The Good Hand Of God Through Active Faith

Devotion 9

(Ezra 3:1-7)

1Now when the seventh month came, and the sons of Israel were in the cities, the people gathered together as one man to Jerusalem. 2Then Jeshua the son of Jozadak and his brothers the priests, and Zerubbabel the son of Shealtiel and his brothers arose and built the altar of the God of Israel to offer burnt offerings on it, as it is written in the law of Moses, the man of God. 3So they set up the altar on its foundation, for they were terrified because of the peoples of the lands; and they offered burnt offerings on it to the LORD, burnt offerings morning and evening. 4They celebrated the Feast of Booths, as it is written, and offered the fixed number of burnt offerings daily, according to the ordinance, as each day required; 5and afterward there was a continual burnt offering, also for the new moons and for all the fixed festivals of the LORD that were consecrated, and from everyone who offered a freewill offering to the LORD. 6From the first day of the seventh month they began to offer burnt offerings to the LORD, but the foundation of the temple of the LORD had not been laid. 7Then they gave money to the masons and carpenters, and food, drink and oil to the Sidonians and to the Tyrians, to bring cedar wood from Lebanon to the sea at Joppa, according to the permission they had from Cyrus king of Persia.

On February 5^th, 2009 President Barak Obama gave the President’s Speech at the National Prayer Breakfast. In that speech he gave us a huge peek into his religious background, which also answers for some other things regarding his actions in the last several days, including the issue of abortion. I insist if you have not read it yet, that you read my blog from January 22, 2008 regarding this matter. Either way Mr. Obama’s call was for us to live out our faith. But for me his call is more of the echoing silence of nothingness which I continue to hear from those who make a claim but do not possess the call of God to salvation in Jesus. Regardless his call was understood by me and I can receive some of the truth which is in it, even though I still question the reality under which President Obama appears to live. I will return to this illustration and actually quote parts of this speech in a later devotion because I believe a latter passage will actually reveal some good and bad things regarding the speech.

In the above passage from Ezra 3:1-7 we see the Jewish people beginning to live out their faith. Cyrus the king of Persia has made the call for the people to go back to Jerusalem and rebuild the temple (1:1-2). They have gone through the process of doing so (1:5-11), organized themselves (2) and in the seventh month have arrived at Jerusalem. The first thing I want to note is that Scripture never tells us exactly when Cyrus made the call, only that it was in the first year of his reign. But verse 1 of Ezra 3 is very clear as to when the Jewish exiles did arrive in Jerusalem. Now the point I am about to make is a point that will be made time and time again throughout these devotions in Ezra-Nehemiah. It is something that Scripture declares over and over. It is something which those who walk with God experience every day. Here it is…are you ready? God does not work on our time table.

Okay I just heard all the air get sucked out of the room you’re in. That’s right, let me repeat it again, God does not work on our time table. Why? Well, for several reasons. One is that we often rush like the fools into things which are not good or healthy for us. Second, we are only looking at things from our point of view and never really see the whole picture in the grand scheme of things. Third, even if we could see things from every possible vantage point we are far too selfish to be willing to sacrifice our own well-being for the sake of others. Forth, even if we were willing to sacrifice our own well-being it is often for the sake of prideful arrogance. Our nature of sin takes over at moments of choice and we would never be able to accept a time frame like that given by God in every situation without being overwhelmed by our godless attitude.

Learning to live within the time frame of God means to learn to live by faith. God can move like lightning in any situation, but God chooses to move like molasses most of the time so that we will either come to faith in Christ or that our faith would mature. In Luke 8:40-56 we are told the story of Jarius an official of the synagogue (v. 41) who had a daughter who was dying (v. 42). Jarius chooses to seek Jesus out, finds Him, and begs for Jesus to come to his house in order for his daughter to be healed (v. 42). In the process the crowd presses on the Lord and a woman who was ill herself is healed by just touching the helm of His cloak (vv. 42-44). Jesus stops and takes the time to find out who it was who reached out in faith and was healed (v. 45). Evidently the crowd was so big and the Jarius’ situation so desperate Peter asked basically, how could you know? (v. 45). The idea is given that Peter is attempting to push things along. The woman reveals herself, a conversation occurs and they continue their journey (vv. 46-48). Yet while the conversation is still going on very mournful news comes to Jarius, “Your daughter has died; do not trouble the Teacher anymore.” (v. 49). Jarius must have looked at Jesus in downtrodden horror. He just witnessed the miracle of healing, but now there was no hope of such a miracle. How could this be? You see Jarius could have looked at Jesus and asked, “Why didn’t you move a little faster?” or “How come you had to stop and help that pathetic woman?” He could have accused the Lord by saying, “I knew it! You don’t like people of organized religion, therefore you let my daughter die.” No Jarius didn’t do that. When Jesus saw his pain He states, “Do not be afraid any longer; only believe, and she will be made well.” (v. 50). Jarius then takes the Lord and His disciples to the house. Those who are at the house make fun of Jesus and His willingness to work a miracle, at which our Lord drives them out of the house. Then he raises the daughter from the dead.

