Month: December 2015

I know, I know.  It messes with our nativity sets and our Christmas cards when we allow the truth of the Christmas story to seep through.  Our Mary and Joseph portrayals are often too old… and too white.  The holy family probably did not have halos around their heads, nor did the baby Jesus.

And the wise men?  Well there were not necessarily just three.  We know there was more than one (wise “MEN”), but we don’t know if they arrived on camels or horses.  Camels are certainly more exotic; horses more practical for longer distances.  I actually sat on a camel once… wouldn’t want to cross the desert on one!  They do look cool on our nativity scenes, though, but then so did my son’s plastic Godzilla when he occasionally appeared.

But we do know this.   They were perhaps not wise in how they went about the search for Jesus.  I can only credit their lack of knowledge of Herod and his insanity with their coming right into the lions den… looking for the baby born to be his replacement!  Herod was driven mad with jealousy over this child born “king of the Jews!”

We do know that  the wise men (magi) from the east did not appear in the story of Jesus until he was at least two years of age.  (see Matthew 2:16)  They came to the house (in Nazareth) to worship Him and bring their gifts.  And after they left, Herod madly set out to search for the male child, born within the past two years, and slaughtered every child in the area in an effort to destroy his competition before he became old enough to rule.

No one can imagine with accuracy the depth and length our spiritual enemy will stoop to destroy the image of the Christ child.   It is a reality that all who bear that image drive him to jealousy and rage.  He is intent to stamp out the image of the One who, at the cross, crushed his head as God promised in Genesis 3:15.  Satan is a defeated foe because of Jesus.

The wise men went home a different way.   An angel appeared and warned them not to return to Herod.  And so, the Gospel tells us, “they went home a different way.”  That’s about more than geography.  That is a clear statement that their meeting with Jesus changed them.  They saw salvation… hope personified… Divine love in the person of a child. And it changed them.  They went home a different way.

And when you meet Jesus, you will, too!

And going into the house they saw the child with Mary His mother and they fell down and  worshiped Him.  (Matthew 2:11)

FOR REFLECTION:  Ask God to help your worship this year to transform you.

Deity in diapers. This was how Max Lucado described the reality of the incarnation.  How do we even wrap our minds around that concept?  The baby that laid in the manger… made the manger?  More than that… He created the mother who bore Him and the carpenter who raised Him!

Away in a manger, no crib for a bed

The little Lord Jesus laid down his sweet head.

How do we come away from Christmas with anything but amazement…unless we haven’t been looking.  How did an entire village miss the entry of the Son of God onto the earth, into our time zone?  For them, I believe, it was business.  The crowds had shown up!  The cash registers were ringing, and the money was flowing.  There’s important work to be done!  How often have we missed the solemn, silent reality of Christmas because of our busyness?

For Jerusalem, just a brief walk away, it was different.  They were looking.  They were just looking for the wrong Messiah!  Jerusalem was continually being tripped up by false messiahs who would come, lead a few gullible followers astray, and end up having the whole bunch discredited and executed.  They knew when THEIR messiah came he would come with the thunder of hoof-beats and a commanding army following.  Their messiah was a deliverer who would break the yoke of Rome.  The missed the entrance of Jesus because of distraction… maybe even because of deception.

And Rome?  How did all of Rome miss the entry of the second Person of the Trinity coming to earth?  Rome had it all… power, money, business, art, entertainment, medicine, prestige.  It was the center of the world of the day… and she knew it!  Rome needed nothing or no one!  Rome was the beneficent… not the needy.  She was the one the world approached for help, not vice-versa.  Rome missed the humble entrance of Christ because of pride… the pride of life which is often the companion of the love of the world.  She was self-sufficient and fulfilled.  Why did they need a Messiah… to be saved from what?

And so the first Christmas came in the midst of an ordinary day and Deity was laid in the arms of a rural teen aged couple… the hope of the world came quietly and without recognition.  We can let Christmas slip by just like those who missed that first Christmas… with our self-sufficiency, our distraction, and our business.  Jesus never cries for your attention.

But you are wise if you give it.

Where is He who is born king of the Jews? For we saw his star when it rose and have come to worship Him.   (Matthew 2:2)

FOR REFLECTION:  Where are you most likely to lose Christmas this year?  What can you do to change that?

