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Matthew 1:18

The Christmas Celebration

Filed Under: Devotions by Chuck
May 8, 2023

After the three sections of 14 descendants of Jesus in each section, Matthew moves to his purpose for writing and recording for us the birth of Jesus. Verse 18 of the first chapter of Matthew gives us the historical document verifying the early teaching that Jesus was indeed born of a virgin. It says, “Now the birth of Jesus Christ took place in this way. When his mother Mary had been betrothed to Joseph, before they came together, she was found to be with child from the Holy Spirit.” Jesus was different.  One writer said, “The spermatic matter that ordinarily produces human life was not needed for the birth of Jesus. Instead, the divine spirit entered Mary’s womb and was born as flesh.” The doctrine of the virgin birth of Jesus is one of the most fundamental doctrines of the faith.  By means of the Virgin Birth, Jesus had the human nature of His mother and the sinless, divine nature of His Father. This made Him the only acceptable sacrifice for the sins of all mankind.

This has been a well-established teaching of orthodox Christianity. Elwell has documented that well, “From the very beginning, the doctrine of the virgin birth became the foundation of a high Christology. Many have pointed out that the earliest church fathers stressed this more perhaps than any other event as proof of the incarnation and deity of Christ. Justin Martyr and Ignatius defended the virgin birth against opponents at the beginning of the 2nd century, and even at that early date, it appeared to be a fixed doctrine. In the acrimonious debates of the next three centuries, the virgin birth became a prominent issue. Gnostics contended that Christ descended directly from heaven and so was never truly human. On the other hand, those groups which denied his deity, such as the Arians, denied the virgin birth, stating that at his baptism, Jesus was “adopted” as Son of God. The Council of Nicaea in 325 affirmed that Jesus was truly God, and then the Council of Chalcedon in 451 stated that Jesus was at the same time human and divine, a ‘hypostatic union’ of the true natures. These were summarized in the Apostles’ Creed of the 5th century, which declares, ‘I believe in … Jesus Christ, his only Son, our Lord, conceived of the Holy Ghost, born of the Virgin Mary.’ In most of the creeds, the virgin birth is also connected to Jesus’ sinlessness, inasmuch as his incarnate, divine nature is the source of his sinlessness.”[1]

The virgin birth of Jesus, however, is one of the least accepted doctrines of the early Christian faith. What surprises me is that over half of the Christian pulpits in America reject it as well. According to one survey of the ministers in training, 56 percent rejected the Virgin Birth of Jesus Christ. Of this same group, 71 percent rejected that there was life after death, 54 percent rejected the bodily resurrection of Jesus Christ, and 98 percent rejected that there would be a personal return of Jesus Christ to this earth. The three giant pillars of the Christian faith are Jesus’ virgin birth, atoning death, and bodily resurrection. Take away any one of these and the structure of the Christian faith falls. Taken out of the context of all three, any one of them is without meaning. Considered together, they comprise the greatest story ever told.  We have wonderful reasons to celebrate the Christmas season. Without these truths, we’re still lost in our sins and have nothing to celebrate! I just want to celebrate!

[1] Elwell, Walter A., and Barry J. Beitzel. 1988. “Virgin Birth of Jesus.” In Baker Encyclopedia of the Bible, 2:2126. Grand Rapids, MI: Baker Book House.

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Malachi 1:2-3

Receiving God’s Love

Filed Under: Devotions by Chuck
May 7, 2023

God uses the last prophet in the Old Testament to express His love for His people. But the people want to argue that God’s love is not shown to them as they would like it to be. It’s interesting to me that this last book of the Old Testament is about to be answered powerfully by the first book of the New Testament. God’s love has not been appreciated by His thankless people so he takes another step of displaying His love for them by sending His only Son to die for their sins and ingratitude. Malachi tries to move the Israelites to understand God’s love for them in Malachi 1:2-3. He says, “I have loved you,” says the Lord. But you say, “How have you loved us?” “Is not Esau Jacob’s brother?” declares the Lord. “Yet I have loved Jacob, but Esau I have hated. I have laid waste his hill country and left his heritage to jackals of the desert.”

