Thursday, December 20, 2018

PREPARING PEOPLE'S HEARTS FOR JESUS


BY STEVE DUNN

In just a few days we will be celebrating the birth of Jesus Christ.  It is a time of great rejoicing for the Messiah, the Liberating King, enters time and space to save His people from their sin.

But there was another noteworthy birth about that same time.  He was the earthly cousin of Jesus and his name was John, known to us as John the Baptist.  There may be some question of which one was born first.  All we really know is what Luke records:

"When it was time for Elizabeth to have her baby, she gave birth to a son. Her neighbors and relatives heard that the Lord had shown her great mercy, and they shared her joy." (1:57-58) 

But the birth order is not what is important.  The purpose is.  At John's birth, his father Zechariah after months of God-imposed silence proclaims: "And you, my child, will be called a prophet of the Most High; for you will go on before the Lord to prepare the way for him." to give his people the knowledge of salvation through the forgiveness of their sins." (1:76-77)

Zechariah's words echo a prophecy long before of Isaiah: 
"A voice of one calling:
'In the desert prepare the way for the Lord;
make straight in the wilderness a highway for our God.
Every valley shall be raised up, every mountain and hill made low;
the rough ground shall become level, the rugged places a plain.
And the glory of the Lord will be revealed,
and all mankind together will see it.
For the mouth of the Lord has spoken.'" (Isaiah 40:3-5)

Later John appears on the scene as that voice and his ministry of the coming Messiah and the repentance from sin indeed prepares the way for the message and ministry of Jesus.  Soon after Jesus appears,  John even says, "I decrease so he can increase."

Have you ever thought of yourself as one who prepares the way for Jesus as through our relationships we introduce them to Him--his promises and His power?  Or as Dan Kimball describes it, "The bridge to the Bridge."

There is no more important calling.
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Friday, December 14, 2018

I WONDER WHAT I WOULD HAVE DONE

Part of a Series "Preparing the Way"

by Steve Dunn
"So Joseph also went up from the town of Nazareth in Galilee to Judea, to Bethlehem the town of David, because he belonged to the house and line of David.  He went there to register with Mary, who was pledged to be married to him and was expecting a child.  While they were there, the time came for the baby to be born,  and she gave birth to her firstborn, a son. She wrapped him in cloths and placed him in a manger, because there was no guest room available for them."
- Luke 2.3-7 NIV 

How many times have you read these words or heard them spoken over the years of your lifetime? As a Christian since an early age and a pastor for 43 years, my answer would "beyond memory or measure."  There are many voices and faces in the Christmas story; but there is one face you do not see or voice you do not here, yet that person played a major role in the Nativity Story.

The Innkeeper.  At some point he must have said, "We have no room" and so Mary and Joseph had to find shelter in a cave used by the domestic animals.  And when Mary's water broke in that unlikely and uncomfortable place, a baby was born and placed in a manger.

I wonder when it began to dawn on this nameless innkeeper that something extraordinary had happened on his establishment's grounds.  Was is it when those shepherds began singing in the courtyard?  Was it when the curious began to visit the mother and her new baby?  Was it when three astrologer Kings overwhelmed his courtyard with their entourage?

I wonder what he felt. Embarassment? Shame for his decision?  There is no historic record that would allow us to verify any answer.

What I wonder more about is "what would I have done?"  I am a practical man; sometimes a little too business-like.  I am a man who is busy and make too many decisions on the run.  I am a man who in the daily demands of life can lose track of the presence of the Holy.

Fortunately God understands our frailities and or sin.  In fact, that is precisely why he took on flesh and moved into the neighborhood.  Why he subjected himself first  to the humility of a manger and ultimately to the shame and pain of the Cross.

I pray that I would be so focused on Him, expecting Him, that I make room for Him in my life.






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Tuesday, December 11, 2018

O LITTLE TOWN OF BETHLEHEM




Part of a Series: Prepare the Way

by Steve Dunn

"But you, O Bethlehem Ephrathah, are only a small village among all the people of Judah. Yet a ruler of Israel will come from you, one whose origins are from the distant past." - Micah 5.2 NLT

I don't know if you have every given Bethlehem much thought beyond singing the Christmas carol or the words of scripture faithfully read at Christmas time.  Some of you may know that in addition to Jesus, Bethlehem was the birthplace of another highly significant  hero of the faith.  King David was born in Bethlehem.

Despite that first famous son, Bethlehem was pretty insignificant at the time Jesus was born. An unwalled village about five miles south of Jerusalem with little more than a hundred persons during the Herodian period.  It's population had been swollen beyond reason because of the dictate of Caesar Augustus. It's no wonder there was no room in the inn.  Actually, I doubt if Bethlehem had that many inns at all.

Small things are where God often does his best work.  A mustard seed, a young boy's small lunch, a widow's seemingly insignificant offering, a young slave girl in the house of a mighty general.

Yet we tend to think of small as insignificant.  And often we despise the small in a world that pursues the "big."  It's no wonder that Zechariah would chide Israel, ""Who has despised the day of small things?"  - Zechariah 4.10

Perhaps the best way to prepare for His coming is to look for God at work in the small things, and in the small places, and what is happening in the lives of people who seem insignificant at first glance.



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Sunday, December 9, 2018

BAIL OUT

Part of a Series "Prepare the Way"

by Steve Dunn

Reading: "Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, the new creation has come: 
The old has gone, the new is here!" - 2 Corinthians 5:17

Bailout has become a bit of a dirty word in our language.  It implies charitable initiatives intended to help some get back on their feet or stimulus packages to turn under-achievers and failed performers into fruitful workers or industries.  Our recent political and economic experience has generally resulted in failed expectations, some times out and out abuse of our generosity, and more often than not increased cynicism and even despair as we spiral deeper and deeper into economic and national chaos.

