WHAT CAN THE LORD MAKE NEW IN YOUR NEW YEAR?

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In Christ, Mark

The scriptures. May God bless the reading of His holy word.

Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ! In his great mercy he has given us new birth into a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead. 1 Peter 1:3

He has made us competent as ministers of a new covenant—not of the letter but of the Spirit; for the letter kills, but the Spirit gives life. 2 Corinthians 3:6

A new command I give you: Love one another. As I have loved you, so you must love one another. John 13:34

The people were all so amazed that they asked each other, “What is this? A new teaching—and with authority! He even gives orders to impure spirits and they obey him.” Mark 1:27

I will give you a new heart and put a new spirit in you; I will remove from you your heart of stone and give you a heart of flesh. Ezekiel 36:26

Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; old things have passed away, and look, new things have come. 2 Corinthians 5:17 (HCSB)

 

This ends this reading from God's holy word. Thanks be to God.

As you read this, either you will already be in the New Year or you will just be hours from ushering it in. The 365 days of 2012 are past and a fresh series of days and months are ahead of us.

We call it the New Year and it is but what can be new about it?  What can the Lord make new in your New Year?

Well, to answer that question I have extracted six scripture passages for us to ponder, all having the theme of the Lord doing something new. Here we go:

1. Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ! In his great mercy he has given us new birth into a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead. 1 Peter 1:3

As we enter into the New Year, we leave a 2012 that was filled with a lot of tragedy and heartache, particularly in several shooting incidents that took the lives of innocent children, teachers, and firefighters to name a few. As we see evil in our world seem to want to dominate the headlines, let us look at 2013 with a renewed sense of hope, and not just any hope but a living hope found only through the salvation resurrection promise of Christ Jesus. For all those who place their faith and trust in Him as Savior are victorious people. No one can take away the eternal life that awaits you and friends, that is truly good news. Hold onto that into and through the New Year.

2. He has made us competent as ministers of a new covenant—not of the letter but of the Spirit; for the letter kills, but the Spirit gives life. 2 Corinthians 3:6

Life might offer you and me lots of promises but they all are fleeting compared to the new covenant we receive through Jesus Christ, a covenant that is carried out in and through all Christians every day through the Holy Spirit. As we enter the New Year, let us turn to the Spirit living within to lead us toward glorifying the Lord in all we do while we carry out His will and testify to the new covenant offered all through Jesus.  

3. A new command I give you: Love one another. As I have loved you, so you must love one another. John 13:34

Want to know how to operate within all of the relationships that the Lord draws you into? You need only look to this command from Jesus to find the answer.

It’s love.

Love will always be the right call as we coexist with one another in this life season on earth. And we aren’t to love as the world loves because the world has done a good job of polluting and corrupting love, taking it far from what the Lord intends for it to be. No, we’re to love as Jesus loved, loving unconditionally and in a way that would have us die for another if need be. In the New Year, let’s recommit ourselves to loving agape-style, modeling the love of Jesus in all our relationships.

4. The people were all so amazed that they asked each other, “What is this? A new teaching—and with authority! He even gives orders to impure spirits and they obey him.” Mark 1:27

Rest assured of this, no matter how well you think you know the word of God, I guarantee you He is ready to teach you something new every time you open His book and enter into communion with Him through the Holy Spirit. I’m amazed every day as I write these devotions by how the Lord is speaking to me powerfully, new and fresh, every single day. My prayer in the New Year is that you’ll devote yourself more to the scriptures and experience the newness of the Lord’s teaching that will want you to tell others with excitement about all He is revealing to you about Himself and His purposes.

5. I will give you a new heart and put a new spirit in you; I will remove from you your heart of stone and give you a heart of flesh. Ezekiel 36:26

When we turn to the Lord every day to receive His instruction and Holy Spirit, something amazing happens inside us. We are transformed and conformed more and more to the image of Christ and, through that process, find our hearts changed – new, caring, forgiving, and compassionate.

In His Sermon on the Mount, Jesus said, “Where your treasure is, there your heart will be also” (Matthew 6:21). When Jesus is your treasure, then He will be in your heart and thus everything you do will be an extension of Him, every action, spoken word, and thought.

