Immanuel

Isaiah prophesy's: 

"Therefore the Lord himself shall give you a sign; Behold, a virgin shall conceive, and bear a son, and shall call his name Immanuel" (Is. 7:14 KJV). 

In the Greek, the name Immanuel means "God with us." When Jesus was born into this world, it was the birth of God in the flesh. Paul explains in 1 Timothy: 

"And without controversy great is the mystery of godliness: God was manifest in the flesh, justified in the Spirit, seen of angels, preached unto the Gentiles, believed on in the world, received up into glory" (1 Tim. 3:16). 

        The mystery to me is why God would humble Himself to be born in a barn, wrapped up in swaddling clothes, and laid to sleep in a feeding trough; all while laying aside His heavenly robes to be born into this sinful world, and to be crucified by the ones who bear His image. It's such a humbling thing to be enlightened to; something in which we can never fully understand, but something in which we cannot live apart from. I may not fully understand why God humbled Himself to appear in the flesh, but I am so thankful that He did; and my hope, trust, and faith are in Immanuel: God with us. Behold your King!  

"Philadelphia meno"

         The author of Hebrews commands, "Let brotherly love continue" (Heb. 13:1 KJV). I love a quote by Dr. Stanley Toussaint, who explains, "You can always tell how closely someone's relationship is to God by how well they treat their brothers and sisters in Christ." John professes, "If a man say, I love God, and hateth his brother, he is a liar: for he that loveth not his brother whom he hath seen, how can he love God whom he hath not seen?" (1 John 4:20). 

        In the scriptures, we are commanded over and over again to love our brothers and sisters in Christ: not only those who are strong, but also those who are weak. We can all learn from a lesson that Jesus teaches to His disciples as He expounds, "A new commandment I give unto you, that ye love one another; as I have loved you, that ye also love one another. By this shall all men know that ye are my disciples, if ye have love one to another" (John 13:34-35). 

        As fellow believers, whether strong or weak, we are to love and exhort one another as we are all a part of one body, under one head, which makes one whole. Paul explains, "So we, being many, are one body in Christ, and every one members one of another" (Rom. 12:5). As being a part of the whole body of Christ, when one member suffers, we all suffer. So, with grace, let us all let brotherly love continue! Behold your King!

The God of my strength

                David exclaims, "The LORD is my strength and my shield; my heart trusted in Him, and I am helped: therefore, my heart greatly rejoiceth; and with my song will I praise Him" (Psalm 28:7). 

                On my own, I am weak. The flesh seems to fight so hard against the soul, spirit, and will. My soul may be redeemed, but the flesh is yet to be glorified. Until that wonderful day of glorification comes, I will, I must, draw my strength from the God who has given me breath: apart from Him, I am weak. The desires of the flesh can hinder even the greatest of fellowships that we may have with the Lord. The point of it all is this: on my own, I am weak; but in Christ Jesus, He takes my weaknesses and turns them into strengths for His glory! As weak as I am, I must look to something or someone stronger than myself: for the strength to carry on through this world filled with darkness, calamity, trial, and tribulation. As for myself, I am with David; and I can rightly say that the Lord is my strength. Behold your King!

                  C. S. Lewis expounds: "To what will you look for help if you will not look to that which is stronger than yourself?"  

The Narrow Path

 "Enter by the narrow gate; for wide is the gate and broad is the way that leads to destruction, and there are many who go in by it. Because narrow is the gate and difficult is the way which leads to life, and there are few who find it" (Matt. 7:13-14 NKJV). 

 I'm reminded of a poem by Robert Frost: 

"Two roads diverged in a yellow wood,
And sorry I could not travel both 
And be one traveler, long I stood
And looked down one as far as I could
To where it bent in the undergrowth;

Then took the other, as just as fair, 
And having perhaps the better claim, 
Because it was grassy and wanted wear; 
Though as for that the passing there 
Had worn them really about the same,

And both that morning equally lay 
In leaves no step had trodden black.
Oh, I kept the first for another day!
Yet knowing how way leads on to way,
I doubted if I should ever come back.

I shall be telling this with a sigh
Somewhere ages and ages hence:
Two roads diverged in a wood, and I-
I took the one less traveled by,
And that has made all the difference.

The last few lines of the last stanza seem to sum up my Christian walk, or any Christian walk for that matter. I was faced with two roads: the broad, most traveled, road and the narrow, less traveled, road. The broad road is the most appealing to the eye, while the narrow road is vigorous; however, on the narrow road is the light of the world, Jesus Christ: full and total reconciliation to Him. A crown of glory awaits those who come off of the broad road and exchange it for the narrow way. Two paths have diverged in this life; and I have taken the one less traveled by, and it has made all the difference. Behold your King!   

