12/26/10 - Christmas 1 - Isaiah 63:7-9

CHRISTMAS IS ALL ABOUT FAMILY

Although this is the 1st Sunday after Christmas, we are certainly still right in the middle of Christmas weekend. And that means that “family” is still fresh in your mind. Because Christmas is a time that we usually spend with our families, isn’t it? Whether it’s with extended relatives or with your immediate family or with friends that you might treat like family, Christmas tends to be one of those special times of year that you share with those closest to you. And that’s a good thing. Time with family can be a moment to catch up on what has been happening in your lives, a chance to talk about things that have occurred between then and now, an opportunity to laugh and joke around and bond…
But, of course, with family comes problems too, don’t they? People that know you well also seem to know how to push your buttons well - and vice versa. When there are a bunch of family members all together for an extended period of time, there will be troubles and worries and anxieties that have to be dealt with, personality traits that have to be put up with, issues that need to be fixed or at least tolerated until everyone goes home. But those dilemmas aren’t all bad, of course. There are some legitimate problems that members of a family rely on each other to tackle together. Sometimes a family serves as a sounding board of sorts for opinions and solutions. People rely on their family members to give them a straight answer, to say it like it is, to give them honest and heart felt evaluations and advice because these are the people that know you the best. These are the people that hopefully care for you and can be trusted to want what’s best for you. It’s nice when you can rely on your family in that way and life is more difficult when you can’t.
Would you allow me to ask you a question that I’ve asked my kids quite a few times this past month? It’s a simple question, but an important one: What’s Christmas really about? “Christmas is about the birth of Jesus.” Of course! You know that: Christmas is the day on which we celebrate Christ being born into this world. But if you were to ask that question to someone else, a non-Christian or at least a non-church goer, that person might say that Christmas is all about giving or all about kindness or maybe even all about family. And I wouldn’t argue with that answer. Christmas is all about family because who was born on Christmas? Jesus! And in a very real way when Jesus was born in Bethlehem 2000 years ago he became family. He became one of us. He was nothing like us before that: he was in heaven, without a body, and unaffected by sin. But after that all-natural delivery of this supernatural child in a backcountry barn in the land of Judea, the Lord himself was actually on earth, with a body, and affected by the sin that was all around him. He made himself like us in every way so that we could be his family. And listen to what he says about his family according to the prophet Isaiah, “‘Surely they are my people, sons who will not be false to me;’ and so he became their Savior.” We are his people. We are sons - not just children, but firstborn sons - because the eldest son received the family inheritance back in those days and in that culture. And because we are his sons, his people, his family, we can count on him and trust in him to take care of us.
But something bothers me here. Not that we are called his people or that we are called his sons - I’m thrilled with that! I couldn’t be happier to be granted that kind of relationship with the Lord himself! What bothers me is how he describes his family: “Surely they are my people, sons who will not be false to me.” And when I read that I thought to myself, “Well, Lord, that’s not exactly the case. I shouldn’t be “false” to you; I shouldn’t ever let you down or disappoint you or disobey you in any way, but I do. And you know I do. I’m not the good child I really ought to be. I don’t always act the way I should act. I don’t always say the things I should say. Sometimes I am “false” to you; I’m not always true to you like you say that I am.”
And doesn’t that sit in your stomach and just twist and turn and writhe? The fact that God has become a human being, he has become family, and you can count on him for anything in this life - but he can’t count on you. He can’t count on you to be loyal. He can’t count on you to be faithful. He can’t count on you to listen to what he has to say or do the things he asks you to do or be the Christian he wants you to be. And he can’t count on you because you’ve failed him before! You’ve never proved that you could do those things in the past and he knows you won’t be able to do those things in the future! And that really upsets me. It upsets me that I can’t be there for him; that I can’t be reliable and dependable for him like he has always been for me. That I let the most important and loving member of my family down; and I will again. And so will you.
Christ is family but don’t think for a second that God gets anything from us being his family. He drew the short straw - and purposely! He doesn’t gain anything from being related to us; we are the ones that gain all the advantage! We are the ones that get love from this new family member. We are the ones who receive gifts and blessings and the peace of mind that he will always be there for us. And what does Christ get from us in return? A whole lot of sin and a whole lot of ingratitude and a whole lot of selfishness and not much else. It doesn’t sound like something that is all that “fair.” It doesn’t sound like something that is all that great of a deal for our Lord. We have nothing he needs and so we can’t give it to him; he has everything we need and so he gives everything to us. But Jesus is OK with this lopsided relationship because we’re family. He is the ultimate family member: he gives and he gives and he gives and he expects nothing in return. He gives and gives and gives while we take and take and take. He forgives and forgives and forgives no matter how many times we sin against him.
Do you know the story of Ruth? It’s a short little four chapter book in the Old Testament about a young woman named Ruth and her mother-in-law Naomi. They lived in the land of Moab where Naomi’s husband died. Then her two sons, one of which was Ruth’s husband, also died. And so when Naomi decided to go back to her homeland of Israel, Ruth went with her. There, in order to gather some food for her and her mother-in-law, Ruth began to pick grain in the fields of a man named Boaz. Boaz turned out to be her “kinsman-redeemer.” A kinsman-redeemer in those days was someone who would “redeem” or buy back something that belonged to a close relative so that they could own it once again. And so, for example if an Israelite had to sell a piece of property to get out of debt, the kinsman-redeemer would then buy the property back for his family member so that they would have something to live off of. “Kinsman” means “relative” and so this person is “a relative who buys something back.” The story of Ruth ends with Boaz not only buying back Naomi’s property, but also marrying Ruth to carry on her family line.
And the reason we’re talking about the story of Ruth this morning and the concept of the kinsman-redeemer is because of something that Isaiah said Jesus has done for us: “In his love and mercy he redeemed [us].” That word “redeemed” comes from the same word that means “kinsman-redeemer.” The Lord, as our close relative, redeemed us, he bought us back. We had sold ourselves to death by sinning, and so he bought us back at his death. And the ransom price was his blood. That is what it took to get us back. That was the price that was required for our salvation. And Jesus was willing to pay it. He didn’t have to. And it wasn’t as if this payment was something he had in his back pocket or deposited in the bank that he could easily part with. This ransom price would take a lot of effort and a lot of time and a lot of pain and a lot of torture. This ransom price would cost Christ his life. But he did not hesitate. And he did not second guess his decision. He took the form of a human being and he got right to work. And for the next 33 years of his life he did not stop working for us. He continually forged ahead toward that goal of the cross and that victory of the empty tomb. He had a singular purpose in mind. And nothing was going to get in his way. Not even death. Because that is what Christ does for his family. He dies for them. He rises for them. He lives for them. And then, as Isaiah says, “He lifts us up and carries us” too.
Jesus’ love just doesn’t stop, does it? Not only does he lower himself to our level, not only does he subject himself to the effects of our sinful world, not only does he allow himself to be tempted by the devil, not only does he let himself be executed by his own people, not only does he win for us our salvation by his own blood, but he then lifts us up and carries us throughout this life! Because we stumble and we fall and we scrape our knees and we stub our toes! We wander off the path and we even go in the wrong direction at times! And so Christ picks us up through his never-changing, always available Word of God and he carries us. He lifts us high above the raging torrents and carries us across the rocky peaks and brings us safely through the dark caverns of sin. He carries us because we can’t get through it on our own. He carries us because our legs aren’t strong enough; our will isn’t determined enough; our hearts aren’t dedicated enough. He carries us because that’s what family does. And he will not let his family down.
Two years ago, on Christmas morning, our neighbor lost her husband. The only family member that she had left in the house was now gone and the problem was: he wasn’t a Christian. He didn’t want to go to church or hear about his Savior. And so on a day that was a celebration for believers all over the country, this new widow next to us was dealing with death. And she probably still doesn’t know if or when she’ll see him again - because she most likely isn’t a Christian either. And so when last Christian came and went this year, she undoubtedly thought of the passing of her husband instead of the coming of Christ. The death of a family member on Christmas Day itself must be hard to deal with. But not even knowing Christ - the greatest family member of all - is even more tragic. That is an even greater loss.
And so I hope that the time you had with your friends and your relatives and your close family was well spent this Christmas. I hope you had time to talk and relax and enjoy each other’s company. But I pray that you also had a chance to get to know your Savior a little better too - the family member who came from a long ways away to visit you, the family member who became like you just to sacrifice himself for you. Because this family member won’t ever die on you again; he’ll never leave you; he’ll never get sick of you. He’ll always be there, watching and guiding and guarding you. Buying you back, lifting you up, carrying you to the end. Christmas is all about family - the family you are a part of because of what Christ has done at his birth, at his death, at his resurrection, and what he does for us every single day. You’re entire life is all about this family. Be proud of that special connection with your Savior here as you look forward to that great family reunion up there.
Amen.

