Christmas

Readings for today: Revelation 11-13

Christmas Day. The day the world shifted on its axis. The day the Kingdom of heaven established a foothold on earth. The day the Messianic plan of God found fulfillment. In a very real sense, today is the beginning of the beginning of the end. The end of the world as we know it. The end of suffering and pain and grief and death. The end of sin and evil and the works of the devil. From this point forward, the enemy will be in retreat. From this point forward, the forces of darkness will flee before the light. From this point forward, death begins to work backwards as Christ begins to establish His rule and reign over all He has made.

This is why I loved reading the cry of victory from Revelation this morning. “The seventh angel blew his trumpet, and there were loud voices in heaven saying, “The kingdom of the world has become the kingdom of our Lord and of his Christ, and he will reign forever and ever.“ The twenty-four elders, who were seated before God on their thrones, fell facedown and worshiped God, saying, “We give you thanks, Lord God, the Almighty, who is and who was, because you have taken your great power and have begun to reign. The nations were angry, but your wrath has come. The time has come for the dead to be judged and to give the reward to your servants the prophets, to the saints, and to those who fear your name, both small and great, and the time has come to destroy those who destroy the earth.” Then the temple of God in heaven was opened, and the ark of his covenant appeared in his temple. There were flashes of lightning, rumblings and peals of thunder, an earthquake, and severe hail.” (Revelation‬ ‭11‬:‭15‬-‭19‬ ‭CSB‬‬) While we have yet to hear the seventh trumpet, the birth of Christ is God’s guarantee that one day soon it will blow. By sending His only Son to become flesh and blood and take on a fully human nature, God is guaranteeing His final victory. He is giving us every reason to place our trust in Him. We don’t have to wonder. We don’t have to worry. We don’t have to play the odds or take bets. Christ is God’s answer to all that wrong in the world. Christ is God’s guarantee that all will be made right.

As I said earlier, today marks the beginning of the beginning of the end. This is why the angel calls the birth of Jesus “good news of great joy for all the people.” Today presents an invitation to every human being living on earth to join the winning side. Become part of the winning team. Because of Jesus, the Temple of God in heaven is now open. We have access to 24/7 into the presence of God Himself. God has taken the extraordinary step to establish a relationship with us. And the celebration of Christmas is our chance to respond to Him.

Readings for tomorrow: Revelation 14-18

Jesus

Readings for today: Matthew 1, Luke 1:1-2:38

It’s easy to breeze through these passages because they have become so familiar to us. Every Christmas we revisit them. Every Christmas we tell the story yet again. Every Christmas, we perform pageants and plays and sing familiar carols as we celebrate what God has done in Jesus Christ. But familiarity can often breed contempt. What was once a miraculous and glorious mystery becomes mundane and ordinary. That’s why it’s important to ask the Holy Spirit to speak to us as we read the Bible. He is the one who makes the words on the page come alive. He is the one who inspires our hearts and fires our imaginations as we engage the text. And if we listen to Him closely, He will reveal things to us that we might otherwise miss as we work through the Bible year after year.

I cannot tell you the number of times I have read the Christmas story. It has to be hundreds. And yet this year, I found myself paying less attention to the people in the story - Mary, Joseph, Zechariah, Elizabeth, etc. - and more attention to the words God used to describe what was happening. Mary will give birth to a son and His name will be Jesus for He will save His people from their sins. This is to fulfill what the ancient prophet had spoken about a virgin conceiving a son named Immanuel which means “God with us.” John will be great in the sight of the Lord and filled with the Holy Spirit. Jesus will be great in the sight of the Lord and will be called Son of the Most High. He will be conceived by the Holy Spirit and will be called the Son of God. Simeon predicted this child would be the rise and fall of many in Israel and Anna believed His birth signified the redemption of Jerusalem. Each of these passages in isolation is powerful enough to stand on their own. String them altogether and it’s breathtaking and overwhelming in scope.

Savior. Immanuel. Son of the Most High. Son of God. Redemption of Jerusalem. Light of the Gentiles. Glory of Israel. All this and more is revealed in Jesus and it’s why His birth is considered the hinge point of human history. It’s why billions around the world today and throughout the centuries have placed their trust in Him. He is the good news of great joy that is for all people. He is the peace of God breaking into the world. He is the hope of heaven come to earth. Place your trust in Him today!

Readings for tomorrow: Matthew 2, Luke 2:39-52

Jesus is the Centerpiece

Readings for today: Hebrews 1-4

Hebrews is a great book to read the week leading up to Christmas because of how it focuses our attention on Christ. The author has a clear view of Jesus. He knows Jesus is greater than the angels. Greater than the prophets of old. Greater than even Moses who came before Him. There is none like Christ. None whom the Father claims as His Son. None who was given all authority in heaven and on earth. None who even now sits on the throne. Only Jesus. He cannot be dismissed. He cannot be ignored. He cannot be denied. He cannot be commercialized or trivialized. His birth is the greatest miracle the world has ever known. His life is the greatest testimony the world has ever seen. His death is the greatest sacrifice ever made. His resurrection is the greatest victory ever won. And all of this is what we celebrate on Christmas.

