Christmas - The Text Messages

December 21, 2022December 21, 2022

A Promise to be Kept

Last week, we sang the familiar Christmas time carol at church – O Come All Ye Faithful. The end of the Carol we sang added a musical bridge which celebrated the Lord by the words of Isaiah in (Isaiah 9:6-7):

“For unto us a Child is born,
Unto us a Son is given;
and the government will be upon His shoulder.

And His name will be called
Wonderful, Counselor, Mighty God,
Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace.
Of the increase of His government and peace there will be no end,

Upon the throne of David and over His kingdom, to order it and establish it with judgment and justice from that time forward, even forever.
The zeal of the Lord of hosts will perform this.”

I love this section for many reasons the greatest of which is the fact that Jesus Christ IS the fulfillment of the words of the prophet. At Christmas time we celebrate the birth, not because we KNOW that He was born on December the 25th (we are not certain of that) but because we KNOW that Jesus Christ the eternal “took upon Himself flesh” (John 1:14, Phil. 2:7) and that He was sent, literally given (John 3:16) by God (Luke 1:34-35) to Israel and through them to us to “save” those who would believe (Matt1:21).

Jesus is the fulfillment of the Old Testament prophesies calling for a Savior to come from God not only in the first advent but also in the second. The FACT that “His name shall be ‘Wonderful, Counselor, Mighty God,
Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace;'” points to His return reminds us that Jesus is coming again not to die or resurrect from the dead but to reign as King. As (Revelation 5) shines the spotlight on Jesus so the prophet Isaiah points to and celebrates the FACT that hope is found in Christ alone!

The section is punctuated by the words: “The ZEAL of the Lord of hosts WILL perform this!” (all emphasis mine) Jesus HAS come and Jesus will come again. Hope is with Him. Forgiveness is with Him. Peace with God is with Him. Joy is with Him. The undeserved mercy and grace of God toward us is with Him! God always keeps His promises – He alone is truly most faithful!

“O come, let us adore Him! O come, let us adore Him! O come let us adore Him – Christ the Lord!“

Celebrating His coming and looking forward to His return, I wish you a Merry Christmas and pray that you receive God’s greatest gift today.

December 23, 2021

God’s Best Gift

Satisfied with less…

Does that describe the hearts of people during a season which I’ve come to call the season of discontent – are they satisfied with less?

Are you?

I call it a season of discontent because when asked, rather than an “I have everything I need”” people young and old readily state what they want for Christmas. In reality, discontent rather than contentment is a problem for many people and the materialism of the season feeds that felt need for more or better.

This isn’t a rant on that but it is meant to challenge you to consider your desires. You see, I believe that the desire which God has for your life is far greater and better than what you want for and from it. I Believe that most people are simply satisfied with less than what God in Christ wants for them.

Those outside of faith in Jesus Christ are perfectly content to be in the condition I just described and that fact makes clear to me that while some people are never truly content with the things they possess – more are simply content with less.

Jesus Christ promised abundant life (John 10:10) to those who trust in Him – abundant life now and forever more but so many people are satisfied with less than that.

So many are satisfied with less because they can’t imagine a better life, a fuller life or a happier life than the one they have – they are satisfied with less because they don’t know or believe that there is more or better than what they have now or that they can have it.

God sent His Son to usher in better things – whether you know it or not, more than anything else, you really have need of those better things – of grace, mercy, forgiveness, eternal life and an eternal relationship with the Lord.

In Christ, those better things have been provided and are yours for the asking.

Click the link to listen to the full message on today’s subject. https://www.thetextmessages.org/sermons/gods-best-gift/

December 24, 2019

Re-gifting God’s Greatest Gift

I received a make-up kit at a family Christmas party the other day. The party was themed “white-elephant” which is a kind of gift game where people bring a gift, draw a number, pick a gift and then the laughs begin. Needless to say – I re-gifted the make-up kit that I had received.

No one re-gifts something they treasure of course; we re-gift things we either don’t like, don’t need or already own often with the intention of not injuring the relationship we have with the one who gave the gift in the first place. The previous comment is true in nearly EVERY situation but one in my mind – no one re-gifts something they treasure…no one that is, but the one who has received Jesus Christ by faith.

In Acts chapter 3 we read of Peter and John entering into the temple in Jerusalem to pray. Peter and John were among the first of those called by Jesus Christ to follow Him; they were not present when He was born but they were with Him as He taught about the Kingdom of God and as He healed the sick and delivered the demon possessed. These men were with Jesus when He was arrested, they saw Him tortured and humiliated – John saw Him hanging on the cross and both men, three days later saw Him alive again.

As Peter and John approached the temple they encountered a man lame, literally cripple from birth who was daily set beside the gate called Beautiful where he begged for alms (help or charity) from those passing by. As Peter and John passed by, he cried out to them for help; what happened next was a miracle.

Peter and John fixed their eyes upon the man and told him to look at them, which the lame man expecting to receive something from them did; then Peter spoke and said (v.6): “Silver and gold I do not have, but what I do have I give you: In the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, rise up and walk.”

The beggar knew what he wanted but not what he needed. Peter and John didn’t have what he wanted but offered him what they had – THAT was exactly what he needed. You see Peter and John did not have money but they had faith in Jesus Christ and they offered the man a chance for a brand new life in Jesus name and the man, by faith in Jesus’ name (v.16) rose up and walked for the first time in his life!!!

