CHRISTMAS AND THE CROSS

“. . . I am a King. In fact, for this reason was I born.” (John 18:37)

The celebration of Jesus birth has been separated from His life and
especially from His death.
Our Lord’s birth in Bethlehem is still a celebration tolerated
commercially and privately. Christmas at the Malls and behind the walls
of churches and homes is acceptable to the present world system, as long
as it goes no further. The cradle, isolated from Christ’s life, can be
controlled and kept out of public life. But join the cradle to His
mission and execution and the world reacts.

Yet Jesus did this very thing. In fact, the only time He is recorded in
Scripture as
speaking of His birth was on the day of His death. This reference found
in John 18:37 came in a statement made to Pilate only hours before His
crucifixion. From the political prospective Jesus’
claim sealed His fate. Our Lord, however, in bringing the cradle and
cross together revealed the true reason for coming and cause of His
execution. Born a King He would die to carry out the sovereign plan of
God.

At nine o’clock on good Friday morning it seemed His claim to be King
would die with Him, as He was lifted up on Rome’s cross. Nevertheless
this, His crucifixion was not the end, but rather it was the beginning
of His reign. Paul, the apostle, looking back on this hour wrote:

” … he humbled Himself and became obedient to death-even death on a
cross!
Therefore God exalted Him to the highest
place and gave Him the name that is above every name that at the name of
Jesus every knee should bow. . .” Philippians 2:8, 9

His words to Pilate on the day of His death predicted and confirmed what
His execution would accomplish. The promise of Christmas was realized
by His cross. Together they testify to the truth. Born a King in
Bethlehem’s stable cave, He gained the throne at Calvary.

Why? Why would God who created the universe, who rules the universe,
allow Himself to be born a King that had to die on a cross to gain His
Kingdom? Simon Peter tells us why:
“You will receive a rich welcome into the eternal kingdom of
Our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ” 2 Peter 1:11

He was born a King, and died on a cross to establish a Kingdom that
could include you and me. Let us then celebrate Christmas, the coming
of the King while always looking beyond the cradle to the cross that
gained a Kingdom we can enter.

Dr. James O. Rose

Scripture Reading: Zephaniah; Revelation 16

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THE WONDER OF GOD’S PRESENCE

“The world is perishing for the lack of the knowledge of God and the
church is famishing for want of His presence. The instant cure of most
religious ills would be to enter the Presence in spiritual experience,
to become suddenly aware that we are in God and God is in us. This would
lift us out of our pitiful narrowness and cause our hearts to be
enlarged. This would burn away the impurities from our lives as the bugs
and fungi were burned away by the fire that dwelt in the bush.

What a broad world to roam in, what a sea to swim in is this God and
Father of our Lord Jesus Christ. He is ETERNAL. He antedates time and is
wholly independent of it. Time began in Him and will end in Him. To it
He pays no tribute and from it He suffers no change.

He is IMMUTABLE. He has never changed and can never change in any
smallest measure. To change He would need to go from better to worse or
from worse to better. He cannot do either, for being perfect He cannot
become more perfect, and if He were to become more perfect, and if He
were to become less perfect He would be less than God.

He is OMNISCIENT. He knows in on free and effortless act all matter, all
spirit, all relationships, all events. He has no past and He has no
future. He IS, and none of the limiting and qualifying terms are used of
creatures can apply to Him.

LOVE and MERCY and RIGHTEOUSNESS are His, and HOLINESS is so ineffable
that no comparisons or figures will avail to express it. Only fire can
give even a remote conception of it. In fire He appeared at the burning
bush; in the pillar of fire He dwelt through all the long wilderness
journey. The fire that glowed between the wings of the cherubim in the
holy place was called the Shekinah, the Presence, through the years of
Israel’s glory, and when the Old had give place to the New, He came at
Pentecost as a fiery flame and rested on each disciple.