Last week our son Dave, who teaches art at Nease High School, invited me to chaperon a brief field trip with his class. We were going to see a glass blower in action in St Augustine, which was probably not something on my bucket list but there it was. And frankly, it was an amazing experience!

WE went to the studio of Thomas Long who has his art placed around the world. Most recently, Disney bought a $250,000 piece from him for display in Downtown Disney. So much for the starving artist motif!

Long’s process is a little different than most, and he uses electric ovens to heat the glass. These ovens run 24/7 at 2,000 degrees Fahrenheit! He patiently walked us through his process, then donned special glasses and opened what he called “the glory hole” to the oven. Anyone nearby felt the heat. All of us averted our eyes rather than look into the “glory” of that heat!

AND I thought about something as he continued talking. I thought about the verse we have come back to several times in these devotional thoughts. “And we beheld His glory; glory of the only begotten of the Father, full of grace and truth.”

How could we do that? God’s glory appearing to someone in the Old Testament was a death sentence. Moses asked God to “show me your glory.” And God placed Moses in the cleft of a rock and passed by, showing him only the back of His glory. (see Exodus 33:18-23)

But we don’t see the back of God’s glory. We behold the fullness of His glory in the face of Jesus. “Veiled in flesh,” we see the Godhead. “All the fullness of God” resided in Jesus. And we get to see it and live to tell about it!

Christmas reveals that glory to us. And not only that, but we are called to share that revelation with all who will hear. The glory of God, once found only in a pale refection in the heavens (“The heavens declare the glory of God”) now resides fully in the incarnation of God’s Son.

No wonder the angels sang “Glory to God in the highest….” And we can sing it too.

And the glory of the LORD will be revealed, and all people will see it together. For the mouth of the LORD has spoken. (Isaiah 40:5)

FOR REFLECTION: Thank God today that He has allowed us to “behold His glory” in Jesus!

When Christ came to earth in incarnation, He came as the One Who “is the image of the invisible God, the first-born of all creation.” (Colossians 1:15) He was the One Who made all things and in whom all things hold together. (Col 1:17) Yet He was also a baby, born in a manger that HE made…surrounded by people HE created… accompanied by angels Who had just served HIM. As difficult as it is for us to juxtapose all of that into one person without losing either His Deity or His humanity, this is precisely the One the Bible points to as the Christ Who was to come.

We could easily dismiss the Christmas account, explain away the humility and humanity of the incarnation as best we could, and simply worship One Who may or may not exist somewhere “out there.” Or we could sentimentalize the Christmas story and tear away the Deity of Jesus making the baby a welfare case that needed to be pitied… not worshiped. Some have chosen that route.

And yet the Bible tenaciously holds to the proclamation that, in that baby lying in an animal shed behind a Middle Eastern hostel in an occupied Roman territory, circa 1 AD GOD DWELT. God came down. The Word of the Father, now in fleshed appeared.

And we beheld His glory… and we behold it again at Christmas. Our Christmas lights, as prevalent as they are this time of year, can only dimly remind us of the glory that was contained in that newborn body. His nine-month journey within the body of a Jewish adolescent now completed, Jesus entered our world cold, hungry, and completely helpless.

God.  Helpless.

We cannot imagine the humility this took; we cannot understand the condescension of the Savior to this level. All we can do is sit back… and let the wonder in.

  Word of the Father, now in flesh appearing

  O come let us adore Him, O come let us adore Him

  O come let us adore Him, CHRIST THE LORD!

“Let this mind be in you that was also in Christ Jesus who, being in very nature God, did not consider equality with God something to be grasped but made Himself nothing….”  (Philippians 2:5-6)

FOR REFLECTION: How will the truth of Jesus’ incarnation enrich your Christmas celebration this year?

Words mean something. Every word we speak has weight, according to the Bible. Jesus, in fact, said that we will one day be judged by our own words! Our words say something about us. If we speak well, we will be perceived to be intelligent even if we’re not. Politicians and pundits and actors have learned this. If your communication skills are weak, it doesn’t matter what you know or how important your message, the hearer will often reject you.

