Tag Archives: Truth

Presidential Prayer Team; C.H. – No Lines, No Wait

December 13, 2013 broboinhawaii Leave a comment

Did you know more than one in every three Americans shop on Black Friday? According to research, 37 percent participate in the most famous shopping day of the year. Why? While a few go for enjoyment, most will admit to joining the chaos for a great deal. People like to get a jumpstart on Christmas shopping and want to buy their gifts at rock bottom prices. They wait in line for hours, camp out the night before, and push and shove their way to save a dollar.

The free gift by the grace of that one man Jesus Christ abounded for many.

Romans 5:15

In today’s passage, Paul speaks of a free gift – one where pushing and shoving aren’t necessary. It’s the gift of grace through Jesus Christ. This unique present is in unlimited supply, and you can get it year round.

Do you get more excited about saving money than saving souls? Christ died on the cross for the sins of everyone. And everyone is eligible to receive His salvation. Ask God to create a passion in you for sharing that gift with others now and into the coming New Year. Then pray for your nation’s leaders to discover and accept His free gift of grace as well.

Greg Laurie – A Holy Life in an Unholy Place

December 13, 2013 broboinhawaii Leave a comment

“Don’t be afraid, Mary,” the angel told her, “for you have found favor with God!” —Luke 1:30

If Jesus were born today, what city do you think He would come from? Maybe Jerusalem, Rome, London, Paris, or New York would come to mind. We wouldn’t expect Jesus to come from Buttonwillow or Pumpkin Patch. Or how about this? Jesus of Las Vegas. That has a negative connotation, doesn’t it?

When people of Jesus’ day identified Him as “Jesus of Nazareth,” that is how it was perceived. There was a negative connotation. Yet in that ungodly place lived a godly young woman named Mary, who proved that you can live a holy life in an unholy place.

In his second epistle, Peter described the world’s effect on two believers. Both lived in wicked cultures, yet one thrived while the other didn’t.

First there was Noah. Things were so corrupt when he was alive that God was sorry that He had made man and was ready to judge the earth. Yet in the midst of this dark time Noah “found favor with the Lord” (Genesis 6:8) because he walked with God. He was a godly man who lived in an ungodly place, yet he never compromised.

Then there was Lot, who lived in Sodom and Gomorrah. In contrast to Noah, Lot was sort of worn down. He didn’t approve of what the people were doing, but he didn’t do anything to change it. Scripture says that he was living among them, torturing his righteous soul every day with what he saw and heard by their unlawful and wicked deeds. He lived a compromised life. And when the angel of the Lord came to deliver him from Sodom, he left reluctantly.

Which one of these men do you relate to: Noah or Lot? Or to put it another way, are you changing the culture, or is the culture changing you?

Max Lucado

Max Lucado – Grace Forgets

December 13, 2013 broboinhawaii Leave a comment

Do you actually believe God would make a statement like, “I will not hold their sins against them”—and then rub your nose in it whenever you ask for help?” Was He exaggerating when He said He would cast your sins as far as the east is from the west? (Psalm 103:12).

Are you really forgiven? Does He really forgive and forget? Yes, but you and I don’t. You still remember. That horrid lie. That jealousy. That habit. That business trip.

Do you think God is the voice that reminds you of your past? Was God teasing when He said, “I will remember your sins no more?” You and I just need an occasional reminder of God’s nature, His forgetful nature.

It’s against God’s nature to remember forgiven sins. He is the God of perfect grace. Grace forgets. Period.

From God Came Near

Charles Stanley

Charles Stanley – God’s Love Offered to the Hurting

December 12, 2013 broboinhawaii 1 Comment

Jesus said, “He who has seen Me has seen the Father” (John 14:9). His life clearly revealed God’s loving character and compassion towards people. Let’s take a closer look at one of the examples mentioned yesterday: from the Savior’s interaction with the Samaritan woman, we can learn much about our heavenly Father’s tender love and care for us.