“To him who loves us and has freed us from our sins by his blood, and has made us to be a kingdom and priests to serve his God and Father - to him be glory and power forever and ever! Amen.” - Rev. 1:5-6

12/19/10 - Children's Christmas Service - Micah 5:2

WELCOME TO THE HOME OF CHRIST JESUS!

As we were driving through the state of Kansas along I-70 this past summer, we came across a town about 160 miles west of Kansas City called Abilene. Abilene, KS is a place of just over 6,000 people, and so it’s nothing spectacular, in fact we didn’t even stop. But as we were approaching the exit to this town, a sign said, “Welcome to the Home of Dwight D. Eisenhower.” Now, President Eisenhower wasn’t born in Kansas, but he did grow up in Abilene. And so the citizens of this small town in the middle of the plains want to make sure that everyone knows that. If you go to their town’s website, the home page displays a statue of Eisenhower they have set up in the city along with a quote from this famous American that says, “The proudest thing I can claim is that I am from Abilene.” This town is also home to the Eisenhower Presidential Library and Museum. There is a “WWII Hall of Generals” display in the Old Town Hall that, of course, includes this hometown boy. A 10 ft. x 15 ft. tall mural of this man has been placed on the side of a building on the main street in the middle of town. Even their city swimming pool, elementary school, sports stadium, rose garden, and a few other public buildings are located in an area named Eisenhower Park. I think it’s safe to say that the people of Abilene, KS are proud of this celebrity that grew up in their small town and they are happy to be known for this special connection to him.
If you travel over to the land of Israel and wander about five miles south of Jerusalem, you will find another famous little town that is known for a person who came from there. Of course, now it is a city of over 50,000 people. But that hadn’t always been the case for the little town of Bethlehem. It had been a very small town at one time, an insignificant rural area, a place people just passed through to get to the capital city. Of course, we know Bethlehem today as the birthplace of Jesus Christ himself and so it’s not insignificant anymore; it’s not just a place people pass through to get somewhere else. It is a location that travelers specifically plan around, a pilgrimage hot spot for Christians all around the world. And you can be sure that the Christian inhabitants of this Israelite city are still proud of that fact! They are undoubtedly thrilled to live in the place where Jesus was born. They promote the Church of the Nativity, after all, that stands over the place where Jesus was supposedly brought into this world. They have extensive tours to other sites around the city that show tourists what a stable might have looked like during Jesus’ time. The craftsmen and merchants of the town line the streets to sell their hand crafted manger scenes and wise men and shepherds & sheep for anyone who wants to take a memento back home. They are proud of Jesus’ birth because it is a unique characteristic of their town that no other city can claim.
But this pride over the birthplace of Christ himself started long before Jesus was actually born. It began about 750 years before that incredible event happened in a Bethlehem manger. And it came about through one of the Lord’s prophets named Micah. Micah was sent by the Lord to prophesy to the people of Israel about their sins and about repentance. And in the middle of his book, among various judgments and warnings of punishments, Micah says something about this little town of Bethlehem that must have been surprising, “But you, Bethlehem Ephrathah, though you are small among the clans of Judah, out of you will come for me one who will be ruler over Israel, whose origins are from of old, from ancient times.” And the prophecy continues, of course, describing in detail who this ruler would be and what this ruler would do. But the shock to those living in Bethlehem must have already started to take effect after the very first verse! Bethlehem was going to be the birthplace of the coming Messiah? Not Jerusalem? Not Shiloh? Not Bethel? Not any of the other towns of Israel that were already well-known for great Old Testament stories and famous Old Testament believers? Bethlehem was actually going to be the place where all these prophecies about the Savior were to be fulfilled? What a boost of confidence that must have been for those living there! What an instant sense of pride these people must have had! To be such a small town, to be such an unknown place in the middle of a rich historical nation, and then to be the one hand picked by God as the home of Christ! Bethlehem would never be the same after these words of Micah were spoken. And neither would those who ever had the privilege to live there.
Are we all that different than the people that lived in Bethlehem? Sure, we may not be able to say that we live in Jesus’ hometown; we may not be able to point to the exact place where he was born or the roads on which his parents walked. But is not this place where we are right now Jesus’ home as well? It is “God’s House” after all! Is not your own home a place where God lives? Is not your heart a place where Jesus Christ, the long-awaited Savior, lives and works and reigns? Doesn’t the disciple John say that “If anyone acknowledges that Jesus is the Son of God, God lives in him” (1 John 4:15)? Your heart is Jesus’ home. Your house is Jesus’ home. Your church is Jesus’ home. And that’s something to be proud of! That’s something to publicize! Not something to brag about as if you are something special, but something that should give you a sense of pride in what the Lord has done for you and the special connection you have with him because of it.
