Incarnation and You

Heart to Heart from the Housewrights…

God sent a man, John the Baptist, to tell about the light so that everyone might believe because of his testimony. John himself was not the light; he was simply a witness to tell about the light. The one who is the true light, who gives light to everyone, was coming into the world.He came into the very world he created, but the world didn’t recognize him. He came to his own people, and even they rejected him. But to all who believed him and accepted him, he gave the right to become children of God. They are reborn—not with a physical birth resulting from human passion or plan, but a birth that comes from God. So the Word became human and made his home among us. He was full of unfailing love and faithfulness. And we have seen his glory, the glory of the Father’s one and only Son - John 1:6-14 (NLT)

“The mystery of the humanity of Christ, that He sunk Himself into our flesh, is beyond all human understanding…” Martin Luther, Table Talk.

There are many theological terms which are elusive to the normal Christian: soteriology; ontological; salvific; cessationist; antinomianism; epistemology…whew, brain freeze.

But, there is one term which we should all know and understand: incarnation.

During the Christian seasons of Advent and Christmas-time the family of Christ remembers and celebrates the fact of the incarnation. So, what is it? What does incarnation mean?

Incarnation simply means this: a particular form of physical state; the embodiment of a deity or spirit in some earthly form. Specifically, as the Christian faith is concerned: the union of the Divine with humanity in the form of Jesus Christ.

It is why the gospel of John begins by sharing this truth: “So the Word became human and made his home among us.” God (Divine) came to his creation and became one of us (human).

Geoff Moore and the Distance had a song called “One of Us.” The lyrics are:

How could He know much less sympathize with one who has fallen as often as I

To a world that was lost how could He show us the way

This mystery I don't understand, somehow our God became a man.

To every child to every man Who's longing for someone Who will understand

To each tender heart crying alone in the night

Lift up your eyes to a holy King - Who's walked the road of humanity

He was one of us - somehow like you and me - the God we serve breathed the air that we breathe. He stood where we stand, so He knows what we need - He was one of us.

He was one of us.

Long ago, there ruled in Persia a wise and good king. He loved his people. He wanted to know how they lived. He wanted to know about their hardships. Often he dressed in the clothes of a working man or a beggar, and went to the homes of the poor. No one whom he visited thought that he was their ruler.

One time he visited a very poor man who lived in a cellar. He ate the coarse food the poor man ate. He spoke cheerful, kind words to him. Then he left. Later he visited the poor man again and disclosed his identity by saying, "I am your king!"

The king thought the man would surely ask for some gift or favor, but he didn't. Instead he said, "You left your palace and your glory to visit me in this dark, dreary place. You ate the course food I ate. You brought gladness to my heart! To others you have given your rich gifts. To me you have given yourself!"

“You have given yourself!”

God was/is willing to make most any accommodation to have fellowship with us. Even becoming human. God has given himself. Incarnation.

Someone has written:
If our greatest need had been information, God would have sent us an educator.
If your greatest need had been technology, God would have sent us a scientist.
If our greatest need had been money, God would have sent us an economist.
If our greatest need had been pleasure, God would have sent us an entertainer.
But our greatest need was forgiveness, so God sent us a Savior.

As much as we love the above thoughts - perhaps we would tweak that last sentence by saying this: “Our greatest need is relationship - so God sent himself.”

Now, let’s apply this knowledge and truth of the incarnation to each of our lives. God has sent YOU to where you are, to be with who you are with, to share what he has entrusted to you, to bless those whose paths you cross.

Today, tomorrow - every day left in your life - is a day of the incarnation. YOU are the heart, voice, hands and feet of Christ to a world in desperate need of good news.

Maybe that’s why Jesus’ command to his disciples was “Go.”

Advent - What's in a Name?