• Jesus initiated contact. Much to His disciples’ dismay, Jesus deliberately went out of His way to meet the woman from Samaria. In that day, Jews did not associate with Samaritans and in fact avoided traveling through their region. But God does not adhere to man’s rules or prejudices. He brings a message of hope and new life to all who listen and believe.

• Jesus knew her pain and heartache. She must have felt worthless, abandoned, and unloved after being divorced by five husbands. We all have emotional baggage that weighs us down and causes us pain. Our Father knows when we have deep hurt or secret shame.

• Jesus offered her forgiveness and love. He drew out the details of her situation in a nonjudgmental way so that she would be receptive to His offer of forgiveness and a relationship with God. He understood what she needed—to feel loved, valued, and accepted—and knew a relationship with Him was the answer.

God sees us today as clearly as He saw the Samaritan woman. He knows our hurts, and He wants to bring us healing and restoration. Won’t you accept His love? Submit to the Holy Spirit’s transforming work so that you can be brought to spiritual wholeness.

Our Daily Bread

Our Daily Bread — Costume Or Uniform?

December 12, 2013 broboinhawaii 1 Comment

Romans 13:11-14

Put on the Lord Jesus Christ, and make no provision for the flesh, to fulfill its lusts. —Romans 13:14

Eunice McGarrahan gave an inspiring talk on Christian discipleship in which she said, “A costume is something you put on and pretend that you are what you are wearing. A uniform, on the other hand, reminds you that you are, in fact, what you wear.”

Her comment sparked memories of my first day in US Army basic training when we were each given a box and ordered to put all our civilian clothes in it. The box was mailed to our home address. Every day after that, the uniform we put on reminded us that we had entered a period of disciplined training designed to change our attitudes and actions.

“Cast off the works of darkness,” the apostle Paul told the followers of Jesus living in Rome, “and . . . put on the armor of light” (Rom. 13:12). He followed this with the command to “put on the Lord Jesus Christ, and make no provision for the flesh, to fulfill its lusts” (v.14). The goal of this “casting off” and “putting on” was a new identity and transformed living (v.13).

When we choose to follow Christ as our Lord, He begins the process of making us more like Him each day. It is not a matter of pretending to be what we aren’t but of becoming more and more what we are in Christ. —David McCasland

O to be like Thee, O to be like Thee,

Blessed Redeemer, pure as Thou art!

Come in Thy sweetness, come in Thy fullness;

Stamp Thine own image deep on my heart. —Chisholm

Salvation is free, but discipleship will cost you your life. —Dietrich Bonhoeffer

Bible in a year: Hosea 9-11; Revelation 3

Ravi Zacharias

Ravi Zacharias Ministry – Yesterday and Today

December 12, 2013 broboinhawaii Leave a comment

In their 1965 album Help, the Beatles sang, “Yesterday, all my troubles seemed so far away. Now it looks as though they’re here to stay. Oh, I believe in yesterday…”

Our temptation to live in the “good ole’ days” is captured well in this song. It is not surprising, therefore, that the song has more cover versions than any song ever written—over 3000! For some of us, yesterday always seems to enamor. Somehow it seems the weather was better, the pressure lesser, the prices lower, the traffic slower, the currency stronger, the trees greener, the atmosphere cleaner, the youth kinder, the music softer, the world safer, and the trousers longer! “Oh, I believe in yesterday,” we hear ourselves sighing.

By contrast to the Beatles, country singer Don Williams sings, “Don’t think about tomorrow, it don’t matter anymore. We can turn the key and lock the world outside the door.” While the Beatles voice the temptation to live in our yesterdays, Don Williams voices the temptation to forget our tomorrows. Between or apart from the wishful romanticizing of our yesterdays and the hasty dismissals of our tomorrows, is there a life worth living?

