Christmas is a declaration of war!

 

 

Reading: John 1:1-18.

 We have made it what it was never intended to be, a sweet, sentimental occasion for people to have nice, warm, fuzzy feelings. Someone is coming permeates the first thirty-nine books of the Bible. In many places there are clues to His identity and purpose, bold statements about His character and strategy. There are also metaphors pointing to spiritual realities the coming One would fulfil. 

The god of this world is no fool. As you study the Old Testament you are given insights into his attempts to prevent the Promised One from coming. This included attempts to destroy the nation of Israel, corrupt and obliterate the genealogical line and mutilate the message. Time after time it seemed Satan came close to achieving his aims. The Lord God of Hosts always came up with an answer, a master stroke, a surprise element.

Herod produced the first martyrs of Christmas. On hearing about the birth of the Promised One he ordered the death of babes two years and under in Bethlehem. The ‘Someone’ is coming was declared by the shepherds, the magi and others, to have come.  The four Gospels present their majestic portrays of the One called Jesus. It becomes clear from their writings they were convinced that this man of Nazareth was the fulfilment of the clues, metaphors and other snippets from their Scriptures. Jesus himself insisted that people examine Him and the Scriptures to make sure they matched. (John 5:39).

Part of the strategy of Jesus Christ for re-conquering the world from the powers of Darkness was to enlist men and women. They had to be convinced about Him and what He was on about. The Lord never bribed people to join his ranks. In fact Jesus spelt out loud and clear the costs involved which precede the victory celebration.

This and the following devotionals want to take you into an understanding of the ‘Battle Zone’. You will follow God’s promise of the One who is to come and how each ‘jig-saw’ piece would ultimately come together at Bethlehem. Being convinced about who Jesus is, why he came and the victory achieved gives us moral and spiritual courage. We need this to face the challenges of being in the legion of the Lord. 

Throughout both Testaments is a third facet of the coming of the Promised One. It is the statement ‘Someone’ is coming again! It is the same Jesus who came the first time to experience the cross, rise again and offer us salvation and a new destiny. When He comes again it will be to judge the world and to reign in righteousness. Those, who by faith now have declared their allegiance, will in that day share in His kingdom. 

Though the contest continues, victory is assured. Be strengthened for the conflict through insights from these devotional meditations!

copyright Raymond N. Hawkins 2020

The photo above is of George and Rita Galieh. He was a speaker and excellent violinist. She a fine singer and artist with chalk. A lovely and faithful couple in Christ's ministry.

Psalm 23 and 'Me'

The most popular of psalms made for all occasions is psalm 23. Books about it abound. Songs resonate through the airways. It is recited at weddings and funerals. This psalm continues to bless and amaze. Over the following blog times I’d like to share with you a type of devotional investigation into some of its verses. I’m sure there are insights you could share with me which I’d appreciate. May what follows be a joy to your heart.

‘The Lord is my shepherd, I shall not want’ verse 1.

‘The’ emphasises the uniqueness, the only-ness of the person addressed, admired, adored. He is not one of many. He isn’t ‘a’ lord. He is ‘THE Lord!’

David is highlighting for us in his testimony a relationship of trust. As a shepherd boy he understood the faith sheep have in their shepherd. He knew their name and peculiarities. It is unknown (at least to me) when and how David and his Shepherd met. This is without doubt, David saw himself a one of the flock. The testimony he gave to King Saul in 1 Samuel 17:31-37 of The Lord’s protection highlighted this. Goliath was about to be added to The Lord’s victories through David. It is our honour to live in a similar fellowship of trust. It is our privilege to bear testimony, be it ever so mundane, to The Lord!

‘Lord’ is the translation usually applied to Yahweh. Such a wonderful imagery is here presented. The Creator who sustains the universe is the one who takes David under His care. This is David psalm. Have we the right to claim it as ours or is it wishful thinking? By the grace of The Lord we have His invitation to make this psalm our own. To make that real and personal requires a relocation of our heart, mind and allegiance. We are not automatically in His fold. His invitation must be accepted and, as it were, we must join His sheepfold. In the Gospel of John 10:16 we have the confidence to claim we are of ‘the other sheep’ The Lord has. David knew His Lord’s name. We know Him as Jesus, the Christ, The Son of God! He is The Lord!

