"For to us a child is born, to us a son is given, and the government will be on his shoulders."
-Isaiah 9:6a
I didn't really plan on writing this blog post, but I thought that it would be good to share something on Christmas day. Isaiah chapter 9 talks about how the Israelites have been living in darkness, but would see a great light. Many promises are made in the chapter, all suggesting that the fate of the Israelites would be changed for their benefit.
Verse 6 describes the method in which this change would be brought to them. It reads "for to us a child is born, to us a son is given, and the government will be on his shoulders". The people would be saved from their darkness by a child. What kind of salvation is this? Perhaps when the Israelites heard this, they thought that this child would grow up to be some king. Certainly a child cannot bring salvation, right?
Ravi Zacharias once said something that totally changed my perspective about this verse. I don't remember the exact quote, but I can share the general idea. Isaiah's choice of words in verse 6 is not accidental; it actually teaches us something profound. The child is born, but the son is given. The child is born because Jesus wasn't a human until he was born. The son is given because Jesus eternally existed.
While the baby Jesus might have looked unimpressive, He was the very Son of God. The child was born, but Jesus was given to us. God didn't send salvation through some random child- He gave us His son. The word "given" suggests that God offered us Jesus freely. It is amazing that the Creator God would willingly give us His son to save us from our darkness and bring us into His marvelous light. Thank God that the child was born, and the Son was given.
-Smart
One Day Faith
"His master replied, 'Well done, good and faithful servant! You have been faithful with a few things; I will put you in charge of many things. Come and share your master's happiness!'"
-Matthew 25:21
I'm excited to write this post because the idea I want to present is so practical. I hope you are able to not only learn but also apply what you read today.
I would consider myself a results-driven person. If I see the results that I am looking for, the process by which the results were achieved is not really that important to me (unless it's unethical or something like that). I think that with the invention of the internet we have become accustomed to getting results quickly. We no longer have to look in a dictionary to define a word; we can just google the word. We can communicate almost instantaneously through email. The internet has given us the ability to get results very quickly, which for the most part is a good thing.
However, not everything can be achieved quickly. God has been teaching me over the past couple months that faith is not instantaneous. I wrote a blog post about this very topic a couple months ago. I've heard multiple sermons about this idea. I read about it in the book "Rooted" by Banning Liebscher. In my weekly group Bible study we have talked about it more than once. I even gave a message to my church's youth group on the topic of building faith.
Despite all of these different ways God has been speaking to me, I didn't really appreciate the truth of this principle until recently. When I used to think about faith, I always imagined that people with great faith were just able to find faith when they needed it. When I read about characters in the Bible with great faith, I always focused on the results of their faith. When I read about Daniel, I was amazed that he found faith to trust God in the midst of the lion's den. When I read about David, I was impressed at his faith to face Goliath.
What I never understood until now is that these people didn't just find faith one day. Daniel was able to trust God in the lion's den because he prayed three times a day to God before he was thrown in the den. Before David ever knew who Goliath was, he was faithful to shepherding his father's animals. It's so easy for us to focus on the results of faith because that is part of faith that we want to experience. However, we can never have the results of faith without first growing our faith.
I have been working at my current job for about 3 months now, and I realized that you cannot finish a project if you only focus on the end result. I work at a semiconductor company as a test engineer. Without getting too detailed, my responsibility is to develop a test program that will verify the performance of the products my company develops. If I only ever thought about the final test program, I would fail to ever complete the project. Of course, I need to have the final result in mind, but before I can reach the final result I have to go through the process of defining each test and writing code for each test.
What I learned from my experience at work is that you need to have both purpose and goals. Your purpose is what guides you; your goals are what keep you on your purpose. When I don't have clear and attainable goals at work, it's really hard for me to contribute to the project. When my goals are both clear and attainable, I am much more productive. Even though it may seem that what I am doing is insignificant when you look at the whole project, everything I do is important for the final result.
