Connecting Points

Thursday, January 06, 2011

Today’s Topic: God Is Working On Us

Today’s Text: Isaiah 28:21 and 29 The LORD will rise up as he did at Mount Perazim, he will rouse himself as in the Valley of Gibeon—to do his work, his strange work, and perform his task, his alien task… All this also comes from the LORD Almighty, wonderful in counsel and magnificent in wisdom.

I am fascinated by this twenty-eighth chapter of Isaiah. I hope you can bear with me as we share what is now our fourth Connecting Point from this passage. If you care to review, you can connect to these links. https://lifelinkdevo.wordpress.com/2010/12/02/are-you-listening/

https://lifelinkdevo.wordpress.com/2010/12/03/false-security/

https://lifelinkdevo.wordpress.com/2011/01/05/the-purpose-of-trouble/

What fascinates me is the modern day application of these historical events and how we as Christians need to wake up to what God is doing around and in us. A good friend yesterday helped me to put the whole chapter in perspective and brought out the truths that we need to understand. Here’s what Curt Kregness wrote to me from Sao Paulo, Brazil:

God, through Isaiah, is taking the leaders of Judah (called Ephraim here) to task for their alliance with Egypt in order to escape from the Assyrians.  This is the “covenant with death” mentioned in v. 15 and 18.  Judah should be looking to the precious cornerstone (v. 16) for its sure foundation, and not to human strength.

So, the short bed and the narrow blanket of v. 20 is a metaphor for Judah’s misplaced trust.  The alliance with Egypt will offer no rest, no comfort, for Ephraim (ESV Study Bible).  The strange work and alien task of the Lord, v. 21, is having to fight against his own people because of their disobedience.  The mention of Mount Perazim and the Valley of Gibeon is ironic, because in those two battles God fought for Israel against their enemies.  Now he must resist his people because they are rebelling against him.

The final section of the chapter uses another metaphor—the farmer.  The breaking up and turning over of the soil, although costly, has a purpose: to produce grain to make bread, v. 28.  “All this comes from the Lord Almighty, wonderful in counsel and magnificent in wisdom,” v. 29.

My conclusion for this passage would be that God loves us so much that he is willing to take extreme measures to get our attention and win us back to his family.  His wisdom is completely trustworthy, even when we turn our backs on him and suffer the tragic consequences of our sin.

We are not all that different from the people of Isaiah’s day. We are at times more intimately connected to the world than we are to Jesus Christ our Savior. We are at times more interested in finding satisfaction and fulfillment from the world than we are from God. We even at times scoff and mock at the things God calls us to do and the people He asks us to become, justifying our worldly connections to one another with humanistic rationalizations. We even at times incorporate spiritual ideas into our arguments to satisfy the fleshly desire we have to be accepted by God in what we are doing. My friends, think about this carefully. You will discover that there is far too much truth in what I just wrote.

Then on top of all of that, the one more thing from verse twenty-one – God’s work has become strange and  alien to us. We have become so engrossed in the lifestyle of the world, and so convinced that we can love both the world and God and use both for our own fulfillment and satisfaction, that when we look to see what God is doing around us we don’t recognize Him. How sad it is when God initiates a work in our lives and we mock it or scoff at it because it doesn’t fit into our personal life plan or our daily schedule of approved activities. We have become so in touch with what we want from the world that we are out of touch with the touch of God on our lives. We have chosen to believe that the social and financial benefits of living in our modern civilization are our rights and we choose to pursue them rather than pursue what God wants for us.

I know this is heavy, and sounds ominous. It is. That’s the point. We have so bought into the world’s system that the things of God seem burdensome to us. But you must know this – God will not stop loving us or pursuing us. We may not like what happens to finally get our attention, but He will win us back to Himself. Every event of our lives today will be an opportunity for us to turn from the pursuit of pleasure and prosperity in the world to a personal and productive relationship with Almighty God. By contrast, according to verse twenty two, those same circumstances can make life tougher. The Lord says, “Now stop your mocking, or your chains will become heavier.” You see, what we think we are doing to find satisfaction in life by pursuing the values of the world is really wrapping us up more tightly in the chains of bondage to the world so we see and know less and less of God.

