Unto You Is Born

This morning at the Calvary Chapel Sydney Christmas service we read through portions of the Gospel of Luke.  A part of the talk which spoke to me is when the angel delivered the good news of the birth of Jesus Christ to shepherds in the fields as they watched their flocks by night.

Surrounded with the glory of God, the angel proclaimed in Luke 2:10-11, "Do not be afraid, for behold, I bring you good tidings of great joy which will be to all people. ¹¹ For there is born to you this day in the city of David a Savior, who is Christ the Lord."  If I put myself in those shepherd's sandals, it was a very curious thing which the angel said.  I don't know about you, but when someone else has a baby (even a couple I know very well), the child is their baby.  I have great joy a child has been born, but the child is born to his parents - not to me.  The child is their responsibility, not mine.

Maybe the shepherds mistakenly thought to themselves, "Wait a second.  I'm not expecting a baby to be born in Bethlehem.  I have no love interest there."  But those shepherds, Mary and Joseph, all in the region, and all the people of the world were the love interest of that Child who was Jesus Christ the LORD.  God demonstrated His love by coming to earth as a baby who grew to be a man who laid down His life on Calvary as a sacrifice for sinners.  Every person alive when Jesus was born until today is responsible in the sense of our belief, for He has been born unto us.  Jesus was not only born as Saviour of the Jews but has been given to all as Jesus Himself proclaimed in John 3:16:  "For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life."

Let us rejoice, all redeemed of the LORD, for today is a day to celebrate and remember with joy the Saviour Jesus who has been born unto us.  Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace, good will toward men!

Keep Your Heart Clean

This morning's Bible reading began with this beauty in Ecclesiastes 10:1:  "Dead flies putrefy the perfumer's ointment, and cause it to give off a foul odour; so does a little folly to one respected for wisdom and honour."  A man with a good reputation can have it sullied by foolish words and choices, even as expensive and aromatic fragrances can be tainted by dead, rotting flies.  I don't care how luxurious or costly a perfume might be, but no one who seeks to impress splashes foul bug juice on their face.  Ointment made to promote healing would be rejected when contaminated by flies or maggots.  In the same way, sinful choices negatively affect the usefulness of a person who once enjoyed a good reputation.

When Solomon wrote this, it was common for perfume and costly ointments to be kept in clay jars or pots.  The precious ointment used to anoint Jesus a thousand years later was likely a one-use box, the contents stored in alabaster which was sealed to prevent loss or contamination.  The pots and jars most people stored things in, however, had lids which were not airtight.  It is entirely possible the clay lid was accidentally left off a pot of ointment, and flies attracted by the scent drowned in it.  I imagine a person who carelessly forgot to replace the lid upon discovery quickly swatted the flies away, scooped out any flies trapped within, and (after a quick smell-check) covered the container again.

Today creams, perfumes, and ointments have caps and lids which provide a tight seal.  No flies in the ointment!  Why?  Because flies are incapable of unscrewing a cap or lid.  They are only able to enter and foul the ointment when there is easy access.  For a person who puts their trust in Christ, this is most encouraging.  According to some books or people, it would seem Christians are very much at the mercy of demonic oppression, sin, and the evils of society.  This over-emphasis of the power of Satan and details on how to defend ourselves against unseen satanic forces puts people in a fearful and defensive posture, assuming the devil has his hand in everything from our bad complexion, a crazy neighbour, and the knock in our washing machine.

Because Jesus is the Good Shepherd and we are sheep of His fold, I believe we are safe with Him.  Satan is indeed like a roaring lion seeking whom he may devour, but it will not be us when we abide in Christ.  We do not need to repeat prayers from books concerning spiritual warfare, as if there is any power in words alone to have "victory" or "deliverance."  Jesus is victor, and He has delivered us from the power of sin, death, hell, and the devil - forever!  Our role is to believe Jesus, and loving Him we will obey Him.  He is the One who has given us a new heart and filled us with the Holy Spirit.  We are to do our part to walk in faith, hope, and love.  When we make foolish choices, it is like a person who removes the lid from their expensive cream and gives an opportunity for Satan (in this example Beelzebub, lord of the flies) to pester and corrupt us.  Praise the LORD for the indwelling Spirit of the Living God who not only convicts us of sin, but forgives and restores us by His grace.

