Talk of JESUS . com

Tag: Matthew

  • Voices of Angels for Shepherds near Bethlehem

    Voices of Angels for Shepherds near Bethlehem

    He shall feed his flock like a shepherd: he shall gather the lambs with his arm, and carry them in his bosom, and shall gently lead those that are with young. – Isaiah 40:11

    In case you missed part 1 of our story, you can read about the shepherds of Bethlehem here.

    The Shepherds and the Angels

    Luke 2:

    8 And in the same region there were shepherds out in the field, keeping watch over their flock by night. 9 And an angel of the Lord appeared to them, and the glory of the Lord shone around them, and they were filled with great fear. 10 And the angel said to them, “Fear not, for behold, I bring you good news of great joy that will be for all the people. 11 For unto you is born this day in the city of David a Savior, who is Christ the Lord. 12 And this will be a sign for you: you will find a baby wrapped in swaddling cloths and lying in a manger.”

    13 And suddenly there was with the angel a multitude of the heavenly host praising God and saying,

    14 “Glory to God in the highest,
        and on earth peace among those with whom he is pleased!”

    15 When the angels went away from them into heaven, 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.”

    16 And they went with haste and found Mary and Joseph, and the baby lying in a manger.17 And when they saw it, they made known the saying that had been told them concerning this child. 18 And all who heard it wondered at what the shepherds told them. 19 But Mary treasured up all these things, pondering them in her heart.

    20 And the shepherds returned, glorifying and praising God for all they had heard and seen, as it had been told them.

    An angel of the Lord approaches from the night sky with a message of good news. How will you respond?

    Fear first? Certainly! But this messenger of the Lord says, “Fear not.”

    Shepherds have never seen the king, even those those who serve the king. Heavenly beings now appear to shepherds on a hillside near Bethlehem. Why have angels come to lowly shepherds to proclaim the birth of the Messiah?

    Then the Angels tell these shepherds to see the Lord Incarnate with their own eyes!

    By their first witness, these most humble among men announce the arrival of the Most Humble Lord of Lords and King of Kings, born of a humble virgin and laid in a manger used to feed animals in this same lowly place.

    It would have been the pinnacle event of their lives to have witnessed angels, singing to the glory of God. Yet even more, the lowest proclaim first the birth of the Highest One to men not privileged to behold our newborn Savior, Jesus the Messiah, born a son of man to a virgin in lowly Bethlehem of Judea.

    “‘And you, O Bethlehem, in the land of Judah,
    are by no means least among the rulers of Judah;
    for from you shall come a ruler
    who will shepherd my people Israel.’” – Matthew 2:6

    A lowly shepherd tells us, “I have seen the Lord.” The Messiah is born to us in a manger. How unlikely, that God should send a Son to be born and sacrificed for our sins. Yet Shepherds and Magi have witnessed the glory of angels proclaiming this moment…

    And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us, and we have seen his glory, glory as of the only Son from the Father, full of grace and truth.

    John 1:14

    For God So Loved the World

    [ctt title=”“For God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life.” tweet=”John 3:16-17 For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but in order that the world might be saved through him. ” coverup=”8N4eb”]

    18 Whoever believes in him is not condemned, but whoever does not believe is condemned already, because he has not believed in the name of the only Son of God.

    Where is your witness this Christmas? Is your love for the Lord this same worship of the angels of heaven and redeemed lowly shepherds of this earth?

    Glory to God in the Highest and one earth peace, good will towards men, though Christ Jesus, our Lord.

    Amen.

  • and new things I now declare – 4

    Isaiah 48:

    3 “The former things I declared of old;
        they went out from my mouth, and I announced them;
        then suddenly I did them, and they came to pass.
    4 Because I know that you are obstinate,
        and your neck is an iron sinew
        and your forehead brass,
    5 I declared them to you from of old,
        before they came to pass I announced them to you…

    The Lord Declared

    I told you this a long time ago and to your ancestors many times.

    How do you like that? The Lord calls His chosen people, Israel or Jacob as they are called, obstinate.

    “You stiff-necked people!” the Messiah would call Temple officials generations after Isaiah. “You with ears to hear,” declare the prophets. What an indictment of a holy people supposedly separated to the Lord and redeemed again and again!

     6 “You have heard; now see all this;
        and will you not declare it?

    [ctt title=” From this time forth I announce to you new things, hidden things that you have not known.” tweet=”for a Savior of Jacob and the nations is born – the Messiah Jesus” coverup=”Rf04b”]

    7 They are created now, not long ago;
        before today you have never heard of them,
        lest you should say, ‘Behold, I knew them.’
    8 You have never heard, you have never known,
        from of old your ear has not been opened.