The chapter concludes with good news for us all. God is working to bring us to fullness in Christ. We may not like what He has to do to bring us back, but it is a work of love. His plan is timed perfectly to bring in the greatest harvest of righteous souls possible. He is breaking up the soil of our hardened hearts.  He is planting seeds of righteousness. He will harvest those seeds by beating away all the chaff. Then we will stand before the people of this world as reflections of His glory. Look at your life today – God is working on you because He loves you and wants all of you. Embrace what happens as His expression of love to you.

Pastor John

Connecting Points

Wednesday, January 05, 2011

Today’s Topic:  Trouble’s Purpose

Today’s Text:  Isaiah 28:20-21  The bed is too short to stretch out on, the blanket too narrow to wrap around you. The LORD will rise up as he did at Mount Perazim, he will rouse himself as in the Valley of Gibeon—to do his work, his strange work, and perform his task, his alien task.

It will happen this year. I can guarantee it. Maybe for you it already has. Something in your life is going to go wrong – at least according to your ideas and plans. It may be related to your health, or your job, or your family, or your future, but something is not going to turn out the way you thought it would. Guaranteed.

When the trouble comes, how will you respond? The answer to that depends on whether or not you believe there is a purpose for the trouble, or what you believe that purpose to be. Maybe you believe that trouble is always against you and stands opposed to your ultimate benefit. If so, then your response to trouble is always one of complaining, bitterness, resentment, and discouragement. We all respond that way to things that we believe are not in our best interest. It is the simple fact of our pride.

But if we believe that we have a loving Father in heaven who is designing all things in our lives to ultimately benefit us and bring glory to Him, then we respond differently to trouble. We may not embrace the trouble itself, but we can rejoice while it is happening because we know the truth of God’s promise that all things work together for good for those who love Him and are called according to His purpose. (Romans 8:28)

I literally just spent the last 30 minutes having this lesson affirmed in my life. I have been chatting with two dear friends in the Philippines on the social network of Facebook. It started with a post that my “spiritually adopted” daughter Lily Jane put as her status. I have her permission to quote her. She wrote,

Different experiences and circumstances teach me different lessons in life. Others are easier but some are harder. I cried and shed tears… I realized that those circumstances that I shed most tears are the lessons in life that I will never forget… To God who gives me strength and to those people who taught me those lessons, thank you…

I know this young woman’s story. I lived parts of it with her in the Philippines. The depth of truth she expresses is so meaningful to me, and I want you to understand that God used her message this morning to bring light to me and to you on this important truth.  So many people turn to the comfort zones of their life when times get tough. Isaiah is referring to this in today’s Scripture. They crawl into their beds and wrap up in their blankies and hope to feel better. But that never really works. The comfort zones we create are always insufficient to help us because we are turning inward for relief rather than upward.

As I was chatting with her, a pastor from the Philippines that I met a few months ago started chatted with me. My wife and I have been deeply moved in our hearts by this man’s commitment to Christ and his desire to persevere through difficult circumstances. He serves a small group of people with no source of real income. As we chatted back on New Year’s Eve, he told me how they were having a small family celebration of the new year but had no money to buy any food for his family party. Yet he continues to display incredible trust in Jesus Christ as His provider. He has not turned to the comforts of this world, but continues to pursue his calling to preach the Gospel.

Every morning at 6:00 am I chat with him, and every time we talk he turns the attention from his own needs to the glory of God and his faith in God’s promises. His bed is too short for him to stretch out on and be comfortable. His blanket is too small to wrap up in for warmth and security. But His God, and mine, and yours, is long enough, wide enough high enough, deep enough, and most of all close enough to meet every need and use every circumstance to strengthen our faith in His unfailing love for us.

Thank you Lord for the illustrations of your truth to our hearts today, and for being at work in our lives to build our faith in you as the stronghold of our lives.

Pastor John

Connecting Points

Monday, January 03, 2011

Today’s Topic:  Resolved…

Today’s Text:  Ecclesiastes 7:23  All this I tested by wisdom and I said, “I am determined to be wise”— but this was beyond me.