Won’t you turn your heart over to Jesus more in the New Year? If you do, I guarantee you will have a new heart, a heart that beats like the heart of Christ.

6. Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; old things have passed away, and look, new things have come. 2 Corinthians 5:17 (HCSB)

Maybe you’re reading this today and you have yet to accept Jesus as your Lord and Savior. Maybe you have done so in the past but have drifted away from Christ in your life, living more for yourself and the world than others.

Well, today you have a chance to change things, to make your life new or renewed.

If you haven’t accepted Christ’s invitation to eternal life, I ask you to pray this prayer right this very moment and receive salvation:

O God my Father, I come before you in the name of Jesus as a sinner in need of Your forgiveness for my transgressions. I believe that Your only Son Jesus died for my sins, shedding His precious blood on Calvary’s cross. I want to turn from my sins and who I was before. I want to be a new creation with Jesus as the Lord of my soul.

I fully believe and will proclaim that You raised Your Son Jesus, my Savior, from the dead and in doing so, opened the gates of heaven for all who would place their faith and trust in Him as Savior. I want to be counted among that number and receive the rich inheritance You promise in Your Holy Word.

Thank you Jesus for dying for me and saving me. Change and transform me so every part of me is like You. Teach me Your ways and show me to love and extend grace and mercy as You do.

May all that I am be all that You are Lord Jesus. 

Amen.

If you received Jesus as Savior with this prayer then you are saved and are now a new creation in Christ. What you were before is behind you and there is an endless wave of new experiences coming your way through Christ Jesus in 2013.

And if you need to renew your commitment to Jesus, then you can pray this prayer right now and enter 2013 with a new focus with your eyes firmly fixed on Jesus:

Lord Jesus, forgive me for how I have lived apart from Your will and way. I now recommit my heart, mind, and soul back to Your purpose, to Your will and way. Lead and guide me back into Your righteousness and holiness I pray and use me as an instrument of Your will so that in all things I do, say or think, I will bring honor and glory and praise to Your precious and holy name.

Amen

So there you have it, all the things the Lord is ready to make new in your New Year. Won’t you receive His everlasting hope, His amazing promise, His unending love, His wise counsel and instruction, His offer of spiritual rebirth, and receive His renewed Spirit that will lead your hearts toward righteousness and holiness.

2013 has the potential to be your greatest year ever, full of fresh spiritual growth through Christ Jesus.

I say, “Come Lord Jesus, come. I’m ready to receive You and carry out Your will and way.”

Will you join me?

Amen.

In Christ,

Mark

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RESOLUTIONS FOR A NEW YEAR

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In Christ, Mark

The scriptures. May God bless the reading of His holy word.

I will sing of Your love and justice; to You, Lord, I will sing praise.

I will be careful to lead a blameless life — when will you come to me?

I will conduct the affairs of my house with a blameless heart.

I will not look with approval on anything that is vile.

Psalm 101:1-3

This ends this reading from God's holy word. Thanks be to God.

As we approach a new year, we often see a chance for a new beginning, putting the past year behind us and focusing on new opportunities ahead. And so we will make any number of resolutions, committing ourselves to change a part of our life in the new year. A study found that the following were the top 10 resolutions made for 2012 from number 1 to number 10:

1.   Lose weight

2.   Get organized

3.   Spend less, save more

4.   Enjoy life to the fullest

5.   Staying fit and healthy

6.   Learn something exciting

7.   Quit smoking

8.   Help others fulfill their dreams.

9.   Fall in love

10. Spend more time with family

Maybe you have already thought about what you might do differently in the coming year and perhaps your thoughts match up with something on this list. But note that there is no mention in this top 10 about improving one’s spiritual life, one’s walk with the Lord.

As I looked at the opening verses of the 101st Psalm, our latest stop in this extensive study of the Psalms, I discovered four key resolutions we could all stand to adopt as we enter 2013. They are as follows:

1. I will sing of Your love and justice; to You, Lord, I will sing praise.

In the new year, let us sing our praises and sing them to the Lord. Of course, we can do this in church but we can also do it all through the week as well. When we’re in our cars driving, we can play a Christian radio station like K-Love or others. In most cars, there are CD players where you can insert a Christian CD to listen to; in more modern cars, you can even plug your IPOD into your car stereo and listen to a Christian playlist that way. And speaking of IPODs and IPHONE’s, nearly everyone has one or the other it seems and you can always load Christian music to listen to wherever you might be. Internet radio stations like Pandora also offer great Christian music channels to stream music to your device.

