The following was taken from a newsletter written by Jon Bloom of Desiring God ministries.
The Christmas Miracle:
We Love the Light Rather than the Darkness
Nativity scenes tend to be so serene. A peaceful stable. Speechless, bewildered shepherds. Joyful, placid parents watching a glowing infant. “No crying he makes.” The silent star in the heavens.
But if his birth was peaceful, the peace didn’t last for the Light of the World. The world didn’t want the Light. The Light shone in the darkness (John 1:15), but “ people loved the darkness rather than the light because their deeds were evil” (John 3:19). The Light did not bring peace, but a sword (Matthew 10:34). We darkness-loving people murdered the Light. The godless light that was in us was darkness, and how great was that darkness (Matthew 6:23)!
Why in the world do people love the darkness rather than the Light? “In their case the god of this world has blinded the minds of the unbelievers, to keep them from seeing the light of the gospel of the glory of Christ, who is the image of God” (2 Corinthians 4:4). They are of their father the devil, and their will is to do his desires (John 8:44).
But oh, the amazing, delivering power of the light of the gospel! Jesus, the Light, died absorbing his Father’s wrath toward us blind, treacherous God-haters so we could receive sight. And into our dark hearts burst a light that the god of this world was helpless to obstruct. “For God, who said, ‘Let light shine out of darkness,’ has shone in our hearts to give the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ” (2 Corinthians 4:6). Suddenly in his light we saw light and could sing with Charles Wesley:
Long my imprisoned spirit lay, fast bound in sin and nature’s night.
Thine eye diffused a quickening ray; I woke – the dungeon flamed with light!
My chains fell off, my heart was free, I rose, went forth, and followed Thee.
Amazing love! How can it be that Thou, my God, shouldst die for me?[1]
Praise Jesus, the life and light of men! “The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not overcome it” (John 1:5). The “people who walked in darkness have seen a great light; those who dwelt in a land of deep darkness, on them has light shined” (Isaiah 9:2). We were transferred from the domain of darkness into the kingdom of the Son of God (Colossians 1:13)!
And that is what Christmas is all about. The Light did bring peace after all!
[1] From Charles Wesley’s great hymn, “And Can It Be That I Should Gain?”
Friday, December 16, 2005
Friday, December 09, 2005
By His Hands
His thoughts said, “The Lord is my strength and my shield; my heart trusted in Him, and I am helped. And yet at times the waves sweep up and almost overwhelm me and I feel like Job, “Thou dissolvest my substance.”
His Father said, “At such times say to thyself, ‘I will remember the years of the Right hand of the Most High; I will remember the days of old.’ Have the waves ever covered thee? Hast thou ever sunk as lead in the mighty waters? As it was, so it is; as it hath been, so it shall be. And in the end, with mine own hands, I will bring thee unto thy desired haven.”[1]
O, Gracious, Sovereign God, by Your strength and Your hand bring us to the desired haven; in Your presence, before Your throne.
Is this not our prayer? I know that it is mine. For at His right hand are pleasures forevermore! As believers we are called to be pilgrims and strangers in this world. We are to seek the things above, not earthly temporal things that will pass away. For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.
Yet as we seek this eternal joy in the presence of God, we are not yet taken from this world. And as we await that day, God has graciously given us work to do. The work He gives is a means to transform us to be like Christ. This work is hand-crafted for my sanctification. I take comfort in knowing that He has revealed His will for me in Scripture.
In Titus 2:3-5, I am directed to love my husband and children, to be self-controlled, pure, working at home, kind, and submissive to my own husband. So, it is my desire to do these things well. Yet my weaknesses are great! It is by God’s “own hands” that I will be able to do these things well. Like the above writer, I have days where I feel my strength is gone. It is on these days that I take comfort knowing that it is God who has called me to be a woman, wife, and mother; and “faithful is He who calls you and He also will bring it to pass.”
Therefore, it is not my strength or my greatness that will cause me to be the wife and mother that I so long to be, but it is my Creator who will shape me and conform me to the image of His Son.
So, how do I remain hopeful and not become discouraged? By remembering His faithfulness to me through the years. And by calling to mind Scripture. It is Scripture that the Holy Spirit will use to lead us to the great truths of God and His faithfulness.
