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The Big Unveiling

COVER STORY – Epiphany

How often in our world of self-centered people don’t we hear promises of big things, soon to come. Coming soon, we are told, is the newest, greatest breakthrough in automotive excellence. Coming soon is the ground-breaking, sure-fire, Oscar-winning movie.
But in the world of man, it sometimes happens that a big, public unveiling is merely a moment of frustration and shame. The big movie is a flop. The automotive breakthrough proves a disappointment. Do you remember, some years ago, when the biggest name in electronic devices publicly demonstrated his latest invention—and was embarrassed by a series of glitches? More recently a highly touted inventor was demonstrating breakthrough technology in bullet proof auto glass—and a hand-thrown steel ball cracked and dented the windshield.
We live in a world where hype is normal but is viewed skeptically by careful people. The bigger the noise, the greater the skepticism. We prize the times when good news comes in confident but understated tones. That we can trust.
What about in God’s world? Read More »The Big Unveiling

Stop Being Afraid

COVER STORY – CHRISTMAS

The sight, smell, and sounds of a little baby give no reason for fear. Quite the opposite; watching a sleeping baby can overwhelm one’s heart with comfort, contentment, and joy. The world’s noise, wickedness, and danger all fade away when one is gently rocking in a chair while cradling a baby.
Joseph and Mary experienced the love that saturates parents’ hearts, but God was giving even more. The difficulties of life in the world may very well have faded into the background while baby Jesus was cooing and Mary was swaddling Him, but Jesus was born for much more than baby-joy. Jesus was born to defeat sorrow and to conquer its source, sin.
The words most frequently repeated throughout the account of Jesus’ birth are, “fear not,” or more literally, “stop being afraid.”
These words always come from God, either directly or through His messenger—an angel. Every time these words are spoken, Jesus and His work are the antidote for fear.
When the angel Gabriel appeared to Zacharias, he said, “Stop being afraid.” Why? Because God would give Zacharias a son who would be the forerunner of the Savior. He would “. . . make ready a people prepared for the Lord.” (Luke 1:17) Zacharias and Elizabeth had been praying and waiting for a child for decades, but Israel had been praying and waiting for the Messiah for millennia. The time was full, the Savior was coming—stop being afraid.
Gabriel appeared to Mary and said, “Stop being afraid.” Why? “Behold, you will conceive in your womb and bring forth a Son, and shall call His name Jesus.” (Luke 1:31) Jesus means “Savior.” Stop being afraid, the long-promised Savior is coming to pay the ransom for your sins.Read More »Stop Being Afraid

Saints Alive!

COVER STORY – ALL SAINTS

I shall not die, but live, and declare the works of the Lord” (Psalm 118:17)

“Saints alive!” Maybe you’ve heard the expression; it’s an interjection sometimes used by folks to express astonishment over something extraordinary they have just witnessed. When, for example, they see a beautiful sunset shimmering on a lake, they may be moved to exclaim, “Saints alive! How awesome is the handiwork of our Creator!”
Similarly, there are Bible teachings which are breathtaking for their beauty and may evoke a sense of wonderment in our hearts. I have in mind the teaching that when the Holy Spirit leads a person to anchor his hopes for this life and the next in his Savior Jesus, He transforms him from being a sinner into a saint.
There’s a day coming up on the calendar on which this astonishing truth of the Bible is highlighted in the Christian Church. It is called “All Saints’ Day.” It falls each year on November first. The origin of this festival can be traced back to the third century. Early on it was observed as a day on which Christians who were martyred for their faith were especiallly remembered, with thanksgiving to God. Later All Saints’ Day came to be celebrated as a festival on which all who died believing in Jesus were thankfully remembered.Read More »Saints Alive!