I know…it’s been a while. What a Christmas/New Year’s vacation it was. We were stranded in a small house in North Dakota during back to back blizzards that shut down everything in Eastern North Dakota and northwestern Minnesota. They finally opened the roads yesterday morning and we were able to get home last night, but the normal seven hour trip took an extra three hours. How we thank God for safety and wisdom on those icy roads.

As we drove I was thinking about the new year, and what would be different in my life. We should think that way at the start of every day, but we don’t, do we? I was reminded through a series of events while on the trip that my pride is still far too powerful a force in my life and dictates too many actions and words. It was a sobering time of reflection, but it was necessary for the Holy Spirit to continue His work of refining me and polishing me into a mirror to reflect Christ’s character.

As I thought about the black dots in that mirror, where no reflection could be seen, I decided that there was a correct course of action to take that is different than what most people think and do. For most of us, New Year’s resolutions address specific issues that we want to change. But the effectiveness of such resolutions is totally controlled by the character of one’s heart. Unless the heart has been transformed, the external changes will not last. That’s why we make resolutions over and over and over again. We are resolving to fix the wrong wrong.

The wrong that needs to be fixed is the condition of our heart. Pride has blackened it so it cannot reflect the glory of God’s nature in Jesus Christ. Self has to be sacrificed. Everything that connects us to the pursuit of self-fulfillment and self-valuation has to be eliminated. We must be resolved to know Christ and Christ alone and give Him unequalled and unhindered access to every part of our being. We must crucify our own life on the cross and invite Jesus Christ back on to the throne of our hearts as Lord. All change happens after surrender to Jesus. No change is permanent that is the product of our own initiative. King Solomon knew that – go back and read today’s Scripture verse again.

Two songs come to my mind that are significant in my life. One is a very old hymn named I Am Resolved written by Palmer Hartsough. The second is a contemporary song from the 1980’s called I Am Determined by Tim Sheppard. These lyrics reflect the nature of a heart truly making the right resolution. Read them carefully and contemplatively. It’s not too late to change your New Year’s resolutions.

I Am Resolved

I am resolved no longer to linger, Charmed by the world’s delight,
Things that are higher, things that are nobler, These have allured my sight.

I will hasten to Him, hasten so glad and free; Jesus, greatest, highest, I will come to Thee.
I will hasten, hasten to Him, hasten so glad and free; Jesus, Jesus, greatest, highest, I will come to Thee.

I Am Determined

Darkness around me, sorrow surrounds me;  Though there be trials, still I can sing.
For I have this treasure – my God reigns within me,  And I am determined to live for the King.

I am determined to be invincible
‘Til He has finished His purpose in me.
And nothing shall shake me  For He’ll never forsake me
And I am determined – I am determined — I am determined to live for My King.

Pastor John

Connecting Points

Wednesday, December 22, 2010

Today’s Topic:  A Sure Foundation

Today’s Text:  Isaiah 28:16  So this is what the Sovereign LORD says:  “See, I lay a stone in Zion, a tested stone, a precious cornerstone for a sure foundation; the one who trusts will never be dismayed.

I must refuse to let it bother me anymore. It is the reality of the culture in which we live. It is the fulfillment of Scripture about the last days. I do not condone it, but I must not let it become such a burden on my heart that it sucks the joy of Jesus right out of me. No matter what they say or do, I will not stop believing, living, and proclaiming the Gospel of Jesus Christ as Savior of the world.

They may not do it, but why is that surprising? They have rejected the truth and exchanged it for a lie that they think pleases them. Why should I expect them to promote my beliefs when they stand so diametrically opposed to their own? So opposed, in fact, that they refuse any presentation of the truth to avoid any personal conviction. They call it tolerance, but it is so one sided. But I must not let that become my focus.

It would be easy to get very frustrated and attempt to change the system. That would be a mistake. That would take us all further away from change, not closer to it. Change will come only as the love of Jesus and the truth of salvation are presented constantly and unashamedly before the lost people of the world. When the followers of Jesus switch from telling the Good News to trying to change the policies of society, then society becomes more firmly entrenched in their error.

Last night I attended the “Christmas” program for one of my grandson’s elementary schools. The reason I reluctantly call it a Christmas program is that there was nothing about Christ in it. There were songs about Hanukkah. There was plenty of Santa Claus. But there was no Jesus – not even one Christmas Carol.