The verse written at the beginning of this post refers to a parable that Jesus told. A master is going out of town, so he gives three of his servants some money. The first two servants are able to double the amount of money given to them by the time the master comes back. The last servant does not do anything with the money entrusted to him. The master is delighted in the first two servants because they increased the amount of money given to them. He is angry at the last servant because the servant does nothing with his money.
When I read this passage in the past, I never really appreciated one small detail in Matthew 25:19. It says that the master came back "after a long time". Do you think that the first two servants were able to double the money given to them in one day? Two days? Three? Of course not! They must have spent weeks or months putting the money to work and earning more. The master is not only upset with the last servant because he didn't do anything with the money: he is upset because the servant did nothing over a long stretch of time.
If you have studied this passage before, you know that the master represents God Himself. Perhaps Jesus is trying to teach us through this parable that we have to continually work at our faith. He has given us what we need to build our faith. Are we doing all that we can to build our faith, even if it seems slow?
At the last Bible study I attended, the leader said a phrase that I really took to heart- "one day". I have changed it to "one day faith". One day faith refers to the faith that you build in one day. Instead of only focusing on the long-term result of faith, we should focus on faith for one day. How do we do this? I said it earlier- focus on clear and attainable goals.
I've always wanted to have a faith that is impressive. I wanted to have faith that could heal people, prophesy, or lead people to Christ. What I've been realizing is that I can never do these things until I grow my faith everyday. I shouldn't focus on those things. Instead, I should focus on clear and attainable things, like reading the Bible, praying, or ministering to others. It may seem insignificant to read a chapter of the Bible, but if you do it everyday you will eventually read the whole Bible. It may seem insignificant to pray for 10 minutes a day, but eventually you will have talked with God for hours. It may seem insignificant to minister to one person a week, but eventually you will have spoken to many.
This post has ended up being longer than I anticipated, but I think the message is clear. It's good to have big hopes for our lives and our faith. However, we must start with "one day faith". Our walk with God starts with one step. Then two, three, four, and so on. Our lives with God begin with one day. Focus on your one day faith, then see what God can do with your faith one day.
-Smart
-Matthew 25:21
I'm excited to write this post because the idea I want to present is so practical. I hope you are able to not only learn but also apply what you read today.
I would consider myself a results-driven person. If I see the results that I am looking for, the process by which the results were achieved is not really that important to me (unless it's unethical or something like that). I think that with the invention of the internet we have become accustomed to getting results quickly. We no longer have to look in a dictionary to define a word; we can just google the word. We can communicate almost instantaneously through email. The internet has given us the ability to get results very quickly, which for the most part is a good thing.
However, not everything can be achieved quickly. God has been teaching me over the past couple months that faith is not instantaneous. I wrote a blog post about this very topic a couple months ago. I've heard multiple sermons about this idea. I read about it in the book "Rooted" by Banning Liebscher. In my weekly group Bible study we have talked about it more than once. I even gave a message to my church's youth group on the topic of building faith.
Despite all of these different ways God has been speaking to me, I didn't really appreciate the truth of this principle until recently. When I used to think about faith, I always imagined that people with great faith were just able to find faith when they needed it. When I read about characters in the Bible with great faith, I always focused on the results of their faith. When I read about Daniel, I was amazed that he found faith to trust God in the midst of the lion's den. When I read about David, I was impressed at his faith to face Goliath.
What I never understood until now is that these people didn't just find faith one day. Daniel was able to trust God in the lion's den because he prayed three times a day to God before he was thrown in the den. Before David ever knew who Goliath was, he was faithful to shepherding his father's animals. It's so easy for us to focus on the results of faith because that is part of faith that we want to experience. However, we can never have the results of faith without first growing our faith.