‘Is’ expresses the assurance David had in whom he believed, trusted, obeyed. There isn’t a maybe or ‘I wish’ about it. David would be a silly sheep on numerous occasions but the ‘is’ remained. For what this word highlights is a covenant commitment between The Lord and His sheep, David. Such a covenant relationship is ours also because of Calvary’s cross and the empty tomb. When you, when I realised the meaning of the cross and believed what Jesus did was for us personally, we gave our life and destiny into His keeping. That is why we can say with gratitude ‘The Lord is.’

‘My’ is the personal aspect which should always astound. Why would the Creator choose to associate with me, let alone claim me as His own? John Newton’s hymn ‘Amazing Grace’ sums it up so well. I was a worthless sheep, scabby, wasted and infected with sin, at the mercy of life’s brigands. The Lord rescued me. I had nothing of merit, nothing of appeal yet in mercy He claimed me, as He did you! I am still a silly sheep from time to time, but The Lord keeps me in His fold. Why? Because He keeps His covenant. He will discipline but He will not remove my name from His book.

‘Shepherd’ is for us a warm and meaningful term. As we work through the psalm we will realise some of the ways He cares. However, strange as it may sound, a shepherd was not always held in high regard. The Egyptians in the days of Joseph saw them as beneath their dignity. In the days of Jesus a shepherd was considered a ‘low-life’ whose word couldn’t be trusted. In the spiritual realm of today this animosity still exists. It may or may not be stated, but its atmosphere prevails. Therefore, when you and I say “Jesus, The Lord is my Shepherd” we could be given the cold shoulder. This is why we must know the reality, personally and unquestionably, that The Lord [Jesus] is my shepherd and I am a sheep in His fold. Can you say “Amen” to that?

To be continued.

Ray Hawkins Feb 1^st 2016.

Ministry is a Love Affair.

Ministry is a love affair with Jesus.

Ministry is also a burden unable to be relinquished without a sense of loss.  Paul cried out ‘…I am compelled to preach. Woe to me if I do not preach the Gospel.’

1 Corinthians 9:16.  The burden, no matter how great is carried because of love for the Lord. In fact it is when our love is weak that we notice the burden. Once our eyes are off the Lord we see the magnitude of the task: the wretchedness of sinfulness: the fickleness of people and our own weaknesses. Such burdens are simply too much to bear.                                                                                                                                                   

When my devotion to the Lord is weak and waning then too my capacity to love others is weakened. From a Biblical viewpoint all relational breakdowns really stem from fading love. When John said we love because Christ first loved us it also implies the reverse. When our love for the Lord is dim so too our capacity to love others. When we refresh our love for Jesus the statement by Paul to the Thessalonians will happen. ‘May the Lord make your love increase and overflow for each other and for everyone else…May he strengthen your hearts so that you will be blameless and holy in the presence of our God and Father when our Lord Jesus comes with all his holy ones.’ 1 Thessalonians 3:12–13.

When Jesus took Peter aside after the resurrection, it was to love a failure back into his calling. Peter thought he could find fulfilment back on the water, catching fish, being unencumbered by apostolic responsibilities. Would he have ever been satisfied? He had tasted the Lord’s call. Love may have a price tag but a bigger price is paid when love’s call is sidestepped. Was that what Peter was realising when the Lord appeared on the scene? Peter’s exuberance of jumping overboard and wading ashore to be in Jesus’ presence could point to this fact. But the terrible hash Peter had made of things the days before the crucifixion needed healing attention. Would his mouth and behaviour cancel out any prospects of serving the Lord?

