What Did Jesus Do?
See what kind of love the Father has given to us…
1 John 3.1
Marie Antoinette is popularly believed to have said, “Let them eat cake” when informed that French peasants were rioting over a lack of bread due to famine. Though she in fact probably never uttered such words—biographers and historians in fact note that Marie was quite concerned about and sensitive to the needs of the poor—she and the words are often offered together as examples of the often callous and oblivious attitudes of “haves” towards “have nots”. How uncompassionate for someone who “has it all” (Or at least a lot) to exhort another, who has little or nothing, to live on what he or she is even less likely to have. John wrote the first of his canonical letters to exhort and instruct the Church, which receives little love from the world, as to how we are to live—John tells us that we are to live in the love of God (See WDJD for 11/19/11). Was John callous or oblivious? Does he exhort the Church to live with what she lacks? By no means! John knew firsthand that Jesus lavished the love of the Father upon the Church.
John’s beloved little children, the term of endearment John frequently employed to address the Church (1 John 2:1, 2:12, 2:13, 2:18, 2:28), were and are the objects of the Father’s almost indescribable love. Note, I said "almost" indescribable. Actually, John had a powerful and true way to describe the Father’s love for us—the Father loves us in such a manner that we are to be called his children (1 John 3:1) Children of God perfectly describes our relationship to the Father through Jesus. This truth, that we should be called the children of God, is not at all indescribable, but it is absolutely incredible! And, even as it expresses what is essential about who we are, it also tells us how we are essentially to live—in the love which the Father has lavished upon us in and through the Son.
At the time John wrote, and to this very day, the world didn’t get it. The world doesn’t get who we are, because the world doesn’t get whose we are, because the world doesn’t get him to whom we belong. (1 John 3:1b) Regardless of the world’s cluelessness, Christians are God’s children. And it’s not just that we are to be called children of God now, while having to wait until some time when we will in fact be his children, the truth is we are his children right now, though what we will ultimately become has not yet been revealed. (1 John 3:2) However, we do know that when the risen and glorified Jesus returns to this world, we shall behold him as he truly is right now, though we cannot see him at this moment while he remains in heaven and we are yet earthbound. In that day, we, who are here and now the Father’s children, will be something different, something more. We will be perfected. We, that is the Church, will all become exactly like the Son himself.
All this, who we are and who we shall become, is the result of one thing, and one thing only. When the Church, which is full of truly needy people, as in needing forgiveness, salvation, and a whole lot more, cries out because the world has no love for us, John’s compassionate, not callous, reply is, “Let them live in the love of the Father.” In and through the Son the Father supplys all we need: the forgiveness, salvation, and a whole lot more. The fact is, Jesus himself is the love of the Father lavished upon us.
S.D.G.
Jim
www.jimwilkenministries.org
Marion, NC
PS 37.4
Tuesday, December 6, 2011
Monday, December 5, 2011
Jesus Followed John, His Herald (Monday, Week 2 of Advent 2011)
What Did Jesus Do?
“He will turn many of the children of Israel to the Lord their God,
and he will go before him in the spirit and power of Elijah.”
Luke 1:16-17
Have you ever met someone who knew, even as a young child, what they would grow up to be? Perhaps you may even be one of those favored few who had a precocious perception of your life’s work. But, if we are going to talk about precocity with respect to one’s vocation, no one can top John the Baptist. John started his labors before his mother Elizabeth ever went in to labor! You see, John was the one chosen to go before the Lord, he messenger who would prepare the way for the coming king. For, of course, kings and queens never go about unannounced, there’s always someone who goes ahead crying out, “The king is coming! Prepare yourselves; make way for the king!” So, when Jesus arrived, he followed John, his Herald.
Now, the first person John prepared to receive the King was his own mother, Elizabeth. For John, quickened by the Spirit, started leaping about for joy in Elizabeth’s womb when he sensed the approach of Jesus, who was himself yet in the womb of Mary. (Luke 1.44) As noted above, John wasted no time in taking up his life’s work!
Some of us might envy John, especially those of us who spend years searching about for our calling. But, the truth is, whatever our vocation, each one of us can take up John’s work, and there’s no need for us to wait. You see, there are yet many who have not encountered Christ. There are dozens, if not hundreds, likely even thousands, of people all around us, who have never met Jesus. But we can be certain that the Father still desires that many would come to know the Son as their Lord and Savior. There’s still a need for heralds to go about calling people to prepare to receive the King. For the throne our King would ascend is the heart.
Evangelist Luis Palau has said that it is always necessary for us to talk with God concerning our neighbor before we go and talk with our neighbor about God. In other words, we need to pray about, and for, those whose hearts the Father would use us to turn in order to prepare a way for the Son, because Jesus still follows those who are his heralds. Advent is a great time for the Lord’s heralds to be busy. Over the next three weeks ask God whose heart he would have you prepare to receive Jesus. Just imagine how the herald angels will sing out on Christmas day, over those who turn to the Lord their God!