At first that made me very angry. The double standard of claiming separation of church and state and then including non-Christian religions in the program really bugged me. It would be easy for me to focus on that. But that would not change a thing. It would only cause arguments and defensive posturing, and really bring ill-repute to the Gospel message.

Instead, I must invest in those to whom the Lord has connected me. My grandson who sang one of the songs about Hanukkah needs to be instructed about and grounded on the sure foundation of Jesus Christ. The people sitting near me need to hear me proclaiming the love of Jesus not frustration with the school system. The world’s system does now and will continue to reject the truth of Jesus Christ.  That is not to surprise us, for it hated Jesus also. How much it bothers you depends on who or what you are living for?

So today, I will choose to focus on THE Foundation of all life – the Stone named Jesus Christ. He has been tested. He successfully passed every test. He can be trusted to get us through any and every test of our lives. He will never fail us. He will never forsake us. He will never leave us. When we trust Him and Him alone we will never be dismayed.

All around us every day are individual people who are searching for something to build their life on. But what are we saying to them about the foundation of our life when what they see is dismay over the condition of the world around us? The things that cause discouragement and anger in our lives may be different than theirs, but the reality of such attitudes reveals to them the truth that our foundation is no more trustworthy than theirs. Think about it.

Once again, and with more conviction than ever, I will choose to focus on the Gospel of Jesus Christ. I know that Christmas is about Jesus coming to earth as the complete and eternal revelation of God in human form. I know that He came to save us from our sin. I know that He died on the cross to pay the penalty of death that I deserved. I know that He rose from the dead to offer and guarantee eternal life to anyone comes to Him humbly and asks. But the world does not know this stuff, and if they do they are choosing to reject it. It does not accomplish God’s purpose for us to get angry and complain about what the world doesn’t believe. We are to simply, and joyfully proclaim Jesus as Savior. We are not responsible for their response to us. We are responsible for our response to them.

Pastor John

Connecting Points

Monday, December 20, 2010

Today’s Topic:  Peace On Earth

Today’s Text:  Isaiah 11:10  In that day the Root of Jesse will stand as a banner for the peoples; the nations will rally to him, and his place of rest will be glorious. 

Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace to men…

The angels declared to the shepherds that God’s gift of THE Savior would bring peace on earth. But if our only understanding of peace is that it means the absence of war or political conflict, then we would have to conclude that God lied to us.

Peace culminates in social reform. Social reform does not create peace. Peace produces political stability and harmony, not visa-versa. Peace begins in the heart and extends outward into the activities of life. Personal peace will transform the world.

However, man’s pursuit of peace is futile. He has never found it in his own mind nor accomplished it with his own efforts. That’s because no matter what we do or think, we are permanently at war with our creator. Our very nature stands opposed to the Holy One of heaven. So try as we might, every effort to create peace of mind or peace in the world ends in failure because our hearts still ache from sin.

But God so loved us, that He sent His One and Only Son Jesus to solve the sin problem. Jesus paid the price for our sin on the cross, suffering the total wrath of God against everything that stood opposed to His holy nature. Then He rose from the dead and conquered the consequences of sin forever. Anyone – absolutely anyone – who believes in Jesus Christ and repents of their sin is forgiven and the sin nature of man is replaced with the Son nature of God. Hallelujah!

For those who are in Christ Jesus there is peace. Through Jesus Christ we have peace with God and the peace of God that surpasses all understanding, no matter what is going on in the world around us.  

The peace of God gives us hope – hope in the promise of peace on earth. And peace is coming. I think the eleventh chapter of Isaiah is required reading at Christ and throughout the year. When Jesus came the first time, He came to provide an entrance for sinful man into a peace relationship with our Creator. We now await His second coming when He will bring peace around us on the earth. If you are looking for peace around you before discovering the peace of God within you then you will be consistently and permanently disappointed. But when we know the peace of God within us, we patiently wait in certain hope of Jesus bring peace on earth.

