Uncategorized

As we begin the new year, many of us will make new year resolutions and will make promises to ourselves to do better in 2017. I usually forget my new year resolutions within the first 2-3 weeks of the year, so I have learned not to make lofty resolutions! However, there is one resolution that we should always make.

The most significant resolution to make is to strengthen our relationship with the Lord. When we focus on developing our relationship with God, we act more like Jesus and less like our old self. We decrease and He increases. It makes us better spouses, parents, friends, employees, employers, and citizens. We develop the right perspective to handle people and circumstances,  and we become the influencers for the Kingdom rather than being influenced by worldliness. 

To start the new year with the right focus, we should go back to the basics of  our faith:

There was a man of the Pharisees named Nicodemus, a ruler of the Jews. This man came to Jesus by night and said to Him, “Rabbi, we know that You are a teacher come from God; for no one can do these signs that You do unless God is with him.” Jesus answered and said to him, “Most assuredly, I say to you, unless one is born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God.” Nicodemus said to Him, “How can a man be born when he is old? Can he enter a second time into his mother’s womb and be born?” Jesus answered, “Most assuredly, I say to you, unless one is born of water and the Spirit, he cannot enter the kingdom of God. That which is born of the flesh is flesh, and that which is born of the Spirit is spirit. John 3:1-6

Nicodemus was a knowledgable and religious man. As a religious leader, he admitted that the teachings of Jesus were divine and true! However, there was more that Nicodemus needed to know. When he tried to complement Jesus about His teachings, Jesus went to the heart of the matter. He told Nicodemus that unless one is born again, he will not see the Kingdom of God. Then He explained that one must be born of the spirit and of water.

Being a Christian is not about being raised in a Christian home neither is it just about a mental assent to the truth. Man’s spirit at the time of birth is dead and has no communication with God. It is only through the work of the Cross, that the chasm between us and God is closed, and He chooses to breathe into our spirit man His Holy Spirit and causes it to come alive spiritually for the first time.

This is the beginning of our journey and relationship with God. Now we have the opportunity to allow our spirit man to grow, mature, and become the ruler of our soul and body. In the past, our soul (emotions, mind, and will) was in charge, and it took its cues from the natural world. However, the spirit man communes with the Holy Spirit and is led by God. Therefore, it is not subject to the external forces. This is critical for our spiritual growth; we must allow the spirit man to grow and take charge and not remain an infant.

How is your spirit man doing? Does it rule your life under the leading of the Holy Spirit? Can you distinguish between your spirit man and your soul? Being a born again Christian is a lifelong commitment to nurturing the spirit man and communing with God!

I will continue with this subject in the next devotional.

Behold, a virgin shall be with child, and shall bring forth a son, and they shall call his name Emmanuel, which being interpreted is, God with us. Matthew 1:23

Emmanuel (According to Strong’s dictionary,  Greek 1694) means: God with us, a Savior according to Matthew. In orthodox interpretation, it denotes and references the personal union of the human nature and divine in Christ.

When Adam and Eve fell, they lost their union and their relationship with God. No longer humanity was able to commune with God as Adam and Eve had when they walked in the garden with God. After the fall, God picked certain priests, prophets, and special individuals to speak to His people. Sometimes He revealed Himself in a dream, in the fire, or in a cloud. Later God told Moses to build an ark for Him, so His presence can dwell with the Israelites. Although, only individuals like Moses and Joshua had the permission to enter the ark of the meeting and commune with God.

Then the priests brought in the ark of the covenant of the Lord to its place, into the inner sanctuary of the temple, to the Most Holy Place, under the wings of the cherubim. 1Kings 8:6

When Solomon built a temple, the ark was placed in the Most Holy Place (Holly of Holies), and only the priest had the privilege of entering in with the blood of a sacrificial lamb for the forgiveness of people’s sin. A thick curtain separated the Holy of Holies from the Holy Place in the temple.

People heard about God from God’s special agents, but they did not communicate with God personally. In addition, God did not always speak to His special people, but visited them when He desired to communicate about a certain matter.

The New Testament ushered a new age in the relationship between God and man. God sent His angel to proclaim the great news that God was going to come to dwell among His people! No longer was God going to visit the earth through a certain few, but through Jesus He was making a way for reconciliation of what was lost in the Garden of Eden. 

The scripture in John 1:14a in Message translation tells us:

The Word became flesh and blood, and moved into the neighborhood.
We saw the glory with our own eyes, the one-of-a-kind glory, like Father, like Son, generous inside and out, true from start to finish.