S.D.G.
Jim
www.jimwilkenministries.org
Marion, NC
PS 37.4
“He will turn many of the children of Israel to the Lord their God,
and he will go before him in the spirit and power of Elijah.”
Luke 1:16-17
Have you ever met someone who knew, even as a young child, what they would grow up to be? Perhaps you may even be one of those favored few who had a precocious perception of your life’s work. But, if we are going to talk about precocity with respect to one’s vocation, no one can top John the Baptist. John started his labors before his mother Elizabeth ever went in to labor! You see, John was the one chosen to go before the Lord, he messenger who would prepare the way for the coming king. For, of course, kings and queens never go about unannounced, there’s always someone who goes ahead crying out, “The king is coming! Prepare yourselves; make way for the king!” So, when Jesus arrived, he followed John, his Herald.
Now, the first person John prepared to receive the King was his own mother, Elizabeth. For John, quickened by the Spirit, started leaping about for joy in Elizabeth’s womb when he sensed the approach of Jesus, who was himself yet in the womb of Mary. (Luke 1.44) As noted above, John wasted no time in taking up his life’s work!
Some of us might envy John, especially those of us who spend years searching about for our calling. But, the truth is, whatever our vocation, each one of us can take up John’s work, and there’s no need for us to wait. You see, there are yet many who have not encountered Christ. There are dozens, if not hundreds, likely even thousands, of people all around us, who have never met Jesus. But we can be certain that the Father still desires that many would come to know the Son as their Lord and Savior. There’s still a need for heralds to go about calling people to prepare to receive the King. For the throne our King would ascend is the heart.
Evangelist Luis Palau has said that it is always necessary for us to talk with God concerning our neighbor before we go and talk with our neighbor about God. In other words, we need to pray about, and for, those whose hearts the Father would use us to turn in order to prepare a way for the Son, because Jesus still follows those who are his heralds. Advent is a great time for the Lord’s heralds to be busy. Over the next three weeks ask God whose heart he would have you prepare to receive Jesus. Just imagine how the herald angels will sing out on Christmas day, over those who turn to the Lord their God!
S.D.G.
Jim
www.jimwilkenministries.org
Marion, NC
PS 37.4
Sunday, December 4, 2011
Jesus, Being Conceived in Mary's Womb, Joined Spirit to Flesh (Saturday, Week 1 of Advent 2011)
What Did Jesus Do?
“…that which is conceived in her is from the Holy Spirit.
She will bear a son, and you shall call his name Jesus.”
Matthew 1:20-21
“Oil and water don’t mix.” This may be the first chemistry lesson most of us learn. It is about as basic an example of insolubility, of the inability of one substance to bind/merge with, or dissolve into, another, as we can find. There was a time when it seemed as if our flesh and God’s Spirit were quite as incompatible as oil and water. The Lord himself said about as much when he told Nicodemus, “That which is born of the flesh is flesh, and that which is born of spirit is spirit.” (John 3:6) No one had ever known of anyone having been born of the flesh and the spirit. But the truth, which the Lord came to reveal, and which Nicodemus struggled to grasp, is that Jesus, being conceived in Mary’s womb, joined Spirit to flesh.
Of course, Nicodemus wasn’t the first person to struggle to understand this lesson in “divine chemistry.” Mary herself, when the angel Gabriel appeared to her to foretell the birth of the Lord, couldn’t help but respond with a “How will this be?” (Luke 1:34) And when Joseph, Mary’s betrothed husband, learned that she was pregnant, he assumed the worst, never once imagining the truth about the child conceived in Mary’s womb, until an angel also spoke to him. (Matthew 1:20) We can hardly fault Nicodemus, or Mary, or Joseph. It would have been absurd for anyone to suggest that they were going to join their flesh to God’s Spirit. But what is impossible for man is possible for God (Luke 18:27), and I suppose there is nothing that would seem more impossible to us than the joining of flesh and Spirit. But that’s exactly what the Father did in sending the Son to earth to be born of woman—joined his Spirit with our flesh!
And we all have good reason to recall this truth, and offer much thanks and praise to God for it, for without it, there would never be any hope whatsoever for lost sinners. You see, it demanded nothing less than the union of God with man, in the person of Jesus born of Mary, to accomplish the work of redeeming fallen humanity. Our flesh is simply too impure, too stained by our sin, to ever offer a fitting sacrifice. Only God, who alone is holy, is so pure. Yet, humanity having rebelled and sinned against God, it was necessary that one who was fully human accept and bear the burden of our sin. In the joining of Spirit and flesh alone is salvation to be found. Only Jesus, born of the Spirit, born of woman, whose very name means He saves, could accomplish the impossible mission.
