Friday, December 2, 2016

Son of God


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December: Messiah




            “We tell you the good news: What God promised our fathers he fulfilled for us, their children, by raising up Jesus. As it is written in the second Psalm:        
                        ‘You are my son;
                        Today I have become your Father.’
So it is stated elsewhere:
            ‘You will not let your Holy One see decay.’ “But the one whom God raised from the dead did not see decay.”           
Acts 13:32-33, 35, 37 (NIV)

            The apostle Paul speaks these words to the believers in Pisidian Antioch. He says some startling things here. God vowed to raise up His Son to benefit His children. The Father also pledged to not let His Son, Jesus, die.

            Think about this for a moment. We serve a Messiah that did not die. The other religions in this world can point to where their leader is buried. Jesus Christ reigns in heaven with His Father. He lives. We serve a risen Savior.
           
            The first thing we notice is God fulfilled his promise to His people. Another is that His son did not die, was not buried in the ground and did not face the end that humans face.




Wednesday, November 30, 2016

Son of the Most High

                                                                 
December: Messiah


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“He will be great and will be called the Son of the Most High.
The Lord God will give him the throne of his Father David, and he
will reign over the house of Jacob forever, his kingdom will never end.”
Luke 1:32, 33 (NIV)
  
            God sent His messenger, an angel, to earth to announce to Mary His plan. In our focus passage, the angel Gabriel describes the One He will send and tells of the Savior—his impact, what He will be called, what God will equip Him with, and how long He will be with God’s people.

“He will be great. . .”
            The word great has several meanings. Ones that like are: “Much above the ordinary or average in some quality or degree;” And “having or showing nobility of mind, purpose, etc.” (1) 

“. . . will be called the Son of the Most High.”
            The relationship between a son and his biological father and mother is usually close. In modern times people use the term, ‘son’ to signify a feeling of closeness.

            God is very close to His Son. Actually, when Jesus came to earth, it was God Himself that took on human form and experienced the trials of human life.

“The Lord God will give him the throne of his Father David,”

            God equipped His Son with all he needed to be among the people of this world. The Father gave Jesus the platform to rule, A throne was a place of dignity that demanded respect and honor. (2.)

“. . . he will reign over the house of Jacob forever”

            God intends His Son to rule over His people for all eternity. To state this another way: His plan is for Jesus’ impact to those here on earth will always be felt.

“. . . his kingdom will never end.”

            God must consider this feature of the Son’s impact on His people important because he repeats the idea of a never-ending reign for Jesus.

            In my last post, I asked two questions. The answer to the second question Do these words speak of a political or a spiritual reign? is Jesus’ reign is a spiritual one. The Hebrew people thought it would be a political one. 


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(1.)       Webster’s New World Dictionary Concise Edition, © 1974, The Southwestern Company, Nashville, Tenn. Page 328

(2).The New Unger’s Bible Dictionary, © 1988, Moody Press, Chicago, Ill. Pages 1278-1279

Monday, November 28, 2016

King, of David’s line

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December: the Messiah              

“The days are coming,” declares the Lord,
When I will raise up to David a righteous Branch,
A King who will reign wisely/
And do what is just and right in the land.
In his days Judah will be saved
And Israel will live in safety.
This is the name by which he will be called:
The LORD Our Righteousness.
Jer. 23:5-6(NIV)

                The Lord God speaks these words. He is preparing the people for the presence of Jesus in their land. The people of Israel and Judah are going through extreme hardship.

                In the verses just before this passage, God speaks to those who are “destroying and scattering” his people. The Father promises to punish those who caused pain for those who were close to Him. He vows to “gather the remnant of my flock out of all the countries . . . and bring them back to their pasture. . . .”

                The nation Israel was destroyed in 587 BC The modern nation of Israel was created in May 1948. The entire history of this modern entity has been one of constant alerts and wars.
   
                Our focus passage is prophecy. God speaks through Jeremiah of a coming of Jesus.
Could these words speak of the second coming, as well as the first? Do these words speak of a political or a spiritual reign?



God Alone

  Jesus and the children at our church's prayer walk.          I will both lie down in peace and sleep;  For You alone, O LORD make ...