So why did Jesus take His time with one situation and in the other do something immediate? If Cyrus made a call to go back to Jerusalem to rebuild the temple, why did it take seven months to return? Why isn’t God working sooner or faster in your life or in my life?

It is at those moments when we can hear our Lord say, “Do not be afraid any longer; only believe…” (Luke 8:50). God does not work on our schedule. Rather He works to His glory. Things happen to benefit the proclamation of the gospel, not for our welfare. So as time passes, and circumstances which seem overbearing appear to take over, whether financial, marital, family life, carrier, home, work, friendships or church, we must respond in a way called faith. We will never be able to go anywhere in life if we don’t trust God first and foremost.

God Bless,

Steven

WHAT’S MISSING?

DEVOTIONAL 8
EZRA 1:5-2:70

5 Then the heads of fathers' households of Judah and Benjamin and the priests and the Levites arose, even everyone whose spirit God had stirred to go up and rebuild the house of the LORD which is in Jerusalem. 6 All those about them encouraged them with articles of silver, with gold, with goods, with cattle and with valuables, aside from all that was given as a freewill offering. 7 Also King Cyrus brought out the articles of the house of the LORD, which Nebuchadnezzar had carried away from Jerusalem and put in the house of his gods; 8 and Cyrus, king of Persia, had them brought out by the hand of Mithredath the treasurer, and he counted them out to Sheshbazzar, the prince of Judah. 9 Now this was their number: 30 gold dishes, 1,000 silver dishes, 29 duplicates; 10 30 gold bowls, 410 silver bowls of a second kind and 1,000 other articles. 11 All the articles of gold and silver numbered 5,400. Sheshbazzar brought them all up with the exiles who went up from Babylon to Jerusalem.

Back in the 1980’s there was a character that would show up on television shows, the back of cereal boxes, and books. This character’s name was Waldo and the idea was to find him. Often Waldo was hidden in plain sight where no one could find him right off the bat. Even though Waldo was often taller and dressed differently the person would have to spend a few minutes to find him and at times he was drawn in several different places.

Sometimes theology is like looking for Waldo. There are times when some important things are said when nothing is said at all. You know, like that look you use to get from your mom or dad when you would get in trouble. As we take our final look at this passage in this series we can see that there is something missing. Look at what is discussed in verse 6. It talks about the, “…articles of silver, with gold...” In verses 9 and 10 tells what those articles were and how many there were, “…30 gold dishes, 1,000 silver dishes, 29 duplicates; 10 30 gold bowls, 410 silver bowls of a second kind and 1,000 other articles. 11 All the articles of gold and silver numbered 5,400…” But yet something of very strong importance is missing. Something which a Jew would have looked for and would have immediately noticed missing. That item of interest for this minister and for the Jews was the Ark of the Covenant. While studying this passage I noticed this and consulted about ten different, scholarly commentaries, no one even touched on this issue. Why? Because we would not think to look for it, we automatically assume that it is not there so we don’t look for it in the list. Personally I believe Shesbazzar did look for it. Now nobody knows what happen to the Ark of the Covenant. The Babylonians could have melted it down for the gold or it could have been left behind and later stolen. It could have been destroyed in one of the many raids on Jerusalem. The one thing I am confident of is that it is not in a church in Ethiopia.

Having noted all of this someone may ask the question, “What’s so significant about the absence of the Ark?” Well I’m glad you asked, because it marks the beginning of something new. Later in Ezra chapter 5 we will meet two prophets by the name of Haggai and Zechariah. Both prophets will give us more insight, but the idea is that the Old Covenant has passed. The Ark would have represented the Old Covenant. The people had foolishly placed their confidence in the Ark itself and not in what the Ark represented, a living relationship with God (1st Samuel 4:4-5:1). By doing this it often led to all kinds of disasters which cost Israel her existence as a nation of prominence. I also believe that the Ark was worshiped during the time when Manasseh, the son of king Hezekiah, placed idols in the temple mixing the worship of Yahweh with that of other gods (2 Chronicles 33). Regardless, the absence of the Ark meant that God was going to work in a new and beautiful way. The Ark of the Covenant represented the Law, theocracy, and often merciless ways of handling things ( read the book of Hebrews). It also represented something better and yet to come. So now the Jews find themselves without an independent nation, without the Ark of the Covenant, and without a king. What did they have left? A few items to go into the temple. Oh, yea at this moment, what temple. A promise from a pagan king to help rebuild, I wonder how many times they had heard that story. Technically they didn’t even have each other because they were scattered to the four corners of the earth. So what did they have? They had the promise of God and their faith.

