An Option for the New Year

There are two radically different options for the New Year. Option 1 is described as follows in Ecclesiastes 1:9. Read that verse. Option 1 is that the New Year will simply be a repeat in one way or another of the old year because in the end nothing is going to be new. 

No one seriously wants 2021 to be a copy of 2020 but realistically, for the majority, the new year will be more of the same old. The particulars of 2021 may differ. We may see an end to the virus and many people going back to work but the emptiness of not feeling secure and fulfilled will remain. In 2021 they may be able to return to the crowds allowing them to temporarily take their minds off their loneliness, but nothing will really change. They will still feel an emptiness that nothing this world offers can fill. 

Praise the Lord there is a second option pictured in Revelation 21:5. Read that verse. That specific verse is a promise associated with the return of the Lord and therefore, still future, although 2021 could easily be the year of Jesus’ return since many of the signs He said would precede His return are in place. But that verse presents the reality that God is all about replacing the old with something new and better.  2021 can be a completely New Year, not different in terms of the ugliness of Covid-19 but a year with a new walk with the Lord. Christians ought to make the year ahead uniquely different and better because we enter the year committed to allowing God to move us forward in our walk with Him. 2021 can be a New Year for us in that we have another opportunity to realize the presence of God with us in each event of the year.

As a starting point, nothing can be new spiritually in 2021 if we have not taken advantage of the “New Covenant” promised to us by God Himself.We cannot not experience the newness God has for us in 2021 unless we have first experienced in our individual lives the New Covenant. A covenant was made when each party offered an expression of commitment that was viewed by all as binding. God said to the people of Israel, and later through Jesus to Christians today, that He would make a binding covenant with them, that He would be their God forever. While God has always remained faithful to His commitment to that new covenant, men have failed it over and over. God, however, never gave up on mankind. He had a way to change us so we can be seen as keeping our half of the covenant. God made a way so that our half of the covenant relationship was kept, not by us but by His Son whose birth we celebrated last Friday. There is nothing more critical to our present faith and future existence than that new covenant based not on what we do but what Jesus did for us. 

God made the promise of a new covenant through the prophet Jeremiah, Read Jeremiah 31:31-33. That New Covenant was further promised by Jesus to believers when He instituted the communion service. Read Luke 22:20. 

Option 2 for 2021 is to live not as those under a covenant that cannot be kept thereby making the same old the same in the coming year, but to live under the New Covenant and enjoy the blessings that covenant provides.

What should our participation in the New Covenant mean in the year ahead? Read how Paul described the impact of that covenant in II Corinthians 5:17. Paul was declaring that because of the New Covenant we can and should have a whole new lifestyle so the challenge for 2021 is to make that new lifestyle in Jesus more and more of a daily reality. It is a challenge to grow in a lifestyle that reflects the life of Jesus day by day.

The most comprehensive picture of the implications of enjoying the benefits and expectations of the New Covenant is found in Hebrews 10:19-25.  Read those verses and note the following key points: 

1. “We have confidence to enter the Most Holy Place by the blood of Jesus. Therefore we should draw near to God with a sincere heart in full assurance of faith more and more.” A challenge for 2021 is to spend more time in worship and prayer.That includes the collective worship in church but more importantly a commitment to time with the Lord in our personal and family devotions at home.
2. Hebrews added, “Let us hold unswervingly to the hope we profess, for he who promised is faithful.” The challenge for the New Year is to live with the assurance that no matter what comes our way, God is not only with us but will see us through. In 2021 we should learn to claim more completely the promises made available to us under the New Covenant.
3. Then Hebrews adds, “Let us consider how we may spur one another on toward love and good deeds.” Most Christians try to do that, but we all know there is always more we can do in practical ways to demonstrate that love. Begin 2021 by identifying someone to whom you can show your love in practical ways, knowing that when we do it unto the least of them, we do it unto our Savior.

The New Testament speaks of the importance of loving one another as a New Commandment to follow. Read John 13:34-35 and II John 1:5-6.  

4. Finally,we are encouraged in 2021 to “not give up meeting together.” It would be exciting to see our Bible study numbers growing. 

We dare not waste the year ahead by simply repeating the same spiritual standards of last year. We all know we can expand in at least some area and perhaps in several.

The new covenant expects us to live differently in 2021 than we did before we made a commitment to Jesus. Read in Ephesians 4:22-24 how Paul described that new walk. 

