Thursday - Act On It - The Night That Changed The Religious
We’ve mostly looked at one prophecy or prediction about Jesus this week, about his virgin birth and being God in the flesh (incarnate). But Jesus fit many other predictions as well, some of them relating to his birth.
He was born in Bethlehem
Micah 5:2. But you, O Bethlehem Ephrathah, who are too little to be among the clans of Judah, from you shall come forth for me one who is to be ruler in Israel, whose coming forth is from of old, from ancient days. Micah 5:2 ESV)
He was a refugee in Egypt.
Hosea 11:1 11 When Israel was a child, I loved him, and out of Egypt I called my son.
Together, they all form one picture.
The rightful king of Israel is God himself, he’s come to earth to fulfill the promise that Abraham’s descendents would bless the entire world. Jesus is a descendent of Abraham and King David. Jesus did this in dying for the entire world’s sins, and reigns now over his kingdom, which is coming in its fullness.
God has come to us, when we couldn’t get to him.
God has given us the gift of grace, when we have nothing to offer but thanks.
This is most challenging to religious people, because we can become accustomed to knowing about God at a distance, and the systems and codes we put in place for this all get thrown out when God shows up in person, and Knowing About God shifts to simply Knowing God.
Challenge: How can you and/or family focus on this central meaning of Christmas? Advent is the traditional time for the time before Christmas when Christians prepare themselves to truly enter into the story.
We’ll provide some Advent resources here you might use for you or your family:
Our series is on how Jesus resets our goals. We’re basing this on something Jesus taught in his sermon on the mount.
“Therefore I tell you, do not be anxious about your life, what you will eat or what you will drink, nor about your body, what you will put on. Is not life more than food, and the body more than clothing? Look at the birds of the air: they neither sow nor reap nor gather into barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not of more value than they? And which of you by being anxious can add a single hour to his span of life? And why are you anxious about clothing? Consider the lilies of the field, how they grow: they neither toil nor spin, yet I tell you, even Solomon in all his glory was not arrayed like one of these. But if God so clothes the grass of the field, which today is alive and tomorrow is thrown into the oven, will he not much more clothe you, O you of little faith? Therefore do not be anxious, saying, ‘What shall we eat?’ or ‘What shall we drink?’ or ‘What shall we wear?’ For the Gentiles seek after all these things, and your heavenly Father knows that you need them all. But seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness, and all these things will be added to you.
(Matthew 6:25-33 ESV)
Jesus was saying that we can get so busy and consumed by the day to day concerns of life, we lose track of the point. What was the point? We were created for relationship with God, and one another. All humans gave that up by focusing on ourselves instead, and there is evidence in the world’s brokenness. We can see it in broken relationships with ourselves, one another, our natural world, and with God himself. But God offers his love to us all the same. He invites us to live in his kingdom – to be in a relationship with him as our Lord – thanks to what Jesus did on the cross.
Last week, we learned how Jesus and his death on the cross give us the opportunity to reset life. His death and resurrection reset the world, since death was the most visible consequence of our sin and rebellion against God. He made it possible for us to live in Kingdom of God now, and for eternity.
But we have lots to do. Jesus isn’t saying we should quit our jobs, run around naked and hungry. He’s not saying food, shelter, clothes are a bad thing. They are all part of his creation, like us, and he has plans for it all.
He is just saying that we shouldn’t worry about such things. We shouldn’t be consumed by them. We shouldn’t let them distract us from our life’s true purpose of living in relationship with God, and one another. We shouldn’t let worrying about little goals get in the way of life’s big goal.
Question: When does careful planning turn into worry and get in the way of life goals?
Reminder: We are reading the Bible in sync as one community - so check out today's reading here.
Reminder: The best way to grow spiritually this year is to join our Christianity 101 in the Cafe Course in Pickering starting tomorrow night, January 22nd. Register for you and a friend today!
