place, Jesus came into the world.  He came when the message of the Gospel could be effectively carried to the ends of the earth.  God knew when just the right time was, and where the best place was.  We can trust His timetable.

Praising God This Year

 Psalm 147

Our psalm for this week, the last one for this year, is a call to praise God, especially as He made and controls all of nature.  I picture this anonymous psalmist as wanting to sing a song of praise to God, and then proceeds to make a list of everything he can think of to thank and praise Him for.  He doesn’t just thank God for the usual, for his health, food, and protection.  He looks around him and sees different things, and knows that God can be praised for them, as well.  As we come to the end of another year we should pause for a moment, and make our own list of anything and everything that we can think of to praise God for.

Perhaps on the day that our author wrote this psalm he was feeling a bit down.  Knowing that making a list of things to be thankful for can help lift one’s spirit, he begins by praising God for the fact that He is there for those who are brokenhearted (vs. 3).  Perhaps he had recently experienced the death of a loved one, or perhaps a spouse walked out and left him for another.  This verse is echoed in the words of the prophet Isaiah (Isaiah 61:1), and Jesus also quoted it, speaking about Himself (Luke 4:18).  Whatever the reason, whatever the emotional blow, God is there for the brokenhearted, and He will heal those wounds.  God is there for the humble, for those who know that they are not the greatest thing that ever walked the streets (vs. 6).  He is there for those who know that they need a Savior, but He has no place for the proud.

Next, our psalmist looks around at nature, and sees numerous things that he can praise God about.  Perhaps recently he had been outside at night, observing the innumerable stars that could be seen.  Astronomers estimate that there are well over 200 billion trillion stars in the universe. That’s a 1 followed by 42 zeros.  Yet, as our Scripture says in verse 4, God knows the exact number, as He created them, and He has named each one of them.  If God cares enough about the stars to give them each a name, don’t you think that He cares about you, who were made in His image, and that He will take care of all of your needs?  We can surely praise God for that!

As the author continues on, looking throughout nature for more things to praise God for, he sees the clouds which are scattered across the sky (vs. 8).  As I write this, it is a very foggy morning in Chicago where I live.  The clouds coming right down to the earth.  It makes a very eerie, but beautiful sight, something to praise God for!  He knows that the clouds bring the rain, growing the crops and plants, which brings food, both for man and animal (vs. 8-9).  The animals know they are dependent upon God, and cry out to Him for their needs, but people often think that they are strong and smart enough that they don’t need Him.  However, they soon find out that we are all dependent upon God for His mercy in providing for our needs (vs. 10-11).

The psalmist continues on with his list of things to be thankful for, and remains on a weather-related theme with the different seasons.  In verses 16 and 17 he lists snow, frost and the cold.  To be perfectly honest with you, those are some things that I am not often too thankful for, as I do not like winter or the cold!  Yet, I will admit that if I don’t have to go out into it, a snowy scene can be beautiful.  Sunlight sparkling on the snow crystals can look like diamonds scattered across the landscape.  The patterns of frost on windows are beautiful, as well.  And though the winter always seems long, we can trust God’s promise that it will not last forever, and that He will send His word to melt the snow and ice (vs. 18).  There is nothing more refreshing after a cold and hard winter than the warmer breeze of the coming spring!

What are you thankful to God for this past year?  What are some things that you can praise Him for?  Though we certainly shouldn’t wait for just the end of the year to thank and praise Him, this is always a good time to especially look back and think of the many blessings the Lord has given to us.  Like the psalmist of Psalm 147, let’s stop for a moment and think of some of the many things we can thank and praise the Lord Jesus for.

Given A Robe Of Righteousness

 Isaiah 61:10 - 62:3

Have you ever gone to a gathering of people, perhaps a party or some type of elegant affair, and felt totally out of place because you weren’t dressed properly?  Everyone was dressed in dignified or luxurious clothing, while you were there in jeans, casual shirt and sneakers.  Or perhaps after you arrived, you found that your clothes were terribly stained or torn.  If you are anything like me, you’d head straight for the door, and try to get out as quickly as possible!  However, what if the host comes to our rescue, and provides us with something more than suitable to wear?  That would spare us from shame and embarrassment!  In our Old Testament Scripture passage for this last week of the year, we will read of how we have been provided with the proper garments to wear into God’s presence.