In her novel, The Namesake, Pulitzer Prize winner Jhumpa Lahiri tells the story of Gogol who is named after his father’s favorite author. But growing up in an Indian family in suburban America, the boy starts to hate the awkward name and itches to cast it off. In 1982 on his 14th birthday, his father presents him a specially ordered copy of The Short Stories of Nikolai Gogol. He tells him how he felt a special kinship with the author and that it had taken four months for the book to arrive from Britain, specially ordered for the occasion. To young Gogol the sentiments were not palpable. Time moves on. Gogol’s life moves on. His father dies unexpectedly. The story captures his efforts to reinvent his identity by embracing a new name, exploring meaning in relationships, an education, and a career. For all those years his father’s gift was set aside. But pain has a way of bringing back more than memory. The story ends in the year 2000 when Gogol is 32, divorced and pondering. It is then that he picks up the gift that his father gave him at age 14 and starts to read.

There are some things in life that are irreversible. Had Gogol wished then to start life all over again, there was no way of going back to when he was 14, or spending time with his father once again. Sadly for some of us, there are no replays in real life.

If this was an option the day after the crucifixion, the apostles would have certainly requested a replay. How much they would have desired to go back! Not only that they might be with Jesus, but that they would be right with him. Remember the time you vowed to live a certain way only to break the promise a few days later? Peter felt the same. For those of us who feel like we are the only ones who fail, the gospel writer has a word about the commonness of our humanness: All of the disciples deserted Jesus and fled from him. The problem with the Christ was not that he had asserted a demand, but that he had gently solicited their support. To think that a king would speak in such a fashion to his subjects is beyond imagination. Returning to his disciples in his hour of anguish, he repeatedly found them sleeping. “Could you men not keep watch with me for one hour?” he asked.

How much he had likened himself to us in order to bear away sin. How much he had bent towards humanity, giving visibility to the psalmist’s ascription of “God our Savior who daily bears our burdens for us” (Psalm 68:19). He had given them so much. He had asked for so little. Yet, they had failed him. And still, the great hope of the Christian faith is that, even knowing every past denial and every coming failure of humanity, Jesus comes near today on our behalf.

With the Beatles, one can sing, “I believe in yesterday,” with Don Williams, one can sing, “Don’t think about tomorrow,” but it is only with Jesus the suffering servant, the risen Savior that one can sing, “Because he lives, I can face tomorrow.”

Arun Andrews is a member of the speaking team with Ravi Zacharias International Ministries in Bangalore, India.

Alistair Begg

Alistair Begg – Eternal One

December 12, 2013 broboinhawaii Leave a comment

His were the everlasting ways.

Habakkuk 3:6

What God has done on one occasion, He will do again. Man’s ways are variable, but God’s ways are everlasting. There are many reasons for this most comforting truth.

Among them are the following: The Lord’s ways are the result of wise deliberation; He orders everything according to the counsel of His own will. Human action is frequently the hasty result of passion or fear and is followed by regret and change; but nothing can take the Almighty by surprise or happen contrary to what He has foreseen.

His ways are the outgrowth of an unchanging character, and in them the fixed and settled attributes of God are clearly seen. Unless the Eternal One Himself can undergo change, His ways, which are Himself in action, must remain forever the same. Is He eternally just, gracious, faithful, wise, tender? Then His ways must always be distinguished by the same excellences. Beings act according to their nature: When those natures change, their conduct also varies. But since God cannot know the shadow of turning, His ways will remain everlastingly the same.

Furthermore there is no external reason that could reverse the divine ways, since they are the embodiment of irresistible might. The prophet tells us that the earth is split with rivers, mountains tremble, the sea lifts up its hands, and the sun and moon stand still when Jehovah marches out for the salvation of His people.

Who can prevent Him or say to Him, “What are You doing?” But it is not only might that gives stability; God’s ways are the manifestation of the eternal principles of right and therefore can never pass away. Wrong breeds decay and involves ruin, but the true and the good are marked by a vitality that time cannot diminish.

This morning let us go to our heavenly Father with confidence, remembering that Jesus Christ is the same yesterday, today, and forever, and in Him the Lord is always gracious to His people.