Sometimes, though, it seems that people like those who live in Abilene, KS are more proud of living in the hometown of Dwight D. Eisenhower than we are of actually being the home of Christ. And I say that because the citizens of Abilene promote it; they publically and unashamedly display the fact that this famous 34th President of the United States of America was from their own town. But do people really get that same sense of excitement and pride from us - we in whom Christ has made his home? We don’t always promote that, do we? We don’t always publically and unashamedly display the fact that Christ lives in our hearts through faith and we are proud to show it. Because being a Christian is something that we’ll mention if the topic comes up in a conversation but we certainly won’t offer that information voluntarily to someone we have just met. We wouldn’t want to make anyone feel uncomfortable, would we? Being a Christian is something that makes us happy but not always something that we readily share with others who don’t know Christ. We wouldn’t want to offend them, would we? Being at a solid Christian congregation is something that we know is essential to our faith but not always something that we like to admit is a big priority in our lives to some of our neighbors and friends. We wouldn’t want other people to think that we are “religious zealots,” would we? The hesitation that comes from what people might say and the fear that comes from what people might think holds us back at times from being as bold and as proud as we should be as Christians. And we forget: Christ is the greatest person who ever lived because he was and is God himself! This is the most famous celebrity that has ever walked the face the earth! This is the Jesus Christ our Lord and Savior who died on the cross for the sins of the world and now has made us his home! And we have actually held that truth back from people at times!?! Why would we do that? How could we possibly keep that wonderful news to ourselves?
When the Lord spoke through the prophet Micah 750 years before he would send his Son to this earth, and when he chose the place where his Son would be born, he didn’t pick the greatest city; he didn’t pick a group of people that had proved to be the most faithful to him; he didn’t pick the place that seemed to have the most potential. He picked an insignificant little town, surrounded by fields for grazing sheep, lost in the shadows of the imposing city of Jerusalem just to its north. When the Lord chose us he didn’t pick the greatest of human beings; he didn’t pick people that had proved to be the most faithful to him; he didn’t even pick those of us who seemed to have the most potential. He picked insignificant little people, surrounded by doubts and temptations, lost in the shadows of our own sinful nature. But he chose us anyway, so that he could be born for us and live for us and die for us and rise for us. He chose us to make his home in our hearts. And by that one act of love he made us something special - we who were once no different than any other sinner. He made us important - we who were once nothing. He made us Christians - we who were once condemned.
What a wonderful thing the Christ has done for us! What a wonderful thing he has done for every Christian that has ever lived. He has taken a small child and has said, “You are my own. In you I will live.” He has taken an old man and has said, “You are my own. In you I will live.” He has taken a middle-aged woman and has said, “You are my own. In you I will live.” He has taken criminals who have led visibly sinful lives for decades, he has taken atheists and agnostics who have been ignorant of their Creator their entire lives, he has even taken well-intentioned human beings who thought that they could get to heaven by doing good things and leading good lives, and he has worked in their hearts with his Word and has said to them, “You are my own. You have done nothing for me. I have done everything for you. In you I will live.” And through faith in what he has done for them, and through faith in what he has done for us, he does live. We have Christ living in our hearts right now because he found his way into our hearts through the penetrating power of the Word of God. Welcome to the home of Jesus Christ!
You can legitimately say that about yourself: “This is the home of Jesus Christ!” And when you walk into your house today you can think to yourself, “This is the home of Jesus Christ!” And when you invite people to come to church here so that they can hear the Word of God that is so crucial to their salvation, you can encourage them with confidence, knowing that “This is the home of Jesus Christ!” This is where he lives! This is where he works! This is where he reigns! In fact, anywhere the gospel about Jesus is heard, that is where his home is. Anywhere the works of Christ are read, that is where his home is. Anywhere his forgiveness is offered in baptism, that is where his home is. Anywhere his body and blood are distributed in the Lord’s Supper, that is where his home is. And we have that! We are blessed with those very things! And that is something to show off! That is something to bring others to see! That is our “claim to fame” as Christians: the one true God is here and he has brought his forgiveness with him! And that forgiveness is not for the “good” people; it’s not for the rich; it’s not for those who try hard; it’s not for the innocent. This forgiveness is for the guilty, the failures, the sinners. This forgiveness is for you. This forgiveness is for me. And we get it free right here (at church), in the home of Christ Jesus. And we believe it right here (in our hearts), in the home of Christ Jesus. And we will experience the inheritance that comes from that forgiveness one day right up there, in the home of Christ Jesus.
The people of Abilene, KS are proud to live in the hometown of Dwight D Eisenhower, and rightly so. The Christians of Bethlehem, Israel are proud to live in the birthplace of Jesus Christ, and rightly so. But you should have an even greater sense of pride than they do. Because the connection you have with your Savior is not just something historical; it’s not something that can only be remembered by statues or pictures or ruins of the past. The connection you have with your Savior is something that is happening right now. It is something real. It is something true. And one day it will be something eternal. Through faith, Christ has made his home in you and lives in you as we speak. Through faith, you will live with Christ in his perfect home forever.
Amen.

