Month: November 2024

If he brings a lamb as his sin offering, […] Then he shall lay his hand on the head of the sin offering, and kill it as a sin offering at the place where they kill the burnt offering.
Leviticus 4:32-33

My memories of the special children’s gospel meetings in the 1950’s were that all the evangelists wore suits and ties and did “chalk talks,” where they drew pictures at the same time that they preached. One vivid image that I still carry in my mind is a picture of a little lamb lying dead on an altar of stones. A small river of blood flowed down the rocks and onto the ground below. The preacher used special chalk, so when the chapel lights were turned off and the black light came on, the drawing changed. In the background, we could see a cross, and at the bottom of the paper, the words “Sin Offering” were written in red as if they were formed from the blood of the lamb.

As a child, I thought that only lambs could be used for a sin offering. Later, I found out that bulls, goats, and even pigeons could be used, depending on who sinned (priests and leaders had to give more costly sacrifices for their sins). Another thing I learned was that this ceremony only covered unintentional sin (Leviticus 4:27). If a person sinned willfully and knew that he was breaking God’s command, no atonement or forgiveness was given.

Perhaps the most surprising thing I learned from studying Leviticus 4 was that the sinner had to kill his own lamb; the priest didn’t do it for him. The person would put his hands on the head of the animal and confess his sins before killing his sacrifice. This would make “the wages of sin is death”(Romans 6:23) real and show the sinner clearly that a substitute was needed so he could live.

Jesus Christ is our wonderful Sin Offering who took away our sins: Past, present, and future. He took away the sins we did without thinking, as well as those done in purposeful rebellion. The Savior died so that we might live. Jesus not only deserves a “thank you”; He deserves our willing obedience.

December 23 

Blessed be the LORD my Rock, who trains my hands
for war, and my fingers for battle – my lovingkindness
and my fortress, my high tower and my deliverer…
Psalm 144:1,2

“Fortress” titles are common in the Psalms of David. The constant running for his life kept David’s adrenaline flowing and stress levels high. The only way that he could cope was to remember that he was in God’s will and God was in charge. Since that was the case, David was safe; he could rest in his high tower.

Medieval castles were built in stages. The very first part to be constructed was the “keep.” This was a very strong, very tall central tower located in the middle of what would be the castle complex. Once it was completed, work on the outer walls, gates, inner buildings, and moat could begin. This high tower allowed watchmen to see enemies coming from a distance, but was also a stronghold of defense even before more complete fortifications could be established.

Believers are able to rest in the Lord Jesus, just like David was able to trust in the LORD. Jesus said: “Come to Me, all you who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest” (Matthew 11:28). The stress and crush of the opposition of the world is manageable because the Lord Himself is a wall to keep the enemies of God from bringing down Christ’s servants.

Abiding in the will of God allows the child of God to see sin approaching from far away. This gives us plenty of time to avoid it, along with all the heartache that comes with it. In the High Tower of Christ Jesus, the believer is elevated up and above the fray of the commonplace so that heaven itself doesn’t feel like it’s that far away.

December 22 

For there is born to you this day in the city of David a Savior, who is Christ the Lord.
Luke 2:11

There are two unusual facts about this title. The first is that it occurs only once in scripture. The second is that it came from a non-human source.

Lots of preachers and hymn writers use the phrase Christ the Lord. That makes sense since it is a title combination of two of the most common names of God’s Son. In the Bible, it is only proclaimed at the birth of the Savior.

This announcement of the Messiah’s birth emphasized the most significant event in human history, or in the history of the universe, for that matter. God Almighty took on human form and even experienced childbirth to be able to reach His fallen creation. It made sense that the angel of the Lord would announce it backed up by a great celestial chorus. The surprising thing was that those who heard the news weren’t the movers and shakers of the world, but poor, cold, and frightened shepherds. The Who’s Who of the world weren’t worthy to receive the announcement that proclaimed a name found nowhere else in the Word of God.

The heavenly messenger proclaimed that Christ the Lord was born. The first part acknowledged that God’s anointed had finally arrived. By calling Him “Lord,” the angel acknowledged that He was the boss and commander-in-chief of every angel present that day.

Christ the Lord is risen on high!
Sing ye heav’ns, and earth reply
He endured the cross, the grave,
Sinners to redeem and save.
                                         – Unknown

December 21

“For my eyes have seen Your salvation…”
Luke 2:30

Simeon waited all his life for God’s promised Messiah. He’d ask God about it every day. “How long, O Lord, until your Anointed will come? How long until we see the Consolation of Israel Lord, will it be today?”

In these daily conversations, Simeon demonstrated a faith in God’s promises that was extremely rare in his day. He expected an answer from God, so the Almighty didn’t disappoint him. The Holy Spirit revealed to him in a way as clear as any message received by Abraham or Daniel that he would see the Messiah before he died. Simeon was encouraged; he was old and ready to die. He wouldn’t have to wait much longer.

God’s timing is always perfect. Christ came at just the right moment in human history, and He made sure that Simeon was in the right place at the right time to be part of it. Mary and Joseph brought baby Jesus to the temple to be dedicated, and God’s Spirit made sure Simeon was there.

