TRUTH begets TRUTH

Yesterday morning I was at Willow early. I had to drop off my son for a Student Impact trip to Salem Baptist Church. I had some time to kill before the 9:00 AM service, so I grabbed a cup of coffee from Dr. B's and went up to the mezzanine and retrieved a Bible off of the shelf.

I've been in the book of Esther for my morning devotional, so I figured I would take the time to get ahead (actually finished the book). The book of Ester is a great story, probably best know for the verse, Esther 4:14 (New International Version, ©2010)
14 For if you remain silent at this time, relief and deliverance for the Jews will arise from another place, but you and your father’s family will perish. And who knows but that you have come to your royal position for such a time as this? Bill had taught out of the book not too long ago.

This week, Bill began a new series named "He Shall be Called...", leading up to the Christmas services. He taught out of Isiah 9:6. When Bill got to the name, Prince of Peace, the light came on for me. Bill spent a good bit of time expounding the value of Peace. Jesus taught us to be peacemakers. The Beatitudes text in the book of Matthew says that they will be called "the sons of God". Other translations use the phrase "Children of God".

So, you may ask, what's the connection? The light came on... what did it illuminate? How many Peacemakers do you know? I mean REAL peacemakers. The 100% Forgive and Forget type... Is that you? Can you "... love your enemies?" as Jesus commands us to do?

That is my point. Basic human nature frustrates peace. It seeks revenge. Retribution and hatred are much more likely to be human responses than peace and love. Back to Esther... Remember Haman? He was the "right-hand man" of Artaxerxes II and he thought pretty highly of himself. He thought so highly of himself that he expected everyone to bow down to him in respect. Mordecai, a Jew, refused to do that. He would only honor the one true God in that manner. This incensed Haman. It angered him so much that with the help of his wife and some friends, he devised a plot to kill ALL of the Jews in Persia. NOT a very peaceful plan!

Long story short, what happened to Haman? He was impaled on the very pole he had erected to kill Mordecai! What is the lesson here? God's plan is for Peace. When we let our human nature, a sinful, prideful nature, get in the way, we become victims of our own wickedness. As we prepare to celebrate the birth of the Prince of Peace, what will it be for you? Peace and Love or hatred and pride?

Merry Christmas 2008!

Christmas 2008 is nearing it conclusion, for me! It began as does every day for me. I literally roll out of bed and the first thing that hits the floor is my knees. I find myself in prayer, often times for several minutes. Once again, today was no different.

My kids are older now, almost 14, so there aren't quites as many presents under the tree, AND they weren't up before the sun. Opening gifts was "quick & easy" compared to many years past.

Tradition has us spending the afternoon with Karen's extended family. Over the years that experience has ranged from joyous to, well.... sometimes just a bit less than "good." I would rate today as a "better than average!"

I guess where I am going with this is.... today could have been so much more, and it wasn't. It was so full of potential, unfulfilled. My morning devotional CHALLENGED me to take advantage TODAY to share the Gospel of Jesus. TODAY!

Those that know me have heard me say before, "What would Jesus have me do, Today?" Today, on the anniversary of His birth, I was to share the gospel with someone, anyone. I didn't. Not because there was no opportunity. I was surrounded by people who know the "Our Father..." none of who KNOW THE FATHER!

How did you do? I would Really like to know. Did anyone have the opportunity to SHARE Jesus with another? More accurately I should ask, "Did anyone SHARE Jesus with another?" Tell me! I would love to hear your story.

Willow Creek has had some rather large Christmas productions in years past. For the two years prior, they have presented a rather elaborate production called "Imagine Christmas." It was very entertaining and quite spectacular. I'll say that the Christmas message was even faithfully delivered.

This year was a bit different. It was still a much larger and still a very "professional" and polished production. But this year much of the "glitz' was gone, replaced by a very simple central theme. Light. This year the gospel of the "Good News" was presented in a more comprehensive manner. Jesus was born. We know that. We celebrate that and for good reason. For a moment, go back to my post yesterday. If we simply celebrated the birth of a baby, how significant would that be? Jesus is the Way, the Truth and the Life.

He brought the Light to our dark world. And then what? He called all believers to be the "Light of the world." His birth, foretold by the bright and shinning star illuminated the world in a way that had not been seen since the creation. He is the Light and he is the souce of our Light!

Willow is currently offering the entire Christmas service (I believe that this is the first or second of 12) as streaming media, online. I don't know how long this link will last and I'll warn you that it comes in at just over 95 minutes. But, I would encourage you to check it out. I can assure you that it will NOT be your typical "Christmas Service".

http://www.willowcreek.org/christmasvideo

The Real Reason for Christmas.

