Tag: Christmas

The Perfect Gift for Getting the Job Done

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(Isaiah 50:4-9)

It’s a pretty common formula in movies: the main character or group is tasked with securing some desirable object or treasure either for themselves or on behalf of someone else. After overcoming obstacles and adversity from things like boobytraps, rivals, or villains, they eventually succeed in getting their hands on the object. However, getting their hands on it is only part of the job; the rest of the challenge is getting away with it and/or being able to get it to the person who requested it. If that doesn’t happen then the job was only half done. And half done isn’t good enough.

When we explain to others why Jesus’ birth is such a big deal in Christianity, it isn’t uncommon to offer the simple explanation that Jesus had to be born so that he could die on the cross to pay for our sins. And this is true. But if Jesus’ death was the only reason we understand that he had to be born as a man, then the job would be only half done. And half done isn’t good enough. 

Because if we just fast-forwarded to Jesus’ death, as if what happened between his birth and death didn’t matter, we would be missing a big part of what made his death so significant. In order for his death to matter, he had to be the perfect sacrifice. And in order to be the perfect sacrifice, he had to live perfectly, without any sin whatsoever. When later reflecting on Jesus’ life, that was exactly what Peter described:  “For you know that it was not with perishable things such as silver or gold that you were redeemed from the empty way of life handed down to you from your ancestors, but with the precious blood of Christ, a lamb without blemish or defect. He was chosen before the creation of the world, but was revealed in these last times for your sake” (1 Peter 1:18-20).

While the prophet Isaiah served seven centuries before Jesus’ birth, his words before are still serving us twenty centuries after Jesus’ birth! More than any other prophet, Isaiah delivered descriptive details that specified the Messiah with precision. God used Isaiah in a unique way at times in his ministry to speak as the Savior himself. We read Isaiah’s words, but we hear Jesus’ voice. The specificity and precision of Isaiah’s words don’t allow for us to take his words in any other way than as those of Jesus himself. And, since we have the added blessing of the New Testament as a historical cross reference, we can see through Isaiah’s writings when and how Jesus’ words and works were carried out. Through them, we have confidence that Jesus didn’t leave the job only half done, but flawlessly carried out the mission his Father entrusted to him and secured our salvation. 

As we consider the first portion of the verses from Isaiah 50, the Gospel this morning provides an excellent example. Through the written word of Isaiah, Jesus said, “The Sovereign Lord has given me a well-instructed tongue, to know the word that sustains the weary. He wakens me morning by morning, wakens my ear to listen like one being instructed. The Sovereign Lord has opened my ears” (Is. 50:4-5a). Luke gives us a glance of Jesus’ “well-instructed tongue” in action as he dialogues with the religious leaders in the temple as a boy. He isn’t there merely as student, but as teacher, already at a young age enlightening all who would listen to his instruction. Even as a boy, Jesus knew “the word that sustains the weary.”

As the Gospels provide us with the narrative of Jesus’ life and ministry as an adult, we also see his dedicated love and commitment to his Father and the Word. He worshiped regularly, teaching in the synagogues as he was allowed. But even when he was no longer welcomed or invited to speak in the synagogues, that didn’t deter his teaching the Word of God. He delivered his Sermon on the Mount, he taught one-on-one, and he directly instructed his disciples repeatedly. He took one-on-one time with his Father in prayer and devotion. He honored God’s name through his unwavering commitment and dedication to Word and worship.

How desperately we need a Substitute Savior to do what we so often defer and even despise! How many Christians that belong to a local congregation did not set foot inside their church even once in 2024? What does that say about where God’s Word and worship rank in their lives, and ultimately, what they think of God? Do you know that there are some who belong to a local congregation who did set foot inside their church many times in 2024, but who might as well have been somewhere else, since their hearts and minds were filled wisth other priorities? Do you know there are those who belong to a local congregation who hardly ever crack open their Bibles and who pray sparingly, as if prayer was a paycheck and every day is like the end of the month? See how desperately we all need not just a Savior to pay for our disregard of Word and Worship, our failure to love God perfectly, but also a Savior to keep it perfectly for us!

Nor did he stop there. We also hear Jesus speak through the written word of Isaiah about his resolute determination to fully adhere to God’s command to obediently and perfectly love our neighbor. “I have not been rebellious, I have not turned away. I offered my back to those who beat me, my cheeks to those who pulled out my beard; I did not hide my face from mocking and spitting. Because the Sovereign Lord helps me, I will not be disgraced. Therefore have I set my face like flint, and I know I will not be put to shame” (v. 5b-7). 

While we see these words most clearly fulfilled during the week of Jesus’ Passion, when he endured the suffering that led up to his crucifixion, by no means was it the only time Jesus kept his faithful obedience on track. He was constantly challenged throughout his ministry, questioned and tested, but never lost his composure or despised even his enemies, and always loved with a perfect love. And, even though Satan tried to deter him from following the path of obedience that led to Jerusalem and the cross, he was resolute in his determination to finish the job. Through all of this Jesus was fulfilling God’s command to perfectly love his neighbor.