Read carefully the description of peace on earth in Isaiah 11 –

Righteousness will be his belt and faithfulness the sash around his waist. The wolf will live with the lamb, the leopard will lie down with the goat, the calf and the lion and the yearling together; and a little child will lead them. The cow will feed with the bear, their young will lie down together, and the lion will eat straw like the ox. The infant will play near the hole of the cobra, and the young child put his hand into the viper’s nest. They will neither harm nor destroy on all my holy mountain, for the earth will be full of the knowledge of the LORD as the waters cover the sea. In that day the Root of Jesse will stand as a banner for the peoples; the nations will rally to him, and his place of rest will be glorious. 

That is the hope of everyone who knows the peace of God in their heart today. Do you? You can. You can stop the frustrating and futile pursuit of peace because it is already available to you through Jesus Christ who will save you from your sin if you ask Him. Won’t you ask Him today? You can experience the peace of God when you have been brought to peace with God through Jesus, the Savior of the world.

Pastor John

Connecting Points

Friday, December 17, 2010

Today’s Topic:  Left Out

Today’s Text:  Isaiah 11:1-3  A shoot will come up from the stump of Jesse; from his roots a Branch will bear fruit. The Spirit of the LORD will rest on him—the Spirit of wisdom and of understanding, the Spirit of counsel and of power, the Spirit of knowledge and of the fear of the LORD—and he will delight in the fear of the LORD.

Early in December my wife and I were trying to decide if we should buy an artificial, pre-lit Christmas tree. It was a hard decision. I love the real tree, and so does she, but it is getting so expensive every year to buy one. A very nice artificial tree would pay for itself in 4 years with the real tree savings. But we just couldn’t force ourselves to spend that much money up front. So we bought a real tree again, which smells and looks wonderful, but we are going to watch the closeout sales on the artificial ones and if we can get the right tree at the right price we just might do it. (There’s one we want at Menards so if anyone sees them go on clearance before Christmas call me right away.)

Anyway, while we were looking at trees, we were also picking up other Christmas gifts. One of the items we were looking for was a stable for the display of one of my wife’s nativity sets. She collects them and has a variety of them from all over the world and different places we’ve visited. The hand carved one we got from Swaziland is very special and she wanted a stable to display it.

We were in particularly “red” department store and didn’t see any nativity sets or stables or mangers. We decided to ask a clerk where they might be. His response shocked us but is truly indicative of the spiritual state of things in America. He said, “We don’t have any. We didn’t even order any this year for our stock.”

Imagine that – Christmas without Christ. What’s left? Mas? What is mas? Well let me tell you what mas is in different languages.

In English, mas is a symbol used in astronomy. So? Well, if we leave Christ out of Christmas we may see and study the stars but miss the Star that leads us to Christ.

In Iceland it means chit chat or small talk, which describes the depth of relationship we experience with people and with God when Christ’s love is left out.

People in Indonesia know mas as gold, which becomes the pursuit of everyone who leaves Christ out of Christmas. We learn to trust human resources rather than God. We become takers not givers.

The Italians use mas as an acronym for a motorized attack ship – a torpedo boat. War will be the result leaving Christ out of culture.

Finally, in Danish, the word mas means trouble. As a verb it means to crush. When we choose to leave Christ out of Christmas we are inviting the troubles of this world to crush us. Without Christ there is no wisdom or understanding. Without the Messiah there is no direction for life – no counsel. Without the humanly powerless baby in a manger we will never experience the limitless power of His eternal presence. If we reject the Child that was given to us at Christmas we will perish for lack of knowledge.

But add Christ to mas, and in any language it means hope. It means salvation. It means life. Look at what the prophet says about the Messiah Jesus Christ. The Spirit of the LORD will rest on him—the Spirit of wisdom and of understanding, the Spirit of counsel and of power, the Spirit of knowledge and of the fear of the LORD—and he will delight in the fear of the LORD.

In Latin the word mas means man. Christ the man, the Son of God. Without Christ all hope is in man. With Christ man’s hope is in the Savior of the world. Life without Christ leaves us hopeless. Life with Christ gives us everything we need – for today and for eternity. Don’t leave Christ out of Christmas.

