Category: Isaiah

  • On the Day – Some Christmas Thoughts

    Banner styled as a frosted window with the text Christmas Services

    I have been thinking about Christmas a lot lately.  So, I’m sure, have been most people. Some can’t wait for the arrival, while others can’t wait for it to end.

    I can see both perspectives. It is painful to endure if you see Christmas as being all about the hype and hoopla (and there is plenty of that) or the constant parade of advertisements pandering to every greedy cell in our bodies.

    It is a fantastic season if you enjoy Christmas as a series of parties and family get-togethers. If not, you want it to be over.

    If the season is about Advent leading up to Christmas and celebrating the birth of Emmanuel, God with us, it is a special season indeed.

    For the believer, Christmas is about Christ. 

    Therefore the Lord himself will give you a sign. Behold, the virgin shall conceive and bear a son, and shall call his name Immanuel. Isaiah 7:14 ESV

    In the sixth month the angel Gabriel was sent from God to a city of Galilee named Nazareth, 27 to a virgin betrothed to a man whose name was Joseph, of the house of David. And the virgin’s name was Mary. And he came to her and said, “Greetings, O favored one, the Lord is with you!”But she was greatly troubled at the saying, and tried to discern what sort of greeting this might be. And the angel said to her, “Do not be afraid, Mary, for you have found favor with God. And behold, you will conceive in your womb and bear a son, and you shall call his name Jesus. He will be great and will be called the Son of the Most High. And the Lord God will give to him the throne of his father David,and he will reign over the house of Jacob forever, and of his kingdom there will be no end.” And Mary said to the angel, “How will this be, since I am a virgin?” And the angel answered her, “The Holy Spirit will come upon you, and the power of the Most High will overshadow you; therefore the child to be born will be called holy—the Son of God.” Luke 1:26-35 ESV

    The critical moment in history, foretold by these words, is while we celebrate Christmas. It’s why we have Christmas Eve and Christmas Day services.

    Warning … personal rant follows…

    It saddens me to see how few churches even bother with a Christmas Day service anymore. Our community has approximately 60 local assemblies, and only two offer Christmas Day services (at least according to a quick online search). Perhaps there are more than the two, but whatever the actual number, it is a decided minority.

    Pastors have explained that the service is not offered because of poor attendance and the staff being given the day off.

    I oppose attending a  Christmas Day service as a legalistic requirement or empty ritual. I’m not condemning the churches that don’t offer Christmas Day; after all, it isn’t a faith essential to gather on December 25. Still, it does break my heart that even believers have relegated celebrating Christ’s birth to a secondary or even tertiary status.

    Whether you attend a Christmas Day service or not, take some time during the day, amidst the festivities, to celebrate the reason for the season and praise the Lord.

    Be blessed

    Hallelu Yah / Praise God 

    Kevin

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  • Scars – the healing power of the gospel

    solitary skydiver in an olive-drab parachute

    Since it’s Remembrance Day and a holiday, I opted to dig  out a back issue from 2004. It isn’t about Remembrance Day, but I want to take a moment to thank all who have served and are serving. 

    Now, onto talking about scars.

    On the lower part of my left leg is a divot. I got it many years ago when the ground and I had a disagreement after a skydiving accident. My landing wasn’t very smooth, and I caught my leg in a gopher hole, smashed it against a rock, and gave myself a greenstick fracture.

    The leg has long since healed, but the scarring remains. In this case, there is not so much of a visible scar as most of the damage was below the skin, but it is scarring nonetheless. That’s not abnormal. Scarring is part of the healing process.

    I have plenty of other scars from surgeries, accidents, and life in general. Some are visible, others not. Jesus forgives us our sins, and he heals us.

    If we say we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us. If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness. 1 John 1:8-9 ESV

    Jesus understood scarring. He bore many injuries and indignities for us.

    But he was pierced for our transgressions;
        he was crushed for our iniquities;
    upon him was the chastisement that brought us peace,
        and with his wounds we are healed. Isaiah 53:5 ESV

    Yet often, when we’re healed, physically, emotionally, or spiritually, and even when he’s forgiven us of our sins, the scars will remain.

    Often, the scarring isn’t visible on the surface, but it’s there nonetheless. There are the scars of damaged relationships, divorces, broken families, criminal records, loss of employment, ruined reputations, loss of credibility, and more. Our bad choices can leave a lot of rubble behind, even when Jesus has brought us into the right relationship with Him and healed us of our part of the damage.

    Our forgiveness doesn’t give us license to keep on sinning. Each time we mess up, we have the potential of leaving a scar on someone else. We can leave the debris behind, cluttering the way for someone else.

    We walk by grace, not by law, but we can learn much from the moral portions of the law. The ceremonial law was for the Jewish people, as was their criminal law, but the moral law still has something to offer us. The law no longer binds us. Our sins are forgiven, but there is danger when we drift away from its precepts.

    Learning and obeying God’s truth can keep you from much of the damage that leaves scars. It’s not a guarantee because other people are always in our lives, but it will make a huge difference.

    Until next time, when faced with the opportunity to sin, remember that Jesus forgives and heals, but you can still carry the scars. Flee the temptation and avoid the damage altogether.

    Praise the Lord for His guidance, patience, and mercy.

    Hallelu Yah / Praise God 

    Kevin

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    Never let the enemy tell you that you are worthless or insignificant. Your value in God’s eyes is so great that it was worth dying for. You are a blessing to the world. You are so precious to God that his plan for heaven will not be complete without you.