March 28, 2024

Born Is The King

phssChristmasgraphic2014
Born unto us this day the Savior
Gifted from Heaven to a manger
Hope of the world tonight for all mankind
All of the earth rejoice
It’s Christmastime

So lift up your voice and sing out His praise
It’s Christmas
Born is the King, rejoice in the day
It’s Christmas
Make a joyful sound
It’s Christmas
Let His praise resound
It’s Christmas

Goodwill to all the earth
And peace divine
All of the earth rejoice
It’s Christmastime
It’s Christmastime

It’s Christmastime

Phillips, Craig and Dean
Writers: Scott Ligertwood and Matt Crocker

*   ♥  ~  ✝  ~  ★   *

Don’t be afraid!” he said.
“I bring you good news that will bring great joy to all people.”
Luke 2:10 NLT

When they saw the star, they rejoiced exceedingly with great joy.
Matthew 2:10 NASB

“Behold! The Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world!
John 1:29 NJK

“Glory to God in the highest,
And on earth peace, goodwill toward men!”
Luke 2:14 NKJV

I think I may have found a new favorite Christmas song.  Heard this song for the first time and I could not wait to hear it again.  To me, this song reflects exactly what Matthew 2:10 NASB is talking about: “they rejoiced exceedingly with great joy.”

We have so much to rejoice about yet we get so caught up in the worldly ideas of Christmas; we forget to stop and celebrate the great
Gift we have been given. There is a line in an Alabama Christmas song that says:

The gift is just what’s in your heart and not what’s in your hand

I need to remind myself of that quite frequently.  Christmas joy should come from what is in our hearts.  Our voices should be lifted in praise for what this one birth means to the entire world.  As Romans 15:10 states:

Again it says,
“Rejoice and celebrate, O Gentiles, along with His people.”
And again,“Praise the Lord all you Gentiles,
And let all the peoples praise Him!”

This song is that happy celebration of the glorious Christmas event. There is such joy in this song!  You can’t help but sing along in a loud, unrestrained voice. “Born is the King” is a great reminder to celebrate the birth of Jesus with unrestrained joy.

After all, isn’t that what Christmas is supposed to be about?

Christ is Risen, He is Risen Indeed

How can it be, the One who died
Has born our sin through sacrifice
To conquer every sting of death
Sing, sing Hallelujah

For joy awakes as dawning light
When Christ’s disciples lift their eyes
Alive He stands, their Friend and King
Christ, Christ He is risen

Christ is risen, He is risen indeed
Oh, sing Hallelujah
Join the chorus, sing with the redeemed
Christ is risen, He is risen indeed

Where doubt and darkness once had been
They saw Him and their hearts believed
But blessed are those who have not seen
Yet, sing Hallelujah

Once bound by fear now bold in faith
They preached the truth and power of grace
And pouring out their lives they gained
Life, life everlasting

The power that raised Him from the grave
Now works in us to powerfully save
He frees our hearts to live His grace
Go tell of His goodness

He’s alive, He’s alive
Heaven’s gates are open wide
He’s alive, He’s alive
Now in Heaven glorified

~  Sing this song with me as our prayer and worship today.  ~

Songwriters: Keith&Kristyn Getty, Ed Cash / Performed by Keith&Kristyn Getty

 *  ~   ♥   ~   ✞   ~  ♥   ~  *

It’s a traditional Easter greeting as old as the first-century Church.  One says, “He is risen!” the other answers, “He is risen indeed!”  What a joyous way to greet each other!

Easter has become quite a joyful time for me over the last few years.  Growing up, I was raised in a church tradition/denomination that celebrated Easter, but not with as much focus as I do currently.  Do you know what really made a difference for me?  One year I read my Bible from cover to cover.  (If you haven’t, you should – it’s amazing!)  Far from being outdated and irrelevant, the Old Testament showed me how much God truly loves His people.  Before Jesus, there were a pretty strict set of rules in relation to how you would be considered righteous before God.  When the Israelites fell short of the rules, blood was required in the form of sacrifice to cleanse sin.  In addition, only priests could come into the Presence of God in the temple/tabernacle. If you messed up, you brought your perfect sacrifice to the priest who would offer up prayers, petitions, and make atonement on your behalf.  As you can imagine, the priests were probably pretty busy, continually offering up sacrifices to cleanse the people of their sins.  This continued for hundreds of years!