There is really no shortage of options available to you to listen to music that proclaims the Lord’s love and faithfulness and goodness and grace and justice. We just need to tune into them and sing praises to the Lord, the only One truly worthy of our honor, glory, and exaltation.

2. I will be careful to lead a blameless life.

We can always stand better in this, to live our lives more in line with the Lord’s righteousness and holiness. No one is blameless because no one is perfect. Thus, everyone has room to improve and can adopt this resolution. Know and trust that the Lord is ever wanting to mold and shape us more and more into His image. We just need to submit ourselves to Him and be obedient to walk in the ways He calls us to walk.

3. I will conduct the affairs of my house with a blameless heart.

When we go after fulfilling spiritual resolution number two, then this resolution happens as an end result. Walking in obedience to the Lord’s word and way will not only have us to lead a blameless life but also conduct all our affairs in a blameless way. Our personal life attitude spreads into our work, our worship, and our relationships we develop with others. The Lord’s ways permeate every part of who we are and, in turn, we begin to reflect the Lord’s image in all we do and say and think.

4. I will not look with approval on anything that is vile.

When we live blamelessly and conduct our affairs blamelessly, we lose tolerance for the things of the world that do not. We stand firm on the word of God and the ways that Jesus taught us regarding living in righteousness, speaking out against the things of the world that would run counter to God’s expectations. We’re not to stand on the sidelines but rather openly speak out for the cause of the Lord. Jesus never hesitated to take on the establishment, especially when they were acting in ways counter to His Father’s will and word. We are to follow Christ’s lead in the way we live our lives.

So there you have it, four resolutions from the word of God that we all can adopt and strive to meet in 2013. I hope you’ll join me in doing just that as we seek to better serve our Father and His Son, our Savior, in the new year.

Amen.

In Christ,

Mark

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RINGING IN THE NEW YEAR WITH THANKS AND PRAISE

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In Christ, Mark

The scriptures. May God bless the reading of His holy word.

Enter His gates with thanksgiving and His courts with praise; give thanks to Him and praise His name. For the Lord is good and His love endures forever; His faithfulness continues through all generations.

Psalm 100:4-5

This ends this reading from God's holy word. Thanks be to God.

What is your new year’s tradition? What are you doing as the seconds tick off until that moment when one year ends and a new one commences?

Typically, my wife and I are spending that time quietly together, toasting as the new year begins with a couple of plastic faux champagne glasses filled with non-alcoholic cider as neither of us drink alcohol. We exchange a kiss and would make a call to our parents to wish them a Happy New Year. Then it would be off to bed to rest before enjoying the New Year’s Day holiday.

Maybe you have your own traditions. Some people like to go and stay at a hotel which offers a nice New Year’s Eve package to include a party where people can dance and bring in the new year together. Typically there are party favors abounding to add to the festivities.

If you’re really brave, maybe you will go to New York City and watch the infamous ball drop. I did this once and it was an amazing experience, although one I wouldn’t want to do again. Too many people, a throng of humanity actually, wedged into a small area where there was open drinking and a lot of pushing and shoving. And call me a wimp but I’m not one for cold temperatures and it was cold that night as I stood with the masses. I am much more comfortable bringing in the new year with the one I love in a warm house, watching all the people standing where I once was freezing themselves.

Did you notice what was missing in these examples? Did I mention God anywhere?

Indeed, we get so caught up in time, with seconds counting down until a new year begins, that we tend to forget about the One who gave us that time. Perhaps we could have a change of heart this New Year’s Eve and ring in the new year with our thoughts focused on the Lord – and we could use the closing verses of the 100th Psalm to give us guidance as to how to go about it:

Enter His gates with thanksgiving and His courts with praise; give thanks to Him and praise His name. For the Lord is good and His love endures forever; His faithfulness continues through all generations.