The Father still desires for his Spirit to be joined to our flesh, and in and through the Son he causes men, women, and children, to be reborn of the Spirit so that they, by believing in Jesus, should have eternal life. Advent is an excellent opportunity for us to think about when the Spirit and flesh became one in Jesus, and, if we are believers, to recall when we were made one with Christ by the Spirit. Others may yet, this Christmas, be led by the Spirit to come to the manger, as it were, for the first time to receive the good news of the Savior’s birth in their very heart, and so be joined to him now and forever, in and of the Spirit.
S.D.G.
Jim
www.jimwilkenministries.org
Marion, NC
PS 37.4
“…that which is conceived in her is from the Holy Spirit.
She will bear a son, and you shall call his name Jesus.”
Matthew 1:20-21
“Oil and water don’t mix.” This may be the first chemistry lesson most of us learn. It is about as basic an example of insolubility, of the inability of one substance to bind/merge with, or dissolve into, another, as we can find. There was a time when it seemed as if our flesh and God’s Spirit were quite as incompatible as oil and water. The Lord himself said about as much when he told Nicodemus, “That which is born of the flesh is flesh, and that which is born of spirit is spirit.” (John 3:6) No one had ever known of anyone having been born of the flesh and the spirit. But the truth, which the Lord came to reveal, and which Nicodemus struggled to grasp, is that Jesus, being conceived in Mary’s womb, joined Spirit to flesh.
Of course, Nicodemus wasn’t the first person to struggle to understand this lesson in “divine chemistry.” Mary herself, when the angel Gabriel appeared to her to foretell the birth of the Lord, couldn’t help but respond with a “How will this be?” (Luke 1:34) And when Joseph, Mary’s betrothed husband, learned that she was pregnant, he assumed the worst, never once imagining the truth about the child conceived in Mary’s womb, until an angel also spoke to him. (Matthew 1:20) We can hardly fault Nicodemus, or Mary, or Joseph. It would have been absurd for anyone to suggest that they were going to join their flesh to God’s Spirit. But what is impossible for man is possible for God (Luke 18:27), and I suppose there is nothing that would seem more impossible to us than the joining of flesh and Spirit. But that’s exactly what the Father did in sending the Son to earth to be born of woman—joined his Spirit with our flesh!
And we all have good reason to recall this truth, and offer much thanks and praise to God for it, for without it, there would never be any hope whatsoever for lost sinners. You see, it demanded nothing less than the union of God with man, in the person of Jesus born of Mary, to accomplish the work of redeeming fallen humanity. Our flesh is simply too impure, too stained by our sin, to ever offer a fitting sacrifice. Only God, who alone is holy, is so pure. Yet, humanity having rebelled and sinned against God, it was necessary that one who was fully human accept and bear the burden of our sin. In the joining of Spirit and flesh alone is salvation to be found. Only Jesus, born of the Spirit, born of woman, whose very name means He saves, could accomplish the impossible mission.
The Father still desires for his Spirit to be joined to our flesh, and in and through the Son he causes men, women, and children, to be reborn of the Spirit so that they, by believing in Jesus, should have eternal life. Advent is an excellent opportunity for us to think about when the Spirit and flesh became one in Jesus, and, if we are believers, to recall when we were made one with Christ by the Spirit. Others may yet, this Christmas, be led by the Spirit to come to the manger, as it were, for the first time to receive the good news of the Savior’s birth in their very heart, and so be joined to him now and forever, in and of the Spirit.
S.D.G.
Jim
www.jimwilkenministries.org
Marion, NC
PS 37.4
Friday, December 2, 2011
Jesus Came to Redeem and Adopt (Friday, Week 1 of Advent 2011)
What did Jesus Do?
But when the fullness of time had come, God sent forth his Son,
to redeem…so that we might receive adoption as sons.
Galatians 4:4-5
You’ve seen those police cars with the slogans written on them, “To Serve and Protect” haven’t you? I have to confess I have thought it kind of silly, or perhaps sad. I mean, the slogans are there either because someone thinks we have no idea what the police department’s mission is, which is silly. Or, because a police department has been so corrupt and scandal riven that someone believes the public needs to be reassured that the police actually know their mission, which is sad (Don’t get me wrong, I have a great appreciation and respect for the men and women who work in law enforcement, I’m just commenting on the slogans which seem to me totally unnecessary.). But I will concede that promoting and publicizing one’s mission might not be a bad idea, especially if the public doesn’t get it. Jesus had a definite mission, a purpose for which he came. And, if he had had a patrol car to drive around in during the time of his earthly ministry I think he might have had “To REDEEM and ADOPT” written on it, for that was his mission, that is why he came.