Our words mean something. In Lewis Carrol’s imaginative “Alice in Wonderland,” the grinning Cheshire cat was asked what something meant that he had said. His response is classic. He said, “My words mean exactly what I want them to mean.” We know what our words mean. Words have impact.

Our words mean something. Ask the verbally abused child or spouse who is constantly terrorized by the words of an angry parent, or the bullied student who is contemplating suicide rather than face the ridicule of her friend’s words or posts on social media.

Words mean something. Sometimes words can build us up and other times tear us down. But words mean something.

That’s why it’s significant that when God wanted to say something that no one should miss, He sent it through Jesus. He is the articulation of the Godhead. The sermon that had to be watched, experienced, and related to. A message that could not, should not be garbled. There is no possible way that the Word of God could be misunderstood, mistranslated, or misheard.

And across cultures, across ages, across continents, and across history the Word of the Father still resonates and demands a hearing and ultimately a decision. Will you obey, or ignore? Will you kneel before Jesus, or stand unbending and proud…ultimately to be broken?

The Word of the Father now in flesh has appeared… and we behold His glory… the glory of the only begotten Son of the Father… full of grace and truth.

Words mean something. And no more important Word has ever been spoken or ever will be heard than Jesus.

The Word was made flesh and dwelt among us and we beheld His glory, glory of the only-begotten of the Father, full of grace and truth.    (John 1:14)

FOR REFLECTION: How can you help others hear the message of Christmas more clearly this year?

It’s always interesting for me to see how children respond to department store Santas… especially the younger ones.  They respond sometimes with tears, other times with curiosity, and sometimes with terror in their faces!  The braver kids will still work the camera for Mom and Dad and smile, but many I think are put off by the large man in the red suit and the fuzzy white beard.

But what would happen, I wonder, if we could take off Santa’s cap; pull off the white beard… and underneath the Santa costume is THEIR DADDY?  The looks of terror would turn to squeals of joy; the feelings of angst would turn to comfort as they look into their father’s face; the strange man is now a familiar presence and not an alien one.

Something like that happens to us when we realize that, as “a child is born to us and a son is given, ” certain aspects of God that may be terrifying and off-putting and anxiety-producing now become familiar, peaceful, and joyful for us.   That is why God gave His Son.  That is why “the Word became flesh and dwelt among us.”  That is why our Savior came… not in the terrifying garb of an angry God, but in the peaceful sounds of a newborn baby.

And that is why Emmanuel had to come.  We would never have understood God otherwise!  We would never have wanted to.  But now, we can draw near to Him.  Now, we can look into the face of our Savior and see the Father.  Now we can truly be in God’s presence without terror and cleansed from our guilt without shame.   Now we can come home.

And isn’t that what Christmas is all about?

For unto us a child is born, unto us a Son is given….and His name will be called Wonderful Counselor, mighty God, everlasting Father, prince of Peace.  (Isaiah 9:16-17)

FOR REFLECTION:  When did God become a comforting Presence for you, and not a troubling one?

Years ago I heard a story about a man in Chicago who chose to stay home on Christmas Eve as his family went to church. It was a cold night, the fire was roaring in the fireplace of his home, and he saw no sense in going out on such a terrible night to sing to a God he didn’t believe in anyway.

His struggle, at least intellectually, had to do with his doubt that God even existed and that, if He did exist, why He would want to communicate to His creation? And why does He allow suffering to come if He is God? It just didn’t make sense to him on any level. And so, smug in his unbelief and snug in his place before the fire, he sat.

That’s when the snow began falling in earnest, and the windchill dropped, and in desperation, birds began flying at his window toward the fire inside. One after the other, the small birds would pound into his window and collapse to their death. His heart was breaking at the plight of the birds and so, throwing on boots and his winter coat he went outside and began to furiously wave his arms hoping to scare the birds away. He jumped and then began shouting but all in vain. The birds kept pelting against the window and dying.

It was in that moment that the thought crossed his mind: If for just a moment I could become a bird, I could tell them to turn away before they hit the window. If I could only become a bird….
And suddenly, the light dawned in his heart. That was why God became a man. We would never understand Him if He simply remained in Heaven. And so He stepped into the cold waters of this planet and became a baby. God in flesh. Emmanuel.