[1] Taken from, His Thoughts Said…His Father said, by Amy Carmichael
His Father said, “At such times say to thyself, ‘I will remember the years of the Right hand of the Most High; I will remember the days of old.’ Have the waves ever covered thee? Hast thou ever sunk as lead in the mighty waters? As it was, so it is; as it hath been, so it shall be. And in the end, with mine own hands, I will bring thee unto thy desired haven.”[1]
O, Gracious, Sovereign God, by Your strength and Your hand bring us to the desired haven; in Your presence, before Your throne.
Is this not our prayer? I know that it is mine. For at His right hand are pleasures forevermore! As believers we are called to be pilgrims and strangers in this world. We are to seek the things above, not earthly temporal things that will pass away. For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.
Yet as we seek this eternal joy in the presence of God, we are not yet taken from this world. And as we await that day, God has graciously given us work to do. The work He gives is a means to transform us to be like Christ. This work is hand-crafted for my sanctification. I take comfort in knowing that He has revealed His will for me in Scripture.
In Titus 2:3-5, I am directed to love my husband and children, to be self-controlled, pure, working at home, kind, and submissive to my own husband. So, it is my desire to do these things well. Yet my weaknesses are great! It is by God’s “own hands” that I will be able to do these things well. Like the above writer, I have days where I feel my strength is gone. It is on these days that I take comfort knowing that it is God who has called me to be a woman, wife, and mother; and “faithful is He who calls you and He also will bring it to pass.”
Therefore, it is not my strength or my greatness that will cause me to be the wife and mother that I so long to be, but it is my Creator who will shape me and conform me to the image of His Son.
So, how do I remain hopeful and not become discouraged? By remembering His faithfulness to me through the years. And by calling to mind Scripture. It is Scripture that the Holy Spirit will use to lead us to the great truths of God and His faithfulness.
[1] Taken from, His Thoughts Said…His Father said, by Amy Carmichael
Wednesday, November 30, 2005
Psalm 84:10-12
"For a day in your courts is better than a thousand elsewhere. I would rather be a doorkeeper in the house of my God than dwell in the tents of wickedness. For the Lord is a sun and shield; the Lord bestows favor and honor. No good thing does he withhold from those who walk uprightly. O Lord of hosts, blessed is the one who trusts in you!"
Oh how many have chosen to dwell in the tents of wickedness to gain earthly power and comfort; only to one day lose everything and be cast into utter darkness and eternal fire. What will a man give in exchange for his soul? What does it profit a man if he gains the whole world and forfeits his own soul? Love not the world…for the world is passing away along with its desires. Father, have mercy on us. We so often become shortsighted. O that we would live for eternity and not the passing pleasures of the world. Forgive us, Father, of our blindness. Open our eyes that we may see the things eternal. Help, O God, your servants that we may be wise and live for eternal joy. Let us seek your favor and honor. Indeed the one who trusts in You is blessed!
THE GLORY OF THAT LIGHT by Amy Carmichael
“I could not see
For the glory of that light.”
Let the shining of that glory
Illumine our sight.
Things temporal
Are transparent in that air;
But the things that are eternal
Are manifest there.
Jesus our Lord,
By virtue of Thy grace,
In the shining of Thy glory
Let us see Thy face.
Oh how many have chosen to dwell in the tents of wickedness to gain earthly power and comfort; only to one day lose everything and be cast into utter darkness and eternal fire. What will a man give in exchange for his soul? What does it profit a man if he gains the whole world and forfeits his own soul? Love not the world…for the world is passing away along with its desires. Father, have mercy on us. We so often become shortsighted. O that we would live for eternity and not the passing pleasures of the world. Forgive us, Father, of our blindness. Open our eyes that we may see the things eternal. Help, O God, your servants that we may be wise and live for eternal joy. Let us seek your favor and honor. Indeed the one who trusts in You is blessed!
THE GLORY OF THAT LIGHT by Amy Carmichael
“I could not see
For the glory of that light.”
Let the shining of that glory
Illumine our sight.
Things temporal
Are transparent in that air;
But the things that are eternal
Are manifest there.
Jesus our Lord,
By virtue of Thy grace,
In the shining of Thy glory
Let us see Thy face.
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