Category: Devotionals

How Should We Respond to the Good News of Jesus at Christmas?

On By Dr. Casey LewisIn DevotionalsLeave a comment

Christmas is always a great time of year. The weather is cool. Greetings of Merry Christmas are exchanged with strangers, friends, and family alike. Your mailbox and then your refrigerator fills up with Christmas cards from family and friends. Your social media feeds are filled with sayings like “Jesus is the reason for the season” or reminders to “Keep Christ in Christmas.”

While it is right and good for us to do these things and celebrate Jesus in these ways, what I’m afraid of is that we allow these things to replace how we are to biblically respond to the good new of Jesus at Christmas.

How should we biblically respond to the good news of Jesus Christ at Christmas?

The shepherds’ response in Luke chapter two acts as a model, which means their response should be our response.

I. We must respond to the good news of Jesus at Christmas by searching for the truth (vs. 1-16)

After Jesus’ birth, an angel sent from God appeared to the shepherds in the field and revealed that Jesus, the long awaited Messiah, had been born. He told them that Jesus was close, just a few minutes away lying in a manger sleeping. Hearing the angel’s message, the shepherds said to one another,

“Let us go over to Bethlehem and see this thing that has happened, which the Lord has made known to us.” And they went with haste and found Mary and Joseph, and the baby lying in a manger.” (Lk 2:15–16)

So confronted with the reality of Jesus’ birth, the shepherds decided to search out the truth, which is what we must do as well. We must search out the truth of Jesus to see if His life, ministry, and sacrifice is a reality.

II. We must respond to the good news of Jesus at Christmas by believing the truth (vs. 17-18)

After setting out on their journey to find Jesus, the shepherds found Him, just as the angel said. He was wrapped in swaddling clothes and lying in a manger. Seeing everything just as the angel had said, they believed. We know they believed based on their actions. The first thing they did was reveal the angel’s message. In verses 17 and 18 Luke writes,

“And when they saw it, they made known the saying that had been told them concerning this child. And all who heard it wondered at what the shepherds told them.” (Lk 2:17-18)

As well as in the next verse, which we will get to in more detail in a moment, the shepherds went away glorifying and praising God. Their actions, then, tell us they believed.

Likewise, when we find the message of the gospel to be true, we should respond in the same way. We should respond by believing the good news about Jesus — that He is the God-sent Savior who has come to take the sins of the world away.

But often times, when confronted with the truth of the gospel, people refuse to believe. When people refuse to believe in Jesus they show that:

(1) They haven’t grasped the magnitude of the message of the gospel.

They haven’t grasped the reality that Jesus came and died on the cross in order to save us from the wrath of God and to deliver us from the bondage of sin, satan, and death. It hasn’t sunk in that God Himself has come on a rescue mission for His people. That the Father sent His only Son to die so that we could experience everlasting life.

(2) They don’t see their need for a Savior. 

Most often when people don’t see their need for a Savior it’s because they don’t recognize how sinful they really are. That is partly the fault of the society in which we live with all that it teaches about self-esteem and that we really are good, we just need to mine that goodness out of ourselves.

However, our refusal to recognize and admit our sinfulness is also, and primarily, the result of our sinful nature. We believe the mumbo jumbo our culture feeds us because we want it to be true. We desperately want to be much better than we really know ourselves to be because we don’t want to have to admit that we need a Savior.

But here is the thing, we do need a Savior because in and of ourselves, we can’t repair our relationship with God. We are sinners through and through, so much so that even our best works, the ones we think are surely earning us favor with God, are like filthy rags. They are worthless, only good to be thrown away.

(3) They don’t understand this world can’t offer them the peace they seek.

This world is full of false promises. It tells us if we just drive this, live here, vacation there, work for so and so, take this drug or drink, we will experience peace and relief. But that’s not true. Sure we can numb ourselves to the effects of the sinful world with drugs and things, but we all know they don’t ultimately provide the peace for which we long. We know this because we keep going back for more. One hit, bottle, or shopping spree is never enough. That’s why Americans are as addicted and in debt as they are. They are searching for peace in all the wrong places.

