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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 He made Him who knew no sin to be sin for us,
that we might become the righteousness of God in Him.
2 Corinthians 5:21

Babies sin because it’s their nature. No one needs to teach them how to lie, steal, or destroy; they are born with that ability. In fact, one of my son’s first words was a lie. He had recently turned one and still wasn’t walking or talking, but he could crawl everywhere, stand up on his own, and understand lots of words.

As my wife was cleaning one of the bedrooms, she noticed that the house was strangely silent and the toddler was nowhere to be seen. As she moved towards the kitchen, she called out, “Stephen, are you touching the stove?”

There were very few “no-no’s” in the house, but that was definitely one of them. The one year old was defiantly touching the stove and began looking around to see if mom was near. When he couldn’t see his mother, he assumed that she also couldn’t see him, so he proudly lied, “No!”

The sin nature might raise a chuckle when seen in a small child, but it gets very ugly very quickly, and it is not a condition that cures itself. That old nature has to die and a new nature has to come in to replace it if sin is to ever lose its power over us.

Christ never had that addiction to sin. He certainly knew what sin was, but had no desire to do it. He was sinless by nature, so on the cross he swapped rap sheets with humanity. He gave mankind a clean slate and took on Himself trillions of terrible sins, which he paid for with His death.

Coming to the Lord Jesus in faith means that sin’s power over sinners is broken. Those who were trapped in a habitual cycle of self-destruction receive a new desire to live in God’s will. They are changed, all because of Him who Knew no Sin.

March 11 

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 

“Is this not the carpenter, the Son of Mary, and brother of James, Joses, Judas, and Simon?
And are not His sisters here with us?” So they were offended at Him.
Mark 6:3

The folks in Christ’s hometown of Nazareth resented Him and that caused real attitude problems: “Who does he think he is anyhow? He’s just a common laborer, a woodworker. He doesn’t come from a good family. After all, he’s Mary’s son; he was born out of wedlock.”

People back then and there were judgmental just like they are today. They felt anyone who they labeled as “illegitimate” could never obtain greatness much less do anything for God. Being the Son of Mary meant “bad blood.”

The self-righteous are never so wrong as when they convince themselves that they are better than others. Mary descended from royalty and could trace her bloodline back to King David, and then even back to Adam.

Jesus has two genealogies recorded in scripture. Matthew traces Jesus’ birthright through His adopted father, Joseph, who could have had title to the throne of David if they were still doing that kind of thing at that time. One big problem with this succession of legal heirs is that it included King Jeconiah who was cursed by God in Jeremiah 22:24-28. The prophet said that “Coniah” and his descendants would be cut off, meaning that the Messiah could not come through Joseph. This presented a prophetic contradiction for the Messiah. Only the miracle of the virgin birth could solve this problem.

People assumed Jesus to be Joseph’s son, but the genealogy of Christ in Luke 3 is actually Mary’s. She was a descendant of David, but not of Jeconiah.

Christ had all the legal rights to the throne of David, because Joseph adopted Him and made him his own. He also had to have a human blood line back to David, without being Coniah’s relative. The King of Kings was able to fulfill scripture, because He was the Son of Mary. 

December 8 

The scepter shall not depart from Judah, Nor a lawgiver from between his feet,
Until Shiloh comes; And to Him shall be the obedience of the people.
Genesis 49:10

This curious title of Christ is taken from Jacob’s blessing of his sons shortly before his death. In affirming Judah, the patriarch promises that he’ll give rise to the kingly tribe and that position will continue until the coming of Shiloh, the peacegiver. Long before the coming of Christ, ancient rabbis acknowledged that this single reference to Shiloh was a messianic title.

The word, however, does appear repeatedly in the Old Testament, but in a very different context. Shiloh was the resting place of the tabernacle after the conquest of Canaan. Burnt offerings were given there and Days of Atonement observed. However, the supposed place of peace was given over to immorality and idolatry, so God cursed it (Jeremiah 26:6). The destruction of Shiloh was so complete, that its location was forgotten for about 2,500 years. It was rediscovered by archaeologists in the 19^th century, but that Shiloh never brought peace.