You see, as the seconds tick down, maybe we should be preparing our hearts to enter into the gates and courts of the Lord instead of a party, or into a massive crowd watching a ball drop, or even sitting quietly at home getting ready to toast. And instead of raising our hearts in jubilation to the coming of a new year, exclaiming, “HAPPY NEW YEAR!”, we should instead be giving thanks and praising the Lord for His goodness and His love and His faithfulness that has endured for every year since the dawn of creation and across every generation.

And the good news is that He always will.

Friends, maybe this year instead of singing the words to “Auld Lang Syne” to enter into the new year, we could instead sing these words written by one of the best Christian music artists of this generation, Chris Tomlin, entering into the gates and courts of the Lord in the new year, praising Him and giving thanks for all He has done while looking forward to all He is yet to do in the days to come.

Give thanks to the Lord our God and King
His love endures forever
For He is good, He is above all things
His love endures forever

Sing praise, sing praise

With a mighty hand and outstretched arm
His love endures forever
For the life that's been reborn
His love endures forever

Sing praise, sing praise

Forever God is faithful
Forever God is strong
Forever God is with us
Forever

From the rising to the setting sun
His love endures forever
By the grace of God we will carry on
His love endures forever

Sing praise, sing praise

Forever God is faithful
Forever God is strong
Forever God is with us
Forever

Listen here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4ExLgyjgiyc

Amen.

In Christ,

Mark

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OUR IDENTITY

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In Christ, Mark

The scriptures. May God bless the reading of His holy word.

Know that the Lord is God. It is He who made us, and we are His; we are His people, the sheep of His pasture.

Psalm 100:3

This ends this reading from God's holy word. Thanks be to God.

How do you identify yourself in life? I mean, who are you – really?

The answer to that question depends largely on your mindset.

In a society today that is more “I” and “me” centered, you’ll probably identify yourself with your work, your status, or your achievements? What you do defines you.

If you have a family, maybe they define you more than anything. I know my youngest daughter has her hands full with a four year old, a one year old, and a newborn at home. With her husband serving our country in the Air Force and working a lot of hours, my daughter’s life is pretty much consumed by the kids and she would identify most with being a mother with little time on her hands outside of rearing the little ones.

And then there are those who have a strong faith life in Christ. For those who do, nothing identifies them more than Jesus, first and foremost. And this is the way it should be if you are a Christian for Christ’s purpose for coming to live and die here on earth was centered on saving us. It was never about Him but us. In return as a simple way to express our gratitude for Him, we should give Him our all including our identity.

We have this identity in Christ because of God the Father. We know this from the one verse in the scriptures that people are most familiar with, John 3:16:

For God so loved the world that He gave His one and only Son, that whoever believes in Him shall not perish but have eternal life.

God gave His Son for us so we might have the opportunity to one day live with Him and Jesus forever. For Christians, this is our destiny and reward for a life dedicated to Christ as we identify ourselves as Christians. But we also have an identity based on our relationship with our Heavenly Father and we find it in one single verse from the 100th Psalm:

Know that the Lord is God. It is He who made us, and we are His; we are His people, the sheep of His pasture.

In just twenty-five words, we gain knowledge of who we are in life, of what our identity is. Consider these three main identifiers:

1. We are made by God.

We are God’s handiwork, crafted and shaped by His hands. Each of us is unique, no two people are identical like there are no identical snowflakes when they fall. Even those believed to be perfect twins develop with different personalities even though they may look the same. No one creates like the Lord our God who made us and loves us just the way we are.

2. Because God made us, we belong to Him.

He is our Father and we are His children. He loves us and raises us with a parent’s tender care – and not like any worldly parent because God perfectly parents us and ever seeks to lead us toward righteousness and holiness as we dwell in His creation.

3. While we dwell in His creation, we are the sheep of His pasture.

God makes us and raises us, placing us here on earth. He watches over us and tends to us as a shepherd leads his flock. The Lord our God knows how vulnerable we are in our humanity and how much peril in before us. Like sheep left unattended, we would be easy fodder for predators who would like to have their way with us without God’s protection and providence. In Him, we find all we need as highlighted by these classic words from the 23rd Psalm:

The Lord is my shepherd, I lack nothing.

He makes me lie down in green pastures, He leads me beside quiet waters, He refreshes my soul.