Charles Spurgeon

Charles Spurgeon – The blood

December 12, 2013 broboinhawaii Leave a comment

“When I see the blood, I will pass over you.” Exodus 12:13

Suggested Further Reading: 1 Corinthians 15:12-22

The blood of Jesus Christ is blood that has been accepted. Christ died—he was buried; but neither heaven nor earth could tell whether God had accepted the ransom. There was wanted God’s seal upon the great Magna Carta of man’s salvation, and that seal was put, in that hour when God summoned the angel, and commanded him to descend from heaven and roll away the stone. Christ was put in the prison house of the grave, as a hostage for his people. Until God had signed the warrant for acquittal of all his people, Christ must abide in the bonds of death. He did not attempt to break his prison; he did not come out illegally, by wrenching down the bars of his dungeon; he waited: he folded up the napkin, laying it by itself: he laid the grave-clothes in a separate place; he waited, waited patiently, and at last down from the skies, like the flash of a meteor, the angel descended, touched the stone and rolled it away; and when Christ came out, rising from the dead in the glory of his Father’s power, then was the seal put upon the great charter of our redemption. The blood was accepted, and sin was forgiven. And now, soul, it is not possible for God to reject you, if you come this day to him, pleading the blood of Christ. God cannot—and here we speak with reverence too—the everlasting God cannot reject a sinner who pleads the blood of Christ: for if he did so, it would be to deny himself, and to contradict all his former acts. He has accepted blood, and he will accept it.

For meditation: Are you still stuck at the point of asking “What proves the resurrection”? Or have you advanced to consider what the resurrection proves (Romans 4:25; Acts 17:31)?

Sermon no. 228

12 December (1858)

John MacArthur

John MacArthur – A More Excellent Name

December 12, 2013 broboinhawaii 1 Comment

“He has inherited a more excellent name than they. For to which of the angels did He ever say, ‘Thou art My Son, today I have begotten Thee’? And again, ‘I will be a Father to Him, and He shall be a Son to Me’?” (Heb. 1:4-5).

In our culture, the names we pick for our children don’t have much connection with the child’s character. But in the Bible, God chose specific names that related to some character quality of the individuals who bore them.

The writer of Hebrews was well aware of that when He asked this rhetorical question: “To which of the angels did [God] ever say, ‘Thou art My Son, today I have begotten Thee’? and again, ‘I will be a Father to Him, and He shall be a Son to Me’?” quoting Psalm 2:7 and 2 Samuel 7:14. Of course, the answer is no angel.

The title Son refers to Jesus Christ in His incarnation. Though His sonship was anticipated in the Old Testament (Prov. 30:4), He did not become a Son until He was begotten into time. Prior to that He was eternal God with God. Presenting Jesus as the Son is God’s analogy to help us understand the relationship between the First and Second Persons of the Trinity.

Christ became a Son in two different ways. First, He was not a Son until He came into the world through the virgin birth (Luke 1:35; 3:22). But second, His sonship came to full bloom in His resurrection (Rom. 1:3-4).

The Old Testament prophesied that Christ would come as a Son. In the New Testament He came as a Son in His virgin birth and was declared to be the Son by His resurrection from the dead. Don’t ever get trapped into the heresy of those who claim that Jesus Christ is eternally subservient to God. For a temporary period of time, He set aside what was rightfully His and humbled Himself to become a Son for our sakes.

Suggestion for Prayer:

Thank God for His amazing plan to redeem man through the incarnation of the Second Person of the Trinity.

Praise Him that He became Man to redeem you.

For Further Study:

Read Acts 13:33 and Romans 1:3-4 noting the reason that Christ can be considered God’s Son.

Joyce Meyer

Joyce Meyer – Start Something Good

December 12, 2013 broboinhawaii Leave a comment

For there shall the seed produce peace and prosperity; the vine shall yield her fruit and the ground shall give its increase and the heavens shall give their dew; and I will cause the remnant of this people to inherit and possess all these things.

—Zechariah 8:12

Start something good in someone’s life today. Sow faith for a healing. Sow hope for a restoration. A sincere compliment can sow confidence in someone who is starving for encouragement. Your forgiveness of an ongoing offense can sow a seed for a miracle breakthrough in that situation.