    The Lord’s Call to Israel

    [ctt title=”Isaiah 48:12 שְׁמַע אֵלַי יַֽעֲקֹב וְיִשְׂרָאֵל מְקֹרָאִי אֲנִי־הוּא אֲנִי רִאשֹׁון אַף אֲנִי אַחֲרֹֽון׃” tweet=”Hearken unto me, O Jacob and Israel.. The Messiah I AM is Christ Jesus.” coverup=”j14zE”]

    14 “Assemble, all of you, and listen!
    Who among them has declared these things?

     The Lord’s Call to the Nations

    Isaiah 49:

    Listen to me, O coastlands,
        and give attention, you peoples from afar.
    The Lord called me from the womb,
        from the body of my mother he named my name.

    Matthew 1:20b-23

    … behold, an angel of the Lord appeared to him in a dream, saying, “Joseph, son of David, do not fear to take Mary as your wife, for that which is conceived in her is from the Holy Spirit.

    She will bear a son, and you shall call his name Jesus, for he will save his people from their sins.”

    All this took place to fulfill what the Lord had spoken by the prophet: “Behold, the virgin shall conceive and bear a son, and they shall call his name Immanuel” (which means, God with us).

    Isaiah 52:

    8 The voice of your watchmen—they lift up their voice;
        together they sing for joy;
    for eye to eye they see
        the return of the Lord to Zion.
    9 Break forth together into singing,
        you waste places of Jerusalem,
    for the Lord has comforted his people;
        he has redeemed Jerusalem.
    10 The Lord has bared his holy arm
        before the eyes of all the nations,
    and all the ends of the earth shall see
        the salvation of our God.

    The Sin-Bearing Servant

    Isaiah 52: NKJV

    13 Behold, My Servant shall deal prudently;
    He shall be exalted and extolled and be very high.
    14 Just as many were astonished at you,
    So His visage was marred more than any man,
    And His form more than the sons of men;
    15 So shall He sprinkle many nations.

    Kings shall shut their mouths at Him;
    For what had not been told them they shall see,
    And what they had not heard they shall consider.

    An Advent Declared for these last days..

    New things we now declare; for the completion of these last days approaches with haste. The prophets and watchmen of the past have spoken what was and is and is to come. The LORD has revealed the hope of redemption for all who believe and the just punishment of souls tormented in the dust.

    Revelation 22:12-13 ESV

    [ctt title=”“Behold, I am coming soon, bringing my recompense with me, to repay each one for what he has done. I am the Alpha and the Omega, the first and the last, the beginning and the end.”” tweet=”An Advent Declared for these last days.. http://ctt.ec/o6OBb+” coverup=”o6OBb”]

    Have you prepared your heart for Christmas? Would you like to celebrate the gift of our humble Lord born a sinless Son of Man, to a virgin – our redeemer sacrificed on a cross? In the advent of His return at the end of these last days, do you bow before the Almighty, rejoicing in the light of His coming on the clouds?

    “You have heard; now see all this;
    and will you not declare it?

    Isaiah 48:6a ESV

  • Judge Not, Advice Ignored by Presidential candidates

    Judge not, that you be not judged.

    Matthew 7:1 NKJV

    An oft quoted Bible verse

    Most people know and many misuse the often quoted advice of Jesus, “Judge not, that you be not judged.” It’s a quote probably most often used by non-believers against Christians, but also spoken in anger by christians, rather than used as Christ intended.

    Matthew 7:

    “Judge not, that you be not judged. 2 For with the judgment you pronounce you will be judged, and with the measure you use it will be measured to you. 3 Why do you see the speck that is in your brother’s eye, but do not notice the log that is in your own eye? 4 Or how can you say to your brother, ‘Let me take the speck out of your eye,’ when there is the log in your own eye? 5 You hypocrite, first take the log out of your own eye, and then you will see clearly to take the speck out of your brother’s eye.

    Brothers and Hypocrites

    Christ cautions against our tendency to judge others before taking a look into the mirror of our own fallen flesh. Our deceitful high-minded self-righteousness blinds our perspective and we fail to consider our own sin.

    hello-im-better-than-you

    The question in the mind of anyone confronted by our self-righteous accusations is almost always, ‘who made you the judge of my sins?’

    We all tend to believe, ‘my sins are better than your sins.’

    Although Jesus’ advice is available to all, his words speak to those who seek to do good and not evil.

    Unfortunately, Christians often strike out verbally out against others, rather than seeking to repay evil with good. [Romans 12:17] I am encouraged here by what Jesus tells us about the mercy of God, who will judge every soul.

    Mat. 7:11 If you then, who are evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father who is in heaven give good things to those who ask him!

    Who will listen to God?

    Jesus calls followers, “brothers,” and I might mention that it wouldn’t have been proper for a man to address a woman. Women, or sisters in the Lord only addressed each other, a custom still observed by some families in the middle east. It is clear here that Jesus is addressing only His followers, those who today we would call Christians.