How desperately we need a Substitute Savior to do what we on a daily basis fail miserably to do: lovingly obey, love our neighbors – including our enemies – and faithfully carry out our callings with resolute determination! Our obedience is often conditional: we’ll follow the rules so long as we agree with the rules, but they’re optional otherwise. Our love for others is also often conditional: we’ll love those who love us back or at least acknowledge or appreciate our efforts, but those who are negative or even just neutral sometimes are undeserving of our love. Our commitment and dedication are also often conditional: we’ll follow through, depending on what’s in it for us (assuming we also don’t get bored, sidetracked, or lose interest!). See how desperately we need a Substitute Savior to do what we on a daily basis fail miserably to do: lovingly obey, love our neighbors – including our enemies – and faithfully carry out our callings with resolute determination!

Jesus was so confident in his outward obedience because he knew nothing was hidden in his heart that would disqualify him from the perfection required as our Savior. “He who vindicates me is near. Who then will bring charges against me? Let us face each other! Who is my accuser? Let him confront me! It is the Sovereign Lord who helps me. Who will condemn me? They will all wear out like a garment; the moths will eat them up” (v.8-9).

How desperately we need a Substitute Savior to do what we on a daily basis fail miserably to do: maintain perfect obedience not only externally, but from a pure and holy heart! Our Christian lives are so much like a poorly chosen gift that is dutifully wrapped. We get better at making sure the outside looks good, putting in much effort to come across as having our lives together, but once the outside wrapping comes off, what is revealed inside is exposed. Our minds think thoughts and our hearts entertain emotions and feelings that would clearly condemn us, but because we are able to keep our lips sealed and our outward actions inline, we fool even ourselves into thinking that we’re not half bad. But we are not like Jesus – Satan’s accusations stick when it comes to us, because we cannot hide from God what is inside. How desperately we need a Substitute Savior who had nothing to hide inside, because his heart alone was pure and holy. 

Jesus’ pure heart and absolute confidence gave Paul – and it gives us – the same confidence against the accuser, Satan, and any other accusers who would stand with him. Because of Jesus’ perfect record of obedience – externally and internally in the core of his pure heart – we express the same confidence: “Therefore, there is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus… Who will bring any charge against those whom God has chosen? It is God who justifies. Who then is the one who condemns? No one. Christ Jesus who died—more than that, who was raised to life—is at the right hand of God and is also interceding for us (Romans 8:1, 33-34).

As swiftly as time flies by, we’ll be into the season of Epiphany, which will usher in another Lent, where we will end up at the all-too-familiar place of the cross. Again we will stand in bewildered appreciation for our Savior who was willing to die as our perfect sacrifice. For our sins it was necessary for him to die.

But, for our righteousness it was necessary for him to live. Not one to leave the job half done and not good enough, appreciate that Jesus first carried out the important work of our salvation by being willing to live as our Substitute. As our celebration of Christmas continues, rejoice with double the joy, for the one born in Bethlehem was not born only to serve as our Sacrifice, but also our Substitute. This Gift of God, his Son, is truly the perfect and complete gift we all need this Christmas and for eternity. 

DAILY PRAYERS FOR GUYS

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To Continue the Christmas Celebration

Holy Father,
Sundays are sacred. On this particular Sunday, between Christmas and New Year, I carry on the joyful celebration of Jesus’ birth to close out one year and to begin another. Grant me moments of peaceful reflection on Christmas through the hymn texts and Scriptures today during worship. While the world has already moved on from Christmas, allow it to linger a little longer on my mind and in my heart. Reveal to me Christmas truths that are both new and familiar through worship, lighting up my spirit and stirring my soul. May my pondering of your Best Gift to me spur on my best gifts for you in the year ahead. 

In Jesus’ name I pray. Amen. 

DAILY PRAYERS FOR GUYS

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To Imitate the Angels and Shepherds

Dear Lord,
The angels and the shepherds played critical roles in Jesus’ birth by sharing the joyful news. The angels appeared to the shepherds in the fields, alleviated their fears, and proclaimed the good news to them. Keep my eyes and ears open and alert to those around me who are also crippled by certain fears and need to hear and believe the good news. Make me a messenger to calm their fears and reassure them with the good news of a Savior who has been born for them. Give me the wisdom to help them see how your coming into the world brings true peace for them.

The angels’ role was also important that first Christmas because the shepherds would not have had any news to spread around if they had not heard it from the angels. As it did for the shepherds, let the good news of my Savior always stir my own heart to action. Make me zealous and eager to consistently make him known to others. Fill me with persistent passion so that rather than being sporadic or streaky, my evangelism efforts are a normal part of my daily living. As you used the angels and shepherds to carry out your mission that first Christmas, continue to use me to carry it out today and always with the strength and confidence you provide. 

