Author: merittmusings

I've been in ministry in the Christian Churches/ Churches of Christ for 20+ years. Finished my doctorate in Biblical Studies in 2015. Serve today as a Hospital Chaplain.

Inconceivable!

www.bible.com/1713/isa.7.14.csb

If you were asking for a “sign” what would be powerful enough to convince you God is real?

2500 years ago, the sign offered was a young woman. This young woman would be of sufficient sexual maturity that she would be able to conceive, but did not have any sexual relationship with any man before she would actually conceive a child.

In a world where lineage matters, that is a sign. It is a sign because everyone knew who their father was. It was essential in the world where property was passed on by inheritance and family ties. For a child to be born with no known father was anathema. It was both impossible and contrary to their way of life.

If you were to offer this as a sign today, I believe folks would be impressed not so much about the parthenogenesis as they would about a young woman still being a virgin. There are scores of young women who “don’t know who the father is.” That isn’t the same as a virgin birth, but has the same consequences socially. Many would have taken Mary as a soiled woman with her claims of “virgin” conception. Even today she is accused of getting with a Roman Soldier named Parthenos to conceive Jesus. Parthenos is the the Greek word for virgin. Odd name for a Roman Soldier, don’t you think?

So why is her virginity so important? It is essential for the character and person of Jesus Christ, the Immanuel (God with us). In order for God to truly love with us, He must be conceived in Mary. Only God can introduce Himself into the world. Therefore God alone was the male contribution to the young woman, Mary. There was no act of sex, no taking away her virginity in some horrid act of sexual violence. The Holy Spirit overshadowed her and created within here by divine act that portion of DNA necessary to complete a particular egg to be deposited within her womb. It was an act of Creation so small that she herself wouldn’t feel it for weeks.

Yet within her swelling belly was a Divine Presence, the Second Person of God in Jesus Christ. God truly dwelt among us, from the very first cell division. Jesus experienced what it was to be human from the very start. But it was this one life that would change the world.

You may be looking for a sign this season. Look no further. This one sign, the creation of something new, the God-Man, will be enough to rock your world. Jesus took on human form, so that we could be like Him, and live forever with Him. God became like one of us so that we could become children of God. Wow.

God bless you today.

But Wait, There’s Myrrh!

www.bible.com/1713/mat.2.10-11.csb

Three gifts arrived at the home of Jesus’ family 2000 years ago. Whether they came from three “Kings” is impossible to tell. We don’t how much of each of deposited, or if several brought the same thing. Tradition says “three” Magi were involved, but that is based entirely on the three kinds of gifts. (Note: There is a church which claims to hold the three skulls of these men, but collecting relics was a very popular pastime 17 centuries ago.)

All three items were extremely valuable: gold for obvious reasons but the others for the difficulty in extracting them and their fragrance. Frankincense was often used for anointing royalty while Myrrh was usually employed in funerary practice. All three were royal gifts, fitting the narrative that these Magi believes they were looking for the next “King of the Jews”. Odd that we don’t read anything about them coming for any of the Herods. They show up for this one King and disappear.

There is some speculation that Daniel’s role as leader of the Wise Men of Babylon had something to do with their expectation of this King. If right that would be a remarkable amount of star-watching and expectation. But perhaps they were showing up the priests of Judaism by doing so, since the Jews practically had the address of Jesus’ birthplace in their OT Scrolls. Daniel has predicted to the year when Jesus would appear, and Micah predicted the place He would be born. Anyone with reasonable math skills should have known to set up a lookout post in Bethlehem. Even when the Magi appear looking for the child, the priests take little time reporting Jesus’ prophetic birthplace.

Did they think they had plenty of time before they had to get ready? Jesus’ own people, who had specific prophetic indications when Jesus would appear, failed to be ready, and had to be reminded by Gentiles. Hmm. Sound familiar?

Many who allege to belong to Christ today are not ready for His return. They know He is coming. But are they ready with their life and work? Do we not know that we will be judged not only for accepting or not Jesus Christ, but also by the works we have done for Him? Christian consider this a warning. He is coming back for you. You need to be ready. Your life needs to reflect your passion for the Savior and your gratitude for your salvation. Getting baptized is not something to check off the list and wait for pickup. It is a necessary part of Jesus moving into your life. You need to grow and mature in faith so that at His coming He may say to you, “Well done my good and faithful servant.”

The Magi brought gifts to the child Jesus. What spiritual offerings do you bring?

God bless you today.

The Best Way to Spread Christmas Cheer

www.bible.com/1713/mat.5.16.csb

If you’ve seen “Elf” around this time of year, you probably know the response to the title above. Will Ferrell’s Elf recommends that the best way to spread Christmas cheer is to sing loud for all to hear. That works until you realize you can’t carry a tune in a bucket.

May I recommend another way? This one involves more than your singing voice. This one is your whole life. Let your light shine before men, so that they may see it and give glory to God. Sounds radical, I know. The light that changed your life is now also expected to illuminate others through you. That is not only Christmas cheer, but Christian cheer.