Now, the Lord’s mission was not initiated at some random time in history. Jesus came at the time chosen by the Father, by divine appointment we might say, the very moment, and not a minute sooner or a minute later, but when the fullness of time had come. It was the supreme Kairos moment. Kairos is one of two words the ancient Greeks had for time, the other being chronos. Chronos is time in its common, quantitative sense of seconds, minutes, days, weeks, and so on. Kairos, on the other hand, considered time in a qualitative sense. A kairos moment represents a unique and special opportunity, the propitious occasion when everything is just right.
So, at the precise moment in the course of time, and of humanity’s progress, or lack thereof, the Father sent the Son to redeem us and to secure our adoption as his daughters and sons. Not the sort of thing we would expect to happen at just any old time. Christ’s coming deserves, demands, to be understood in the qualitative sense of time, because what he accomplished, what he came to do, totally changed the quality of our life and our relationship with God. It is a transformation from a condition of slavery to the status of children. From being under the law and bound to obey the law (God’s law expressed in the Old Testament, a law of “sin and death,” see Romans 8:2 ), to being set free to obey the law (God’s law expressed in the New Testament, a law of “the Spirit of life,” see again Romans 8:2).
The coming of the Son was inarguably the supreme kairos moment, and we still look back and celebrate it every Christmas. But there are other kairos moments, and I believe these are worthy of some of our time and reflection during Advent. Even as Jesus came in the fullness of time to complete the work of redemption and adoption for all the elect, there is a special, personal, kairos moment, when, in the fullness of time in the life of every believer, we are set free by the Spirit to call God “Abba! Father!”
There is also another huge kairos moment in all our futures. For the Lord, who first came in the fullness of time, is coming back. No one but the Father knows when the time will be filled up, and this second, supreme kairos moment will come (Matthew 24:36). But we do know that it is coming, and Advent is as good a time as any for us to be reminded of this truth, and to prepare for this second coming of the Son. For, as surely as Jesus came to redeem and adopt, he is coming back to gather and bring home the ones he redeemed.
S.D.G.
Jim
www.jimwilkenministries.org
Marion, NC
PS 37.4
But when the fullness of time had come, God sent forth his Son,
to redeem…so that we might receive adoption as sons.
Galatians 4:4-5
You’ve seen those police cars with the slogans written on them, “To Serve and Protect” haven’t you? I have to confess I have thought it kind of silly, or perhaps sad. I mean, the slogans are there either because someone thinks we have no idea what the police department’s mission is, which is silly. Or, because a police department has been so corrupt and scandal riven that someone believes the public needs to be reassured that the police actually know their mission, which is sad (Don’t get me wrong, I have a great appreciation and respect for the men and women who work in law enforcement, I’m just commenting on the slogans which seem to me totally unnecessary.). But I will concede that promoting and publicizing one’s mission might not be a bad idea, especially if the public doesn’t get it. Jesus had a definite mission, a purpose for which he came. And, if he had had a patrol car to drive around in during the time of his earthly ministry I think he might have had “To REDEEM and ADOPT” written on it, for that was his mission, that is why he came.
Now, the Lord’s mission was not initiated at some random time in history. Jesus came at the time chosen by the Father, by divine appointment we might say, the very moment, and not a minute sooner or a minute later, but when the fullness of time had come. It was the supreme Kairos moment. Kairos is one of two words the ancient Greeks had for time, the other being chronos. Chronos is time in its common, quantitative sense of seconds, minutes, days, weeks, and so on. Kairos, on the other hand, considered time in a qualitative sense. A kairos moment represents a unique and special opportunity, the propitious occasion when everything is just right.
So, at the precise moment in the course of time, and of humanity’s progress, or lack thereof, the Father sent the Son to redeem us and to secure our adoption as his daughters and sons. Not the sort of thing we would expect to happen at just any old time. Christ’s coming deserves, demands, to be understood in the qualitative sense of time, because what he accomplished, what he came to do, totally changed the quality of our life and our relationship with God. It is a transformation from a condition of slavery to the status of children. From being under the law and bound to obey the law (God’s law expressed in the Old Testament, a law of “sin and death,” see Romans 8:2 ), to being set free to obey the law (God’s law expressed in the New Testament, a law of “the Spirit of life,” see again Romans 8:2).
The coming of the Son was inarguably the supreme kairos moment, and we still look back and celebrate it every Christmas. But there are other kairos moments, and I believe these are worthy of some of our time and reflection during Advent. Even as Jesus came in the fullness of time to complete the work of redemption and adoption for all the elect, there is a special, personal, kairos moment, when, in the fullness of time in the life of every believer, we are set free by the Spirit to call God “Abba! Father!”
There is also another huge kairos moment in all our futures. For the Lord, who first came in the fullness of time, is coming back. No one but the Father knows when the time will be filled up, and this second, supreme kairos moment will come (Matthew 24:36). But we do know that it is coming, and Advent is as good a time as any for us to be reminded of this truth, and to prepare for this second coming of the Son. For, as surely as Jesus came to redeem and adopt, he is coming back to gather and bring home the ones he redeemed.