I have been working at my current job for about 3 months now, and I realized that you cannot finish a project if you only focus on the end result. I work at a semiconductor company as a test engineer. Without getting too detailed, my responsibility is to develop a test program that will verify the performance of the products my company develops. If I only ever thought about the final test program, I would fail to ever complete the project. Of course, I need to have the final result in mind, but before I can reach the final result I have to go through the process of defining each test and writing code for each test.
What I learned from my experience at work is that you need to have both purpose and goals. Your purpose is what guides you; your goals are what keep you on your purpose. When I don't have clear and attainable goals at work, it's really hard for me to contribute to the project. When my goals are both clear and attainable, I am much more productive. Even though it may seem that what I am doing is insignificant when you look at the whole project, everything I do is important for the final result.
The verse written at the beginning of this post refers to a parable that Jesus told. A master is going out of town, so he gives three of his servants some money. The first two servants are able to double the amount of money given to them by the time the master comes back. The last servant does not do anything with the money entrusted to him. The master is delighted in the first two servants because they increased the amount of money given to them. He is angry at the last servant because the servant does nothing with his money.
When I read this passage in the past, I never really appreciated one small detail in Matthew 25:19. It says that the master came back "after a long time". Do you think that the first two servants were able to double the money given to them in one day? Two days? Three? Of course not! They must have spent weeks or months putting the money to work and earning more. The master is not only upset with the last servant because he didn't do anything with the money: he is upset because the servant did nothing over a long stretch of time.
If you have studied this passage before, you know that the master represents God Himself. Perhaps Jesus is trying to teach us through this parable that we have to continually work at our faith. He has given us what we need to build our faith. Are we doing all that we can to build our faith, even if it seems slow?
At the last Bible study I attended, the leader said a phrase that I really took to heart- "one day". I have changed it to "one day faith". One day faith refers to the faith that you build in one day. Instead of only focusing on the long-term result of faith, we should focus on faith for one day. How do we do this? I said it earlier- focus on clear and attainable goals.
I've always wanted to have a faith that is impressive. I wanted to have faith that could heal people, prophesy, or lead people to Christ. What I've been realizing is that I can never do these things until I grow my faith everyday. I shouldn't focus on those things. Instead, I should focus on clear and attainable things, like reading the Bible, praying, or ministering to others. It may seem insignificant to read a chapter of the Bible, but if you do it everyday you will eventually read the whole Bible. It may seem insignificant to pray for 10 minutes a day, but eventually you will have talked with God for hours. It may seem insignificant to minister to one person a week, but eventually you will have spoken to many.
This post has ended up being longer than I anticipated, but I think the message is clear. It's good to have big hopes for our lives and our faith. However, we must start with "one day faith". Our walk with God starts with one step. Then two, three, four, and so on. Our lives with God begin with one day. Focus on your one day faith, then see what God can do with your faith one day.
-Smart
The Completion of Joy
"When they had seen him, they spread the word concerning what had been told them about this child..."
-Luke 2:17
There must be something about the Christmas season because I'm writing two blog posts back to back. Yesterday I wrote about the birth of Jesus described in Luke 2 and asked the question of whether there is room in our hearts for Jesus. We saw that the shepherds were examples of people who were able to accept Jesus as the Savior of the world. Today I want to talk a little more about the shepherds during the time of Jesus' birth.
After hearing about Jesus' birth from the angels, the shepherds immediately went to see Jesus. When they saw Jesus, they spread the word concerning what they saw. The shepherds not only praised God, as I mentioned yesterday- they went out and told people about Jesus. The Bible tells us that the people who heard the shepherds were amazed at what they were being told.
The natural question to ask is why the shepherds went out to proclaim the good news they had heard. Wasn't it enough to just see Jesus? Matt Chandler, the pastor of the Village Church, often cites this quote from C.S. Lewis: "I think we delight to praise what we enjoy because the praise not merely expresses but completes the enjoyment; it is its appointed consummation." In other words, joy is made complete when we share our joy. The shepherds went out to share the news of Jesus' birth because they were filled with joy. To achieve the fullness of their joy, they went out and publicly expressed their joy to others.
