December 9, 2017

TWO KINDS OF OPPOSITION TO JESUS - John Piper

          When Herod the king heard this, he was troubled, and all Jerusalem with him.                         —Matthew 2:3

Jesus is troubling to people who do not want to worship him, and he brings out opposition for those who do. This is probably not a main point in the mind of Matthew, but it is inescapable as the story goes on. In this story, there are two kinds of people who do not want to worship Jesus, the Messiah. The first kind is the people who simply do nothing about Jesus. He is a nonentity in their lives. This group is represented by the chief priests and scribes. Verse 4: “Gathering together all the chief priests and scribes of the people, [Herod] inquired of them where the Messiah was to be born.” Well, they told him, and that was that: back to business as usual. The sheer silence and inactivity of the leaders is overwhelming in view of the magnitude of what was happening. And notice, verse 3 says, “When Herod the king heard this, he was troubled, and all Jerusalem with him.” In other words, the rumor was going around that someone thought the Messiah was born. The inactivity on the part of chief priests is staggering—why not go with the magi? They are not interested. They do not want to worship the true God. The second kind of people who do not want to worship Jesus is the kind who is deeply threatened by him. That is Herod in this story. He is really afraid. So much so that he schemes and lies and then commits mass murder just to get rid of Jesus. So today these two kinds of opposition will come against Christ and his worshipers: indifference and hostility. Are you in one of those groups? Let this Christmas be the time when you reconsider the Messiah and ponder what it is to worship him.

I find it ironic and frankly quite unsettling that those who want nothing to do with Jesus are the ones who claim to be the most religious. 

I may not go around talking about how religious I am but I do consider myself religious, and I’d be lying if I said that’s never made me feel a sense of pride in my heart because, let’s be honest, there’s nothing like feeling like you are doing things “right.” The catch, however, is that the more secure I feel in my “rightness” the less necessary Jesus Christ becomes. If I’m already saved then what use is a Savior? 

I believe that the only combatant to the indifference that is so quick to take root in my heart is to embrace a posture of confession. Like it or not, my brokenness is something I can’t escape and the sooner I admit that the better off I am, for it was said, “Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.”

So if we want to worship the Messiah this Christmas, let us begin on our knees. 

-Anna

December 8, 2017

BETHLEHEM’S SUPERNATURAL STAR

- John Piper

“Where is He who has been born King of the Jews? For we saw His star in the east and have come to worship Him.” —Matthew 2:2

Over and over the Bible baffles our curiosity about just how certain things happened. How did this “star” get the magi from the east to Jerusalem? It does not say that it led them or went before them. It only says they saw a star in the east (verse 2), and came to Jerusalem. And how did that star go before them in the little five-mile walk from Jerusalem to Bethlehem as verse 9 says it did? And how did a star stand “over the place where the Child was”? The answer is: We do not know. There are numerous efforts to explain it in terms of conjunctions of planets or comets or supernovas or miraculous lights. We just don’t know. And I want to exhort you not to become preoccupied with developing theories that are only tentative in the end and have very little spiritual significance. I risk a generalization to warn you: People who are exercised and preoccupied with such things as how the star worked and how the Red Sea split and how the manna fell and how Jonah survived the fish and how the moon turns to blood are generally people who have what I call a mentality for the marginal. You do not see in them a deep cherishing of the great central things of the gospel—the holiness of God, the ugliness of sin, the helplessness of man, the death of Christ, justification by faith alone, the sanctifying work of the Spirit, the glory of Christ’s return and the final judgment. They always seem to be taking you down a sidetrack with a new article or book. There is little centered rejoicing. But what is plain concerning this matter of the star is that it is doing something that it cannot do on its own: it is guiding magi to the Son of God to worship him. There is only one Person in biblical thinking that can be behind that intentionality in the stars—God himself. So the lesson is plain: God is guiding foreigners to Christ to worship him. And he is doing it by exerting global—probably even universal—influence and power to get it done. Luke shows God influencing the entire Roman Empire so that the census comes at the exact time to get a virgin to Bethlehem to fulfill prophecy with her delivery. Matthew shows God influencing the stars in the sky to get foreign magi to Bethlehem so that they can worship him. This is God’s design. He did it then. He is still doing it now. His aim is that the nations—all the nations (Matthew 24:14)—worship his Son.This is God’s will for everybody in your office at work, and in your neighborhood and in your home. As John 4:23 says, “Such the Father seeks to worship him.” At the beginning of Matthew we still have a “come-see” pattern. But at the end the pattern is “go-tell.” The magi came and saw. We are to go and tell. What is not different is that the purpose of God is the ingathering of the nations to worship his Son. The magnifying of Christ in the white-hot worship of all nations is the reason the world exists.