 

This is how Jesus the Messiah was born. His mother, Mary, was engaged to be married to Joseph. But before the marriage took place, while she was still a virgin, she became pregnant through the power of the Holy Spirit. Joseph, to whom she was engaged, was a righteous man and did not want to disgrace her publicly, so he decided to break the engagement quietly. As he considered this, an angel of the Lord appeared to him in a dream. “Joseph, son of David,” the angel said, “do not be afraid to take Mary as your wife. For the child within her was conceived by the Holy Spirit. And she will have a son, and you are to name him Jesus, for he will save his people from their sins.” All of this occurred to fulfill the Lord’s message through his prophet:

“Look! The virgin will conceive a child! She will give birth to a son,

and they will call him Immanuel, which means ‘God is with us.’”

When Joseph woke up, he did as the angel of the Lord commanded and took Mary as his wife. But he did not have sexual relations with her until her son was born. And Joseph named him Jesus.

(Matthew 1:18-25 NLT)

‘'What's in a name? that which we call a rose by any other name would smell as sweet'. Of course, many of you will recognize that line from Shakespeare's Romeo and Juliet. In this scene Juliet bemoans Romeo's last name of Montague…her family's sworn enemies.

What is in a name? Actually, everything. Often it is the first piece of information we have about a person. When I first saw Missy I wondered - “Who is this?!” I needed her name!

We hear someone’s name and, whether right or wrong, we form judgments about people very quickly. Don’t believe us, ask someone named Karen…Trump…or Biden.

Judgments on people - based on their names - can lead us in a positive or negative direction. And those first impressions can set the stage for future interactions.

Preceding our text today in the first chapter of Matthew we have a long list of names. A genealogy. Some of those names are hard to pronounce! But, each one meant something
and it was important to Matthew to give you their names. Why? Because they were all leading up to one Name. The “Name above all names.”

Jesus. His name caused immense, emotional reaction in the first century. It still does today.

Some say Jesus as a word of anger. Others use it in a moment of shock. Still others whisper it reverently when overcome with sadness.

Countless people take time each day to ask the Divine to intervene on their behalf. Those times are spoken in faith because they believe that the Name they are asking their requests in - well, he is listening and will respond.

Jesus. His name is derived from the Hebrew Yeshua - better known as Joshua. His name means “God saves.” Now that’s a Name.

As we enter the final few days of celebrating Christmas, traveling here, there and yonder…as we prepare for the new year and whatever it holds…let’s hold tight to that Name - Jesus.

May his name be a blessing on our lips. May it be a reminder of Who we belong to. May it guide us in all of our decisions. May it bring light during the often dark days. May the name of Jesus - bless you and bring peace to your heart.

Because we all have names it is important to remember: God knows you. He knows your name. We even read in Exodus, in speaking to Moses, God says: And the LORD said to Moses, “This very thing that you have spoken I will do, for you have found favor in my sight, and I know you by name,” (Exodus 33:17).

Yet, greater still, is not that God knows our earthly names, but rather we know his Name. Psalm 91:14 states: “Because he holds fast to me in love, I will deliver him; I will protect him, because he knows my name.”

Jesus.

Merry Christmas and Happy New Year to you all. May the Name of Jesus bless, uphold and guide you through the rest of the days of your life.

What We Believe Matters - Part 4: One Little Slip

 

02-15-2022

“Therefore if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation. The old has passed away. Behold, the new has come! All this is from God, who reconciled us to Himself through Christ and gave us the ministry of reconciliation: that God was reconciling the world to Himself in Christ, not counting people’s trespasses against them. And He has committed to us the message of reconciliation. Therefore we are ambassadors for Christ, as though God were making His appeal through us. We implore you on behalf of Christ: Be reconciled to God. God made Him who knew no sin to be sin on our behalf, so that in Him we might become the righteousness of God,"

 - 2 Corinthians 5:17-21.

And this is the message we have heard from Him and announce to you: God is light, and in Him there is no darkness at all. If we say we have fellowship with Him yet walk in the darkness, we lie and do not practice the truth. But if we walk in the light as He is in the light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus His Son cleanses us from all sin. If we say we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us. If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness. If we say we have not sinned, we make Him out to be a liar, and His word is not in us."

 - I John 1:5-10.

We’re not sure when it began, but at some point in human history someone decided to perpetuate the visual concept of God as a Divine Being who sits on a great big throne waiting to throw lightning bolts to snuff us out as soon as we make one mistake. After all, didn’t he send the flood to wipe out everyone (minus 8 and some nice animals) because they were constantly sinning?