 God is pointing out how his love for them has been demonstrated in his preservation of them relative to Esau’s demise in the world. During the era of Malachi the Edomites, Esau’s descendants had been routed by the Nabateans who took their homes from them and scattered them in the surrounding communities. There was nothing left for them and eventually, they became a lost civilization. Herod the Great, the Idumean, was the last mention of any of the descendants of Esau. But Israel had been redeemed from their slavery in Babylon, restored to their land, and blessed with the rebuilding of the people, the temple, and its sacrifices, along with the wall around the city for protection.

They ask God “How do you love us?” What they mean is that God doesn’t treat them as they think they should be treated. God asks them back, “how can you experience all that I have done with the people of Israel and still doubt my love?” This is so relevant for us today. We wrap ourselves up with religious ritual without true devotion to God and then question why everything doesn’t go our way like we think it should. If God loves us he wouldn’t allow such and such to happen. If He loved me, I’d win the lottery! We look around our world with ungrateful hearts. We’re not rich. We’re not powerful. We’re not famous. We don’t have the lifestyles we might like. Let’s just think for a moment. God filled the world with color and gave us eyes. He filled the world with music and gave us ears. He filled the world with good things to eat and blessed us with the ability to enjoy them. The older I get, the more I appreciate God’s love simply expressed through the created order itself. That I exist is a miracle! I can lay in bed at night without serious pain. I can still roll over by myself. I wake in the morning and see the sun and have the privilege of seeing my wife and sons and grandsons. How can I ever question God’s love for me? Given that there are things I don’t like to see in the world. There are sounds I don’t like to hear. Not everything tastes that great either. But even in the light of suffering in the world, I see that God suffered on my behalf on the cross. He loved the world, and that includes me, so much that he demonstrated His love for us all, while we were still sinners, by Jesus dying on the cross in our place. How can we not truly appreciate God’s love for us? If God is our shepherd, we have cups that are not half full or half empty, but we have cups that are running over. How can we live in this world and not experience God’s love? We will never be able to return God’s love, or any love for that matter, until we receive His love. Jesus is the expression of God’s love. To all that receive him, God gives the right to become children of God, to as many as believe in His name.

 

 

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Zechariah 1:4-6, Various

Return to me!

Filed Under: Devotions by Chuck
May 6, 2023

The prophets of the Old Testament all failed in some respects. They were sent by God to call the people from their evil to return to Godly living. But the repentance and conversion of the people never happened for very long. They would always turn back to their old sinful ways. Zechariah takes this line of confrontation from the prophet Jeremiah. In Jeremiah 35:15 we read, “ I have sent to you all my servants the prophets, sending them persistently, saying, ‘Turn now every one of you from his evil way, and amend your deeds, and do not go after other gods to serve them, and then you shall dwell in the land that I gave to you and your fathers.’ But you did not incline your ear or listen to me.” So Zechariah 1:4-6 says the same thing, “Do not be like your fathers, to whom the former prophets cried out, ‘Thus says the Lord of hosts, Return from your evil ways and from your evil deeds.’ But they did not hear or pay attention to me, declares the Lord. Your fathers, where are they? And the prophets, do they live forever? But my words and my statutes, which I commanded my servants the prophets, did they not overtake your fathers? So they repented and said, ‘As the Lord of hosts purposed to deal with us for our ways and deeds, so has he dealt with us.’”

Baldwin says, “To sum up Zechariah is making a plea for a wholehearted response to the Lord’s invitation to return to him. All that happened in 587 bc was entirely in accordance with prophetic foretelling. God did not change, nor did the judgment belie his mercy. On exactly the same terms as had been offered to their fathers, young and old alike are invited to return to God. If they will do so the covenant relationship will be renewed, and spiritual restoration will accompany the material restoration of the temple.”[1]