Ahhh details. I love details. To me, details add layers upon layers, building up and making something far better than at first glance. I have learned though, that there is also a downside. Like when you can’t concentrate because something small is out of place. I can miss something big and obvious because my concentration is on something else. I can do this as with everything, including reading scripture. How long did it take so and so to travel? Or how far away is this town to that one? I can then miss the whole message of the story that God is (usually obviously) sharing. Sigh.

Now, almost everyone has heard or knows some part of the Christmas story. Even if someone doesn’t know the name of the town Jesus was born in, or why there is always a stable, they seem to know there was a star involved. Interesting. What if the story of the Magi didn’t happen? God still came to earth and was born in a stable. This is one of those times when you think, why would God include this? I’m glad you asked. God right from the beginning is shouting, He wants ALL to come to Him. He included foreigners in his story from the very beginning of life on earth. So the question I really should be focused on is, have I included all people to tell about God so they may worship Him? He came for all and reminds us of this over and over again, so I should be asking myself (over and over again), am I in the “go-tell” stage or stuck in the “come-see”? 

-Jaimie

December 7, 2017

MESSIAH FOR THE MAGI - John Piper

Now after Jesus was born in Bethlehem of Judea in the days of Herod the king, magi from the east arrived in Jerusalem, saying, “Where is He who has been born King of the Jews?”   - Matthew 2:1–2

Unlike Luke, Matthew does not tell us about the shepherds coming to visit Jesus in the stable. His focus is immediately on foreigners coming from the east to worship Jesus. So Matthew portrays Jesus at the beginning and ending of his Gospel as a universal Messiah for the nations, not just for Jews. Here the first worshipers are court magicians or astrologers or wise men not from Israel but from the East—perhaps from Babylon. They were Gentiles. Unclean. And at the end of Matthew, the last words of Jesus are, “All authority has been given to me in heaven and on earth. Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations.”

This not only opened the door for the Gentiles to rejoice in the Messiah, it added proof that he was the Messiah. Because one of the repeated prophecies was that the nations and kings would, in fact, come to him as the ruler of the world. For example, Isaiah 60:3, “Nations will come to your light, and kings to the brightness of your rising.” So Matthew adds proof to the messiahship of Jesus and shows that he is Messiah—a King, and Promise-Fulfiller—for all the nations, not just Israel.

I find this devotional to be meaningful because it is talking about me. I am not a Jew, which means I am a Gentile. Although I was born in Michigan, I am of South Korean heritage. The gospel went from Jerusalem all the way to Korea, which is more than 5,000 miles across the world. Thus, I am a very example of how God’s grace has extended to the very ends of the earth.

But God’s grace is not only far reaching, but it is limitless. The most popular worship song at the moment has lyrics that say: “There’s no shadow You won’t light up, mountain You won’t climb up, coming after me / There’s no wall You won’t kick down, no lie You won’t tear down, coming after me.” God’s love for us is the most mind-numbing, indescribable, grand thing that has ever happened. And it is demonstrated in the cross of Jesus Christ, where Jew and Gentile alike bow their knee and are immersed in the blood and grace of the Messiah, where all humans on earth are saved from the just wrath of God by being cleansed by Jesus’ righteousness.

And that is why, just as God’s grace towards us is limitless, our commitment to Him should be limitless.

