Amazed by the Familiar

The older I get, the more I appreciate nostalgia. Guess that’s how it’s supposed to work. The more memories you have, the more you can appreciate them.

And there’s nothing like the warmth of familiar Christmas memories this time of year – memories of childhood and of family. It reminds me how often God speaks through the familiar, the common, to amaze us all over again.

Consider the familiar Christmas story in the Gospel of Luke. The angel appears to the shepherds watching over their sheep at night and proclaims,

“For unto you is born this day in the city of David a Savior, who is Christ the Lord” (Luke 2:11).

To these lowly shepherds, the angel says “Unto you is born”. This message was not given first to kings or clergy, but to shepherds – to lowly shepherds out in the field with their flocks. All through the Nativity story, we see God choosing the humble, the weak, the rejected, and the familiar in society to proclaim the wondrous news of Christ’s birth.

The angel said this good news would be for “all the people”. Salvation is no longer limited to Israel, but is for every country, every race, every culture, every walk of life. The walls of division have come down. This truly is good news for the world.

And the good news of great joy is this: the Savior has come. Not just for the world, but He has come to save you.

Then the angel told the shepherds how they could go and see for themselves this wonderful sight.

“And this will be a sign for you: you will find a baby wrapped in swaddling cloths and lying in a manger” (Luke 2:12).

They would find a baby in a barn, wrapped in strips of cloth, lying in a feeding trough made for animals. Now the shepherds were familiar with barns, so they were going back to something familiar – to surroundings that were not new to them. But what they would find there was anything but familiar.

The Christmas story reminds us that God humbled Himself and became a man. God used the lowly of the world to proclaim His glory. And God used the familiar to introduce what had never been before.

It’s easy to hear the story of Jesus and let it become too familiar. Most Christians have a story of when they heard the gospel for the first time, and the joy and clarity and hope that came upon them. And I love to hear those stories. But we should also share those stories when we heard the gospel clearly for the hundredth time, or the thousandth time, and joy and hope flooded our souls all over again.

When you hear the good news of the gospel preached, or when you hear it in the Christmas carols being sung, or when you read it in the Bible, does your heart still leap with joy? Sometimes, mine does not. Sometimes the message of the gospel isn’t good news of great joy.

Those are the times I need to go back and see for myself. Like the shepherds, we need to go back to something we may have seen a hundred times, and we need to see it again – as if for the first time. We need to pray for fresh eyes to see and hearts that will be moved again.

And we need to go back to that hill called Calvary and look upon the One nailed to the cross for us. We need to see the love and grace that poured from those wounds and be reminded of the great price Jesus paid for us. And in that familiar place, we will be compelled to kneel – and to worship.

Consider afresh the great love He has for you. That’s why He came, because of His love for you. Receive that good news today, and your familiar Christmas will be one to remember.

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6 Ways the Gospel Frees Women

In a time of year when wives and mothers can become particularly stressed, here is an excellent blog post by Gloria Furman at “Domestic Kingdom” that I think all women (and men) should read.

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Choosing Christ when Facing Death

(In a season of giving thanks, there is no better time than to remember the persecuted church and those who – right now – are suffering for the sake of the gospel.)

Youcef Nadarkhani is a name you’ve probably never heard of. But he’s become one of my heros.

Youcef is a Christian pastor who lives in Iran – a country dominated by Islam. Back in 2009 he humbly, yet courageously protested when the school his sons were attending were being forced Islamic teaching. He was arrested and put in prison. During this time, Pastor’s Youcef’s faith in Christ was revealed, and that he was pastoring some 400 other Christians – many who had converted from Islam. The Iranian religious leaders gave Youcef a choice – either reject his faith in Christ and embrace Islam…or die.

While in prison, they tried propaganda, making him read literature that claims Christianity is a lie. That didn’t work. They tried to drug him. That didn’t work. They repeatedly beat him and placed him in solitary confinement. That didn’t work.

Then they arrested his wife and ran her through a mock trial. They found her guilty of apostasy and sentenced her to life in prison. Still Youcef trusted God and held to his faith in Christ. Soon, his wife’s charges were overturned and she was set free. Then they threatened to take his sons – 7 and 9 years old – and give them to Muslim parents unless he denied Christ. Still, Youcef chose Christ.

Youcef has chosen Christ over his own life, over his wife, over his children. He has embraced persecution for the sake of the gospel. And to this day, he still sits in an Iranian prison, where his health is deteriorating and he could be executed at any moment, yet he refuses to deny Christ.

One news article reports…

During one hearing he was told to recant and he responded, “You ask me to recant. Recant means to return. What do you wish me to return to? The blasphemy that I was in before Christ?” The judges responded, “To the religion of your ancestors, Islam.” Youcef replied, “I cannot.”

In September of this year, the Supreme Court in Iran reviewed his case and passed down a sentence of death by hanging for “turning his back on Islam” and “converting Muslims to Christianity.” Pastor Youcef sits in an Iranian prison, awaiting either the sentence to be overturned, or to be a killed for the sake of the gospel.

Unfortunately, Youcef’s story is not uncommon. For the last 2000 years, Christians from across the globe have suffered persecution and death. Countless numbers of brothers and sisters in Christ have chosen imprisonment and death over denying their Lord.

When you’ve seen Jesus, when His gospel has changed your life, nothing else can compare to His beauty and splendor. As Paul says, everything else is worthless – nothing else compares to the worth of knowing Christ.

During this Thanksgiving holiday, take time to pray for Youcef, his family, and for the persecuted Church across the world.

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Jesus: the One greater than Moses

Peter preached a sermon in Acts 3, going to the Old Testament to prove to the Jews that Jesus was, in fact, Messiah. Peter reveals that Jesus is the prophet that Moses predicted.

Deuteronomy 18:15 “The Lord your God will raise up for you a prophet like me from among you, from your brothers—it is to him you shall listen.”

Moses says that God will one day send, “A prophet like me”. Moses was pointing to Jesus. How were Moses and Jesus alike?

-They were both born in a time when God’s people were under a foreign rule.
-They were both born in the midst of babies being killed, and survived.
-They both were Hebrew by birth, yet belonged to royalty.
-They both often spoke with God on a mountain.
-Moses was given the Law, Jesus fulfilled the Law.
-They rebuked people for their idolatry. Moses when he came off the
mountain and the people were worshiping a golden calf. Jesus when he went into the temple and turned over the tables of the money changers.
-Most importantly, they both freed God’s people from slavery. Moses freed Israel from slavery. Jesus frees God’s people from the shackles of their sin.

Jesus was the prophet that Moses predicted. But Jesus was infinitely greater than Moses.

-Jesus didn’t just deliver messages from God. He was the message.
-Jesus didn’t just bring the 10 commandments down from the mountain. Jesus wrote the 10 commandments, and He perfectly fulfilled them.
-And Jesus would not just be the one to speak with God on behalf of the people. Through faith in Jesus, we would be able to go to directly God in prayer. He would no longer be this scary cloud on a mountain. He would call us his kids, and we would call Him Father.

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