What promises did they have from God? Well, Isaiah 53 comes to mind, the song of the suffering Servant. It is the promise of Messiah. God promised them a Messiah who would bare our grief and whom God Himself would strike (verse 4). He would “…be pierced through for our transgressions, He was crushed for our iniquities; The chastening for our well-being fell upon Him, And by His scourging we are healed.” (verse 5). Why would Messiah have to suffer? Because, “All of us like sheep have gone astray, Each of us has turned to his own way; But the LORD has caused the iniquity of us all To fall on Him.” (verse 6). This passage is one of the richest passages in all of Scripture and held the greatest promise of them all to not only the Jewish people, but to the whole world.

Now they are left without an Ark which meant that a New Covenant was in the works. Now they are forced to look to God for their salvation and not their heritage, the Temple, the Ark, or anything else. It’s the same way with us. The covenant which God makes now is not with a nation, but with individuals. It no longer comes through a set of laws and regulations but from a relationship with Jesus Christ. No longer to we sacrifice bulls and rams for our sins, but rely on the grace (unmerited favor in a demerited situation) of God through the shed blood of Jesus Christ. No longer do we yearly give thanks to God, but daily because of His bodily resurrection. You see the missing Ark was a signal of things which were to change. Even though it would be another four to five hundred years before Messiah would arrive, the Ark would no longer symbolize the covenant. No now the covenant is symbolized by a blood stained cross and comes through a relationship with the person who hung on that cross and three days later rose from the dead. All anyone needs to do is repent (turn from your sins) and believe by placing your total trust in Christ.

If you would like further information on knowing Jesus as your Savior please e-mail me at Bedevotedministry@att.net.
Lord bless,
Steven

THE YEAR 36; THE NUMBER 50,000,000

Congratulations! If you voted for Barack Obama you have just helped end 3,000 lives a day. If you are a Christian and voted for Barack Obama you are in sin. If you are not a Christian, regardless if you voted for Barack Obama or not, your in danger of eternal judgment.

Sounds kind of harsh doesn’t it. Well let’s start with the open truth of why I am opening up like this. Today (1/22/09) President Barack Obama moved this nation one step closer to the judgment of God. What he did today is an irreconcilable situation politically and morally. At this point all we can do is pray for our President, and as always continue to respect him as a person and the President. But I will not stand by and stay silent about what he did today. Today our President signed an executive order allowing our tax payer monies to be used for overseas abortions (www.foxnews.com/politics/first100days/2009/01/21/obama-lift-ban-funding-groups-providing-abortions-overseas/ ).

As many can tell I did not vote for President Obama, but at first I was willing to watch to see what he would do. It didn’t take long. While I had reservations at first, I knew it would only take a matter of time before something of a moral issue would arise. Like Bill Clinton in 1993, who opened the way for our tax payer dollars to be used in this manner (www.politicalticker.blogs.cnn.com/2009/01/19/sources-obama-may-use-executive-order-reverse-abortion-policy/ ). When I see things like this I have to ask, “Change? What change?” All I see are the same old liberal, socialistic tactics which have been used by socialistic Democrats in the past. Whatever happened to the strong, staunch conservative Democrats who use to stand for something, rather than fall for anything?

The President says he is against the blood shed of war, but he is for the bloodshed of millions of unborn babies. If you will read one of my earlier blogs (September 28, 2008) you will see that then Senator Obama who was running for President stated to Rick Warren, Pastor of Saddleback Church, that the abortion issue was, “above my pay grade”. He remarked it depended on whether the issue was approached from a theological or scientific view. In his inauguration speech he stated, “We will restore science to its rightful place…” (www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=389x4877395 ). I know he is talking about the threat of global warming, which still has a lot of work regarding the theory, I believe President Obama is ignoring the science in regards to abortion.

I have not been this angry about this kind of immoral arrogance and lack of back bone in years. We as Americans cared more for our pocket book than we did the moral climate of our nation. Somehow the Christian population believes government can handle the issue of the economy better than God. Yet we ignored the issue of innocent life and abortion during the campaign. With Hillary Rodham Clinton as secretary of state (www.news.yahoo.com/s/ap/clinton_confirmation ) you can be assured that this issue will not be ignored, but pushed onto smaller, poorer nations as an answer. China has had a one child policy for years, which has been exercised through forced abortions. As a result today they are having a population decrease problem because there are not enough females. Most of the babies who were aborted (with the help of U.S. tax payer dollars) were female (www.geography.about.com/od/populationgeography/a/onechild.htm ; www.gendercide.org/case_infanticide.html ). What do you think is going to happen if you get too many men and too much testosterone in one area for too long? If you ask me abortion doesn’t seem like too much of an answer. I know you clowns out there who think that it saved the population from starvation. The truth is that it was the Communist control which led to the starvation, not the population. If they would have allowed free enterprise and free trade then some of the starvation issues could have been eliminated. So the science of history proves President Obama wrong.

