Wednesday
All this took place to fulfill what the Lord had spoken by the prophet: “Behold, the virgin shall conceive and bear a son, and they shall call his name Immanuel” - Matthew 1:22-23
Therefore the Lord himself will give you a sign. Behold, the virgin shall conceive and bear a son, and shall call his name Immanuel. - Isaiah 7:14
The name "Immanuel" appears twice in the Hebrew Scriptures and once in the New Testament. One of the most comforting of all the names and titles of Jesus, it is literally translated "with us is God" or, as Matthew's Gospel puts it, "God with us." When our sins made it impossible for us to come to him, God took the outrageous step of coming to us, of making himself susceptible to sorrow, familiar with temptation, and vulnerable to sin's disruptive power, in order to cancel its claim. In Jesus we see how extreme God's love is. Remember this the next time you feel discouraged, abandoned, or too timid to undertake some new endeavor. For Jesus is still Immanuel — he is still "God with us."
The name "Immanuel" first appears in Isaiah 7:14 as part of a prophetic word that Isaiah spoke to King Ahaz of Judah (the southern kingdom) at a time when Syria and Israel (the northern kingdom) had formed a coalition against Assyria. The prophet Isaiah counseled Ahaz not to join in their uprising against Assyria, the region's greatest power, assuring him it would not succeed. He urged Ahaz to trust in the Lord rather than to appeal to Assyria for help against Syria and Israel, who were threatening to invade Judah for not joining their uprising. Then he invited Ahaz to ask the Lord for a sign to confirm the prophetic word, but the unfaithful king refused, having already decided to place his trust not in the Lord but in Assyria.
In response to Ahaz's refusal to trust God, Isaiah proclaimed: "Hear now, you house of David! Is it not enough to try the patience of human beings? Will you try the patience of my God also? Therefore the Lord himself will give you a sign: The virgin will be with child and give birth to a son, and will call him Immanuel." Shortly after that Syria and Israel were soundly defeated, exactly as Isaiah had prophesied. Many years later the southern kingdom of Judah was destroyed by Babylon, its people taken captive.
Matthew's Gospel recalls Isaiah's prophecy, applying it to the child who would be born of Mary, the virgin betrothed to Joseph. The sign given hundreds of years earlier to an apostate king was meant for all God's people.
In fact the Bible is nothing if not the story of God's persistent desire to dwell with his people. In Jesus, God would succeed in a unique way, becoming a man in order to save the world not from the outside, but from the inside. Immanuel, God with us, to rescue, redeem, and restore our relationship with him.
"The birth of Christ is the central event in the history of the earth - the very thing the whole story has been about." - C.S. Lewis
Jeff Frazier
Tuesday, Dec. 23
Tuesday
"Wait for the LORD; be strong and courageous. Wait for the LORD" - Psalm 27:14
What's the longest you've had to wait for something? I imagine almost everyone has a memory of Christmas Eve as a child; squeezing your eyes shut, trying with all your might to go to sleep on Christmas Eve. For those of you with orthodox parents, you knew that even opening one present before Christmas morning was akin to high heresy. And so you counted sheep and waited.
Waiting is still difficult. We expect everything to be at our fingertips the moment we have the desire for it. It's a world we're growing into and it's addicting. We live in a world of downloads, high-speed email, on demand, and Hot Pockets. Yet God finds ways of making us wait. Waiting and faith go hand-in-hand.
Waiting is the embodiment of faith. In Hebrews 11:13 we are reminded that faith involves trust in God's promise even if the promises of God are fulfilled long after we're gone. The writer says, "These all died in faith without having received the promises, but they saw them from a distance ..."
Advent is about faith and waiting. What are you waiting on God for this year? Remember the years of silence as God's people waited for the Messiah. Take time today, right now, to reflect on the fact that God's timing is quite different from ours. The story of Jesus birth gives us assurance and joy because even though the waiting lingered for decades, God broke through at just the right time.
Are you struggling with a lack of faith? That's OK. It doesn't take much faith to get God's attention. Jesus encouraged his frustrated followers this way: "If you have faith the size of a mustard seed, you will tell this mountain, 'Move from here to there,' and it will move. Nothing will be impossible for you" (Matthew 17:20).
Most of us try to grow a forest in one day. Jesus, however, invites you to begin with a tiny seed. Watch it grow and wait for it to become all that you dreamed it would be.
Are you willing to plant faith and wait upon God? Nothing seems to be appearing on the horizon today, but just wait! God always keeps his promises, even to those who have little faith. Just wait.
Lord, I remember the years of waiting for a Messiah. I'm often impatient with my life. Please teach me to enjoy You and not just the blessings I see in Your hands. Fill my days with laughter and joy through hardship and uncertainty. Remind me that when I think I'm waiting for an eternity, it really isn't. Life on this earth is infinitesimally smaller than a second in the light of true eternity. - Amen
Waiting is still difficult. We expect everything to be at our fingertips the moment we have the desire for it. It's a world we're growing into and it's addicting. We live in a world of downloads, high-speed email, on demand, and Hot Pockets. Yet God finds ways of making us wait. Waiting and faith go hand-in-hand.
- We wait for the baby we've dreamed we'd hold in our arms.
- Some wait for a prodigal to come to the end of himself and return home.
- Many of us are waiting for the phone to ring so we can return to a job with a normal salary and benefits.
- Others are waiting for a spiritual breakthrough that will open our eyes.
- An entire nation waited centuries before their eternal king appeared.
- Mary wasn't given a full-grown son.
- The Wise Men from the east didn't see the Messiah to appear at their front door.
Jeff Frazier
Monday, Dec. 22
Monday
And there were shepherds living out in the fields nearby, keeping watch over their flocks at night. An angel of the Lord appeared to them, and the glory of the Lord shone around them, and they were terrified. But the angel said to them, “Do not be afraid. I bring you good news that will cause great joy for all the people. Today in the town of David a Savior has been born to you; he is the Messiah, the Lord. This will be a sign to you: You will find a baby wrapped in cloths and lying in a manger.” Suddenly a great company of the heavenly host appeared with the angel, praising God and saying, “Glory to God in the highest heaven, and on earth peace to those on whom his favor rests.” - Luke 2:8-14
The message of the angels to the shepherds was one of good news that would bring "great joy"...but what exactly is joy?
Joy is trusting when you want to doubt.
Joy is receiving what you want to reject.
Can you imagine how the master of the house would have felt if he said to Mary and Joseph, "Of course you can't stay in that stable! Who do you take me for?" We find joy in making room for people in need. Reflect on the mysterious words found in Hebrews: "Don't neglect to show hospitality, for by doing this some have welcomed angels as guests without knowing it" (Hebrews 13:2).
Joy is celebrating when you want to fear.
What's the first thing angels say to mortals? It's standard protocol. In just about every divine encounter the angels say: "Fear not." I can hear Jesus instruct His most trusted angels. "OK, let's go over this again ... Most of the people that I'll tell you to speak to will be scared out of their wits! So let's practice the greeting one more time." Then the angels would all say in unison, "Fear not."
The message is clear. God is not looking for ways to scare us into faith. He drew near to us to relieve the worries we have about crossing over the divide between heaven and earth. He wants us to know that He's going to take care of us no matter what happens. One of the names that He was called long before he ever stepped on this world's stage was Immanuel meaning "God with us." No matter what we go through we can whisper this simple truth: "Jesus is with me." Think about it. He is with you in your greatest victories and your most humiliating defeats. Jesus is with you at all times in all things.
Lord, make me an instrument of your peace.
Where there is hatred, let me sow love.
Where there is injury, pardon.Where there is discord, union.Where there is doubt, faith.
Where there is despair, hope.
Where there is darkness, light.
Where there is sadness, joy.
O Divine Master,
grant that I may not so much seek to be consoled as to console;
to be understood, as to understand;
to be loved, as to love;
For it is in giving that we receive,
It is in pardoning that we are pardoned,
and it is in dying that we are born to eternal life.
— Prayer for Peace of St. Francis of Assisi
Happiness is an emotion that can disappear as quickly as it rises to the surface. Joy, however, is a choice. We have a choice. God gives us a joy that is unconquerable. We can choose to live in an attitude of resentment, anger, and fear or we can choose to pursue the joy of Christ.
Can you imagine how the master of the house would have felt if he said to Mary and Joseph, "Of course you can't stay in that stable! Who do you take me for?" We find joy in making room for people in need. Reflect on the mysterious words found in Hebrews: "Don't neglect to show hospitality, for by doing this some have welcomed angels as guests without knowing it" (Hebrews 13:2).
What's the first thing angels say to mortals? It's standard protocol. In just about every divine encounter the angels say: "Fear not." I can hear Jesus instruct His most trusted angels. "OK, let's go over this again ... Most of the people that I'll tell you to speak to will be scared out of their wits! So let's practice the greeting one more time." Then the angels would all say in unison, "Fear not."
Where there is hatred, let me sow love.
Where there is injury, pardon.Where there is discord, union.Where there is doubt, faith.
Where there is despair, hope.
Where there is darkness, light.
Where there is sadness, joy.
O Divine Master,
grant that I may not so much seek to be consoled as to console;
to be understood, as to understand;
to be loved, as to love;
For it is in giving that we receive,
It is in pardoning that we are pardoned,
and it is in dying that we are born to eternal life.
— Prayer for Peace of St. Francis of Assisi
Jeff Frazier
Friday, Dec. 19th
To listen to the audio version, click here.
Friday, December 19
John 1: 12-13
But to all who did receive him, who believed in his name, he gave the right to become children of God, who were born, not of blood nor of the will of the flesh nor of the will of man, but of God.
This text, along with a number of others in the Bible, points to two kinds of birth. There is physical birth; the biological process by which a human infant is thrust from the mother’s womb and out into the cold world. This process is usually preceded by intense labor pains, considerable mess, and followed by great tears of joy. Physical birth is something that all human beings have in common.
The second kind of birth is spiritual. It does not involve a mother’s womb although it often does involve a kind of labor, at least some mess, as well as tears of joy. Spiritual birth is not the result of the physical love of a man and a woman, rather it is the result of the redemptive work of God who brings new life to a once deadened heart.