In Jesus’ name I pray. Amen. 

DAILY PRAYERS FOR GUYS

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To Let the Christmas Celebration Continue

Dearest Jesus,
On this day after our celebration of your birth, much of the world sees Christmas in the rearview mirror and plans to box it up and store it away again until next year. But the season of Christmas isn’t over; it’s only just begun! Let the joy of this magnificent event linger and continue to warm my heart for days and weeks. The miracle of your virgin birth and incarnation are far too much to ponder for just one day. The significance of your coming to dwell among us deserves deep thought and reflection. Keep me from being swept up along with the rest of the world’s hurry and rush to move on to the next thing, and cause me to set aside time to ponder and pray. Let the Scriptures and songs that so beautifully detail the wonder of Christmas remain on my heart, my mind, and my lips while my joyous celebration of your birth continues.

In Jesus’ name I pray. Amen. 

DAILY PRAYERS FOR GUYS

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For the Gift of Jesus

Christ my Savior,
To us a child is born! To us a Son is given! On this Christmas Day, I am elated to celebrate your birth, which ushered in grace that could be seen and touched in flesh and blood. Although my finite mind will never grasp the miracle of your incarnation, my heart will nevertheless ponder it in awesome wonder. 

Who am I – who are any of us – that you should willingly choose to dwell among us, the very ones who in sin daily rebel against you and reject your will for our lives? How deeply you must love and treasure us to subject yourself to such opposition, so that you might save the very ones who oppose you. Work in me such heartfelt gratitude for this gift – for you! – that my rejoicing is reflected not only in singing and song, but also in loving others as deeply as you love me. 

In Jesus’ name I pray. Amen.

DAILY PRAYERS FOR GUYS

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To Bless Christmas Evangelism Efforts

Dearest Savior,
You want all people to be saved. You have carried out the work of salvation for all people to be saved. Evangelism seeks to connect those two realities by allowing people to hear that good news about what you have done for them, so that the Holy Spirit can work faith in their hearts to believe.

I ask you, therefore, to bless all of the evangelism efforts of churches and individual believers this Christmas. Thank you for working the courage in so many to invite their unchurched friends. Intervene wherever necessary to allow those who have been invited to Christmas services to attend. Work out the details so that last-minute mishaps or unanticipated issues don’t arise. Alleviate any fears that may be lingering for those planning to attend a service after being invited. Finally, let the good news of God’s gift of a Savior at Christmas be clearly proclaimed, so that visitors may hear it and rejoice. 

In Jesus’ name I pray. Amen. 

DAILY PRAYERS FOR GUYS

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To Use Worship to Prepare Me for Christmas

Holy Father,
Sundays are sacred. On this final Sunday before Christmas, help me use worship to prepare for my celebration of your birth. May my prayers be pleasing to you as I seek to separate myself from the world’s idea of celebration and center myself more in you. Since embracing the gift of Christ at Christmas includes being reminded why I need him, reveal to me the sinful baggage I’ve been carrying around this December so that I might confess it and bring it before you with a repentant heart. Cleanse and clear out from my heart anything and everything that would cheapen Christmas or hinder my celebration of it. Grant me renewed clarity and focus to better appreciate all that truly makes your birth the special gift that it is. Let me be ready to be filled with joy and jubilation in Jesus this Christmas. 

In Jesus’ name I pray. Amen. 

God Gives Return Gifts

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(Malachi 3:1-7b)

It’s good business for retailers to have a good return policy, since anywhere from 15% to one-third of Christmas gifts are returned. However, since those returns also amount to hundreds of billions of dollars in purchases needing to be refunded in, one might think retailers would make returns difficult or at least very inconvenient for shoppers. But one reason it pays for retailers to have a good return policy is that shoppers are more likely to buy from them in the first place. In other words, when purchasing gifts for others, if a retailer doesn’t have an easy or favorable return policy, shoppers are less likely to buy from them and will take their business elsewhere. Another reason to have a favorable return policy is that those returning gifts to the store from which it was purchased are more likely to spend their refund – and perhaps a little more – in that same store. So it bodes well for retailers to have good return policies. But shops and stores aren’t the only ones focused on handling returns; so was the prophet Malachi.

Malachi’s whole message is all about returns. While he isn’t the most well-known prophet in the Old Testament, Malachi does have the distinction of being the last one recorded. After the book of Malachi, the Lord silenced his notifications for about 400 years until Jesus’ birth, after which point the Holy Spirit picks up pen again through the New Testament Evangelists and writers and resumes recording the truths of his Word for us again.

Malachi served long after the era of patriarchs and kings in Israel. He was a messenger to the Israelites who had returned from their exile in Babylon. But, since things weren’t as magical as the Israelites expected them to be once back home, they took issue with God. The message recorded for us in Malachi is a back and forth between God and the Israelites, with their complaints directed at God, and God’s response, which essentially amounted to, “You are no different from your ancestors; you are the problem, not me. Return to me and I will return to you.”