-Peter

December 6th

PEACE TO THOSE WITH WHOM HE’S PLEASED

- John Piper

“And this will be a sign for you: you will find a baby wrapped in swaddling cloths and lying in a manger.” And suddenly there was with the angel a multitude of the heavenly host praising God and saying, “Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace among those with whom he is pleased!”           —Luke 2:12–14

Peace for whom? There is a somber note sounded in the angels’ praise. Peace among men on whom his favor rests. Peace among men with whom he is pleased. Without faith it is impossible to please God. So Christmas does not bring peace to all.

“This is the judgment,” Jesus said, “that the light has come into the world and men loved darkness rather than the light because their deeds are evil” (John 3:19). Or as the aged Simeon said when he saw the child Jesus, “Behold this child is set for the fall and rising of many in Israel and for a sign that is spoken against… that the thoughts of many hearts may be revealed” (Luke 2:34–35). O, how many there are who look out on a bleak and chilly Christmas day and see no more than that.

“He came to his own and his own received him not, but to as many as received him to them gave he power to become the sons of God, to as many as believed on his name.” It was only to his disciples that Jesus said, “Peace I leave with you. My peace I give to you; not as the world gives do I give to you. Let not your heart be troubled, neither let it be afraid.”

The people who enjoy the peace of God that surpasses all understanding are those who in everything by prayer and supplication let their requests be made known to God.

The key that unlocks the treasure chest of God’s peace is faith”

Wow.  This is most definitely not a very Christmas-y idea.  The Bible has many sobering truths to share that I honestly struggle with at times.  The idea that Christmas peace is not for everyone is an idea that I would prefer to not think about.  (Sometimes the truth can be difficult.) 

The bad news is that everyone will not accept the peace that is offered by Christ.  The good news is that it is available to everyone. The peace that is brought on by the birth of Christ is available to all. The Bible repeats over and over that anyone can be saved. It says that ANYONE who puts their faith in Christ can have peace with God. Any of us can please God because pleasing God simply begins with putting our faith in Him. No matter how much we have been at odds with God we can have peace with Him through faith in Christ. 

So while it may be true that Christmas does not bring peace to all it does have the potential to bring peace to each one of us if we allow it. What will you do with the peace of Christ today? 

- Darryl  

December 5, 2017

NO DETOUR FROM CALVARY - John Piper

And while they were there, the time came for her to give birth. And she gave birth to her firstborn son and wrapped him in swaddling cloths and laid him in a manger, because there was no place for them in the inn. —Luke 2:6–7

Now you would think that if God so rules the world as to use an empire-wide census to bring Mary and Joseph to Bethlehem, he surely could have seen to it that a room was available in the inn. Yes, he could have. And Jesus could have been born into a wealthy family. He could have turned stone into bread in the wilderness. He could have called 10,000 angels to his aid in Gethsemane. He could have come down from the cross and saved himself. The question is not what God could do, but what he willed to do. God’s will was that though Christ was rich, yet for your sake he became poor. The “No Vacancy” signs over all the motels in Bethlehem were for your sake. “For your sake he became poor” (2 Cortinthians 8:9). God rules all things—even motel capacities—for the sake of his children. The Calvary road begins with a “No Vacancy” sign in Bethlehem and ends with the spitting and scoffing of the cross in Jerusalem. And we must not forget that he said, “He who would come after me must deny himself and take up his cross” (Matthew 16:24). We join him on the Calvary road and hear him say, “Remember the word that I said to you, ‘A servant is not greater than his master.’ If they persecuted me, they will persecute you” (John 15:20). To the one who calls out enthusiastically, “I will follow you wherever you go!” (Matthew 8:19). Jesus responds, “Foxes have holes, and birds of the air have nests, but the Son of Man has nowhere to lay his head” (Matthew 8:20). Yes, God could have seen to it that Jesus have a room at his birth. But that would have been a detour off the Calvary road.

After reading today’s thoughts, No Detour From Calvary, I keep going back to the idea that everything God did in sending Jesus he did for us. He didn’t have to have Jesus be born in a manager. He didn’t have to have Jesus be born to nondescript common people. The fact is that God didn’t have send Jesus at all. He could have just extended grace to us. So why do all these things?

One thing that bothers many people is when they are having a problem or a rough time the advice they get from others. The world is filled with “what you should do…” and “if I were you…” statements. Most of the time these come from people who have never come close to dealing with what you are experiencing. However, there are those times when someone knows exactly what you are feeling because they went through the same thing. It makes a huge difference.