 We will all have our own imaginative scene of Jesus and Peter sitting on the sand side by side. The Lord getting Peter to probe his own heart and confront the issues is tender yet direct. The question ‘Simon, son of John, do you truly love me more than these?’ cuts deep. In other words, ‘would you really be happy doing anything else than following me in service?’ Here the challenge of love’s commitment was being offered anew to deal with the defeatism of guilt, shame, self-pity and self-interests. ‘Is there anything you would rather do than accept my invitation to follow me’ seems to be what Jesus is getting at. This is ever the battle ground in the soul. Do we love the Lord more than ‘these’ – whatever ‘these’ may be?  Ministry, true ministry first and foremost has to be an affair of the heart. Anything less is either being a mere hireling, a prestige thing (that’s an illusion) or someone with ulterior motives.

As the Lord drew Peter out of regret Jesus heard the words I’m sure Peter said with emotion and tears: “Lord you know all things, you know that I love you [phileo = as a friend]”. Whilst it can be said this was a stepdown from the majestic word for love, agape, it seems a more intimate and therefore person response. Was Peter reminded by the Lord’s using “phileo” of Jesus wonderful term for him the other disciples in John 15:15. Peter was still ordained (chosen) to serve. He was still capable of bearing fruit favoured by the Lord. He may have fallen but it was a pruning experience used to enrich his love for the Lord Jesus, his Friend! Now he was commissioned.

The instructions Jesus gave to Peter about ministry are informative. He was to feed the lambs, shepherd the little sheep and feed the little sheep. Imagine that. A fisherman is turned into a shepherd. Years later Peter writes to Church leaders and tells them to shepherd the flock of God. This should not be by compulsion or, worse still, because of monetary gain or for ego domination. (1 Peter 5:1–4) What implications can you see colouring his comments? Surely one of them must be we are shepherds of the flock because we are the friends of Jesus.

Love won the day on the sands of Galilee and we are the richer for it.

Ray Hawkins Jan 11 2016

Christmas Roundup

What are the features most prominent at Christmas time for Christians to hear, read and see? Shepherds, the star, wise men and of course the babe in the manger. All of these grab our attention and fascinate us with their various amounts of mystery surrounding them. However, there is so much more to the Christmas event which so many of us never seem to hear about.

A number of the New Testament books hold various key facts and factors about Christmas. When we put them together, as best we can, an awesome, powerful, majestic and definitely mysterious picture emerges. From Matthew we see the birth of the promise king in the Davidic line. Luke gives to us the fact that the Bethlehem baby is the promised Second Adam. As such, this Jesus is the Saviour of all. John goes beyond the historical and into the wonder of the eternal. He is overwhelmed by the fact that this baby who became a man is none other than Emmanuel, God with us. How this could be has been wrestled with ever since.

Paul in writing to the Philippians tries to help us come to grips with this mystery of grace. His version of Christmas is in chapter 2:6-7: ‘though he (Christ Jesus) was in the form of God did not regard equality with God something to be exploited, but emptied himself, taking the form of a slave, being born in human likeness.’

In Hebrews 2:5 the writer expresses his view of the purpose for Christmas. It was to receive a body without blemish so as to fulfil the symbolisms undergirding the Old Testament sacrificial system. For that body to be free of a sin nature required the virgin birth promised in Isaiah 7:14. The book unfolds the wonder of why Christmas was necessary to the completion of God’s revealed word and symbols from Genesis to Malachi. Again and again through the New Testament we are faced with the reality that the Christmas event is more than an act of God. Rather it is God Himself in action, coming into humanity’s realm to save and lift up to His realm.

When writing to Titus the apostle Paul used the word ‘Epiphany’, which has the meaning of light being shone. Paul in effect says that Christmas became the time when the kindness and love of God lit up and penetrated history. That light was not something created. It refers to the one who is the Light of the world who came into the darkness of Humanity’s existence. As you can grasp Christmas is much more than the cherished account of shepherds and wise men and a manger. When we take the time to look at it from the whole of Scripture we must surely be overcome with wonder.