Earlier in the week I mentioned a speech President Obama gave during the lighting of the National Christmas Tree and I want to mention it again today. He said:
“It’s the story of hope--the birth of a singular child into the simplest of circumstances--a child who would grow up to live a life of humility, and kindness, and compassion...who taught us to care for the poor, and the marginalized, and those who are different from ourselves,” “And more than two millennia later, the way he lived still compels us to do our best to build a more just and tolerant and decent world.
All that sounds good, and certainly we are to live lives of “humility, kindness and compassion,” but that’s not the primary reason Jesus came; at least not according to the Bible.
In Ephesians 2 Paul writes:
As for you, you were dead in your transgressions and sins, in which you used to live when you followed the ways of this world and of the ruler of the kingdom of the air, the spirit who is now at work in those who are disobedient. All of us also lived among them at one time, gratifying the cravings of our flesh and following its desires and thoughts. Like the rest, we were by nature deserving of wrath. But because of his great love for us, God, who is rich in mercy, made us alive with Christ even when we were dead in transgressions—it is by grace you have been saved. (Ephesians 2:1-5)
Paul reminds us here that the point of Christianity; the point of the Word becoming flesh; the point of Jesus dying on the cross and rising again from the dead; was not to make us better people, but rather to turn spiritually dead people into spiritually alive people.
Jesus said it this way:
Jesus replied, “Very truly I tell you, no one can see the kingdom of God unless they are born again.” (John 3:3)
The heart of the Christian faith is not about goodness or tolerance or compassion or service; the heart of the Christian faith is death and resurrection.
Right now some of you are thinking, “Hey, Pastor Brian, you’re talking about the wrong holiday!
We’re supposed to talk about death and resurrection at Easter; this is Christmastime! Let’s talk about the baby in the manger!”
Well, I am talking about the baby in the manger! One of great problems of our cultural celebration of Christmas is that we have cut the gospel out of the story.
The whole story begins with an angel coming to Joseph to tell him about the child already growing in his fiancé's womb:
“Joseph son of David, do not be afraid to take Mary home as your wife, because what is conceived in her is from the Holy Spirit. She will give birth to a son, and you are to give him the name Jesus, because he will save his people from their sins.”(Matthew 1:21)
There is it.
There’s the reason for the whole story.
“He will save his people from their sins.”
The child in the manger is the man on the cross.
The man on the cross died that you and I might live.
The last verse of “O Little Town of Bethlehem” says it well:
O holy Child of Bethlehem,
Descend to us, we pray;
Cast out our sins and enter in,
Be born in us today.
Pastor Brian Coffey
Friday, December 19
John 1: 12-13
But to all who did receive him, who believed in his name, he gave the right to become children of God, who were born, not of blood nor of the will of the flesh nor of the will of man, but of God.
This text, along with a number of others in the Bible, points to two kinds of birth. There is physical birth; the biological process by which a human infant is thrust from the mother’s womb and out into the cold world. This process is usually preceded by intense labor pains, considerable mess, and followed by great tears of joy. Physical birth is something that all human beings have in common.
The second kind of birth is spiritual. It does not involve a mother’s womb although it often does involve a kind of labor, at least some mess, as well as tears of joy. Spiritual birth is not the result of the physical love of a man and a woman, rather it is the result of the redemptive work of God who brings new life to a once deadened heart.
Earlier in the week I mentioned a speech President Obama gave during the lighting of the National Christmas Tree and I want to mention it again today. He said:
“It’s the story of hope--the birth of a singular child into the simplest of circumstances--a child who would grow up to live a life of humility, and kindness, and compassion...who taught us to care for the poor, and the marginalized, and those who are different from ourselves,” “And more than two millennia later, the way he lived still compels us to do our best to build a more just and tolerant and decent world.
All that sounds good, and certainly we are to live lives of “humility, kindness and compassion,” but that’s not the primary reason Jesus came; at least not according to the Bible.
In Ephesians 2 Paul writes:
As for you, you were dead in your transgressions and sins, in which you used to live when you followed the ways of this world and of the ruler of the kingdom of the air, the spirit who is now at work in those who are disobedient. All of us also lived among them at one time, gratifying the cravings of our flesh and following its desires and thoughts. Like the rest, we were by nature deserving of wrath. But because of his great love for us, God, who is rich in mercy, made us alive with Christ even when we were dead in transgressions—it is by grace you have been saved. (Ephesians 2:1-5)
Paul reminds us here that the point of Christianity; the point of the Word becoming flesh; the point of Jesus dying on the cross and rising again from the dead; was not to make us better people, but rather to turn spiritually dead people into spiritually alive people.
Jesus said it this way:
Jesus replied, “Very truly I tell you, no one can see the kingdom of God unless they are born again.” (John 3:3)
The heart of the Christian faith is not about goodness or tolerance or compassion or service; the heart of the Christian faith is death and resurrection.
Right now some of you are thinking, “Hey, Pastor Brian, you’re talking about the wrong holiday!
We’re supposed to talk about death and resurrection at Easter; this is Christmastime! Let’s talk about the baby in the manger!”
Well, I am talking about the baby in the manger! One of great problems of our cultural celebration of Christmas is that we have cut the gospel out of the story.
The whole story begins with an angel coming to Joseph to tell him about the child already growing in his fiancé's womb:
“Joseph son of David, do not be afraid to take Mary home as your wife, because what is conceived in her is from the Holy Spirit. She will give birth to a son, and you are to give him the name Jesus, because he will save his people from their sins.”(Matthew 1:21)
There is it.
There’s the reason for the whole story.
“He will save his people from their sins.”
The child in the manger is the man on the cross.
The man on the cross died that you and I might live.
The last verse of “O Little Town of Bethlehem” says it well:
O holy Child of Bethlehem,
Descend to us, we pray;
Cast out our sins and enter in,
Be born in us today.
Pastor Brian Coffey
Thursday, Dec. 18th
To listen to the audio version, click here.
Thursday, December 18
Romans 8:14-16
For those who are led by the Spirit of God are the children of God. The Spirit you received does not make you slaves, so that you live in fear again; rather, the Spirit you received brought about your adoption to sonship. And by him we cry, “Abba, Father.” The Spirit himself testifies with our spirit that we are God’s children.
There are two ways to join a family.
You can be born into that family; that is, you can have a biological relationship to your family; or, you can be adopted into a family with whom you have no biological connection.
One of the things we often miss in the story of Jesus’ birth is that the whole thing is about adoption!
Think about it:
The Bible says that Mary was with child “by the Holy Spirit,” which means, among other things, that Joseph was an adoptive father. Jesus was not his biological son.
That also means Jesus grew up in a blended family. Scripture indicates that Mary and Joseph went on to have other biological children after they were married, and those children would have been technically Jesus’ step- brothers and sisters.
But beyond all of that, the Bible tells us that Jesus came so that we could be adopted into God’s family.
In his letter to the Romans, Paul uses adoption to explain salvation.
The Spirit you received does not make you slaves, so that you live in fear again; rather, the Spirit you received brought about your adoption to sonship. And by him we cry, “Abba, Father.” The Spirit himself testifies with our spirit that we are God’s children.
To understand the power of Paul’s thought here we must understand something of the nature of adoption in the ancient Roman world.
First of all, there was a fundamental distinction in that society between those considered Roman citizens and those considered slaves. Slaves were men and women from the lower class who were regarded as the property of the families they served, and had little or no protection under the law.
However, it was quite common for affluent but childless Roman families to adopt a slave, most often a post-pubescent male, to carry on the family name. The process of adoption included the cancellation of any and all debts of the slave being adopted, as well as a complete change of identity. The slave now become son would also receive a full share of the family inheritance. Once adopted the bond established could not be broken.
Paul is saying that through faith we are all adopted children of God! Through faith in Christ we are no longer slaves to sin and the fear of condemnation, but are now sons and daughters of a new Father. Furthermore, our new position is confirmed by the Holy Spirit who reminds us that we belong to God.
Not only do we belong to God, we have also been promised an inheritance. Paul goes on to say:
Now if we are children, then we are heirs—heirs of God and co-heirs with Christ, if indeed we share in his sufferings in order that we may also share in his glory. (Romans 8:17)
I was not raised in an adoptive family; and I have never adopted a child. But I have known many adoptive parents over the years and have come to see the beauty of adoption as a picture of the gospel.
An adoptive parent is not obliged to adopt a child, yet chooses to do so.
An adoptive parent is not obliged to sacrifice in order to provide for a child yet chooses to do so.
An adoptive parent is not obliged to open his or her heart to love and care for a child yet chooses to do so.
In the same way God was not obliged to reach down to us; to love and care for us; or to sacrifice himself on our behalf, yet he chose to do so in Jesus.
Now the Spirit bears witness with our spirit that we are God’s children.
Pastor Brian Coffey
Thursday, December 18
Romans 8:14-16
For those who are led by the Spirit of God are the children of God. The Spirit you received does not make you slaves, so that you live in fear again; rather, the Spirit you received brought about your adoption to sonship. And by him we cry, “Abba, Father.” The Spirit himself testifies with our spirit that we are God’s children.
There are two ways to join a family.
You can be born into that family; that is, you can have a biological relationship to your family; or, you can be adopted into a family with whom you have no biological connection.
One of the things we often miss in the story of Jesus’ birth is that the whole thing is about adoption!
Think about it:
The Bible says that Mary was with child “by the Holy Spirit,” which means, among other things, that Joseph was an adoptive father. Jesus was not his biological son.
That also means Jesus grew up in a blended family. Scripture indicates that Mary and Joseph went on to have other biological children after they were married, and those children would have been technically Jesus’ step- brothers and sisters.
But beyond all of that, the Bible tells us that Jesus came so that we could be adopted into God’s family.
In his letter to the Romans, Paul uses adoption to explain salvation.
