God Rules

Read: Isaiah 46:5-13
I have spoken it; I will also bring it to pass. I have purposed it; I will also do it. - Isaiah 46:11

in 1854 the Russian poet and diplomat Fyodor Tiutchev described the frightening world conditions as he saw them then. in a letter to his wife he wrote, "What is bewildering is the conviction-and it is becoming more and more general-that in all the perils that confront us, the direction of affairs is given over to a way of thinking that has no longer any understanding of itself. It is like being in a carriage, descending an increasingly precipitous slope, and suddenly realizing that there is no coachman in the box."

The world does seem to be travelling in a runaway vehicle, hurtling wildly through the dark night toward terrible destruction. Racial tensions, religious conflicts, new diseases and continued fighting could cause us to feel as if the world is reeling wildly out of control.

But the Christian views this frightening scene differently. We believe that even though Satan is called the ruler of this age, God is in ultimate control. We have confidence in Isaiah's promise tat what God has spoken will come to pass. God "works all things according to the counsel of His will" (Eph.1:11). His hand "is stretched out over all the nations," wrote Isaiah, and "who will turn it back?" (Isa.14:26-27). In the midst of turmoil we have hope. - Dave Egner

Have faith where'er thy bark is driven
The calm's disport, the tempest's mirth,
Know this! God rules the host of heaven,
The inhabitants of earth. - Schiller

Earth Changes, But Thy Soul And God Stand Sure.

Hold The Fort

Read : 1 Thessalonians 4:16-5:11
Behold, I am coming quickly! Hold fast what you have. - Revelation 3:11

During the American Civil War, General William T. Serman left behind a contingent of men to guard the rations in a fort on Kennesw Mountain. General John Bell Hood of the Confederate Army attacked the fort, and a fierce battle followed. One-third of Shermans' men were killed or wounded and the general in command was severely injured. Just as he was about to surrender, a message came through the signal corps set up on a chain of mountains. General Shaerman was within 15 miles of the fort and sent the message : "Hold fast. We are coming."Those few words which so encouraged the defenders that they held on and kept the fort from falling.

Our heavenly Commander has also sent us the assurance that He is coming. The Lord Jesus said, "I go to prepare a place for you. And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again and receive you to Myself; that where I am, there you may be also" (Jn.14:2-3). The fact that our Savior is coming again gives us hope. It makes us want to stand our ground. It encourages us to continue fighting the good fight of faith. It assures us of victory. Fierce as the battle may rage and difficult  as the conflict maybe as we Serve Him, we dare not give up. Christ is coming again - perhaps today. - Richard Dee Hamn

Hold The fort, for I am noning"
Jesus signals still.
Wave the answer back to heaven
By Thy grace we will. - Bliss






When Faithlessness Is Most Difficult, It Is Most Rewarding.

Immanuel

Read : Matthew 1:18-25
"They shall call his name Immanuel," which is translated, "God with us." - Matthew 1:23

Since the first Christmas day 2000 years ago, the assurance that God is with his people has taken on new meaning. Before Jesus was born, the Israelites were assured that even in judgement they could have hope because God was with them (Isa. 8:8,10). Yet they didn't know God as fully as we can today. We have a great advantage over the Old Testament saints because through reading the New Testament we can see the glory of God "in the face of Jesus Christ" (2 Cor.4:6). And we can sense His presence in all situations of life because He is made real to us by the Holy Spirit.

When I need to be reassured that God is with me, I picture the face of Jesus as He took little children into His arms and blessed them (Mt.19:13-15). Then I think of Hid crucifixion. I see his face battered and blood-streaked. This reminds me of all e endured to be my Savior. Finally, I reflect on His promise, "I am with you always, even to the end of the age" (Mt.28:20). And I am spiritually refreshed.

God came in human form when Jesus was born in Bethlehem. All who trust Him can find renewed strength for every need. Why? Because the birth of Christ gives new meaning to the name Immanuel. - Herb Vander Lugt

Veiled in flesh the Godhead see,
Hail the incarnate Deity!
Pleased as man with men to dwell,
Jesus, our Immanuel. - Wesley




The Birth Of Christ Brought God To Man, But It Took The Cross Of Christ To Bring Man To God. 

Step That Lead Nowhere

Read : John 3:5-16
But as many as received Him, to them He gave the right to become children of God. - John 1:12

Most religions represent man's effort to reach up to God and become acceptable to Him. In China, for example, devout pilgrims ascend a sacred mountain called Taishan. They climb 7000 steps , first passing through the "middle gate," then through "heaven's southern gate." Finally they reach the Temple of the Azure Could. Here they offer sacrifices, which the worshipers believe will gain God's favor. But such effort brings devotees no closer to God than when they mounted the first step.

By contrast, Christianity begins with the creator reaching down to us. In His holiness, he is so far out of reach of sinners that only He Himself could span the gulf. And that's exactly what he did. By the miracle of the incarnation, He became flesh and offered Himself as a once-and-for-all sacrifice for our sin. Then, after rising from the dead, He went back to Glory. And He did it all for us. Our part is to confess that we are sinners, to renounce all efforts to earn our salvation, and to trust Jesus as our Savior.