God knows that growing spiritually takes work and that Satan will try to discourage us as we begin to move forward. God, however, has promised to walk with us as we seek to move that way. Read the promise God made in Lamentations 3:22-23. Every day He gives us the strength to move forward in our walk with Him.

Read a similar promise in Ezekiel 11:19, 20.  Moving forward in 2021 is not something we have to do on our own. God has promised us His presence and help if we allow Him to do so. Following the decrees of God means doing that which He wants us to do.

Interestingly, with the new covenant we are also given a New Song: Many of the verses in Scripture that talk of something becoming “new” refer to a “new song” that we will be able to sing as those who belong to God. Music is the joy of the soul and the medium of praise and living closer to our Lord will bring great joy to us in 2021. Read the following verses:  Psalm 33:3; Psalm 40: Psalm 96:1 and Revelation 5:9. Regardless ofwhat 2020 looked like, we will be able to sing that new song in 2021 if we are truly seeking to renew our faith and commitment each day,

As we move into a new year, we can live spiritually in 2021 simply as a repeat of 2020 or we can live as those desiring to apply more fully the benefits of the new covenant with God. Seeking to live under the New Covenant in 2021 means we will make a renewed commitment to spending more time with Him, loving one another more deeply, and meeting together to encourage each other. We do not have to live the new year alone but with the promise of God that no matter what comes our way in the year ahead He will be with us and, therefore, we have a new song to sing. The new covenant means we can live 2021 looking forward to the day when Jesus will return and establish a new heaven in which we will live eternally. 

A year from now, if the Lord does not return, we will look back on the year ahead and see either a repeat spiritually of 2020 or a year in which we have grown spiritually because we have chosen to live 2021 in light of the many new promises God has made to us.  

Lessons from Christmas

As one reads the Christmas story there are many lessons to learn from various individuals and how they reacted or may have reacted to the birth of the Savior.

Read Luke 2:1 Luke was concerned that was merely an historical note but think about the discussions that inevitably went on between Joseph and Mary. Try to picture the scene. Mary was at home feeling more and more pregnant every day. Joseph walked in and announced that word had just come that they had to travel to Bethlehem to register for a census. 

Think about it from Mary’s perspective. There could not have been a worse time to ride a donkey the 90 miles from Nazareth to Bethlehem. 

Lesson 1: Following God is not always easy. Being in the center of God’s will does not mean everything will go the way we want it to go. Being Mary, the mother to be of Jesus, did not mean there were not going to be tough times.

God had a plan. He had announced that plan. Read in Micah 5:2 what God declared a century earlier. God did not make a mistake when He decreed that Caesar would demand a census. It was His plan, so He had to get Mary there. 

If it was not easy for Mary who was carrying the Son of God, why should we assume His call on us will always be easy and convenient? It is seldom convenient to help a neighbor, visit a hurting friend, or reach out to someone in need of encouragement. It is often not even convenient to stop and pray for someone. The issue for Mary was not one of convenience but of doing the will of God. It is the same for us.

Read Luke 2:7. Over the years people have debated the actions of the inn keeper. Some have vilified him for not finding a better room. Others have praised him for caring enough about a pregnant woman that he allowed them to sleep in his stall with the animals. The Bible neither praises nor condemns him so perhaps we should avoid that. 

Lesson 2: It is important to make room for Jesus in our lives. Jesus wants to have a place in our lives but most of us already have very busy lives doing things we feel we need to do for work and family. Every time we decide to find more room for Jesus in our lives, we find our inn, our lives, full to capacity with things that we have already committed to and often deserve a place. It is too easy to tell Jesus we cannot give Him a major place in our lives, but we can squeeze Him into our manger. 

One of the challenges of Christmas is the importance of continually evaluating our lives so we can find a proper place for Jesus. We need to find time to worship Him. We need to find time to spend with Him in prayer. We need to find time to learn from Him as we study the Word. 

Read Luke 2:8-14.  No one would have imagined God would announce the birth of the Messiah to shepherds. Shepherds were nobodies as far as society was concerned. They were not trusted by anyone and certainly not welcome in good society. God not only made the announcement, but they were privileged to see and hear the host of angels declare, “Glory to God in the highest heaven, and on earth peace to those on whom his favor rests.” (Luke 2:14)

Read Luke 2:15.