Now enter Jesus.  When John the Baptist sees Jesus and says “Behold the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world!” (John 1:29), my heart always starts beating faster. Jesus was IT, the final and perfect Sacrifice.  The blood requirement for all time that would cover every sin for everyone.  Jesus was (and still is) the Son of God, a revolutionary person that loved you and I so much that he willingly gave His life so that you and I could live with God forever!

Understand me here, friends.  JESUS LOVES YOU!!  Jesus wasn’t tricked into dying for us.  He wasn’t forced into it.  He’s not sitting in Heaven angry with you for having to be crucified.  He willingly took our punishment so that we could be free!  LOVE died for you.  And guess what?  LOVE lives for you, in Heaven!  The grave couldn’t hold him!  Death couldn’t keep him!  Jesus kicked death in the face and told him – “you’ve got NOTHING on me!!” (My modern day translation…)  And the power, the beautiful power that raised Christ from the dead – you know, the Holy Spirit!– It LIVES in you and me when we give our lives to Jesus.  Hallelujah!!!  Just like our Lord, you aren’t a victim – you’re a victor!  Our bodies may decay, but our spirits are not bound by death – Jesus triumphed over death and evil so that we, too, could be triumphant!  If you can work through what that means in your life—if you can truly get your head wrapped around it and live like you believe it—you will be amazed at the change it brings in your life!  It did to me.

When I realized that Jesus LOVED me so much that He died for me…that He wasn’t mad at me…that He wanted me to live a full and abundant life…my life changed dramatically.  I went from being delivered from sin, to living a life of freedom in Christ!  You can too!  Jesus’ triumph over the grave means total freedom!  So, do I love Easter??  You bet!  It’s the ultimate celebration and glimpse of the glorious time we will be having in Heaven!

So I praise God and His glorious Son, Jesus with every ounce of my being!!  CHRIST IS RISEN!!  What say you, friends??

Came AND Coming: with Purpose

SeekingHimLogoA favorite picture of mine has a scene where a white lamb’s in the background and the face of a transparent lion is largely spread over a scene of earth showing God’s great and rich creation in all of its splendor and beauty! So, there are three reminders of God there, but today, I’ll focus on two of them:
1) Christ as the Lamb of God- He sacrificially came to rescue us from a life where we were set apart from Him because of our sins. He died for our sins in our place. “He himself bore our sins in his body on the tree, so that we might die to sins and live for righteousness; by his wounds you have been healed” (1 Peter 2:24).  John the Baptist said of Jesus, “…Look, the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world” (John 1:29).
2) Christ as the Lion of Judah- “…See, the Lion of the tribe of Judah, the Root of David, has triumphed. He is able to open the scroll and its seven seals” (Revelations 5:5). I’m reminded of His power and strength and that He’s coming back.
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This image is powerful. Jesus both came and is coming again with purpose!
If I had the equipment/means to present a short piece on visual media, I’d do this:
Soft music plays as a video camera captures the blue skies, then pans down on a white lamb climbing a large green hill (an attempt to symbolically depict that Jesus came), and once it crests the top of a hill, there in front of him is a large rugged wooden cross towering. The music builds and then, it abruptly stops as the scene cuts to one dressed as a Roman soldier as if hammering a nail in the hand of someone (depicting Jesus) lying on a cross. The clanging of the hammer hitting the nail is piercing each time hammer hits nail. The music begins again and grows darker along with the scene. The cross is lifted up. Camera’s high and behind the cross viewing the Biblically-dressed people with different emotions gazing up toward the cross. The skies are dark and there are “trembling” special effects depicting an earthquake. The image of a veil is torn (seen and heard). Then, dark skies and howling wind are on-going as the cross is lowered, but one sees only the top of the cross going down as the camera stays on the dark skies. The scene cuts to a tomb where light spreads across the entry rock and darkens 3 times to depict the passing of 3 days. Suddenly, an earthquake is portrayed, then, the rock is rolled away with a bright flash of bright light (depicting an angel’s presence). Music is intense and celebratory while building…and then, abruptly stopping. Camera pans up to blue skies, then, down on modern-day people walking in the streets amidst loud city noises then, the street noises start to fade. The people walking phase into slow-motion and the ticking sound of a clock gets louder and louder, then, stops. Then suddenly, a burst of a loud, roaring lion pierces the silence (an attempt to symbolically depict that Jesus is about to return but people in scene don’t hear it). Pause 3 seconds. Lights brighten on scene to depict that the clouds part. All look up into sky as look of awe spreads onto each face. Freeze-frame camera on their faces. Overall, there is the sound of the Scripture being read as the words are scrolled over the screen.