Can you imagine the joy?! The man (v.8) lept “up, stood and walked and entered the temple with them—walking, leaping, and praising God.”

Peter wasn’t done though; you see the people marveled at the mans healing but Peter wanted them to know that it was the one which the Jews rejected – that it was Jesus Christ who healed Him and he called those people to (v.19-21) : “Repent therefore and be converted, that your sins may be blotted out, so that times of refreshing may come from the presence of the Lord, and that He may send Jesus Christ, who was preached to you before, whom heaven must receive until the times of restoration of all things, which God has spoken by the mouth of all His holy prophets since the world began.”

Listen, we were ALL born spiritually lame, cripple from birth and unable to walk with God but by faith in Jesus’ name those who have believed in Jesus have received new life! Now we CAN walk with God in newness of life!

But the gift we’ve been given is meant to be shared.

During this season of giving and getting you may not really be sure what to give the people in your life. We may not know what they want but we know what every soul needs. Share your faith. Tell them about Jesus Christ.

December 10, 2019December 10, 2019

Know Peace…

“For He Himself is our peace…”He came and preached peace to you who were afar off and to those who were near. For through Him we both have access by one Spirit to the Father.” (Ephesians 2 14, 17-18)

No peace, no joy; know peace, know joy. I had to stop and think about whether joy came first and peace follows or the other way around. I decided that it only makes sense that peace comes first – peace with God.

For the world it is as the word of God declares in (Isaiah 48:22): “There is no peace,” says the Lord, “for the wicked” for “the way of peace they have not known.” (Isaiah 59:8) Every one of us in our natural spiritual state is wicked before God – sinners at war with God. Jesus Christ, “the Prince of peace” (Isaiah 9:6) came to set us at peace with God, this He did through His death and resurrection.

By His Spirit He left us peace for life:

“Peace I leave with you, My peace I give to you; not as the world gives do I give to you. Let not your heart be troubled, neither let it be afraid.” (John 14:27)

Our external circumstances can not be counted on for peace and joy; to know peace and thereby its by-product of joy each of us need only to welcome the Christ of Christmas: “the Christ of God” (Luke 9:20) and the Christ of the gospel into our hearts by faith.

“Now may the Lord of peace Himself give you peace always in every way. The Lord be with you all.”(2 Thessalonians 3:16)

Joy to the world….

December 3, 2019December 7, 2019

The Moral of the Story

One of the greatest and most whimsical stories of the season is the Dr. Seuss classic, How the Grinch Stole Christmas. Who HASN’T heard the story about the grumpy green grouch living above the city of Whoville?

While the story seems to focus on the restoration of the main characters maniacally twisted, depraved and ever so tiny heart through the kindheartedness of a little girl named Cindy Lou Who, I think that most of us have missed the more subtle moral of the story.

Have you ever considered that Theodor Geisel aka Dr. Suess might have been railing on the flamboyant, over the top consumerism and materialism that seems to drive our own keeping of the season from before Halloween through our New Year celebrations?

What IS this season REALLY about?

As I see it, its about love.

It’s about the love of God who at just the right time, “sent forth His Son, made (born) of a woman, made (born) under the law, to redeem those who were under the law, that we might receive the adoption as sons.” (Galatians 4:4) It’s also about WHY God the Father sent Him: “God so LOVED the world that He gave His only begotten Son…” (John 3:16) God loved the world – the kosmos in the Greek; He loved the world and especially its inhabitants. He loved you and me when we were green with envy, when we were grouchy and complaint filled; He loved us, the Bible says in (Romans 5:8) “while we were yet sinners.” He loved the sinner while hating their sin – a fact not written out in so many words in the pages of scripture and yet made evident by the actions He undertook on behalf of us all.

It’s also about the love of Jesus who died to reconcile us to God while we were still His enemies (Romans 5:10). Did He love God or each of us more, when He suffered unspeakable hate and torture and as He bore our sins on the cross and exchanged them for His own righteousness? The answer seems clear from the Bible that out of love and especially obedience toward His Father, Jesus endured all of those things (Luke 22:42, John 4:34,5:30, 6:38 ) nevertheless, love kept Jesus on the cross.

At His incarnation or birth into human flesh, the eternal Son of God, Jesus Christ was given as an expression of God’s love toward the world in order to make us what none of us ever could be on our own – right with God. By His crucifixion and resurrection Jesus Christ made His Father’s love a literal reality for every person who has believed or ever will.

Christmas isn’t about Jing Tinglers, Flu Floopers, Tar Tinkers or Who Hoovers no matter how wonderful the music played on these can be! It isn’t about finding and giving the most amazing (and amazingly expensive) gift from the list of someone we love. While love is the only debt the Bible says we ought to owe each other (Romans 13:8), expressing it shouldn’t put us in the poor house. Christmas IS about the greatest expression of love ever known among men – God’s love toward sinners.

So this Christmas, if all you have is time to give – give it; your time given to the one forgotten is a priceless loving gesture to them. By the way, love the unbearable grouch at the end of your block or next to you in your work place or couch – do for them what Jesus did for you; who knows if it won’t just change their lives too.