Son of God

 

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.

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

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?

Spiritual Sacrifice

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November- The Month of Thankfulness and Praise.

“I will sacrifice a thank offering to you and call on the name of the Lord.” Psalm 116:17 (NIV)

            The psalmist tells his readers, even those of today, that he would give an offering and praise to God as a form of sacrifice. We think of a sacrifice as being something that causes a hardship. However, a Biblical understanding of sacrifice simply means something brought before God. In the Old Testament, the people brought as a tribute before or an offering to God.

            What do we praise God for in our present world? I find myself praising Him for the beautiful weather we have experienced this late in the year. As I sit in my living room initially composing this meditation, our back door is open, letting the late afternoon sunshine into our kitchen. The temperature was a bit nippy this morning for me to spend time on my front porch.

            Besides the weather, I am thankful that we were able to fix up more of our house this year.

            In addition, I give God praise I am better physically than I was one year ago. I was incapacitated. Now, we usually get out and go to the store or shopping. I get out to do visitation every other week and attend a prayer group on Wednesday mornings and attend midweek worship service and a second prayer group on Wednesday evenings. For the ability to do these activities, I am thankful.

What are some things you give praise or thanksgiving for?

UNPLUGGING

One special thing I am thankful for this year is that our son can be home to celebrate Thanksgiving with us. He was able to be with us last year but that was when I was incapacitated. This is a very special time for us, 

Because he will be here and stay overnight, on the weekend, I am going to unplug until Monday, November 28th. My prayer for all you is that you have a joyous Thanksgiving celebration with your loved ones,

God’s Will

November- The Month of Thankfulness and Praise.

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“Be joyful always; pray continually;

give thanks in all circumstances,

 for this is God’s will for you in Christ Jesus”

1 Thessalonians 5:16-18 (NIV)

Paul pens these words as part of final instructions to the believers at Thessalonica.

   

            “Be joyful always. . .” People who read these words for the first time might think, “What does Paul mean by this? Can we be joyful in times of sadness? Paul hasn’t been through some of the sad times we have seen in present times.” Our joy at that time is that we know God is there with us as we face the issues at hand.

            “. . . pray continually. . .” Again, babes in Christ wonder, “How can I always be in prayer? I have a family to raise. I work outside my home. I have hobbies I pursue.” I believe Paul asks us to be willing to go into a mode of prayer anytime we face hardships, ours or those of our friends. As we listen to our friend’s circumstance, Jesus may whisper into our ears that it is time to pray for this friend and his/her needs. 

“. . . give thanks in all circumstances. . .” One new to Christianity might voice some concern, “What, give thanks in ALL circumstances? What does Paul mean?” Let’s look at this phrase carefully. He says to give thanks in all circumstances.

When the house right across the street from us caught fire, I gave thanks for the firefighters who were on our street two minutes after I called. When my friend’s son-in-law was diagnosed with rare cancer, we were able to praise God every step of the way for the very attentive medical team that worked with him and his wife. We also gave thanks when he became cancer free.

            “. . . for this is God’s will for you in Christ Jesus.” God, being our heavenly Father, teaches us to be appreciative, much like our earthly parents taught us to thank others when they do something for us. This is a small part of who God is.

Duty

November- The Month of Thankfulness and Praise.

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“But we all ought to thank God for you, brothers loved by the Lord because from the beginning God chose you to be saved through the sanctifying work of the Spirit and through belief in the truth.” 2 Thessalonians 2:13

             Paul, Silas, and Timothy had ministered to the believers in Thessalonica. Paul felt it was their duty to lift them up to God in prayer and thank God for the work He had done beforehand in the hearts of the people. We should follow this pattern and pray for those whom God has given us.

            God had set them apart before their birth. This makes each of God’s children special in His eyes.

            What can we praise God for? We can praise Him for the basics of our very lives. Do we thank God for the kindnesses shown to us by others?

            Shouldn’t we develop this practice of giving praise on a regular basis? We have a lot of things to for which we should be grateful. Can you name three things for which you are thankful?

            I am thankful for my salvation. I am thankful that I live in the United States of America. I am thankful I have the freedom to worship God as I choose, that no government can tell me how and where to worship.

            I don’t usually get into the current news of our nation because that’s not what God usually wants me to write about. However, the events of this past week in response to the outcome of the election causes me to speak. Those who believe their choice was overlooked and that person lost the election need to realize that we are AMERICANS. We live in the UNITED states.  We all need to work TOGETHER and be patient and wait and see where we will go AS A NATION. Pray for our president elect as we are directed in the Bible to pray for our leaders.

Unceasing Praise

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November- The Month of Thankfulness and Praise.

“I have not stopped giving thanks for you, remembering you in my prayers.” Ephesians 1:16 (NIV)

            The Apostle Paul penned these words to the believers at Ephesus. Theirs was a city dominated by pagan worshipers and their gods. However, these believers in Christ had strong faith in the LORD, in spite of this background. Those who came to belief in Christ burned all their scrolls that contained magic formulas.

            We, also, might want to lift some group or individual up to God in prayer. Each of us knows someone who may have a hard time walking with Jesus due to the environment they may be in. Sometimes, we meet people who are trying to change their lives and want to leave some issues in their past.

            How do we love someone who we know has a difficult life? We could do as Paul did, we could pray for them and praise God for them.

We all have people in our lives who do things that cause us to be concerned about them. In several of these instances, we have to love them as they are and lift them up in prayer each time we think of them. Having Jesus in our hearts allows us to discern thing about those people about which they feel uncomfortable.

            By praying for these people, we give thanks to God for them. By giving thanks, we give praise that we know them. Even talking to them and greeting them when we meet them throughout the week or on Sunday mornings at church tells us that they are important to us.