From the perspective of the shepherds that was not an easy decision to make. They were not going to be welcome in Bethlehem for various reasons. They were considered, by the religious elite, to be unworthy of such a visit. They lived in rags and had nothing proper to wear. They probably had not had a bath in weeks. They had absolutely nothing to bring as a gift. They were so poor they did not even have a drum to play for Him. But they went.

Lesson 3: We need to learn from them that we should not only find time to worship Jesus, but we should not hesitate to do so even when we feel inadequate. While the shepherds lacked all of the skills most feel are essential to worship, they went and were welcomed. In fact, their worship was so significant that God made a record of their visit so all generations would know they took time to worship.

You may not be able to sing like others, pray as eloquently as some, speak in the proper religious language but you are welcomed at the throne of God. In the end worship is not about the words we use but the attitude we have when we approach Him. If you have made Jesus your Savior, He has called you His friend and friends don’t worry about technicalities when taking to friends

Read 2:17 

We assume that they would talk about all they had heard and seen but, remember who they were. They were the least educated of all Jews. Not only were they uneducated, they hardly ever went to the temple and probably never even went to synagogue school. They lacked everything we assume is essential to being a witness for Jesus but still they spread the word.

Lesson 4: The secret to their witness was not in their eloquence or theological understanding but their willingness to simply tell what they had experienced. The celebration of Christmas should be a reminder to us that we must simply talk about what God has done for us. We don’t have to be theologians to talk about God’s love and the gift of His Son. Fewer and fewer in our community know what the real meaning of Christmas is but like the shepherds, we can share what we have been told about this child. 

Read Luke 2:20: 

It is so easy to fall into the “after Christmas letdown” feeling. The popular and upbeat music of Christmas is over. The bright decorations are taken down and put away. The friendly smiles and holiday greetings that brighten a day are gone. 

Lesson 5: The shepherds remind us that our real joy is not found in the trappings of Christmas, as special as they are, but in having revisited the manger and the Jesus whose birth we remember. 

The popular phrase, “Jesus is the reason for the season” should be expanded to say, “Jesus is the reason for every day.” The shepherds left the manger but continued to rejoice because of what they had heard and seen. We can put the Christmas decorations away for another year, but we dare not put Jesus away, to be briefly taken out again come Easter. Put the manger set away but not the Jesus of the manger.

There is a lot we can learn from the experience of those who were a part of the first Christmas. 

We can learn to follow God all the time, not just when it is easy or convenient. 

We can learn the importance of making room for Jesus a priority, not in a convenient place that happens to be available. 

We can learn worship is important, and of God’s willingness to accept our worship even if it does not appear to be as sophisticated as that of others. 

We can learn the importance of sharing our faith with those we come in contact with each day. Sharing is not debating deep theological truths but simply retelling what we experienced this Christmas as we re-visited the manger and the baby Jesus.

Soon Christmas will be over, the lights will be down, and the manger sets packed away, but the lessons learned, or the joy of Christmas need not be over because the One whose birth we celebrate will still be with us step by step as we enter into another year.

Messianic Prophecies in Isaiah

Introduction: Isaiah is quoted second to the Psalms in the New Testament. A part of approximately 47 of the 66 chapters in Isaiah are either directly quoted or alluded to in the New Testament. 

Isaiah 4:2 The idea of a root of David first appears in II Samuel 23:5 and was later picked up by Jeremiah and Zechariah. Isaiah made it clear that Jesus would not only be a child of Mary, but He would also be a branch of Yahweh, of the Lord, the covenant God of Israel. 

Isaiah declared the Promised One would include the concept of His humanity. The expression “fruit of the land” came initially from Numbers and Deuteronomy and carried the idea of that which springs forth from the earth, that is from mankind and in the case of the Messiah. We know from the New Testament that the one whose birth we celebrate at Christmas had to be both God to offer a sacrifice sufficient for all of our sins but also man so as to properly represent us on the cross. 

Isaiah 4:2 also noted that this promised one will be “beautiful,” “glorious,” the “pride” and “glory” of those who follow Him, those who are redeemed from the otherwise inevitable judgment that will befall them because of their sins. 

Isaiah 7:14: In order to be both man and God a miracle is needed, the miracle of the incarnation. To accomplish that Matthew recorded that a virgin named Mary was overshadowed by the Holy Spirit and conceived a child who was God incarnate. It took a miracle for God to become like us and still remain God. It took a virgin birth to produce the Messiah who would be both God with us and man like us so that He could become our redeemer.