He isn’t talking about returning gifts after Christmas, though. He’s got more important returns on his mind, and wants to make sure that God’s people do, too. So what are the returns Malachi mentions?

The Lord’s messenger will return.

The Lord himself will return.

The Lord’s people are called to return. A real Christmas is all about the returns.

The Lord’s Messenger Returns

The first return will be of the Lord’s messenger. “I will send my messenger, who will prepare the way before me” (Malachi 3:1a). About whom was Malachi speaking? He is none other than John the Baptist. But wait. Why do we speak of John the Baptist’s arrival on the scene as a “return”? Because Malachi pictures him metaphorically as Elijah, one of God’s well-known and respected past prophets who lived and served in the past during the time of Israel’s monarchy. In one of the final verses of the whole Old Testament, picturing the arrival of John the Baptist, Malachi writes, “See, I will send the prophet Elijah to you before that great and dreadful day of the Lord comes” (Malachi 4:5).

John the Baptist, the second Elijah, returned for a very specific purpose: to prepare the way. In the Christian Church year, the Second Sunday in Advent always focuses our attention on the messenger who came to prepare the way for someone greater. That was John’s role, he was well aware of it, and he carried it out faithfully. Another prophet, Isaiah, foreshadowed John’s work by illustrating the type of preparatory work that would need to take place in hearts to be ready for the Savior (cf. Isaiah 40:3-5).

The Lord Returns

Through John the Baptist, God prepared his people for another return: his own.“Then suddenly the Lord you are seeking will come to his temple; the messenger of the covenant, whom you desire, will come,” says the Lord Almighty. But who can endure the day of his coming? Who can stand when he appears?” (Malachi 3:1b-2b).”  This “return,” so to speak, from Malachi’s perspective, looked ahead to two fulfillments: Jesus’ first coming and his return on the Last Day. 

While we spend a significant part of our lives in anticipation of our Christmas celebration each year, we are celebrating an event that already took place 2000+ years ago. God already came into our world in the flesh when Jesus was born. Malachi, along with so many other messengers in the Old Testament, looked ahead to that day, but we look back on it. For them it was an anticipation of a future event to come. 

In that regard, we can relate to the anticipation of a future event to come when we speak of Jesus’ return on the Last Day. Just as Malachi’s audience in his day understood his words to speak of a coming event, so we see his words also referring to a coming day, when on that Last Day he appears again for judgment, and the question is asked, “Who can stand?”

When Jesus returns on the Last Day, it will be as a judge, and he is right to ask “Who can stand,” based on the evidence stacked against the Israelites. Malachi exposes them. “‘So I will come to put you on trial. I will be quick to testify against sorcerers, adulterers and perjurers, against those who defraud laborers of their wages, who oppress the widows and the fatherless, and deprive the foreigners among you of justice, but do not fear me,’ says the Lord Almighty. ‘I the Lord do not change. So you, the descendants of Jacob, are not destroyed. Ever since the time of your ancestors you have turned away from my decrees and have not kept them’” (Malachi 3:5, 7a).

Indeed, who can stand before the Lord with all that evidence stacked against them? Here is the good news. That day of Jesus’ second and final return, Judgment Day, even with all the sin stacked against mankind, will not be be a day of dread for those who by faith receive the work Jesus did when he came the first time. 

Malachi described that work, too, using pictures to illustrate why the Lord would have to return to his people and the work he would come to do in Jesus Christ. “For he will be like a refiner’s fire or a launderer’s soap. He will sit as a refiner and purifier of silver; he will purify the Levites and refine them like gold and silver. Then the Lord will have men who will bring offerings in righteousness, and the offerings of Judah and Jerusalem will be acceptable to the Lord, as in days gone by, as in former years” (Malachi 3:2c-4).

Jesus came first to refine and purify, to wash away sins and make us presentable before God. Now we can stand! Jesus came to bring the righteousness we needed and to remove the sins we didn’t. Since we have been made holy by faith in Jesus, we have nothing to fear when thinking about standing before the Lord at his Second Return.

That day will be radically different from his first coming, where joy was initially confined to a local hillside among a group of shepherds on a hillside and an angel chorus. The whole world will be the audience when Jesus returns, and the outcome for all people at that return will be entirely dependent upon what each individual believes about Jesus’ first coming at Christmas, and his perfect life, death, and resurrection that follows. 

But until that day, here we stand, sandwiched in the middle. In the past, the Lord returned to his people when Jesus was born into this world on Christmas. In the future, Jesus will return on the Last Day. How do we spend our days in the meantime? The same way. By returning. Returning back to God. 