“Blessed is the nation whose God is the LORD, the people he chose for his inheritance.” - Ps. 33:12

12/15/10 - Midweek Advent - Isaiah 9:6

PEACE EVERLASTING

I have a little picture frame above the inside of my front door that a friend gave to me while I was at the seminary. He had picked it up at a warehouse belonging to his moving company because someone had left it behind and it was about to be thrown away. And ever since he gave it to me, for about eight years now, it has hung above the entrance to wherever I have lived. But it’s not a picture or a painting. In fact, it’s not something that would catch your eye at all if you weren’t looking for it because it’s really only one word stitched in brown lettering. And that one word inside this picture frame is “Shalom” (sha-lòme).
Are you familiar with that word? Shalom is not usually part of our everyday language, but it is something that a specific culture uses quite a bit around us. It’s a Hebrew word; and so those of Jewish origin and even Scripture itself makes use of this two-syllable noun on a regular basis. In fact, it is one of the most important words in the entire Old Testament and it can be used to mean a variety of different things.
The most common meaning of this word is simply “peace.” And the reason I have it above the inside of my front door is because Shalom is also used as a greeting: coming and going. And although it has been secularized in modern day Jewish culture, it was originally meant to be a shorthand way of saying “peace be with you.” Of course, Shalom can also take on the meaning of “safety” or “health” of the body. It can mean “rest” from war or the “absence” of danger or worries. It can even be used to depict a state of “quietness” or “tranquility” or “contentment.” But the most significant translation of this word and the way it is used in over 2/3 of the instances in Scripture is “peace” with God. It has to do with the resulting harmony we have with our Creator because of what the Lord has done for us.
Tonight we focus our attention on the last of the four titles given to the coming Christ by the prophet Isaiah in chapter 9:6 - “Prince of Peace.” According to Isaiah, Christ was the one who was to achieve that peace and make it ours. He was the one who was going to mend our relationship with God so that there would be no more anger on his part and no more fear on ours. He was the one to reunite us with the Almighty Lord from whom we had alienated ourselves because of our sins. And that’s exactly what he did, didn’t he? Paul says in the book of Colossians that Jesus made “peace through his blood shed on the cross” (Col. 1:20). And so now we are all right with God. We are on his good side again because Jesus’ blood on the cross made everything OK. That’s a basic tenant of Christianity, isn’t it? Peace with God is something on which our salvation relies.
But that peace is hard to come by at times, isn’t it? Sometimes we just don’t feel at ease. Sometimes we aren’t all that comfortable or relaxed or calm. Sometimes that spiritual serenity, that peace of mind, just isn’t there. And why is that? Why is it that you feel unsettled on some days or stressed out or clenched up or emotionally frayed? It’s certainly not because the Prince of Peace has taken that peace away, is it? And it’s not because he has abandoned you or is mad at you for some reason. It’s not the Lord’s fault at all. The reason you sometimes don’t have that peace isn’t because it’s not there; it’s because you are not there.
Jesus’ peace never leaves. Sometimes we just leave it. Jesus’ peace never moves. Sometimes we just move away ourselves. We get distracted with other things. We slowly shift our focus away from that peace our Prince of Peace earned and onto what will make us happy right now; away from that peace and onto what will get us excited for a moment; away from that peace and onto what will give us a sense of instant satisfaction. And so when you have a lapse in your daily Bible reading for a while, or when your study of Scripture is not where it should be, or when you start missing more worship services than is healthy, why should it surprise you that you don’t have that sense of peace during those times? Of course you’re going to feel a little bit empty! Of course you’re going to feel a little bit lost! Of course you’re going to feel as if you’re missing something! Because you are! You’re missing that peace, that reassurance and guarantee that Jesus has fixed everything and you are in good standing with your God!
And here’s the best part about this peace: You don’t have to do anything to get it back. This peace is not a result of our efforts to find it; it’s a result of Christ’s efforts to find us. He searches us out; he crawls through the mud; he fights his way through the enemies and the nastiness of our own sinful lives and grabs us with his Word. And he works us over with the law. And he soothes us with the gospel. And he fills our hearts once again with is peace. And he does that by reminding us about everything he did with that blood of his. How he poured it out; how he used it as a ransom price; how he washed us in it so that we would be clean. We can have peace in this life and in the life to come because the Prince of Peace did not.
Isn’t that ironic? The Prince of Peace didn’t have a peaceful life. He didn’t have a peaceful death. He didn’t even have a peaceful birth! I can’t imagine the stress and anxiety Mary was going through as she delivered her first baby miles away from home and days away from family in the middle of a barn! And her first son was the Son of God no less! But of course this Prince of Peace did not come into this world to gain peace for himself. No, he came to fight a war so that we wouldn’t have to. He came for a battle so that we would be safe. He came to give us Shalom.
I pray that your Advent and especially your Christmas is usually filled with this Shalom. And it will be. But not because it’s a quiet or gentle or soothing time of year - it’ll be filled with Shalom because it is the time of year when you know that your enemies are defeated, your worries are alleviated, and your entire life is set forever. There is no reason why we shouldn’t have peace at all times and in every way. Because the Prince of Peace has come. The Prince of Peace is coming again. And in the meantime, everything in between is already taken care of.

