Tried With Fire

And the angel answered and said unto her, The Holy Ghost shall come upon thee, and the power of the Highest shall overshadow thee: therefore also that holy thing which shall be born of thee shall be called the Son of God. Luke 1:35 Many people are quite satisfied with a religion of external rules and ceremonies because they have a superficial view of sin. Perhaps they have fairly loose rules, such as a minim requirement to attend public worship now and then. Or maybe they have stiff and complex rules consisting of behaviors almost as intricate as a Japanese tea ceremony. Either way, changes in behavior cannot purify the heart for it is the seat of our corruption. Christ said, "Either make the tree good and his fruit good, or else make the tree corrupt and his fruit corrupt, for the tree is known by his fruit" (Matt. 12:33). Jesus came to become the root of a whole new tree. He is also the vine and we are the branches (John 15:5). He is the head, and we are the members ...

The Spirit of the Lord God is upon me; because the Lord hath anointed me to preach good tidings unto the meek; he hath sent me to bind up the brokenhearted, to proclaim liberty to the captives, and the opening of the prison to them that are bound; To proclaim the acceptable year of the Lord, and the day of vengeance of our God; to comfort all that mourn; To appoint unto them that mourn in Zion, to give unto them beauty for ashes, the oil of joy for mourning, the garment of praise for the spirit of heaviness; that they might be called trees of righteousness, the planting of the Lord, that he might be glorified. Isaiah 61:1-3 Every child of God has felt his soul cleave to the dust and melt for heaviness (Ps. 119:25, 28). Circumstances overwhelm us with hopelessness. Life in a sinful world weighs heavily on our hearts. On top of this sorrow is the pain that comes from persecution from the ungodly. The psalmist testifies of this, "My tears have been my meat day and night, while ...

For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life. John 3:16 God's love for the world seems incongruous, far-fetched, and even impossible. To believe in this love, we need irrefutable evidence. Jesus' coming to the world is the irrefutable evidence of the Father's love for it. People can talk about their love for others, but the proof of love is action, not words (1 John 3:18). The apostle Paul speaks of Christ's death for us as proof of God's love, asserting, "God commendeth his love toward us, in that, while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us" (Rom, 5:8)… God's love for His people can only be understood in relation to His love for His Son. The only begotten Son of God is the eternal object of the Father's affection… [T]he love between God the Father and God the Son is perfect, personal, intimate, deep, and committed. It is love without limits...

Pilate therefore said unto him, Art thou a king then? Jesus answered, Thou sayest that I am a king. To this end was I born, and for this cause came I into the world, that I should bear witness unto the truth. Every one that is of the truth heareth my voice. John 18:37 Pilate questioned the existence of truth, and his life bore the fruit of his doubts. He lived in fear of losing his position. Against his conscience, he gave deference to the mad request of the people. He disregarded the advice of his wife, who urged him to have nothing to do with Jesus' death. Pilate was in bondage because he didn't know the truth. Even though he spent many years bound in prison, the apostle Paul declares "Stand fast… in the liberty wherewith Christ hath made us free" (Gal. 5:1). So you can be a prisoner and yet be truly free, or you can be a king and live in bondage. As Paul testified in chains before kings, it was clear that he, not they, knew true freedom (Acts 24:16, 25).  You...

"In Christ's first coming, He implemented a rescue plan conceived in the mind of God before the foundation of the world. He did not come to promote holiday cheer, boost end-of-year sales, or serve as the central figure in a nativity scene. He came to save sinners…" Read more of this quote from Why Christ Came at Out of the Ordinary.

Not one of the Father's expectations were unfulfilled in Christ. When Christ said, "It is finished," He meant it (John 19:30). By His obedience to God's will, even in the things that He suffered, He secured salvation for us. As our high priest, Christ teaches us that we have no other way of dealing with our moral failure and its penalty than to come to God and say, "Nothing in my hand I bring, / Simply to thy cross I cling." As we study the early chapters of the Gospels, it is difficult to feel the full weight of Jesus' statement: "I come… to do thy will, O God." But later, especially as we read about Christ in the garden of Gethsemane, we begin to sense the depth of that commitment. In the garden, Jesus wrestles with the reality of Isaiah 53:10: "Yet it pleased the LORD to bruise him." In the garden, Christ was "exceeding sorrowful, even unto death," and "sore amazed" (Matt. 26:38, Mark 14:33). Paintings of Ch...

Why Christ Came: 31 Meditations on the Incarnation , Joel R. Beeke & William Boekestein, Reformation Heritage Books, 2013, 108 pages. Why Christ Came: 31 Meditations on the Incarnation is great little devotional that looks at Jesus' mission and ministry beyond what we typically associate with Christmas.  Drawn from both the Old and New Testaments, the authors highlight different reasons why Christ came such as: - to die - to give us the spirit of adoption - to bring a sword - to bring peace - to fulfill the law and the prophets - to bind up broken hearts - to be the second and greater Adam - to reveal God's love for sinners You may think some of these reasons would be better suited for Easter, but our salvation hinges on God becoming man. Thus, the authors do an excellent job expounding these far-reaching implications of Christ's birth. The readings are scripturally based and rich in theology and heart-felt devotion. This would be a wonderful resourc...