Spinoza wrote of the intellectual love of God, and he had a measure of
truth there. But the highest love of God is not intellectual, it is
spiritual. God is spirit and only the spirit of a man can know Him
really. In the deep spirit of a man the fire must glow or his love is
not the true love of God. The great of the kingdom have been those who
loved God more than others did. We all know who they have been and
gladly pay tribute to the depth and sincerity of their devotion. We have
but to pause for a moment and their names come trooping past us,
smelling of myrrh and aloes and cassia out of the ivory palaces.

Frederick Faber was one of those whose soul panted after God as the deer
pants after the water brook, and the measure in which God revealed
Himself to his seeking heart set the good man’s whole life afire with a
burning adoration rivaling that of the seraphim before the throne. His
love for God extended to the three Persons of the Godhead equally, yet
he seemed to feel for each One a special kind of love reserved for Him
alone.” From The Pursuit of God – by A. W. Tozer

How about you this morning? Are you in love with Him? Are you in awe
with the wonder of God’s presence? Think about it on this beautiful
Lord’s Day!

Great quote: “I have no home until I am in the realized presence of God.
This holy presence is my inward home, and until I experience it, I am a
homeless wanderer, a straying sheep in a waste howling wilderness.”
Anonymous, 1841

GLORY AS CLOSE TO YOUR NEXT BREATH

“Glory is what God is all about. Whenever we talk about His character or
attributes – like holiness, love, compassion, justice, truth, or mercy –
that’s God’s glory. When He reveals Himself in any of those qualities,
we say that He is ‘glorifying Himself.’ And I have discovered He does
this most often in the course of daily life, not in the blaze of a
supernova.

Not long ago I entered a friend’s home and immediately sensed the glory
of God. My impression was not based on some heebie-jeebie feeling or
super-spiritual instinct, nor did it come from the Christian plaques I
spotted hanging in the hallway. A peace and orderliness pervaded the
home. Joy and music hung in the air. Although the kids were normal,
active youngsters, everyone’s activity seemed to dovetail – the home had
direction, the kids really cared about each other, the parents put love
into action.

After dinner I left the home refreshed. It was a place where God’s
essential being was on display. His kindness, His love, His justice.
That home was filled with God’s glory.

You and I glorify God every time we reveal His attributes in the course
of our daily lives. His glory isn’t reserved for a temple of stone or
some heavenly vista. It can shine out clearly while we’re changing a
flat on the freeway, or counseling an angry co-worker, or lying in a
hospital bed, or balancing two crying babies in the church nursery.
Whenever those around us see God’s character displayed in our attitudes
and responses, we are displaying His glory.

Far from being some spacey concept out of a theology text, glory is as
close as your next breath, as real as the smile on a dark day, as warm
as the clasp of a caring hand.” Joni Eareckson Tada – HOW GREAT THOU ART
– published by Multnomah

Great quote: “Now to him who is able to do immeasurably more that all we
ask or imagine, according to his power that works within us, to HIM be
glory in the church and in Christ Jesus throughout all generations, for
ever and ever! Amen.” Ephesians 3:20-21

Good stuff to think about as we prepare for the Lord’s day!

MEN OF INFLUENCE

God has placed in my life over the years men who have greatly influenced
and impacted my life. One of the greatest things we can do as men is to
find an older mentor who can come alongside of us to guide us through
the challenges of life. There is incredible value in developing this
kind of relationship with a man who has lived life from God’s
perspective – one who has faced the challenges of life, and is willing
to share what God has taught him through the trials of life.

I want to honor and remember two men who in the past ten years had a
profound impact on my life. Today would have been, if my memory serves
me right, Dave Shoppy’s 70th birthday. He is celebrating his birthday
today in heaven. Dave went home very suddenly to be with the Lord this
summer, but the impact of his life continues. Each time we have a
conference folks share with me how much Dave’s life meant to them.
Recently I talked with a man who had graduated from the Colony of Mercy.
He shared with me that each month Dave would call and thank him for his
financial gift and would take the time to encourage him and pray with
him. He really misses those calls. Dave was an man of encouragement in a
day when the world is starved for encouragement. We need more Dave
Shoppy’s in this world.