In the words of Peter, Christmas isn’t a fairy story but fulfilled prophesy. In writing to the Church he wrote ‘For we did not follow cleverly devised myths when we made known to you the power and coming of our Lord Jesus Christ, but we have been eye witnesses of his majesty’. (2 Peter 1:16) Notice Christmas is the power of God bound up in a dependent, vulnerable baby. That power continues today, not because of the events of Bethlehem but of Calvary thirty three years late. However one without the other is impossible.

As you celebrate Christmas enjoy the family time, the Church services and various activities. However, do not lose sight of the mystery, the majesty and the marvel which surrounds this event. It is to draw us into a commitment of our lives to the One who committed His life to us so as to save us from sin, from judgement and eternal rejection. Christmas is the kindness of God preparing a safe place for us before He comes in judgement.

copyright Ray Hawkins 22.12.2014.

Were the Angels kidding

Adam as a modern day angel

The land was occupied territory and zealots (today’s terrorist or freedom fighters) carried out guerrilla raids. So much political and religious corruption existed it made the faithful depressed. Surrounding nations and their leaders played the political power games for their own advantage whilst the common folk suffered.  Across the world today many can relate to the situation in Israel the night the angels sang.

Imagine those shepherds outside of Bethlehem minding the sheep. Those men were very low in the status ratings of the community and considered unreliable or unwanted witnesses in court. Sitting out there and on guard against animal and human predators was probably nerve wracking. Every strange noise could be magnified in their minds as a potential threat. Suddenly the night lights up and an angel appears soon surrounded by a host of others. Did they imagine their earthly days had come to an end?

It is easy to understand why the angel said “Fear not!” as he would have seen their stricken faces. However it is the following words which must have confused them even more. “I bring you good tidings of great joy”. Those men sure could do with some good news and lots of joy in their circumstances. Were they about to be given a map to buried treasure? Maybe they would be transformed into princes? How deflated they may have felt when the angels told them that the Saviour long promised through the lineage of King David had come. Well maybe not deflated but thrilled if they were men who longed for the promises of their Scriptures about the coming one.

How would the announcements of the angels actually work out in their life, the country’s experience and down to our day? For after the shepherds had seen the baby Jesus and spread the news not much joy flowed. Later King Herod who was becoming more and more deranged had infant boys of Bethlehem killed in his endeavour to destroy the baby Jesus. Tears, not joy flowed. Where was the joy, for the shepherds and the nation, during thirty silent years as Jesus grew to manhood? Did the angels wonder at what they said?

Maybe you, along with others, have similar wonderings as you sing carols and enjoy this Christmas time. You probably don’t wonder about the fact of the person called Jesus, but wonder about the joy promised. This is especially true if you have lived through abuse, poverty, war and injustices. How can the Joy promised at Jesus’ earthly arrival infect, affect and inject joy into your life?

The joy promised is bound up in the person and the accomplishments of Jesus. Not as the baby nor the boy but as the crucified and risen warrior Lord of Calvary. His joy was to do the Father’s will. His joy was to flesh out the promises of the Scriptures from Genesis to Malachi. His joy was to see you as putting your trust in Him as your personal Lord and Saviour. (Hebrews 12:1-3) How then can His joy be ours?

Regardless of your circumstances Jesus as the risen Christ (Messiah, Saviour) stands with you, keeps you as His own and has a place for you in His glory. You can find joy and peace in knowing God keeps His promises as recorded in the Scriptures. Sure they may seem a long time in coming but He has His time marked on the Calendar of Heaven, not earths’. His joy in you turns your pain into testimony to your faith that Jesus reigns. You know it by faith, it will one day be tangible. You may not realise it but His joy in you and for you creates a spiritual and moral fragrance that impacts those who enter your sphere of influence.

Story of Christmas as promised in Bible.

The angels weren’t kidding in their announcement that the world was about to be confronted with the Gospel (good news). Nor did they exaggerate that joy would pour out upon men and women around the globe who bowed the knee, not to the baby but to the promised one of Scripture who had come.

Regardless of your personal circumstances may the announcement by the angels be fulfilled in you! May the Joy of the Lord be your hope, delight, strength, comfort and song at this season and all through the year!

Copyright Ray Hawkins 2014.