Our Returns

Why is that such a priority? Because Satan and sin do not take days off. They do not stop doing everything possible to turn you away from God permanently. We already saw the evidence Malachi presented in verse five, but when we read through a list like this, it might be natural for us to presume it’s referring to someone else – those wayward Israelites. But we must know better, right? It’s not an exhaustive list – there could have been many more sins included.

If Malachi was alive today, his warning to us would read a bit differently. “So I will come to put you on trial. I will be quick to testify against, drunkards, greedy shopaholics, sex/pornography addicts, lovers of violence, foul & filthy language, worshippers of sports, celebrity idolators, etc.” He would name different sins, but the sin doesn’t matter – it all does the same damage, trying to gain the upper hand and lead us off the path of righteousness along the path of selfishness that leads to permanent separation from God. 

So Malachi’s message then, along with the other OT prophets, along with John the Baptist, along with any Jesus-loving, Bible-treasuring believer today, is the same: return. For example, listen to just one other Old Testament prophet,  Hosea. “Return, Israel, to the Lord your God. Your sins have been your downfall! Take words with you and return to the Lord. Say to him: “Forgive all our sins and receive us graciously, that we may offer the fruit of our lips. Assyria cannot save us; we will not mount warhorses. We will never again say ‘Our gods’ to what our own hands have made, for in you the fatherless find compassion.” Who is wise? Let them realize these things. Who is discerning? Let them understand. The ways of the Lord are right; the righteous walk in them, but the rebellious stumble in them” (Hosea 14:1-3,9). Return to God. As often as it takes, return. Get back on track and don’t step too freely and frequently on that other path so that it becomes comfortable. Return to grace, return to goodness, return to God. 

That’s really just another way of saying “repent.” We often think of repentance as being a call to get our act together and stop sinning so that we can somehow make ourselves presentable before God, and that he’ll will be happy with us as a result.

But if we know the gospel, then we know that God’s happiness with us isn’t based on our repentance or lack thereof; it’s based entirely on what Jesus already did for us. So we don’t return to God in hopes of winning his affections; we return to God because we already have God’s affection. And don’t let sin and Satan fool you – they cannot ever offer you anything better than what you already have with God because of Jesus Christ. 

God says to you through Malachi, “Return to me, and I will return to you” (v.7b). Is there a better gift than that permanent promise? God’s returns are the best gifts. He returns his messengers to us as often as we need to hear their message. He himself will return on the Last Day to make all things new. And in the meantime he give us the gift of returning to him through repentance, and attaches to it his promise to never turn away from us when we do. 

When it comes to your Christmas gifts this year, hang on the ones you like. Return the ones you don’t. It doesn’t really matter. But what does matter is that you don’t miss out on the best return gift of coming back to God again and again. That’s his gift to you, and it’s the key to A Real Christmas. 

A Real Christmas Requires Remembering Why Christ Came

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(1 Thessalonians 3:9-13)

Although it’s unlikely that Paul had just stuffed himself full of turkey, mashed potatoes, stuffing, too many pieces of pie, and then passed out on the couch while the football games were on the TV. Nonetheless, the sentiments of Thanksgiving certainly are in line with what he wrote in this section to the believers in Thessalonica: “How can we thank God enough for you in return for all the joy we have in the presence of God because of you?” (v.9).

Paul was feeling gratitude. He was grateful for what God had done and had continued doing in the lives of the believers there. He directed his gratitude, his thanks, to God. He was rightly thanking God for the joy that the Thessalonians had brought into his life. And, as is the case with genuine gratitude, Paul was interested in more than just empty words, but backing that gratitude up with action. That’s why he desired to return among the Thessalonians to continue what had been started: keep feeding their faith by supplying what was still lacking (v.10-11). What Paul wrote after that is essentially a prayer.

In that prayer, Paul expressed his desire that  “the Lord make [their] love increase and overflow for each other and for everyone else…” (v.12). It’s as if Paul is providing a flow chart for us to see how the Christian life works. It all starts with God, who then funnels his gifts to us through faith. Then, as we grow in our faith, those gifts – like an increase in love as well as the other blessings that will follow, will all increase, too. Do you want a “Real Christmas” this year? Here’s your recipe! Go back to the basics: God and his gift of faith and growing it, which leads to other spiritual gifts spilling over, like the ones Paul continues to pray for. 

Paul’s prayer continues. “May he strengthen your hearts so that you will be blameless and holy in the presence of our God and Father when our Lord Jesus comes with all his holy ones” (v.13). We know the physical dangers of a weak heart. Not only can it cause complications, but even the slightest physical activity with a weak heart can potentially cause serious damage or even be fatal. 

But a weak heart spiritually is even more dangerous. A spiritually weak heart can lead one to drift from God or depend on some other source for strength and sustenance. That will certainly do damage for this life, but the greater concern of having a weak heart is how it potentially will leave us “in the presence of our God and Father” (v.13).