This World is Not Our Home

             Paul enlightens: "For our conversation is in heaven; from whence also we look for the Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ" (Phil. 3:20 KJV). 

             There is nothing upon the face of this earth that can truly satisfy our deepest needs: joy, hope, and love. Money can't do it, power can't do it, fame cannot do it; these things can bring about temporary happiness, but happiness is only for a season. The only thing that can truly bring us joy, hope, and love is found in a person: a person named Jesus. God in the flesh. Never has anyone brought more joy, hope, and love into this world that Jesus. The real astounding thing is that He wasn't from this world; He was from above: with the Father before the very foundation of the world (John 17:5). 

               I love how the brilliant mind of C. S. Lewis puts it: "If I find in myself desires which nothing in this world can satisfy, the only logical explanation is that I was made for another world."

The Piercing Light of the Gospel

             "I believe in Christianity as I believe that the sun has risen, not only because I see it, but because by it, I see everything else." - C. S. Lewis

              When we see the world through the Christian lens, it drastically changes our perspective on life. The apostle Paul explains, "Old things are passed away; behold, all things are become new" (2 Cor. 5:17 KJV). In Christ, we see all creation in a new light; furthermore, our perspective of one another changes as well. When we acknowledge that others are created imago Dei, in the image of God, it changes our outlook on how we treat one another. All are created in the image of God, and therefore, should be treated as such. When Christ saves us, we develop a worldview that is not only essential, but highly practical as well. Through the illuminating light of the glorious gospel of our Lord, Jesus, even the darkness surrenders to its presence. Behold your King!

     

Crucified Christ

 Psalm 22

        It's so fascinating to me that this particular psalm was written as if David was an eyewitness to the crucifixion of Christ; however, even more than that, when David wrote this prophecy, the form of capital punishment practiced by the Jews was stoning, not crucifixion. Crucifixion was a Roman form of execution. The Romans, at this time in which the psalm was written, had not even came into power yet; and yet, here in Psalm 22, we find crucifixion being described. 

                   In Psalm 22, written centuries before Jesus was born, we read of a detailed description of the crucifixion, written like a man who is kneeling at the foot of the cross. This just further proves the scriptures, as Paul writes: "All scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness" (2 Tim. 3:16 KJV). 

                   What does it mean to be kneeling at the foot of the cross? 

1. To kneel at the feet of someone is a symbol of your submission to them. When you come to the Lord Jesus, you don't come at eye level: we come humbly to His feet in submission to Him.
2. You're looking up. Looking up to your Lord, Savior, and King for peace, guidance, direction, and healing. Only He can give us that. So, look up and remain focused on Him. 
3. The blood flows downward. When you are kneeling at the foot of the cross, you become covered by the anointing blood of that lamb that is the total and complete satisfaction for our sins. 

    

               Paul explains, in Romans 3:10, "As it is written, there is none righteous, no not one." We are all in desperate need of a savior: His name is Jesus, and it starts at the foot of the cross. Behold Your King!

 

Devotion: It is Finished

         Jesus uttered, while praying in the garden of Gethsemane, "O my Father, if it be possible, let this cup pass from me: nevertheless not as I will, but as thou wilt" (Matt. 26:39 KJV). Jesus knew the contents of the cup: momentary separation from God, the weight of the sins of the world, and the outpoured wrath from an omnipotent God. The humanity in Christ naturally caused Him to shrink from this, but He still willingly drank from that cup, because it was the perfected will of the Father. Jesus Christ lived a perfect and sinless life; yet willingly took the weight of the sins of the world and carried them on His shoulders. What a heavy burden for our sinless savior to bear; however, Jesus didn't die on that cross in defeat, He conquered death and rose in victory! Through the shedding of the blood of Jesus Christ upon Calvary, we too may become partakers in this wonderful gift of grace. Paul explains: "That if thou shalt confess with thy mouth the Lord Jesus, and shalt believe in thine heart that God hath raised Him from the dead, thou shalt be saved" (Rom. 10:9). The last utterance of Christ on the cross was, "it is finished" (John 19:30); meaning, paid in full. Through the death, burial, and resurrection of Jesus Christ we can be perfectly reconciled to our king; He takes upon Himself our sins, and He imputes His righteousness upon our behalf. Behold Your King!