The Spirit you received does not make you slaves, so that you live in fear again; rather, the Spirit you received brought about your adoption to sonship. And by him we cry, “Abba, Father.” The Spirit himself testifies with our spirit that we are God’s children.
To understand the power of Paul’s thought here we must understand something of the nature of adoption in the ancient Roman world.
First of all, there was a fundamental distinction in that society between those considered Roman citizens and those considered slaves. Slaves were men and women from the lower class who were regarded as the property of the families they served, and had little or no protection under the law.
However, it was quite common for affluent but childless Roman families to adopt a slave, most often a post-pubescent male, to carry on the family name. The process of adoption included the cancellation of any and all debts of the slave being adopted, as well as a complete change of identity. The slave now become son would also receive a full share of the family inheritance. Once adopted the bond established could not be broken.
Paul is saying that through faith we are all adopted children of God! Through faith in Christ we are no longer slaves to sin and the fear of condemnation, but are now sons and daughters of a new Father. Furthermore, our new position is confirmed by the Holy Spirit who reminds us that we belong to God.
Not only do we belong to God, we have also been promised an inheritance. Paul goes on to say:
Now if we are children, then we are heirs—heirs of God and co-heirs with Christ, if indeed we share in his sufferings in order that we may also share in his glory. (Romans 8:17)
I was not raised in an adoptive family; and I have never adopted a child. But I have known many adoptive parents over the years and have come to see the beauty of adoption as a picture of the gospel.
An adoptive parent is not obliged to adopt a child, yet chooses to do so.
An adoptive parent is not obliged to sacrifice in order to provide for a child yet chooses to do so.
An adoptive parent is not obliged to open his or her heart to love and care for a child yet chooses to do so.
In the same way God was not obliged to reach down to us; to love and care for us; or to sacrifice himself on our behalf, yet he chose to do so in Jesus.
Now the Spirit bears witness with our spirit that we are God’s children.
Pastor Brian Coffey
Wednesday, Dec. 17th
To listen to the audio version, click here.
Wednesday, December 17
Ephesians 1:4-14 (selected)
In love he predestined us for adoption as sons through Jesus Christ, according to the purpose of his will, to the praise of his glorious grace, with which he has blessed us in the Beloved. In him we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of our trespasses, according to the riches of his grace...
In him you also, when you heard the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation, and believed in him, were sealed with the promised Holy Spirit, who is the guarantee of our inheritance until we acquire possession of it, to the praise of his glory.
I love to hear people’s stories of how they came to faith in Jesus.
We call them faith-stories or “Gospel stories.” I’ve heard all kinds of stories; some are sudden and emotional; some are more gradual and cerebral; and some are wildly unpredictable.
In the text from Ephesians, Paul says:
In him you also, when you heard the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation, and believed in him, were sealed with the promised Holy Spirit...
A faith-story, or gospel story, is what happens between hearing the word of truth and believing in Jesus.
One of my favorite stories of coming to faith is the story C.S. Lewis tells in his book “Surprised by Joy.”
Lewis had experienced a great deal of sadness and loss in his early life and, like many, had decided that there could not be a God if there was so much pain and suffering in the world.
But through several key friendships and after wrestling with his own inner turmoil over a number of months, he describes his coming to faith this way:
You must picture me alone in that room in Magdalen, night after night, feeling, whenever my mind lifted even for a second from my work, the steady, unrelenting approach of Him whom I so earnestly desired not to meet. That which I greatly feared had at last come upon me. In the Trinity Term of 1929 I gave in, and admitted that God was God, and knelt and prayed: perhaps, that night, the most dejected and reluctant convert in all England. I did not then see what is now the most shining and obvious thing; the Divine humility which will accept a convert even on such terms.
I love his honest and eloquent description!
“I gave in...and admitted God was God...”
There’s the decision. That’s what John means when he writes:
But to all who did receive him, who believed in his name, he gave the right to become children of God,
Several key things to notice here:
Notice that John is saying that we are not born as “children of God.” Now, we are all children of God in the sense that we are created by God; but that’s not what John is talking about.
He’s talking about salvation here.
With regard to salvation, we are not born children of God.
We are born alienated from God. The Apostle Paul writes in Romans:
For all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God. (Romans 3:23)
So what hope do we have?
Do we just try to do as much good as we can to outweigh our sins? I think this is the “go-to” spiritual strategy of most people in our culture. I think most people think that, if there is a God, what he wants most is for us just to be good people; you know, be a good neighbor, care about the less fortunate, don’t kill anyone, and hope for the best.
Now, those aren’t bad things, and surely God wants us to do good things, but it’s just not the point of Christianity.
So, if we can’t pile up enough good deeds to earn our place with God, then what are we to do? Are we all doomed like Grandpa Joe to just take what’s comin’ to us?
John says there are 2 conditions to becoming a child of God: receiving and believing.
What does it mean to “receive and believe” Jesus?
These terms are often used interchangeably in the New Testament, but if there is a subtle difference it would be the following.
“Receiving” comes from a word that means to take, to lay hold of, to accept with initiative. It’s not passive but active.
For example: Someone offers you a Christmas gift, but it’s not yours until you reach out and take it. That’s what John means by “receiving.”
“Believing” is a word that means to trust fully in something or someone.
For example: You’re on your way over the hills and through the woods to grandma’s house for Christmas. But your car runs out of gas and you’re stuck on the side of a country road. You have no choice but to try to hitchhike to a gas station. A farmer pulls over in his pick up truck and offers you a ride. You have to decided whether or not you trust him. To believe is to get in his truck and trust him to get you to the gas station.
So what are we being asked to receive and believe about Jesus?
1 Corinthians 15:3-4
For what I received I passed on to you as of first importance: that Christ died for our sins according to the Scriptures, that he was buried, that he was raised on the third day according to the Scriptures...
It means to believe that Jesus is who John says he is; the eternal Word of God; that Jesus is God himself come in the flesh.
It means to believe that Jesus died on the cross for our sins because forgiveness of sin requires the shedding of blood.
It means to believe that Jesus rose from the dead to both prove his authority as the Son of God and to guarantee our own victory over death.
To receive and believe is more than intellectual assent to a set of theological statements. It is committing oneself to all that Jesus is and means. It means complete unconditional surrender. It means not just believing the farmer and his pick-up truck exist, but to get in the truck and trust the farmer to get you to the gas station!
I think there are two primary ways of receiving and believing. I call them “point in time” and “process.”
“Point in time” people hear the gospel, accept it, and begin their spiritual journey with a decision.
“Process people” often hear the gospel, question it, wrestle with it, sometimes for years, and then culminate their process a decision.
Very often “point in time” people can point to a specific moment when they received Christ, or came to believe.
Maybe they attended a Billy Graham crusade; or walked to the front of a sanctuary to pray with a pastor; or stood on the beach gazing out at the Pacific Ocean and were overwhelmed by the magnitude of God’s grace.
But there is a clear moment of decision; often very dramatic or emotional.
For “process people” receiving and believing is much more arduous. It can be a long journey of learning, thinking, considering and questioning. I have heard people say that it took them 20 years to come to faith in Jesus, but that they couldn’t point to any specific moment.
I think C.S. Lewis’ story was a process story. He wasn’t convinced quickly but only after a long process of wrestling with himself, with truth, and with God.
Then, as a result of the process, he surrendered!
So what’s your story?
Whether you are a “point in time” person or a “process” person, the most important thing is that you have “heard the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation,” and you have received Jesus and believe in him.
Pastor Brian Coffey
Wednesday, December 17
Ephesians 1:4-14 (selected)
In love he predestined us for adoption as sons through Jesus Christ, according to the purpose of his will, to the praise of his glorious grace, with which he has blessed us in the Beloved. In him we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of our trespasses, according to the riches of his grace...
In him you also, when you heard the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation, and believed in him, were sealed with the promised Holy Spirit, who is the guarantee of our inheritance until we acquire possession of it, to the praise of his glory.
I love to hear people’s stories of how they came to faith in Jesus.
We call them faith-stories or “Gospel stories.” I’ve heard all kinds of stories; some are sudden and emotional; some are more gradual and cerebral; and some are wildly unpredictable.
In the text from Ephesians, Paul says:
In him you also, when you heard the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation, and believed in him, were sealed with the promised Holy Spirit...
A faith-story, or gospel story, is what happens between hearing the word of truth and believing in Jesus.
One of my favorite stories of coming to faith is the story C.S. Lewis tells in his book “Surprised by Joy.”
Lewis had experienced a great deal of sadness and loss in his early life and, like many, had decided that there could not be a God if there was so much pain and suffering in the world.
But through several key friendships and after wrestling with his own inner turmoil over a number of months, he describes his coming to faith this way:
You must picture me alone in that room in Magdalen, night after night, feeling, whenever my mind lifted even for a second from my work, the steady, unrelenting approach of Him whom I so earnestly desired not to meet. That which I greatly feared had at last come upon me. In the Trinity Term of 1929 I gave in, and admitted that God was God, and knelt and prayed: perhaps, that night, the most dejected and reluctant convert in all England. I did not then see what is now the most shining and obvious thing; the Divine humility which will accept a convert even on such terms.
I love his honest and eloquent description!
“I gave in...and admitted God was God...”
There’s the decision. That’s what John means when he writes:
But to all who did receive him, who believed in his name, he gave the right to become children of God,
Several key things to notice here:
Notice that John is saying that we are not born as “children of God.” Now, we are all children of God in the sense that we are created by God; but that’s not what John is talking about.
He’s talking about salvation here.
With regard to salvation, we are not born children of God.
We are born alienated from God. The Apostle Paul writes in Romans:
For all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God. (Romans 3:23)
So what hope do we have?
Do we just try to do as much good as we can to outweigh our sins? I think this is the “go-to” spiritual strategy of most people in our culture. I think most people think that, if there is a God, what he wants most is for us just to be good people; you know, be a good neighbor, care about the less fortunate, don’t kill anyone, and hope for the best.
Now, those aren’t bad things, and surely God wants us to do good things, but it’s just not the point of Christianity.