Missy and I have discussed with many people the idea we had as young people that God’s only desire was to keep a constant lookout on us in order to “catch us in the act” of doing something wrong. Why? So we could not enter heaven - instead sliding into Hell (Hell, there is an interesting subject for future discussion). As the old song went, “God’s gonna get you for that…”

Look, it’s no lie to say God hates sin. He despises it. It cost him the life of his one and only Son, Jesus. As a matter of fact, we are told in the Revelation of Jesus Christ (otherwise known as “Revelations” by those who do not read it) that: “The one who overcomes will inherit all things, and I will be his God, and they will be My child. But to the cowardly and unbelieving and abominable and murderers and sexually immoral and sorcerers and idolaters and all liars, their place will be in the lake that burns with fire and sulfur. This is the second death,” - Revelation 21:7&8.

It seems that for the last 2,000 years people who believe in Jesus have focused on those last two verses rather than the verses at the top. We highlighted it for you: God through Jesus wants to forgive people of their sins, not counting them against them AND if we confess (agree with God) that we have broken his law, God is true to his word to forgive us and make us clean. The Bible calls this justification - “just as if I’ve never sinned.”

The clear truth of the Old and New Testament is this: “Every single one of us has sinned and we all fall short of the glory of God (BUT!!!!) we have been and continue to be justified freely by His grace through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus.…” (Romans 3:23&24). It doesn’t get any simpler than that.

It has nothing to do with what you’ve done or left undone; what you’ve said or left unsaid.
It has nothing to do with what you’ve given or have not given, attended or not attended.
It has nothing to do with your intelligence, talent, color, upbringing, education, or determination.
It has nothing to do with you…or me.

It’s all about God - the Father, the Son, the Holy Spirit.

Therefore, it’s not about what you’ve done wrong or what you will do wrong. It’s about what God did right. On the cross and over the grave. Your life is not about “getting caught” for what you’ve done wrong. Life is about being freed and living in that freedom - from self and sin.

As we watch the Olympics we are reminded of people being judged on what they’ve done wrong. One small slip of the ski, one minute misstep of the skate, one tiny and awkward slide of the snowboard…each of these almost invisible moments are grounds for deduction and exclusion from the top three spots. Tens of thousands of hours of work, effort, no family, pain, stress, mental anguish - literally putting their lives on hold - only to have one second of time destroy a lifetime goal.

Thank God that’s NOT the story when it comes to our hearts and souls, and therefore, eternity. Because of what God did through Jesus we now have the promises of these truths:

1. Our sins were dealt with once and for all at the cross. No amount of sin or mistakes will undo what God has done. “It is finished” is what Jesus said.

2. We were forgiven 2000 years ago. We hadn’t been born yet but Jesus’ sacrifice was one time, for all.

3. We were forgiven through Jesus’ blood. Our work and effort have nothing to do with it.

4. We were forgiven completely for all time. It is not necessary for Jesus to go to the cross again every time we slip up.

5. We were forgiven by God’s grace. Forgiveness is his business and business is good. All we can do is activate it by placing our faith in Jesus.

6. Our sins are completely gone. “As far as the east is from the west, so far has God removed our sins from us,” - Psalm 103:12.

7. God has chosen not only to forgive but to also forget our sin. God is love, and as Paul reminds us in I Corinthians 13 “Love keeps no record of wrong.” God is not a fault-finder…he is a counter of our tears but not our sins.

Missy and I hope and pray you will eventually move past a “I hope God didn’t see or hear that” way of living and move into the “Thank God for Jesus Christ” type of faith. The liberty we have in Jesus cannot be compared. Even “one little slip” will not slide us straight into oblivion out of his reach.

One final note: Our liberty is not a freedom to go on sinning or doing what we want because we have been given a blank check. It is important to remember that a check is nothing without a signature on the bottom. Let’s remember that our “Check” for forgiveness was signed in blood. Therefore, through the power of the Holy Spirit, let us do our best to not sin - knowing full well that if we do: “If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.”

Steve and Missy