Pastor John

Connecting Points

Thursday, December 16, 2010

Today’s Topic:  Unending Peace

Today’s Text:  Isaiah 9:7 Of the increase of his government and peace there will be no end. He will reign on David’s throne and over his Kingdom, establishing and upholding it with justice and righteousness from that time on and forever. The zeal of the Lord Almighty will accomplish this.

Warning! I am NOT trying to start a political debate this morning, but would like to make one observation based on the last 50 years of my life: the bigger government gets the more problems we have. Big government means either big tax burden or big debt. Big government means less personal liberty. High taxes, huge national debt, and less personal freedom will result in political unrest that brings social injustice and violence.

However, that does not have to be the case. There are two factors that determine if big government succeeds or not – justice and righteousness. Not legislative justice or legal righteousness imposed upon the citizens, but rather moral justice and ethical righteousness emanating from the heart of those in leadership and manifested in every political action they take. Unfortunately, no such leader exists today, and never will until Jesus Christ returns to reign as King of Kings and Lord of Lords.

When Jesus comes back to re-establish the Kingdom promised to King David of Israel, we will have a political leader who is also spiritually perfect. He will rule with perfect justice because He is perfectly righteous.

But prior to His return, Satan himself will try to accomplish that kind of reign. He will attempt to duplicate what Jesus is about to do. He will fake a resurrection. He will indwell a human, whom He will set up as the political king of the world and then demand that the world worship him as God. Everything He does is a counterfeit of the Truth. And the world will follow him – right to destruction.

But to us a Child is born. To us a Son is given. The government of the world is promised to Him, and it will be big government. Jesus can pull it off. No one else ever could or ever will. Every political leader is ultimately bound to the injustice or unrighteousness of his own heart or the hearts of those with whom he serves and leads. But Jesus needs no approval from anyone else. He needs no compromises to accomplish his agenda. He accepts no back-stroking and never participates in back-stabbing. He is righteous to the core, and is just to everyone.

As a result, His government will have no limits, and will always – that’s right, always – be at peace. There will be no political adversaries. There will be no kingdoms to conquer or that will attempt to conquer His. There will be no social unrest. There will be no wars, no crime, no taxes, no need for a social security trust fund, and no corruption. No earmarks on legislation, because there will be no need for laws to be passed. Jesus will propose and enforce every law, and every citizen will accept those laws because they will be written into the very fabric of their heart as they surrender to the reign of One they can completely trust.

WOW! What a contrast to today. But rather than try to change today, we should be praying for the return of Jesus and working to bring as many people into His kingdom as possible. Many who are alive today will never see such a kingdom. They will pass into a Christ-less eternity because they reject the King today. We have a huge mission. It is not to change our government. Our mission is to introduce people to the One and Only King so they can live eternally under His reign.

Let’s get to work.

Pastor John

Connecting Points

Wednesday, December 15, 2010

Today’s Topic: What’s In A Name?

Today’s Text: Isaiah 9:6 …and He will be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace.

According to a story in the publication Christian Reader, a little church in the country had a problem with the reading of the liturgy one Sunday. The person who put together the church bulletin every week frequently used technology to make the work easier. She would take computer shortcuts when possible using the “global search” feature. One week, technology backfired when she commanded the computer to change the name of the Scripture reader from “Will” to “Murray.” The reader’s name came out fine, but the “global search” did its job a little too thoroughly: in the Lord’s Prayer, “Thy will be done in earth” became “Thy Murray be done in earth”!

There is a lesson in that mistake that is deeper than the obvious ones about proofreading and not taking shortcuts.  Can my name be associated with the will of God? When people say my name, do they think of Jesus Christ? When people observe my behavior do they see the grace and holiness of God? Does my name really mean anything?

So far, in just three short prophecies in the book of Isaiah, the coming Messiah has been given specific five names and one intimated name. He will be called Immanuel, or God with us. He will be the great light that shines in the darkness. He will be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace. The names of the Messiah mean something.