So, if we can’t pile up enough good deeds to earn our place with God, then what are we to do? Are we all doomed like Grandpa Joe to just take what’s comin’ to us?
John says there are 2 conditions to becoming a child of God: receiving and believing.
What does it mean to “receive and believe” Jesus?
These terms are often used interchangeably in the New Testament, but if there is a subtle difference it would be the following.
“Receiving” comes from a word that means to take, to lay hold of, to accept with initiative. It’s not passive but active.
For example: Someone offers you a Christmas gift, but it’s not yours until you reach out and take it. That’s what John means by “receiving.”
“Believing” is a word that means to trust fully in something or someone.
For example: You’re on your way over the hills and through the woods to grandma’s house for Christmas. But your car runs out of gas and you’re stuck on the side of a country road. You have no choice but to try to hitchhike to a gas station. A farmer pulls over in his pick up truck and offers you a ride. You have to decided whether or not you trust him. To believe is to get in his truck and trust him to get you to the gas station.
So what are we being asked to receive and believe about Jesus?
1 Corinthians 15:3-4
For what I received I passed on to you as of first importance: that Christ died for our sins according to the Scriptures, that he was buried, that he was raised on the third day according to the Scriptures...
It means to believe that Jesus is who John says he is; the eternal Word of God; that Jesus is God himself come in the flesh.
It means to believe that Jesus died on the cross for our sins because forgiveness of sin requires the shedding of blood.
It means to believe that Jesus rose from the dead to both prove his authority as the Son of God and to guarantee our own victory over death.
To receive and believe is more than intellectual assent to a set of theological statements. It is committing oneself to all that Jesus is and means. It means complete unconditional surrender. It means not just believing the farmer and his pick-up truck exist, but to get in the truck and trust the farmer to get you to the gas station!
I think there are two primary ways of receiving and believing. I call them “point in time” and “process.”
“Point in time” people hear the gospel, accept it, and begin their spiritual journey with a decision.
“Process people” often hear the gospel, question it, wrestle with it, sometimes for years, and then culminate their process a decision.
Very often “point in time” people can point to a specific moment when they received Christ, or came to believe.
Maybe they attended a Billy Graham crusade; or walked to the front of a sanctuary to pray with a pastor; or stood on the beach gazing out at the Pacific Ocean and were overwhelmed by the magnitude of God’s grace.
But there is a clear moment of decision; often very dramatic or emotional.
For “process people” receiving and believing is much more arduous. It can be a long journey of learning, thinking, considering and questioning. I have heard people say that it took them 20 years to come to faith in Jesus, but that they couldn’t point to any specific moment.
I think C.S. Lewis’ story was a process story. He wasn’t convinced quickly but only after a long process of wrestling with himself, with truth, and with God.
Then, as a result of the process, he surrendered!
So what’s your story?
Whether you are a “point in time” person or a “process” person, the most important thing is that you have “heard the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation,” and you have received Jesus and believe in him.
Pastor Brian Coffey
Tuesday, Dec. 16th
To listen to the audio version, click here.
Tuesday, December 16
John 1:10-12
The true light, which enlightens everyone, was coming into the world. He was in the world, and the world was made through him, yet the world did not know him. He came to his own, and his own people did not receive him. But to all who did receive him, who believed in his name, he gave the right to become children of God, who were born, not of blood nor of the will of the flesh nor of the will of man, but of God.
My Mom grew up in the hills of eastern Kentucky and was the first person in her family to make a personal commitment to Christ. She was 19 years old and heard the gospel in a tiny church led by a missionary preacher who happened to be a woman. I think there were something like 9 people in church the night my Mom heard the gospel and decided to follow Jesus.
She immediately started to try to share the gospel with her family and, in particular, with her grandfather; a crusty mountain man the family affectionately called “Grandpa Joe.” From the stories my Mom tells, Grandpa Joe was a former coal miner and a bingeing alcoholic who would disappear for weeks at a time when he would start drinking. Then he would sober up and come home and then it would happen all over again.
Some time after my Mom came to faith in Jesus Grandpa Joe had to be hospitalized. He was dying of “Black Lung disease” from all his years in the coal mines; his condition probably complicated even further by cirrhosis of the liver.
My Mom loved her Grandpa and went to visit him in the hospital. She did her best to share the gospel with him and urged him to confess his sins and receive the grace and forgiveness of Christ.
But Grandpa Joe was a tough old bird, and he argued back with her, saying, “But daughter, I can’t think of anything I’ve done wrong!” He was just joking with her, of course, because he knew he was a scoundrel. Finally he looked at her from his deathbed and said with all seriousness, “I’d be a coward to ask for forgiveness now; I gotta take what’s comin’ to me.”
John writes:
The true light, which enlightens everyone, was coming into the world. He was in the world, and the world was made through him, yet the world did not know him. He came to his own, and his own people did not receive him.
John is telling us there are two kinds of people in the world; those who receive him and those who refuse him.
Who is “him?”
“Him” is Jesus, the one John has been talking about for the first 14 verses of his gospel! Jesus is the eternal Word of God; the true light that enlightens everyone; Jesus is the Word that became flesh and dwelt among us.
John is saying that the central question every human being must answer; and the central question of all human history is, “Who is Jesus and what do I decide about him?”
Notice that John says that Jesus came into the world but that the world did not know him. Then John says Jesus came to his own, and his own people did not receive him.
I think John is saying there are two primary ways that people fail to acknowledge Jesus.
First, there are those who fail to understand, to grasp, who Jesus is and what he has come to offer them. This past week President Obama gave a speech during the lighting of the National Christmas Tree. Among other things he said:
“It’s the story of hope--the birth of a singular child into the simplest of circumstances--a child who would grow up to live a life of humility, and kindness, and compassion...who taught us to care for the poor, and the marginalized, and those who are different from ourselves,” “And more than two millennia later, the way he lived still compels us to do our best to build a more just and tolerant and decent world.
All that sounds good, but that’s not the primary reason Jesus came, not according to the Bible.
I think John is saying that the world generally misunderstands who Jesus is.
Second, there are those to whom Jesus has come personally, who have heard the gospel clearly yet have chosen to reject Jesus’ offer of forgiveness and salvation. This would be Grandpa Joe, after hearing my mother explain the gospel to him, saying, “I gotta take what’s comin’ to me.” This is a direct rejection of Jesus.
But whether through chosen ignorance or direct rejection,
the Bible is very clear; God has revealed himself to all so all have to make a choice.
Scripture says that God has revealed himself most clearly through Jesus. In Hebrews 1 we read:
In the past God spoke to our ancestors through the prophets at many times and in various ways, but in these last days he has spoken to us by his Son... (Hebrews 1:1)
But scripture also teaches that God has revealed himself through the world that he made. In Romans 1 we read:
For since the creation of the world God’s invisible qualities—his eternal power and divine nature—have been clearly seen, being understood from what has been made, so that people are without excuse (Romans 1:20)
Therefore the Bible teaches that every human being makes a choice, a fundamentally spiritual choice that can be framed in a number of different ways.
People can choose to believe that the universe was created by a transcendent and eternal God, or that it happened by accident.
People can choose to believe that there is a God or there is not a God. If there is no God then there are no further choices to make. Live however you want because all of life is simply survival of the fittest.
But if I decide there is a God who created all things, including me, then I must make a whole series of decisions. What is this God like? What does he expect of me? How do I know him? How do I live in relationship with this God?
We must make a decision about Jesus. John says to make that decision we must “receive and believe.”
Back to the story of Grandpa Joe. The truth is, of course, that Grandpa Joe was indeed a coward, but not for the reason he thought. He was a coward not because he was willing to pay the price for his many sins, but rather because he was unwilling to accept the invitation to confess, repent and receive Christ’s offer of grace and forgiveness.
Sadly, Grandpa Joe made his decision about Jesus.
Have you?
Pastor Brian Coffey
Tuesday, December 16
John 1:10-12
The true light, which enlightens everyone, was coming into the world. He was in the world, and the world was made through him, yet the world did not know him. He came to his own, and his own people did not receive him. But to all who did receive him, who believed in his name, he gave the right to become children of God, who were born, not of blood nor of the will of the flesh nor of the will of man, but of God.
My Mom grew up in the hills of eastern Kentucky and was the first person in her family to make a personal commitment to Christ. She was 19 years old and heard the gospel in a tiny church led by a missionary preacher who happened to be a woman. I think there were something like 9 people in church the night my Mom heard the gospel and decided to follow Jesus.
She immediately started to try to share the gospel with her family and, in particular, with her grandfather; a crusty mountain man the family affectionately called “Grandpa Joe.” From the stories my Mom tells, Grandpa Joe was a former coal miner and a bingeing alcoholic who would disappear for weeks at a time when he would start drinking. Then he would sober up and come home and then it would happen all over again.
Some time after my Mom came to faith in Jesus Grandpa Joe had to be hospitalized. He was dying of “Black Lung disease” from all his years in the coal mines; his condition probably complicated even further by cirrhosis of the liver.
My Mom loved her Grandpa and went to visit him in the hospital. She did her best to share the gospel with him and urged him to confess his sins and receive the grace and forgiveness of Christ.
But Grandpa Joe was a tough old bird, and he argued back with her, saying, “But daughter, I can’t think of anything I’ve done wrong!” He was just joking with her, of course, because he knew he was a scoundrel. Finally he looked at her from his deathbed and said with all seriousness, “I’d be a coward to ask for forgiveness now; I gotta take what’s comin’ to me.”
John writes:
The true light, which enlightens everyone, was coming into the world. He was in the world, and the world was made through him, yet the world did not know him. He came to his own, and his own people did not receive him.
John is telling us there are two kinds of people in the world; those who receive him and those who refuse him.
Who is “him?”
“Him” is Jesus, the one John has been talking about for the first 14 verses of his gospel! Jesus is the eternal Word of God; the true light that enlightens everyone; Jesus is the Word that became flesh and dwelt among us.
John is saying that the central question every human being must answer; and the central question of all human history is, “Who is Jesus and what do I decide about him?”