Hot tears coursed down his cheeks as the truth suddenly dawned. And he knew that, in his care of these random birds, God cares so much more for people made in His image and wants none to suffer and none to die.

And suddenly, Christmas made sense.

The people who walked in darkness have seen a great light; on those living in a land of deep darkness the light has dawned. (Isaiah 9:2)

FOR REFLECTION: Who do you know today that is walking in darkness? How can you bring them to the light?

The Biblical doctrine of the incarnation (in-flesh-ing) of God requires us to accept two equal realities-that Jesus was FULLY God (Deity) and, at the same time, FULLY human. He was always and at all times 100% both. Now, like Mary, we try to grasp that reality and ask, “How can this be?” How can God come down to us in flesh? How can the same flesh we all wear bear within it “all the fullness of the Deity (godhead/Trinity) in bodily form? How can Trinity be contained in humanity? How can God come wrapped in the body of a baby?

And yet, that is precisely what the Bible teaches. “In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God and the Word was God. The same was in the beginning with God.” This Word that was the creative energy that called creation into existence…that was the second Person of the Trinity….the Son of God….became flesh and “pitched His tent” (lived) among us.

I sometimes think we have less trouble thinking about God….the God Who is “out there,” the God Who is beyond us, the God Who is transcendent….than we do thinking about God coming near to us. But to use Mark Batterson’s descriptive phrase, we must accept that God is “high” and at the same time that God is “nigh.”

It’s the “nigh” part that bothers us. It is the nearness and humanity of Jesus that countless false teachers and cult religions have tried to explain away. It is the humanity of Jesus that we stumble over, that the religious scholars of Jesus’ day stumbled over….that we try to explain away. We don’t want a God Who is “nigh”; not really. Because if we can understand Him, we are responsible to obey Him. If we can know Him, we are challenged to live or die for Him. If we can begin to understand Him, then we can draw near to Him.

If the Word has become flesh and dwells among us, we can follow Him. And that is precisely what Christmas calls us to do.

Therefore he had to be made like his brothers in every respect…. (Hebrews 2:17a)

FOR REFLECTION: Do you sometimes find it difficult to think about Jesus as God with flesh and blood?

We have all done it.  Spoken in clichés, or in words designed to hide more than to reveal…to disguise rather than unveil.  Every relationship has the opportunity to remain on the surface of who you are or to go deep and reveal your heart.  Communication is the vehicle through which that can happen.  Relationships exist so this has a place to happen.

While some communication exists to transfer information, the process of communication is fundamentally about self-revelation or self-disclosure.  The most meaningful levels of communication are those in which we learn, not data, but who the person is we are communicating with.  Communication is about removing the mask of superficiality, of going below the surface of a relationship into the depths with another.

Adam and Eve began life in the Garden at a place of absolute transparency. (see Genesis 2:25) They were “not afraid” to let the other person see them as they were.  But when sin invaded, they hid from God and from each other.  We do the same.  Our communication becomes unclear, clouded with fear, half-truths, and superficiality.  To truly communicate strips all these things away… we can show the other person who we are without fear.  “There is no fear in love but perfect love casts out fear.”  (1 John 4:18)

Christmas was the ultimate step of God making the effort to self-reveal to us.  In the incarnation of Jesus, we see the Deity…the fullness of God indwelling Jesus bodily.   God is not hidden from us anymore… nor does He ever want to be.  We don’t have to wonder Who God is;  He came as a baby at Bethlehem.  “He who has seen Me has seen the Father,” Jesus later would say.  In Jesus, God is self-revealed!   “In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.”  (John 1:1)  God perfectly revealed Himself in the vulnerability and weakness and sweetness of a human baby.

And with Christmas, we can celebrate the God Who came to show us Who He was!

   Veiled in flesh the Godhead see,
Hail the incarnate Deity;
Born as man, with men to dwell,
Jesus, our Emmanuel!

“For in him all the fullness of God was pleased to dwell, and through him to reconcile to himself all   things, whether on earth or in heaven, making peace by the blood of his cross.”  (Colossians 1:19)

FOR REFLECTION:  How has God revealed Himself personally in your life?