Repentance is the theme of the book of Zechariah. God wants his people to turn from their evil ways and come home. This is the same theme that John the Baptist introduced, and that Jesus preached. In Matthew 4:17, Jesus sai,d “Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand.” This was one of Jesus’ favorite subjects. One of the most memorable parables that Jesus told was about the prodigal son. He left his home and his family to live a riotous life in the big city. He found no love and acceptance in the city. So, he tucked his tail between his legs and went home. What was the Father’s response? Luke 15:20-24 tells us, “But while he was still a long way off, his father saw him and felt compassion, and ran and embraced him and kissed him. And the son said to him, ‘Father, I have sinned against heaven and before you. I am no longer worthy to be called your son.’ But the father said to his servants, ‘Bring quickly the best robe, and put it on him, and put a ring on his hand, and shoes on his feet.  And bring the fattened calf and kill it and let us eat and celebrate. For this my son was dead, and is alive again; he was lost, and is found.’ And they began to celebrate.” There is rejoicing in all of heaven when one sinner repents and comes home to the God that made him!

[1] Baldwin, Joyce G. 1972. Haggai, Zechariah and Malachi: An Introduction and Commentary. Vol. 28. Tyndale Old Testament Commentaries. Downers Grove, IL: InterVarsity Press.

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Haggai 1:5

Think about it!

Filed Under: Devotions by Chuck
May 5, 2023

The key challenge from Haggai is to “consider your ways.” It appears six times in the book. In a way, it’s a call to reflect on life as a whole and my own life in particular. Socrates said, “The unexamined life is not worth living.” I would argue that the wise man of scripture is the one who is always “considering” his ways or examining his life. Many Christians hold a little disdain for Philosophy. They shouldn’t! Philos, in Greek, means love and Sophia means wisdom. Philosophy is the love or the pursuit of wisdom when rightly understood.

“Where did I come from?” Is the first and most important reflection on life. If we see ourselves as coming through a random evolutionary process we will view all life from this foundational premise. It says nothing plus infinite time plus chance equals everything that exists today. Even though I’ve argued in favor of this perspective in the past, it has never been completely convincing to me. Even though it’s the predominant view in our world, it is the most unsatisfactory view I can imagine. It also seems to have been proven invalid. “A new population genetics simulation tool called Mendel’s Accountant has been developed for studying mutation and natural selection. Mendel’s Accountant provides overwhelming empirical evidence that all of the “fatal flaws” inherent in evolutionary genetic theory are real. This leaves evolutionary genetic theory effectively falsified–with a degree of certainty that should satisfy any reasonable and open-minded person.”[1] Thankfully, there is another option.

Tozer writes, “Everything has an origin. When you hear a bird sing, you know that once that bird was packed in a tiny little egg. It came from somewhere; it came from an egg. Where did the egg come from? It came from another little bird. And that bird came from another little egg, and that egg came from another bird, and so on, back, back, back to the heart of God.” Behind everything that exists is an intelligent Being who started it all. God’s Word, the Bible, begins with the answer to the most important question of philosophical reflection for all of life. It says, “In the beginning God…” He not only started the process but continues to guide and sustain it with some ultimate purpose in mind.

[1] https://www.icr.org/article/3932

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Zephaniah 1:4-6, Various

God Is Patient

Filed Under: Devotions by Chuck
May 4, 2023

Zephaniah speaks about God’s judgment coming upon his own people of Judah because they have permitted and supported the pagan worship of other gods in the land. The people themselves prefer the sensuality of Baal worship. Some priests have endorsed Baal worship, and others have included worshipping another pagan god in their worship of Yahweh. They turn to pagan gods for the answers to their problems and do not bring them to the Lord. This is what Zephaniah 1:4-6 says, “I will stretch out my hand against Judah and against all the inhabitants of Jerusalem; and I will cut off from this place the remnant of Baal and the name of the idolatrous priests along with the priests, those who bow down on the roofs to the host of the heavens, those who bow down and swear to the Lord and yet swear by Milcom, those who have turned back from following the Lord, who do not seek the Lord or inquire of him.”