God moved into our neighborhoods through His son, Jesus. He chose to allow Jesus to die for us, and in the process the curtain between the Holy of Holies and the Holy Place was torn signifying a new era in God’s relationship to man (See Matthew 27:25). He restored His relationship to humanity by Jesus taking on the sin of humanity, and in the process, Jesus regained what was lost in the Garden. The Holy Spirit ( the third member of the trinity) dwells with those who have accepted Jesus and have become born again (See John 3:3-6).

God is with us in every moment and every part of our day. God came to move into our neighborhoods and to dwell with us and remain in us! His promise is to be with us in every situation and to never leave nor forsake us. We can get to know Him in a personal way. We can communicate with Him and hear His voice in our spirit man.This is something to celebrate! Merry Christmas!

The book of Matthew and Luke both contain the genealogy of Jesus, but most skim through portion of the scripture. While the lineage of Jesus does not seem relevant to the rest of the gospel, it is what ties the Old Testament prophecies to the New Testament fulfillment of those prophecies.

There were over hundred prophesies about the Messiah in the Old Testament, and then there was 400 years of silence. God did not communicate with His priests nor His prophets during that time. After centuries of silence, the Lord chose a humble and simple virgin to give birth to His son; He did not pick the wife of a priest or a prophet to bring His child to this world. The genealogy of Jesus proved that He fulfilled the prophecies spoken about His lineage. Below are just a few of those prophecies:

And I will put enmity between you and the woman, and between your seed and her Seed; He shall bruise your head, and you shall bruise His heel.” Genesis 3:15 

I will bless those who bless you, and I will curse him who curses you; and in you all the families of the earth shall be blessed.” Genesis 12:3 [Speaking of Abraham]

Of the increase of His government and peace There will be no end, Upon the throne of David and over His kingdom, To order it and establish it with judgment and justice From that time forward, even forever. The zeal of the Lord of hosts will perform this. Isaiah 9:7

Therefore the Lord Himself will give you a sign: Behold, the virgin shall conceive and bear a Son, and shall call His name Immanuel. Isaiah 7:14

God spoke about the birth of His son from the beginning. He foretold that the Messiah was going to be born of a woman. The Christ was going to come from the line of Abraham, from the tribe of Judah, and He was going to sit on the throne of David. A virgin was going to have a child. Jesus fulfilled all these prophesies along with many others.  The fulfillment of these requirements was so important that the Jews kept a record of the genealogies of people in order to ensure that if anyone claimed to be the Messiah, that they would have the records to prove his lineage pointing to all of the above requirements.

Interestingly, the temple in Jerusalem was destroyed in AD 70 following the birth of Jesus and the fulfillment of the genealogy by the Messiah. Now that Jesus was born and fulfilled those promises there was no need to keep the records any longer.  From that point in history, no one would be able to prove that they are the true Messiah. The Jewish people are still waiting for the Messiah to come, but they need to look to the one who came 2000 years ago! His name is Jesus, and He fulfilled the prophecies spoken about His genealogy, His birth, and His life!

Praise God for He is a promise-keeper!

The second group of people that God chose to announce the birth of His son were the wise men!

Now after Jesus was born in Bethlehem of Judea in the days of Herod the king, behold, wise men from the East came to Jerusalem, saying, “Where is He who has been born King of the Jews? For we have seen His star in the East and have come to worship Him.” Matthew 2:1-2

The wise men were high ranking officials who were skilled in astrology, astronomy, and even divination. They were the scientists of their day. They came from the East which might have been Persia or somewhere in the orient. 

Why did God choose the wise men? These individuals were highly educated and intelligent people. God reached them in their realm of expertise and showed them the way. While the wise men came from the class of nobility, wealth, and education, they needed to find their savior just as the shepherds needed to know about Him. God is not a respecter of man.

These individuals basically risked their lives by going before King Herod and seeking for the King of the Jews. Israel was under the rulership of the Roman empire, and Judea and its surrounding was under the domain of King Herod. He could have become offended and angry that he was not recognized as the King of the Jews. Herod could have ordered the wise men to be killed immediately for their lack of honor in addition to their knowledge of this baby king! 

When you read the account of the wise men, you find that they did not find baby Jesus right away. By the time, the found Him, the scripture calls  Him a child (See Matthew 2:9-10)! Some historians and scholars believe it could have taken them 1-2 years before they found Jesus, but they did not give up! 

