Protected For A Purpose

My wife Christine made this observation yesterday:

The story of Jesus’ incarnation is full of moments when God protected Him from death.

• Mary might have been stoned to death for alleged adultery, but God instructed Joseph to take her as his wife (Deuteronomy 22:23-24; Matthew 1:18-25).
• God provided safe travel for the pregnant mother to Bethlehem (Luke 2:1-7).
• Imagine the unsanitary conditions of Mary’s “birthing room” and Jesus’ first “crib” (Luke 2:7, 12, 16).
• Herod had a plan to destroy the newborn Messiah, but God sent an angel instructing Joseph to escape with mother and baby to Egypt (Matthew 2:13-15).
• The pre-teen Jesus was protected from harm when separated from His family for a day or so (Luke 2:41-52).
• The Spirit led Jesus into the wilderness to fast and face the devil, but God protected Him and strengthened Him (Matthew 4:1-11).
• There were several times when the crowds wanted to kill Him, but He walked away unscathed ( Luke 4:29-30; John 8:59, 10:39).
• There were those who were plotting to kill Jesus throughout His public ministry (John 5:18, 7:1, 8:37-40, 11:53).
• And there are countless other protections that were not recorded, I’m sure (John 20:30, 21:35).

But when the hour had come for Jesus to fulfill His purpose for coming, the crux of which was His horrible execution (Philippians 2:5-11), the Father removed His protection from His Son. Angels were summoned to His side to provide strength, but not deliverance (Luke 22:43; Matthew 26:47-56).  In fact, God did not merely hold back deliverance from death, but actually delivered Jesus over to the hands of death (Acts 2:23).

This reminds me of something that was said about King David’s death:  “For David, after he had served the purpose of God in his own generation, fell asleep and was laid with his fathers…” (Acts 13:36).

It makes me wonder how many times God has protected me from death, and how many more times He will do so until I have “served the purpose of God in [my] own generation.” One day He will take me home.  Until then I must continue to use my passions for His purpose in the place where He has put me.

Treating Post-Christmas Blahs

Jon Bloom at the Desiring God Blog has this to say:

It’s just like God to let the glitter and flash of the celebrations (even in his honor) to pass and then to come to us in the quiet, even melancholic void they leave. Because often that’s when we are most likely to understand the hope he intends for us to have at Christmas.

Read the rest of this brief post for three helpful thoughts about fighting post-Christmas melancholy.

Christmas Longings

“On this side of eternity, Christmas is still a promise. Yes, the Savior has come, and with him peace on earth, but the story is not finished.  Yes, there is peace in our hearts, but we long for peace in our world.

Every Christmas is still a ‘turning of the page’ until Jesus returns.  Every December 25 marks another year that draws us closer to the fulfillment of the ages, that draws us closer to…home.

When we realize that Jesus is the answer to our deepest longing, even Christmas longings, each Advent brings us closer to his glorious return to earth.  When we see him as he is, King of Kings and Lord of Lords, that will be ‘Christmas’ indeed!…

Heaven is about to happen.  The celebration is about to burst on the scene.  We stand tiptoe at the edge of eternity, ready to step into the new heaven and the new earth.  And I can hardly wait…

Christmas is an invitation to a celebration yet to happen. If you’ve got a Christmas longing, you’re about to be satisfied, too.  Just hold on and say with me...Maranatha! Come Lord!”

~ Joni Eareckson Tada in Chapter 22 of Come Thou Long Expected Jesus.

The Good Life Is Cruciform

“You are good and do good.  Teach me Your statutes.” Psalm 119:68

If I had written this verse, it would have said: “You are good and do good.  Now, be good to me and do me some good by [fill in the blank with whatever I think would be good for me at the moment.]“  But of course, my definition of good tends to put me at the center of the universe, while the psalmist defines goodness by God.

I tend to think about God’s goodness in terms of how it is “good for me” or what “good” it can do for me.  The psalmist teaches me that a true encounter with the goodness and goodnesses of God will compel me to live for the good of God and others.  When I know God’s goodness, I’ll want Him to teach me His statutes so that I can learn to love God with all that I am and to love my neighbor as myself (Matthew 22:36-40).  This vertical living  for the good of God and horizontal living for the good of others is what the cruciform life is all about.

And where will I encounter the goodness and goodnesses of God most intensely and intimately?  In the Good News that is the gospel.  And that Good News that the Good God loved and died for me compels me to love and live for Him and for others (2 Corinthians 5:14-15; 1 John 4:19).

Good stuff.

Hearing and Believing the Words We Sing

My friend Elizabeth wants us to hear and believe the words we’re singing this Christmas:

In these next days, many of us will join to sing familiar carols and hymns, such as “Hark the Herald” (for short). Perhaps you, like me and my kids, began to listen to the All-Christmas stations the day after Thanksgiving. What strikes me as so very odd is how songs rich in the theology and good news of the gospel are played over and over again on radio, in stores, in Christmas programs. The good news that Christ the Savior King came to dwell in flesh is getting airtime bigtime!

There’s just one problem – at least, for me, perhaps for you, perhaps for others who hear these songs. We can dully repeat the words or even sing them with verve without ever thinking about what we are proclaiming. Because we are singing amazing words, and because hearing and believing what we are singing can change how we view and see our lives, I’m going to highlight just a few. I have three favorite Christmas hymns, “Joy to the World,” “Hark! The Herald Angels Sing!” and “Come, Thou Long-Expected Jesus.” In the next few days I’m going to look at some of the words of these three favorites and also offer you some more resources if you’re interested in doing further study.

Read the rest here.