12/12/10 - Advent 3 - Matthew 11:2-11

WHERE DO YOU RANK?

There are some incredible Christians in the Bible, aren’t there? We read about Abraham who was willing to sacrifice his own son because the Lord asked him to. Moses who faithfully led the Israelites for over 40 years despite their constant bickering. Esther who fearlessly stood up for her people by putting her own life on the line. Noah who obediently built an ark in the middle of nowhere and then patiently waited in it until the Lord told him to come out. Paul who boldly went back into cities that had once tried to kill him. Ruth who loyally went with her mother-in-law to the land of Israel without any guarantee of survival. There are certain Christians in Scripture that we just marvel at, aren’t there? Their actions and their attitudes and their words are so noble and so respectable even in the worst of situations. And we haven’t even mentioned people like Jonathan or Stephen or Samuel or Job or Rebekah. The list of exemplary Christians we find in the pages of God’s Word could make up a “Christian hall of fame” of sorts. And there would be many legitimate candidates.
But out of all these commendable believers in the Bible, which one would you choose as the most remarkable? And Jesus doesn’t count… Which one of these Christians would you put at the top of your list? I’m sure there would probably be quite a few different people chosen if we complied all of our answers. And there would also probably be a few of these champions of faith that would be placed at the top of more than one list. But there is a believer in Scripture that we haven’t mentioned yet. And he’s probably worth mentioning because Jesus himself picked this person as the greatest one of all. It was John the Baptist.
“I tell you the truth,” Jesus said, “Among those born of women there has not risen anyone greater than John the Baptist.” That’s high praise from the Lord himself! But was John really greater than Jacob, the father of the Israelite nation? Greater than Elijah who was taken straight up into heaven without first experiencing death? Greater than Jesus’ own mother Mary who was chosen by the Lord to bear the Son of God, a woman who did not hesitate to believe that she was pregnant through the power of the Holy Spirit? Yes! John the Baptist is set apart by Christ as the greatest of them all. After all, the Old Testament prophet Malachi specifically prophesied about John two different times over 400 years before his birth. John was the second “Elijah” who was predicted to come into the world. John was born of a mother who was supposed to be barren and then his birth was announced by the angel Gabriel himself. John “leaped” in his mother’s womb when she heard the voice of Jesus’ mother Mary. John was exclusively chosen by God himself to be the forerunner of Christ - all the way back from the time of Isaiah, 750 years prior to his coming. John was the first believer that we know of who was given the privilege and responsibility to baptize for the forgiveness of sins. John was the one who by his preaching and teaching prepared people for Jesus’ coming. John became the first New Testament martyr recorded for us in the Bible. This cousin of Jesus Christ was someone special. He was unique. He was half Old Testament prophet and half New Testament fulfillment - and there will never be anyone like him on this earth again. And so after looking at who John was and what he did it’s not so surprising that Jesus would say, “Among those born of women there has not risen anyone greater than John the Baptist.”
Where do you think the Lord would rank you? He says that no one is greater than John the Baptist, so he’s at the top of the list; and David was said to be a man after his own heart, and so he would also be up there; and God said that Job was upright and blameless, a man who feared God, so Job too would be in that upper echelon of Christians; but where would you fit in on that scale? Would you be close to the top or closer to the bottom? Would you be commended by the Lord or criticized? If he took a good long hard look at what you have done and the things you have said and how you have turned out after all these years, what would his conclusion be? Would he determine that you have been faithful with the blessings he’s given you or wasteful? An admirable example to those around you in your younger years or someone whom no one should have followed? A willing helper, a passionate caretaker of souls, a perpetually nice person and an even-keeled individual and someone who was never condescending of a fellow Christian or someone who has been self-absorbed for the majority of your life?
I’m not all that sure I would want to be ranked by the Lord, to tell you the truth. I don’t think I would want to hear an honest evaluation from God himself about how I have lived my life and what I have failed to do. Because I know it wouldn’t be pretty! I know there would be a lot of embarrassing disclosures! I know there would be a lot of red check marks on my paper and very few positive comments! And I’m not being modest here. I’m in no way overestimating my ability to sin. That’s exactly where I would stand. If there were rankings of any kind I would be placed a lot lower on the list than many of you would probably care to imagine.
I doubt if any of us would want to be ranked among the Christians of this life. Because each of us knows exactly who we are. And if the Lord were to talk about us as he talked about John the Baptist, he would probably say something like, “Among those born of women there has not risen anyone more disrespectful than this person.” Or “Among those born of women there has not risen anyone more selfish than this person.” Or “Among those born of women there has not risen anyone more apt to repeat the same sin over and over again than this person.” I think we would all be a little nervous if the Lord were going to describe our character to everyone around us. Because we aren’t always upright or decent or considerate. We don’t measure up to those believers in the Bible. We certainly aren’t on the same level as John the Baptist.