The other man I want to honor and remember is Ken Brown, who served at
America’s KESWICK as Director of Maintenance for over 25 years. Ken was
a faithful servant who loved the Lord, His Word, his family and loved
people. Ken had many gifts, but of his major gifts was his love and
concern for people. Ken saw himself as a task-driven person – but all of
his peers saw him as a people-driven person. I remember the day our
leadership team were working on understanding our personalities and how
God had designed us. Ken said very boldly that he was driven my tasks
and was not a “social” person. I can still see the puzzled look on his
face when his peers finally convinced him that he was really a
people-person who loved tasks. Everyone knew Ken. And his life has
impacted thousands of people. It is almost hard to believe that it will
be a year tomorrow that Ken went home to be with Jesus.

Both men are greatly missed by their families and friends from America’s
KESWICK. But the legacy of their lives continues! How about you? Are you
building a legacy for the future? Have you been investing your life in
serving God and others? You can do it today! If you are an “older” man –
find a young man that you can pour your life into. It is a worthwhile
investment! If you are a young man, you can learn volumes from coming
alongside an older man. Think about it!

Thanks, Lord, for the legacy of Dave Shoppy and Ken Brown.

Great quote: We often make our duties harder by thinking them hard. We
dwell on the things we do not like till they grow before our eyes, and,
at last, perhaps shut out heaven itself. But this is not following our
Master, and He, we may be sure, will value little the obedience of a
discontented heart. The moment we see that anything to be done is a
plain duty, we must resolutely trample out every rising impulse of
discontent. We must not merely prevent our discontent from interfering
with the duty itself; we must not merely prevent it from breaking out
into murmuring; we must get rid of the discontent itself. Cheerfulness
in the service of Christ is one of the first requisites to make that
service Christian. Frederick Temple

FAITH’S POWER TO QUENCH TEMPTATION

“For all that is in the world, the lust of the flesh, and the lust of
the eyes, and the pride of life, is not of the Father; but is of the
world.” (1 John 2:15-16)

“Faith empowers a soul to quench the pleasing temptations of the wicked
one. This is called our ‘victory that overcomes the world, even faith’
(1 John 5:4). Faith plants its triumphant banner on the world’s head.
And John tells us what God means by ‘the world’: ‘Love not the world …
for all that is in the world, the lust of the flesh, and the lust of the
eyes, and the pride of life, is not of the Father; but is of the world.’
All that is in the world is food and fuel for lust. Now faith enables
the soul to quench those darts which Satan dips into the poison of
worldly lusts – called by some the world’s ‘trinity.’

This is temptation which promises pleasure to the flesh. It carries such
fire in it that when it finds a carnal heart, it quickly inflames with
unruly passions and coarse affections. The adulterer burns in his lust
and the drunkard is inflamed with his wine.

No temptations work more eagerly than those which promise delight to the
flesh. Sinners are said to ‘work all uncleanness with greediness’ – with
a kind of covetousness; for the Word suggests they can never have enough
(Ephesians 4:19). No drink will quench a poisoned man’s thirst. Nothing
but faith can help a soul in these flames. In hell Dives burns without a
drop of water to cool the lip of his tongue. The unbelieving sinner is
in a hell above ground; he burns in his lust without a drop of water,
for lack of faith, to quench the fire.

By faith the martyrs ‘quenched the violence of the fire’ (Hebrews
11:34). ‘We ourselves where sometimes foolish, disobedient, deceived,
serving diverse lusts and pleasures … but after that the kindness and
love of God our Savior toward man appeared … he saved us’ (Titus
3:3-5). No one can ever shake off the old companions of lust until by
faith he becomes intimate with the grace of God revealed in the Gospel.
Faith strips away the veil from the Christian’s eyes so he can so sin in
its nakedness before Satan disguises it with flattering costumes.” From
THE CHRISTIAN IN COMPLETE ARMOUR … Daily Readings in Spiritual Warfare
by William Gurnall (Moody Press).

Think about it!