Having put off the old man with his sinful ways, having been born again by faith in Jesus we are to live in the way which fully pleases God:  a life of godliness, righteousness, and purity.  We aren't just to avoid sin, but to choose to do what is right.  Ephesians 4:25-28 says, "Therefore, putting away lying, "Let each one of you speak truth with his neighbour," for we are members of one another. 
²⁶ "Be angry, and do not sin": do not let the sun go down on your wrath, ²⁷ nor give place to the devil. ²⁸ Let him who stole steal no longer, but rather let him labour, working with his hands what is good, that he may have something to give him who has need."  We keep a lid on the ointment (so to speak) when we walk led by the Holy Spirit.  Little sins can corrupt our witness, and the wise take this warning to heart and quickly repent.  Small foxes can do great damage to tender vines, and holes in the fence need to be quickly patched up.  Seemingly minor moral stumbles cannot be safely ignored.  Good ointment has been so bad it needed to be disposed of, and many solid followers of Jesus have been disqualified for their folly.

It seems fitting to conclude with an exhortation from Solomon in Proverbs 4:20-27:  "My son, give attention to my words; incline your ear to my sayings. ²¹ Do not let them depart from your eyes; keep them in the midst of your heart; ²² for they are life to those who find them, and health to all their flesh. ²³ Keep your heart with all diligence, for out of it spring the issues of life. ²⁴ Put away from you a deceitful mouth, and put perverse lips far from you. ²⁵ Let your eyes look straight ahead, and your eyelids look right before you. ²⁶ Ponder the path of your feet, and let all your ways be established. ²⁷ Do not turn to the right or the left; remove your foot from evil."  When the life of Jesus is lived out through us, by God's grace we shall do greater than what Solomon commanded his son.

Epic Salvation

With the celebration of Christmas days away, it prompted me to consider the glorious thing God has done in coming to earth as our Messiah.  We were in bondage to sin, in darkness, and deserving of God's wrath, yet He showed compassion on us.  God's deliverance of the children of Israel from slavery in Egypt is a foreshadowing of the salvation wrought through Jesus Christ.

The Hebrews spent hundreds of years in Egypt after the death of Joseph, and were later enslaved by Pharaoh as his workers.  They cried out for deliverance from their bondage as they struggled under heavy burdens.  God heard the cries of His people and sent Moses to deliver them.  God did His wonders among the Egyptians, 10 epic plagues which ravaged the land and proved His supremacy over the idols of Egypt.  Before the final plague, God instituted the Passover feast where each household killed a lamb, placed the blood on the doorposts and lintel, and ate the lamb in readiness to depart.  That night the Spirit of God passed over all the homes where the blood had been applied and the lamb eaten according to the Word of God, and every household that disregarded God's command the firstborn of man and beast died.

The observance of Passover is much more than sprinkling the blood of a lamb on the doorposts, but it was required to eat the lamb too.  In a similar way, it is not enough that Jesus has come but we each must voluntarily receive Him through faith to benefit from the salvation He supplies.  John 1:12 says, "But as many as received Him, to them He gave the right to become children of God, to those who believe in His name..."  All who repent and place their trust in Jesus Christ - the Lamb of God who was crucified on Calvary and rose from the dead - are provided salvation by God's grace.  The Law came through Moses, but grace and truth came by Jesus Christ (John 1:17).

God has done a far more amazing thing through Jesus than the miraculous deliverance of the Hebrews through Moses.  God brought the Hebrews out of Egypt and birthed the nation of Israel, His presence going before them in a pillar of fire by night and cloud during the day.  The people, though no longer slaves to Pharaoh, remained slaves to sin.  God provided them His Law so they might be restrained from sin and given directives to govern them, but their hearts remained unchanged and stiff-necked.  When we trust in Jesus Christ as Saviour we are born again and the Holy Spirit transforms us from inside.  People who might be literally enslaved as property to a master are made free and experience joy and peace by the grace of God.  Nearly every person who was an adult who departed from Egypt died in the wilderness, but all who place their faith in Jesus are granted eternal life in heaven.