Bruckner wants to clarify exactly what was going on. He writes, “Baal was a Canaanite household god of prosperity and fertility. The local Baals and the nationalized Baal were gods or a spirit that controlled the fertility of people, land, and animals. Good fertility of land and animals meant prosperity and wealth. Baal was incited to give the gifts of fertility and prosperity through ritualized public sexual acts.” Israelite priests were “leading the people in worship of other things even as they worship Yahweh. These priests are syncretistic and corrupt, leading the people astray and confusing their pure worship of Yahweh. Those who bow down on the roofs to worship the starry host followed the old mistake of worshiping a beautiful creation rather than the Creator. Worship of the stars occurred in Canaan, Babylon, Assyria, and Egypt. It was a prevalent and growing problem in Judah as well. Zephaniah includes them all with a generic description of their worship. No idols are used, but incense is burned, and libations are poured out on the flat rooftops with the stars and moon in view.”[1] In addition, Molech was involved! Milcom is another name for Molech. The most heinous practice of the Molech cult was child sacrifice. God repeatedly condemned this. Finally, we see practical atheism in that the Israelites sought solutions to their problems everywhere but from their God.

Barber makes a very pointed application of this passage to us today. He writes, “While some may object that people today do not prostrate themselves before idols, the fact remains that they are frequently caught up on the treadmill of their desires for prosperity and security by their attempts to rationalize their behavior. Any form of greed is regarded by God as idolatry (see Colossians 3:5). God’s word through Zephaniah was that men needed to turn to Him, to seek Him, and to ask Him to meet their needs. If men today do not do so, then they show how little they differ from those who first heard Zephaniah’s warning. They demonstrate by their actions that they are characterized by similar degrees of spiritual apathy and indifference. To the Hebrews of old, as well as to men today, God shows His amazing grace and mercy in that He, for a long time, withholds His punishment. Such judgment, however, will not always be delayed.”[2] Peter also reminds of the truth of God’s patience. He writes in 2 Peter 3:9, “The Lord is not slow to fulfill his promise as some count slowness, but is patient toward you, not wishing that any should perish, but that all should reach repentance.”

++[1] Bruckner, James. 2004. Jonah, Nahum, Habakkuk, Zephaniah. The NIV Application Commentary. Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan Publishing House.

[2] Barber, Cyril J. 1985. Habakkuk and Zephaniah. Everyman’s Bible Commentary. Chicago, IL: Moody Press.

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Habakkuk 1:3

Why Does God Allow Evil?

Filed Under: Devotions by Chuck
May 3, 2023

Many people today still struggle with God’s purpose for evil in the world. They act as if they are the first to notice this reality. But they are wrong! It has been around as long as the book of Job, the oldest book of the Bible. It’s a question every generation has to resolve for itself. It’s one thing to rationalize the goodness of God in theory. It’s another thing to trust God in the face of incredible injustice. Why God allows that to go on from generation to generation is a fundamental question that has haunted many and is a stumbling block to many in believing in a good God who has mankind’s best interests foremost in mind. When I watch the black and white footage from World War II and the emaciated bodies of those in concentration camps, I can’t help but look to God and ask why? Why don’t you, God, do something to stop such evil? This was Habakkuk’s question hundreds of years before Christ came. In Habakkuk 1:3, we read, “Why do you make me see iniquity, and why do you idly look at wrong? Destruction and violence are before me; strife and contention arise.”

Any attempt to answer this question is called a “Theodicy.” If you look this word up on Wikipedia, you will get, “Theodicy is defined as a theological construct that attempts to vindicate God in response to the problem of evil that appears inconsistent with the existence of an omnipotent and omnibenevolent God. Another definition of theodicy is the vindication of divine goodness and providence in view of the existence of evil.”[1] Another web blogger explains the problem, “Notice what this problem suggests. It begins with the assumption that such a being as God will want to eliminate evil. If God is all good but not all-powerful or knowing, then perhaps he doesn’t have the ability to intervene on every occasion. Likewise, if God is all-powerful and knowing but not all good, then perhaps he has a mean streak. If God is somehow all these things, but the universe does not exist in a contingent relationship, then God has little to do with evil (even though God’s design can still be faulted). However, if God is both good and powerful, then why does evil exist?”[2]