And I’m sure that is exactly what the people around Jesus were thinking as the Lord was talking to them about this forerunner of Christ. John was The Baptizer after all, he was a real-life prophet in the flesh, he was the object of multiple Old Testament prophecies, he was a person whom Jesus lifted up above all other human beings! But at the end of his description of John the Baptist, Jesus said something that must have shocked his hearers: “Among those born of women there has not risen anyone greater than John the Baptist; yet he who is least in the kingdom of heaven is greater than he.” He who is least in the kingdom of heaven is greater than John the Baptist - the greatest one of all!
Now sometimes the “kingdom of heaven” does refer to the place of perfection where God currently lives and where we will also live after we die. And so those who are least in that Paradise of the afterlife are, of course, “greater” than John the Baptist while he was on this earth. However, the phrase “kingdom of heaven” is often times used in Scripture to describe God’s rule in the hearts of believers. And so anyone who would be in this “kingdom of heaven” would simply be a Christian. You are a Christian and so you are also in this “kingdom of heaven. And here Jesus says that the least of those in this kingdom of heaven - the least of Christians - is greater than John the Baptist.
How is that possible? How can someone like you or someone like me be greater than the one whom Jesus said was greater than us all? This is how: John was a great prophet, there is no doubt. He was an outstanding person according to the Lord’s own words. He was a topnotch human being. But that’s just it: he was still a human being. And as a human being he was filled with sin. No matter how faithful he proved to be, no matter how dedicated he was to his God, no matter how honorable he was in the sight of the people, he was far from perfect. He had plenty of his own faults, plenty of his own mistakes, plenty of his own errors. And we see one of them in this very story, don’t we? John had sent some of his follows to ask Jesus if he were really the promised Messiah that was to come! John was having some serious doubts! And we can understand why: He had been commissioned as the forerunner of Christ but now he was sitting in prison! And so he was no longer able to do what he had been called on to do. He was no longer able to prepare the nation for the one whom he thought had been the Savior. And so was this younger cousin of his really the one he had fully believed him to be? John was second guessing the entire situation. John was not perfect. John was not flawless. But Jesus wants you to understand that through faith, you are.
Through faith your are flawless. As a sinner you are certainly filthy. But as a Christian you are also flawless. Because as the book of Ephesians says, “God loved the church and gave himself up for her to make her holy, cleansing her by the washing with water through the Word, and to present her to himself as a radiant church, without stain or wrinkle or any other blemish, but holy and blameless (Eph. 5:25-27). Through the water and the powerful Word at your baptism, your sins have been wiped away. You are clean. You are pure. You are actually holy. You are still a sinner, but as far as God is concerned: “You were washed, you were sanctified, you were justified in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ and by the Spirit of our God” (1 Cor. 6:11). And that’s good enough. God washes away your sins in baptism. God washes away your sins by the gospel in the written Word. God washes away your sins in the Lord’s Supper. And so your sins no longer count against you. Your filthiness is hidden because your stains have been forgiven. You are unblemished and immaculate in the sight of God because of what your Savior has done.
And so are you greater as a Christian than John the Baptist was as a man? Most definitely! A Christian is pure; a mere human being is not! A Christian is blameless; a mere human being is all to blame. A Christian is accepted into God’s Paradise; a mere human being will always be turned away. Not that John was a mere human being; John was a Christian too. And as a Christian he enjoyed and still enjoys the same status before God as we do now. But the point is: John’s efforts in this life and his faithfulness to his responsibilities and his sacrifice for his Lord were nothing compared to the sacrifice the Lord has made for all of us. John’s extraordinary life and his special calling could not get him to heaven no matter how good he was or how hard he tried. Only Christ was good enough and powerful enough and loving enough to get him there. And Christ did get him to heaven just as he will bring us to his home one day. The least in the kingdom of heaven is greater than John ever was as a man because his efforts could accomplish nothing that was credited to us through faith.
And so where do you rank? You truly rank right at the top. You have been cleansed just like Isaac was or Lydia was or John the Baptist was. And so as far as your salvation goes you are not ranked, you are simply redeemed. You are not placed in order on a list of Christians, you are simply bought back with Jesus’ blood. You are forgiven. You are saved. You are #1 in the Lord’s Book of Life - right alongside every other Christian that has ever lived.
Isn’t that nice to know? Isn’t it nice to know that despite the way you have lived this life you will end up in the same place as those great examples of faith we read about in the Bible? What a forgiving God we have! That he would be just as merciful to us as he was to Adam and Eve. That he would be just as protective of us as he was of Joseph. That he would be just as lenient with us as he was with Zechariah. That he would be just as generous to us as he was to Sarah. That he would be just as complimentary to us as he was to John the Baptist. That he would actually reach down and pick us up from our sins and lift us up by his grace and hoist us up in his love to the topmost position. We don’t deserve that! We never will! But that’s exactly what he has done for us through his own sacrifice. And that’s the way it will always be.
Amen.