As we know, having the proper clothes on for where we go is important.  Shorts and a t-shirt are not proper at a formal dinner for the head of state, nor a tuxedo or evening gown for a day at the beach.  When we come before God, we must also be properly clothed.  We must be clothed in garments of pure righteousness, without a single spot or stain of sin.  How are we going to be able to do that?  Speaking for myself, I know that every single day I do or say something that is wrong.  My feeble efforts at trying to do something good or righteous on my own can never achieve God’s standard.  My garments are not righteous, but instead are completely filthy!  As Isaiah said just a few chapters later, all of our righteousness, all of the good things we try to do in our own effort, are as filthy rags (Isaiah 64:6).

However, as we read in the opening verses of our Scripture passage, Isaiah tells us that we can rejoice and be joyful, because God has provided us with the proper garments to wear!  These are garments that have been bought and paid for with the Blood of His only-begotten Son, Jesus Christ.  If we have accepted the Lord Jesus Christ as our Savior, then we have a garment of salvation and a robe of righteousness that He has covered and clothed us with (vs. 10).  Not only that, but the Lord provides us with costly jewels and ornaments to wear, such as would have been worn in ancient wedding feasts.

Isaiah is describing here a picture of imputed righteousness.  None of us have any righteousness of our own capable of meeting God’s holy, sinless standard.  We are all sinners.  As Scripture says, “For all have sinned, and come short of the glory of God (Romans 3:23).  We deserve death and hell.  Jesus, though, has never sinned, yet He took our punishment, bearing the wrath of God, which should have been ours, and dying upon the Cross of Calvary.  He took our punishment and gave all who believe His righteousness.  When a penitent sinner recognizes he cannot achieve his own righteousness by works, and repents and calls upon the mercy of God, the Lord covers him with His own righteousness by grace through faith.

This is not news that we should keep to ourselves.  As our passage continues, we read that God wanted Jerusalem to be a light to shine forth all throughout the world (vs. 1-2).   As believers and followers of the Lord Jesus Christ, we are to be that light, shining forth and telling others of how they, too, can be clothed with salvation and righteousness.  His message and offer of salvation is for all, both Jews and Gentiles alike, to bring them out of darkness and into His light.  This world is in hopeless darkness, with terrible sin and crime running rampant all around.  Everyday one hears of awful things happening.  It is indeed dark days.  When it is dark we stumble and fall.  We need a light.  Jesus is that Light which we need.  We are to reflect His light to others, directing them, just as a lighthouse does, safely to His shore.

When we accept the Lord Jesus as Savior, and when we, to the best of our ability seek to reflect that light to others, not only does He clothe us in garments of salvation and righteousness, but He will also crown us with a crown of glory and a royal diadem, and will give us a new name (vs. 2-3).  With the new year just a few days away, let’s be sure that we have the correct clothes on.  Be sure you have the garments of salvation and righteousness from the Lord Jesus, along with a crown of glory and royal diadem.  And let us also be a light to others, pointing them to the Lord Jesus.

Have You Any Room For Jesus?

 Luke 2:1-14

Over the past several years, my devotional Scripture study nearest to Christmas has been a look at a particular character associated with the Christmas narrative.  In keeping with that, today’s look at the nativity Scripture will focus on one who has sometimes been cast in a negative light as the Christmas account is told, and that is the innkeeper.  Let’s take a quick look today at the innkeeper, and see what we can learn from what could have been his story.

As we read the familiar Scripture verses from Luke’s Gospel, we see that the innkeeper is not even specifically mentioned.  He is only a part of the account by inference, as we know that Joseph went to an inn, and was turned away because of lack of room.  It is thus implied that an innkeeper spoke with him.  As we read the Scripture, Mary and Joseph needed to travel to Bethlehem because of the census that Caesar Augustus had ordered.  When they arrived, the inn in Bethlehem was full (vs. 7).

Bethlehem was located just a few miles southeast of Jerusalem, and was not a big village at this time.  There was likely only one inn there, and probably not a very large one, at that.  With more people than usual traveling at this time due to the census, the few rooms it had would have filled up quickly with the people who had come to Bethlehem to register there for this census.  With Mary being nine months pregnant, the couple had to travel slowly, and Joseph had no way to reserve a room ahead of time.  By the time that they arrived in town, evening had come, and Mary’s labor had begun.  They desperately needed a room.