The Goal Was Unity, Not Division

COVER STORY – THE REFORMATION

Recently I came across the name of yet another Christian denomination that was new to me. I now don’t even recall what it was, but that led me to wonder just how many Christian denominations exist today. I was astounded by the answer. According to the two-volume World Christian Encyclopedia (Barrett, Kurian, and Johnson; Oxford University Press, 2001) there are over 33,000: “World Christianity consists of six major ecclesiastico-cultural blocs, divided into 300 major ecclesiastical traditions, composed of over 33,000 distinct denominations in 238 countries.” (Vol. I, p. 16).
Nor is this a declining trend. In the eighteen years since that book was published, the number of denominations has reportedly grown significantly. Although the supposition that there are over 33,000 Christian denominations is based in large part on the definition of “denomination” (a definition that is about as hard to pin down as a peeled grape) one fact is clear: Christians today have no trouble separating from others and forming themselves into autonomous groups.
It wasn’t always so. Other than the “Great Schism” of 1054 between eastern and western Catholicism, the Christian church saw no substantive division until the Lutheran Reformation of 1517. Prior to the Reformation, in other words, if someone claimed to be Christian it meant that he was either Roman Catholic or Eastern Orthodox (which, in reality, were just twin sons of a different father). There were some splinter groups during the 1,500 years prior to the Reformation, but such groups were routinely condemned as heretical and mercilessly crushed. The wall that enclosed “the Christian church” was broken by the Reformation, and once the outflow began, the exodus was stunning. In just seventeen years (by 1534) Christian could mean Catholic, Lutheran, Anglican, Presbyterian, Calvinist, Zwinglian, or any one of their ever-growing number of offshoots. Rome has been trying to reverse the flow ever since.Read More »The Goal Was Unity, Not Division

Gospel Reinforcement

COVER STORY – CHRISTIAN EDUCATION

The still, small voice of God.

The news today can seem exceedingly loud. Numerous sources fight to be the first to tell us about all the effects of sin in the world. Political turmoil and corruption throw countries into chaos. Mass tragedies happen so frequently that we can seldom fully sympathize with victims before another tragedy becomes the headline news. Amidst the chaotic “noise,” the world asks Christians, “Where is your God?” (Psalm 42:3)
God is not silenced
That constant noise and tragedy can lead even the strongest Christian to exasperation. It’s easy to feel alone in this evil world. But God is not silenced by the noise. “For the word of God is living and powerful, and sharper than any two-edged sword.” (Hebrews 4:12) God’s Word cuts through the noise to show us His love for all people.
We are not the first people to feel discouraged by the world around us. After God’s resounding victory in a contest with the prophets of Baal on Mount Carmel as recorded in 1 Kings 18, we read in 1 Kings 19 about a depressed Elijah, praying that he might die. He hid in a cave and told God, “I have been very zealous for the Lord God of hosts; for the children of Israel have forsaken Your covenant, torn down Your altars, and killed Your prophets with the sword. I alone am left; and they seek to take my life.” (1 Kings 19:10)Read More »Gospel Reinforcement

Fearfully and Wonderfully Made

Don’t you love to ponder God’s creation and His creative powers? There are multitudinous things at which we marvel that proclaim God’s glory.
• Marvel at the power of God, Who simply spoke and it was done! (Genesis 1)
• Marvel at the wisdom of God, Who designed every living thing with incredible intricacy and complexity.
• Marvel at the love of God, Who made everything perfect and beautiful for our enjoyment and use.
• Marvel at the precision and care of God, Who calls the estimated one septillion stars by name and keeps each one in its place. (Isaiah 40:26)
• Marvel at the immensity of God, Who measures the seemingly infinite universe with the span of His hand. (Isaiah 40:12).
• Marvel at the imagination of God, to create such variety and diversity of life.
• Marvel at the personal touch of God, Who cared enough to form Adam and Eve with His own hands in His own image.
When you think of creation, however, don’t think only of a past great act of God. Creation is also a present marvel that is taking place every day. Read More »Fearfully and Wonderfully Made

The Mystery of Marital Love

“Wives, submit to your own husbands, as to the Lord. For the husband
is head of the wife, as also Christ is head of the church. . . .
Husbands, love your wives, just as Christ also loved the church and gave Himself for
her, that He might sanctify and cleanse her with the washing of water by the word. . . .
This is a great mystery, but I speak concerning Christ and the church.”
(Ephesians 5:22-23,26,32)