On this morning of Christmas Eve 2008 I sat down for my morning devotional. All year I have been using Rick Renner's Sparking Gems from the Greek. I found this morning's lesson to be particularly insightful. I would estimate that over half of the world's population is familiar with the Christmas Story. What do they know? They know that a baby was born. This birth was different from all other human births, before and since, as it was the product of immaculate conception and it produced the Savior of the World. Born on Christmas day was God in the flesh, Fully Divine, yet fully human.

So what? Why does that matter? It matters because Jesus came to SAVE us. He was born to DIE. He didn't die just any death. He died the most horrible death that one could imagine and he did it willingly. He did it for you and He did it for me. HIS life was significant. His teaching was relevant. But, HIS death is our Salvation! We celebrate his birth, as the Lamb of God that would that would be sacrificed for our sin, so that we could spend eternity with God in heaven.

Below is Rick's lesson:

Do you plan on taking the time this Christmas to tell your children or friends about the purpose of Christmas? If so, what will you tell them?

Although we usually meditate on the birth of Jesus at this time of the year, His purpose in coming to earth was not to give us the sweet picture of a baby in a Bethlehem manger. That little baby was born to die for you and for me and thus pay for the forgiveness of our sins. He was born to die on the Cross that we might be reconciled to God.

People rarely think of the Cross at Christmastime because it is the time set aside to celebrate Jesus' birth. But in Philippians 2, Paul connects the two thoughts. As Paul writes about God becoming a man, he goes on to express the ultimate reason God chose to take this amazing action. Paul says in verse 8, "And being found in fashion as a man, he humbled himself, and became obedient unto death, even the death of the cross."

Philippians 2:8 says that Jesus was "found in fashion as a man." That word "fashion" is the Greek word schema. This is extremely important, for this was precisely the same word that was used in ancient times to depict a king who exchanged his kingly garments for a brief period of time for the clothing of a beggar.

How wonderful that the Holy Spirit would inspire the apostle Paul to use this exact word! When Jesus came to earth, it really was a moment when God Almighty shed His glorious appearance and exchanged it for the clothing of human flesh. Although man is wonderfully made, his earthly frame is temporal dust and cannot be compared to the eternal and glorious appearance of God. However, for the sake of our redemption, God laid aside all of His radiant glory, took upon Himself human flesh, and was manifested in the very likeness of a human being.

This is the true story of a King who traded His kingly garments and took upon Himself the clothing of a servant. But the story doesn't stop there. Jesus — our King who exchanged His royal robes for the clothing of flesh —loved us so much that He "humbled himself, and became obedient unto death, even the death of the cross!"

The word "humbled" is the Greek word tapeinao, and it means to be humble, to be lowly, and to be willing to stoop to any measure that is needed. This describes the attitude God had when He took upon Himself human flesh. Think of how much humility would be required for God to shed His glory and lower Himself to become like a member of His creation. Consider the greatness of God's love that drove Him to divest Himself of all His splendor and become like a man. This is amazing to me, particularly when I think of how often the flesh recoils at the thought of being humble or preferring someone else above itself. Yet Jesus humbled Himself "and became obedient unto death, even the death of the cross."

The word "obedient" tells me that this was not a pleasurable experience that Jesus looked forward to in anticipation. To humble Himself to this extent required Jesus' deliberate obedience.

As preexistent God, Jesus came to earth for this purpose. But as man dressed in flesh, He despised the thought of the Cross (Hebrews 12:2) and could only endure its shame because He knew of the results that would follow. For Jesus to be obedient as a man, He had to choose to obey the eternal plan of God.

The word "obedient" that is used to describe Jesus is the Greek word hupakouo, from the word hupo, which means under, and the word akouo, which means I hear. When these two words are compounded together, they picture someone who is hupo —under someone else's authority, and akouo — listening to what that superior is speaking to him. After listening and taking these instructions to heart, this person then carries out the orders of his superior.

Thus, the word hupakouo tells us that obedient people are 1) under authority, 2) listening to what their superior is saying, and 3) carrying out the orders that have been given to them. This is what the word "obedient" means in this verse, and this is what obedience means for you and me.

You see, even Jesus had to come to this place of obedience. Although He knew that He was the Lamb slain before the foundation of the world, that didn't mean His flesh was excited about dying as the Lamb of God on the Cross. According to this verse in
Philippians 2:8, Jesus had to humble Himself and become "obedient" in order to follow God's plan. He wasn't looking forward to the experience of death on a Cross; He made a choice to humble Himself and to go to any measure in order to
accomplish the Father's plan.

So as we celebrate Christmas tonight and tomorrow days, be sure to remember the real purpose of Christmas. It isn't just a time to reflect on the baby boy who was born in Bethlehem so long ago. That baby was God manifest in the flesh. He was born to die for you and for me. Jesus was so willing to do whatever was required in order to redeem us from Satan and sin that He humbled Himself even unto death on a Cross! That is what Christmas is all about!

To all of you I wish a very Merry Christmas and a Blessed New Year!