Great quote: “When the Spirit of God rests on a man in the midst of the
impossible, God does a mighty work!” – Henry Blackaby

WHAT’S ON YOUR MIND

“Therefore gird up the loins of your mind, be sober and rest your hope
fully upon the grace that is to be brought to you at the revelation of
Jesus Christ.” 1 Peter 1:13

“‘The revelation of Jesus Christ’ is another expression for the ‘living
hope’ and ‘the appearing of Jesus Christ.’ Christians live in the future
tense; their present actions and decisions are governed by this future
hope. Just as an engaged couple makes all their plans in the light of
the future wedding, so Christians today live with the expectation of
seeing Jesus Christ.

“Gird up the loins of your mind” simply means, “Pull your thoughts
together! Have a DISCIPLINED MIND!” The image is that of a man, tucking
his skirts under his belt, so he can be free to run. When you center
your thoughts on the return of Christ, and live accordingly, you escape
the many worldly things that would encumber your mind and hinder your
spiritual progress . . .

Outlook determines outcome; attitude determines action. A Christian who
is LOOKING for the glory of God has a greater motivation for present
obedience than a Christian who IGNORES the Lord’s return. The contrast
is illustrated in the lives of Abraham and Lot. Abraham had his eyes of
faith on the heavenly city, so he had no interest in the world’s real
estate. But Lot, who had tasted the pleasures of the world in Egypt,
gradually moved toward Sodom. Abraham brought blessing to his home, but
Lot brought judgment. Obedience determined outcome.

We should also have a SOBER MIND. The word means ‘to be calm, steady,
controlled; to weigh matters.’ Unfortunately some people get ‘carried
away’ with prophetic studies and lose their spiritual balance. The fact
that Christ IS coming should encourage us to be calm and collected. (1
Peter 4:7) The fact that Satan is on the prowl is another reason to be
sober-minded (1 Peter 5:8). Anyone whose mind becomes undisciplined, and
whose life ‘falls apart’ because of prophetic studies, is giving
evidence that he does not really understand Bible prophecy.

We should have an OPTIMISTIC MIND. ‘Hope to the end’ means ‘set your
hope fully.’ Have a hopeful outlook! A friend of mind sent me a note one
day that read: ‘When the OUTlook is gloomy, try the UPlook!’ Good
advice, indeed! It has to be dark for the stars to appear.

The result of this spiritual mind-set is that a believer experiences the
grace of God in his life. To be sure, we will experience grace when we
see Jesus Christ; but we can also experience grace today as we look for
HIS return! We have been saved by grace and we depend moment by moment
on God’s grace (1 Peter 1:10). Looking for Christ to return strengthens
our faith and hope in difficult days, and imparts to us more of the
grace of God.” Adapted from Dr. Warren Wiersbe’s commentary on 1 Peter
from THE BIBLE EXPOSITION COMMENTARY.

Good words for you to ponder as we begin this new week! How is your mind
today?

Great quote: And what kind of habitation pleases God? What must our
natures be like before he can feel at home within us? He asks nothing
but a pure heart and a single mind. He asks no rich paneling, no rugs
from the Orient, no art treasures from afar. He desires but sincerity,
transparency, humility, and love. He will see to the rest. A. W. Tozer

JUST CELEBRATE

“Worship the Lord your God; it is he who will deliver you from the hand
of all your enemies.”
2 Kings 17:39

“Whenever we come to worship, we come to celebrate. Worship is not
intended to be a quiet, regal, dignified event where the Spirit of God
is kept locked up in our hearts. Rather, it is a joyful celebration of
God’s goodness and salvation.

All of us have some reason to celebrate something that God has done in
our lives. If may be a victory over defeatism or over spiritual shyness.
We may have been delivered from our enemies. Deliverance from poverty.
Deliverance from ignorance. Deliverance from frustration. Deliverance
from a failed marriage. Deliverance from substance abuse. Deliverance
from temptation. Deliverance from senseless spending habits. Deliverance
from fears and anxiety. Deliverance from venomous speech. But most of
all, each of us can celebrate being delivered from the hand of spiritual
and eternal death. OUR GOOD GOD HAS SET US FREE!

Therefore, when we gather for worship, it’s not a funeral! It’s not a
morbid gathering of morbid people, but a gathering of vibrant, animated,
dynamic, lively, spirited, intense, and red-hot people who understand
that it was God’s grace that woke them up in the morning. It was grace
that kept them all week long. It was grace that brought them to the
house of worship.

