Tag: expectations

Christmas Fashions

SAMSUNG

Luke 1:39-45

What is Christmas? It would seem that to some it is the opportunity to give and receive the latest and greatest gifts. Who wants to give something out of style that will never be used? Who wants to receive Nehru jackets, bell bottom slacks, Jade East cologne, G.I. Joe action figures, a “Chatty Cathy” doll, a Hi-Fi Stereo record player, an Atari 2600 game system or an Apple IIe computer? (Some of those items date from fifty or more years ago!)

What is Christmas? It is a holiday whose true message is out of fashion with the world. God, however, determines what is eternally in fashion. Let’s consider somethings that are out of fashion with the world, but in fashion with God.

Some are blessed above others (1:42). We read evidence of God’s choice in action. Mary was chosen from among all women to be the mother of the Messiah. To be a father begetting children or a mother bearing children is to receive a reward from God (Psalm 127:3). How much greater honor to be selected by the Most High to bear his dearly loved Son! Elizabeth heard the message of the Savior’s coming when millions lived in full ignorance of the joyful news. Mary told the humble wife of a Jewish priest while the wives of kings and emperors remained in pagan darkness.

Christmas is a time to remember the teaching of the free and sovereign grace of God. Many do not know what grace means. But these women knew. Was Mary somehow better than all other women? No, the angel Gabriel first greeted her with words of grace (1:28). Mary herself confessed her need for a Savior and her humble nature (1:46-48). Elizabeth humbly rejoiced that she was favored even with a visit from the mother of her Lord.

There is not a person reading this, nor the writer, who even deserves to hear the message that a Savior has been born. Yet God has favored us above many who live and die without hearing the good news of Jesus Christ! It ought to bring us to our knees in humble thankfulness. Perhaps God has even done more for you, sending you not only the message, but also the regenerating Spirit of God that you may believe and be saved. Are you forever grateful?

The child of Mary is the Lord of all (1:43). People naturally resist acknowledging the greatness of Mary’s Son. Mankind in rebellion against the Lord and his Christ wants no part of calling him “Lord” (John 1:11; cf. Psalm 2:2. However, the Holy Spirit emphasizes in this account that Jesus is Lord — both God himself and eternal King (1:17, 32-33, 35, 43, 76; 2:11, 26). Others err in a different way. They rejoice in a Queen instead of a King. Observe carefully that Elizabeth did not say (nor does any other Scripture) that her Lady came to visit her, but that the mother of her Lord came to visit her. Christmas reminds us that the Lord of Glory, the Most High God, came to live among us in human flesh. “the mother of my Lord.” God should be honored for his willingness to give (John 3:16; 2 Corinthians 8:9). The main point for sinners is that One has come who is mighty to save from the guilt and pollution of sin. The Son of Mary is the Lord our righteousness.

The Lord can fulfill a believer’s expectations (1:45). The worldly wise person does not believe that there is any reason for the believer’s joy. At best, they think that we are self-deceived. In the The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe, C.S. Lewis described the Narnia Lucy first entered as a land in which it was always winter, but never Christmas. That is what the ungodly think of the Christian’s hope — it’s winter, but Christmas never comes. But when the Lion, Aslan, arrived in Narnia, Christmas came and then spring. To the unbeliever, faith in God is a waste of time. All is measured by what oneself thinks is possible. As their philosophers say, “Man is the measure of all things.” They also feel that we are foolish for believing in, what they think of as, sand castles. “Have your dreams,” they say, “but they will all be washed away.”

The follower of Christ has a different perspective. We would agree with the unbeliever’s “sand castles” view, if our hope was in humanity. We understand, even better than they, that to trust in mankind, in what people can do, or even in faith in faith is a foundation for lasting despair. However, our hope is not in mankind, but in the living God! “For nothing is impossible with God” (1:37).

When Elizabeth finished her song, both Mary and herself had months of waiting for their sons to be born. But God fulfilled his word. How are we showing confidence in God? Now is an excellent time to turn to the living God in humble faith and to trust in the Savior. He welcomes all who call out to him (Romans 10:13).