S.D.G.
Jim
www.jimwilkenministries.org
Marion, NC
PS 37.4
Thursday, December 1, 2011
Jesus Humbly Came to Claim A Kingdom (Thursday, Week 1 of Advent 2011)
What Did Jesus Do?
Rejoice greatly, O daughter of Zion!
Shout aloud, O daughter of Jerusalem!
Behold, you king is coming to you;
righteous and having salvation is he,
humble and mounted on a donkey.
Zechariah 9:9
Those destined to wear a crown are typically born in a palace. And, when the time comes, kings and queens proceed to their coronations surrounded with all the trappings of majesty and power, traveling, if not in a resplendent carriage complete with liveried outriders, then at least in a shiny limousine. Who could ever imagine someone riding on a donkey coming humbly to claim a kingdom? But that’s just what Jesus did.
Actually, the coming of Jesus was truly beyond all we could ever ask or imagine from God. But, thankfully, God is the one whose business it is to accomplish far more than we can ask or imagine. (See Ephesians 3:20) In our askings and imaginings we hope for kings and presidents who will exercise their office, rule or lead our nation, in ways that are ultimately finite and material. And, the greater their show of assertiveness and power, the higher our hopes in our kings and presidents.
Jesus, however, put forth his claim of a kingdom, of the kingdom, in sharp and utter contrast to the ways of the world. But this should not surprise us when we consider that his kingdom, while in the world, is so much more than all the world and its kingdoms and nations. Every kingdom, every nation, even the world itself, regardless of how rich, resplendent, and full of resources they may be, will all come to an end and pass away. Not so with Jesus and his kingdom. Of the Lord Jesus, the Savior and King, and of the increase of his government and his peace, there shall be no end! (Isaiah 9.7)
It’s not hard to get carried away with all the hoopla of the Christmas season nowadays. But, it is rather difficult in the midst of all the excess of our present day manner of celebrating what, at its core, is supposed to be the observance of the coming of the everlasting King of kings, to find that which is purely gentle and humble. We spend more than we can afford, we eat more than is good for us, we drink more than we should, and we want our Christmas to be big and bold, forgetting that Christmas is really about the gentle King, who arrived in the world meek and mild, to humbly claimed his kingdom.
So, here’s what I believe we might do this Advent to prepare for coming of our glorious, yet gentle, King: we might do, dare I say it, less. Less rushing around, and more quiet reflection. Less spending of money, and more spending of time with Jesus. Less overfeeding of our body rich delicacies and drink, and more feeding of our spirit upon the priceless Word of God. Less focus on the world and the worldly, and more attention to the Kingdom. The less we strive to make sure we all experience what the world would consider a great Christmas, the more likely that we will all experience the true and simple joy of the King who came ever so humbly to claim his kingdom.
S.D.G.
Jim
www.jimwilkenministries.org
Marion, NC
PS 37.4
Rejoice greatly, O daughter of Zion!
Shout aloud, O daughter of Jerusalem!
Behold, you king is coming to you;
righteous and having salvation is he,
humble and mounted on a donkey.
Zechariah 9:9
Those destined to wear a crown are typically born in a palace. And, when the time comes, kings and queens proceed to their coronations surrounded with all the trappings of majesty and power, traveling, if not in a resplendent carriage complete with liveried outriders, then at least in a shiny limousine. Who could ever imagine someone riding on a donkey coming humbly to claim a kingdom? But that’s just what Jesus did.
Actually, the coming of Jesus was truly beyond all we could ever ask or imagine from God. But, thankfully, God is the one whose business it is to accomplish far more than we can ask or imagine. (See Ephesians 3:20) In our askings and imaginings we hope for kings and presidents who will exercise their office, rule or lead our nation, in ways that are ultimately finite and material. And, the greater their show of assertiveness and power, the higher our hopes in our kings and presidents.
Jesus, however, put forth his claim of a kingdom, of the kingdom, in sharp and utter contrast to the ways of the world. But this should not surprise us when we consider that his kingdom, while in the world, is so much more than all the world and its kingdoms and nations. Every kingdom, every nation, even the world itself, regardless of how rich, resplendent, and full of resources they may be, will all come to an end and pass away. Not so with Jesus and his kingdom. Of the Lord Jesus, the Savior and King, and of the increase of his government and his peace, there shall be no end! (Isaiah 9.7)
It’s not hard to get carried away with all the hoopla of the Christmas season nowadays. But, it is rather difficult in the midst of all the excess of our present day manner of celebrating what, at its core, is supposed to be the observance of the coming of the everlasting King of kings, to find that which is purely gentle and humble. We spend more than we can afford, we eat more than is good for us, we drink more than we should, and we want our Christmas to be big and bold, forgetting that Christmas is really about the gentle King, who arrived in the world meek and mild, to humbly claimed his kingdom.