The spirit of Christmas, feeling of warmth, joy and generosity, where does that go December 26th? Why do most only have any of that feeling for the first 25 days of December if then? For then New Years Day is almost an afterthought, a hope that next year will be better than the last. But if that cheer and joy doesn’t follow us into the new year, what then? Doesn’t next year end up being just as sorry as the year before?

The best way to save that cheer is to remember it throughout the year, not by celebrating Christmas, but Christ Himself. Jesus is the same yesterday, today, and forever. Let us worship Him by sharing His joy with all who will hear. May your January be merry and bright. Your February full of hope and promise. Your March be joyful and so on. There is really no reason not to carry this joy with you throughout the year. If you need to keep your tree up as a reminder, it’s a small price to pay for joy. It reminds us of the tree used as a tool to buy our redemption with His precious blood.

Take and hold on to this Christmas cheer for the One who has brought you joy. Merry Christmas and a very joyful New Year.

Becoming Flesh

www.bible.com/1713/jhn.1.14.csb

“The Word became flesh and dwelt among us. We observed his glory, the glory as the one and only Son from the Father, full of grace and truth.”  (Joh 1:14)

A simple word: “became.” But the process behind it is beyond our comprehension. How did this “Word” pour Himself into flesh? How did the Second Person of the Trinity shed all of his glory and take on a human nature? This has occupied the minds of theologians for centuries and volumes have been written on the subject, so there is very little I could add to the discussion here.

Suffice it to say that how the Word became flesh is one of the great mysteries of the Christian faith. The only way I can understand it is to understand that each of us has a soul, a spirit entity attached to our bodies that we call “me.” It is this soul that inhabits the organic hardware of our flesh and is our bridge between the material world and the spirit world. It is this soul which gives us spiritual awareness, and what leaves this body when the body dies.

I believe that instead of a normal human-sized soul, Christ possessed His eternal nature within His flesh, powered-down so-to-speak to fit within the hardware of his human body. A very limited version of His Second Person Spirit was what we got to see walking around. But it was this combination of flesh and Spirit that gave us Christ.

But instead of shedding His bodily form at death, He instead chose a renewed body at His resurrection, one capable of handling His true nature. Jesus’ resurrected body has become a permanent part of Him, identifying with us for eternity. It is as if Christ bound Himself to His creation permanently by wearing our form forever as our High Priest and Intercessor. And upon this body He bears the wounds of the cross. They too are a permanent reminder of what He suffered.

For the God who does not change, the Word accepted great changes on our behalf. He is no longer limited in power, but the God who had no form we could behold took on our form so that we could relate to Him and have relationship with Him. This is not a God content to sit in Heaven and wait for us. He reaches out to us, reveals Himself to us, so that He could day to Philip, “If you have seen me, you have seen the Father.”

Blessed be the name of the Lord. God bless you today.

Ministry of Reconciliation

www.bible.com/1713/2co.5.18.csb

18  Everything is from God, who has reconciled us to himself through Christ and has given us the ministry of reconciliation.

If God has given us the ministry of reconciliation, then no one is too far gone for Him. Given all the people who have been reconciled to God over the centuries, this should not surprise us. You were reconciled to God, weren’t you?

Consider how far you have come, from where you were as a sinner in rebellion against God, to a believer saved by grace. You used to be God’s enemy. Now you are his friend. You used to oppose God and hated His rule over the universe. Now you crave His guidance and direction for your own life. Were you beyond reconciliation?

Now consider those in your life that you believe are beyond hope. Who have you met in your travels whom you are certain not even God could save? You may tell yourself that you were never that bad, or that cruel, or even that evil. Now I believe that in part at least, everyone’s evil comes from somewhere. I don’t believe people are born genuinely cruel. I think it is a learned behavior. That being said, I also believe that once people are exposed to cruelty, it is possible for them to genuinely enjoy it. I’ve no doubt you’ve come across people in your own life that are genuinely evil. But can God still save them? Yes. And God wants to.

For God reconciled us to Himself through the death of His Son Christ Jesus. It was announced at His birth, “Peace on earth, and goodwill to all people upon whom His favor rests.” This invitation is open to all who qualify as people. That even includes evil people. That doesn’t necessarily mean that all people will respond, but the invitation is there.

So why does God give us the ministry of reconciliation? Because that’s what we do when we share the gospel. The gospel itself, the good news of Jesus Christ is the invitation. This Jesus came and died for you, died for your sins so that you could be reconciled to Him. Could God melt the heart of stone with this love? All I know is that he melted mine, and continues to do so.

If you have one of those people in your life, may I suggest that you continue to pray for them? If they will not listen to your voice, or care about your opinions, they certainly have no defense against your prayers. And prayer can be the first act of real love. You will have irritating people in your life. Pray for them. Let God do His perfect work. I’ve found that the harder the heart is, the more profound the experience needed to change it. It may be you and it may be someone else who says the right word in season to change their hardened heart. But I have this confidence that God wishes to save as many as will come, and God’s patience is long. God’s love is strong. And God’s will, though not irresistible, is still extremely persistent.