“I saw heaven standing open and there before me was a white horse, whose rider is called Faithful and True. With justice he judges and makes war. His eyes are like blazing fire, and on his head are many crowns. He has a name written on him that no one knows but he himself. He is dressed in a robe dipped in blood, and his name is the Word of God. The armies of heaven were following him, riding on white horses and dressed in fine linen, white and clean. Out of his mouth comes a sharp sword with which to strike down the nations. ‘He will rule them with an iron scepter.’ He treads the winepress of the fury of the wrath of God Almighty. On his robe and on his thigh he has the name written: KING OF KINGS AND LORD OF LORDS.”

Revelations 19:11-16

Hold camera on their faces, then, fade scene away.

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The Book of Revelations is Truth and is packed with symbolism. (I suggested the visual of a literal lamb and the sound of a roaring lion in the scene to accentuate His Presence in that Jesus came to sacrificially redeem us, and He’s coming back to rule and reign with power!)
For the full account of Jesus’ birth, life, crucifixion, resurrection, and future return, see the books: Matthew, Mark, Luke, John, and Revelation. God’s Word trumps all words.
I’m a simple, ordinary person, and I shared with you. What can you do with the opportunities God gives you to impact others for Him? The clock’s ticking… Don’t let time get away from you.

Dear Lord,
You’re worthy of all praise! Let us worship You! Let us not waste time, and let us keep telling others about You. You came to redeem, and You are coming again to rule and reign! We await Your return! Let hearts be ready!!! In Jesus’ precious Name I pray,
Amen.

Only For You, Lord

Not to us, O LORD, not to us  but to your name be the glory,
because of your love and faithfulness.
Psalm 115:1

Who should receive glory?  GOD ALONE!  Glory does not go to: us, anything that looks like us, anything that comes from us, or anything that is around us.  This statement is true for the past, now, and all times.  More importantly, Psalm 115:1, God’s Word, is true for all times, and God is the supreme example of love and faithfulness as is evident throughout the pages of the Bible! (The best example is that He sent His Son, Jesus, to the world to be a sacrifice for our sins!  See John 3:16.)

In Biblical times, many worshipped man-made idols.  Are you thinking how absurd it is for people to worship things they produced with their own hands?  Yes, you’re correct.  And it’s equally absurd for people to worship anything or anyone besides God: self, people, money, fame, or position.  How can we keep this from ever happening to us?

If we all truly had the correct perspective of how great and magnificent God truly is as Lord, Savior, Creator, and King, we would be awestruck by His wonderful and powerful Presence for an eternity and give Him glory alone!  Don’t you see?  The more we know Him and draw closer to Him through His Word, in faith, and in prayer, the more that love for Him keeps intensifying and growing.  Let’s guard our hearts so that HE alone is worshipped and adored passionately!

I know of someone who had it right…who spoke passionately in the wilderness over two thousand years ago!  I really like this man, this prophet, this one who boldly spoke about Jesus and made Him the focus in his life.  John the Baptist took the opportunities he had to prepare the way for Jesus’ coming.  “The next day John saw Jesus coming toward him and said, ‘Look, the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world’” (John 1:29).  He was bold, but not proud. He knew who he himself was in comparison to Jesus (extremely lower than Jesus). When referring to Jesus, John the Baptist said, “He is the one who comes after me, the thongs of whose sandals I am not worthy to untie” (John 1:27).  I’ll give you this – John the Baptist was very different.  But that was good, and that was God-glorifying good!  Because you see, from God’s perspective, that‘s what He wanted from John the Baptist!

John the Baptist spoke with God-glorifying purpose “…saying, ‘Repent for the kingdom of heaven is near’” (Matthew 3:2). We also want to live with God-glorifying purpose in various ways daily.

And like John the Baptist, we want to have the correct perspective of Who Jesus is so that we can worship Him and give Him glory as our one true God.  We want to have the correct perspective of ourselves (sinners who always need a Savior and who are lavished in His love). And we need a surrendered perspective to step out boldly and differently, if need be, in order to achieve His God-glorifying purposes in our lives for Him.

Like the Jews written about in Psalm 115:1 and like John the Baptist, we want to worship God alone and give glory to Him alone!

And like John the Baptist, wouldn’t we rather be

   in the light,
           walking odd for God
                  than in the dark,
                       walking proud with the crowd?
I would.

I’d rather be different and hoping to bring Him glory than blending in with the many who don’t desire to at all.

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Dear Lord, help us all to give You alone great glory and be grateful daily for what You have done in our lives.  We love You and praise You!  In Jesus’ precious Name.

Amen.