This truth told by C.S. Lewis is something we experience all the time but don't often think about. When something that brings us joy happens, we are eager to express our joy to others. For example, when I eat at a good restaurant, I love telling others about it. In fact, part of the reason I have this blog is to express thoughts and experiences that bring me joy.
With the idea that joy is made complete in sharing it, we must ask ourselves a tough question. If we are truly joyful in this Christmas season, why aren't we sharing our joy with others? The shepherds had no reason to tell others about Jesus' birth except to express their joy. We can imagine that the shepherds wouldn't have shared the news of Jesus out of a sense of duty. I think we often are reluctant to share the good news of Jesus because we feel that we're doing it out of duty. Jesus' birth shouldn't give us a sense of duty but a spirit of joy. In this Christmas season let's ask ourselves this question: does Jesus' birth really give me joy?
-Smart
-Luke 2:17
There must be something about the Christmas season because I'm writing two blog posts back to back. Yesterday I wrote about the birth of Jesus described in Luke 2 and asked the question of whether there is room in our hearts for Jesus. We saw that the shepherds were examples of people who were able to accept Jesus as the Savior of the world. Today I want to talk a little more about the shepherds during the time of Jesus' birth.
After hearing about Jesus' birth from the angels, the shepherds immediately went to see Jesus. When they saw Jesus, they spread the word concerning what they saw. The shepherds not only praised God, as I mentioned yesterday- they went out and told people about Jesus. The Bible tells us that the people who heard the shepherds were amazed at what they were being told.
The natural question to ask is why the shepherds went out to proclaim the good news they had heard. Wasn't it enough to just see Jesus? Matt Chandler, the pastor of the Village Church, often cites this quote from C.S. Lewis: "I think we delight to praise what we enjoy because the praise not merely expresses but completes the enjoyment; it is its appointed consummation." In other words, joy is made complete when we share our joy. The shepherds went out to share the news of Jesus' birth because they were filled with joy. To achieve the fullness of their joy, they went out and publicly expressed their joy to others.
This truth told by C.S. Lewis is something we experience all the time but don't often think about. When something that brings us joy happens, we are eager to express our joy to others. For example, when I eat at a good restaurant, I love telling others about it. In fact, part of the reason I have this blog is to express thoughts and experiences that bring me joy.
With the idea that joy is made complete in sharing it, we must ask ourselves a tough question. If we are truly joyful in this Christmas season, why aren't we sharing our joy with others? The shepherds had no reason to tell others about Jesus' birth except to express their joy. We can imagine that the shepherds wouldn't have shared the news of Jesus out of a sense of duty. I think we often are reluctant to share the good news of Jesus because we feel that we're doing it out of duty. Jesus' birth shouldn't give us a sense of duty but a spirit of joy. In this Christmas season let's ask ourselves this question: does Jesus' birth really give me joy?
-Smart
Is There Room for Jesus?
"She wrapped him in cloths and placed him in a manger, because there was no guest room available for them."
-Luke 2:7
Earlier today I studied Luke 2 at the weekly group Bible study I attend. You know Christmas is right around the corner when churches begin studying the beginning chapters of Luke's gospel. Luke chapter two describes the birth of Jesus to Mary and Joseph. Caesar Augustus orders a census to be taken, forcing Joseph and his pregnant wife Mary to travel to Bethlehem. Jesus is born in Bethlehem, fulfilling the prophecy in Micah 5:2.
When Mary and Joseph arrive in Bethlehem, they are unable to find a room in an inn. What they end up doing is staying in what we can assume is a barn. Jesus is born in a manger, which is a box that animals ate from. As a Christian, I believe that Jesus was and is the Savior of the world. A manger is the last place people would have expected a savior to be born. The Jews were probably expecting their Messiah, or Savior, to be a powerful leader who would liberate them from the Romans. As a result, no one came to Jesus in the manger until an angel appeared to some shepherds, but we'll address that later in the post.