Worship is for celebrating the goodness and grace of God. It is for
celebrating what He has done in the past and what He is doing right now.
And if you want to shout, then shout. If you want to run, then run. If
you want to dance (uh oh!), then dance. If you want to cry, then cry. If
you want to hold up your hands, then hold them up. If you want to wave
your arms, then wave your arms. JUST CELEBRATE!”

From HOW GREAT THOU ART published by Multnomah

Good words as you prepare your heart for your worship CELEBRATION! Think
twice about the dance! 🙂 Have a great day in Christ!

Great Quote: During this Advent season as we celebrate the new
relationship between God and his people, may that be mirrored in our
renewed relationships with spouses, children, family and those near and
dear to us. May we speak tenderly to each other amidst all the rush of
the season and transform the shopping days till Christmas into the true
Advent of Christ. Casely Essamuah

THE EXCELLENCIES OF HIS BEING

“And the twenty-four elders, who were seated on their thrones before
God, fell on their faces and worshipped God, saying: “We give thanks to
you, Lord God Almighty, the One who is and who was, because you have
taken your great power and have begun to reign.” Revelation 11:16-17

Some thoughts as we prepare for the Lord’s Day tomorrow …

“Worship flows from love. Where love is meager, worship will be scant.
Where love is deep, worship will overflow. As Paul wrote his letters,
his contemplation of love and glory of God would spontaneously cause his
heart to overflow in worship and doxology.

But there can be an element of selfishness even in love. True, we
worship God for the great things He has down for us, but our worship
reaches a much higher level when we worship simply and solely for what
He is, for the excellencies and perfections of His being.

Thomas Goodwin, the Puritan, said, ‘I have known men who came to God for
nothing else but just to come to Him, they so loved Him. They scorned to
soil Him and themselves with any other errand than just purely to be
alone with Him in His presence.’ We might say with some justification
that that is a little extreme, but it suggests an intimacy with God and
desire for fellowship with Him that we might well covet.

Worship is the loving ascription of praise to God, for what He is in
Himself and in His providential dealings. It is the bowing of our
innermost spirit before Him in deepest humility and reverence.

David implored his soul: ‘My soul, wait in silence for God only’ (Psalm
62:5). The deepest feelings often cannot find adequate expression in
words. Between intimate friends there can be comfortable silences. There
are times when words are unnecessary, or even an intrusion. So it is in
our communication with God. Sometimes we are awed into silence in the
presence of the Eternal.” From the pen of J. Oswald Sanders – HOW GREAT
THOU ART-published by Multnomah.

Good words to ponder as we prepare our hearts for worship.

Great quote: The voice of the Father will be heard as He sets before us
a widely opened door and receives us into blessed fellowship with
Himself. When we pray for the Spirit’s help, it will no longer be in the
fear that prayer is too great an effort for us. Instead, we will simply
fall down at the Lord’s feet in our weakness. There we will find the
victory and power that comes from His love. — Andrew Murray

WHAT GOD CANNOT DO

“Behold I am the Lord, the God of all flesh. Is there anything too hard
for Me?” (Jeremiah 32:27).

Does this mean that God will do anything you ask? Probably not.
God’s omnipotence is His ability to do all His character will permit Him
to do. You can be thankful there are some things God just won’t do
because they are out of harmony with His moral nature.
God will not look on your sin with approval. Habakkuk 1:12-13 says,
“Are You not from everlasting, O Lord my God, my Holy One? … You are
of purer eyes than to behold evil, and cannot look on wickedness.”
God’s power won’t approve of your sin because His character won’t permit
Him to do so.
Also, God will not be tempted to do evil Himself. James 1:13, “Let no
one say when he is tempted, ‘I am tempted by God’; for God cannot be
tempted by evil, nor does He Himself tempt anyone.” God doesn’t have
the power to be tempted to do evil. That’s why you can trust His
character. When you want God to do something that is out of character
for Him, He won’t do it, and that should encourage you.
Besides this, God cannot lie. To Titus the apostle Paul wrote that he
was an apostle “according to the faith of God’s elect and the
acknowledgement of the truth which accords with godliness, in hope of
eternal life which God, who cannot lie, promised before time began”
(Titus 1:1-2). That means you can trust God and His Word to always tell
you the truth. You may not like what He tells you, but you can be
certain it will always be true.
God is not hampered by inability but sometimes He is deterred by His
character. If He delays in solving your problems, it’s not because He
lacks the power to do something about them. Rather, it’s because He
possesses the wisdom to care for them in the right time and in the right
way, neither of which may be evident yet.
Rejoice that God is omnipotent, but be equally glad that He is
omniscient, all-knowing. Without the combination of the two, you would
have a God with strength but no character, power with no convictions.
Fortunately, our God has both. Thank Him for who He is today.