He guides me along the right paths for His name’s sake. Even though I walk through the darkest valley, I will fear no evil, for You are with me; Your rod and Your staff, they comfort me. 

As we get set to say farewell to 2012 and welcome to a new year full of new situations and circumstances, let’s stay focused on our true identity: Christians who are saved by the shed blood of our Savior Jesus Christ and children of the Lord Most High who created us and now guides and shepherds us through life until that day when we see our salvation promise fulfilled and live with God and Jesus forever more.

Amen.

In Christ,

Mark

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ACTION WORDS

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In Christ, Mark

The scriptures. May God bless the reading of His holy word.

Shout for joy to the Lord, all the earth.

Worship the Lord with gladness;

Come before Him with joyful songs.

Know that the Lord is God.

Psalm 100:1-3a

This ends this reading from God's holy word. Thanks be to God.

The Bible is full of a lot of words but the ones that carry the most clout are the verbs.

Why?

Because through them, the Lord is always calling us into action.

By their very nature, verbs are action words, words that the Lord uses to shape our behavior toward accomplishing His will and way. Consider these passages from the scriptures and the actions they drive us toward:

“Ask and it will be given to you; seek and you will find; knock and the door will be opened to you. For everyone who asks receives; the one who seeks finds; and to the one who knocks, the door will be opened.”  Jesus teaching during His Sermon on the Mount (Matthew 7:7-8)

^“Rejoice always, pray continually, give thanks in all circumstances; for this is God’s will for you in Christ Jesus.”  Paul writing final exhortations to the church in Thessalonia (1 Thessalonians 5:16-18)

“Go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you.”  Jesus issuing His great Commission (Matthew 28:19-20)

“Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind.” This is the first and greatest commandment. And the second is like it: “Love your neighbor as yourself.”  Jesus responding to the question “Which is the greatest commandment in the Law?” asked by an expert in the law (Matthew 22:37-39)

“Do not love the world or anything in the world. If anyone loves the world, love for the Father is not in them.” 1 John 2:15

“Let your light shine before others, that they may see your good deeds and glorify your Father in heaven.” Jesus teaching His disciples during the Sermon on the Mount. (Matthew 5:16)

“Be alert and of sober mind. Your enemy the devil prowls around like a roaring lion looking for someone to devour.”  1 Peter 5:8

I could go on and on but you get the point. The Lord is ever calling us into action as He moves us more and more into His righteousness and holiness through our service unto Him and others. Truly, we serve such an amazing awesome Lord, one whose Name, the Name above all names, we are to lift up on high and grant all glory and honor.

If you doubt this, I refer you to the first three verses of the 100th Psalm and some definitive action words in how we’re to respond to our Lord:

Shout for joy to the Lord, all the earth.

Worship the Lord with gladness;

Come before Him with joyful songs.

Know that the Lord is God.

Note the commands here.

The word of God doesn’t say, “We should shout for joy.” No, it says, “SHOUT for joy to the Lord, all the earth!”

It doesn’t just suggest that we worship the Lord. No, it says, “WORSHIP the Lord in gladness!”

We aren’t given an option whether to come to the Lord and offer our songs of praise. No, it says, “COME before the Lord with joyful songs!”

And we aren’t supposed to have a superficial relationship with the Lord we worship. No, the word of God clearly demands that we “KNOW that the Lord is God!”

Friends, we can’t study from God’s word and then go about living passively. If we do, then we aren’t paying attention to the scriptures that we study from. For the message of the Lord is clear, over and over and over again. The Lord calls us to action through the use of action words and His expectation is that we do one action consistently – OBEY.

Amen.

In Christ,

Mark

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HE IS WHOLLY HOLY

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In Christ, Mark

The scriptures. May God bless the reading of His holy word.

The Lord reigns, let the nations tremble; He sits enthroned between the cherubim, let the earth shake. Great is the Lord in Zion; He is exalted over all the nations. Let them praise Your great and awesome name — He is holy.

The King is mighty, He loves justice — You have established equity; in Jacob You have done what is just and right. Exalt the Lord our God and worship at His footstool; He is holy.