While studying this part of the passage, the Bible study leader asked a convicting question: is there room for Jesus in your heart? Everyone had pushed Jesus aside, by refusing Mary and Joseph a room to stay in. Isn't that exactly what we do in our hearts? We so easily push Jesus aside because He's not the Savior that we want. Just like the Jews, we want Jesus to liberate us from the circumstances around us. For the Jews, it was the Roman government. For us, it can be a lack of finances, poor working conditions, hard exams, or the people around us.
What the Jews didn't understand is that Jesus didn't come to save them from the Romans. Jesus came to save them from themselves. What does this mean? Even though the Jews were God's people, they were still sinners, just like us. They needed saving from their sin. They didn't need to be saved from the circumstances surrounding them, they needed to be saved from the sin within them. Jesus in a manger is so hard for us to accept because even though He's the savior we need, He's not the savior we want.
Later in the passage we read that an angel appears to shepherds who were keeping watch over sheep at night. Another question that was raised in the Bible study is why angels appeared to shepherds. Shepherds were not high on the social ladder, and were probably ignored for the most part. If God were to announce the coming of the Messiah, we would expect God to announce it to the Pharisees and teachers of the law. We definitely would not expect God to announce the birthing of Jesus to lowly shepherds.
So why was the birth of Jesus first announced to shepherds? I cannot give a definite answer since it is not recorded in the Scripture and I am not God. However, I believe that there are three possible reasons the angel approached shepherds. The shepherds were ready, receptive, and responsive.
First, they were ready. If you read the passage, you will see that the shepherds were tending their flocks late at night. This means that they were awake when no one else was. Everyone else was busy or tired from travelling for the census. The shepherds were faithfully doing their job, which required that they were awake at night. What we can learn from the shepherds' readiness is that sometimes all God wants is for us to be ready. We don't have to be perfect or sinless, we just need to be ready for Jesus.
Second, the shepherds were receptive. If Jesus' birth was announced to the Pharisees and teaches of the law, I don't think they would be receptive to the news. They would probably question why the Messiah was born in a barn rather than in a palace. The Jewish elite would assume that there was nothing a baby in a manger could do for them. On the other hand, the shepherds were ignored by society. Perhaps their low status positioned their hearts to be receptive of a savior born in a manger. It's important to ask ourselves if we are too proud to accept Jesus as our Savior.
Third, they were responsive. After the shepherds met Jesus, they praised God. They didn't simply return to their flocks, they praised and glorified God. I made the point while teaching some youth group kids that worship is the proper response to God (recorded by Grace in Journey Through Life). The shepherds not only were ready and receptive of Jesus' birth, they responded with worship. Jesus' birth should lead us to respond in worship.
Christmas time is often very busy and distracting. The world tells us that Christmas time is all about shopping and spending time with family and friends. While neither of these are bad in themselves, they are not the point of Christmas. Christmas is a time to celebrate Jesus' birth. I admit that I am often busy and distracted during Christmas and forget the whole point. I am often busy rather than ready. I am often distracted rather than receptive. I am often passive rather than receptive.
I don't want my life to be so filled with meaningless things that I find no room for Jesus in my heart. I don't want to be like the inn that turned away Jesus because there was no longer any room. This might mean that I have to get rid of some things to make space for Jesus, but it's worth it because He's the Savior that I need. How about you? Is there room for Jesus?
-Smart
-Luke 2:7
Earlier today I studied Luke 2 at the weekly group Bible study I attend. You know Christmas is right around the corner when churches begin studying the beginning chapters of Luke's gospel. Luke chapter two describes the birth of Jesus to Mary and Joseph. Caesar Augustus orders a census to be taken, forcing Joseph and his pregnant wife Mary to travel to Bethlehem. Jesus is born in Bethlehem, fulfilling the prophecy in Micah 5:2.