“To him who is able to keep you from falling and to present you before his glorious presence without fault and with great joy - to the only God our Savior be glory, majesty, power and authority, through Jesus Christ our Lord, before all ages, now and forevermore! Amen.” - Jude 24-25

12/8/10 - Midweek Advent - Isaiah 9:6b

POWERFUL IN WEAKNESS

It was nearing the end of May in 2006, and I had just graduated from the seminary after 21 years of schooling. The very next day after I had received my assignment to Living Word here in Montrose, Eric Schaller, who was the chairman of the congregation at the time, gave me a call: “Is this Pastor Frey?” he said when I answered the phone. And, I kid you not, I almost said, “No it’s not; let me get my dad for you.” Now, I of course choked out a “Yeah, this is he,” without too much of a pause, but it was a little bit strange to be called “Pastor Frey” for the first time in my life. Because that wasn’t me! That had always been my dad! “Pastor” didn’t accurately describe who I was. I wasn’t the kind of person who could hold that kind of title. I had been a student the day before, after all, and so to now be given a name that identified me as a spiritual leader of a group of Christians I had never met was a little bit intimidating. It just didn’t seem right.
In the middle of Isaiah 9:6, sandwiched in between the names “Wonderful Counselor” and “Prince of Peace” are two titles given to Christ that just don’t seem quite right. And they don’t seem right because they aren’t usually names we use for Jesus - especially during this time of year. Here Isaiah calls him “Mighty God and Everlasting Father.” Don’t those names strike you as a little out of place? We are used to names like “Immanuel” or “baby” or “infant” or “Son of Mary” or “Christ-child” when referring to our Savior during the Christmas season, but “Mighty God” and “Everlasting Father”? He’s the son of a young girl and a stepdad from Nazareth; he sure doesn’t seem like a Heavenly Father here! He’s a small fragile vulnerable helpless defenseless newborn baby lying in a pile of straw; he sure doesn’t seem like a Mighty God at this point either!
Oh, but on the contrary. This child in a manger has never been a mightier God than he is right here. Because God has just become human. The Immortal has made himself mortal. The almighty invincible Creator has taken on the form of something created, a living breathing being susceptible to sickness and pain and temptations and the natural laws of this world. How could that be? How could that possibly happen unless this boy was the Mighty God himself? In an amazing act of his incredible power the Mighty God transforms himself from a spirit without any body whatsoever into a human being with real skin and bones and muscles and blood. This is not normal! This is nowhere near natural! This is nothing other than an amazing accomplishment of the Mighty God!
But why did he have to accomplish such an amazing feat in the first place? Why did the Mighty God have to use his incomparable power to become a human being like us? Because we failed as human beings. We have not and are not and will never be good enough people. We don’t measure up to the standard that the Mighty God himself set for us to satisfy. He asks us to be loving; we are selfish. He asks us to be faithful; we are indifferent. He asks us to be kind and caring and compassionate; we are cruel. In fact, we have not done one thing right, have we? Is there anything in your life that you have actually done well in every respect? Is there any command that you have kept that would pass the Lord’s meticulous inspection? And so the festival of Christmas has a lot to do with our sin, doesn’t it? The Mighty God was conceived in the womb of a virgin girl because we were sinful in our mothers’ wombs. The Mighty God was born in an unsanitized stable because we were filthy dirty at birth. The Mighty God came into this world of sin, surrounded by sin, and attacked by sin because our sin was the problem. Our sinfulness put him in that position. Our awfulness left no other option. But his love moved him to carry it out.
And that’s why our Mighty God is not only our Mighty God. He is also our Everlasting Father. And although that phrase - Everlasting Father - is not usually used as a description of Jesus, it is very fitting for what he does for us. As our Everlasting Father he cares for his children, even when we are disobedient. He wants us to repent; he wants us to be safe; he wants us to enjoy life with him forever in his house. And he’s going to do everything it takes to make sure that happens! He’s going to spend the time and the effort our well-being demands. He’s going to sacrifice everything if necessary because he loves us that much! There is nothing that he cares about more in this world than his own child. And that is who you are. You are the Everlasting Father’s own chosen, cherished, treasured child. He loves you. He loves you. And Christmas proves it. Your Everlasting Father would not be a kid in a barn, born miles away from his earthly home, under a government that wanted to kill him and eventually di, if he did not love you.
“Mighty God, Everlasting Father.” Unique names of Christ in this prophecy of Isaiah. Unexpected names. But names that are more than fitting. He had to be the Mighty God to do what he did and he had to be the Everlasting Father to want to do it. And so this celebration of our Savior’s birth isn’t just about the cute and cuddly. It’s not about a quiet night and a picturesque manger scene and flickering candles and soft Christmas carols playing in the background. Our Savior’s birth is about the power and strength of our Mighty God and the unquestionable love of our Everlasting Father. What a great time of year this is. What a great Savior we have.