Praise God that you have this ministry today to share with others this amazing story. Jesus is alive! The baby born in the manger is the risen Lord who died on a cross, all of this for your sake; all of this to save you.

Praised be the name of the Lord.

Pure Joy

www.bible.com/1713/jas.1.2-3.csb

Joy, joy, joy. Praise be the Lord who reigns on high.

Consider it pure joy. When? When you encounter various happy occasions? Nope. When you encounter various trials, for it is then you know your faith is being tested. Hmmm.

So I should consider an honor than I have been chosen to have my faith tested. I am certain many of us would just as soon pass. Surely God can find better ways of schooling us into maturity than trials and tests. But that’s not how we learn, is it? Were it not for the trials and tests, would we remember that our faith ought to be growing day by day? We should probably thank the Lord that He still loves me enough to test me, and that I am not a lost cause.

What I have found is that with each successful test, some new means of testing is found. When you have been found faithful in your Bible reading, you are tested in your prayer, or it might be your commitment to church, or your finances, or your marriage, especially when you think things are going great. One of your kids may suddenly have a crisis, or you find an unexpected visitor at your door, or something will come along that will test you in areas that you thought were secure, like your health. Ouch.

Even to talk about all these things could test you in another area: worry. Will you trust God to take care of the things you can’t? Would you let God do the worrying for you? Wow.

What James calls for is an attitude that anticipates God’s work in you and welcomes it. Remember, just as you are working toward maturity, God too is working in you. Consider it all joy. For it isn’t about being happy through your life, but joyful, a joy beyond circumstances.

May God bless you today!

Holiday Depression

www.bible.com/1713/psa.42.11.csb

Like a tropical depression, holiday depression brings you down when you should be up, low when you should be enjoying the climate. Well, maybe it’s not an exact comparison.

But holiday depression is a real thing. I think everyone gets it. It’s when you don’t get that same holiday feeing you used to, especially when you were a child. It’s that feeling you get when someone you love isn’t going to be here this year. The holidays are supposed to be times of cheer and joy, a relief from the everyday stresses. But oftentimes, they are more stressful, dealing with families and parties and social get togethers.

But let’s put that behind us for a moment. What makes the holidays holy days? Why do we celebrate to begin with? Because we are celebrating the birth of Christ into this world. We are celebrating the moment when God took on human flesh to live as one of us. Technically we call this the Incarnation, but most of us think of it as God with skin on. It is a mystery. But that I God for this mystery, do God loved us so much He sent His Son, God in flesh, to live as one of us. Isn’t that profound? The God who created us, who is so far above us and to be beyond our understanding, became as one of us. That is the Reason for this Season.

Why is my soul dejected? Why am I down? Jesus is here. He rose from the grave so that we would not be separated from Him. He exists today. The baby from the manger is the one who rose from death on a cross so that we can always be with Him. Whether in life or death. It’s ok to be down sometimes. David taught us that. But never lose hope. Hope is that Jesus still loves us and will not let us go. Thank God for this holiday season.

May God bless you today with this hope.

Christmas Reason

www.bible.com/1713/1jn.4.19.csb

There are few whose birth we actually celebrate, but all of them we celebrate not because they were born, but because of what they did with their life or are significant to us in some way. For example we celebrate the birth of loved ones, even after they pass, just because we love them. We celebrate the births of presidents and others we deem significant, but to be honest, we really don’t know which births are significant. Whose birth ought to be celebrated by everyone? Don’t you wish there were some kind of sign to say, “This one right here is going to be important. This one we celebrate!”

Strangely only one birth in history had such signage. To look at his birth you would have ignored it. Peasants birthing peasants. Nothing to see here. But in the countryside, an amazing show of force took place, an heavenly “host” or army formed ranks in the sky announced the birth of their commanding officer, that very baby born in Bethlehem and laid in cattle feed for a cradle.

This is how God shows us love. On the one hand, the armies of heaven are announcing His birth to shepherds. On the other hand, Jesus is borrowing from animals for a place to sleep. God reduces His Son to the very lowest to exalt every man, woman and child on this earth. God thinks so much of us all, loves us all, that He made His Son lower than all to show that no one is too low for Jesus.

He first loved us, long before we even knew that we needed Him. As you remember Christ’s birth this season, remember you are not too low for Him to raise you up.

God bless you today.

Clothed in White

www.bible.com/1713/rev.7.9.csb

Will you be there? I wonder when John saw this, he saw you standing there wearing white with a palm branch in your hand? This may be the one place in the Bible where you are in it.

As I am, I hope you are looking forward to this moment. It is then that we, like the host that has gone before us, will all worship together in one unifying song to praise the King of Heaven. I hope to see you there!

God bless!