The Babe’s Hebrew name was”Yeshua,” which means “Salvation.” The old man picked up the baby and began to prophesy:

“Lord, now You are letting Your servant depart in peace, According to Your word; For my eyes have seen Your salvation which You have prepared before the face of all peoples, a light to bring revelation to the Gentiles, and the glory of Your people Israel” (Luke 2:29-32).

God not only kept His promise to Simeon to show him the Messiah, but He even showed him the Savior of the World.

In this day and age, another of God’s promises remains incomplete: Christ’s second coming. While the world mocks at this, and even some Christians have given up waiting, a few devout and righteous believers still ask, “Lord, are You coming today?”

God is waiting for just the right time so that with their own eyes the faithful will see the revealing of God’s Salvation.

December 20 

I see Him, but not now; I behold Him, but not near; A Star shall come out of Jacob;
A Scepter shall rise out of Israel, And batter the brow of Moab, And destroy all the sons of tumult.
Numbers 24:17*

Ol’ Balaam was a nasty guy; he sold knowledge of the true God for a price and showed King Balak how to bring a curse on Israel through seduction by the women of Moab. I really don’t expect to see him in heaven.

That having been said, he was still a prophet of the LORD, and he spoke these words that God gave him. God does that sometimes – reveals His word and will to unbelievers. The Almighty gave dreams to both Pharaoh and Nebuchadnezzar to reveal the future. Caiaphas plotted to crucify Christ, but prophesied in his capacity of high priest: “It is expedient for us that one man should die for the people, and not that the whole nation should perish” (John 11:50).

Balaam had the reputation that those whom he blessed were blessed, and those whom he cursed were cursed. His words were probably recorded, and they may be what clued the wise men into searching the heavens for a star.

When that star did appear in the East, they recognized that the Scepter would rise out of Israel, and they were ready to greet the King of the Jews (Matthew 2:2). Herod tried to destroy the Christ Child, but God preserved Him. The king is long since dead and his dynasty eradicated, which points out a part of the prophesy that is seldom mentioned.

This Scepter that would come out of Jacob would battle the bad guys and destroy the evildoers. As the Righteous Judge, Christ will sit on the Great White Throne and pronounce judgment on the proud and powerful who reigned on earth. Righteousness will have its final victory over “wrongseousness.”

*see also Hebrews 1:8

December 19 

“But you, Bethlehem Ephrathah, Though you are little among the thousands of Judah,
Yet out of you shall come forth to Me The One to be Ruler in Israel,
Whose goings forth are from of old, From everlasting.”
Micah 5:2*

When Herod the Great discovered that the wise men from the East wanted to worship the newborn Jewish Messiah, he called up Bible scholars to find out what prophecy had to say. The chief priests and scribes knew that the Christ was to be born in “Bethlehem in the Land of Judah” (Matthew 2:6).

There is no doubt that this passage refers to Jesus because it is quoted in Matthew concerning His birth. There is also no question that this verse is linked to the Anointed of the LORD, because it states that He was pre-existent before His birth in the stable, and even before the prophesy was given somewhere around 700 B.C.

Like most visions of the future, this prophecy is a two-dimensional snapshot of events with no depth of focus. Many prophesies lack chronological order, and this one lumps both advents of Christ in the same verse. The fact remains that the babe of Bethlehem has not yet become the Ruler of Israel.

The promised Son of David who was supposed to re-establish the throne in Israel never had the chance to reign. “He came to His own, and His own did not receive Him (John 1:11). Even the chief priests who handed over the Messiah to their Gentile overlords declared, “We have no king but Caesar!” (John 19:15).

All that will change in the twinkling of an eye. Jesus will soon return with an army of angels to reclaim what was denied Him almost two thousand years ago. He will be hailed not only as Ruler of Israel but as king of the whole earth.

*see also Matthew 2:6

December 18 

For unto us a Child is born, Unto us a Son is given; And the government will be upon His shoulder.
And His name will be called  […..] Prince of Peace.
Isaiah 9:6

Of all the single verse names of Christ, Prince of Peace is probably the best known. It’s seen frequently on Christmas cards, heard in Handel’s Messiah and always found in lists of the titles of the Lord Jesus. Most Americans have heard the title, but not everyone understands what it means.

All around us are wars, rumors of wars, terrorism, and even Christians tortured and killed for their faith. If you look at history it gets worse. World history is nothing but a series of wars, oppression, revolution, and civil unrest; church history focuses on the persecution of the church and divisions between those who call themselves Christians. An honest man would have to ask himself, “So, where’s the peace?”

On the global scale, the peace hasn’t come yet. Our planet is the battleground between the forces of holiness and the forces of evil; between God’s people and Satan’s. They don’t peacefully co-exist. Jesus tried to explain this: “Do you suppose that I came to give peace on earth? I tell you, not at all, but rather division. For from now on five in one house will be divided: three against two, and two against three” (Luke 12:51,52).