Dr. Woodrow Kroll

Scripture Reading: Daniel 3-4; 1 John 5

Today’s devotional is taken from REAL VICTORY FOR REAL LIFE – published
by CLC. We would sure love to have you join is this year as we study
God’s Word together. To order your copy, call today – 800-453-7942 ext.
31.

Great quote: “The Son is ‘given’ to us by dying for us and being buried
for us. That I take it is a miracle. If you are astonished and regard it
as incredible that a man must be born anew, this greater wonder must
amaze you still more. God loved a poor sinner so much that He gave him,
not an angel or a prophet but His only Son. The way of His giving was
that He might be crucified. This you must learn; and after you have
learned it and beheld these wonderful things, your heart will feel
constrained to say, ‘This is truly miraculous! How is it possible?’ But
if you can accept it and believe it, you will conclude, ‘After all, if
God’s Son is the cure and remedy for sin and death, why should I be
surprised since I know that God’s Son is greater than sin, the devil and
my death?” Martin Luther

WHAT GOD CAN DO

“Now to Him who is able to keep you from stumbling, And to present you
faultless
Before the presence of His glory with exceeding joy, To God our
Savior, Who alone is wise, Be glory and majesty, Dominion and power,
Both now and forever. Amen.” (Jude 24-25)

While the power of God is unlimited, His power never operates
outside of His moral character or His perfect will. That is why there
are some things God simply will not do. But there are many things God
will do for us that we don’t have the power to do for ourselves. These
are the things that bring the greatest joy to our hearts. Let’s praise
God for some of them.
God is powerful enough to provide for us more than we ask. Ephesians
3:20-21, “Now to Him who is able to do exceedingly abundantly above all
that we ask or think, according to the power that works in us, to Him be
glory in the church by Christ Jesus to all generations, forever and
ever. Amen.” While we often think in terms of asking too much of Him,
He often thinks of us in terms of asking too little. If we ask in His
will, He is able to super-abound in our behalf.
God is powerful enough to preserve us strong in His salvation. John
10:28-29, “And I give them eternal life, and they shall never perish;
neither shall anyone snatch them out of My hand. My Father, who has
given them to Me, is greater than all; and no one is able to snatch them
out of My Father’s hand.” Many people struggle with their own security
because they have an inappropriate view of salvation.
Salvation is not God reaching out of heaven and our grabbing His hand,
holding on for dear life. In fact, it’s more like God reaching out of
heaven and holding onto to us with His omnipotent grasp. We are only as
safe as He is strong. That’s why He is powerful enough to preserve us
strong in His salvation.
God is powerful enough to present us blameless. It has always been
God’s goal to make us blameless. Ephesians 1:4 says He chose us before
the foundation of the world “that we should be holy and without blame
before Him.”
Read those delightful verses of Jude 24-25 and praise God that He can do
things for you that you can’t do for yourself. Spend some time in
praise of God’s omnipotent hand. Without it, where would you be?

Dr. Woodrow Kroll

Scripture Reading: Daniel 1-2; 1 John 4

Today’s devotional is from REAL VICTORY FOR REAL LIFE – 365 Meditations
in the Keswick Tradition published by CLC. Great present for family and
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Great quote: Let’s approach Christmas with an expectant hush, rather
than a last-minute rush.