Notice that John says that Jesus came into the world but that the world did not know him. Then John says Jesus came to his own, and his own people did not receive him.
I think John is saying there are two primary ways that people fail to acknowledge Jesus.
First, there are those who fail to understand, to grasp, who Jesus is and what he has come to offer them. This past week President Obama gave a speech during the lighting of the National Christmas Tree. Among other things he said:
“It’s the story of hope--the birth of a singular child into the simplest of circumstances--a child who would grow up to live a life of humility, and kindness, and compassion...who taught us to care for the poor, and the marginalized, and those who are different from ourselves,” “And more than two millennia later, the way he lived still compels us to do our best to build a more just and tolerant and decent world.
All that sounds good, but that’s not the primary reason Jesus came, not according to the Bible.
I think John is saying that the world generally misunderstands who Jesus is.
Second, there are those to whom Jesus has come personally, who have heard the gospel clearly yet have chosen to reject Jesus’ offer of forgiveness and salvation. This would be Grandpa Joe, after hearing my mother explain the gospel to him, saying, “I gotta take what’s comin’ to me.” This is a direct rejection of Jesus.
But whether through chosen ignorance or direct rejection,
the Bible is very clear; God has revealed himself to all so all have to make a choice.
Scripture says that God has revealed himself most clearly through Jesus. In Hebrews 1 we read:
In the past God spoke to our ancestors through the prophets at many times and in various ways, but in these last days he has spoken to us by his Son... (Hebrews 1:1)
But scripture also teaches that God has revealed himself through the world that he made. In Romans 1 we read:
For since the creation of the world God’s invisible qualities—his eternal power and divine nature—have been clearly seen, being understood from what has been made, so that people are without excuse (Romans 1:20)
Therefore the Bible teaches that every human being makes a choice, a fundamentally spiritual choice that can be framed in a number of different ways.
People can choose to believe that the universe was created by a transcendent and eternal God, or that it happened by accident.
People can choose to believe that there is a God or there is not a God. If there is no God then there are no further choices to make. Live however you want because all of life is simply survival of the fittest.
But if I decide there is a God who created all things, including me, then I must make a whole series of decisions. What is this God like? What does he expect of me? How do I know him? How do I live in relationship with this God?
We must make a decision about Jesus. John says to make that decision we must “receive and believe.”
Back to the story of Grandpa Joe. The truth is, of course, that Grandpa Joe was indeed a coward, but not for the reason he thought. He was a coward not because he was willing to pay the price for his many sins, but rather because he was unwilling to accept the invitation to confess, repent and receive Christ’s offer of grace and forgiveness.
Sadly, Grandpa Joe made his decision about Jesus.
Have you?
Pastor Brian Coffey
Monday, Dec. 15th
To listen to the audio version, click here.
Monday, December 15
John 1:1-14
In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was in the beginning with God. All things were made through him, and without him was not any thing made that was made. In him was life, and the life was the light of men. The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not overcome it. There was a man sent from God, whose name was John. He came as a witness, to bear witness about the light, that all might believe through him. He was not the light, but came to bear witness about the light. The true light, which enlightens everyone, was coming into the world. He was in the world, and the world was made through him, yet the world did not know him. He came to his own, and his own people did not receive him. But to all who did receive him, who believed in his name, he gave the right to become children of God, who were born, not of blood nor of the will of the flesh nor of the will of man, but of God. And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us, and we have seen his glory, glory as of the only Son from the Father, full of grace and truth.
I grew up in a pastor’s family and one of the great blessings of my life is that I don’t remember a single day when I didn’t know about Jesus and his love for me.
But when I was 8 years old something happened that helped me understand Jesus in a more personal way. A guest preacher came to our small church in Akron, Ohio. He was a traveling evangelist who my Dad had known for several years; his name was Dr. James DeWeerd.
I still remember, even after 50 years, that he had a deep, booming voice and that he told really cool war stories.
Dr. DeWeerd had served as a chaplain during WW2 and was wounded twice on the same day. He was wounded while tending to a soldier in battle; then wounded again when the ambulance he was in was hit by a mortar shell. As you might imagine, his stories captured my 8-year-old imagination!
Later that day he joined our family for Sunday dinner and elaborated on his war experiences. He said his wounds were such that during his recovery he had to learn to breathe out of one lung at a time. He then showed us that it was a trick he could still do. Sure enough, as he breathed you could see one side of his chest filling with air while the other did not. I thought that was the most amazing thing I had ever seen to that point in my young life!
My brother and I spent all afternoon trying to do it.
All that to say that when Dr. DeWeerd spoke, I listened.
At one point in his sermon that day he said this sentence: “You’re not a Christian here today just because your parents are!”
Even though I was only 8 years old I understood what he meant.
He was saying that even though my Dad was pastor of the church; even though I had known about Jesus since I was old enough to understand words; I was not a Christian until I made a personal decision about Jesus.
So the next morning I knelt on the floor of our living room with my Mom and prayed to ask Jesus to come into my heart.
Now I was only 8, and had a great deal to learn about what it means to follow Jesus, but I believe that my spiritual life with Christ started that day!
John writes:
He came to his own, and his own people did not receive him. But to all who did receive him, who believed in his name, he gave the right to become children of God...
Many, if not most people who believe in God, believe that what God requires of them is to be good people. Most believe that if they are kind to their neighbors, don’t use profane language (at least not very often), and don’t kill anybody, that they will go to heaven when they die.
In other words, they believe they are children of God simply by being born and by making a reasonable effort to be good.
That’s not what John says.
John is telling us that the eternal Word of God, Jesus Christ, came all the way from heaven to be born as a human baby not just to give us a nice, quaint holiday to celebrate once a year; but to save us from our sins.
Christmas is not just remembering that Jesus was born in Bethlehem so long ago; Christmas is remembering why he was born.
In the very last verse of his gospel John writes:
But these are written that you may believe that Jesus is the Messiah, the Son of God, and that by believing you may have life in his name. (John 20:31)
What Dr. DeWeerd said all those years ago is still true. You’re not a Christian today because your parents were Christians; you’re not a Christian because your grandfather was a Baptist preacher; you’re not a Christian because you go to church or give money or serve the less fortunate.
You are a Christian if you have received Jesus and believe in his name. And that requires a spiritual decision.
We’ll talk more about that decision tomorrow!
Pastor Brian Coffey
Monday, December 15
John 1:1-14
In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was in the beginning with God. All things were made through him, and without him was not any thing made that was made. In him was life, and the life was the light of men. The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not overcome it. There was a man sent from God, whose name was John. He came as a witness, to bear witness about the light, that all might believe through him. He was not the light, but came to bear witness about the light. The true light, which enlightens everyone, was coming into the world. He was in the world, and the world was made through him, yet the world did not know him. He came to his own, and his own people did not receive him. But to all who did receive him, who believed in his name, he gave the right to become children of God, who were born, not of blood nor of the will of the flesh nor of the will of man, but of God. And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us, and we have seen his glory, glory as of the only Son from the Father, full of grace and truth.
I grew up in a pastor’s family and one of the great blessings of my life is that I don’t remember a single day when I didn’t know about Jesus and his love for me.
But when I was 8 years old something happened that helped me understand Jesus in a more personal way. A guest preacher came to our small church in Akron, Ohio. He was a traveling evangelist who my Dad had known for several years; his name was Dr. James DeWeerd.
I still remember, even after 50 years, that he had a deep, booming voice and that he told really cool war stories.
Dr. DeWeerd had served as a chaplain during WW2 and was wounded twice on the same day. He was wounded while tending to a soldier in battle; then wounded again when the ambulance he was in was hit by a mortar shell. As you might imagine, his stories captured my 8-year-old imagination!
Later that day he joined our family for Sunday dinner and elaborated on his war experiences. He said his wounds were such that during his recovery he had to learn to breathe out of one lung at a time. He then showed us that it was a trick he could still do. Sure enough, as he breathed you could see one side of his chest filling with air while the other did not. I thought that was the most amazing thing I had ever seen to that point in my young life!
My brother and I spent all afternoon trying to do it.
All that to say that when Dr. DeWeerd spoke, I listened.
At one point in his sermon that day he said this sentence: “You’re not a Christian here today just because your parents are!”
Even though I was only 8 years old I understood what he meant.
He was saying that even though my Dad was pastor of the church; even though I had known about Jesus since I was old enough to understand words; I was not a Christian until I made a personal decision about Jesus.
So the next morning I knelt on the floor of our living room with my Mom and prayed to ask Jesus to come into my heart.
Now I was only 8, and had a great deal to learn about what it means to follow Jesus, but I believe that my spiritual life with Christ started that day!
John writes:
He came to his own, and his own people did not receive him. But to all who did receive him, who believed in his name, he gave the right to become children of God...
Many, if not most people who believe in God, believe that what God requires of them is to be good people. Most believe that if they are kind to their neighbors, don’t use profane language (at least not very often), and don’t kill anybody, that they will go to heaven when they die.
In other words, they believe they are children of God simply by being born and by making a reasonable effort to be good.
That’s not what John says.
John is telling us that the eternal Word of God, Jesus Christ, came all the way from heaven to be born as a human baby not just to give us a nice, quaint holiday to celebrate once a year; but to save us from our sins.
Christmas is not just remembering that Jesus was born in Bethlehem so long ago; Christmas is remembering why he was born.
In the very last verse of his gospel John writes:
But these are written that you may believe that Jesus is the Messiah, the Son of God, and that by believing you may have life in his name. (John 20:31)
What Dr. DeWeerd said all those years ago is still true. You’re not a Christian today because your parents were Christians; you’re not a Christian because your grandfather was a Baptist preacher; you’re not a Christian because you go to church or give money or serve the less fortunate.
You are a Christian if you have received Jesus and believe in his name. And that requires a spiritual decision.
We’ll talk more about that decision tomorrow!
Pastor Brian Coffey
Friday, Dec. 12
Friday
In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was in the beginning with God. All things were made through him, and without him was not any thing made that was made. In him was life, and the life was the light of men. The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not overcome it. - John 1:1-5
John tells us that the Word (Logos) is the light of life for all people. In other words, Jesus, the Word of God, is the ultimate source of all light and life. This is true both physically, He created light and life, and it is also true spiritually in that Jesus is the source of all truth and the only way to salvation. This is a constant theme throughout John’s gospel.