So, here’s what I believe we might do this Advent to prepare for coming of our glorious, yet gentle, King: we might do, dare I say it, less. Less rushing around, and more quiet reflection. Less spending of money, and more spending of time with Jesus. Less overfeeding of our body rich delicacies and drink, and more feeding of our spirit upon the priceless Word of God. Less focus on the world and the worldly, and more attention to the Kingdom. The less we strive to make sure we all experience what the world would consider a great Christmas, the more likely that we will all experience the true and simple joy of the King who came ever so humbly to claim his kingdom.
S.D.G.
Jim
www.jimwilkenministries.org
Marion, NC
PS 37.4
Jesus Arrived As Planned, And For A Purpose (Wednesday, Week 1 of Advent 2011)
What Did Jesus Do?
Jesus Arrived As Planned, And For A Purpose
(Wednesday, Week 1 of Advent 2011)
But you, O Bethlehem Ephrathah…from you shall come forth for me
One who is to be ruler in Israel,
whose coming forth is from of old, from ancient of days…
And he shall be their peace.
Micah 5:2, 5
“Accidents will happen,” or so we’ve heard. But if we know that they surely will happen, that their occurrence is almost, well, ordained, are they really accidents? Think about it. The term accident of birth is an idiomatic expression suggesting that the circumstances of one’s birth be they propitious or be they regrettable, being entirely beyond one’s control, are purely accident or chance. But no one is ever born by accident. Without going into the details of the mechanics involved, there is some very definite action that must take place for a pregnancy to occur, and I defy anyone to make a case for that action ever to happen without someone intentionally making it happen, regardless of how out of control anyone may claim to have been in the moment. Life, despite what some scientists might try to suggest, is never an accident, there is always a plan for life, always a purpose. Jesus arrived as planned, and for a purpose.
Every detail of Christ’s birth was planned, ordained, established by the will of the Father, and according to his providence. In the book of the prophet Micah we read of both the plan and the purpose of the Lord’s birth. Though some might like to argue that it was only by accident, by virtue of the circumstance of the decree of Caesar, during the time that Quirinius was governor of Syria, that Joseph and Mary happened to travel to Bethlehem at the time Mary was to be delivered of her firstborn child (Luke 2.1-7), the Word of God had, hundreds of years earlier, in fact declared that Bethlehem, small as she was among the clans of Judah, would be the birthplace of the Messiah, and this according to a decision made from ancient days. (Micah 5:2) Believe it, Jesus arrived by no accident, but exactly as planned!
And, having arrived according to the plan, Jesus grew up to fulfill his life’s purpose, which, again, was no accident. For the prophet Micah had also declared that the one who would be born in Bethlehem would rule Israel, that his greatness would extend to the ends of the earth, and that he himself would be the very fullness of shalom (peace). (Micah 5:4-5) Believe it, Jesus arrived not by circumstance, but to fulfill a definite and glorious purpose!
Knowing that Jesus arrived as planned and for a purpose should be a great comfort to us all, because our salvation was at the very center of that purpose. (Matthew 1:20-21) We also need to hear this, and hang on to it—regardless of whatever circumstances we experience, and they may well be difficult, harsh, and painful at times—the Father has a plan and a purpose for our lives, just as surely as he had a plan and purpose for the life of his Son. In fact, we ourselves know, and actively and intentionally live out, God’s plan and purpose for us when Jesus “arrives” in our heart and our mind, there to rule and to reign. And he is our peace.
S.D.G.
Jim
www.jimwilkenministries.org
Marion, NC
PS 37.4
Jesus Arrived As Planned, And For A Purpose
(Wednesday, Week 1 of Advent 2011)
But you, O Bethlehem Ephrathah…from you shall come forth for me
One who is to be ruler in Israel,
whose coming forth is from of old, from ancient of days…
And he shall be their peace.
Micah 5:2, 5
“Accidents will happen,” or so we’ve heard. But if we know that they surely will happen, that their occurrence is almost, well, ordained, are they really accidents? Think about it. The term accident of birth is an idiomatic expression suggesting that the circumstances of one’s birth be they propitious or be they regrettable, being entirely beyond one’s control, are purely accident or chance. But no one is ever born by accident. Without going into the details of the mechanics involved, there is some very definite action that must take place for a pregnancy to occur, and I defy anyone to make a case for that action ever to happen without someone intentionally making it happen, regardless of how out of control anyone may claim to have been in the moment. Life, despite what some scientists might try to suggest, is never an accident, there is always a plan for life, always a purpose. Jesus arrived as planned, and for a purpose.