When will we find ourselves in that situation? Paul is looking way beyond the celebration of Christmas to the most monumental event, the Last Day, “when our Lord Jesus comes with all his holy ones” (v.13). The Gospels in the Bible record Jesus teaching and preaching about this day. Even Paul, in this same letter, speaks of what that day will be like. The Thessalonians believers were someone what confused on the details of that Last Day. It’s worth noting that even that much closer to the life and ministry of Jesus, Paul was already focusing on his return and what its looks like to be ready for that day.

What does being ready for that day look like? It means we “will be blameless and holy in the presence of our God.” The first part of that may grab your attention, as “will be” almost sounds as if that status of being “blameless and holy” is something still to come, something to strive for, something to be attained at some point in the future. 

That view would certainly fit the common ideas people have of good people getting into heaven. It’s based on the idea that good people would do – and keep doing – good things. Then, at the end of the day when their time is up, God would sit down with them for what amounts to a sort of performance review to determine if they’re in or not. So long as they have a strong enough track record, they’ll be fine. It’s no surprise then, that since we all imagine ourselves tending to have a pretty good track record in our own minds, replaying the “best-of’s” and the highlights of our lives, we’re rather confident that we’ve got nothing to fear.

The idea of eventually arriving at being “blameless and holy” might also seem to be supported by Paul’s own words, even in these very verses. After all, a faith that is “lacking,” love that can “increase and overflow,” and hearts that can be “strengthen[ed]” would imply that “holy” hasn’t quite been achieved yet.

So which is it? Are we holy right now, or is holiness a status that is arrived at by putting in the appropriate time and effort? How do we ensure that we’re blameless and holy on that final day?

Both can be true. We can be holy right now, and we can also be becoming holy. Now that doesn’t mean that we’re following in the footsteps of the world that says truth is relative and subjective, and that we can all have our very different truths, even when those contradict each other. There’s a difference between each of our individual constructs of truth as we drum it up in our own respective worlds and what we’d call a paradox in Scripture. Our subjective truths have no backing or support from anything authoritative – they are based purely on our own personal thoughts or feelings. The Bible, however, as the Word of God, is authoritative.

So when the Bible speaks both ways, so do we. And the Bible does. It says that we can grow in our faith. Nearly half of what Paul writes in the New Testament is Paul addressing Christian living and spiritual growth. It lines up with exactly what he is writing in these verses, encouraging growth in our spiritual lives. Moreover, we personally know how necessary it is for us to grow as Christians in all areas of our lives. Yes, we are saints, but on this side of heaven we are saints who still sin and are still a work in progress. We want to grow and mature in our daily responsibilities and vocations, and rightly so!

But the Bible also speaks about our status before God. God calls us holy, and he calls us holy right now, in the present, as we are in this very moment. “But you are a chosen people, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, God’s special possession, that you may declare the praises of him who called you out of darkness into his wonderful light” (1 Peter 2:9). “And by that will, we have been made holy through the sacrifice of the body of Jesus Christ once for all” (Hebrews 10:10).

We notice two things in just these two passages – and we could have mentioned many other passages as well. First, there are no “ifs” in these verses. There is no carrot-on-a-stick holiness that is held out to us if we meet certain conditions or criteria. Holiness isn’t conditional.

Second, the tense of the verbs speaks volumes! We “are” holy because we “have been made” holy. There is no “someday down the road if you play your cards right.” There is no “once this happens, then…” There is only who we are because of what happened to make us that way.

So how does it feel? You are holy right now! And it is because God declares you to be holy right now that you also strive to live holy lives right now as you grow in holiness.

Perhaps one of the clearer Bible passages that ties our status as holy before God with our call to continue growing in holiness is found in Colossians 3:12. “Therefore, as God’s chosen people, holy and dearly loved, clothe yourselves with compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness and patience” (Colossians 3:12). Compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness, and patience aren’t the prerequisites to achieving holiness; rather, they are how our holiness is expressed as we grow in them and put them on display in our Christian lives. You are holy right now. And you are growing in holiness right now.

But if this holiness isn’t something we arrive at or achieve on our own, then how does it happen?

The answer is Christmas. Holiness left heaven and entered earth to bring holiness with him. If holiness is required to get into heaven, but holiness cannot be achieved outside of heaven, then holiness had to be brought to us. And to be brought to us, God had to come to us, which is exactly what happened at Christmas.

When you assemble enough things over the years, at some point you’ve experienced the frustration of arriving at a dead end. You can’t move forward because something is missing. You retrace all of the previous steps in the directions to make sure you didn’t use the wrong piece in the wrong place, and confirm that each step was properly followed. Just as you are getting ready either to disassemble everything and return it or contact customer service, convinced a piece was missing, in trots one of your children, caught up in some imaginary game, or possibly pretending to “help” you, and you notice they have in their hand the piece you need to finish the assembly. Now that you have that piece, you finish putting everything together.