There are so many ways theologians have defended God’s goodness in the face of evil that I could not begin to list them all in this short devotion. Some argue that God only wants us to love him freely. If he intervened in all the evil, that couldn’t be possible. Some suggest that God allows suffering to challenge our faith in his goodness. This might be supported by the story of Job and of Abraham, who was called to sacrifice his only son. Some argue from Romans 8:28 that God uses evil in a way that will work out all things together for good. This means evil is only a temporary problem, and we will see its elimination in God’s timing. Suffering in this life enables us to relate to Jesus’ suffering. Christ suffered for us so we’d have the perfect example of how to respond to suffering in this life, looking forward to an ideal world in the next. This helps me grapple with the problem of evil. I like how the “gotquestions” web blogger explains it. He writes, “Finally, one has to take all criticisms of evil in the entire context of Christian teaching. If this life were all there is, then the problem of evil would be a much bigger problem. However, according to the Bible, this is not the only life we are going to live. A person can reject that belief, but he cannot criticize the God of the Bible and His morality as if the afterlife were not an intrinsic part of Christian moral understanding. Christians believe that all wrongs—every single one—will be reckoned with someday. They believe God is acting to restrain evil now, just as He did in the past. The Bible makes it clear that the struggles we experience now are not the purpose for which we exist, nor do they define our value. Instead, there is a point to the suffering and a plan that involves making all wrongs right.”[3]

[1] https://search.yahoo.com/search?fr=mcafee&type=E211US105G0&p=what+is+a+theodicy&guccounter=1

[2] https://www3.dbu.edu/mitchell/theodicy_brief_overview.htm

[3] https://www.gotquestions.org/theodicy.html

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Nahum 1:4-5, Various

The Deserts Shall Rejoice!

Filed Under: Devotions by Chuck
May 2, 2023

When God decides to bring His judgment upon the earth, it will impact everything in nature. This will bring devastation to all life on the planet as well. This is what Nahum informed the Ninevites of. It also tells us. Naham 1:4-5 says, “He rebukes the sea and makes it dry; he dries up all the rivers; Bashan and Carmel wither; the bloom of Lebanon withers. The mountains quake before him; the hills melt; the earth heaves before him, the world and all who dwell in it.” Bashan is a mountainous area known for its fertile plateau with pastures and trees. Carmel is the lush mountainous hilltop where Yahweh defeats the prophets of Baal.  Lebanon is the mountainous range known for majestic cedars, the source of lumber for Solomon’s temple. Each of these localities appears as a metaphor for blessing that turns into judgment.”  Ham says, “The only other text where all three places appear is Isaiah 33:9, a text like Nahum 1:4 that depicts divine judgment. To inflict these lush and fertile areas with drought depicts the great power of Yahweh.”[1]

The rebuking of the seas might be a look back at how Yahweh led the children of Israel out of Egypt. But that’s not what is pictured here. The drying of the seas and rivers has to do with the judgment of God upon the life-giving waters on earth. That’s why the lush lands of Bashan, Carmel, and Lebanon are mentioned. The mountains quaking, the hills melting, and the earth heaving also speaks of God’s majestic judgment on the sins of the world. Nahum, as well as the other prophets, use this imagery to remind us of the power of God and His dominion over heaven and earth. His judgment will be inescapable, and the prophets want us to realize that.

The idea of God, Yahweh, rebuking the sea reminds me of Jesus’ similar control over the natural events on earth. Rebuking speaks of a literal phrase in the Gospels where Jesus “rebuked” the winds and the sea and caused it to be still. There is catastrophic judgment coming upon the whole earth. But believers have nothing to fear. Isaiah spelled this out in his prophecy of God reversing the curses on Bashan, Carmel, and Lebanon. Isaiah looks forward to the coming of the Lord when the curses on these lush lands will be reversed, and God’s people will be refreshed. Isaiah 35:1-2 says, “The wilderness and the dry land shall be glad; the desert shall rejoice and blossom like the crocus;  it shall blossom abundantly and rejoice with joy and singing. The glory of Lebanon shall be given to it, the majesty of Carmel and Sharon. They shall see the glory of the Lord, the majesty of our God.” I can’t help but notice that the English translation says that it will be felt by all who dwell “in” the earth. I think this might have a connection to the Apostle John’s warning to the readers of his first epistle. In 1 John 2:17, he tells them not to “invest” themselves in the things of this world. “Do not love the world or the things of the world.” Because he says, “The world is passing away along with its desires, but whoever does the will of God abides forever.” The will of God is to believe in Him whom God sent. God so loved the world that he sent his only begotten son that whoever would believe in him would not perish but have everlasting life.”