• Immanuel – God Himself, with no degree of diminished Deity, becomes completely human to relate to us and redeem us.
• The Light of the World – showing people the way out of the darkness of sin and into the eternal glory of the Father
• Wonderful Counselor – Jesus is an extraordinary consultant. That’s what it literally means. No matter what is going on in our lives, Jesus not only knows it, but He understands it because He pre-approved it for our good and for His glory. He will help us to understand and accept it as a gift of His love if we will seek His wisdom and not live according to our own understanding. (See Proverbs 3:5-6).
• Mighty God – He is able to manage and/or conquer anything in our lives. Years ago a dear older woman in our church who is now with the Lord gave me a little sign to put on my desk. It said, There is no problem so great that God cannot handle it. Jesus personally brings the eternal power of God to us.
• Everlasting Father – With no beginning and no end, Jesus comes to us as the complete and personal revelation of Jehovah. He is the great I Am. And as Father, he created us, then re-created us in His own image when we were saved, and now provides us with protection and provision. He alone is worthy of our love and respect as Abba, Father, our spiritual Daddy!
• Prince of Peace – He is Lord! He is the supreme ruler of all eternity, and the product of His reign is peace. Even though for a time now the world does not accept Him as Sovereign, and we must live in the realm of the enemy, in our hearts we have set Christ apart as Lord and know the indescribable and unfathomable peace of God. We have been placed into an eternal relationship of peace with God through Jesus Christ our Lord, so that we now know the peace of God in our hearts.

May God use this very brief outline of these names of our Blessed Redeemer Jesus Christ to challenge you to think deeper about His Names and what they represent to us. May it also stimulate us to think deeply about what our name means to others, and whether or not we are trying to make a name for ourselves or living up to the new name we have been given in Christ Jesus.

Pastor John

Pastor John

Connecting Points

Thursday, December 09, 2010

Today’s Topic:  To Us

Today’s Text:  Isaiah 9:6 For to us a child is born, to us a son is given,

To us. To us. Twice stated as the direct objects of the verbs. To us a child is born. To us a son is given. To us!

I am fascinated by the word “us”. What a significant word. I am not sure I can adequately express the thrill I feel when I use the word to describe my relationship with God. Maybe this story will help. I found this old story in a magazine years ago and it spoke profoundly to me today. It is from the memoirs of Margery Tallcott.

When our son Pete was six, it was a Depression year and the bare essentials were all we could afford. We felt we were richer than most people, though, in things of the mind and imagination and spirit. That was a comfort of sorts to us, but nothing a six-year-old could understand.

With Christmas a week off, we told Pete that there could not be any store-bought presents this year—for any of us. “But I’ll tell you what we can do,” said his father with an inspiration born of heartbreak. “We can make pictures of the presents we’d like to give each other.”

For the next few days each of us worked secretly, with smirks and giggles. Somehow we did scrape together enough to buy a small tree. But we had pitifully few decorations to trim it with. Yet, on Christmas morning, never was a tree heaped with such riches! The gifts were only pictures of gifts, to be sure, cut out or drawn and colored and painted, nailed and hammered and pasted and sewed. But they were presents, luxurious beyond our dreams: A slinky black limousine and a red motor boat for Daddy. A diamond bracelet and a fur coat for me. Pete’s presents were the most expensive toys cut from advertisements. Our best present to him was a picture of a fabulous camping tent, complete with Indian designs, painted, of course, by Daddy, and magnificent pictures of a swimming pool, with funny remarks by me. Daddy’s best present to me was a watercolor he had painted of our dream house, white with green shutters and forsythia bushes on the lawn.

Naturally we didn’t expect any “best present” from Pete. But with squeals of delight, he gave us a crayon drawing of flashy colors and the most modernistic technique. But it was unmistakably the picture of three people laughing—a man, a woman, and a little boy. They had their arms around one another and were, in a sense, one person. Under the picture he had printed just one word: US. For many years we have looked back at that day as the richest, most satisfying Christmas we have ever had.

US! God sent Jesus to make “US” possible. How hopeless we were when the “us” only included you and me and a few friends. But God sent Jesus to “us” so we could join His “US”. We have received the greatest gift we could ever get when we accept God’s gift of Jesus who personally places us into the eternal “US”.

To us a child is born. To us a son is given. We needed it. We admitted it. We repented of our sin. We were forgiven for our sin. We received God’s Gift, and now – just think of the wonder of this – now we are included in God’s glorious “US”. He accepts us. He honors us. He changes us. He lives in us. We are God’s “US”!

Pastor John