Jesus is that piece. Only he is much more than a missing piece to our holiness (as if we were somehow almost there and he just needed to come in and supply what was missing)! He isn’t just a missing piece; he is the whole thing! He IS our holiness, through and through. We cannot have holiness apart from him. 

And for him to be able to be our holiness, he had to provide our holiness by entering a holi-less world and bringing it with him. On Christmas, he was born to bring his holiness into a holi-less world. His perfect life in perfect obedience to God’s perfect law resulted in our holiness.

Therefore, dear friends, because of what Jesus came to do in the past, we know that we already have what we need when he comes again in the future on that Last Day. By faith in Jesus, we have holiness. His holiness. Yes, we have all that we need to be “blameless and holy in the presence of our God and Father when our Lord Jesus comes with all his holy ones” (v.13). Christmas can’t get any more real than that!

The Salvation Song of Simeon

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(Luke 2:22-40)

If you were asked to make a list of the top Christmas songs, which ones would be at or near the top? I wonder if your answer to that question on the last day of December would differ from the answer you would have given on the first day of December. After all, part of the “magic” of the holidays is that a month of listening to the same songs can turn the nostalgic into the nauseating.

When it comes to Christmas favorites, we’d probably need to differentiate between the traditional and the trendy, between the hymns we enjoy singing in church and the songs that are played throughout the season on the radio. Some Christmas hymns are so close to our hearts, that to go through the entire Christmas season without singing them in church just wouldn’t seem right. Families tend to have their own particular play list of songs and artists that they find especially meaningful.

Whatever songs might make your list, add to them the one recorded in Luke 2. It is a “Christmas” song that has remained on the top of the chart of Christianity for 2000 years. How many other songs of Christmas can compete with that? So popular is the song that the church still sings it today as a regular part of worship!  It is known as the “Song of Simeon,” or Nunc Dimittis (“Now you dismiss”) in Latin.  

Who is this Simeon? Outside of Luke’s Gospel, we know nothing reliable. Nevertheless, Luke does share with us several telling details. “Now there was a man in Jerusalem called Simeon, who was righteous and devout.  He was waiting for the consolation of Israel, and the Holy Spirit was upon him” (v. 25).  He is not given any special title or recognition.  He was not mentioned as being a priest or any other position of authority; just a man in Jerusalem.  He was both “righteous” and “devout.” He took his faith seriously and was a deeply committed man of God – a man who delighted in the Lord.    

This devout man had been waiting patiently in his lifetime for what Luke refers to as “the consolation of Israel.”  Consider that phrase for just a moment.  Who is it that needs consolation?  It is someone who has experienced a loss or disappointment. We think of a person shedding tears to be in need of some sort of consolation to help ease the loss. Even in the sporting world, a team settles for a consolation prize if they can’t compete for the championship. 

But the word used in the context of Simeon is much deeper. The reference is to the One who brings consolation from sin and its guilt.  Simeon is waiting for the Messiah—the Anointed One—the promised of God to every generation.  He was waiting for his Savior.

And by some special revelation of the Holy Spirit, it was made known to him that “he would not die before he had seen the Lord’s Christ” (v. 26).  It was not mere coincidence then, that he would encounter Mary and Joseph and their newborn son in the temple. Through divine intervention, the Holy Spirit had led him there, but it was ceremonial law that had led Mary and Joseph there. 

They were there to fulfill law that required every firstborn son to be presented to the Lord. This practice had its origins in the Passover. While still in Egypt, God had initially “passed over” the Israelite homes that had marked their doorposts with the blood of a lamb and spared their firstborn son. To serve as a reminder of how God had spared every firstborn son, God’s people were then required to dedicate every firstborn son to his service. Later, even though males from the tribe of Levi eventually overtook this role, parents were still required to present every firstborn son to the Lord by paying a price to redeem him, as he belonged to the Lord. Mary and Joseph had gone to the temple to pay that price for their firstborn son, Jesus.  

So the scene was set for Simeon to meet his Savior, and when he did, “Simeon took him in his arms and praised God, saying: Sovereign Lord, as you have promised, you now dismiss your servant in peace.  For my eyes have seen your salvation, which you have prepared in the sight of all people, a light for revelation to the Gentiles and for glory to your people Israel” (v. 28-32).  Not only are these words a beautiful confession of Simeon’s faith, but they also serve as a wonderful proclamation of all that the infant child in his arms would accomplish.  So magnificent were Simeon’s words that God included them in his Holy Word, and has led the church to include them in regular worship for just about as long as Christians have been gathering for worship!  For these reasons, let us look carefully at these words and come to appreciate them more fully.