The problem with mere bailouts is that they assume by a timely addition of resources (like an infusion of capital) that essentially flawed industries can turn themselves around. They assume that the only flaw in those recipients is faulty judgment or bad breaks instead something embedded in the group's DNA.

The Fall has embedded something relentlessly destructive and deadly into humanity.  It's called sin - and the wages (the returns) of sin is death.  And death always collects its due.  Although we are created in the image of God, sin corrupts our spiritual hard drive even more relentlessly and completely than the most insidious computer virus.  Those of us who experienced such an infection know that at some point the only choice is to completely clean the hard drive or start over with a new hard drive.

When Christ came into the world it was not for a bailout or simple repair.  It was for a transformation, an entirely new creation.  Only when the image of God is   re-embedded through his work of atonement and grace do we have any hope of breaking free from both the power and penalty of sin.

Thank God He provided us more than an incentive or more than a bailout.


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Thursday, December 6, 2018

WHAT DO YOU WANT FOR CHRISTMAS?



Part of a Series: Preparing the Way

by Steve Dunn

The Spirit and the Bride say, “Come.” And let the one who hears say, “Come.” And let the one who is thirsty come; let the one who desires take the water of life without price.” – Revelation 22:17

My wife and I finished our Christmas shopping yesterday.  Actually except for a couple of items, we have been finished for several days.  We didn't really ask our grandchildren or children what they wanted for Christmas.  In the case of the former, their requests could have easily bankrupted us considering the hype of peers and television putting ideas and desires into their heads.

Instead we went shopping both in store and on-line with an eye of what we thought they would really appreciate, enjoy or get some longer term benefit from.  We found ourselves getting pretty creative and selected gifts that were more personal.  In fact, we're hoping some of these gifts draw the best out of our loved ones--which would be a gift to us, as well.

Blaise Pascal wrote, "There is a god-shaped in us that only God can fill." (Billy Graham borrowed this from the 19th century philosopher-mathematician.)  Because of this God knows what we need and has designed us to desire it as well.  It's life.  Not just living, but abundant life.  Jesus even declared his intentions for coming into the world.  "I have come that you might have life and have it to the full." (John 10:10)

John declares here that God invites us to unwrap this present from his heart.  But there's more.  It is "life without price."  This means that it is of incomparable worth.  But it also means it is truly a gift, You cannot purchase it.  Jesus already has.  He comes into the world to give his life on the Cross so that we might possess this gift of life at his expense.

Deep down, isn't that something that you desire more deeply than an electronic gadget that will break or become outdated, than clothes and music that will become outdated, crazy stuff that will go in the closet once the novelty wears off.

The present is yours.  Claim it and unwrap it.



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Sunday, December 2, 2018

STEPPING OUT OF THE DARKNESS




Part of a Series: Preparing the Way



by Steve Dunn


Israel had long lived in darkness—far too long.  They lived under an oppressive, occupying power.  Their own leadership—both political and religious—had been installed by Rome and were willing participants in its tyranny.  Some out of fear, some out of economic advantage, some out of their own desire for power, some out of a limited and even secularized view of God.



Although they were chosen people, the pattern of sinfulness had created a self-fulfilling prophecy of disfavor with the very God upon whose love they needed.  But help was on the way.  Help in the person of a child, born in insignificant circumstances and unexpected surroundings.  A child whose arrival had been proclaimed long before in the words of a prophet named Isaiah.



“The people walking in darkness have seen a great light … For unto us a child is born, unto us a son is given.” – Isaiah 9:2, 6



The Voice translation expresses this in words we can all understand.



The people who had been living in darkness

    have seen a great light.

The light of life has shined on those who dwelt

    in the shadowy darkness of death.

And You, God, will make it happen. You bolstered the nation,

    making it great again. You have saturated it with joy.

Everyone in it is full of delight in Your presence,

    like the joy they experience at the harvest,

    like the thrill of dividing up the spoils of war.



    There will be a new time, a fresh start.

Hope of all hopes, dream of our dreams,

    a child is born, sweet-breathed; a son is given to us: a living gift.

And even now, with tiny features and dewy hair, He is great.

    The power of leadership, and the weight of authority, will rest on His shoulders.

His name? His name we’ll know in many ways—

    He will be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God,

Dear Father everlasting, ever-present never-failing,

    Master of Wholeness, Prince of Peace.

His leadership will bring such prosperity as you’ve never seen before—

    sustainable peace for all time.

This child: God’s promise to David—a throne forever, among us,

    to restore sound leadership that cannot be perverted or shaken.

He will ensure justice without fail and absolute equity. Always.

    The intense passion of the Eternal, Commander of heavenly armies,

    will carry this to completion. Isaiah 9.2, 6-7



When God arrives on the scene, in a clear and unmistakable way—in the person of a child whose name is called Jesus. “There will be a new time, a fresh start. Hope of all hopes, dream of our dreams,

    a child is born, sweet-breathed; a son is given to us: a living gift.”



In Advent we focus on Preparing the Way—preparing ourselves for his coming so we can prepare others.

Darkness has a way of creeping back into our lives, even those of us who follow Jesus.



But the way of stepping out of the darkness is to fix our eyes on Jesus.  To realize that Jesus has come. To realize he dwells among us shining his great light of hope.  To step into the light who is Jesus.

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