What about the science of neonatal-pregnancy? Well, since the 1980’s that area has grown and it has proven that what is going on in the womb is in fact a human being (www.findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_qa3798/is_/ai_n24394963 ). Ronald Reagan in his State of the Union address on February 6, 1985 said, “…all the evidence so far comes down on the side of the unborn child being a living human being.” Again, our present President has ignored science.

So we are back to square one, “What should we do?” Well outside of a complete impeachment (which will not happen) we are stuck in this situation. The first thing which can be done is pray. God can change hearts and we need to pray that President Obama’s heart will be changed. Second, write you congressman and the President. Protest the action in e-mail, with phone calls and in letters. Key thought here is: “Be civil”. Third, start looking for a strong conservative to run in your district or for Senate in your state, if one does not already exist. Send a message that we do not want this kind of policy. Fourth, start looking for a strong conservative to run against President Obama in 2012. I believe someone else can win if we work the field. Last, pray! We just simply need to pray. Pray for the Presidents protection, for his policies and for his spiritual condition. Pray for revival of evangelism among Christians. Laws will not change this issue, only Jesus Christ ruling and reigning in the hearts of men will. Christians need to repent of their moral failure to stand up for truth and start being a voice of conscience for those who have no voice, whether they are unborn, poor, disabled, or elderly.

God Bless,

Steven

MY THOUGHTS ON THE 2009 INAGURATION

We now have a new president by the name of Barack Obama. He is a man who has come from a very mixed background; a father who left him (something I feel he still struggles with), raised by a single mother along with his two committed grandparents. He is a man who was shaped by the dream of Martin Luther King and is now the embodiment of that dream. He is a man of extreme intelligence, great ambition, and thoughtful analysis. He was raised in Hawaii, taught in private school, educated at Harvard. He has been a man committed to the value of helping others by being engaged in community organizations which helped those who appear to have no help. He was an Illinois state senator and later ran for the Senate of that state only to run for President of the United States two years later and win. There are many good qualities which President Obama appears to hold, one of which I believe is his faithfulness to his wife and the role model he continues to be to his children. In many ways he is a true role model of family life for the African-American community. Perseverance is another quality I believe he shows. During the campaign against both Clinton and McCain perseverance showed up more than once as the campaign became a grueling task of swaps that were made back and forth. I believe that President Barack Obama is a person of moral character. He has done or said nothing which says otherwise.

However, having said that I believe that historically we are in the greatest danger we have ever been in during our two hundred plus years as a nation. I believe we are in more danger than we may have been during the Civil War. Why? Not because of President Barack Obama, but because of our own selfish ambitions. We have allowed desperation to become our key word. Our forefathers believed in independence and hard work. Today we live in an overwhelming society of “give me’s.” We constantly want more for less without giving anything. President Obama is not only the embodiment of Martin Luther King’s dream, but is also the embodiment of the great American tragedy.

President Barack Obama is more like Franklin Roosevelt than Abraham Lincoln. Franklin Roosevelt came to power as president during the turbulent times of the Great Depression. He was charismatic, thought provoking and was ushered in by a public who was tired of prohibition and high taxes. Basically the people wanted the roaring twenties to return and the ability to toast the night away without worrying about law enforcement ruining the party. The problem was that a repeal of the 18^th Amendment or Prohibition did not ease the suffering nor did it bring back prosperity. Neither did the New Deal which ambitiously placed the Federal Government as an employer. In 1933 when he became president the unemployment rate was 23% but in 1937 it fell to 14.5% which sounds good. But in 1938 it raised to 19% only to continue climbing to the eve of the December 7^th, 1941 the Pearl Harbor attack. In fact the New Deal was so intrusive that in 1947 it interfered with the private sector being able to start up the creation of new jobs causing the nation to go through a sever recession which almost plunged it back into the Great Depression. This new form of socialism brought with it a hefty price tag as well. Federal taxation on people went from 25% in 1930 under President Hoover (who raised taxes on the people in 1930 as the Depression deepened) to 79% in 1946 under both Roosevelt and Truman. (http://online.wsj.com/article/SB123215398370892313.html?mod=googlenews_wsj )

