The Greatest Mystery

Fellow Traveler,

Christmas Day is here at last. Let the celebration begin! Of course, most of us are celebrating throughout the year as we’re continually reminded of the gift of grace daily when we open God’s word. What a treasure we have in the scriptures! What a glorious mercy that God has called those faithful who open His word in local congregations around the world. With modern tech at our fingertips we can listen to faithful teaching any time we want to.

The mystery novels of the past 150 years prove one thing: folks love a mystery. There’s that sense of suspense, the challenge of trying to be one step ahead of the writer in solving the case, and the surprise at the end that you didn’t see coming. And as our novel reading has been largely replaced by watching movies based on novels, we have an endless source of entertainment available from Sherlock Holmes to Jack Reacher (although this isn’t an endorsement of the blood and guts violence you see these days). That word “mystery” is no stranger in God’s word. In fact, it is vital to the gospel.

Paul writes to Timothy, “And without controversy great is the mystery of godliness: God was manifested in the flesh, justified in the Spirit, seen by angels, preached among the Gentiles, believed on in the world, received up in glory.” I Timothy 3:16. God’s plan was hidden from clear view from the beginning. It was clothed in prophetic pronouncements in the Old Testament, then revealed in the New with the birth of Jesus. Immanuel. “God with us” was to be more than a poetic form of symbolism. It would literally happen. “God was manifested in the flesh.” The Apostle Peter adds, “He [Jesus] indeed was foreordained before the foundation of the world, but was manifest in these last times for you.” I Peter 1:20. John tells us, “the life was manifested, and we have seen, and bear witness, and declare to you that eternal life which was with the Father and was manifested to us.” I John 1:2. And then later in the same letter, “And you know that He was manifested to take away our sins, and in Him there is no sin.” I John 3:5.

This greatest of mysteries has its fulfillment after the announcement to Mary as she is with child by the Holy Spirit. That small stable in Bethlehem would welcome the King of Kings and Lord of Lords with only the fanfare of wide-eyed shepherds and little else. But what an entrance! What a story of stories! What a glory of glories was this revelation compared to all other mysteries!

May our hearts be filled with wonder as we contemplate God’s plan of redemption today!

Old Davy

The World of “No Names”

Fellow Traveler,

Peter called in to one of the talk shows I listen to a few days ago. His voice was deliberate and doleful as he aired his grievance. He bluntly said he wanted to commit suicide. I remember receiving calls like this in the middle of the night forty years ago, so I was intrigued. Peter went on to complain about not wanting to blow his brains out while alone somewhere and be found by a stranger. He wanted an audience. He wanted dignity and approval, but he couldn’t get a doctor’s assistance because he was healthy. This reminded me of the movie, “Thy Shoot Horses, Don’t They?” where the main character convinced her slow-witted dance partner to end her life for her. Both Peter and Jane were screaming for something they had all along – value and worth. But they didn’t know it.

We are created in God’s image, after His likeness. God tells us so throughout the Scriptures starting at creation, continuing through the Ten Commandments (you shall not murder one born in My likeness), to the book of James where he says, “But no man came tame the tongue. It is an unruly evil, full of deadly poison. With it we bless our God and Father, and with it we curse men, who have been made in the similitude of God.” James 3:8,9. The Bible is clear on this point. All have intrinsic worth and value before their Creator.

We see this especially at Christmas in the birth announcement of Jesus. God didn’t make the announcement to King Herod, nor to any political or religious leaders, nor to any famous celebrity. He told the “no names” – the lowly shepherds in the field, who found the lowly manger, and in it the lowly Jesus, while His lowly mother Mary and lowly step-father Joseph looked on. This all happened in an obscure village called Bethlehem, not in a palace in Jerusalem. God identifies with, befriends and values “no names.” It’s as simple and wonderful as that. Jesus’ ministry of healing the sick, casting out demons, and raising the dead were expressions of love for the insignificants of this world – those deplorable and worthless in the eyes of the hierarchy and nobility of the day.

Jesus’ words prove that all are of value. “I have not come to call the righteous, but sinners, to repentance.” Luke 5:32. The Gospel goes out to all, but it is effective only to those who are poor – poor in spirit – those who know they are sinners – those who don’t look to their own righteousness for acceptance. Self-righteousness is the deathblow to forgiveness of sins, and self-condemnation is the first step to finding it. We must have a righteousness that’s no our own before God can call us His children. We must have Christ’s righteousness applied to us through His substitutionary atonement. We must believe He died on a Roman torture tree for us personally to make the payment for our sins.

Never think of yourself as worthless in God’s eyes. And never look at the “less fortunate” around you as worthless. Everyone is created in God’s image. Everyone is created to glorify Him. Everyone is worthy of our love. “A new commandment I give to you, that you love one another; as I have loved you, that you also love one another.” Jesus in John 13:34. Let us “no names” glorify His name today.

Old Davy

Christmas Sorrow

Fellow Traveler,

The reason Christmas is such a popular holiday in our nation isn’t because everyone who celebrates loves the God of Glory. It isn’t because everyone has an endearing love for the Bible, God’s Word. And it certainly isn’t because they know they are sinful to the very core of their being and are thankful that the eternal God entered our world as a babe who would “save His people from their sins.” They celebrate in a spirit of Christmas that sees Jesus born in an animal barn in Bethlehem and nothing more. The majority of folks don’t see any spiritual significance in the season at all. They divorce the birth of Jesus from his life, death, and resurrection. And sadly, the many have no clue about His life, death, and resurrection. Any “man on the street” interview will prove that.