Since Shiloh is an unusual title of Christ, Christians considered it an interesting name to give to their churches. The most famous of these was the Shiloh Methodist Meeting House of Pittsburgh Landing, Tennessee. For two days in April 1862, Union and Confederate troops fought around the grounds of the little log cabin church. 24,000 men were either killed or wounded in what was the most tragic battle fought in the Civil War up to that date. That Shiloh also brought no peace.

When the true Shiloh came to His own people the first time, He was rejected; His own wouldn’t receive Him. They cried out for the crucifixion of the Prince of Peace and refused to let Him rule over them. At that point, the scepter and the lawgiver departed from Judah. The Middle East has been without a peacegiver for two millennia. Israel, the church, and the world still wait.

Even so, come Lord Jesus. Come Shiloh, come.

December 24 

And they said, “Is not this Jesus, the son of Joseph, whose father and mother we know? How is it then that He says, ‘I have come down from heaven’?”
John 6:42*

When talking about the inspired word of God, there is no such thing as a coincidence. Christ was the stepson of a man named Joseph. It could have been Judah, Hezekiah or Zebulon, but it wasn’t. Jesus was the son of Joseph.

Joseph never made a big deal about adopting Jesus. That would have just stirred up more gossip and disparaging remarks about Mary. He took Mary’s son as his own, provided for Him and made Him his legal heir. That’s why everyone knew the man as Jesus of Nazareth, Son of Joseph.

There is another very important Son of Joseph that doesn’t appear in the Bible, but was written about by Jewish sages long before the New Testament was written. Rabbis and scholars earnestly searched the scriptures awaiting the Messiah and were perplexed at what seemed to be contradictory descriptions of the LORD’s Anointed. Sometimes the Messiah appeared to be a majestic, conquering King. Other times He was like a suffering servant. Their conclusion was that two Messiahs must be coming.

For the sake of discussion, these two were labeled “Moshiach ben David” and “Moshiach ben Yosef” (“Messiah, Son of David” and “Messiah, Son of Joseph”). Although most awaited the Messiah that would put an end to Roman domination, just as David conquered Israel’s enemies, it was clear in much of Old Testament prophecy that the Messiah would be like the patriarch Joseph who delivered his people through suffering. Portions of scripture such as Psalms 22 and Isaiah 53 were believed to refer to the Messiah, Son of Joseph.

So when the unbelieving residents of Galilee called Him the Son of Joseph, they only confirmed what their rabbis taught them would come of the Messiah; “He is despised and rejected by men, a Man of sorrows and acquainted with grief”(Isaiah 53:3).

What the first century Jewish people didn’t understand was that there weren’t two Messiahs coming, but one who would come twice. The first time He came as Messiah, Son of Joseph to redeem mankind through His suffering. At His second coming, He will cause all enemies of God to bow the knee and He will bring the Davidic dynasty back to the throne. 

December 9 

And they came with haste and found Mary
and Joseph, and the Babe lying in a manger.
Luke 2:16*

When my family lived in Ecuador, S.A., Christmas was a big deal, especially in the underdeveloped rural area where we lived. There, the people were so poor that almost no one got presents, but each school child in the country did receive a small bag of candy sent in from the governor of each province. Christmas there was not December 25, but whatever day the grade-schoolers had their program and the goodie-bags were handed out.

In the jungle, the schools almost always presented a living Nativity. An open-front thatched-roof hut was made with bamboo poles. The stable was full of animals (chickens, turtles, monkeys, iguanas, and dogs). School children played the roles of Mary, Joseph, angels, wise men, and shepherds, and the school teachers surveyed the audience to find a suitable “volunteer” for baby Jesus.

The babe that was chosen was usually a newborn wrapped in swaddling. This not only served as a diaper, but the tightly wound length of cloth made the infant feel secure so he’d sleep for hours. The new candidate for baby Jesus was laid in a box of fresh banana leaves, where he lay quietly until the commotion of the program was over. He was supposed to be the main attraction of the day, but was almost forgotten when candy was given out.

Bethlehem’s Babe, too, is often overlooked with all the distractions of the holiday season. The focus of Christmas day is usually under the tree and not in the manger, where the Savior of the World was laid, where the incarnate God was sleeping. Angels announced Him as Christ the Lord and shepherds worshiped before Him. He was Immanuel, God with us, in the body of a Babe.