Let’s picture the scene.  Tired and hungry from the journey, they have just arrived at their destination, Bethlehem.  With no Google Maps, they look up and down the few streets, perhaps asking around, and finally locate the small inn.  Mary’s labor pains are coming periodically, and I’m sure she’s concerned about where she will be giving birth.  Joseph enters the inn, inquiring about a room.  Here we meet the innkeeper.  He only has a few rooms.  Normally Bethlehem is not a big travel destination.  Most people passing through are heading to Jerusalem, which is only a very short distance away.  No real need to stop in Bethlehem.  He tells Joseph that his rooms are unfortunately already filled.  Sorry, mister.  Joseph must have told him that his wife, Mary, is in labor, and they really need a place to stay.  Because we read that when Jesus was born, His parents laid him in a manger, an animal feeding trough, we believe that He was born in a stable or barn of some sort.  This was perhaps given to them for use by the innkeeper.  That way, Mary would have a private place to give birth, rather than out in the open where other people, coming for the census, would be camping.  And it is quite possible that the innkeeper provided fresh hay, and perhaps even some blankets for the couple to use.

Throughout the years, the innkeeper has suffered some rather unfair scorn because he turned Joseph and Mary away, thus allowing Jesus to be born in a stable, rather than a respectable room in an inn.  However, the innkeeper would have had no way of knowing that this baby was the promised Messiah.  And would it have been right for him to kick an already paid customer out of their room?  I don’t feel that the innkeeper should be looked down upon.

What about us today?  Have we turned Jesus away from the door of our heart?  Is there any room for Him in our life?  The innkeeper had no way of knowing who this couple were, and Who their Baby would be.  However, we do.  There is no excuse we can give.  What is taking up the space in your heart, in your life, where there is no room for Jesus to come?  Money?  Possessions?  Job?  Other people?  So many folks seem to have plenty of room for these, but for the Savior who died for us, there seems to be no room.  Jesus is knocking, and asking for admission to your heart this Christmas.  Have you any room for Jesus?

From The Manger To The Cross

 Hebrews 10:5-10

Many people send Christmas cards out to family and friends.  If your cards are at all religious, they will have scenes of Jesus in the manger, with Mary and Joseph, or of the shepherds with the angels, or perhaps the three magi.  I remember several years back getting a religious Christmas card that was quite different.  The card showed a close-up drawing of the Baby Jesus in the manger, and in particular His hand.  There was a second drawing.  This one was just of the Baby’s hand, and in the hand was a large nail or spike going through it.  Light from a window in the manger cast a shadow on the ground in the form of a Cross.  The message of that Christmas card was to show that the real reason that Jesus came to earth and was born was to give His life as a sacrifice for our sins upon the Cross.  Our Scripture passage today from the New Testament Book of Hebrews highlights this truth.

From the earliest chapters of the Bible we read of the Fall of Adam, how our relationship with God was broken, and how man has been a sinner ever since.  In order for that relationship to be restored with God, a sacrifice is needed.  Throughout the Old Testament, man brought animal sacrifices, sheep, goats, cattle, to the Temple.  However, these sacrifices could never fully atone for the sins of man.  As Scripture says in Hebrews 10:4, the blood of an animal cannot take away sin.  The men who made the sacrifices, the priests in the Temple, were sinners themselves.  What was needed was a sinless sacrifice, a perfect sacrifice.  That sacrifice would be made by the sinless Son of God, the Lord Jesus Christ, offering Himself as the sacrifice upon the Cross.

The opening verses from our Scripture (vs. 5-7) are a quote from Psalm 40:6-8.  Animal sacrifices were not sufficient to cover the sin we have.  For man to be redeemed, it has to be through the sacrifice of Jesus, His sinless Body upon the Cross.  The Cross was always the purpose of Jesus coming to earth.  God became man with the full intention that His Body was to be offered up in sacrifice upon the Cross.

What Jesus accomplished on the Cross was enough to save us (vs. 10).  Nothing has to be added to it.  Nor do we need to accept Jesus as Savior multiple times, over and over again.  Every time we commit a sin, which we all do, we do not need to go and get “re-saved” again and again.  Jesus has redeemed us “once for all”.

The old, repetitious sacrificial system was removed to make way for the new, once-for-all sacrifice of Jesus, who had obediently done God’s will (vs. 9-10).  Jesus came to offer His Body on the Cross for us in a sacrifice that is completely acceptable to God.  The only way to please God is by coming to Him in faith to be forgiven, and then following Him in loving obedience.

Bethlehem is just under six miles southeast of Jerusalem.  The hill of Calvary is just outside of Jerusalem on the north side, so about six miles northwest of Bethlehem.  As we look at the beautiful nativity displays this Christmas, thinking of the wonderful, miraculous birth of our Savior, let us not forget the real purpose and reason that He came.  Jesus went from the manger to the Cross.  Six miles northwest, 33 years later, He would give His life a perfect sacrifice for our sins.  Have you accepted that sacrifice for yourself?  Have you asked the Lord Jesus to be your own personal Savior?  If not, do that today.  Accept the gift that God gave for you, the gift of His only begotten Son, Jesus.