That’s why God sent Jesus to earth to live as a man in this world. Not for His sake but for ours. We can rest assured that Jesus knows what we are going through because He went through so much Himself. He knew the feeling of losing a parent. He had to deal with a pushy mom (first miracle). He knows, and it makes a difference.

Starting with the birth of Jesus and ending with His resurrection, EVERYTHING was done for us.

-Rex

December 4, 2017

FOR GOD’S LITTLE PEOPLE - John Piper

In those days a decree went out from Caesar Augustus that all the world should be registered. This was the first registration when Quirinius was governor of Syria. And all went to be registered, each to his own town. And Joseph also went up from Galilee, from the town of Nazareth, to Judea, to the city of David, which is called Bethlehem, because he was of the house and lineage of David, to be registered with Mary, his betrothed, who was with child. —Luke 2:1–5

Have you ever thought what an amazing thing it is that God ordained beforehand that the Messiah be born in Bethlehem (as the prophecy in Micah 5 shows); and that he so ordained things that when the time came, the Messiah’s mother and legal father were living in Nazareth; and that in order to fulfill his word and bring two little people to Bethlehem that first Christmas, God put it in the heart of Caesar Augustus that all the Roman world should be enrolled each in his own town? Have you ever felt, like me, little and insignificant in a world of seven billion people, where all the news is of big political and economic and social movements and of outstanding people with lots of power and prestige? If you have, don’t let that make you disheartened or unhappy. For it is implicit in Scripture that all the mammoth political forces and all the giant industrial complexes, without their even knowing it, are being guided by God, not for their own sake but for the sake of God’s little people—the little Mary and the little Joseph who have to be got from Nazareth to Bethlehem. God wields an empire to bless his children. Do not think, because you experience adversity, that the hand of the Lord is shortened. It is not our prosperity but our holiness that he seeks with all his heart. And to that end, he rules the whole world. As Proverbs 21:1 says, “The king’s heart is a stream of water in the hand of the Lord; he turns it wherever he will.” He is a big God for little people, and we have great cause to rejoice that, unbeknownst to them, all the kings and presidents and premiers and chancellors of the world follow the sovereign decrees of our Father in heaven, that we, the children, might be conformed to the image of his Son, Jesus Christ.

Hey, great news! God has a plan. And you have an important part to play!

I talked to someone years ago about how they believed they were destined to do great things in God’s kingdom, be part of growing a large church that would bring many to Jesus. It wasn’t a bad thought at all, it’s just that I worried he might not see things the same way God does. Our purpose doesn’t have to be big and grand to be important. The truth is, we often don’t realize when we’re right in the middle of the very moment God has been preparing us for. Maybe that encouraging conversation we had with a sad or disheartened friend was the moment we’d been made for. Or maybe it was that act of kindness to a stranger who needed to know that God was watching out for him. Many times a literally life-changing moment can quietly come and go without us realizing it, and we only know much later how significant our part was.

Fortunately for us God knows exactly what he’s doing, and he makes sure that everything works out just right, giving us the opportunity to serve the very purpose he created us for. In Mary and Joseph’s case, they were simply being law abiding citizens, packing up for a road trip in order to be counted. Little did they know they were fulfilling ancient prophecy and that by setting their feet on the path to Bethlehem their lives would be changed forever. Because in Bethlehem, in the humble surroundings of a stable, Mary would give birth to the One who would change the very course of history and gift each one of us with grace and the keys to heaven itself.

So let your worries go this holiday season, and know that no matter who you are, God has a plan and a purpose just for you.