Moses and Aaron were among His priests, Samuel was among those who called on His name; they called on the Lord and He answered them. He spoke to them from the pillar of cloud; they kept His statutes and the decrees He gave them. Lord our God, You answered them; You were to Israel a forgiving God, though You punished their misdeeds. Exalt the Lord our God and worship at His holy mountain, for the Lord our God is holy.

Psalm 99

This ends this reading from God's holy word. Thanks be to God.

Look up the word “holy” in the dictionary and you will find the following definitions:

1. Exalted or worthy of complete devotion as one perfect in goodness and righteousness.

2. Divine which means to be of, relating to, or proceeding directly from God or a god.

3. Devoted entirely to the deity or the work of the deity.

4. Having a divine quality.

5. Venerated as or as if sacred.

Now, if you’re interested in the origins of words, you would look deeper at the word “holy” and find that it is a Middle English word derived from the Old English word hālig which is similar to the Old English word hāl which means whole (yes, holy and whole are connected). Consider these definitions of the word “whole” and I will further associate them with the concept of holiness as it applies to God:

1. Constituting the total sum or undiminished entirety.

When we look at God, we find that He is holy in His entirety. There is no part of Him that is not holy and further, His divine nature will never be diminished.

2. Constituting an undivided unit. (God’s holiness is unbroken. It remains whole and wholesome, living forever for all eternity.)

There is no division with God. No division of His power. No division of His authority. And certainly no division of His holiness. It will forever remain unbroken, whole and wholesome, present for all eternity.

3. Very great in quantity, extent, or scope.

There is no limit to the extent of God’s holiness. It has no boundaries and is as omnipresent as He is.

4. Having all its proper parts or components.

In God we find the only source of complete holiness.

Yes, God is holy – and He is so in whole. The 99th Psalm proclaims this truth. Look at this passage:

The Lord reigns, let the nations tremble; He sits enthroned between the cherubim, let the earth shake. Great is the Lord in Zion; He is exalted over all the nations. Let them praise Your great and awesome name — He is holy.

The King is mighty, He loves justice — You have established equity; in Jacob You have done what is just and right. Exalt the Lord our God and worship at His footstool; He is holy.

Moses and Aaron were among His priests, Samuel was among those who called on His name; they called on the Lord and He answered them. He spoke to them from the pillar of cloud; they kept His statutes and the decrees He gave them. Lord our God, You answered them; You were to Israel a forgiving God, though You punished their misdeeds. Exalt the Lord our God and worship at His holy mountain, for the Lord our God is holy.

Yes, He, the Lord Almighty, is holy and the psalm underscores the many ways where we find His holiness revealed.

It is revealed in His power and might.

It is revealed in His justice and equity and righteousness.

It is revealed as we enter into relationship with Him.

It is revealed in His forgiveness.

and it is revealed in His discipline.

In fact, when we look at God, we see the embodiment of holiness for He is the perfect embodiment of everything righteous and good. He is wholly holy and there is no one like Him.

So how are we to respond in the midst of the Holy One, God our Father?

Look back to the psalm. For we are to revere and respect Him. We are to exalt Him. And we are to praise and worship Him for only He is worthy of our worship and praise. No other warrants our glory and honor.

Yes, God is wholly holy and there is one more thing we need to remember before we close this devotion:

God expects us to strive to be holy as He is.

He told us as much in the following:

Leviticus 11:44 – “I am the Lord your God; consecrate yourselves and be holy, because I am holy.” (He would repeat this in four other places in this book alone).

1 Peter 1:15 – But just as he who called you is holy, so be holy in all you do for it is written: “Be holy because I am holy.”

There’s no doubt that the expectation is for us to try to embody holiness in our own lives.

So how do we do that?

As Christians, it comes through living like Christ.

As we daily seek the will and way of our Savior, He will lead us on the narrow path of righteousness and one of the fruits we’ll bear when we do that is holiness. We will be set apart from those who are living for the world and be seen as different because of the holiness constantly growing and taking root within us.

Friends, God is completely – wholly – holy and when we strive to be more and more like His Son, then we too will be living as He commanded, living a holy existence as He did and is still doing today.

Amen.

In Christ,

Mark

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NO ORDINARY CHILD

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In Christ, Mark

The scriptures. May God bless the reading of His holy word.