I heard a true story about a woman who complained to the pastor about the Christmas service. Apparently, the message of Christ’s birth included truths about His bloody death as well. Well, she chastised the pastor, saying Christmas should only be about joy, innocence, and all things uplifting and positive. But he, in turn, lovingly chastised her, saying the life of Christ has to be taken as a whole, not segmented into palatable portions that deemphasize the purpose of His coming. Christ’s birth can’t be separated from His life and death. Every event in His life must be considered in the light why He became Immanuel, God with us.

Jesus is just as much the Man of Sorrows as the Babe in a Manger. Seven hundred years before His birth, the prophet Isaiah declared, “He [Jesus] shall grow up before Him [God the Father] as a tender plant, and as a root out of dry ground. He has no form or comeliness; and when we see Him, there is no beauty that we should desire Him. He is despised and rejected by men, a Man of sorrows and acquainted with grief, and we hid, as it were, our faces from Him; He was despised, and we did not esteem Him. Surely He has borne our griefs and carried our sorrows; yet we esteemed Him stricken, smitten by God, and afflicted. But He was wounded for our transgressions, He was bruised for our iniquities; the chastisement for our peace was upon Him, and by His stripes we are healed. All we like sheep have gone astray; we have turned, every one, to his own way; and the LORD has laid on Him the iniquity of us all.” Isaiah 53:2-6.

Though there is much joy in hearing about the birth of Christ, we must not disconnect the reason for the season – that Jesus lived and died to save us from our sins, not to remain in a manger. Just eight days after His birth, it was time for Jesus’ mother Mary to look forward. A man named Simeon was waiting to see the Messiah’s birth. Seeing Mary and Joseph and the baby in the Temple, we read, “Then Simeon blessed them, and said to Mary His mother, ‘Behold, this Child is destined for the fall and rising of many in Israel, and for a sign which will be spoken against, (yes, a sword will pierce through your own soul also), that the thoughts of many hearts may be revealed.” Luke 2:34,35. Mary’s joy was tempered by the realization that she would suffer great sorrow. This would prove true when she saw her Son maligned, tortured and put to death over 30 years later.

Let our joy be tempered as well this month as we consider the humble entrance of our Lord Jesus was only the beginning of a long God-driven journey to the cross for us. Let us give glory and thanks to the Lord of Glory whose love surpasses all understanding.

Old Davy

Christmas Spirit

Fellow Traveler,

The Christmas season is here again. And folks have money again. And the streets are full of cars again. And the In-N-Out drive-thru lane has more vehicles than I’ve ever seen. This was my Saturday experience at the burger stop, so I decided to park and head inside instead of waiting 20 minutes. I only had to wait about 10 or so. What a madhouse as everyone waited for their lunch, some take out and others eat in. Barb was waiting for our burgers at home. Everyone oozed of patience, thankfully. It must have been the Christmas spirit. I smiled, finally picked up my order, and left a happy man. Christmas spirit. The time to give a little more. The time to be a little more thankful. A time to think about Jesus. Well, strike that last sentence.

The reason for the season has been replaced with the likes of Santa, elves, candy canes, decorated trees and homes, and all things secular. Christmas for kids and kids for Christmas is the mantra. Gift giving and family gatherings either with or without deference to the One who is celebrated. Thankfully, churches still have their Luke 2 sermons, nativity scenes and plays, a Christmas concert, and focus on the main thing – Immanuel, God with us. Some of us are old enough to remember standing in front of the church congregation, taking part in a reenactment of Christ’s birth in the lowly manger. I was one of the two or three young shepherds when I was about 10 years-old or so. Dressed in someone’s old, repurposed bed sheet, with a pig-tailed head covering, sash around my waist and a small piece of paper with a hopefully memorized verse typed on it. I was thrust into public speaking for the first time. I think we read something the heavenly angel said and not the shepherd’s words, but I can’t remember for sure. Maybe I said in my little boy voice, “For there is born to you this day in the city of David a Savior, who is Christ the Lord.” Or it could have been the next verse, “And this will be the sign to you: You will find a Babe wrapped in swaddling cloths, lying in a manger.” Luke 2:11, 12. I had with fear and trembling survived my little announcement. There would be another when I was 17.

Although my church attendance was sporadic in Paso Robles and San Luis Obispo when visiting my grandmother, there was no real heart change. I heard the gospel without really hearing it. I accented to biblical truths and was even baptized when I was 12, but interest in God ended at the church door. Whatever others thought about me, I was certainly and always a self-righteous little sinner and nothing more. My second public “profession” was in high school. Journalism class was an opportunity to write for the Bearcat, the school newspaper. In December 1963, Miss Swanson asked me to write an article on Christmas. I complied, using all the big words I could while describing the real reason for the season as declared in the Bible. I remember her praising me for it, but it was soon forgotten as I went off to college and a life of hedonism.

I say all of this to remind us that unless the Lord works, all the Bible knowledge and church going in the world will never put us on the road of eternal life. God must take the first step in calling us to true saving faith. Jesus said, “No one can come to Me unless the Father who sent Me draws him; and I will raise him up at the last day.” John 6:44. The Apostle Paul tells us, “For by grace you have been saved through faith, and that not of yourselves; it is the gift of God, not of works, lest anyone should boast.” Ephesians 2:8, 9. New life only comes after a new birth, and that birth is the miracle of opening our eyes to the glory and grace of the living God. Our will is enslaved to sin as we read, “And you He made alive who were dead in trespasses and sins . . . But God, who is rich in mercy, because of His great love with which He loved us, even when we were dead in trespasses, made us alive together with Christ (by grace you have been saved) . . .” Ephesians 2:1, 4, 5.

As we celebrate the season let us give thanks for God’s giving us a new heart and hope, remembering He alone has saved us from eternal damnation. To Him alone be the glory! And if God has not called us yet, may we pour out our hearts before Him, truly confessing our sins and asking for mercy and forgiveness. He will hear and answer us if we do.

Old Davy