-Robin 

December 3rd 2017

THE LONG-AWAITED VISITATION - John Piper

“Blessed be the Lord God of Israel, for he has visited and redeemed his people and has raised up a horn of salvation for us in the house of his servant David, as he spoke by the mouth of his holy prophets from of old, that we should be saved from our enemies and from the hand of all who hate us…” —Luke 1:68–71

Notice two remarkable things from these words of Zechariah in Luke 1. First, nine months earlier, Zechariah could not believe his wife would have a child. Now, filled with the Holy Spirit, he is so confident of God’s redeeming work in the coming Messiah that he puts it in the past tense. For the mind of faith, a promised act of God is as good as done. Zechariah has learned to take God at his word and so has a remarkable assurance: “God has visited and redeemed!” Second, the coming of Jesus the Messiah is a visitation “The God of Israel has visited and redeemed.” For centuries, the Jewish people had languished under the conviction that God had withdrawn: the spirit of prophecy had ceased, Israel had fallen into the hands of Rome. And all the godly in Israel were awaiting the visitation of God. Luke tells us in 2:25 that the devout Simeon was “looking for the consolation of Israel.” And in Luke 2:38  the prayerful Anna was “looking for the redemption of Jerusalem.” These were days of great expectation. Now the long awaited visitation of God was about to happen—indeed, he was about to come in a way no one expected.

As I enter this season of advent, I often find myself acting like Zechariah and not believing the promises I have in God.  Wouldn’t it be great to have confidence God will do what He promises?  Believing so strongly we refer to it in the past tense as if it already happened?

Are we feeling great expectation and anticipation for our coming King?  Are we as excited about God coming as we are for Santa?  The long awaited visitation and coming of God is nearing – are we ready for it even if He comes in a way we were not expecting?  We all have our expectations for God – but what if our expectations aren’t His?  Are we still excited to have Him visit?

My goal as I move through the advent season is to be prepared – to be able to believe in the promises of God and to know His plan is the best one for my life.  To be able to say, “Blessed be the Lord God of Israel that visited, redeemed us, and saved us from our enemies.”  After all, wouldn’t that be the best Christmas gift ever?  As we look forward to His birth at Christmas, we can be encouraged to know it already happened.  All we have to do is believe.

-Kevin

December 2nd 2017

Mary's Magnificent God - John Piper

“My soul magnifies the Lord, and my spirit rejoices in God my Savior, for he has looked on the humble estate of his servant. For behold, from now on all generations will call me blessed; for he who is mighty has done great things for me, and holy is his name. And his mercy is for those who fear him from generation to generation. He has shown strength with his arm; he has scattered the proud in the thoughts of their hearts; he has brought down the mighty from their thrones and exalted those of humble estate; he has filled the hungry with good things, and the rich he has sent away empty. He has helped his servant Israel, in remembrance of his mercy, as he spoke to our fathers, to Abraham and to his offspring forever.” —Luke 1:46–55

Mary sees clearly a most remarkable thing about God: He is about to change the course of all human history. The most important three decades in all of time are about to begin.

And where is God? Occupying himself with two obscure, humble women—one old and barren (Elizabeth), one young and virginal (Mary). “And Mary is so moved by this vision of God, the lover of the lowly, that she breaks out in song — a song that has come to be known as “the Magnificat” (Luke 1:46–55).

Mary and Elizabeth are wonderful heroines in Luke’s account. He loves the faith of these women. The thing that impresses him most, it appears, and the thing he wants to impress on Theophilus, his noble reader, is the lowliness and cheerful humility of Elizabeth and Mary.

Elizabeth says,“Why is this granted to me that the mother of my Lord would come to me?” (Luke 1:43). And Mary says, “He has looked on the humble estate of his servant” (Luke 1:48).

The only people whose soul can truly magnify the Lord are people like Elizabeth and Mary—people who acknowledge their lowly estate and are overwhelmed by the condescension of the magnificent God.”

Excerpt From: Piper, John. “Good News of Great Joy: Daily Readings for Advent.” Desiring God. iBooks. This material may be protected by copyright. 

I have heard someone say that humility isn't thinking less of yourself. It is thinking of yourself less. I am consumed with myself and what I want. It is what I think about almost exclusively. I feel like if I get all the things that I want then I will be happy. In this reading Mary loses herself in service to God and it is there that she finds her happiness/ contentment. Like Mary, I think that my path to meaning and contentment is a path that leads to the cross. That is a path that I love to avoid. My avoidance of that path is truly ironic because it's only when I live a life that is for more than myself that I will find the peace that I am looking for. 

- Darryl