Every detail of Christ’s birth was planned, ordained, established by the will of the Father, and according to his providence. In the book of the prophet Micah we read of both the plan and the purpose of the Lord’s birth. Though some might like to argue that it was only by accident, by virtue of the circumstance of the decree of Caesar, during the time that Quirinius was governor of Syria, that Joseph and Mary happened to travel to Bethlehem at the time Mary was to be delivered of her firstborn child (Luke 2.1-7), the Word of God had, hundreds of years earlier, in fact declared that Bethlehem, small as she was among the clans of Judah, would be the birthplace of the Messiah, and this according to a decision made from ancient days. (Micah 5:2) Believe it, Jesus arrived by no accident, but exactly as planned!
And, having arrived according to the plan, Jesus grew up to fulfill his life’s purpose, which, again, was no accident. For the prophet Micah had also declared that the one who would be born in Bethlehem would rule Israel, that his greatness would extend to the ends of the earth, and that he himself would be the very fullness of shalom (peace). (Micah 5:4-5) Believe it, Jesus arrived not by circumstance, but to fulfill a definite and glorious purpose!
Knowing that Jesus arrived as planned and for a purpose should be a great comfort to us all, because our salvation was at the very center of that purpose. (Matthew 1:20-21) We also need to hear this, and hang on to it—regardless of whatever circumstances we experience, and they may well be difficult, harsh, and painful at times—the Father has a plan and a purpose for our lives, just as surely as he had a plan and purpose for the life of his Son. In fact, we ourselves know, and actively and intentionally live out, God’s plan and purpose for us when Jesus “arrives” in our heart and our mind, there to rule and to reign. And he is our peace.
S.D.G.
Jim
www.jimwilkenministries.org
Marion, NC
PS 37.4
Wednesday, November 30, 2011
Jesus Provided, So That We Should Abide
What Did Jesus Do?
But as his anointing teaches you about everything, and is true, and is no lie—
just as it has taught you, abide in him .
1 John 2:27b
I’m a piano player. Bet you didn’t know that about me. In fact, even my family will be surprised when they read this because they have never seen me actually play the piano. But, I am a piano player, honest. Look here—Got a piano. Have a bunch of music books. I listen and watch other piano players (Chico Marx is my favorite!). And, every once in a great while, I actually plink one or two of the old ivories...What’s the matter? I didn’t say I was much of a piano player, I just said I played.
The truth is, I’ve never taken the time to become a piano player, really, I’ve just very occasionally played around with the piano. One of the things that prompted the apostle John to write to his little children (That is the Church, to all who are Christians) was his fear that some believers would have the same kind of relationship with Jesus that I have with my piano. Just as it takes practice to become good at the piano, so too with our faith—if we don’t practice being a Christian, spend time at it daily, using the gifts Jesus himself has provided us, well, we may still be Christians, but we’d have as hard a time convincing others of our faith as I have convincing people I’m a piano player.
Becoming a Christian involves receiving and believing the truth about who Jesus is and what Jesus did—we accept the objective truths about God revealed in Christ and in the Bible by the Holy Spirit. Christian faith begins when we first hear what the Spirit has to say to us. But well begun is, at best, only half done, and John didn’t want any of his little children going around half-baked, as it were. So John urges, “Let what you heard from the beginning abide in you.” (1 John 2:24) Hearing and receiving the Gospel is absolutely essential for us to become Christians. But, for us to keep going and growing as Christians, what we first hear about the person and work of Jesus (his Sonship, his atoning death, his resurrection), the presence and activity of the Holy Spirit, our sinfulness, the saving grace of the Father, and the promise of glory (eternal life, v. 25) has to remain with us, it has to abide in us, residing in the heart and the mind. This is the only way our relationship with the Father and the Son will deepen, become stronger, more intimate, and, more evident. Christians abide in the Word of Truth we’ve heard from the beginning of our new life in Jesus.
Abiding in the truth we first heard also helps to keep us on track, to resist being led astray by those trying to deceive us. (1 John 2:26) John had already warned his little children about antichrists who sought to supplant the revealed truth of God with what they might have called privileged information, but which John plainly called lies. (1 John 2:18-22; see WDJD for 11/26/11) Christians have no need to listen to self-appointed teachers of any so-called new truths because God has poured out his grace upon us, has anointed us with the Holy Spirit who remains with us, and who teaches us. (1 John 2:27) Christians abide in the Holy Spirit with whom we are anointed from the beginning of our new life in Jesus.
You know, even with shelves full of music books, and even with a gifted teacher, I can never become a real piano player if I don’t spend time with the piano itself. It’s rather the same thing with believers. We can have a Bible on the shelf. We can even go to church and Sunday School, and we can even attend rallies and revivals and listen to excellent preaching, but if we never actually spend time with Jesus, if we don’t abide in him (1 John 2:28), there won’t be any real growth, any real power, any real life in us no matter how much we claim to be Christians. Think of the time of the Lord’s appearing as a grand recital, when the faith of every believer will be revealed, sort of how at a big recital many students get to show off how they have been progressing on the piano. If we haven’t spent much time with Jesus we might very well feel ashamed at his coming, much as a piano student who hasn’t practiced suffers great embarrassment at the recital. But, if we practice our faith, if we meet with, talk with, walk with Jesus, every day—if we abide in him now, we can have certain hope and overflowing confidence as we look forward to his coming. Christians whose faith is alive and growing don’t sit around idly waiting for the Lord to return, we abide in Jesus now, even as when we first met him, and even as we shall forever and ever.