Jesus said, “You search the Scriptures because you think that in them you have eternal life; and it is they that bear witness about me, yet you refuse to come to me that you may have life. (John 5:40)
Jesus said, “I am the light of the world. Whoever follows me will not walk in darkness, but will have the light of life.” (John 8:12)
Jesus said, "I have come that they might have life and have it more abundantly." (John 10:10)
Jesus said, "I am the way, the truth and the life." (John 14:6)
John tells us at the end of his gospel that “these are written so that you may believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God, and that by believing you may have life in his name.” (John 20:31)
That last verse (5) tells us that the darkness of the world has not overcome the light of Christ. Some translations of the Bible put it that the darkness has not extinguished the light, some say that the world has not overcome it, and still others translate it that the darkness has not understood the light. The Greek word John uses here can actually mean all of these things. It can mean to defeat, as in conquering an enemy. It can also mean comprehend or grasp, as in understanding a concept.
The point is that both of these things are true when it comes to how the world responds to Jesus; some reject Him and try to destroy His message, while others simply fail to truly understand who He is.
Jesus, the Logos, was in the world, and the world was made by Him but that the world did not know Him. Imagine Jesus walking on the earth that He had made. He often called their attention to the wonders of creation. Consider the lilies of the field. Consider the birds of the air. The tragic words, "But the world knew Him not." But even worse; He came to His own, and His own received Him not. His own would refer to the people of Israel who received Him not. The prophecy concerning the Messiah was fulfilled, "He was despised and rejected by men."
They tried to put out the light because they did understand Him. They nailed Him to a tree and thought they had put it out for two days, but on the third day the light began to shine brighter than ever. It seems that men who love the darkness more than the light are constantly trying to put the light out. This was true in the first century, and it is true in the 21st century as well.
Jesus was the eternal God incarnate, the creator of the Universe who came to this world which He had created to bring light to those who were perishing in the darkness. Those who believe in Him will receive the power to become the sons of God, by being born by the will of the Father into the family of God.
Jesus was the eternal God incarnate, the creator of the Universe who came to this world which He had created to bring light to those who were perishing in the darkness. Those who believe in Him will receive the power to become the sons of God, by being born by the will of the Father into the family of God.
Jeff Frazier
Thursday, Dec. 11
Thursday
In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.
- John 1:1
And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us, and we have seen his glory, glory as of the only Son from the Father, full of grace and truth. - John 1:14
This Greek word Logos translated "Word" doesn’t really mean what our english “word” communicates. To the Greeks, “logos” referred to the reason or purpose behind all things, a kind of cosmic first principle. This idea of the logos has an interesting history in Greek thought. In about 560 B.C. there lived a Greek philosopher named Heraclitus. He taught that the world was in a constant state of flux, everything was constantly changing. If you stepped into the river and stepped out, then stepped back in, you would not be stepping in the same river that you stepped in a moment ago. The current is constantly flowing. But If things are in the state of constant change, then how can you avoid chaos? His answer was the logos. The word or reason. The logos was the cosmic reason or purpose that kept order in the universe.
The greek philosophers took this idea of a logos (cosmic reason and order) and proposed that in our lives there is also a pattern, that nothing really happened by happenstance, that there was an order and pattern in all things. This order and pattern they also called the logos. Later the Stoics looking at the order in the Universe, the fact that the stars were not colliding with each other, the ebb and flow of the tides, the seasons of the year, all spoke of order which they called the logos/Word.
John was writing his gospel primarily to the Greeks. He was living in the city of Ephesus, the same city in which Heraclitus had lived some 600 years earlier. That John was writing to the Greeks was evident from the fact that whenever he used a Hebrew word, he always translated it into Greek. Some examples of this are verse 38, Rabbi which is translated Master, or Verse 41, Messias which being interpreted, is Christ.
So, the Greek who thought of the logos as that order behind the universe, that which gives meaning to life, that which tells us what is right and wrong. He declares, In the beginning was the Logos, and the Logos was with God and the Word was God. Then John goes on to say that this Logos, this divine reason and order behind all things actually took on flesh and dwelled among us!
John is saying that the universal principle, purpose and reason behind all that exists is not a philosophy, it is a person! Therefore the way that we align our lives with the universe is not by following a particular philosophical system, but by knowing and loving Him, the Logos, the Word!
Jeff Frazier
Wednesday, Dec. 10
Wednesday
In the beginning, God created the heavens and the earth. The earth was without form and void, and darkness was over the face of the deep. And the Spirit of God was hovering over the face of the waters. And God said, “Let there be light,” and there was light. And God saw that the light was good. And God separated the light from the darkness. God called the light Day, and the darkness he called Night. And there was evening and there was morning, the first day. - Genesis 1:1-5
In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was in the beginning with God. All things were made through him, and without him was not any thing made that was made. In him was life, and the life was the light of men. The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not overcome it. - John 1:1-5
People have always sought to trace their origins; In the beginning was a gas cloud, in the beginning was a protoplasmic ooze, in the beginning was a big bang, But none of these concepts have solved the riddle. Where did the gas cloud come from? What caused the bang? How can you have order, created by chaos, or intelligence created by confusion, or infinite complexity created by chance.
There is an undeniable link between the message of Genesis 1 and what John is telling us in the first chapter of his gospel. Genesis 1 repeatedly states, “and God said ....” Psalm 33:6 states, “By the word of the Lord the heavens were made....” Verse 9 repeats, “For He spoke, and it was done; He commanded, and it stood fast.” Psalm 107:20 declares, “He sent His word and healed them ....” God’s word accomplishes the purpose for which He sends it forth (Isa. 55:11).
There is creative power in the word of God and Jesus is that Word. So when John calls Jesus “the Word,” he means that God has spoken to us and revealed Himself to us in the person of Jesus Christ, the eternal Creator of all things. Look out at this vast universe - He established it and watches over it! Look into the complex structure of a cell - He designed it! Examine the tiny hands and feet of a newborn baby - He formed them! Imagine how it must have been for Jesus, the Living Word of God, to walk around and look at the flowers, to observe the very life that He created, yet to walk unrecognized by man. The forces of nature recognized Him. The wind ceased at His command, and the tree withered at His word. Joh tells us that man blinded by tradition and prejudice, did not know Him.
Long ago, at many times and in many ways, God spoke to our fathers by the prophets, but in these last days he has spoken to us by his Son, whom he appointed the heir of all things, through whom also he created the world. He is the radiance of the glory of God and the exact imprint of his nature, and he upholds the universe by the word of his power. - Hebrews 1:1-3
Jeff Frazier
tuesday, Dec. 9
Tuesday
In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was in the beginning with God. All things were made through him, and without him was not any thing made that was made. In him was life, and the life was the light of men. The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not overcome it. - John 1:1-5
The Gospel of John was penned by the aged Apostle in about 85 AD. It was the last of the four Gospels to be written. At the time John wrote his gospel, 50 years had passed since Christ has been on the earth. John sits with pen in hand and the Holy Spirit brings back memories. Through the inspiration of the Holy Spirit, John didn’t make a single mistake and he didn’t forget a thing!
By the time this book was circulated among the Christian community, the other Gospels were household words. People the world over had already the accounts of the life of Christ as recorded by Matthew, Mark and Luke. These first three Gospels are called the Synoptic Gospels. The word "synoptic" means "to see together." This means that the first three Gospels contain many of the same stories and teachings, but told from a different angle. Yet, each fully inspired by the Lord.
John's Gospel is different! In the pages of this wonderful book, we see a side of Christ that the other Gospel writers do not touch on in quite the same way.
When Jesus came preaching repentance (Mark 1:15) people thought He was strange. When He began to heal and perform miracles, they thought He was a prophet sent by God, (John 3:2). When He spoke the Word of God with power, men thought He was amazing (Luke 4:36). However, when Jesus claimed equality with God, men thought He was crazy.
The Jews answered him, “We have a law, and according to that law he ought to die because he has made himself the Son of God.” - John 19:7
He stopped being a blessing or a curiosity and became a controversy when He claimed to be God, John 14:9!
People still grapple with these truths! They are willing to accept the humble Christ, the teaching Christ, the meek Christ, the dead Christ, the serving Christ. However, they will not give acknowledgment to the God/Man Jesus Christ. He is still 100 % God and 100% man all wrapped up in one. It is best summed up by Paul in Phil. 2:5-8. In these amazing verses, the Apostle sets forth in clear, concise language, the fact that Jesus existed before Bethlehem. That He willing humbled Himself and came to this world in the condition of a servant. Jesus is God in human flesh!
Have this mind among yourselves, which is yours in Christ Jesus, who, though he was in the form of God, did not count equality with God a thing to be grasped, but emptied himself, by taking the form of a servant, being born in the likeness of men. And being found in human form, he humbled himself by becoming obedient to the point of death, even death on a cross. - Philippians 2:5-8
Jeff Frazier
By the time this book was circulated among the Christian community, the other Gospels were household words. People the world over had already the accounts of the life of Christ as recorded by Matthew, Mark and Luke. These first three Gospels are called the Synoptic Gospels. The word "synoptic" means "to see together." This means that the first three Gospels contain many of the same stories and teachings, but told from a different angle. Yet, each fully inspired by the Lord.
Have this mind among yourselves, which is yours in Christ Jesus, who, though he was in the form of God, did not count equality with God a thing to be grasped, but emptied himself, by taking the form of a servant, being born in the likeness of men. And being found in human form, he humbled himself by becoming obedient to the point of death, even death on a cross. - Philippians 2:5-8
Jeff Frazier
Monday, Dec. 8
Monday
In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was in the beginning with God. All things were made through him, and without him was not any thing made that was made. In him was life, and the life was the light of men. The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not overcome it. - John 1:1-5
Each gospel is distinct in its own way. In Matthew, for example, Jesus Christ is presented as the promised king and Messiah of Israel. Consequently Matthew's message to Israel and the world is this: Behold your king. Mark, on the other hand, does not present Christ as king, but presents Him as a servant/prophet. And that's the reason there's no genealogy in Mark because no servant had a genealogy that mattered. Mark's message to the world is behold your servant. When you come to Luke's gospel you see that Luke presented Christ as the perfect man walking among the people of the world and so Luke's message is behold the man.