If you were asked to give a definition for the word love, how would you answer? I suppose it depends on the kind of love you’re thinking about. There are different forms of love. If you’re a parent you might define love as the feeling of deep affection you have for your child (“I love my son to death”). If you’re engaged, you might define it as the romantic attachment you have for your sweetheart (“It was love at first sight”). If you’re a football enthusiast it may mean the great interest and pleasure you have in watching your team play (“I love the Seahawks”).
If you are a Bible student, you may be aware that Greek, the original language of the New Testament, has several distinct words for love. The Greek word eros doesn’t occur in the Bible; it is used in reference to the love of sexual attraction. Philia is the love shared by friends. Then there’s agape (uh-GAHP-ay), the highest and most important form of love. A key characteristic of agape is the willingness to put the welfare/happiness/comfort of others before your own. Agape has been defined as love that decides to do what is in someone else’s best interests no matter what, even when that person doesn’t deserve it.Read More »The Mystery of Marital Love

God Has a Plan for You

COVER STORY – PENTECOST

Our lives are constantly changing. Occasionally, those changes feel life-shattering. We move, change jobs, get sick, or lose a friend or family member; the list could go on. We wonder how we can continue, but God knows that His plan for us is not broken. God picks up the pieces of our broken lives and makes us His new creation. “For we are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus
for good works, which God prepared beforehand that we should walk in them.” (Ephesians 2:10)
Consider the life of Jacob. He fled his home after deceiving his father, fearing that Esau would kill him. He saw firsthand the kind of healing that God is capable of when he returned to his homeland and was met by his brother’s embrace (Genesis 33:4). He had faced adversity of many kinds and had been blessed by God with twelve sons; then he was told that his beloved son Joseph was dead. “And all his sons and all his daughters arose to comfort him; but he refused to be comforted, and he said, ‘For I shall go down into the grave to my son in mourning.’ Thus his father wept for him.” (Genesis 37:35) His life was broken in a way that no human comfort could mend.
God’s plan was bigger than Jacob understood. He used Joseph to help prepare for a seven-year famine. But God didn’t care only about the big picture. He knew the pain that Jacob was living with and healed him by reuniting him with his son. “Then Israel said, ‘It is enough. Joseph my son is still alive. I will go and see him before I die.’” (Genesis 45:28) Read More »God Has a Plan for You

Both Shepherd and Lamb

COVER STORY – GOOD SHEPHERD

Jesus was many mutually exclusive things that, humanly speaking, He couldn’t be. He was the God of Sabaoth, and He was the Prince of Peace. He was Lord and Master, and He was the humble Servant. He was “true God, begotten of the Father from eternity,” and He was a mortal man Whose life left Him on Calvary’s cross. He was also both Shepherd and Lamb.
We get this, of course, but it is nonetheless remarkable when you actually take the time to consider it. That both are true is beyond dispute. Jesus once said this of Himself: “I am the good shepherd. The good shepherd lays down his life for the sheep. He who is a hired hand and not a shepherd, who does not own the sheep, sees the wolf coming and leaves the sheep and flees, and the wolf snatches them and scatters them. He flees because he is a hired hand and cares nothing for the sheep. I am the good shepherd. I know my own and my own know me, just as the Father knows me and I know the Father; and I lay down my life for the sheep.” (John 10:11-15 ESV) Clearly then He is a shepherd. Yet John the Baptist, on two separate occasions, identified Jesus as “the Lamb of God.” (John 1:29, 34)Read More »Both Shepherd and Lamb

Both Shepherd and Lamb

Jesus was many mutually exclusive things that, humanly speaking, He couldn’t be. He was the God of Sabaoth, and He was the Prince of Peace. He was Lord and Master, and He was the humble Servant. He was “true God, begotten of the Father from eternity,” and He was a mortal man Whose life left Him on Calvary’s cross.

He was also both
Shepherd and Lamb.

We get this, of course, but it is nonetheless remarkable when you actually take the time to consider it. That both are true is beyond dispute. Jesus once said this of Himself: “I am the good shepherd. The good shepherd lays down his life for the sheep.  He who is a hired hand and not a shepherd, who does not own the sheep, sees the wolf coming and leaves the sheep and flees, and the wolf snatches them and scatters them.  He flees because he is a hired hand and cares nothing for the sheep.  I am the good shepherd. I know my own and my own know me, just as the Father knows me and I know the Father; and I lay down my life for the sheep.” (John 10:11-15 ESV) Clearly then He is a shepherd. Yet John the Baptist, on two separate occasions, identified Jesus as “the Lamb of God.” (John 1:29, 34) Read More »Both Shepherd and Lamb