Isaiah 9:6, 7 This promise records what the Messiah would do as the promised one of God. Isaiah was looking ahead under the inspiration of God to the day when Satan, our real enemy, would be contained and no longer a threat to us. Then the sins that now so easily beset us will no longer be a threat because we have been given victory over them. Isaiah called him the “Wonder-Counselor” or the one come from God who will lead His people in all wisdom and in a righteous rule. Then Isaiah called him the “Almighty God,” that is God Himself with all of God’s power and thus able to give victory over sin and death as well as victory over sin in our lives. He would be to us like an “Eternal Father” and one needs only consider the many traits of a good father from providing for his children to protecting, caring for, and loving them to appreciate this picture. Finally, Isaiah wrote He would be known as the “Prince of Peace.” The Messiah would bring peace with God, the peace that sinners desperately need. 

Isaiah 30:19-21: Isaiah was promising a Messiah who would be a teacher to the people. In Matthew 17:5 we read that God said, “This is my Son, whom I love; with him I am well pleased. Listen to him!” The baby born in a manger 2000 years ago grew up to be the One who would speak the things of God to us in a special way. He would be the one who would make His nature and His will known to us as no other could ever have done. 

Jesus did not come to give us a holiday and make us feel all nice and happy. He came to confront sin. He came to provide a redemption from sin. He came to teach us how to live as those who are once again in a right, peaceful relationship with God. 

Waiting for Christmas Luke 2:21-29.

Christmas is coming and if you have children or grandchildren you know they can hardly wait for it to arrive. There is a Bible story associated with Christmas that tells of an adult who felt exactly like our kids do. He wondered if Christmas would ever arrive. 

The background to this part of the Christmas story is that, according to Jewish law, Jesus was circumcised on the 8^th day and officially named Jesus, the name the angel said He was to have. That name means Savior and we know God gave Him that name because He came to give His life a ransom for our sins. He came to be our Savior. Christmas means little if we do not pair it with Good Friday and Good Friday would not be Good if we did not pair that with Easter. Jesus did not come merely to give us an example of how to live but to provide salvation for us. Read John 3:16. 

Read Luke 2:22. Luke skipped ahead from day 8 to day 40 in the life of baby Jesus. Mary and Joseph made the 50-mile trip from Bethlehem to Jerusalem for two Jewish ceremonies. The first, recorded in Leviticus 12, was for the requirement that each woman, Mary in this case, to go to the temple for a rite of purification following childbirth. 

The second reason for going to the temple was to consecrate Jesus as the first born to God. Exodus 13 records that God required the first-born son in every family to serve Him as a priest. God has always required our first and best, not our last or leftover because He deserves our best.  As the Old Testament time moved forward, God chose the family of Aaron to serve as priests. In a sense, God no longer needed the first born to serve as priests, but they still belonged to Him. God, therefore, provided a way in which the family could figuratively buy back that first born from God. It was done when the mother was at the temple for the rite of purification, thereby saving a trip to the temple.

A part of that ceremony was the presentation of a gift to God. Leviticus provided for a variety of gifts depending on the means of the family. Mary and Joseph, while they had become parents to the One who created the whole world, had next to nothing, so they presented the gift required of the poorest, a “a pair of doves or two young pigeons.” Remembering this helps us appreciate the reality that Jesus left the beauty and riches of heaven to be born, not in a palace or some mansion to a rich family but in a manger, to a family like ours. He truly became one of us.

Enter Simeon. Luke does not tell us a lot about him. Read Luke 2:25 Many assume he was an old man, in part because Anna, who was also at the temple, is described in the verses following as being old. The Bible does not give us Simeon’s age. The fact that we are given the age of Anna and nothing is said about Simeon may be an indication he was not that old. The Bible does tell us he was a devout man, that is a man who knew the Scriptures and sought to live by them. Because he knew the Scriptures, he knew the promises of God to send a Messiah to redeem His people and set up His kingdom. Like many Jews of his day, he longed for that promise to come true. The Greek word translated “waiting” carried with it the idea of “anticipation.” He was not focused on the idea that someday a Messiah would come but he looked for it on a daily basis. He was certain it is going to happen.  Perhaps it was comparable to today when Christians know the promises of Jesus that He will return. We all believe that will happen but only a few begin each day wondering if this will be the day He comes again. Simeon deeply wanted the Messiah to come. Luke went on to write, according to verse 26, “It had been revealed to him by the Holy Spirit that he would not die before he had seen the Lord’s Messiah.”