Under President George W. Bush we have enjoyed to pretty strong economics, while not as strong as the late 1990’s under President Bill Clinton. Either way the economy was strong and it was constant. However I believe that President George W. Bush and his staff started taking us down a road that President Obama will continue. It was a path toward greater socialism through the financial bailouts of our banking system in the fall of 2008. President Barak Obama will not call his intrusive policies the New Deal, but it could be called a “New Day.” At least that is the constant rant that he quotes. I believe that President Obama will be a one term president much like Jimmy Carter. There have already been signs of tension in the Democratic leadership which threatens unity. (http://politicalticker.blogs.cnn.com/2009/01/08/key-senate-democrats-blast-obama-tax-proposals/ ) Our new President has made a huge amount of promises which he may not be able to fulfill, as do most presidents. However, this President ran on style not substance. I go back to one of my pre-election blogs where I stated that those who were ushering our President into office were acting more like 3^rd grade playground kids than logical, thought provoking adults. I’m still looking around wondering if we are in 1982 again and if I’m still in high school where the prettiest girl gets voted in as class president, not the smartest.

I worry about his moral convictions regarding abortion and the homosexual movement. He is very post modern in his approach which, at times, makes me a little uncomfortable. It appears that he is gaining a stronger view of many of the military and intelligence issues, even thought I still worry about those issues as well.

So what do we do in this situation? Simple! Pray! Pray for our new President, for his health, safety, salvation, and understanding of the issues. Pray for his family that he and they will continue to enjoy the grace of our Lord while being our leader. Pray that God will turn his and our Vice-President’s heart in the right direction. Pray that we as Evangelicals will be a light to our President, always speaking the truth in love. Even then pray for each other, that we will stand on our convictions from Scripture first and foremost. Pray that we will be willing to oppose the President when necessary, but never neglect to treat him with respect as a person and as our President. Who knows maybe God will use him in a way that we could never imagine.

Steven

WHAT WAITS ON THE OTHERSIDE OF THE DOOR?

A NEW YEAR’S MESSAGE FROM STEVEN

1:4When I heard these words, I sat down and wept and mourned for days; and I was fasting and praying before the God of heaven. 5I said, "I beseech You, O LORD God of heaven, the great and awesome God, who preserves the covenant and lovingkindness for those who love Him and keep His commandments, 6let Your ear now be attentive and Your eyes open to hear the prayer of Your servant which I am praying before You now, day and night, on behalf of the sons of Israel Your servants, confessing the sins of the sons of Israel which we have sinned against You; I and my father's house have sinned. 7"We have acted very corruptly against You and have not kept the commandments, nor the statutes, nor the ordinances which You commanded Your servant Moses. 8"Remember the word which You commanded Your servant Moses, saying, 'If you are unfaithful I will scatter you among the peoples; 9but if you return to Me and keep My commandments and do them, though those of you who have been scattered were in the most remote part of the heavens, I will gather them from there and will bring them to the place where I have chosen to cause My name to dwell.' 10"They are Your servants and Your people whom You redeemed by Your great power and by Your strong hand. 11"O Lord, I beseech You, may Your ear be attentive to the prayer of Your servant and the prayer of Your servants who delight to revere Your name, and make Your servant successful today and grant him compassion before this man " Now I was the cupbearer to the king.

2:1And it came about in the month Nisan, in the twentieth year of King Artaxerxes, that wine was before him, and I took up the wine and gave it to the king. Now I had not been sad in his presence.

(Nehemiah 1:4-2:1-New American Standard Bible)

A couple of weeks ago I was preaching through the above passage from Nehemiah 1:4-2:1. I discussed how that Nehemiah was deeply concerned after hearing how that the Jewish population in Jerusalem was being mistreated and how the walls of Jerusalem were torn down offering them no defense. He was so profoundly moved by what was going on that he had decided to spend the next several months praying and fasting over the situation (1:1, 4; 2:1). The painfulness over the circumstances which surrounded his people was so great that he confessed both his and their sins before God (1:6). Nehemiah considered the sinfulness of his people to be a community thing not just a personal issue. The above prayer is just one of many prayers Nehemiah would pray. But I believe this prayer is special because of one thing…I believe this prayer was prayed as he walked the halls of the Susa palace. Why do I believe this? Because he mentions at the end of 1:11 that he was the “…cupbearer to the king.” I believe that there was a literal door standing in between the transition at the end of 1:11 and the beginning of 2:1. As Nehemiah ends his prayer he stands at the door which is the entry way into the king’s court. He is on his way to delivering the tested wine to the king and will be provoked into delivering the will of God before the king. But remember there is a door which is waiting to be opened. That door is what stands between him fulfilling the will of God and him backing down from doing what he is being called to do.

