12 “And the light shines in the darkness, and the darkness did not comprehend it.“
John 1:5 NKJV
Just hours before His crucifixion, Jesus told the disciples something He knew they would need to know during what would soon take place:
“These things I have spoken to you, that in Me you may have peace. In the world you will have tribulation; but be of good cheer, I have overcome the world.”
John 16:33 NKJV
You see, in the next excruciating hours and days, it would look as though Jesus had been stopped in His tracks from doing what He was sent to do. Yes, it would look as though the evil ruler of this world had won!
In this same discourse Jesus told His disciples this:
“I will no longer talk much with you, for the ruler of this world is coming, and he has nothing in Me.“
John 14:30 NKJV
Now, what does it mean that Satan had nothing in Him?
You see, Jesus, though all God, was also all Man. And—as the writer of Hebrew instructs—He was tempted in all things as we are:
“For we do not have a High Priest who cannot sympathize with our weaknesses, but was in all points tempted as we are, yet without sin.“
Hebrews 4:15 NKJV
But note, though Jesus was subjected to every temptation, He did not sin!
Yes, this holy child born in Bethlehem, remained obedient to the will of the Father, even unto death.
Praise the Lord, the perfect Lamb of God, the Light that shined in darkness, could not be overcome or thwarted by the darkness! Additionally, He Who overcame everything thrown at Him by the world, the flesh and the devil, shares His victory with those who call upon His name!
Peace to you.
Jesus is coming! Get ready for Him!
Advent “They hurried to the village and found Mary and Joseph. And there was the baby, lying in the manger. After seeing him, the shepherds told everyone what had happened and what the angel had said to them about this child. All who heard the shepherds’ story were astonished, but Mary kept all these things in her heart and thought about them often. The shepherds went back to their flocks, glorifying and praising God for all they had heard and seen. It was just as the angel had told them.”
Luke 2:16-20 NLT
Here we are on Christmas Eve!
I pray that our time together preparing for the celebration of the Lord’s birth and for His soon return has been a blessing to you.
Remember, even if you are reading this on a day that is not Christmas Eve or Christmas Day by the calendar, because of what Jesus did, it can be Christmas every day in our hearts.
On occasion I have sung the old song, “Go Tell It on the Mountain,” and that is just what the shepherds did after seeing that divine baby lying in a manger all those years ago. They could not contain their excitement; nor could they contain the story of what the angels had told them about that precious Child.
I pray we never lose the zeal for telling others about that Holy Child Who has become our Savior and Lord. And soon and very soon He is coming to be our forever King!
A while back the Lord put it in our hearts to reference Ararat Church as “The Mountain.” The Lord told us that Ararat Church is indeed an outpost, a representation of the Mountain of the Lord in these Last Days before the coming of Jesus Christ. Just as Moses built a representation of what he saw on Mount Sinai when the Lord brought Heaven down with Him, just so, the Lord Himself has built a representation of His Holy Mountain here at Ararat Church, to serve as a witness of His soon coming Kingdom! As such, we will spend every day, in every way, telling the world that not only has Jesus Christ come, but soon and very soon, He is returning. And even now, through faith, we can live under His eternal rule!
Merry Christmas and God’s peace to you and yours! Now, go tell someone else about the Good News!
Peace to you.
Jesus is coming! Get ready for Him!
“When the angels had returned to heaven, the shepherds said to each other, “Let’s go to Bethlehem! Let’s see this thing that has happened, which the Lord has told us about.””
Luke 2:15 NLT
Sometimes, when it seems we can’t get direction from the Lord, or a word from the Lord, we will find that the reason is that we have not acted on the last word we heard from Him. Of course, this starts with the general instruction given throughout the word of God. If we have not acted on what God has said in His word, how can we expect any “special” word from Him addressing our personal concerns?
I remember that at the end of one of my father’s prayers a couple of years before he passed away, he asked the people, “Do you believe the Lord will do this?” And of course, everyone said, “Yes!” Then he responded, “Act on it! Act on it! Act on it!” You see, there’s the key: If we believe what God has said, our actions, thoughts, etc., should reflect our belief. “Belief,” without corresponding action, is just an idea, or even a whim.
Indeed, one of the Old Testament prophecies concerning the coming Savior, came at a time when the Lord had told Ahaz (king of Judah) that he did not need to fear the king of Assyria and the king of Israel who were colluding to come against him. It seems that when the Lord asked him to name any sign to be given in order to confirm that it would be well with him, he refused to ask for a sign from the Lord.
“But the king refused. “No,” he said, “I will not test the Lord like that.” Then Isaiah said, “Listen well, you royal family of David! Isn’t it enough to exhaust human patience? Must you exhaust the patience of my God as well? All right then, the Lord himself will give you the sign. Look! The virgin will conceive a child! She will give birth to a son and will call him Immanuel (which means ‘God is with us’).“
Isaiah 7:12-14 NLT
Most likely, Ahaz was too afraid to believe that the Lord would keep Judah from being destroyed; perhaps he didn’t want a sign, requiring action on his part.
In our opening scripture today we see that the shepherds, having been told about the Good News, immediately went to find the announced Savior. They acted on what they had heard!
If we believe that the Lord came down that day in Bethlehem all those years ago, if we believe that He lived a spotless life, died a sinner’s death, and was resurrected to Heaven where He sits at the right of the Father, then our life should reflect our belief. We should look to Him as Savior and serve Him as Lord.
Additionally, we are told that our Lord will return again and take us to be with Him. Certainly, our lives should be informed by that glorious expectation.
For today let us meditate on the ways in which our lifestyles might contradict what we say we believe concerning the word of God. Then, rather than becoming condemned or guilty, let us repent and ask the Lord to help us align our lives with what He has said, reflecting what we profess. As well, let us ask the Holy Spirit to help us live lives illustrative of an expectation of His soon return.
Peace to you.
Jesus is coming! Get ready for Him!