The deliverance from Egypt is an epic event, but Jesus coming to earth to seek and save the lost is even more incredible because it is a promise of salvation not just for the Hebrews but for all people which will endure for eternity.  The angelic proclamation to the shepherds outside Bethlehem remains relevant and true in Luke 2:10-11:  "Then the angel said to them, "Do not be afraid, for behold, I bring you good tidings of great joy which will be to all people. ¹¹ For there is born to you this day in the city of David a Savior, who is Christ the Lord."  Praise be to God for His unspeakable gift.  Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace, goodwill towards men!

Remove the Root

"Does a spring send forth fresh water and bitter from the same opening? ¹² Can a fig tree, my brethren, bear olives, or a grapevine bear figs? Thus no spring yields both salt water and fresh."

James 3:11-12

A tree has many distinguishing characteristics, and fruit is a primary one.  I am sure there are scientific ways to tell whether water is fresh or salty, but a little taste is usually all we need to know the difference.  There are places where salty sea water and fresh water combine, but the point of the observation of James is to illustrate how springs do not produce fresh water one day and salt water the next.  A fig tree brings forth figs, and it would be silly to argue a tree with sweet figs hanging from its branches is actually an olive tree.

Silly as it is, we can do this very thing and live in denial of the reality.  If our mouths are filled with cursing and bitterness, this is an excellent indicator of the current state of our hearts.  We cannot assume we are walking in the joy of the LORD and at peace when we are agitated, frustrated, and afraid.  It is not what enters a man but what comes out of him that defiles, and the troubling thing is our ability to negatively affect others.  Have you found when others are in a "bad" mood it begins to affect your attitude and outlook?  Adding salt affects the flavour of the whole dish, and our bitterness has a way of permeating our minds and poisoning others.

Hebrews 12:14-15 says, "Pursue peace with all people, and holiness, without which no one will see the Lord: ¹⁵ looking carefully lest anyone fall short of the grace of God; lest any root of bitterness springing up cause trouble, and by this many become defiled..."  The writer of Hebrews says we ought to be watchful there is no root of bitterness which springs up in us.  Receiving and walking in the grace of God enables us to experience godliness with contentment, but bitterness often starts when we refuse to forgive or when our expectations remain unmet.  Some roots travel long distances underground to draw water unnoticed, but the thing about bitterness is it will spring up; it will show itself in our attitudes, words, and coldness towards others.

Sometimes we don't realise we are bitter because it is a flavour we are accustomed to.  Praise the LORD the Living Water - the Holy Spirit - is always pure and free from salty contamination.  He brings conviction of sin and knowledge of our need to repent.  Bitterness can spring up about any old thing, even about a sports team.  I have a friend (and this person was not alone!) who was upset about the ownership of the NFL San Diego Chargers deciding to move to Los Angeles.  When the move was made I saw videos of former Charger fans burning their jerseys and swearing never to support the team for this betrayal.  My friend said something to the effect of, "Is it wrong that now I want the Chargers to lose?"  That, my friend, sounds a lot like bitterness.  Betrayal or being offended isn't the only path to bitterness.  For us bitterness is potentially seconds away.

If we find ourselves secretly enjoying the fall our failure of our enemy, without saying a word the evidence of bitterness is within us.  It is only a matter of time before it springs up and defiles others.  Let us heed the exhortation of Ephesians 4:31-32 on sins to repent of and what to do instead:  "Let all bitterness, wrath, anger, clamour, and evil speaking be put away from you, with all malice. ³² And be kind to one another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, just as God in Christ forgave you."  Again, there is a connection between bitterness and refusal to forgive others.  Unless the root of bitterness is pulled out completely, it will spring up again.  Hasn't God been gracious to forgive us?  Rejoice in His forgiveness by releasing others, celebrating the freedom from guilt and bitterness.