Jesus was the only person who was ever in position to choose where and to whom He would be born. He chose to be born into a despised race in a remote corner of the world. He chose to be conceived by a virgin, giving grounds for charges of illegitimacy (John 8:41). He chose a mother who spoke freely of her low state (Luke 1:48) and an earthly father who as a carpenter was so very poor that he had to take advantage of the optional sacrifice permitted to those under humble circumstances (Luke 2:24). He chose a barn as His place of birth, A feed trough as His crib, and shepherds as His first visitors. He grew up by choice in a town so despised that a proverb asked, "Can any good thing come out of Nazareth?" Who of us would have made such choices?
If anyone had good reason not to be humble it was Jesus. He was superior in every way to everyone around Him and He had no fault or weakness of which to be ashamed. Yet, scripture holds Him before us as the ultimate example of humility (Philippians 2:1-8).
Jesus was the only person who was ever in position to choose where and to whom He would be born. He chose to be born into a despised race in a remote corner of the world. He chose to be conceived by a virgin, giving grounds for charges of illegitimacy (John 8:41). He chose a mother who spoke freely of her low state (Luke 1:48) and an earthly father who as a carpenter was so very poor that he had to take advantage of the optional sacrifice permitted to those under humble circumstances (Luke 2:24). He chose a barn as His place of birth, A feed trough as His crib, and shepherds as His first visitors. He grew up by choice in a town so despised that a proverb asked, "Can any good thing come out of Nazareth?" Who of us would have made such choices?
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“And whatever you do in word or deed, do all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through Him” (Colossians 3:17).
Many people today believe that if you go to church every Sunday morning, are a good person (after all God loves us-John 3:16), and “confess” to be a Christian (Matt 10:32), then you will have a mansion prepared in Heaven (John 14:2). Unfortunately, this could hardly be more wrong, because it blatantly ignores passages condemning such notions including Matt 7:21-23, and 2 Corinthians 5:9-11. However, perhaps even more concerning is the view among Christians that being a Christian on Sunday, Wednesday, and of course, at gospel meetings is all that God “needs” from us. This view allows us to live as part of the world when we deem acceptable, and views Heaven as something that we truly “earn” opposed to something that God has graciously made possible for us. Colossians 1:12 says we should be “giving thanks to the Father who has qualified us to be partakers of the inheritance of the saints in light.” In addition to the flawed notion that God doesn’t mind Christians being of the world (1 John 2:15-17; Rom 12:1-2), there is the utter ignoring of our commands to be lights in the world Matthew 5:14-16, or even living in a way to make people curious of the “hope that is in you”, 1 Pet 3:15. The true Christian, follower of Christ, would devote every aspect of his/her life to God and fulfilling His commands. If we do ALL things in the name of the Lord, wouldn’t that be a significant change in our daily lives stretching from our work ethic, to what we do and say on a 24-7 basis?? First and foremost, Christians love God. John 14:15 says “If you love Me, keep My commandments,” which could not be clearer. However, 1 John 5:3 echoes that statement, with an interesting addition when it says “For this is the love of God, that we keep His commandments, And His commandments are NOT burdensome.” Clearly we not only are commanded to sacrifice our very lives to God (Luke 9:23), but it isn’t something we should do begrudgingly. Just as God loves “a cheerful giver” and anything less is unacceptable to Him, our service to God in and out of worship is to be done based in our Love and Fear of the Lord. Too many times we grudgingly go about our “Christianly duties”, because we have to, and not because it is pleasing to God. Our focus should instead be zeal to serving God in any way that we can, as punitive and inconsequential as we could be to Him. In Philippians 4:17 Paul says “Not that I seek the gift, but I seek the fruit that abounds to your account”, when speaking of the financial aid he was given. His mind was focused on the “fruit” that pleases God, and NOT his own benefit, payback, or even his part in garnering the fruit. As Christians we all must decide if we really are trying to “seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness” (Matt 6:33). In Jude 1, we find this: "Jude,the servant of Jesus Christ, and brother of James, to them that are sanctified by God the Father, and preserved in Jesus Christ, and called." In It: |
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What is RSS? Mike MinearI live in Orlando, Fl with my wife Dolores. We have 3 children, 10 grand-children and 5 great-grandchildren. Every Wednesday I publish articles concerning Christian Living and spreading the Good News. Archives
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