    By the illustration of the log in the eye, the Lord makes clear that a Christian must first examine our own sins, before we judge the foibles or sins of a brother (or sister) in the Lord. To do so would be hypocrisy.

    As for unbelievers, Jesus is not talking to you if you do not believe in God. Jesus is not talking to you if you continually do evil and do not seek the will of the Living God. And He is not talking to you if you are a worldly foolish woman or man of evil ambition.

    The lesser of two evils

    The vitriolic public debate of the 2016 US presidential campaign serves as a contemporary warning of why you and I ought not begin the finger-pointing game against the enemy of our intentions. We hear their debate: ‘she lied about this’ or ‘he did that.’

    Jesus tells us that we are no better than our leaders in judging the sins of others to make our own sins appear less significant. Why would their lies surprise even one voter?

    Like the politician we are inclined to talk about sins of others rather than addressing our own need to repent. The usual debate contains more accusation than confession and we observe more, ‘sorry I got caught,’ than ‘I’m sorry for what I did.’

    A cunning politician shows little regard for God or an opponent in the path of ambition. Even a righteous candidate (which describes neither current candidate) comes nowhere near the holiness of the righteous judgement of Almighty God!

    A verse to keep Christians (Christ-followers) from hypocrisy

    [ctt title=” “Do not give what is holy to the dogs; nor cast your pearls before swine, lest they trample them under their feet, and turn and tear you in pieces.” tweet=”Matthew 7:6″ coverup=”f1e9x”]

    For with the judgment you pronounce you will be judged, and with the measure you use it will be measured to you. - Matthew 7:2
    For with the judgment you pronounce you will be judged, and with the measure you use it will be measured to you. – Mat. 7:2

    It’s true, isn’t it, that foolish words which pour from our mouths about others come back to bite us?

    Jesus warned against judging others, even if what you say is true.

    Right judgment of the ungodly is throwing pearls before swine and 21st c. Christians must be wary of it.

    Only One Who IS Holy has the authority to judge sin!  The LORD will judge the evil of our unbridled tongues.

    We cannot separate ourselves from the dogs of evil by judging their sins.

    When we judge others, as political back-biting will illustrate again and again, the evil ones will trample your advice underfoot. Jesus warned us that these sinners you judge will turn and attack you.

    Judgment is a function of Law and obedience

    What does Jesus have to say about judgment to a group of followers in the Sermon on the Mount? How do you deal with people, even opponents? Are we just like our worldly opponents or do we try to respond more like God?

    What would Jesus have to say about judgment in a current political race?

    [ctt title=”Which sinner will you choose for President?” tweet=”A majority will say, I would choose neither.” coverup=”2ntp2″]

    The Golden Rule

    “So whatever you wish that others would do to you, do also to them, for this is the Law and the Prophets. – Mat. 7:12

    Everyone knows it, even presidential candidates.

    Is this what they do? Is this how either of our aspiring leaders conduct themselves?

    “Accusations aside, even if all sins of the opponents are true, is this how a leader acts toward others?

    Do the US Presidential candidates have any more regard for voters than they demonstrate toward their opponent?

    We live in a fallen world.

    We deplore a decaying, sinful world which espouses false doctrine such as a village should raise a child or mothers may murder the children of their womb. This fallen world is real estate ruled by greedy, self-aggrandizing men and women building towering fortunes hidden from the eyes of the needy.

    [ctt title=”Our royal political families and belligerent billionaires who buy the future of America cannot compare to humble leaders who once led one nation, under God.” tweet=”” coverup=”0OYTq”]

    Matthew 7:13 “Enter by the narrow gate. For the gate is wide and the way is easy that leads to destruction, and those who enter by it are many. 14 For the gate is narrow and the way is hard that leads to life, and those who find it are few.

    A Tree and Its Fruit

    15 “Beware of false prophets, who come to you in sheep’s clothing but inwardly are ravenous wolves. 16 You will recognize them by their fruits. Are grapes gathered from thornbushes, or figs from thistles? 17 So, every healthy tree bears good fruit, but the diseased tree bears bad fruit. 18 A healthy tree cannot bear bad fruit, nor can a diseased tree bear good fruit. 19 Every tree that does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire. 20 Thus you will recognize them by their fruits.

    [ctt title=”‘No woman or man – no president will rule over the hearts of a people unwilling to serve Almighty God.” tweet=”‘No woman or man – no president will rule over the hearts of a people unwilling to serve Almighty God. ” coverup=”6arhe”]

    debate2016

    While worldly candidates debate whose sins will disqualify, the world wonders what honor will remain for the office of President. We the people, recognize both by their fruits; and we must pray for the one who regrettably will prevail.

    God help America.