I believe that we are standing at such a door this next year. As always we face it with a certain amount of optimism, pessimism, and anxiety. Regardless we stand at the door and we will be forced to walk through it. Either we walk through it with the attitude of Nehemiah and pray for God’s mercy while seeking to do His will in a hostile world; or we walk through it desiring to do what is right but doing what we always seem to do…nothing. This year is crucial in so many ways. This year we will receive a new President. I will make more comments on this as we near the inauguration. We will also face further and greater violence against the nation of Israel. Israel has been our truest ally in the fight against terrorism. We need to remember this as this fight continues. We face the ever increasing possibilities of homosexual marriages becoming the norm. We face on growing resistance of Christian ethics and morality being upheld in political circles. In fact over the last twelve years we have come to understand that we are more of a play toy for the Republicans and Democrats than an actual moving force. We also face the problem of churches growing smaller and less influential in their communities than before. One more thing we face this year is the political force of the younger evangelicals who are forsaking the call of the right to life for the call of the right to live however we want ( www.recoveringevangelical.com ). Again I will address this issue later and will be in contact with this group throughout the year hoping to set an open dialogue with them.

For us at Ferguson Road Baptist Church, Dallas (FRBC) it means that we are going to have to work all the harder to bring people to church, evangelize the community and follow up on prospects which God brings our way. This year we are going to develop our own Sunday School curriculum, strengthen our children’s and youth ministry as well as continuing to work with our “Young At Heart” group. At FRBC we have a plan which will have the DBA (Dallas Baptist Association) working through us on a project and a possible apartment ministry to start up. And if that is not enough the plans are in the works right now to start POD casting our services where people who are looking for a church home can see what our services are like and hear our pastor as he expounds on the Word of God. And I would like to see our staff get together and do a POD cast at least once every couple of weeks were we take e-mails and calls from people answering questions on various biblical topics.

For Mary and I continuing to work on our marital relationship is preeminence. It is our desire to start a family this year, but as always this is something which rests in the hands for God. For her, it is important that she continue to do well with her carrier while being a witness for Jesus Christ. For me there are several different fronts which I have to battle. First, I must continue to move forward with school. If I continue on I am looking at graduating sometime in 2010, so school is crucial, especially dealing with Greek this next semester. Also, ministry is extremely critical. The two of us want to see FRBC grow and become a lighthouse for those trapped in the darkness of sin in that community. But we want to become more sensitive about the community we live in, the two communities are not the same. I want to preach a little more around the state or around the nation maybe once a month somewhere else. A revival meeting here and some pulpit supply there, just getting out while seeing other churches and how they function in different situations help me to understand dynamics at FRBC. As always I want do a job at my work which is worthy of my being called a Christian. The goal though is to do all that we do for the glory of God.

So, as we enter this new what sets at the other side of the door for you? What has God pointed out to you that He wants you to do? As we enter this year we walk into a new field regard God’s will. Either we will enter the courts of the world, hang our heads low and continue doing what we have always done. Or we will stand up straight, walk in, and when asked what it is we are doing, answer in an affirmative, strong, yet humble fashion, “We are here to do the will of God.”

As one theologian wrote, “It is the cross of Christ we are to declare and the resurrection of Christ we are to explicitly. Always leading others to the kingdom of God in the way we walk, the way we live, and what we say.”

May 2009 be the year we say, “All to the glory of God!”

It’s Beginning To Look Like What?

1:18 Now the birth of Jesus Christ was as follows: when His mother Mary had been betrothed to Joseph, before they came together she was found to be with child by the Holy Spirit. 19 And Joseph her husband, being a righteous man and not wanting to disgrace her, planned to send her away secretly. 20 But when he had considered this, behold, an angel of the Lord appeared to him in a dream, saying, "Joseph, son of David, do not be afraid to take Mary as your wife; for the Child who has been conceived in her is of the Holy Spirit. 21 "She will bear a Son; and you shall call His name Jesus, for He will save His people from their sins." 22 Now all this took place to fulfill what was spoken by the Lord through the prophet: 23 "BEHOLD, THE VIRGIN SHALL BE WITH CHILD AND SHALL BEAR A SON, AND THEY SHALL CALL HIS NAME IMMANUEL," which translated means, "GOD WITH US." 24 And Joseph awoke from his sleep and did as the angel of the Lord commanded him, and took Mary as his wife, 25 but kept her a virgin until she gave birth to a Son; and he called His name Jesus.

