Month: December 2010

Another Gift

“Do not boast about tomorrow, for you do not know what a day may bring forth.” Proverbs 27:1

The changing of the year seems to be a big event unti1 it actually happens. At the end of December 31st, January 1st is just the next day. People try to make it appear spectacular by burning a lot of money in the form of fireworks and drinking a lot of alcohol. Both distract the mind from the reality that we all have one less year on this earth. Any distraction from difficult times and especially our mortality seems welcome.

The change of year is a good reminder that we should take stock and evaluate our lives regularly. The Bible tells us that for those of us who have trusted Jesus Christ as Saviour and Lord He has taken care of our past and He has a unique life in Himself for us to live now and forever.

Many people make great plans and promises for the year ahead but no one has any certainty of seeing out even the first day of the New Year let alone the whole year. Jesus warns that the world will go on as though all is well and remain oblivious to the fact that the cancer of sin is destroying it from within the hearts of people. If we look to men for salvation we will be greatly disappointed.

Jesus exhorts us to stop worrying about earthly things that will surely pass, including our bodies and material possessions, and trust all our tomorrows into His care – let Him do the worrying.

The year 2011 is God’s gift to us should He tarry and we bodily remain on the earth. Let us choose to be good stewards of this precious gift of time in which we can live by faith in Jesus Christ. We will never have it again.

As Joshua proclaimed near the end of his earthly life, “As for me and my house, we will serve the LORD.” Let this be our resolve with God’s gift of life into 2011 and be daily thankful for every day He gives to serve Him and live by faith.

A Name From Heaven

“You shall call His name Jesus, for He shall save His people from their sins.” Matthew 1:21

This one verse gives us the reason for the name given to the Son of God and the reason for His incarnation. His coming has other benefits for Christians that flow out of this but they are not the reason for His coming.

In the Bible Jesus is given a number of names and each one describes an aspect of His relationship or ministry to us. In verse 23 Matthew reminds us of a name given to Him in the book of Isaiah. There the name given is Immanuel which Matthew tells us should be understood as “God with us.” This name describes the new relationship believers will have with God through Jesus.

The name Jesus is given by God through the angel. It was not chosen by Joseph, Mary or even the priest. This name means Saviour which the remainder of the verse affirms.

Since this is the name conveyed to Joseph and Mary as the name for this child, notwithstanding all the other names attributed to Him in the Old and New Testaments, it comes with special emphasis and meaning.

The angel goes on to say that Jesus “will save His people from their sins.” The name describes this aspect of His relationship and ministry to us and it is the prime aspect. Without Jesus being our Saviour the other names attributed to Him would be meaningless.

At this time of year it is appropriate to ponder and wonder at the miracle of the virgin birth and the incarnation but we should never separate this from the reason He came. His birth was so that He might be raised up on the cross; His blood shed and that He die in order that we might be saved from our sins.

Let us sing the carols and join with the wise men who “rejoiced with exceedingly great joy” “for there is born to you this day in the city of David a Saviour, who is Christ the Lord.”

Prayer Hazards

“Surely at the commandment of the Lord this came upon Judah, to remove them from His sight because of the sins of Manasseh.” (2 Kings 24:3)

Last week we noted how refreshing it was to read of a king who sought counsel of the LORD. How is it then that the sins of his son were the ‘last straw’ with the Lord’s patience?

Young or prospective parents would do well to note the circumstances of this grievous transition.

Manasseh’s father, King Hezekiah, had been faithful to the LORD; however, in his later years something changed and it is revealed in a prayer.
There are a number of prayers in the Bible in which the motive was sinful yet the LORD gave the request. In each case there was a sad consequence. Israel prayed for a king like the nations around them, contrary to the will of God, and He gave them their request to their sorrow. Gideon prayed for signs and God gave him his request. Signs are for the unbelieving and Gideon’s family suffered grievously because of his unbelief.

In Hezekiah we have a similar situation. He is sick and had been informed he will die so he pleads with the LORD to live. The Lord grants his desire. Can there be anything wrong with praying to live longer? It pleased the LORD to raise Dorcas from the dead through Peter (Acts 9:36-43) so what could be wrong with Hezekiah praying such a prayer?

The answer is in motive. It isn’t what we pray but why we pray what we pray.

As we read on we discover that the motive for Hezekiah’s prayer was not for the good of God’s people but so that Hezekiah could boast of his achievements. Pride had risen in his heart and instead of preferring to be with the LORD he preferred to revel in what he thought was his glory.
What has this to do with Manasseh? Manasseh was born three years after Hezekiah prayed. He did not witness all the good his father had done. He only witnessed his father taking glory for that which God had done.

Although Manasseh did repent late in his life, the damage was done.

By all means pray and keep praying but always guard your motive. Is it to bring glory to the LORD or to me? Beware the deceitfulness of the heart when discerning your own motive. Ask the Holy Spirit to search for wrong motives and correct them.

It seems to this writer that God intended to keep Hezekiah alive so that Manasseh would be born because he is in the royal line to Messiah (Matthew 1:10) so the prayer needed to be prayed. It was Hezekiah’s motive that brought things undone.

No One Else

“The king of Assyria has sent to reproach the living God” (2 Kings 19:4)

It is very refreshing to come to King Hezekiah as we read through the books of the kings. The kings of Israel did not do what is right in the sight of the Lord and many of the kings of Judah either failed to do so or only partially or superficially had an interest in obeying the Lord.

Hezekiah sought counsel from the Lord when under threat from Assyria. Unlike many of his predecessors and the kings of Israel he did not trust in his own wisdom, neither did he try to buy off the Assyrians with the temple gold and silver, and neither did he try to make an alliance with another nation. He chose to entrust Judah and himself to the Lord.

The Assyrians had provoked the people of Judah to not trust the Lord and surrender but Hezekiah resisted that pressure. What could possibly motivate any man to go out on a limb like that?

It was Rabshakeh’s, Sennacherib’s representative, persistent and consistent  blasphemy that provoked Hezekiah to a decisive stand. He could have been equally motivated to surrender since Israel had already been taken captive by Sennacherib’s forces

The answer to Hezekiah’s motivation is revealed as he ends his prayer. It was “that all the kingdoms of the earth may know that You are the Lord God. You alone” (2 Kings 19:19).

As it was in Hezekiah’s day we have a multitude of gods worshipped in the world now. Where are the men who will go out on the limb of faith in God and His Word so that people can see that there is no other God but the Lord, God of Israel, revealed in the Person of Jesus Christ?

Perhaps it is because we have surrendered to the blasphemous taunts of the Rabshakeh’s of this world and are ashamed of Christ who died for us.

As we approach Christmas Day, let us be confident in faith in the truth and courageous in witness to that truth so that the people we rub shoulders with will know that the Lord is the one and only God and besides Him there is no other.