Matthew wants us to behold the king, Mark wants us to behold the servant, Luke wants us to behold the man, that is the humanity of Christ. When we come to the gospel of John we see a completely dimension. We see when we begin the gospel of John that heaven opens up and the first thing that happens is the eternal Son of God descends. God and man, in one blessed and glorious person, the eternal Son of God, Jesus Christ. John's message is behold your God! And his revelation was written to establish the truth of the divinity and the deity of Jesus Christ, that He is absolute total God of very God living in a human body. He is not half-God, half-man, He is total God and total man. And so the genealogy that John presents doesn't name any human beings. It goes right back to the time before time, the time of eternity, and says that He was there when it all began. That's His genealogy. He didn't start; he always was. So John presents to us God.
In the first three verses John presents His pre-existence that He is from eternity. In verse 1, John writes, "In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God and the Word was God." John ascends beyond the beginning of Genesis 1. the very first words of Genesis say, "In the beginning God created the world." This is a different beginning. God says in the very beginning of beginnings. From the very beginning of beginnings, which never began, the Word, Christ was there. He always was. He never came into existence because He always was. In the beginning of beginnings before beginnings even began God was. Just the first three words, in the beginning transport us into a realm that is absolutely beyond comprehension. Praise God if you feel like you cannot quite grasp this, because if you could fully understand, then you’d be God.
John 1 is one of those sweeping inspirational passages that surpasses human thought. In the beginning past, when the heavens and the earth were created, the Word already existed. From all eternity the Word existed. The Word was in the beginning of beginnings. The Word was not created. It never began. It always was. And when God set out to create this world the Word was already there, and the Word, of course, refers to Jesus Christ!
Oh Lord, you have spoken to us through Your written word the Bible, and You continue to speak to us today through Your Holy Spirit and as the living Word Jesus. Help us to hear what you have to say, open our minds and our hearts that we might receive Your Word to us - Amen.
Jeff Frazier
Oh Lord, you have spoken to us through Your written word the Bible, and You continue to speak to us today through Your Holy Spirit and as the living Word Jesus. Help us to hear what you have to say, open our minds and our hearts that we might receive Your Word to us - Amen.
Jeff Frazier
Friday, Dec. 5th
To listen to the audio version, click here.
Friday, Dec. 5
John 1:1-14
In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was in the beginning with God. All things were made through him, and without him was not any thing made that was made. In him was life, and the life was the light of men. The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not overcome it. There was a man sent from God, whose name was John. He came as a witness, to bear witness about the light, that all might believe through him. He was not the light, but came to bear witness about the light. The true light, which enlightens everyone, was coming into the world. He was in the world, and the world was made through him, yet the world did not know him. He came to his own, and his own people did not receive him. But to all who did receive him, who believed in his name, he gave the right to become children of God, who were born, not of blood nor of the will of the flesh nor of the will of man, but of God. And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us, and we have seen his glory, glory as of the only Son from the Father, full of grace and truth.
Just a few weeks from now our family will gather around a brightly decorated Christmas tree and take turns opening gifts. Most of the gifts will be wrapped in traditional holiday wrapping paper; but our boys have developed their own tradition of creative gift wrapping. Every Christmas they draw names out of a hat to see which brother they will give a gift to and, once they have chosen the gift, part of the fun is wrapping it in an unusual way.
Sometimes that means the gift is wrapped with duct-tape. Sometimes it means the gift is hidden in 7 different boxes, each wrapped and hidden inside a larger box. Sometimes it means the gift is wrapped in newspaper, or even a plain brown paper bag. Sometimes the gift is hidden somewhere in the house and has to be found through a series of scavenger hunt clues.
So the wrapping of the gift has actually become part of the gift.
So it is, John says, with the gift God gives in Jesus.
And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us, and we have seen his glory, glory as of the only Son from the Father, full of grace and truth.
Yesterday we saw that in Jesus the glory of God becomes visible. Today we see that the gift God gives is wrapped in human flesh; and in that flesh we receive both grace and truth.
Let’s take “truth” first.
Jesus is the truth of God because he reveals our sinful condition. John writes:
The true light, which enlightens everyone, was coming into the world. He was in the world, and the world was made through him, yet the world did not know him.
It is the nature of light to reveal. Jesus is the light that reveals both the glory of God and the sinful brokenness of the world. In Jesus we see God’s goodness and holiness as well as our own need for that goodness and holiness.
And because the light reveals the truth about our condition we often recoil from the light and retreat into darkness where we can hide from God and from ourselves.
This is what John means when he says, He was in the world, and the world was made through him, yet the world did not know him.
The light of truth is threatening and we often seek to avoid coming face to face with truth.
But, John says, Jesus is also full of grace. The grace of God is what allows us to face the truth about ourselves.
Jesus is the grace of God because through his suffering and death he covers our debt and provides for our salvation.
Hebrews 2:17
For this reason he had to be made like them, fully human in every way, in order that he might become a merciful and faithful high priest in service to God, and that he might make atonement for the sins of the people.
Jesus is full of grace and truth because God is full of grace and truth.
Jesus offers grace and truth because both are necessary for our salvation.
Truth without grace is harsh and condemning.
Grace without truth is license and permissiveness.
Grace with truth means our sins can be acknowledged and forgiven.
This is the gift God has wrapped in flesh and offered to us.
This is the gift of Jesus.
Pastor Brian Coffey
Friday, Dec. 5
John 1:1-14
In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was in the beginning with God. All things were made through him, and without him was not any thing made that was made. In him was life, and the life was the light of men. The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not overcome it. There was a man sent from God, whose name was John. He came as a witness, to bear witness about the light, that all might believe through him. He was not the light, but came to bear witness about the light. The true light, which enlightens everyone, was coming into the world. He was in the world, and the world was made through him, yet the world did not know him. He came to his own, and his own people did not receive him. But to all who did receive him, who believed in his name, he gave the right to become children of God, who were born, not of blood nor of the will of the flesh nor of the will of man, but of God. And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us, and we have seen his glory, glory as of the only Son from the Father, full of grace and truth.
Just a few weeks from now our family will gather around a brightly decorated Christmas tree and take turns opening gifts. Most of the gifts will be wrapped in traditional holiday wrapping paper; but our boys have developed their own tradition of creative gift wrapping. Every Christmas they draw names out of a hat to see which brother they will give a gift to and, once they have chosen the gift, part of the fun is wrapping it in an unusual way.
Sometimes that means the gift is wrapped with duct-tape. Sometimes it means the gift is hidden in 7 different boxes, each wrapped and hidden inside a larger box. Sometimes it means the gift is wrapped in newspaper, or even a plain brown paper bag. Sometimes the gift is hidden somewhere in the house and has to be found through a series of scavenger hunt clues.
So the wrapping of the gift has actually become part of the gift.
So it is, John says, with the gift God gives in Jesus.
And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us, and we have seen his glory, glory as of the only Son from the Father, full of grace and truth.
Yesterday we saw that in Jesus the glory of God becomes visible. Today we see that the gift God gives is wrapped in human flesh; and in that flesh we receive both grace and truth.
Let’s take “truth” first.
Jesus is the truth of God because he reveals our sinful condition. John writes:
The true light, which enlightens everyone, was coming into the world. He was in the world, and the world was made through him, yet the world did not know him.
It is the nature of light to reveal. Jesus is the light that reveals both the glory of God and the sinful brokenness of the world. In Jesus we see God’s goodness and holiness as well as our own need for that goodness and holiness.
And because the light reveals the truth about our condition we often recoil from the light and retreat into darkness where we can hide from God and from ourselves.
This is what John means when he says, He was in the world, and the world was made through him, yet the world did not know him.
The light of truth is threatening and we often seek to avoid coming face to face with truth.
But, John says, Jesus is also full of grace. The grace of God is what allows us to face the truth about ourselves.
Jesus is the grace of God because through his suffering and death he covers our debt and provides for our salvation.
Hebrews 2:17
For this reason he had to be made like them, fully human in every way, in order that he might become a merciful and faithful high priest in service to God, and that he might make atonement for the sins of the people.
Jesus is full of grace and truth because God is full of grace and truth.
Jesus offers grace and truth because both are necessary for our salvation.
Truth without grace is harsh and condemning.
Grace without truth is license and permissiveness.
Grace with truth means our sins can be acknowledged and forgiven.
This is the gift God has wrapped in flesh and offered to us.
This is the gift of Jesus.
Pastor Brian Coffey
Thursday, Dec. 4th
To listen to the audio version, click here.
Thursday, Dec. 4
John 1:14
And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us, and we have seen his glory, glory as of the only Son from the Father, full of grace and truth.
This past August I spent three days in the Boundary Waters between Minnesota and Canada. I joined my son, several of his old high school church buddies, and a couple of other Dads on a camping and fishing trip.
Since my son and I have no outdoor skills to speak of it was our job to set up the tents, which we managed to do without significant bodily injury.
We spent three glorious days in the wild; fishing, sitting around a campfire and sleeping in tents.
Did I mention it was three days?
Well, the second day it was raining too hard to fish so we all gathered in the largest tent and spent the afternoon hanging out, telling manly stories, playing cards and napping. Four college age guys and three men in their 50‘s in one tent for about five hours.
It was...how do I say it... “close!”
We were most definitely with each other!
And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us
The Greek word John uses for “dwelled” means to “set up a tent.”
To us to “set up a tent” sounds temporary...like a three day camping trip. But in that culture it meant something much different; it meant something permanent.
The meaning is closer to “God moved into the neighborhood.”
Setting up his tent means that God has come near.
He has come to dwell in our world; to walk our streets; to commute with us to work; to eat at our tables.
