revmattil.org

Today is the day of Epiphany! January 6 is the day we celebrate the coming of the Magi, the Wise Men, to worship the Christ child, as described in Matthew 2.

Thinking about those travelers we call “the Wise Men,” something that impresses me is their resolve. They made a resolution to find the Christ, the one born King of the Jews, no matter how far they had to travel. It could not have been an easy journey. We don’t know exactly where they came from, but it was likely a great distance. Their journey would have been dusty and dirty and difficult. Yet they were so committed to this, they were so determined to find this king, they were even willing to stop and ask directions! That should tell you something about their resolution: Guys known for their wisdom who were willing to stop and ask directions!

It paid off for them. They were directed to Bethlehem, where they found the one they were seeking, the Christ-child, and they rejoiced in God’s goodness to the world. Even though they were not part of the chosen people through whom the Savior had come, they knew that Jesus had come for them as well. His birth was heralded as “good news of great joy that will be for all the people.”

Sometimes your journey may also be long and dusty and dirty. You have obstacles to overcome and have to stop for directions from time to time. You decide to make a New Year’s resolution to come closer to God in some way, but your own efforts are not enough and you fail. People and circumstances work against you in your resolve to live as the redeemed child of God you are. The good news for you again today is this mystery and miracle of your faith: because Christ Jesus came, and died to pay for your sins, you also are able to approach God. Paul wrote about it this way: In him and through faith in him we may approach God with freedom and confidence. (Eph. 3:12)

You are “In Him” by virtue of your connection to Jesus through Baptism. Scripture tells us that Baptism connects us to Jesus in His death and resurrection, so much so that God sees His death as your death for sin, so that you will also share with Him in His resurrection (Romans 6). You are “In Him.” Working through the Word, the Holy Spirit invites you to share in all the riches God has provided for you: forgiveness of sins, life and salvation. Everything earned by Jesus is yours for the taking if you will only believe. And that is what is meant by faith, through faith in Him: believing though you have not seen, standing on the promises of God’s Word, confessing Jesus as Lord with your mouths, believing in your hearts.

Think back to those Wise Men. They are a model for us. They had a star that led them to Jesus. You have I are led by the power of the Holy Spirit to Christ. When the Spirit enables us to “find” Jesus, then in Him and through faith in Him we have the freedom and confidence to approach God!

In all of this, the Church has a central place. Even though it is made up of sinful people who sometimes hurt each other, even though the church has sometimes caused harm, the church is something God established and is His chosen instrument for bringing people into fellowship with one another. What needs to be remembered is that Christ is the head of the church, not people. The church is the joining together of those Jesus redeemed, Jews and Gentiles, as a united people in one body. This is God’s plan and purpose for His church. The thing that unites believers everywhere is Jesus. The things that don’t matter are the ethnic origin or color of one’s skin, the language they speak or where they live, poverty or wealth. What unites us is the knowledge that when God sent His Son into this world it was to for the purpose of saving all people, reconciling all men to Himself. Jesus lived the life that God demanded, keeping every requirement of the Law and never sinning. He offered that life in your place. Because of Him, you have peace with God. The angels told us that: Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace to men…

When you contemplate the one who is in charge of everything, the one who made the heavens and the earth, you might be tempted to think “What right do I have to approach the throne of Almighty God, much less imagine doing so with confidence?” But the answer is simple: Because of Jesus, that little toddler the Magi sought. In him and through faith in him we may approach God with freedom and confidence.

Ecclesiastes 3:1 There is a time for everything, and a season for every activity under heaven

Today is the end of the Christmas Season. Some people call it the Twelfth Day of Christmas. The church year instructs us that the celebration of the birth of our Savior deserves to be our focus for more that just one day. That is why all the decorations that point us to His birth are still up in our churches, as they are in our home and in many of yours, too. Tomorrow Cheryl and I will start taking them down and storing them until the end of this year when they will be put out again. A time and a season for everything.

We are moving on to a new season with the arrival of Epiphany. While our focus changes, we do not forget what we know and what has happened. The church year is designed to help us remember that Jesus was born for us, Jesus lived for us, Jesus died for us, and Jesus rose from the dead for us. Our lives are to be lived in the context of and in response to this Good News.

One season ends today and another begins tomorrow. While the birth of Jesus will not be our focus in the coming season, it is still a reality in our lives that brings us good news of great joy. Merry Christmas to you all.

A friend of mine, who is also a retired pastor, has shared this story several times. He has a friend who was a missionary who worked among a tribe of people who did not have a written language. One of the strategies of working with such people was to develop a written language for them so that they could have the Word of God in their own tongue.

This can prove to be a challenging endeavor because you will often have trouble finding the proper word to express a certain thought or concept. This missionary was having a hard time finding a word in this tribe’s language for “faith.” They did not seem to have any word that he could use to convey the thought of putting your complete trust and confidence in what God has done for us in Jesus Christ. This is a crucial word if you are going to put the Scriptures into another language. Faith in the death of Jesus to pay for your sin is what gives you the forgiveness He earned for you. Faith in His resurrection from the dead is what assures you that you also have eternal life.