Simeon expressed the reason for his rejoicing in his song: “For my eyes have seen your salvation, which you have prepared in the sight of all people.”  With his own eyes, Simeon saw much more than just a baby; he saw his Savior. And, by his words, Simeon expresses the realization that the child in his arms was not only his Savior, but the Savior of all people. Jesus came for the salvation of every soul.  He would secure the salvation of every soul. Some teach that Jesus saves only those who accept him or have a strong enough faith or are generally pretty good Christians. Simeon reminds us that he came for all people. 

This truth is also emphasized by the words, “a light for revelation to the Gentiles.”  Throughout Advent and during Christmas we see and hear the recurring theme of Jesus as the Light of the world. Simeon echoes that theme with this very phrase. Jesus was a Light to reveal salvation not only to God’s Old Testament chosen people, the Israelites, but also to the Gentiles—to every nation on earth.  

But that didn’t in any way take away from what he meant to Israel. Israel could still make the claim that no other nation on earth could make: that Jesus came from their people, the people of Israel. Simeon said it like this: “for glory to your people Israel.”  Madonna was from my home town of Bay City, Michigan.  San Diegans can claim a number of famous people had their roots here. Only those of Jewish descent can claim the Savior as one of their own. Whether they acknowledge it by faith or not, Jesus is their greatest glory.

See how the God-with-us/Immanuel Savior affected Simeon! “Sovereign Lord, as you have promised, you now dismiss your servant in peace.”  With this phrase Simeon points out something that is unique to God—he keeps his word. God promised that Simeon would live to see his Savior and he did. Keeping promises is really what Christmas is all about. The Savior was born in Bethlehem because God kept his promise. 

The promise kept at Christmas carries a special weight to it for New Testament Christians, because that promise kept gives credibility to all of God’s promises that followed and continue to follow. The Savior was born, just as God promised, and so we know that he would live perfectly as our Substitute, just as God promised. He would die for us, just as God promised.  He would rise again from the dead, just as God promised. Finally, he will come again, just as God promised.

The irony of course is in how badly we, who do not keep promises, need the One who did.  One drawback of God’s Christmas promise is that it serves as another reminder of how bad we are at keeping our promises—promises to ourselves, to others, and to God.  “This year I’m going to get everything done early.  I’m going to eat less.  I’m going to spend less”  Broken, broken, and broken.  “This year we’re going to do something special as a family.  I’ll keep in better touch with my extended family over the holidays.”  Broken and broken.  “This year I’m going to follow through with my commitment to spending more time preparing spiritually.  I’m also going to spend more time in God’s house for worship.”  Broken and broken.  We evaluate our own inabilities to keep our own word, our own promises, and we quickly become aware of how much we needed the one who keeps his every promise, not the least of which is his promise to forget our sins through Christ Jesus. 

That same God is the one who had kept his promise to Simeon, and Simeon in his song then confirmed the peace that had swept over him: “you now dismiss your servant in peace.”  Many assume here that the dismissal to which Simeon referred was speaking of his departure from his earthly life to heaven.  Indeed this portion of Scripture has brought much comfort at the funerals of those who have died in Christ. Such an application is most certainly appropriate, especially given the way it is portrayed in the original language. Quite literally, Simeon said, “Now you release your slave, master.”  Picture a lifelong slave being freed from every labor and toil and the anguish associated with it.  How could such a situation bring about anything less than peace?

And here already we begin to understand and more fully appreciate why these words have been sung for centuries by Christians who have just received the Lord’s body and blood.  For what is it that we receive in that body and blood but release!  We receive release from the guilt of our sins.  We receive release from the heavy burdens of our own disobedience.  Yes, through the Lord’s Supper the chains of sin that bind us to the devil are smashed to pieces.  And as we return to our seats we know personally the very peace of which Simeon spoke in his song.  

It was a peace that a mom discovered unexpectedly. As a thunderstorm rumbled loudly throughout the night, her scared little girl came into her room to slip into her bed and snuggle up. As soon as she had done so, she fell back asleep. While her mother felt her gentle breathing and saw how peacefully she was sleeping, she had a realization. Her daughter didn’t come in and ask her to make the storm stop, she just wanted to be by her during it. How often in her own life had she prayed and pleaded for God to make the storms stop instead of simply seeking out God’s presence to be near her and get through those storms peacefully? 

In the year ahead, friends, you know there will be storms. During those times, with arms of faith, embrace the Prince of Peace like Simeon in the temple courts, and find peace and security. We don’t always need God to put a stop to the storms; we just need him to be near us through them. And he is. And he always will be every time we marvel at him like Simeon and like Mary and Joseph. 

We aren’t surprised to hear the reaction of Mary and Joseph to Simeon’s salvation song:  “The child’s father and mother marveled at what was said about him” (v. 33). Little did they know, they had just heard one of the most popular Christmas songs ever; so popular, in fact, that it has to be sung more often than just Christmas. It begs to be sung by Christians all over the world who experience the same peace that Simeon did—a peace that comes not only at Christmas, but whenever we receive the Lord’s Supper and all other times God’s Word assures us of our forgiveness.