Grace and peace, David

An Unsatisfying Conversation

IMG_1732Exodus 5:22-6:12

Everyone experiences conversations that do not go as well as we wish. If we evaluate such disappointing talks objectively, which is a difficult task, we might able to realize that our own motives and/or expectations were incorrect concerning the outcome we desired. Usually we are left with less than pleasant thoughts about the other person. We can end up feeling rather dissatisfied.

This passage in the story of God’s glory (the Bible) is about a man who was in a conversation with the Lord God and walked away dissatisfied. I think that it is a fair evaluation, because he ends the discussion with a complaint that ties in with a previous dialogue that wasn’t satisfying to him also. The man was Moses, but not the heroic Moses of the pretend world of “God does nice things for us that make us happy”. Instead, it is the real Moses who was beginning to find out that living God is not someone that we people get to order around. The Lord patiently led Moses through this discovery process.

Moses began the conversation with a complaint that the Lord had let him down. Moses returned to the Lord and said, “Why, Lord, why have you brought trouble on this people? Is this why you sent me? Ever since I went to Pharaoh to speak in your name, he has brought trouble on this people, and you have not rescued your people at all” (Exodus 5:22-23 NIV). Since Moses is human like us, it might be beneficial to consider how many of our prayers are complaints. (I’m not implying that Moses usually prayed this way, but simply asking a question.) It is a rather doubtful method to build your friendship with God by constantly complaining about something. Do you want to a friend that incessantly complains? Moses had a lot to learn, but he had enough insight to recognize a couple points:

  • He saw that the Lord God was in charge of the unpleasant events. Seeing God as in control of all that happens is almost a prerequisite to prayer. Since God is God, he is sovereign over all.
  • Moses saw that Pharaoh was one of the responsible agents in oppressing God’s people Israel. Everyone is not “nice”, some are very evil and destructive. There is no “spark of goodness” in human hearts. Moses could evaluate Pharaoh and call him out as wicked. Moses was telling the truth at this point.
  • He was disappointed about God’s schedule. If he had listened carefully to the Lord (in Exodus 3-4), Moses would have known that God planned to rescue his people from Pharaoh and Egypt over a period of time. The rescue would be a process, not a single act. God works the story of his glory out in time. We want him to do everything yesterday, naively forgetting that there are plenty of people yet to be rescued today and tomorrow. We need to accept that the Lord works out the rescue or salvation of people from sin to glory over time. We must be willing to wait calmly as the rescue happens.

Next, we hear the first of the Lord’s answers to Moses’ complaint. God didn’t dismiss Moses for his failure, but used it as a teaching opportunity to make more of himself known to Moses and to us. God’s answer is to reveal some of the most important truths about his relationship with his old covenant people, Israel. But first, he decided to answer Moses’ complaint. Then the Lord said to Moses, “Now you will see what I will do to Pharaoh: Because of my mighty hand he will let them go; because of my mighty hand he will drive them out of his country” (Exodus 6:1 NIV).

  • The Lord told Moses that his rescue operation was on time; in fact, now was the time. For his own wise purposes, the sovereign God allows people to reach the full measure of their sins before he steps in (cf. Genesis 15:16). God’s people must be patient during those times. We wait and trust and look for the dawn of salvation.
  • God said that he would act against Pharaoh. He knew the identity of the oppressor and would bring him to justice. The sovereign Lord sees and he will act at his appointed time. Anyone who comprehends this will not dare to oppress other people.
  • God planned to use his mighty hand to accomplish the rescue of his people. As we will see in future articles, the Lord had a good and wise purpose in this method. He used the whole situation to demonstrate his glory.

I don’t know what unsatisfying conversation you might be in with God. But I know that his word, the story of his glory, reveals his ways to us, and that he invites us to be a partner in this great story. You may enter into it through the gate, the Lord Jesus Christ (John 10:9-10). If you are a partner, let God’s story transform the way you look at your life. Let your complaints become humble questions to your Father in heaven.

Grace and peace, David