There is something even more special about the Christmas message when it’s spoken by a child. Hoping and praying your Christmas time is filled with the joy and peace that comes in keeping the glorious hope and faith in Christ in your heart every day.
Tag: joy
The Name of Jesus
“This is how the birth of Jesus the Messiah came about: His mother Mary was pledged to be married to Joseph, but before they came together, she was found to be pregnant through the Holy Spirit. Because Joseph her husband was faithful to the law, and yet did not want to expose her to public disgrace, he had in mind to divorce her quietly.
But after he had considered this, an angel of the Lord appeared to him in a dream and said, ‘Joseph son of David, do not be afraid to take Mary home as your wife, because what is conceived in her is from the Holy Spirit. She will give birth to a son, and you are to give him the name Jesus, because he will save his people from their sins.’
All this took place to fulfill what the Lord had said through the prophet: ‘The virgin will conceive and give birth to a son, and they will call him Immanuel’ (prophecy foretold in Isaiah 7:14) (which means “God with us”).
When Joseph woke up, he did what the angel of the Lord had commanded him and took Mary home as his wife. But he did not consummate their marriage until she gave birth to a son. And he gave him the name Jesus.” Matthew 1:18-24
The name Jesus is translated from the Greek for Joshua or Jehoshua, which is the English spelling for its most literal translation, Yeshua.
Yeshua comes from the Hebrew for Jehovah (or Yehowah)-saved which is derived from the two words:
1. Jehovah, or Y’hoshua – a name for God meaning Self-Existent or eternal
2. Yasha – to free, to deliver, to rescue, to avenge, to bring salvation.
To get victory.
Now that is good news!
However you pronounce it, His name should be reverenced and spoken with awe and wonder. For “salvation is found in no one else, for there is no other name under heaven given to mankind by which we must be saved.” Acts 4:12
“And everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved.” Acts 2:21
“Therefore God exalted Him to the highest place and gave Him the name that is above every name, that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth, and every tongue acknowledge that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.” Phil. 2:9-11
“He is dressed in a robe dipped in blood, and his name is the Word of God.” Rev. 19:13
“I will bow down… and will praise your name for your love and your faithfulness, for you have exalted above all things your name and your word.” Psalm 138:2
Proof that great things really do come in small packages.
Merry Christmas!
Bountifully, Abundantly, Eternally Good
I will exalt you, my God the King;
I will praise your name for ever and ever.
Every day I will praise you
and extol your name for ever and ever.
Great is the Lord and most worthy of praise;
his greatness no one can fathom.
One generation commends your works to another;
they tell of your mighty acts.
They speak of the glorious splendor of your majesty—
and I will meditate on your wonderful works.
They tell of the power of your awesome works—
and I will proclaim your great deeds.
They celebrate your abundant goodness
and joyfully sing of your righteousness.
The Lord is gracious and compassionate,
slow to anger and rich in love.
The Lord is good to all;
he has compassion on all he has made.
All your works praise you, Lord;
your faithful people extol you.
They tell of the glory of your kingdom
and speak of your might,
so that all people may know of your mighty acts
and the glorious splendor of your kingdom.
Your kingdom is an everlasting kingdom,
and your dominion endures through all generations.
The Lord is trustworthy in all he promises
and faithful in all he does.
The Lord upholds all who fall
and lifts up all who are bowed down.
The eyes of all look to you,
and you give them their food at the proper time.
You open your hand
and satisfy the desires of every living thing.
The Lord is righteous in all his ways
and faithful in all he does.
The Lord is near to all who call on him,
to all who call on him in truth.
He fulfills the desires of those who fear him;
he hears their cry and saves them.
The Lord watches over all who love him,
but all the wicked he will destroy.
My mouth will speak in praise of the Lord.
Let every creature praise his holy name
for ever and ever.
Psalm 145
The Secret of Contentment
“But godliness with contentment is great gain.” 1 Timothy 6:6
It’s a strange juxtaposition in which we believers find ourselves. We are filled with Spirit of God Himself, bringing heaven down to earth and all the godly riches available to us with such a glorious gift, and yet at the same time we are still on this earth, saddled with these fleshly bodies, so prone to temptation, walking among earthly riches, seeing, smelling, contemplating, desiring…
The flesh and the spirit are at war.
But Paul reminds us that while godliness is good, godliness with contentment is greater. It is gain.
Holidays are supposed to be a joyous time, but they can be especially rough on some who have suffered a loss of some kind. The days when seemingly everyone else is rejoicing can be a magnifier for those losses or unfulfilled expectations.
But a magnifying glass only magnifies that on which we are solely focused. And when we focus the magnifying glass on the world and its temptations, even on those things that aren’t necessarily bad, but God has simply, in His wisdom and grace and mercy, not given them to us, then our focus becomes lust and envy.
We become discontent.
Contentment means we have moved the magnifying glass to focus on our Lord and Savior. We’re focused on Christ and God’s Spirit working in our lives, even through those losses, and have found we have all we need, and even more, to live an abundant life right here and right now.
