Wednesday, December 29, 2010

29. He Died To End Racial Tensions

Ephesians 2:14


I heard recently that the the most recognizable face in the whole world is the face of Jesus. Now folks, that is about the weirdest thing ever, because no one in the world knows what Jesus looked like! I guess they mean that painting of Jesus where He’s basically a white dude with flowing, light brown hair and blue eyes. Hmm. The New Testament never gives even one physical description of Jesus, but we at least know He wasn’t white. He was Middle Eastern, born in Israel. We do know that He had at least six Africans in His genealogy. But there is something more strange than the white Jesus painting everyone knows and way more sad, and that is that there have been people who claim to love Jesus but hate people of other races. The racial tension and hatred that has existed within the church has been one of the greatest tragedies of the church’s history and is absolutely detestable to the tender heart of God. In Ephesians 2, the Apostle Paul says that one of the reasons Jesus died on the cross was to remove the wall of hostility that exists between different races. I love Jesus because He loves everyone and He died so that everyone could stop hating and love one another.

Sunday, December 26, 2010

28. He Keeps His Promises

Micah 5:2


When the very first humans walked away from God for the very first time, the world broke. It has never recovered from that initial act of rebellion, but even before the dust settled from the destructive convulsion of that sad treason, God promised that He would fix everything. He told Eve that she would have a Descendant who would overcome the snake, but where would He come from and who would He be? The entire human race have been the sons and daughters of Adam and Eve, so who would the Rescuer be? Well, many years later God specified that out of all the people in the world, He would be one of the descendants of an old desert wanderer named Abraham. Abraham's grandson Jacob had 12 sons, but God said the Redeemer would come from Judah. Of all Judah's families, God promised David that his would be the line that would produce the One. Of all the places in the world, God said that this Hero would come out of Egypt and be raised in Nazareth, but that He would be born in a little village called Bethlehem. And on a quiet night in Bethlehem, when no one was paying attention, Jesus was born. I love Jesus because He has kept every promise God ever made to a broken, weary and needy world.

Friday, December 17, 2010

27. He Came On A Mission

Hebrews 10:5


When all three of my children were born, I remember having this feeling in the hospital that I wish I could talk with them. I remember rocking them in the middle the night, those brand new little eyes staring at mine so alertly and saying to them, "What a day you've had! I wish you could talk to me... I wonder what you're thinking about right now." One of my favorite Christmas verses in the Bible isn't even in the Gospels. It's in the book of Hebrews, where the author quotes Psalm 40. You see, thanks to the writer of Hebrews, we know exactly what was going through Jesus' mind when He was wrapped in swaddling clothes, lying in a manger and staring into the faces of Joseph and Mary on that first Christmas. I love Jesus because from the moment He came into this world, He was on a mission. Right there in the beginning of His life on earth, from the moment He started living in a body, His thoughts were, "God, you've given me a body and I'm here to use it to do Your will." Jesus was always on a mission to pay for us, to win us back, to give Himself. The word 'Christmas' means, "the mission of the Christ." The baby in Bethlehem was on a mission of love.

Saturday, December 11, 2010

26. He Will Redeem Even Our Secrets

Revelation 2:17


Everyone has secrets. Everyone, even the most transparent and open person has things they are hiding. Everyone has old moments, thought patterns and destructive tendencies that we don't let anyone into. I bet most of the time we don't even acknowledge these ultra-dark sides of us to our own selves because we are trying to forget them and get away from them, but the truth is we can't. We can't change the past and we can't outrun our own dark hearts. I love Jesus because He is not only forgiving our sin; but somehow, in some feat of spiritual alchemy, He's not just going to sponge out our darkest stuff, He's actually going to turn it into something beautiful: an eternal heirloom of His transforming power. In Revelation 2, Jesus wrote a letter to the church in Pergamum where He says that in the end He will give to His overcomers a white stone with a new name, known only to the one who receives it. Wait... secrets in heaven? Yes. Jesus will give you a pure and unchanging new name that only you will know. It will be a little secret between you and Jesus, like an everlasting memorial of the way He buried your darkest stain and brought new beauty to life from the grave.