While the deceivers and liars, the antichrists whom John regards in sharp contrast to his little children, try to convince us that we must seek something more, something quite different from the Gospel we first received, John assures the Church we have already been given all that is necessary for faith to take root, then to grow and flourish, if we would simply abide in what Jesus has provided.
S.D.G.
Jim
www.jimwilkenministries.org
Marion, NC
PS 37.4
But as his anointing teaches you about everything, and is true, and is no lie—
just as it has taught you, abide in him .
1 John 2:27b
I’m a piano player. Bet you didn’t know that about me. In fact, even my family will be surprised when they read this because they have never seen me actually play the piano. But, I am a piano player, honest. Look here—Got a piano. Have a bunch of music books. I listen and watch other piano players (Chico Marx is my favorite!). And, every once in a great while, I actually plink one or two of the old ivories...What’s the matter? I didn’t say I was much of a piano player, I just said I played.
The truth is, I’ve never taken the time to become a piano player, really, I’ve just very occasionally played around with the piano. One of the things that prompted the apostle John to write to his little children (That is the Church, to all who are Christians) was his fear that some believers would have the same kind of relationship with Jesus that I have with my piano. Just as it takes practice to become good at the piano, so too with our faith—if we don’t practice being a Christian, spend time at it daily, using the gifts Jesus himself has provided us, well, we may still be Christians, but we’d have as hard a time convincing others of our faith as I have convincing people I’m a piano player.
Becoming a Christian involves receiving and believing the truth about who Jesus is and what Jesus did—we accept the objective truths about God revealed in Christ and in the Bible by the Holy Spirit. Christian faith begins when we first hear what the Spirit has to say to us. But well begun is, at best, only half done, and John didn’t want any of his little children going around half-baked, as it were. So John urges, “Let what you heard from the beginning abide in you.” (1 John 2:24) Hearing and receiving the Gospel is absolutely essential for us to become Christians. But, for us to keep going and growing as Christians, what we first hear about the person and work of Jesus (his Sonship, his atoning death, his resurrection), the presence and activity of the Holy Spirit, our sinfulness, the saving grace of the Father, and the promise of glory (eternal life, v. 25) has to remain with us, it has to abide in us, residing in the heart and the mind. This is the only way our relationship with the Father and the Son will deepen, become stronger, more intimate, and, more evident. Christians abide in the Word of Truth we’ve heard from the beginning of our new life in Jesus.
Abiding in the truth we first heard also helps to keep us on track, to resist being led astray by those trying to deceive us. (1 John 2:26) John had already warned his little children about antichrists who sought to supplant the revealed truth of God with what they might have called privileged information, but which John plainly called lies. (1 John 2:18-22; see WDJD for 11/26/11) Christians have no need to listen to self-appointed teachers of any so-called new truths because God has poured out his grace upon us, has anointed us with the Holy Spirit who remains with us, and who teaches us. (1 John 2:27) Christians abide in the Holy Spirit with whom we are anointed from the beginning of our new life in Jesus.
You know, even with shelves full of music books, and even with a gifted teacher, I can never become a real piano player if I don’t spend time with the piano itself. It’s rather the same thing with believers. We can have a Bible on the shelf. We can even go to church and Sunday School, and we can even attend rallies and revivals and listen to excellent preaching, but if we never actually spend time with Jesus, if we don’t abide in him (1 John 2:28), there won’t be any real growth, any real power, any real life in us no matter how much we claim to be Christians. Think of the time of the Lord’s appearing as a grand recital, when the faith of every believer will be revealed, sort of how at a big recital many students get to show off how they have been progressing on the piano. If we haven’t spent much time with Jesus we might very well feel ashamed at his coming, much as a piano student who hasn’t practiced suffers great embarrassment at the recital. But, if we practice our faith, if we meet with, talk with, walk with Jesus, every day—if we abide in him now, we can have certain hope and overflowing confidence as we look forward to his coming. Christians whose faith is alive and growing don’t sit around idly waiting for the Lord to return, we abide in Jesus now, even as when we first met him, and even as we shall forever and ever.
While the deceivers and liars, the antichrists whom John regards in sharp contrast to his little children, try to convince us that we must seek something more, something quite different from the Gospel we first received, John assures the Church we have already been given all that is necessary for faith to take root, then to grow and flourish, if we would simply abide in what Jesus has provided.
S.D.G.
Jim
www.jimwilkenministries.org
Marion, NC
PS 37.4
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