Those still climbing endless steps of self-effort may as well give up. They lead nowhere. Instead, take that all important step of faith in the Lord Jesus. It's the only step that leads to heaven. - Dennis De Haan

Man gropes his way through life;s dark maze,
To unknown gods he often prays,
But then one day he meets God's Son-
At last he's found the Living One! - D.De Haan

Salvation Is Not Something We Achieve But Something We Receive.

The Word Made Flesh

For December 23, 2011

Read : Hebrews 1:1-13
No one has seen God at any time. The only begotten Son.. has declared Him. - John 1:18

Frank M. Fairchild told of a beautiful fresco on the ceiling of a Roman palace. Painted by Guido Renin 1614, it was one of the most impressive works of its day. But visitors couldn't fully appreciate the masterpiece because they had to crane their necks to see it. To solve the problem, palace officials placed a large mirror on the floor beneath the painting, enabling viewers to more fully appreciate its beauty.

Fairchild observed : "Jesus Christ does precisely that for us when we try to get some notion of God... He interprets God to our dull hearts. In Him, God becomes visible and intelligible to us. We cannot by any amount of searching find out God. The more we try, the more we are bewildered. Then Christ appears. He is God stooping down to our level, and He enables our feeble thoughts to get some real hold on God Himself."

Christ came to reveal God to us. But He is more than a reflection of the Father. He is God in human flesh - "the express image" of God (Heb.1:3). And Jesus Himself said, "He who has seen Me has seen the Father" (Jn. 14:9).

As we meditate on the wonder of "the Word made flesh," we will say with the hymn-writer, "O come, let us adore Him, Christ, the Lord." - Richard De Haan

Christ, by highest heaven adored,
Christ, the everlasting Lord;
Late in time behold Him come,
Offspring of a virgin's womb - Wesley

Christ's Birth Brings The Infinite God Within The Reach Of Finite Man.

Both Ends Of The Ladder

Read : Luke 2:1-14
You shall see heaven open, and the angels of God ascending and descending upon the Son of Man. - John 1:51

Christmas cards often show an idyllic manger scene with halos of light surrounding the faces of Mary, Joseph and the Christ-child. Jesus' birth, however, tool place in a crude and unusual setting. Yet that lowly scene encompassed the wonder of the incarnation-the infinite God of the universe came from the heights of heaven to the depths of earth.

Referring to the words of Christ in John 1:51, Andrew Murray captured the dramatic contrast in this amazing event. He wrote: "The nature of our Lord Jesus is infinite in its extent. On one hand it touches the height of Godhead, on the other the depth of manhood. To use his own comparison (Jn.1:51), it resembles the mystic ladder, which in the dream of the wanderer (Jacob), lined the far distant depths of sky-where, more brilliant than sun or moon, the light of the Shekinah shone-with the moorland, strewn with huge boulders of stone, on which he lay. At one end is the title, Son of God; at the other, Son of Man."

Jesus, the Son of God in all His deity, became the Son of Man in full humanity. Yet He did not sin. His death guarantees forgiveness and eternal life if we trust Him as our Savior. Because God descended fro heaven to earth in Christ, we can ascend from earth to heaven through Christ. - Dave Egner

What condescension, bringing us redemption,
That in the dead of night, not one faint hope in sight,
God, gracious, tender, laid aside His splendor,
Stooping to woo, to win, to save my soul.- Booth-Clibborn

The Son Of God Became The Son Of Man That He Might Change The Sons Of Men Into Sons Of God. 

When God Stepped Out

Read : Colossians 1:15-19
He is the image of the invisible God, the first born over all creation. - Colossians 1:15

A little boy looked into the sky and asked his mother, "Is God up there?" When she assured him that He was, the youngster replied. "Wouldn't it be nice if He put His head out and let us see Him?"

What the boy didn't understand is that God has let us see Him-in the person of His Son. By sending Christ to earth as a man, the heavenly Father fully revealed Himself. Jesus was God "manifested in the flesh" (1 Tim.3:16)

Christ made this point clear when He said to Philip, "He who has seen Me has seen the Father" (Jn.14:9). This is the good news we celebrate, especially at Christmas. Jesus left heaven's glory and came to earth to reborn of a virgin. The baby that Mary cradled in a Bethlehem manger was the "image of the invisible God." All the attributes of the infinite God resided in Him. In fact, He was the One by whom "all things were created" and in whom "all things consist" (Col.1:16-17)

Looking into the face of our Savior, we can see displayed the holiness, the grace, and the love of our eternal, heavenly Father. This realization should make us rejoice, for we are gazing at God, who stepped out of heaven and came to this earth. Jesus Christ is Immanuel, God with us! - Paul Van Gorder

When God stepped out of heaven above
And came down to this earth,
He clothed Himself in human flesh-
A Child of lowly birth. - D. De Haan




Bethlehem's Manger Was The First Step In God's Love-Journey To Calvary's Cross.