2:1 Now after Jesus was born in Bethlehem of Judea in the days of Herod the king, magi from the east arrived in Jerusalem, saying, 2 "Where is He who has been born King of the Jews? For we saw His star in the east and have come to worship Him." 3 When Herod the king heard this, he was troubled, and all Jerusalem with him. 4 Gathering together all the chief priests and scribes of the people, he inquired of them where the Messiah was to be born. 5 They said to him, "In Bethlehem of Judea; for this is what has been written by the prophet: 6 `AND YOU, BETHLEHEM, LAND OF JUDAH, ARE BY NO MEANS LEAST AMONG THE LEADERS OF JUDAH; FOR OUT OF YOU SHALL COME FORTH A RULER WHO WILL SHEPHERD MY PEOPLE ISRAEL.' " 7 Then Herod secretly called the magi and determined from them the exact time the star appeared. 8 And he sent them to Bethlehem and said, "Go and search carefully for the Child; and when you have found Him, report to me, so that I too may come and worship Him."

9 After hearing the king, they went their way; and the star, which they had seen in the east, went on before them until it came and stood over the place where the Child was. 10 When they saw the star, they rejoiced exceedingly with great joy. 11 After coming into the house they saw the Child with Mary His mother; and they fell to the ground and worshiped Him. Then, opening their treasures, they presented to Him gifts of gold, frankincense, and myrrh. 12 And having been warned by God in a dream not to return to Herod, the magi left for their own country by another way.

13 Now when they had gone, behold, an angel of the Lord appeared to Joseph in a dream and said, "Get up! Take the Child and His mother and flee to Egypt, and remain there until I tell you; for Herod is going to search for the Child to destroy Him." 14 So Joseph got up and took the Child and His mother while it was still night, and left for Egypt. 15 He remained there until the death of Herod. This was to fulfill what had been spoken by the Lord through the prophet: "OUT OF EGYPT I CALLED MY SON."

16 Then when Herod saw that he had been tricked by the magi, he became very enraged, and sent and slew all the male children who were in Bethlehem and all its vicinity, from two years old and under, according to the time which he had determined from the magi. 17 Then what had been spoken through Jeremiah the prophet was fulfilled: 18 "A VOICE WAS HEARD IN RAMAH, WEEPING AND GREAT MOURNING, RACHEL WEEPING FOR HER CHILDREN; AND SHE REFUSED TO BE COMFORTED, BECAUSE THEY WERE NO MORE." –Matthew 1:18-2:18

Every Christmas since I became a Christian there has been one controversy or another. In fact I didn’t even know that many of these controversies regarding Christmas even existed before I became a Christian. But in Ephesians 2 the apostle Paul makes it clear that before we come to know Jesus Christ as our Savior we are dead in our trespasses and sins. As usual this year is not any different then that of the last twenty-five years. This year’s war has been with the state of Washington and its governor. But the reality is that this hostility started much earlier. In recent history this struggle started thirty years ago when the educational intuitions made the decisions to stop having “Esther Break” and started having “Spring Break” a week or two before Esther. This was a subversive way of denying deity through the observation of the resurrection of Jesus Christ. But the battle still goes back further than that. During the late nineteenth century Christians found themselves struggling against a new enemy call “Commercialism.” This was the illegitimate child of the free enterprise system set up by our forefathers. Even then the battle of Christmas goes back further. I could spend pages talking about the different battles Christians’ have fought dealing with Christmas but the truth is that Christmas has never been held as something wonderful by the world. The world loves the idea of a small innocent baby in a cute manager setting. They love the idea of getting gifts full of play things and singing happy songs. They love the sounds and glittering lights and the parties, please don’t forget the parties. The world has done everything from attempting to highjack it to totally doing away with it, but history notes that these actions have occurred from the very start.

In Matthew 1:18-2:18 we read that the original Christmas story is received with less than a glorious thought. At first in Matthew 1:18-25 when Joseph, the future husband to Mary, heard the news of Mary’s pregnancy he was less than enthusiastic. In fact 1:19 brings out that he even thought about having a private divorce and moving on with his life. It wasn’t until he is given a revelation by an angel of the Lord in 1:20-25 that he changed his mind and accepted what was happening as the divine will of God.