When Mary and Joseph arrive in Bethlehem, they are unable to find a room in an inn. What they end up doing is staying in what we can assume is a barn. Jesus is born in a manger, which is a box that animals ate from. As a Christian, I believe that Jesus was and is the Savior of the world. A manger is the last place people would have expected a savior to be born. The Jews were probably expecting their Messiah, or Savior, to be a powerful leader who would liberate them from the Romans. As a result, no one came to Jesus in the manger until an angel appeared to some shepherds, but we'll address that later in the post.
While studying this part of the passage, the Bible study leader asked a convicting question: is there room for Jesus in your heart? Everyone had pushed Jesus aside, by refusing Mary and Joseph a room to stay in. Isn't that exactly what we do in our hearts? We so easily push Jesus aside because He's not the Savior that we want. Just like the Jews, we want Jesus to liberate us from the circumstances around us. For the Jews, it was the Roman government. For us, it can be a lack of finances, poor working conditions, hard exams, or the people around us.
What the Jews didn't understand is that Jesus didn't come to save them from the Romans. Jesus came to save them from themselves. What does this mean? Even though the Jews were God's people, they were still sinners, just like us. They needed saving from their sin. They didn't need to be saved from the circumstances surrounding them, they needed to be saved from the sin within them. Jesus in a manger is so hard for us to accept because even though He's the savior we need, He's not the savior we want.
Later in the passage we read that an angel appears to shepherds who were keeping watch over sheep at night. Another question that was raised in the Bible study is why angels appeared to shepherds. Shepherds were not high on the social ladder, and were probably ignored for the most part. If God were to announce the coming of the Messiah, we would expect God to announce it to the Pharisees and teachers of the law. We definitely would not expect God to announce the birthing of Jesus to lowly shepherds.
So why was the birth of Jesus first announced to shepherds? I cannot give a definite answer since it is not recorded in the Scripture and I am not God. However, I believe that there are three possible reasons the angel approached shepherds. The shepherds were ready, receptive, and responsive.
First, they were ready. If you read the passage, you will see that the shepherds were tending their flocks late at night. This means that they were awake when no one else was. Everyone else was busy or tired from travelling for the census. The shepherds were faithfully doing their job, which required that they were awake at night. What we can learn from the shepherds' readiness is that sometimes all God wants is for us to be ready. We don't have to be perfect or sinless, we just need to be ready for Jesus.
Second, the shepherds were receptive. If Jesus' birth was announced to the Pharisees and teaches of the law, I don't think they would be receptive to the news. They would probably question why the Messiah was born in a barn rather than in a palace. The Jewish elite would assume that there was nothing a baby in a manger could do for them. On the other hand, the shepherds were ignored by society. Perhaps their low status positioned their hearts to be receptive of a savior born in a manger. It's important to ask ourselves if we are too proud to accept Jesus as our Savior.
Third, they were responsive. After the shepherds met Jesus, they praised God. They didn't simply return to their flocks, they praised and glorified God. I made the point while teaching some youth group kids that worship is the proper response to God (recorded by Grace in Journey Through Life). The shepherds not only were ready and receptive of Jesus' birth, they responded with worship. Jesus' birth should lead us to respond in worship.
Christmas time is often very busy and distracting. The world tells us that Christmas time is all about shopping and spending time with family and friends. While neither of these are bad in themselves, they are not the point of Christmas. Christmas is a time to celebrate Jesus' birth. I admit that I am often busy and distracted during Christmas and forget the whole point. I am often busy rather than ready. I am often distracted rather than receptive. I am often passive rather than receptive.
I don't want my life to be so filled with meaningless things that I find no room for Jesus in my heart. I don't want to be like the inn that turned away Jesus because there was no longer any room. This might mean that I have to get rid of some things to make space for Jesus, but it's worth it because He's the Savior that I need. How about you? Is there room for Jesus?
-Smart
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