However, on a personal level, things are totally different. Christ told His followers: “Peace I leave with you, My peace I give to you; not as the world gives do I give to you. Let not your heart be troubled, neither let it be afraid” (John 14:27). The world’s definition of peace is the absence of conflict. The Prince of Peace defines calmness as the absence of fear in the midst of conflict.

When people get tired and desperate from the consequences of sin and fighting against God, life seems hopeless even when things seem to be going well. They want the peace that passes understanding which only comes from the Prince of Peace.

December 17 

For unto us a Child is born, Unto us a Son is given; And the government will be upon His shoulder. And His name will be called […] Everlasting Father…
Isaiah 9:6

“Everlasting Father.” How strange that this should be a title of Christ, yet the reference is indisputable. Well known and often quoted at Christmas, Isaiah 9:6 not only foretells of the birth of the “child,” but it also gives a list of the names of God’s “Son.”

Although the doctrine of the Trinity is not always easy to understand, it becomes a lot more complicated indeed if the Son is called the Father or vice versa. Nowhere else in scripture is Jesus referred to as a father. He had no offspring of his own, and believers don’t become children of Christ. Rather, He is the only begotten of the Father, and through Him men and women are adopted into God’s family. As a result they become joint heirs with the Son.      

How then is Jesus Christ the “Everlasting Father?”        

The key to understanding the phrase is actually on the word “everlasting.” In his translation of the Bible, J.N. Darby renders the title “Father of Eternity,” expressing the truth that eternity originates with Christ. He is its source.

The Lord Jesus is the One who inhabits eternity (Isaiah 57:15), and His goings forth are from everlasting (Micah 5:2). Never having been created, the state of being eternal is an attribute of Christ. He is therefore, fully capable of bestowing eternal life to those He chooses.      

Everlasting Father is clearly a title of deity, and the Lord Jesus Christ owns it. There is nothing everlasting apart from Him.

December 16 

For unto us a Child is born, Unto us a Son is given;
And the government will be upon His shoulder.
And His name will be called […] Mighty God…
Isaiah 9:6

In order to be born as the little Child in Bethlehem, Christ had to lay aside His glory and authority, but He never relinquished His titles. Lying in the hay of the stable 2000 years ago was the Mighty God. Only the angels really knew that for sure, but that’s who He was.

Jeremiah was given insight into who He was 600 years before His Advent: “You show lovingkindness to thousands, and repay the iniquity of the fathers into the bosom of their children after them […] the Great, the Mighty God, whose name is the LORD of hosts” (Jeremiah 32:18). Isn’t that what Jesus is, love and judgment bound together in the person of the Mighty God?

Over the years, the church has lost its focus on just how strong and powerful our Savior really is. However, the Apostle Paul never lost sight of who He was because He boldly declared, “I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me” (Philippians 4:13).

Our all-powerful Creator reworks broken lives. “…if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; old things have passed away; behold, all things have become new” (2 Corinthians 5:17).

Christ and the gospel were such a great, unstoppable force in the first century that pagan leaders lamented, “These who have turned the world upside down have come here too” (Acts 17:6). Opposed on every side by the powerful enemies of God, Paul knew that the ultimate victory was the Lord’s. “For the weapons of our warfare are not carnal but mighty in God for pulling down strongholds, casting down arguments and every high thing that exalts itself against the knowledge of God, bringing every thought into captivity to the obedience of Christ” (2 Corinthians 10:4-5).

The world still attacks Christ by attacking his followers, but there’s precious hope. “‘For Your sake we are killed all day long; We are accounted as sheep for the slaughter.’ Yet in all these things we are more than conquerors through Him who loved us” (Romans 8:36-37). We must never lose sight of the fact that Jesus is the Mighty God.

December 15 

For unto us a Child is born, Unto us a Son is given;
And the government will be upon His shoulder. And His
name will be called […] Counselor…
Isaiah 9:6

As my boys grew up, I would tell them Bible stories of David and his mighty men, hoping that this would encourage them to become men of God. I wanted to get across the necessity of faith and courage – or at least that’s what I had in mind.

In eighth-grade English class, one of the boys was studying heroes and was given a writing assignment to tell of something heroic that he wanted to do. He began his paper, “I want to kill 1,000 men.” He went on to tell about standing up to great odds like David’s mighty men and doing what was right in the face of danger, but that didn’t matter. The teacher read the first sentence and then marched my boy off to the guidance counselor’s office. For the next five years, he had to make regular visits there, even after moving on to high school.

Although the whole situation was misinterpreted, I do understand it. There are a lot of mixed up people in our world today, and counselors are there to help them work through those issues so they don’t self-destruct or hurt others. However, human counselors are limited in how much real help they can offer. Those taking anger management classes or addiction seminars usually repeat these courses many times.

Jesus Christ is the great Counselor and can set people free from the emotional pretzels they get twisted into. Grief, anger, depression, drug and alcohol addictions, and doubt can produce physical and emotional pain that robs people of joy and peace. Christ came to this world to take away the burdens that weigh people down. By coming to Jesus in prayer, people are able to cast all their cares upon Him.

Everyone who is overloaded with anxiety can find help for their souls in the heavenly Counselor. No appointment necessary.

December 14