[1] Ham, Clay, and Mark Hahlen. 2001–. Minor Prophets. The College Press NIV Commentary. Joplin, MO: College Press Pub. Co.

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Micah 1:4, Various

Thy Kingdom Come!

Filed Under: Devotions by Chuck
May 1, 2023

The prophets of the Old Testament never sugarcoat the judgment of God. They tell us that God is serious about justice in the world. Because of Israel’s failure, God will bring his judgment upon the whole world. In many prophecies, the judgment seems to begin on the created order. In Genesis 3, God cursed the “earth” because of man’s sin. Along with the curse on the ground came the curse of pain on the woman. Her pain in childbirth shall be multiplied. I think this might explain Paul’s use of the image of childbirth pangs when he describes the situation in Romans 8:22. He says, “For we know that the whole creation has been groaning together in the pains of childbirth until now.” The disruption of the natural order of things in the created order is often used as a prelude to God’s bringing forth his judgment on the world. God’s birth in a manger in Bethlehem brought peace and joy to the world. Since that was not welcomed, He will come again, but it will be quite different. Micah 1:4 describes some of those birth pangs, “And the mountains will melt under him, and the valleys will split open, like wax before the fire, like waters poured down a steep place.”

Mays says, “Here there is a poetic portrayal of the way all the earth, mountain, and plain, gives way and begins to disintegrate before the force of his appearance; the picture of mountains dissolving and plains splitting shows that the most permanent topography of the world cannot maintain itself when he appears. How much less men who oppose him! Metaphors visualize the disintegration. Mountains dissolve like melting wax before fire. Plains cleave like water that breaks into many currents as it spills down a rocky slope.”[1] God’s water breaks, marking His inevitable and imminent appearance on the scene.

God’s appearance to bring judgment on the wicked is something the righteous long for. Believers need not fear God’s second coming, but should look forward to it and even pray for it. Isaiah did. Isaiah 64:1-2 says, “Oh that you would rend the heavens and come down, that the mountains might quake at your presence— as when fire kindles brushwood, and the fire causes water to boil— to make your name known to your adversaries, and that the nations might tremble at your presence!” The Psalmist had a similar prayer. In Psalm 144:5-8, David prayed, “Bow your heavens, O Lord, and come down! Touch the mountains so that they smoke! Flash forth the lightning and scatter them; send out your arrows and rout them! Stretch out your hand from on high; rescue me and deliver me from the many waters, from the hand of foreigners, whose mouths speak lies.” When believers today pray “thy kingdom come,” it’s asking for God’s reign to settle in upon the affairs of man on earth like it is in heaven. This majestic description of God’s coming to judge the nations should serve as a reminder to all that God reigns in both heaven and earth. His reign will come upon the earth, and we should be ready for it. Those who fear God today will have nothing to fear tomorrow. Wiseman wrote, “Men feel secure so long as God remains in heaven, but when he comes to earth in judgment they are gripped by the terrifying realization that they must meet the holy God in person. If men would tremble before God, instead of before each other, they would have nothing to fear.”[2]

[1] Mays, James Luther. n.d. Micah: A Commentary. Edited by Peter Ackroyd, James Barr, Bernhard W. Anderson, and John Bright. The Old Testament Library. Philadelphia, PA: The Westminster Press.

[2] Wiseman, Donald J., T. Desmond Alexander, and Bruce K. Waltke. 1988. Obadiah, Jonah and Micah: An Introduction and Commentary. Vol. 26. Tyndale Old Testament Commentaries. Downers Grove, IL: InterVarsity Press.

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