Pray for someone else’s need, or make a special offering to start something positive in the name of the Lord. Remember, God won’t ask you to sow anything that He doesn’t give you the grace to give.

Enjoy the abundant harvest that is returned to your own life when you sow into someone else’s life.

Campus Crusade for Christ

Campus Crusade for Christ; Bill Bright – A Place of Rest

December 12, 2013 broboinhawaii Leave a comment

“So there is a full complete rest still waiting for the people of God. Christ has already entered there. He is resting from His work, just as God did after the creation. Let us do our best to go into that place of rest, too, being careful not to disobey God as the children of Israel did, thus failing to get in” (Hebrews 4:9-11).

A Christian leader was asked: “How do you handle the incredible pressure of your schedule – speaking, writing, giving leadership to a great movement that touches the lives of millions of people around the world? How do you do it? You must carry a tremendous load!”

The inquirer was surprised at the response. “No, quite honestly I don’t carry the load. I’m not under any pressure. I made a great discovery, probably the greatest discovery that a Christian can make. In the Christian life there is a place of rest which one enters by faith and obedience. No matter how great the pressure, or how terrible the testing, the supernatural resources of God sustain, empower, bless and encourage us and our Lord carries the load and fights for us.”

Though few Christians ever enter into this rest, it is available to all believers. When the Israelites were on their way to the promised land, God had already prepared the hearts of the inhabitants, filling them with fear. There is reason to believe that they would have capitulated readily. But when the twelve spies returned after forty days of checking out the land, ten of them reported, “There are giants in the land, and we felt like grasshoppers in their sight.” Only Joshua and Caleb said, “Let’s go in and take the land. God has withdrawn His blessing from the people and He will fight for us.”

But three million Israelites agreed with the majority report, and as a result, wandered in the wilderness for forty years. Why did it take so long for them to enter the land God had already given them? Because, as recorded in verse 2, they failed to mix the promises of God with faith.

Why does the average Christian not enter into a place of rest with God – that supernatural life which produces an abundance of fruit? Because he fails to mix the promises of God with faith. That is what this book, Promises, is all about – to remind us daily of our heritage as children of God and to show us how we can draw upon the mighty, inexhaustible resources of deity to live the supernatural life. Are you experiencing the life of the Spirit? Have you entered into God’s rest? If not, you can begin to do so now.

Bible Reading: 2 Thessalonians 1:3-12

TODAY’S ACTION POINT: As an act of faith and obedience, I will enter that place of rest and I will encourage every believer with whom I have contact today to join me in the adventure.

Presidential Prayer Team

Presidential Prayer Team; H.L.M.- Truth from Error

December 12, 2013 broboinhawaii Leave a comment

God’s righteous foundation in America is slowly and systematically being destroyed. Society today often calls right wrong and wrong right. People honor the immoral and ridicule the upright.

The anointing that you received from him abides in you.

I John 2:27

Yet when you put your faith in Jesus, you receive a new nature – one of holiness and righteousness. There is not anything you can do to earn this priceless gift of grace. Therefore your Heavenly Father only sees the righteousness of Christ which covers you. As a result, you can live a righteous life through the power of the Holy Spirit. Jesus said, “I will ask the Father, and he will give you another Helper, to be with you forever, even the Spirit of truth, whom the world cannot receive, because it neither sees him nor knows him. You know him, for he dwells with you and will be in you.” (John 14:16-17)

Every day, thank God for the gift of His Holy Spirit. Allow Him to help you discern truth from error. Seek opportunities to be an advocate for God’s righteousness wherever you go. Pray also that your local and national leaders would place their trust in Jesus Christ to relinquish wrong morals and exchange them for His righteousness.

Recommended Reading: John 14:15-21 Click to Read or Listen

Greg Laurie

Greg Laurie – The Night that Forever Divided Time

December 12, 2013 broboinhawaii Leave a comment

“The Savior–yes, the Messiah, the Lord–has been born today in Bethlehem, the city of David!”