As the missionary continued to live among these people and interact with them daily, he continued searching for the word for “faith.” One day he was walking with them and they came to a very rickety looking suspension bridge. One by one the members of the tribe walked across the bridge, but the missionary was reluctant to do so. The tribal members all encouraged him by shouting a word to him, a word he was not familiar with. He finally walked across the bridge, and then asked them what that word was they were shouting. They explained that it meant “to put your full weight on it.” He had discovered the word he needed for “faith.”

Hebrews 11:1 Now faith is being sure of what we hope for and certain of what we do not see.

We all put our faith in things on a daily basis. We trust that our car will start, that the lights in our home will come on when we flip a switch, that our home will be standing when we return to it. Most of the time, those things are true, but not always. That is why it is hard for some folks to believe something that sounds too good to be true. Can I really be forgiven for all the wrong I have done in my life, and even get a reward I did not earn?

That is exactly what God promises you in His Word. Jesus earned your forgiveness, not you. Jesus gives you the reward of heaven as a gift. You can put your full weight on that.

Psalm 22:5 They cried to you and were saved; in you they trusted and were not disappointed.

1 Peter 2:9 But you are a chosen people, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people belonging to God, that you may declare the praises of him who called you out of darkness into his wonderful light.

My last devotion reminded you that Jesus is the Light of the World that overcomes the darkness. To those groping in the darkness of sin, Jesus said I am the Light, the one, true, saving Light.

Through His suffering, death and resurrection He brought life and light to any and all who would, by faith, believe in and follow Him. Whoever followed Him, he promised, would never walk in darkness, but would have the light of life. His light would shatter the darkness blackening the lives of people, penetrate them, and become their personal possession. All of this is possible only because the Holy Spirit is working the light of faith in the hearts of men and women and children of all nations.

Today and every day you and I can give thanks to God that the Light shines in us. God has called us out of darkness and into His marvelous light. The Holy Spirit has enlightened us with His gifts. He dispels the darkness of ignorance, unbelief and sorrow and lights us up with His forgiveness, grace and love.

When Cheryl and I were in Germany, we visited a lot of cathedrals and churches. There were so many beautiful stained glass windows. I took lots of pictures, but they don’t do justice to the beauty of those windows when the light was shining through them. I was reminded of the little girl who visited a large cathedral with her mother and was fascinated by all the beautiful surroundings, especially the stained glass windows. She asked, “Who are all those people in the windows?” Her mother answered, “Those are the saints.” “The saints?” she asked, still puzzled. She continued looking at the windows trying to figure out who those people might be. Then her face brightened as she said, “Oh, I get it — the saints are the people who let the light shine through them!”

My dear fellow saints, those who have been redeemed by the blood of Jesus, those on whom the light has shined— be the people who let the light shine through you!

As a young man, Benjamin Franklin composed a master list of 12 resolutions, later tacking on a killer 13th (“Imitate Jesus and Socrates”). He had particular difficulty, he notes in his Autobiography, with Resolution No. 2 (“Silence – Avoid trifling conversation”), No. 3 (“Order – Let all your things have their places”) and No. 5 (“Frugality – waste nothing”). Ben kept track of his performance in a small book in which he entered a black mark each day for each resolution broken. He had intended to reuse the little book, eventually erasing old black marks as his performance improved. It didn’t. So many black marks appeared on top of black marks that the little book developed holes. He had to resort to keeping his records on a piece of ivory, from which the accumulated black marks could be tactfully mopped off with a wet sponge.

Wouldn’t it be nice to be able to have a wet sponge wipe away the black marks of the past year, leaving a clean slate for the future? Many see the start of a new calendar year as a time for a fresh start, putting the past behind us. Wouldn’t it be nice if it were true?

The truth is that the calendar changing from one year to the next does nothing to right past wrongs. They are still there. The black marks that cover you and bore into your memory tell you that you cannot get rid of them. If only you could just use a wet sponge to clear away all your sins, the depravity that is inside each of you. If only you could simply wash away the hate and hurt and anger and bitterness and greed and envy and lust and doubt that is in your heart. Then you would truly have a clean slate, a chance to start anew, a rebirth. But it’s not that simple. We echo the words of David: For I know my transgressions, and my sin is always before me. (Psalm 51:3) You can’t clean your own slate. Just as young Mr. Franklin discovered with his little book, that is a losing proposition, one you will never be able to win.

In the Old Testament, the Old Covenant, God had made the simple proposition: I will be your God, you will be my people. He did the hard part. He rescued them from danger and slavery and armies and so on. All they had to do was love Him and follow Him. Yet they couldn’t do it. The black marks kept adding up. God had a plan for fixing this situation, one He had first announced to Adam and Eve and repeated through His prophets.

