Isaiah 9:6 - It's Kinda a Big Deal

 

Isaiah 9:6

NKJV

For unto us a Child is born, Unto us a Son is given; And the government will be upon His shoulder. And His name will be called Wonderful, Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace.

 

NLT

For a Child is born to us, a Son is given to us. The government will rest on His shoulders. And He will be called: Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace.

 

The Child had to be born.  God could have come in any form to serve as the Messiah.  But He came as God the Son to add humanity to His deity.  Jesus Christ, the Messiah, is fully God and fully man, functioning with two natures in perfect harmony. 

 

“That Jesus is both God and man tells us that man really is made in the image of God (Genesis 1:26) and that perfect humanity is more compatible with deity than we imagine. It says that our problem is not our humanity, but our fallenness. To say “I’m only human” is wrong because Jesus was fully human yet perfect. It is more accurate to say, “I’m only fallen.” But remember that the humanity that Jesus added to His Divine nature was not the sinful humanity we commonly know, but the perfect humanity of Adam and Eve before the fall.” (Enduring Word Commentary)

 

All of the above is pretty churchy.  I read this and am again reminded of my value to God.  All of these names of Christ and He chose me to come down here for you and me.  For God so love the world….I’m the world and you’re the world. 

For God so loved (your name here) that He gave His only begotten Son, that if (your name here) believes in Him, (your name here) will not perish but have everlasting life. 

 

In the worlds grand scheme of things, we’re pretty small parts.  To quote a movie; “Look at all the stars.  You look up and you think ‘God made all this and He remembered to make a little speck like me.’  It’s kind of flattering, really”  ~ Morgan Earp (Tombstone)

 

But God, thinks we’re kinda a big deal!  We’re to die for.  Are you living like you’re a big deal to God?

 

Big deal,

cej

Luke 1:26-38 You are Valued

 

Luke 1:26-38

NKJV

Now in the sixth month the angel Gabriel was sent by God to a city of Galilee named Nazareth, to a virgin betrothed to a man whose name was Joseph, of the house of David. The virgin’s name was Mary. And having come in, the angel said to her, “Rejoice, highly favored one, the Lord is with you; blessed are you among women!”

But when she saw him, she was troubled at his saying, and considered what manner of greeting this was. Then the angel said to her, “Do not be afraid, Mary, for you have found favor with God. And behold, you will conceive in your womb and bring forth a Son, and shall call His name Jesus. He will be great, and will be called the Son of the Highest; and the Lord God will give Him the throne of His father David. And He will reign over the house of Jacob forever, and of His kingdom there will be no end.”

Then Mary said to the angel, “How can this be, since I do not know a man?”

And the angel answered and said to her, “The Holy Spirit will come upon you, and the power of the Highest will overshadow you; therefore, also, that Holy One who is to be born will be called the Son of God. Now indeed, Elizabeth your relative has also conceived a son in her old age; and this is now the sixth month for her who was called barren. For with God nothing will be impossible.”

Then Mary said, “Behold the maidservant of the Lord! Let it be to me according to your word.” And the angel departed from her.

 

NLT

In the sixth month of Elizabeth’s pregnancy, God sent the angel Gabriel to Nazareth, a village in Galilee, to a virgin named Mary. She was engaged to be married to a man named Joseph, a descendant of King David. Gabriel appeared to her and said, “Greetings, favored woman! The Lord is with you!”

Confused and disturbed, Mary tried to think what the angel could mean.  “Don’t be afraid, Mary,” the angel told her, “for you have found favor with God! You will conceive and give birth to a son, and you will name him Jesus. He will be very great and will be called the Son of the Most High. The Lord God will give him the throne of his ancestor David. And he will reign over Israel forever; his Kingdom will never end!”

Mary asked the angel, “But how can this happen? I am a virgin.”

The angel replied, “The Holy Spirit will come upon you, and the power of the Most High will overshadow you. So the baby to be born will be holy, and he will be called the Son of God. What’s more, your relative Elizabeth has become pregnant in her old age! People used to say she was barren, but she has conceived a son and is now in her sixth month. For the word of God will never fail”

Mary responded, “I am the Lord’s servant. May everything you have said about me come true.” And then the angel left her.

 

This verse starts out with the angel calling Mary the “highly favored one”; saying that the Lord was with her and that she was blessed.  And then we read that Mary was troubled (or confused and disturbed) by what was said.  Mary shows her humility here, maybe surprised by the words.

 

Do you know that’s how God see’s us as believers?  And it’s always a surprise to us because we don’t really understand our value.  Our value was defined by a God who came to this world to experience everything as a man.  Jesus Christ was born in a manger, not a pretty clean, well lit little barn.  But a dirty smelly little lean-to that was built against the side of another building.  There was everything you would expect to be in a barn….animals and all the by-product that comes along with them.  It’s wasn’t the pretty little nativity scene that we all have at our house.  Urine and manure covered straw; animals right on top of them….I hope you get the picture because this is part of the value God sees in you.