If you are an analytical and/or intellectual person, it may take you time to trust and believe in Jesus and His word. You may be looking for tangible signs and confirmation because you are not one to just simply believe. That’s ok. The wise men did not give up and kept following the star, and God did not give up on showing them the way despite the obstacles. God used His creation (the galaxies) along with their skill set to draw them to Him even though they were not from a Jewish decent.

God works with those who have simple faith as in the case of shepherds, and He also works with people like the wise men who are analytical and scientific minded . No one is beyond His reach and that is something to celebrate! 

Recently, I was asked to speak at our high school chapel about the story of Christmas. It was a great privilege to do so, and it is one I never take lightly. I asked the Lord what He desired to communicate with the audience. One of the thoughts that came to me was, “why did God choose the shepherds and the wise men to tell them about the birth of His son?

Now there were in the same country shepherds living out in the fields, keeping watch over their flock by night.  And behold, an angel of the Lord stood before them, and the glory of the Lord shone around them, and they were greatly afraid. Then the angel said to them, “Do not be afraid, for behold, I bring you good tidings of great joy which will be to all people. For there is born to you this day in the city of David a Savior, who is Christ the Lord.  And this will be the sign to you: You will find a Babe wrapped in swaddling cloths, lying in a manger.”

And suddenly there was with the angel a multitude of the heavenly host praising God and saying:

“Glory to God in the highest,
And on earth peace, goodwill toward men!”

 So it was, when the angels had gone away from them into heaven, that the shepherds said to one another, “Let us now go to Bethlehem and see this thing that has come to pass, which the Lord has made known to us.”  And they came with haste and found Mary and Joseph, and the Babe lying in a manger.  Now when they had seen Him, they made widely known the saying which was told them concerning this Child. And all those who heard it marveled at those things which were told them by the shepherds. Luke 2:8-18

The shepherds were doing their usual job when the angel met them. Once the angel announced the birth of Christ, they could have procrastinated and waited a while. They certainly had plenty of excuses not to go see the baby right away since they were out in the fields with their sheep, but the scripture tells us that they came in haste. Their spiritual hunger must have compelled them to go in haste and see Christ. They knew that they were not going to see just an ordinary baby! In simplicity of faith the shepherds believed that this vulnerable baby will some day be their savior!

How many times a group of shepherds would have ever been noticed out in the fields? Most likely not very often if ever. Nevertheless, God chose to speak to them. The shepherds would have been considered at the bottom of the totem pole of society in respect to social class, education, wealth, or status, but God is not a respecter of man. He chose them because of simplicity of their hearts and their openness to the truth. 

The Lord chose the shepherds to be the first group of people to hear about the Good News. The shepherds in turn were faithful to share what they had seen and heard. They did not waste any time to tell others what God had so graciously chosen to share with them.

As we go about our days this week and this month, let’s be open to share the Good News of the gospel with anyone that God puts across our path regardless of their look, dress, zip code, or what they drive. 

The final sign that Jesus gives His disciples concerning the end times is as follows:

And because lawlessness will abound, the love of many will grow cold. But he who endures to the end shall be saved. And this gospel of the kingdom will be preached in all the world as a witness to all the nations, and then the end will come. Matthew 24:12-13

Jesus warned about the season of lawlessness that will take over the world. The word “lawless” means contempt for law. We see some of this happen in our world right now. Some don’t want to follow the law because they think the government has unjust rules. Others don’t trust the government and don’t believe they should be obligated to follow the law. There are some who in the name of love want to throw away all restrictions and regulations.

One of those current examples of lawlessness is the illegal immigration issue. The President-elect plans to deport those illegal immigrants who have criminal records. Unfortunately, some states and cities want to stop this process and want to become a sanctuary place for those deported by the federal government.  Please see below link that depicts this situation:

https://www.thenation.com/article/four-ways-cities-and-states-can-become-sanctuaries-now/

It is interesting that those who are willing to follow through with lawlessness, are doing it in the name of love and compassion. However, Jesus is telling us the opposite is true. He warns that when lawlessness comes, the love of many will grow cold. There will be no respect for law and no patience with the judicial system. Lawlessness will cause all sorts of fears and insecurities in people’s hearts. It will lead to self-preservation and taking justice into one’s own hands. Lawlessness for a society is a bleak picture.