I’ve been preaching Christmas Eve services for over twenty years now and the story never gets old. It’s incredibly humbling to get to share the good news of great joy each and every year. I still cannot believe I get to do what I do. I stand in a long of line of heralds who came before me. Men and women like Paul and Priscilla. Apollos and Junia. The unnamed author of Hebrews and the disciple whom Jesus loved. Not to mention the thousands upon thousands of pastors and missionaries and theologians throughout history who dedicated their lives to this same proclamation. The Word became flesh and made His dwelling among us. The Son of God took on human form and entered the world. The Spirit of God hovered over the virgin womb of Mary and conceived the God-Man. The Son of the Most High became one of us in order to give His life for us. This is why the writer of Hebrews talks about Jesus as the great high priest who suffers like we suffer. Endures the same temptations we endure. Lived as we live. In this way, He can identify with us in our weaknesses and present them before the Father. This is why He came. It’s incredible. There are no words.

As you hustle about these final days before Christmas, here’s my prayer for you…“So, my dear Christian friends, companions in following this call to the heights, take a good hard look at Jesus. He’s the centerpiece of everything we believe, faithful in everything God gave him to do.” (‭‭Hebrews‬ ‭3‬:‭1‬-‭2 MSG‬‬) Keep your eyes fixed on Jesus. Spend time with Him every single day. Let His Word dwell in you richly. Let His love fill your soul with joy. Let His passion to reach the lost compel you to share Christ with those around you and invite them to join you on Christmas Eve. Most of all, let the miracle of His birth fill you with awe and wonder yet again as you approach the manger.

Readings for tomorrow: Hebrews 5-8

The Mystery of God

Readings for today: Micah 3, Revelation 10

Yesterday I ran across a quote from an old preacher who said, “The miracle of Christ coming into the world is God’s guarantee that all His promises will be fulfilled.” I thought about that quote this morning as I read these words from the Book of Revelation. “And the angel whom I saw standing on the sea and on the land raised his right hand to heaven and swore by him who lives forever and ever, who created heaven and what is in it, the earth and what is in it, and the sea and what is in it, that there would be no more delay, but that in the days of the trumpet call to be sounded by the seventh angel, the mystery of God would be fulfilled, just as he announced to his servants the prophets.” (Revelation‬ ‭10:5-7‬)

The image is powerful. A mighty angel standing astride the world. One foot on the sea. One foot on the land. Not one square inch of creation is allowed to stand apart. The ripple effect of what he has to say will impact the world. He opens his mouth and his voice thunders. Seven times the earth shakes at the sound of his words. What does the angel say? What do his words portend? We are not given that knowledge. John is not allowed to even write them down. We only know that the angel who delivered them swore by God’s great name that a day would come when the trumpet would sound and all would be revealed and the mystery of God fulfilled.

So what is the mystery of God? Is it a specific timeline of the last days? Is it the name of the Anti-Christ? Is it a roadmap of the future revealed to those who can string together obscure clues found throughout the Scriptures? Despite all the hype you might hear from different preachers who claim a special knowledge of God’s mystery not available to most people, it’s actually none of those things. How do I know? Because it’s referenced several times throughout the New Testament. In Colossians 2:2, the Apostle Paul is praying for the local church and local believers and he says, I want them to “reach all the riches of full assurance of understanding and the knowledge of God’s mystery which is Christ.” In Ephesians 3:6-10, Paul describes the mystery as the “unsearchable riches of Christ” which are now proclaimed to the Gentiles. To the Corinthians, he says, “We impart a secret and hidden wisdom of God” which is Christ and Him crucified and he describes himself as a “servant of Christ and steward of the mysteries of God.” Building on Paul’s testimony, the church throughout her history has proclaimed the “central mystery of our faith” in liturgical worship gatherings…“Christ has died, Christ is risen, Christ will come again.”

Friends, the fundamental mystery foretold by the prophets of old, testified to by the apostles of the New Testament, and proclaimed by the church throughout the last two thousand years is Christ. Nothing more. Nothing less. Nothing else. Christ has come. Christ has died. Christ has risen. Christ has ascended. Christ will come again. He is the heart of our faith. He is what makes our faith unique. He is hidden wisdom and knowledge of God. He is the power of God veiled in human flesh for all to see. He is the incarnate deity come to dwell with man. He is both the guarantee and fulfillment of the plan of God. In Christ, all the promises of God are Yes and Amen. This is what we celebrate on Christmas Eve every year. He is not a puzzle to put together. He is not a problem to solve. He is not a philosophy to study and understand. We cannot get our minds around Emmanuel. We can only bow before Him in wonder and awe and worship.

Readings for tomorrow: Micah 4-5, Revelation 11