There is, however, one person who can offer us the peace for which we long, Jesus. He does that by freeing us from the bondage of the sinful world, as well as by making peace between us and the Father through His sacrifice on the cross. We can experience the peace of Jesus by repenting of our sins and believing that Jesus is our Lord and Savior.

III. We must respond to the good news of Jesus at Christmas by glorifying and praising God (vs. 20)

After the shepherds returned to their sheep, the text tells us that they were

“…glorifying and praising God for all they had heard and seen, as it had been told them.” (Lk 2:20)

We too should respond as the shepherds do. We should glorify and praise God for the salvation that He provides.

We can glorify and praise God in a number of ways.

  1. We can glorify and praise God by singing songs of praise to Him.
  2. We can glorify and praise God by talking about Him to others.
  3. We can glorify and praise God by trusting Him
  4. We can glorify and praise God by obeying Him

In all these ways we can glorify and praise God, which is what we should be driven to do when we truly recognize the magnitude of the salvation He provides.

Question for Reflection

  1. Have you responded biblically to the good news of Jesus this Christmas?

Resources

Post adapted from my sermon How Should We Respond to the Good News of Jesus at Christmas?

 

Marriage as Confrontation and Liberation

On By Dr. Casey LewisIn Devotionals, QuotesLeave a comment

The Meaning of MarriageMarriage does not so much as bring you into confrontation with your spouse as confront you with yourself. Marriage shows you a realistic, unflattering picture of who you are and then takes you by the scruff of the neck and forces you to pay attention to it.

This may sound discouraging, but it is really the road to liberation. Counselors will tell you that the only flaws that can enslave you are the ones that you are blind to. If you are in denial about some feature of your character, that feature will control you. But marriage blows the lid off, turns the lights on. Now there is hope. Finally you can begin dealing with the real you. Don’t resist this power that marriage has. Give your spouse the right to talk to you about what is wrong with you, Paul talks about how Jesus “washes” and “cleanses” us of stains and blemishes. Give your spouse the right to do that.

Question for Reflection

  1. Have you given your spouse the right to tell you what is wrong with you?

Resources

Tim Keller, The Meaning of Marriage, 140.

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How to Make Your Marriage Work

On By Dr. Casey LewisIn Devotionals, Family, QuotesLeave a comment

One of William Blake’s “Songs of Experience” shows in the most striking way that there are two ways to conduct a romantic relationship.

Love seeketh not itself to please,
Nor for itself hath any care,
But for another gives its ease,
And builds a heaven in hell’s despair.

Love seeketh only self to please,
To bind another to its delight,
Joys in another’s loss of ease,
And builds a hell in heaven’s despite.
(from “The Clod and the Pebble”)

It is possible to feel you are “madly in love” with someone when it is really just an attraction to someone who can meet your needs and address the insecurities and doubts you have about yourself. In that kind of relationship, you will demand and control rather than serve and give.

Turn to the Ultimate Lover of Your Soul

The only way to avoid sacrificing your partner’s joy and freedom on the altar of your need is to turn to the ultimate lover of your soul. He voluntarily sacrificed himself on the cross, taking what you deserved for your sins against God and others. On the cross, he was forsaken and experienced the lostness of hell, but he did it all for us. Because of the loving sacrifice of the Son, you can know the heaven of the Father’s love through the work of the Spirit. Jesus truly “built a heaven in hell’s despair.” And fortified with the love of God in your soul, you likewise can now give yourself in loving service to your spouse.

Question for Reflection

  1. How are you conducting a romantic relationship? Are you seeking the other’s good or your own?

Resources

Timothy Keller, The Meaning of Marriage, 75-76

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Safeguarding Your Thoughts and Actions

On By Dr. Casey LewisIn Devotionals, QuotesLeave a comment

See to it that no one fails to obtain the grace of God; that no root of bitterness springs up and causes trouble, and by it many become defiled; (Heb. 12:15)

The Lord warns us not to allow the “root of bitterness” to spring up and cause much trouble and defilement. Our hearts and minds make up the seat of sin, and if we allow bitterness to take up residence within, we will find ourselves far from the kingdom if we never come to repentance. This is one of the reasons why gossip is so dangerous. Words spoken in secret reveal the state of one’s heart, and if the state of one’s heart is not oriented toward love of neighbor, as impenitent gossip reveals, then one does not truly love God (1 John 4:20).