One of the important lessons to learn from the these last few devotionals is that offense and lawlessness will lead people to hardened hearts and even hatred towards others. The encouragement for God’s people is that God’s laws are written on our hearts. We know what need to do. We are called to forgive offenses, so our hearts stays soft. We are called to not jump on the bandwagon of lawlessness in the name of love. This will help us endure to the end, and Jesus expects us to do so.

We will need great wisdom on how to fight injustice in the last days. In some cases the best fight could be to tell every person about Jesus. This will ensure that whether people live or die they will be ushered into the presence of the Lord one day. One thing a believer cannot lose, is their love for other people. We must guard our hearts or we will lose the desire to share the gospel with others.

Jesus provided additional signs that will usher the end of the age.

And then many will be offended, will betray one another, and will hate one another.  Then many false prophets will rise up and deceive many. Matthew 24:10-11

Jesus predicted that many will be offended. The word “offense” in its Greek root means “bait”. The enemy uses an offense as a bait.

Jesus is speaking to His disciples about rampant growth of offenses at the end of the age. He knew that Christians are not immune to getting baited by offense. As a matter of fact, it appears that we can find many reasons to get offended. First, we have strong convictions about truth that open the door to offense towards anyone who does not see things our way. Second, we develop high expectations of those who are called Christians which leads to get ting offended by those who profess faith but their actions don’t match up with their words. Third, we get offended by those who see things differently politically because we think they want to harm our nation and take it in an ungodly direction. As a result, we have plenty of opportunities to get baited by offenses.

Jesus is showing us how the path of offense will lead us to betraying and hating one another. We need to be very careful not to get trapped by various offenses that lure us to denying or hating others.

It is easy to get distracted from the major points of the gospel and to create our own mini-version of gospel and the things we really care about. This can lead to all sorts of disagreements with others that will not matter at the end of the age. 

Jesus then states that many false prophets will arise. How can offenses lead to the rise of false prophets? Generally people scatter after being offended. They walk away from relationships. They leave their congregation or their spiritual support, and this can lead them to fall prey to other voices and false teachings. In addition, when one has hatred in their hearts, it is easier to rebel against the established system. Their offense causes them to open themselves up to other voices and other inputs.

Therefore, we need to guard our hearts, forgive, and let go of  offenses quickly.

I will continue with this subject in the next devotional and other signs that Jesus shared with His disciples.

Jesus shared another sign of the end times with his disciples. He stated:

“Then they will deliver you up to tribulation and kill you, and you will be hated by all nations for My name’s sake. Matthew 24:9

Nazarene (N in Arabic) refers to Christians. Most recently, this has been a symbol of solidarity for persecuted Christians in Iraq and Syria.   

The name of Christ and following Him has not been popular for years. We see distaste and hatred towards Christianity around the world including in nations such as ours that were founded on Christian principles. Currently, Christians are being persecuted and slaughtered in some of the Communist and Muslim nations. There are 50 nations that deny access to the Bible. In addition, the recent ISIS crisis in the Middle East has brought about a genocide of Christians in parts of the Middle East.

Furthermore, Christians are accused of hate speech because they recite or teach a scripture that defines sin. In a secular and humanistic culture, there is no such a thing as sin. People have a right to do what they wish with minimal restraints, and those who speak out against them are labeled with some sort of phobia. This has a huge impact in the fields of education, business, psychology, political science, law enforcement, ministry, etc. 

It is alarming that Jesus declared that a time is coming when all nations will hate Christians and will persecute them. I often have wondered about the eventual consequence of democracy. The very system that gave religious rights to individuals, can someday take those rights away because those who don’t honor God will be in majority. 

While we thank God for our governing authorities and should pray for them regularly, we cannot lose sight of the fact that at the end of the age there will be no governmental protection for believers. We are to train believers for reliance on the Lord and looking unto Jesus for provision and protection during difficult times.

In New Testament era, shortly after the crucifixion of Jesus and the birth of the church, we see that Paul, Peter, and the other disciples were faced with opposition, persecution, and even death. Some Christians are experiencing them now around the world. Jesus prepared his disciples for the eventual persecution and hatred that was going to come their way. I have heard that some churches in China train people for arrest and persecution, so that in difficult times, people won’t buckle under pressure. Can our faith hold up in those kinds of times? Is the church teaching, preparing, and training people for this?

I will continue in the next devotional with more signs of the end times that Jesus gave his disciples. 