 

Jesus could have come to this world as a grown man and started His ministry.  Instead, God chose to experience everything that we experience, from birth to death and all the moments in between.  If you’re asking yourself why….I’ll tell you.  Because God values you enough to do it.

 

God chose a dirty little lean-to and a cross to show us our value.  Jesus came to serve and love and tell us truth.  He gave up the glory of heaven to come and say “I love you”  No greater sacrifice can be seen than the one where a birth in a manger and a bloody death on a cross are in the details.  God loved you that much. 

 

Do you understand your value yet?

 

Valued,

cej

Mathew 1:18-25 / Just a Man or a Just Man?

 

Mathew 1:18-25   Just a Man or a Just Man?

NKJV

Now the birth of Jesus Christ was as follows: After His mother Mary was betrothed to Joseph, before they came together, she was found with child of the Holy Spirit.  Then Joseph her husband, being a just man, and not wanting to make her a public example, was minded to put her away secretly. But while he thought about these things, behold, an angel of the Lord appeared to him in a dream, saying, “Joseph, son of David, do not be afraid to take to you Mary your wife, for that which is conceived in her is of the Holy Spirit.  And she will bring forth a Son, and you shall call His name Jesus, for He will save His people from their sins.”

So all this was done that it might be fulfilled which was spoken by the Lord through the prophet, saying:  “Behold, the virgin shall be with child, and bear a Son, and they shall call His name Immanuel,” which is translated, “God with us.”

Then Joseph, being aroused from sleep, did as the angel of the Lord commanded him and took to him his wife,  and did not know her till she had brought forth her firstborn Son. And he called His name Jesus.

 

NLT

This is how Jesus the Messiah was born. His mother, Mary, was engaged to be married to Joseph. But before the marriage took place, while she was still a virgin, she became pregnant through the power of the Holy Spirit.  Joseph, to whom she was engaged, was a righteous man and did not want to disgrace her publicly, so he decided to break the engagement quietly.

As he considered this, an angel of the Lord appeared to him in a dream. “Joseph, son of David,” the angel said, “do not be afraid to take Mary as your wife. For the child within her was conceived by the Holy Spirit.  And she will have a son, and you are to name him Jesus, for he will save his people from their sins.”

All of this occurred to fulfill the Lord’s message through his prophet:

 “Look! The virgin will conceive a child!

She will give birth to a son,

and they will call him Immanuel,

which means ‘God is with us.’”

When Joseph woke up, he did as the angel of the Lord commanded and took Mary as his wife.  But he did not have sexual relations with her until her son was born. And Joseph named him Jesus.

As I read these verses, I not really thinking about Mary or even Jesus.  I was thinking about Joseph.  Here was a man who had probably been engaged to Mary for quite some time (generally set up by the parents at a very young age), so he probably knew what kind of person Mary was.  He most likely had been around her as they grew up.  They then reached this period of betrothal (this was official and binding, could only be broken by divorce), so there probably was this time of getting to know each other deeper than they did when they were young.  Joseph and Mary were known as husband and wife for about a year before the marriage. 

 

Joseph found out that the woman he was to marry was pregnant.  For the times, this could have been a huge scandal.  Joseph could have done a lot of things at this point.  By appearances, she had been unfaithful.  To the world, divorce or worse was what was due her. 

.

But the bible calls Joseph a just man.  That’s what is on my mind when I read this today.  Being just.  The word is defined as guided by truth, reason, justice, and fairness: done or made according to principle; equitable; proper: based on right; rightful; lawful: in keeping with truth or fact; true; correct. 

 

Joseph had spent probably close to a year in the betrothal stage with Mary.  He know her person, he knew her beliefs and personality.  He had time to get to know her in that year.  So when she said she was pregnant, he was already invested in her.  It wasn’t going to be easy to make a huge deal out of what appeared to be a person who made a mistake, or bad choice.  He cared enough about her to not make this a public scandal.  He was guided by truth, reason, justice and fairness; He wanted to handle this with as much tenderness as possible.  And then the angel spoke to him and changed everything for him.

 

But I want to talk about being just for a minute.  Am I guilty of blasting somebody because of a poor decision they might have made?  Certainly, I’m just a man.  But did I consider how I was given a gift of grace and forgiven all of my sins as a believer, was that what I deserved?  No, but I’m just a man.  But do I want to be just a man, or a just man?  We are made to be just men (or women).  As believers we are empowered to rise above what the world says is the right thing.  Spurgeon said, “When we have to do a severe thing, let us choose the tenderest manner.  Maybe we shall not have to do it at all”  Our call is to love the Lord our God with all our heart, mind and soul; and to love one another.  If our first reaction is anger and self righteousness, then we’re not showing love to anyone, including ourselves.  Let’s remember where we were standing when Christ was put on that cross….in the crowd…shouting…crucify Him!

Everybody makes poor choices and mistakes (sometimes we willingly do it), let’s not lose the chance to share the love of Christ with people.  We were all the woman at the well at some point.  Share truth for sure…but love on people when their unlovable.

 

A just man today,

cej