For to us a child is born, to us a son is given, and the government will be on his shoulders. And He will be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace.

Isaiah 9:6

This ends this reading from God's holy word. Thanks be to God.

Merry Christmas everyone, a day of exceeding joy and hope as we once again celebrate the coming of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. As we examine the scripture from the prophet Isaiah, we find a fitting announcement crafted for Jesus’ coming some 700 years before His birth. Look again at these words from the prophet:

For to us a child is born, to us a son is given, and the government will be on his shoulders. And He will be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace.

Indeed, unto us a child is born but rest assured, this was no ordinary child. For this child was God with us, Emmanuel, in the flesh, fully God but yet fully human. And just as God reigned over His creation while in the heavens, He ruled all the same when He walked the earth in the way of Jesus as truly the government was on His shoulders. After all, He WAS the King of kings and Lord of lords. No one had, and still today no one has, the power and authority that Christ had innately when born.

So this extraordinary child born unto us in Bethlehem’s manger was born with all authority to rule over heaven and earth but He was so much more than that. There were four other key qualities that set Him apart then and still set Him apart today. They are as follows:

1. Wonderful Counselor.

I love that I can always turn to Jesus when it comes to dealing with life’s circumstances, knowing that I will always receive perfect guidance as I study His life in the gospels and then receive instruction by way of the Holy Spirit, the Counselor (also called Advocate) Jesus promised to send us (John 14:26). Without the guidance of Christ, I would be lost left to my own devices.

2. Mighty God.

We serve a God who can do all things. Nothing is beyond the work of His almighty hands. All of creation’s power and more are harnessed in the Lord and this power is ever available within Him to work in our lives in accordance with His plan. Is anything impossible with God? The answer is no and there’s a great sense of hope I know I gain from this. God is in control friends and He is mighty enough to help us when we’re in need. That’s good news!

3. Everlasting Father.

There is no expiration date on the love and help we receive from the Father. He has reigned since the dawn of creation and He will still reign when this world comes to an end and a new Jerusalem is formed. He is the everlasting Father and will always be with us, through thick and thin, in good times and in bad. No one else is with us and for us like the everlasting Father.

4. Prince of peace.

We surely need Christ Jesus in this way more than any other today. With all the wars and threats of wars, it’s enough to unsettle anyone but we need to remember the prior three points here. We serve and are loved by a mighty God who is everlastingly with us as our Father and wonderful Counselor. With this, why would we ever fear anything in life?

This is the very core of what Paul wrote in Philippians, Chapter 4:

Do not be anxious about anything, but in every situation, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus. Philippians 4:6-7

When we place our full faith and trust in our mighty God to handle anything we go through, then we find the burdens lifted off of our shoulders as the Lord now bears them for us, and we experience a peace from God that transcends all understanding. No one but the Prince of peace can give this to you.

Friends, on the Christmas Day, we pay honor to the child born unto us, a child like no other who came to counsel, protect, father, and bring us peace when we seek Him – and He will do so forever.

Let us raise our voices singing the joyous strains of the following words from “Hark, the Herald Angels Sing” and extend our fullest honor, glory, and praise unto Jesus, the child born to save us all:

Hark the herald angels sing
"Glory to the newborn King!
Peace on earth and mercy mild
God and sinners reconciled"
Joyful, all ye nations rise
Join the triumph of the skies
With the angelic host proclaim:
"Christ is born in Bethlehem"
Hark! The herald angels sing
"Glory to the newborn King!"

Christ by highest heav'n adored
Christ the everlasting Lord!
Late in time behold Him come
Offspring of a Virgin's womb
Veiled in flesh the Godhead see
Hail the incarnate Deity
Pleased as man with man to dwell
Jesus, our Emmanuel
Hark! The herald angels sing
"Glory to the newborn King!"

Hail the heav'n-born Prince of Peace!
Hail the Son of Righteousness!
Light and life to all He brings
Ris'n with healing in His wings
Mild He lays His glory by
Born that man no more may die
Born to raise the sons of earth
Born to give them second birth
Hark! The herald angels sing
"Glory to the newborn King!"

Amen.

In Christ,

Mark

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