Jeremiah 31:31-34 “The time is coming,” declares the LORD, “when I will make a new covenant with the house of Israel and with the house of Judah. It will not be like the covenant I made with their forefathers when I took them by the hand to lead them out of Egypt, because they broke my covenant, though I was a husband to them, ” declares the LORD. “This is the covenant I will make with the house of Israel after that time,” declares the LORD. “I will put my law in their minds and write it on their hearts. I will be their God, and they will be my people. No longer will a man teach his neighbor, or a man his brother, saying, `Know the LORD,’ because they will all know me, from the least of them to the greatest,” declares the LORD. “For I will forgive their wickedness and will remember their sins no more.”

There is a way to have a clean slate. But it doesn’t come from your own efforts to erase the marks or wipe things clean. It is God’s doing. It comes from Him taking all your black marks and placing them on the one who had a clean slate on His own, Jesus Christ. God allowed the black marks for all people to be placed on Him, a weight too awful for us to ever imagine. Those black marks were so numerous that He developed holes, holes in His hands and His feet, being nailed to the cross to make payment for them all. He did that for you. And then He rose again to proclaim that He has won the victory, offering a clean slate to all who believe in Him.

Notice that nowhere in Scripture does it say that sin does not matter, or that God will ignore sin or not look at it. That is not the solution. Sin does matter. God dealt with it. He sent His Son for that very purpose. Forgiveness is not overlooking or ignoring. It is facing the problem head on and providing the solution. Your sins was put on Christ and the penalty was paid. Through faith in Him, that payment becomes yours. You are then given a clean slate.

So go ahead and make those resolutions, today and every day. Make them with the confidence that you can do all things through Christ who gives you strength. You have a clean slate. God has declared I will forgive their wickedness and will remember their sins no more. What a way to start not just a New Year, but every day.

Luke 2:10 But the angel said to them, “Do not be afraid. I bring you good news of great joy that will be for all the people.

We do rejoice in the Good News! That is what this season of Christmas is about. Good News of great joy. The angels told the shepherds about the birth of the Savior. The shepherds then told everyone they could. And people have been sharing that Good News ever since. Of course, we know there is more to it than just a birth. We know Jesus lived His life without sin so that He could offer His perfection to us and for us. He was the sacrifice that would pay for the sins of everyone. Those who believe this get the benefit of what He did. That is Good News!

The Greek word translated as “bring you good news” is the verb form of the noun that also means “Good News,” but is also rendered into English as “Gospel.” The Gospel is the Good News about Jesus as our Savior. The Gospel is all about Jesus. The Gospel is not about you, but it is for you.

People often get confused about the message because it is so simple and seems too easy. They want to contribute something to help earn their forgiveness or try to do their part. But all we need to do is receive the gift that God gives us through that baby born in Bethlehem.

The Gospel, the Good News, is not to make you feel good about the sinner that you are. You should never be content to remain in your sin.

The Gospel is to let you know of the forgiveness Jesus earned for you. This Good News calls you to live a new life that shows your gratitude that God will not hold you accountable for your sin if you trust in Jesus.

That is Good News of great joy.

At a conference a few years back, the presenter shared 2 characteristics of the ministry of Jesus, of Paul and of ministers still today. Those two characteristics were:

1. Suffering
2. Joy

In the case of Jesus, He pointed us to Hebrews 12:2

Hebrews 12:2 Let us fix our eyes on Jesus, the author and perfecter of our faith, who for the joy set before him endured the cross, scorning its shame, and sat down at the right hand of the throne of God.

Jesus suffered to pay the price our sins deserved, but it brought joy to Him and to us!

Paul was destined to suffer for Christ:

Acts 9:16 I will show him [Paul] how much he must suffer for my name.”

Paul met plenty of hardships during his ministry, but he had joy in knowing that people were being led to faith by the power of the Holy Spirit.

Colossians 1:24 Now I rejoice in what was suffered for you, and I fill up in my flesh what is still lacking in regard to Christ’s afflictions, for the sake of his body, which is the church.

While the presenter at the conference did not make the connection, when he mentioned suffering and joy, my mind immediately recalled that very familiar Christmas Carol with these words in the refrain: “O tidings of Comfort and Joy…”  I just recently came across some words I scribbled down to the melody of “God Rest Ye Merry Gentlemen.”

We celebrate our Savior King was born on Christmas Day,
But serving Him is often met with trials along the way
And often we are left feeling despair and great dismay,
O tidings of suffering and Joy, suff’ring and joy,
O tidings of suffering and joy.

While we know the joy of our Savior’s birth, and what He did by coming down here to earth, our lives are not exempt from suffering. Can you rejoice and suffer at the same time? You can if you keep your eyes fixed on your Savior.

Joy is not the absence of sorrow. Joy is not being happy all the time. Joy in Christ belongs to those who put their faith and confidence in Him. Joy in Christ is the certainty that you are loved by God, forgiven by Him for Jesus’ sake, and that you have eternal life. Joy in Christ enables you to face suffering and hardship and trials with the conviction that your life is in God’s loving hands.

Tidings of suffering and joy.