Simeon was totally convinced that a Messiah was coming because he knew the many prophecies God had given and he was certain God would keep His promises. Many things, including His genealogy, place of His birth, and the visit of the Wise Men, had been predicted ahead of time. God is a promise keeper. He kept every promise concerning the Messiah’s coming and He will keep every promise He has ever made to us. Christians should never put a question mark where God has put a period. Simeon was not only told by God that he would live to see the promised Messiah but, according to verse 27, he was “Moved by the Spirit,” and “went into the temple courts” at exactly the right time. He arrived just when Mary and Joseph arrived with the baby Jesus. It was perfect timing, but then God’s timing is always perfect. Try and picture that scene. Mary and Joseph walk in and are greeted by a total stranger who said to them, “I am so glad to see you. God told me you and the Messiah were coming.” Then this total stranger reached over and took the baby from Mary’s arms. I’d have panicked if some stranger took my baby without permission. Maybe at that point Mary and Joseph were getting used to the unusual, although they never lost the ability to marvel at how God works. 

Luke wrote that Simeon took Jesus in his arms and praised God, saying: “Sovereign Lord, as you have promised, you may now dismissyour servant in peace” Literally Simeon said that he had seen the Messiah and now he was ready to die. He was saying, “my life is complete. I could ask for nothing more of importance to seek so I’m ready to die.” If Simeon was an old man that was one thing but assuming he was not that old, he was saying that having met Jesus, his life was now complete. He was saying, “I’ve everything I could ever dream of so if this is the end I am satisfied.” 

Many individuals say, “Why can’t I just die?  Life has nothing left for me.” Simeon was not saying he wanted to die because there was nothing left but he was ready to die because life was totally complete. What makes one’s life complete is a personal relationship via faith with Jesus. Jesus asked the question about what an individual would really have if he gained the whole world and lost his soul. Simeon found his treasure in child who was in the arms of Mary. He knew his life was complete.

Read Luke 2:30-32. Luke wrote that both of Jesus’ parents marveled at what Simeon declared. They marveled that their baby was the salvation, “which you have prepared in the sight of all nations.” The message of Christmas is not simply that the promised one has arrived for Israel but for all nations. Jesus is not just a Jewish Messiah or Savior but the Savior of all who will come unto Him. Read II Peter 3:9. The message of Christmas is not one to be talked about just in the church as if Jesus is the unique Savior of Christians but the message of Christmas is that God wants everyone to know who Jesus is and what He offers to them. Read Romans 10:14 where Paul raises an issue that should be in the front of all our minds this Christmas. Are we going to be the ones who share the message of a Savior? It is important we share with everyone that the Jesus of the manger came to be personal Savior of each individual. 

Read Luke 2:34. Simeon told Mary what the history of the church has shown, men will either love Jesus or hate Him. Jesus Himself said during His ministry that, “Whoever is not with me is against me, and whoever does not gather with me scatters.”  (Matthew 12:30) We live in a society that wants us to believe that whatever one believes is true for that individual and maybe only that one. That is not what the Bible says. The Bible says there is only one way to God, not many ways as is commonly taught today. Read John 14:6 and Acts 4:12.If there are other ways to God apart from Jesus and His provision on the Cross, then the whole Christmas scenario was one huge mistake on God’s part. If whatever a man believes will get a person into heaven, then Jesus was foolish to leave heaven and dwell among us and certainly the Cross was unnecessary. 

Simeon concluded his address to Mary with the declaration that, “And a sword will pierce your own side too.” I doubt either Simeon or Mary understood that, but 33 years later it would all come together as she stood at the foot of the Cross and watched her Son die. Christmas has no meaning apart from Good Friday and there is nothing good about Good Friday if there was no Easter.

Note one more interesting aspect of that encounter. Verse 33 records, “The child’s father and mother marveled.”  One would think after all they had seen and experienced very little would seem marvelous to them, but it did.  One of the big dangers of Christmas is that it is so familiar to us that we can tell the story and not marvel any longer. What a victory for Satan that is! This Christmas contemplate again and again all God did for us when He came to dwell among us. Contemplate it over and over until you marvel at so great a love and so magnificent a salvation. That will make Christmas truly important.