In Philippians 4:11-12 Paul declared “I am not saying this because I am in need, for I have learned to be content whatever the circumstances. I know what it is to be in need, and I know what it is to have plenty. I have learned the secret of being content in any and every situation, whether well fed or hungry, whether living in plenty or in want.”
And what is that secret to being content?
He doesn’t leave us wondering; in the next breath he tells us “I can do all this through him who gives me strength.”
No matter what our circumstances, and we are all in some kind of circumstances–don’t let the enemy tell you that everyone else’s life is perfect and yours isn’t—Jesus Christ gives us strength, not just to endure, but to thrive, to be spiritually well-fed and well-clothed, to have all our physical needs met to the glory of His Name, the magnification of His goodness and faithfulness.
In the world there is always something more to want, something more to chase after. Just like we can stuff ourselves silly on Thanksgiving only to be hungry again two hours later, the world will never satisfy. But the overflowing, never-ending, treasure of God will satisfy the soul because that’s what we’re created for.
“And God is able to make all grace abound toward you, that you, always having all sufficiency in all things, may have an abundance for every good work.” 2 Cor. 9:8
The same word that is “contentment” in 1 Timothy 6:6 is used as “sufficiency” here in 2 Corinthians.
Contentment–magnifying Christ in our hearts and minds–knowing He is sufficient for all our needs and able to work through those difficult or even impossible situations, watching Him move every mound of dirt until our mountain is thrown into the sea, will bring us a satisfaction that no amount of earthly riches ever will.
Contentment means we don’t have to worry about our needs because God’s got it covered. We can come off the sidelines of dismay as we realize the eternal treasures that are ours in the Lord and the strength we receive frees us to carry on, faithfully doing the good work He has carved out for us to do.
In His Good Grace,
Go with the Flow
We didn’t have much of a chance to talk when I was growing up, but later my dad and I would talk for hours. We were both thinkers and we’d each spend way too much time in our heads trying to work out our problems. We also both shared an inclination to write things down. And when one called the other, all those thoughts that had been swirling around in our heads or maybe even made it onto paper, spilled out into our conversations.
We took turns, comparing notes, collaborating, solving the world’s problems since we couldn’t seem to solve our own.
I knew a little bit about the difficult life he’d had, and he knew a little bit more about mine. Being my dad, I know he wanted to help me. I don’t know much more of a helpless feeling than to be a parent who can only stand by and watch a child suffer.
He saw me flailing, struggling, and it was as if he were watching me from shore with no boat and no life raft of his own to share with me.
So he’d call out to me the best advice he could give: “Go with the flow.”
“Yeah, I know.”
But fighting came easier somehow. It was instinctual.
They say if you’re caught in a riptide, swim with the current, parallel to the shoreline, until you’re safe. But most people fight the current. They use all their strength trying to swim back to shore in direct opposition to the powerful and relentless current, and many don’t make it.
Go with the flow. Accept. Yield.
Paul the apostle put it like this:
“Not that I speak from want, for I have learned to be content in whatever circumstances I am. I know how to get along with humble means, and I also know how to live in prosperity; in any and every circumstance I have learned the secret of being filled and going hungry, both of having abundance and suffering need. I can do all things through Him who strengthens me.” Philippians 4:11-13 NAS
For God’s sons and daughters, He is that current in our lives.
He blows the winds of circumstances where He will, and to fight them is to fight Him, and no one wins fighting God.
But when we accept the circumstances of our lives as coming from the hand of a loving, all-powerful, all-present and all-knowing Father, we can, with Paul, learn the secret of contentedness, and trust Him to carry us to safety.
It seems to me at this moment a happy coincidence that my dad’s name was Paul, too.
Whether centuries ago or just a couple of decades, truth is truth, and somehow the Lord in His mercy, knowing full well that one day he’d give his heart to Christ, gave my dad what he needed to get through the storms of his life.
I didn’t get it so much when my dad was giving me his advice years ago. I was younger then and still had the energy and stubbornness to fight. But I’m getting it a little bit more these days. God’s patience and many trials have worn me down. And I’m glad. All that flailing was blocking the voice of God. Now I’m learning to be still and listen.
There are days I wish my dad had lived long enough to be able to read what the other Paul had to say about “going with the flow” in the light of Christ. To have the chance to take that thought one step further and know that it’s more than just tolerating life’s trials. That in Christ he could find strength and even joy in the middle of those circumstances, and even grow through them.
Most of the time, though, I rejoice that my dad was able to escape the suffering of this life and receive his reward just five days after he let Christ into his life.
If he were still here, he’d be 76 today and still trying to figure it all out, just like I am. But he is home now, and he is ageless, living a life more contentedly than he ever imagined.
I wonder if the two Pauls have met yet. I can just see them, sitting together, comparing notes, but this time without a care in the world.
Happy Birthday, Dad.
Love,