Pastor Jim shares five practical lessons the shepherds can teach us from the Christmas story.
Pleasing God, Making Disciples of Jesus Christ
Pleasing God, Making Disciples of Jesus Christ
New Testament
Well, it has come. Christmas weekend. The next few days will be full. Family gatherings reach their zenith. Church services for Christmas Eve and Christmas Day will be attended. Perhaps last minute shopping will occur. Whatever unfolds in our lives, this whole thing started long before this weekend. The world, the Christ-less world, started cranking up the “holiday season machine” in November, if not late October. And the world pulls out all the stops when it comes to this time of year. Lights and decorations turn houses and yards into brilliant displays.
The last book of the Revelation identifies one of the titles and work of the devil. John writes, “And I heard a loud voice in heaven, saying, “Now the salvation and the power and the kingdom of our God and the authority of his Christ have come, for the accuser of our brothers has been thrown down, who accuses them day and night before our God” (Revelation 12:10). The devil is a master at accusing God’s children of many things.
The mind plays an important part in our walk with the Lord. When we became Christians, it involved our mind. We responded to facts. The Gospel is a message of factual objective truth. Yes, it involves our heart and affections too, but we first are drawn and moved by objective truth. Even the definition of repentance shows us the necessity of the mind in becoming a Christian.
All Christians know they cannot live the Christian life alone. They need the constant help of God’s Spirit to keep them from sin, promote their holiness, and renew their minds toward eternal things. Remove the Spirit and Christians are done. The commands of God are beyond human capacity. The attacks of the devil are no match for us. And the flesh is so strong, we fail every time we try to subdue it in the strength of self.
Today’s scripture demands a pause and a pondering. We likely are familiar with the Lord’s interaction with the church at Laodicea. As we read His letter to them, He is bringing the most serious of spiritual charges against them; a lukewarm heart. Such a heart is defined as a spirit of indifference toward Him and spiritual things. The seriousness and subtlety of this condition is one doesn’t have to be living in outward gross sin to be in it.