He has come so that we can know what God is like.
John writes:
And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us, and we have seen his glory, glory as of the only Son from the Father, full of grace and truth.
Johns says that in Jesus we see three things; glory, grace and truth. We’ll talk about grace and truth tomorrow; but let’s start with glory today.
John says that Jesus is the glory of God made visible.
Hebrews 1:1-2
In the past God spoke to our ancestors through the prophets at many times and in various ways, but in these last days he has spoken to us by his Son, whom he appointed heir of all things, and through whom also he made the universe. The Son is the radiance of God’s glory and the exact representation of his being,
In Jesus we see the glory of God, and that glory is seen in a surprising way! For this glory is not seen in flashes of lightning from the sky; or in untold riches of heavenly splendor; but in human flesh that suffered, bled and died.
In Jesus we see the glory of a God who is willing to enter the brokenness and pain of our world.
When we think of glory, we usually think of a person of great fame or importance or power. We typically think of glory as that which belongs only to a very select few. Glory is beyond the reach and experience of ordinary people.
Not so, says John.
In Jesus God’s glory came to earth; in Jesus God’s glory became visible; in Jesus God’s glory came to us.
Pastor Brian Coffey
Thursday, Dec. 4
John 1:14
And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us, and we have seen his glory, glory as of the only Son from the Father, full of grace and truth.
This past August I spent three days in the Boundary Waters between Minnesota and Canada. I joined my son, several of his old high school church buddies, and a couple of other Dads on a camping and fishing trip.
Since my son and I have no outdoor skills to speak of it was our job to set up the tents, which we managed to do without significant bodily injury.
We spent three glorious days in the wild; fishing, sitting around a campfire and sleeping in tents.
Did I mention it was three days?
Well, the second day it was raining too hard to fish so we all gathered in the largest tent and spent the afternoon hanging out, telling manly stories, playing cards and napping. Four college age guys and three men in their 50‘s in one tent for about five hours.
It was...how do I say it... “close!”
We were most definitely with each other!
And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us
The Greek word John uses for “dwelled” means to “set up a tent.”
To us to “set up a tent” sounds temporary...like a three day camping trip. But in that culture it meant something much different; it meant something permanent.
The meaning is closer to “God moved into the neighborhood.”
Setting up his tent means that God has come near.
He has come to dwell in our world; to walk our streets; to commute with us to work; to eat at our tables.
He has come so that we can know what God is like.
John writes:
And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us, and we have seen his glory, glory as of the only Son from the Father, full of grace and truth.
Johns says that in Jesus we see three things; glory, grace and truth. We’ll talk about grace and truth tomorrow; but let’s start with glory today.
John says that Jesus is the glory of God made visible.
Hebrews 1:1-2
In the past God spoke to our ancestors through the prophets at many times and in various ways, but in these last days he has spoken to us by his Son, whom he appointed heir of all things, and through whom also he made the universe. The Son is the radiance of God’s glory and the exact representation of his being,
In Jesus we see the glory of God, and that glory is seen in a surprising way! For this glory is not seen in flashes of lightning from the sky; or in untold riches of heavenly splendor; but in human flesh that suffered, bled and died.
In Jesus we see the glory of a God who is willing to enter the brokenness and pain of our world.
When we think of glory, we usually think of a person of great fame or importance or power. We typically think of glory as that which belongs only to a very select few. Glory is beyond the reach and experience of ordinary people.
Not so, says John.
In Jesus God’s glory came to earth; in Jesus God’s glory became visible; in Jesus God’s glory came to us.
Pastor Brian Coffey
Wednesday, Dec. 3rd
To listen to the audio version, click here.
Wednesday, Dec. 3
John 1:14
And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us, and we have seen his glory, glory as of the only Son from the Father, full of grace and truth.
Like most pastors I am often invited into people’s lives at times of great suffering and pain.
I serve as an on-call chaplain for our local hospital so there are several weeks during the year when I am on-call to respond to emergency situations. As you can imagine, when I get that call from the hospital, it’s never good news.
In June of this past summer it was Saturday of my on-call week and I hadn’t had a call all week. In fact, I had kind of forgotten that I was even on call.
Then my cell phone rang late in the afternoon and I looked at the number and recognized it as the hospital, and I remembered I was on call.
When I answered the head ER nurse said they had just brought in a 4 year-old little boy who had drowned in a swimming pool. She said doctors were working on him but it didn’t look good. Could I come in and be with the family?
By the time I arrived at the hospital the boy had already died and his parents were thrust into the agony of grief and loss. It was one of the most difficult and painful situations I have ever encountered.
One of the great questions of human life is, “Why is there suffering and evil in the world?”
This is a very difficult question but to answer we have to start with the love of God.
Sin and evil exist because God created everything that is in love. With love comes freedom and with freedom comes the possibility of sin and evil.
For example:
I love my children. I could prevent them from doing evil or experiencing evil by chaining them in their rooms their whole lives. Nothing bad would happen. But that would not be love at all.
So, as parents, we teach, we give boundaries, we discipline, but because we love our children we eventually must give them freedom.
So when God took on flesh; when Jesus entered this world, he entered the same world that we live in; a world created in love but broken by sin.
In Jesus God became vulnerable to suffering.
Isaiah 53:3
He was despised and rejected by mankind, a man of suffering, and familiar with pain.
In Jesus God entered into at least three kinds of human suffering.
First, he became vulnerable to physical suffering. This is most visible, of course, as he endured the pain and torture of the cross. But we can also assume that fi he fell and skinned his knee as a child he would have also experienced physical pain.
Second, in Jesus God became vulnerable to what could simply be called basic human needs. Jesus knew what it was to be hungry and thirsty; to be dog-tired and in need of rest.
Third, and perhaps most significantly, in Jesus God became vulnerable to spiritual suffering.
Temptation is a form of spiritual suffering.
Matthew’s gospel tells the story of Satan tempting Jesus in the wilderness. I think most of us tend to underestimate this aspect of Jesus’ humanity. In Hebrews 4:25 we read:
For we do not have a high priest who is unable to empathize with our weaknesses, but we have one who has been tempted in every way, just as we are--yet he did not sin.
Jesus also experienced the agony of spiritual abandonment. Scripture tells us that as he was dying on the cross he cried out: “My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?”
Jesus also suffered terrible injustice and unfairness.
Sometimes people ask: “Why is life so unfair?” or even, “Is God fair?”
Jesus is God’s answer to that question. If “fairness” means; “If I am a good person, will good things happen to me?” Then the answer is “No, not always.”
God is love; God is just; but in this life, in this world, there is no such thing as “fairness.”
Jesus was without sin; lived a perfect human existence; yet suffered almost unimaginable injustice and cruelty.
The gospel is not about fairness, it’s about grace. And grace is this:
God so loved the world that he gave his only Son...
Pastor Brian Coffey
Wednesday, Dec. 3
John 1:14
And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us, and we have seen his glory, glory as of the only Son from the Father, full of grace and truth.
Like most pastors I am often invited into people’s lives at times of great suffering and pain.
I serve as an on-call chaplain for our local hospital so there are several weeks during the year when I am on-call to respond to emergency situations. As you can imagine, when I get that call from the hospital, it’s never good news.
In June of this past summer it was Saturday of my on-call week and I hadn’t had a call all week. In fact, I had kind of forgotten that I was even on call.
Then my cell phone rang late in the afternoon and I looked at the number and recognized it as the hospital, and I remembered I was on call.
When I answered the head ER nurse said they had just brought in a 4 year-old little boy who had drowned in a swimming pool. She said doctors were working on him but it didn’t look good. Could I come in and be with the family?
By the time I arrived at the hospital the boy had already died and his parents were thrust into the agony of grief and loss. It was one of the most difficult and painful situations I have ever encountered.
One of the great questions of human life is, “Why is there suffering and evil in the world?”
This is a very difficult question but to answer we have to start with the love of God.
Sin and evil exist because God created everything that is in love. With love comes freedom and with freedom comes the possibility of sin and evil.
For example:
I love my children. I could prevent them from doing evil or experiencing evil by chaining them in their rooms their whole lives. Nothing bad would happen. But that would not be love at all.
So, as parents, we teach, we give boundaries, we discipline, but because we love our children we eventually must give them freedom.
So when God took on flesh; when Jesus entered this world, he entered the same world that we live in; a world created in love but broken by sin.
In Jesus God became vulnerable to suffering.
Isaiah 53:3
He was despised and rejected by mankind, a man of suffering, and familiar with pain.
In Jesus God entered into at least three kinds of human suffering.
First, he became vulnerable to physical suffering. This is most visible, of course, as he endured the pain and torture of the cross. But we can also assume that fi he fell and skinned his knee as a child he would have also experienced physical pain.
Second, in Jesus God became vulnerable to what could simply be called basic human needs. Jesus knew what it was to be hungry and thirsty; to be dog-tired and in need of rest.
Third, and perhaps most significantly, in Jesus God became vulnerable to spiritual suffering.
Temptation is a form of spiritual suffering.
Matthew’s gospel tells the story of Satan tempting Jesus in the wilderness. I think most of us tend to underestimate this aspect of Jesus’ humanity. In Hebrews 4:25 we read:
For we do not have a high priest who is unable to empathize with our weaknesses, but we have one who has been tempted in every way, just as we are--yet he did not sin.
Jesus also experienced the agony of spiritual abandonment. Scripture tells us that as he was dying on the cross he cried out: “My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?”
Jesus also suffered terrible injustice and unfairness.
Sometimes people ask: “Why is life so unfair?” or even, “Is God fair?”
Jesus is God’s answer to that question. If “fairness” means; “If I am a good person, will good things happen to me?” Then the answer is “No, not always.”
God is love; God is just; but in this life, in this world, there is no such thing as “fairness.”
Jesus was without sin; lived a perfect human existence; yet suffered almost unimaginable injustice and cruelty.
The gospel is not about fairness, it’s about grace. And grace is this:
God so loved the world that he gave his only Son...
Pastor Brian Coffey
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