—Luke 2:11

Christmas has been hijacked. I am not just talking about the secularists who want to remove the phrase Merry Christmas and replace it with Happy Holidays. Christmas has been taken and effectively gutted. It’s as though our culture has taken the word Christmas, emptied it of its meaning, dragged it through the gutter, and handed it back, minus its power. The problem is not just with the secularizing of Christmas. Even well-meaning Christians have either romanticized it or made it so sentimental that perhaps they are missing the real story.

As we think about Christmas, we have a sentimental picture in our minds of the manger scene. There is the baby Jesus. There is Joseph. There is Mary. They all, of course, have their own halos. Then there are the shepherds looking on. The wise men are there too, usually in color-coordinated outfits.

The reality is that no one had halos. The wise men didn’t visit Jesus while He was lying in the manger. Matthew’s Gospel says they did not arrive until sometime later (as many as two years later). And the Bible doesn’t say there were three wise men; it says they brought three gifts.

Then there is the way we have romanticized Christmas with images of snowy countrysides and horse-drawn sleighs and frosty windows and red candles. Maybe we are missing its true message and its real beauty.

So let’s peel away the tradition. Let’s peel away the things that cause us not to see the birth of Jesus for what it really was. Learning this does not diminish its impact; it actually enhances its power. After all, this was the night that forever divided time, the night when God Himself came to this earth. It was the night when God stepped out of heaven and entered history.

Max Lucado

Max Lucado – He Doesn’t Remember

December 12, 2013 broboinhawaii 1 Comment

I was thanking the Father for His mercy. I began listing the sins He’d forgiven. “Remember the time I. . .” I was about to thank Him for another act of mercy. But then I stopped. Something was wrong. The word “remember” seemed displaced, off-key. It was like a baseball game in December… It didn’t fit. Does He remember?

Then I remembered His words in Isaiah 43:25, “I am He who blots out your transgressions, and I will not remember your sins.” Wow! That’s a remarkable promise. God doesn’t just forgive, he forgets. He destroys the evidence. He clears the hard drive. He doesn’t remember my mistakes.

He doesn’t remember! For all the things He does do, this is the one thing He refuses to do!

From God Came Near

Charles Stanley

Charles Stanley – Those Who Hurt

December 11, 2013 broboinhawaii 1 Comment

Mark 10:46-52

When in pain, we may question whether God cares or even knows about what we’re going through. Our adverse circumstances can give us a wrong view of Him.

Scripture teaches that our triune God is omniscient. In other words, He knows all things. No action, person, or situation—past, present, or future—is hidden from Him (Ps. 33:13-15; Heb. 4:13). The Lord “searches every heart and understands every desire and every thought” (1 Chron. 28:9 niv). Because of His perfect knowledge, He knows us intimately and understands what we really need (Matt. 10:29-30). What’s more, God’s love and concern for us do not change, even if our pain has resulted from our own sinful actions.

Jesus repeatedly demonstrated His Father’s care for people. He met with Nicodemus, one of the religious leaders, and without condemnation or accusation, showed him the way to the Father (John 3:3). Another time, the Lord visited Zaccheus, a man whose dishonesty had hurt many financially. And Jesus even initiated conversation with the Samaritan woman, a social outcast. He also delayed His journey in response to the cry of a blind beggar—He showed compassion to Bartimaeus and affirmed his faith. Because of Jesus’ life, we can be certain that our heavenly Father cares about us.

God’s love extends over us, and He wants us to come to Him with our questions and pain. Don’t allow trials to cloud your thinking about God’s deep concern for you. Accept Jesus’ invitation and bring your burdens to Him (Matt. 11:28).

Our Daily Bread

Our Daily Bread — Hope For Skeptics

December 11, 2013 broboinhawaii Leave a comment

Isaiah 55:6-13

So shall My word be that goes forth from My mouth; it shall not return to Me void, but it shall accomplish what I please. —Isaiah 55:11

As a workplace chaplain, I’m privileged to be in conversation with many different people. Some are skeptics of the Christian faith. I’ve discovered three major hurdles that keep them from trusting in Christ for salvation.