On the other hand the news was received with the same lukewarm attitude by King Herod in Matthew 2. When it is revealed to him by the magi what was going on, his handling of the situation was much different. According to chapter 2 verses 4-6 he first verified the information from the religious leaders regarding what Scripture had to say about the matter. Then in 2:7-9 he subversively tells the magi to find the Child so that he can worship Him, even though his plan was to kill the Child. Do not get this story wrong when he sent them out to find the child many scholars believe that Herod had spies in Bethlehem waiting for the magi to arrive in order to kill the Christ child. This is the reason many believe that 2:9b-12 possibly happened at a much later time and some place other than Bethlehem. It is believed and agreed by most commentaries, both old and new, that 2:9b-12 happened around the second year of Jesus’ life possibly in Nazareth. Many of the reasons for this are because of the fact that the star always showed in the east. Nazareth is to the east of Jerusalem while Bethlehem is to the southwest of Jerusalem. Also, the use of the Greek word for “Child” in 2:9b can mean infant to five years of age. Verse 16 in chapter 2 also notes that Herod’s orders included children two years old and under. Regardless of the where and when the magi encounter the Christ child, they leave the country through an alternate route. Because of this Herod becomes indignant (2:16) The word used for “anger” means fits of passion. He was enraged over what had occurred. In line with his history of killing and assassinations he sent a small army, possibly from the fortress Herodion which was only about five miles from Bethlehem. This fortress overlooked Bethlehem and would have taken no time to get to Bethlehem in order to carry out the horrible orders of King Herod. Orders to kill, “…all the male children who were in Bethlehem and all its vicinity, from two years old and under, according to the time which he had determined from the magi.” (2:16) On that night the blood ran like water through the streets of Bethlehem. To the glory of God and by His divine protection Joseph moved his family from wherever they were to Egypt until the danger had passed (2:13-15, 19-23).

So as we can see this war against Christmas has always been going on. It is nothing new. It wasn’t filled with parties, flashing lights, lots of toys, tree trimming, declarations, happy songs, and cool romantic nights by a warm fire place. This conflict has always been going on and it will not end until the Lord Jesus Christ returns. Until then the sinful soul of humanity will constantly and consistently deny the virgin birth. If people do not deny the virgin birth, then they cannot deny the vicarious death on the cross. If they do not deny his death on the cross as a substitutionary act then they have to come into agreement with their guilt before God as a result of their own sinful nature. If they do not deny his virgin birth and substitutionary death on the cross they cannot deny His resurrection. If they cannot deny His resurrection they must conclude that God became a man and met humanity in its inhumanity face to face. Now humanity is caught in a dilemma, they must repent and believe or some day face judgment before the very One they deny. The truth is deny it or accept it the Child in the filthy manager who was being hunted by sinful mankind will one day be the Judge Who will condemn all who deny Him as Savior.

Where are you? What stand are you taking? How do you feel about who Jesus Christ is and what He has done for all of humanity? The answer to these questions could very easily affect your eternity.

Have a Merry Christmas,

Steven

The Election After Halloween

It was the election after Halloween,

When all through the nation,

Not a soul was concerned,

With the candidates’ convictions.

All they wanted to know was,

Is the economy going to be okay?

After all I need my beer on payday.

No concerns for national defense,

No concerns for character or ethics,

No concerns for anything that matters,

Only that we have someone who make us fatter.

Never mind that much of the economic mess was our fault,

Never mind that we played hard with some else’s money.

Never mind any of that, because we thought it was funny.

We never saved, we never planned,

Never sought permission from God’s great hand.

So now it comes to this night,

We don’t really care about what is right.

One promises this,

While the other promises that.

In the end all we want is to be lazy and fat.

The reality is we don’t care about our kids.

If we did then we would teach them to be moral not misfits.

We don’t really care about character,

If we did we might ask tougher questions.

We don’t really care about truth,

If we did then we might get to the root of associations.

We don’t really care about the future,

If we did then we would plan, live and be concerned with our moral situation.

No, it’s the election after Halloween,

And the scariest thing is not Dracula, Frankenstein’s monster, or even Jason.

No, not Freddie (unless it’s Mac), not the Wolf-man, not Bigfoot or even Loch Ness.

No the scariest thing is the attitude of the American people which got us into this mess.

We drive toward the ugliest monster, Socialism and no one cares.

Why? Because we want extra money to have a good time and buy our beer.

Freedom means nothing, unless it has something to do with sex.

Courage means nothing, unless we speak out against the Constitutional text.

Purpose means nothing, unless it’s to get another dime from the government.

Being right means nothing, unless it’s to win an argument.

So as we look at this election after Halloween let’s remember these famous words,

Forget abortion, forget laws destroying the family, forget morals, character, and ethics.

Forget self control, forget standing for what is right, forget the Constitution or Declaration of Independence for which men have died.

Forget our history, in fact muddy it up.

Forget Hitler, forget Musilini, forget Stalin.

Forget the real monsters who killed Jews and Christians for the sake of Marxism.

Forget all of those things, but above all forget God, church and family.

Forget them all! Because in doing may cause us to see the candidates’ philosophical schisms.

So, on this election after Halloween,

All we want is money from the government,

A handout for self satisfying arrangement.

No, no one should care.

All we want is extra money so we can go to the pub, club or bar have a good time,

And buy our beer.