Our Christmas Security

Listen to the implications of Christmas in this prophecy from Micah 5:2,4-

But you, O Bethlehem Ephrathah,
who are too little to be among the clans of Judah,
from you shall come forth for me
one who is to be ruler in Israel,
whose coming forth is from of old,
from ancient days...
He shall stand and shepherd His flock in the strength of the LORD,
in the majesty of the name of the LORD His God.
And they shall dwell secure, for now He shall be great to the ends of the earth.
And He shall be their peace.

The King born in Bethlehem will shelter His flock under the majestic refuge of the name of God.  And we will be forever secure, temporally and eternally safe in His hands, because He shall be great to the ends of the earth.  Think on that for a moment, and be staggered by the connections made right here in the verse.  Christ's global greatness is the day-to-day rock-solid foundation for our assurance, peace, comfort, and security.  Because He is ascended at the right hand of God, with "all authority in heaven and on earth" given to Him, we can be confident that we are secure.  The One who was born for us and lived for us and died for us and rose for us is now reigning for us and interceding for us and guaranteeing our security and entrance to glory by His own blood-bought peace with God.

Hear the apostle Paul's own inspired implications of this Christmas prophecy, echoing Micah's words: "But now in Christ Jesus you who were once far off have been brought near by the blood of Christ.  For He Himself is our peace." (Eph. 2:13)

This Christmas, stand in awe once again at the mercy and majesty of our God.  And count yourselves secure, immovable on this glorious foundation: "now He shall be great to the ends of the earth."

True Romance

I'm getting married in about 2 1/2 months, and so naturally I've been thinking a lot about love and commitment and faithfulness. Yesterday I was talking to a friend about love and marriage, and about how many girls on this campus are looking for a storybook romance, when the real thing is a little different. After 4 1/2 years in a relationship, I have realized this:


True romance looks a lot less like Prince Charming and happily ever after, and a lot more like a bloodied cross.


Husbands, love your wives as Christ loved the church and gave Himself up for her. ~Ephesians 5:25

In this is love, not that we have loved God, but that He loved us and sent His Son to be the propitiation for our sins. Beloved, if God so loved us, we also ought to love one another. ~1 John 4:10-11

"This is my commandment, that you love one another as I have loved you. Greater love has no one than this, that someone lay down his life for his friends." ~John 15:12-13

Keep loving one another earnestly, since love covers a multitude of sins. ~1 Peter 4:8

"If anyone would come after me, let him deny himself and take up his cross and follow me." ~Mark 8:34

We Wish to See Jesus

Next week, I am starting my last Bible study at Center Presbyterian Church.  It has been a joy and incredible privilege for me to lead the adult Bible study there for the past year and a half.  We have done studies on Philippians, Hebrews, and Colossians, and this spring we will be looking at the "I am" statements of Jesus in the book of John.  I am really, really excited about this semester, because I see this study as the culmination of everything I have been teaching the last year and a half.  Below is my introduction to our study in John:

"Life in a fallen world is a tightrope dichotomy between searing pain and seductive pleasure.  In a world full of sudden tragedy, seemingly random violence, natural disasters, cancer, illness, heartache, and tearful goodbyes, where is a rock of refuge to which we can go?  And conversely, in a materialistic culture littered with the spiritual landmines of blinding prosperity, numbing comfort, earthly treasures, and broken cisterns, where is a transcendent and satisfying reality to which we can commit ourselves?

What we are looking for is Ultimate Reality, a person and a truth and a life that transcends the problem of pain and pleasure, eclipsing both in all-consuming glory.  The Ultimate Reality that we are looking for is the person of Jesus Christ.  Colossians tells us that He is "the image of the invisible God," that "all things were created through Him and for Him," and that "in all things He has the supremacy."  Hebrews speaks of this supreme Christ when we hear that "He is the radiance of the glory of God and exact imprint of His nature, upholding the universe by the word of His power."  Philippians tells us the implications of Christ's all-satisfying supremacy: "I count everything as loss because of the surpassing worth of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord.  For His sake I have suffered the loss of all things and count them as rubbish, in order that I may gain Christ."  Here, then, is the end of all things: suffering and satisfaction, gain and loss, united in the glorious Son.  To know Him will cost everything, yet knowing Him is infinite gain.

How then can we know this Glorious One?  How can we "know the love of Christ that surpasses knowledge?" (Ephesians 3:19)  Hosea invites us into this eternal pursuit, saying, "Let us know; let us press on to know the Lord."  We want to say with the Greeks in John 12, "We wish to see Jesus!"  But how?"

The first lesson is all about my answer to that last question: God has given us His Word so that we can see Jesus in it and be supremely satisfied in seeing Him forever.