The first barrier, surprisingly, isn’t an unwillingness to believe that God exists; instead some doubt that they’re important enough for God’s attention. Second, some believe they are unworthy of His forgiveness. People are often their own harshest judges. The third hurdle? They wonder why God is not communicating with them if He is out there.

Let’s work backward through the hurdles to see what God’s Word says. First, God doesn’t play head games. He promises that if we read His Word, He will make sure it accomplishes His purpose (Isa. 55:11). In other words, if we read it we will discover that God is communicating with us. This is precisely why the Bible speaks so often of His grace and mercy toward all (v.7). His willingness to forgive surpasses our own. Once we learn that we can hear God in the Bible and once we see the emphasis on His mercy, it becomes easier to believe we have His attention when we cry out to Him.

God’s story is amazing. It can give hope for all of us. —Randy Kilgore

There can be times when one’s mind is in doubt,

Times when one asks what the faith is about;

But we can believe Him, we know that He cares—

Our God is real, as the Bible declares. —Fitzhugh

Honest skepticism can be the first step to a strong faith.

Bible in a year: Hosea 5-8; Revelation 2

Ravi Zacharias

Ravi Zacharias Ministry – A God Who Descends

December 11, 2013 broboinhawaii Leave a comment

The first time I walked through the crowded, pungent streets of Bethlehem, I was struck by the disparity between what I was seeing and “the little town of Bethlehem” I had spent my life imagining in manger scenes and songs. The harsh reality of God becoming a child—not in a sweet and sentimental village somewhere far away, but in the midst of this cold and dark world I knew myself—suddenly seemed a blaring proclamation indeed. The Word became flesh and made his dwelling among us. It is little wonder that some of the most theology-rich hymns are Christmas carols that have at heart the Incarnation. In a darkened world not unlike this one, two thousand years ago, God came in person.

Almost immediately after his Christian conversion, Charles Wesley took to hymn writing as a way to capture the hope of God’s nearness persistently stirring in his mind. Though a few of the words have long since been changed, one of his 6,000 hymns is a widely beloved declaration of this Incarnation. Seeking to convey in pen and ink a Christmas story both familiar to our hearts and startlingly unfamiliar in its wonder, Wesley wrote:

Hark, how all the welkin rings,

“Glory to the King of kings;

Peace on earth, and mercy mild,

God and sinners reconciled!”

Joyful, all ye nations, rise,

Join the triumph of the skies;

Universal nature say,

“Christ the Lord is born to-day!”

The Christ child in the manger is forever an indication of the great lengths God will go to reconcile his creation, a savior willing to descend that we might be able to ascend with him. “Welkin” is an old English term meaning “the vault of heaven.” In this dramatic word, Wesley illustrates the crux of Christian theology: All of heaven opened up for the birth of a king and the rebirth of humanity. The vault of God was thrown open to make way for the one who was coming and all that would come as a result of it.

Hail, the heavenly Prince of Peace,

Hail, the Sun of Righteousness!

Light and life to all he brings,

risen with healing in his wings.

Mild he lays his glory by,

born that man no more may die;

born to raise the sons of earth;

born to give them second birth.

The Incarnation is the jarring reminder that God speaks and the world is moved. While the Christmas story reports the massive hope that God came near, the ordinary and incredible signs of redemption show that God has chosen to remain. Wesley saw this intimate connection between God’s nearness and the transformed likeness of our humanity. Where God comes near, countenances themselves are changed.

Come, Desire of nations, come,

fix in us thy humble home;

rise, the woman’s conquering Seed,

bruise in us the serpent’s head.

Now display thy saving power,

ruined nature now restore;

now in mystic union join

thine to ours, and ours to thine.