A Root of Bitterness is Taking Root

The spreading of misinformation or uncertain facts about another person indicates that a root of bitterness may be slowly taking over one’s heart, inclining it away from the kingdom of heaven.

The Wise Man Safeguards His Thoughts and Actions

Wise people put up safeguards in their thoughts and actions to help keep them from being ensnared by a root of bitterness. Lest our minds lead us astray, it is wise to think on what is true, good, and beautiful so that our thoughts are not filled with curses and other unclean things (Phl. 4.8). At the same time, we should endeavor not to listen to or repeat uncertainties that we hear about others or otherwise gossip about our neighbors.

Question for Reflection

  1. Do you safeguard your thoughts and actions from gossip and bitterness?

Resources

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Headers are mine. Content is from TableTalk Magazine Avoiding Bitterness of Mind and Speech, October 23rd, 2015

Hating Self Towards Repentance in the Gospel

On By Dr. Casey LewisIn DevotionalsLeave a comment

Reformation Day just passed. As a late celebration, I thought we would consider one thesis from Luther’s Ninety-Five Theses. Luther’s fourth thesis of his Ninety-Five Theses says,

“The penalty of sin, therefore, continues so long as hatred of self or true inward repentance continues, and it continues until our entrance into the kingdom of heaven.”

Dr. Stephen Nichols over at 5 Minutes in Church History points out that “after he wrote the Ninety-Five Theses, Luther wrote another document where he elaborates and expands upon each one of the theses. And in [Luther’s] explanations, he clarifies what he means here regarding hatred of self:”

“True sorrow must spring from the goodness and mercies of God, especially from the wounds of Christ, so that man comes first of all to a sense of his own ingratitude in view of divine goodness, and thereupon to hatred of himself and love of the kindness of God. Then tears will flow and he will hate himself from the very depths of his heart, yet without despair.”

Commenting on Luther’s explanation, Dr. Nichols says,

“Luther wanted to emphasize how crucial it is that we recognize our own sinfulness and how odious the stench of our sin is to a holy God.”

It is necessary that we recognize this about ourselves and sin so that we will turn to God for salvation and sanctification. For if we don’t, we will continue to live as sinners, thinking we are pleasing to God. Once, however, we recognize the depth of our sin we should be motivated to forsake our past life and put off the old self for the new in Christ (Col. 3:9-10).

As well as focusing on the mercies and goodness of God that is poured out on us, sinners, who are undeserving of God’s goodness and mercy, should keep us from despair because we know the Lord is for us, saving and sanctifying us with His tender care, not forsaking us, even though our sin is repulsive to Him. Knowing God sees us for who we are, yet still loves, cares, and ultimately saves us by sending His Son to die for us, should encourage us to be honest about our own sin, admitting, repenting, and forsaking it openly before the Lord. As Luther says, we should hate ourselves, not being content with our current state, but always striving to rid sin from our lives through the power of Christ.

Question for Reflection

  1. Do you have a holy hatred for the sin in your life?

Resource

Stephen Nichols, 5 Minutes in Church History: Top 5 of the 95: 2015 edition

Fill Your Affections with the Cross of Christ

On By Dr. Casey LewisIn Devotionals, Quotes2 Comments

Indwelling Sin In Believers - John OwenLabour, therefore, to fill your hearts with the cross of Christ. Consider the sorrows he underwent, the curse he bore, the blood he shed, the cries he uttered, the love that was in all this to your souls, and the mystery of the grace of God in it. Meditate on the vileness, the guilt, the punishment of sin as seen in the cross, the blood, and the death of Christ. Was Christ crucified for sin, and shall not our hearts be crucified with him to sin? Shall we give place to, or listen to the folly of, that which wounded, pierced, and slew our dear Lord Jesus? God forbid! Fill your affections with the cross of Christ, that there may be no room for sin. The world once turned him out of doors, into a stable, when he came to save us; let him turn the world out of doors, now that he has come to sanctify us (100).