While no one knows the day or the hour, Jesus someday will crack the sky and will return for His bride. The disciples were curious about the signs that would point to the end of the age. Jesus stated several signs that will usher the time of His return. 

Now as He sat on the Mount of Olives, the disciples came to Him privately, saying, “Tell us, when will these things be? And what will be the sign of Your coming, and of the end of the age?” And Jesus answered and said to them: “Take heed that no one deceives you. For many will come in My name, saying, ‘I am the Christ,’ and will deceive many. Matthew 24:1-5

The first sign Jesus mentioned was deception. Jesus predicted that many will claim that they are either the Christ or the followers of Christ and will deceive many people. Since Jesus’ resurrection, many cults and false religions such as Islam, Jehovah Witnesses, and Mormonism have come along that have not totally refused Christ but have taught a subset of the teachings of the Bible. These teaching have brought confusion and deception about the nature of Christ and His work of on the cross.

Furthermore, people are more interested in their own opinions than the Truth. Personal opinions have caused individuals and denominations to determine the part of the Bible they agree with or the part they like to highlight. This leads to great deception. When one looks at the landscape of the church, multitudes of denominations have emerged due to disagreement with their former denominations, and people have split and moved into different directions professing they are the ones who see everything clearly and that others are misguided. 

What should we do to avoid deception?

First of all, we need to know our Bible well and avoid being derailed from faith by half truths. We need to hold fast to the whole truth to avoid being deceived. Our focus should be what Jesus taught rather than what our favorite preacher or celebrity stated.

Secondly, we need to submit our opinion to the Truth rather than submitting the Truth to our opinions. We should allow God to deal with our opinions rather than trying to modify the Word of God to fit our needs. We are not called to change the gospel rather the gospel is meant to change us!

Thirdly, when faced with a different religion or cult, we should do our own homework to find out the core beliefs of a cult or religion. I am surprised by how some Christians just believe what the practitioners of certain faiths tell them about a religion rather than doing their own research.

We can develop knowledge in many areas including sports, Hollywood, and politics, but when it comes to understanding the ideologies of some of the prevalent religions, we depend on the followers of that faith to tell us what they want to tell us. Why is this important? If we don’t know what lies people have believed, it is harder for us to speak life into the areas of false doctrine and twisted truths. In addition, some of these ideologies will impact our society through education, media, politics, and business, and if we are not alert, we will passively allow it to influence our society and the next generation. 

Jesus gave His disciples more signs. I will share about them in the next devotional.

Jesus did not come to the world to tolerate people but to set them free! He ate with tax collectors, was a friend to the sinners, and taught the religious. In all His interactions, He never compromised His mission. He did not give false comfort to the tax collector, the sinner, or the religious. If He had  just tolerated them, they would have remained comfortable in their state with no need of repentance. 

Jesus came to show the world that all their physical, emotional, and mental issues stemmed from the root of sin. Their separation from God had made them lame, blind, and rejected in a world that is alien to God’s truth. He put His finger right on their need and showed them that their hunger and thirst was for a relationship with God. He came to show humanity that this relationship was so important that He was willing to go to the cross, in order for people to be reconciled and restored to God.

The picture is from https://www.theodysseyonline.com/grace-and-truth-go-hand-in-hand

The Word became flesh and made his dwelling among us. We have seen his glory, the glory of the one and only Son, who came from the Father, full of grace and truth. John 1:14

Jesus dwelt among us with fullness of truth and grace. Truth and grace are a beautiful balance of God’s love and His judgment evidenced by the cross. God loved us so much that He desired to save us from the sinful state and bring us back to a relationship with Him. Tolerance would have kept us at a distance from God with no hope of reconciliation only judgment at the end. Tolerance cannot erase truth but it can only avoid the issue for a time period.

Tolerance is like taking Tylenol for a headache but never addressing what is causing the headache in the first place. One may get away with it for while, but with more serious issues, the root cause need to be addressed. In those situations, Tylenol will only be masking the problem, and it is not a loving way to deal with the pain. People demand change of laws to institute tolerance. Sometimes the laws need to change in order to protect people, but the laws do not take way the root causes of sin, false identity, hatred, and prejudice. 

Our faith is not meant to be downgraded to “tolerance”! The Lord has commissioned us to reach the lost and those in bondage. In order to truly reach them, they need to know their true condition before God, so they can be changed. If we are going to be effective, we cannot shy away from graciously telling people the truth. If they don’t know their true condition and God’s solution for it, how will they ever change?