The startling hope and mystery of the Incarnation is that it reorders the world we know—visually, physically, restoratively, eternally. Where there is despair, where there is joy, where there is need, Christ is living in its midst. Where there is a heart that prepares him room, the Spirit has already transformed life in his image. Come, Desire of nations, come; fix in us thy humble home. These cries have been heard. The vault of heaven is open.

Jill Carattini is managing editor of A Slice of Infinity at Ravi Zacharias International Ministries in Atlanta, Georgia.

Alistair Begg

Alistair Begg – Jesus, The Great Guarantee

December 11, 2013 broboinhawaii Leave a comment

He who calls you is faithful; he will surely do it.

1 Thessalonians 5:24

Heaven is a place where we will never sin, where our battle with the evil one will be over; there will be no tempter to ensnare our feet. There the wicked cause no trouble, and the weary are at rest. Heaven is the undefiled inheritance; it is the land of perfect holiness, and therefore of complete security.

But don’t even the saints on earth sometimes taste the joys of blissful security? The doctrine of God’s Word is that all who are in union with Christ are safe, that all the righteous shall keep to the path, that those who have committed their souls to the care of Christ will find Him to be a faithful and unchanging protector.

Sustained by such a doctrine we can enjoy security even on earth-not the high and glorious security that makes us free from every slip, but that holy security that comes from the sure promise of Jesus that none who believe in Him will ever perish but will be with Him where He is. Believer, reflect often and joyfully on the doctrine of the perseverance of the saints, and honor the faithfulness of God by a holy confidence in Him.

May God bring home to you a sense of your safety in Christ Jesus! May He assure you that your name is graven on His hand and whisper in your ear the promise, “Fear not, for I am with you.”

Look upon Him, the great Guarantee of the covenant, as faithful and true and therefore bound and committed to present you, in your weakness, with all the chosen race, before the throne of God; and in such a sweet contemplation you will drink the cup of salvation and taste the fruits of paradise. You will have a foretaste of the enjoyments that ravish the souls of the saints in heaven if you can believe with unwavering faith that “He who calls you is faithful; he will surely do it.”

Charles Spurgeon

Charles Spurgeon – The Minister’s farewell

December 11, 2013 broboinhawaii Leave a comment

“Wherefore I take you to record this day, that I am pure from the blood of all men. For I have not shunned to declare unto you all the counsel of God.” Acts 20:26-27

John MacArthur – Christ Is Superior to Angels

December 11, 2013 broboinhawaii 1 Comment

“Having become . . . much better than the angels” (Heb. 1:4).

Man is a wonderful and amazing creation–higher than plants, animals, and any other material creation in this world. But there are created beings even higher than man–angels.

Hebrews 2:9 shows this to be the case because when Jesus became a man, He was “made for a little while lower than the angels.” After the fall of the rebellious angels under Lucifer, the angels in heaven were no longer subject to sin. These angels are holy, powerful, and wise. They are special beings created by God before He created man.

The Jewish people understood the exalted position of angels because they knew that the Old Covenant was brought to men and maintained by angelic mediation. Galatians 3:19 says, “Why the Law then? It was added because of transgressions, having been ordained through angels by the agency of a mediator, until the seed should come to whom the promise had been made.”

Because of this high regard for angels by his readers, the writer of Hebrews was faced with a problem. If he was to show that Christ was the mediator of a better covenant, he would have to prove that Christ is better than angels. To do so, he used seven Old Testament passages to verify his claim.

If he had tried to prove from Christian writings that Christ is a better mediator, his unbelieving Jewish readers would have said, “We don’t accept these writings as being from God.” So in effect he wisely replies, “Open up your own Scriptures and I’ll prove my claim from them.” It results in a powerful and irresistible argument.

For the next several days, we’ll see in what ways Christ is superior to angels and how He could mediate a better covenant for us.

Suggestion for Prayer:

Because much of our understanding of the New Testament is based on the writings of the Old Testament, thank God for how He has brought His complete Word to us intact throughout the centuries.

For Further Study:

Read Galatians 3:8, Romans 9:15, and Matthew 4:4.

What Old Testament verses to those passages quote?

What truth does each of them verify?

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