*see also Luke 2:12

December 25 

The people who walked in darkness have seen a great light; Those who dwelt in the land of the shadow of death, upon them a light has shined.
Isaiah 9:2

The Lord Jesus is not a candle in the night; He’s a floodlight, searchlight, beacon, lighthouse – Great Light. That’s a lot of light, because there’s a lot of darkness out there. Since people stumble around in the blackness and live under the shadow of death all their lives, a lot of light is needed to take care of everybody’s problems.

It’s really surprising how often Christ is associated with light. He is, after all, the brightness of God’s glory (Hebrews 1:3), the Dayspring (Dawn) From on High (Luke 1:78), and the Morning Star (Revelation 2:28). Add to this that He is the Light that Shines in a Dark Place (2 Peter 1:19) and three times in the book of Revelation it says that the glorified Christ has eyes that are flames of fire. Yes, that is a lot of light.

Once, I was driving on a country road in the desert of New Mexico when my oil light went on. Those were the days long before cell phones and GPS. At that time, I had no clue which way to turn for help. I knew I passed a town about twenty miles back, but I could see the glow of something on the horizon. It was the city of Roswell about ten miles ahead. Eventually a car passed me and I got help, but the main point is that the distant city lights let me know where I was and that I wasn’t alone in the desert. I had seen a great light.

The verse above in Isaiah comes before the famous Christmas verse about a Child being born and a Son being given. It gives the context of why the Savior came to this world to redeem mankind. The human race was lost, scared, and groping around in darkness. He came to bring hope, direction, and a Great Light.

December 10 

“And I will put enmity between you and the woman, and between your seed and her Seed;
He shall bruise your head, and you shall bruise His heel.”
Genesis 3:15

The words above come from the LORD’s curse on the serpent after the fall of Man in the Garden of Eden. The identification of the “Seed of the Woman” with Christ Jesus goes a long way back to at least the teachings of Irenaeus, a second-century church father and apologist. For centuries, it has been hailed as the earliest reference to the Messiah in the Bible and is considered a legitimate name of Christ.

The interpretation of God’s pronouncement of judgment on the devil was that the Savior dealt a death blow to the “old serpent” at Golgotha, the place of the skull. Satan’s doom was sealed at that point, even though when Jesus died as a substitute for sinful man, the devil stuck Him at His heel when His feet were nailed to the cross. Christ rose from the dead and broke the evil one’s claim over death. Lucifer has not and will never recover from his defeat at Mount Calvary.

It’s important to note that victory over the devil came through the Seed of the Woman and not the seed of man or Adam’s seed. Jesus was virgin-born, and so had no human father. He was God’s Son. In giving this very first recorded title of Christ, God eliminated every other man born on earth.

Verily God, yet become truly human
Lower than angels – to die in our stead;
How hast Thou, long-promised “Seed of the Woman”
Trod on the serpent and bruised his head!
                               – H. D’Arcy Champney (1854-1942)

December 26 

For unto us a Child is born, Unto us a Son is given …
Isaiah 9:6

Why was Jesus born as a baby and then made to go through all the indignities of childhood? He really didn’t have to come that way. The second person of the Trinity appeared as a full grown man on a number of occasions before He was the Babe of Bethlehem.

The pre-incarnate Christ manifested Himself to Joshua as the Commander of the LORD’s Army when He ordered Joshua to take off his sandals because he was on holy ground. He appeared as the Angel of the LORD to Samson’s parents and then ascended to heaven in the flames of the altar. Finally, the Son of God was seen in the fiery furnace with Shadrach and crew, which shook up the king.

Being born in the same way that all humans come into this world left the Messiah vulnerable to His enemies. Satan urged King Herod to try to kill the child. After Joseph, Jesus’ stepfather, was warned by God in a dream, “he arose, he took the young child and His mother by night and departed for Egypt” (Matthew 2:14). Jesus needed care and protection.

Why, then, did He even have to become a child? It’s because Christ was the Heavenly Man, 100% God and 100% human. He needed to be of the Seed of the Woman to fulfill prophesy (Genesis 3:15), but He also needed to be a Man born of woman to be able to share the human experience and understand our failings. As our Great High Priest, He is able to empathize with humanity.

Being a child meant going to school, learning to read, doing chores, and being obedient to His parents. At age twelve, Jesus was able to astonish teachers, but most of His youth He spent subject to the authorities around Him. Mary’s son was an exceptional Child,  but He was a Child nonetheless.

December 11