12/5/10 - Advent 2 - Isaiah 11:1-10

THE BANNER STANDS UNFURLED

There were no cell phones in Old Testament times. There were no walkie-talkies or computerized communication systems. And so when a general had to relay an urgent message to part of his army, still on the same battle field but a mile and a half away, he used a banner. Or when a watchman on the hills around a fortified city needed signal to its citizens to run for cover, he used a banner. Or when a solider broke through enemy lines and needed to show his fellow countrymen where they were to rally together, he used a banner. And a banner back then was not a lengthy piece of canvass like we see hanging above a store’s front windows today, a “banner” in the Old Testament was a long pole held up in the air, on top of which was either a large metal symbol of some kind or a piece of cloth of various shapes and sizes, similar to a flag, that specified which army division was taking the field or a special predetermined signal or an important message that everyone on that side knew. These banners could be used in different ways at different times, but they were always a call to action.
The Old Testament Israelites understood how important banners were for those who counted on them more than we do today. Because they used banners themselves in the battles they fought and the armies they faced made use of them as well. And so they were well aware that banners had to be absolutely clear in what they stood for. They had to be lifted high for all to see. And the message each banner sent had to be taken seriously.
In Isaiah 11 we have a familiar advent prophecy about the “Root of Jesse.” It is probably something most of you have heard before because it is a popular Christmas time Scripture reading and even our previous hymn, “Behold, a Branch is Growing” is based on it. But you are most likely more familiar with the first verse then the tenth. At the very end of this Old Testament lesson the Root of Jesse is called something else that would have brought a very different image to the minds of those believers in the 8th century BC. Here, the Root of Jesse - the eventual offspring of David’s father Jesse - is actually called a “Banner.” “A shoot will come up from the stump of Jesse; from his roots a Branch will bear fruit… In that day the Root of Jesse will stand as a banner for the peoples; the nations will rally to him, and his resting place will be glorious.”
Isaiah prophesied that when the Messiah would come as a human being to this earth he would be a banner for all nations: a signal, a rallying point, an unmistakable call to Christians that this was the One who was prophesied about for all those centuries. This is the one around whom all believers among every people would gather. This was the one who would lead them to victory. What a striking visual this must have been for those Israelites 700 years before Christ! Vivid images of war and scenes of bloody battlefields and spears and horsemen and generals leading the charge undoubtedly filled their thoughts - especially because of the way Isaiah talks throughout the rest of his book! And it was probably exciting for them to think about such a Messiah. It was a prophecy that depicted their coming Savior as a triumphant King around whom they would rally after he gained a great victory over his enemies. Who wouldn’t look forward to that day while living in a country perpetually surrounded by adversaries!
As Christian we are perpetually surrounded by adversaries, aren’t we? And we look forward to rallying around the King too. We will do that in a formal way in just a few weeks at the celebration of Christmas. A special event at which we rally around an infant King, a time when we gather around a victorious general of war resting in his mother’s arms. But we also rally around this King in more informal ways: when we go to him in prayer, when we listen to him in his Word, when we visit him at his house, when we lean on him in times of distress. We just have to be careful that we don’t only rally around the King when we’re under attack, only when we find ourselves out of options and out of time. Because that is exactly what the Old Testament Israelites were infamous for.
During the time of the prophet Isaiah, God’s people weren’t rallying around the King. In fact, they were leaving the camp! They were rejecting him, ignoring him, overlooking him. Because everything was going just fine. They weren’t being oppressed by a major foreign power… yet; they weren’t in dire need of help… yet; they weren’t dealing with any kind of disaster that forced them to cling to their King… yet. And so they didn’t feel any need to rally around the Banner because they didn’t think that they were in any kind of danger. That’s why Isaiah was called on by the Lord to speak to them. It wasn’t until they were exiled when they finally began to rally around the Lord once again. It wasn’t until they were in great need and completely devastated when they finally forged their way back to the Banner that had always been flying in a way at the temple on Mt. Zion and would soon be completely unfurled at a birth in Bethlehem.
And don’t we fall into that same kind of pattern? We rally around the Banner but only in those times of trouble, only when we find out that we really do need some help, when we really do need some major support. We do not hesitate to rally around that King when we are sick or when our health is failing. We have no qualms about finding our way back to that place where he stands when we need something and we can’t seem to get it by ourselves. We are determined to find that unfurled banner waving high in the wind when nothing else has worked and we are at our wits’ end and we don’t know what else to do. But to gather around it and stay close to it and look up in wonderment at that Banner when things are going well, when life is smooth, when troubles seem far behind us and even farther away in the future? Then it seems unnecessary. It’s suddenly seems like a lot of work to march along with the Word of God and keep up with the pace of the King. And it feels OK for us to hang back a bit and enjoy the scenery and look into other things that we come across throughout the journey. Not to leave the camp totally, of course, but to stay on the outskirts and ease up on the training exercises and fill ourselves up on the bounties of the countryside through which we are passing.
But then the attack comes and we’re not ready. And those attacks can take on different forms. Maybe a natural disaster strikes close to home or our funds unexpectedly run dry or our health takes a turn for the worst or we fall into a nasty sin we never thought possible or a death in the family shakes the very ground we stand on and we end up trying to scramble back up the hill and frantically search for that old familiar Banner and desperately claw our way through the thorns and the thickets and hysterically dodge the arrows that are raining down around us because we know that we have to make it back to our King. And it runs through our minds that we should have never strayed from his side in the first place! We should have never had to rally at all! We should have never had to gather up everything in a rush and head towards that wind-swept flag in these moments of panic because he shouldn’t have be that far away from us to begin with! There are times when that happens to us, aren’t there? There are times when we find ourselves farther away from the King and his standard than we really should be. And that happens because we sometimes forget how important that Banner really is to our spiritual well-being. We disregard how essential his Word is to our faith and his throne is to our prayers.
But every time we find ourselves out of position and under attack and surrounded by enemies from without and within, every time we glance back up to the top of that hill where that Banner is unfurled, there it still stands. Every time we fall back to him in prayer, there he still listens. Every time we open up that Bible and dig into his Word once again to find that comfort and peace we have missed, there he still talks to us. Every time we walk through these doors after a terrible week of Christian futility and failure, here he still waits for us. This Banner stands. This banner waves. This banner beckons boldly and unmistakably for anyone to see at any time so that we know exactly where to find him no matter how far away we may be.
And it’s not as if we can mistake this banner for something else, because this banner is one-of-a-kind: it’s the only one well-worn with the fight for our salvation. It’s soiled with the dirt of a middle-eastern stable floor. It’s faded from the sun of the escape down to Egypt and the long afternoons preaching on the edge of the Jordan River and the constant trips over the mountains and the deserts in between Jerusalem and Galilee. It’s soaked in the sweat of Jesus’ Gethsemane prayer. It’s torn by the scourges that found Jesus’ back. It’s tattered by the thorns that crowned his head. It’s punctured with jagged holes from the nails. It’s spattered with the blood that dripped from the cross. It’s saturated with the musty scent of a damp cave used as a tomb over the weekend. This Banner certainly isn’t always all that much to look at. And it’s not always something that gives us an easier life or more money or less problems just because we are near it and love it and cherish it. But this Banner still flies. And this colors of this Banner still remain brilliant. And the message of this Banner is still absolutely clear: You are forgiven. You are rescued. You are going home. Because this Root of Jesse, this Spirit-filled Savior has fought for you and still is fighting for you and he will place upon your head that victory crown in the end. He’s the banner of spiritual conquest! He’s the signal of salvation! And you are on the winning side.
“In that day the Root of Jesse will stand as a banner for the peoples; the nations will rally to him, and his resting place will be glorious.” When this war comes to an end and the King goes home, his resting place will be “glory.” The word “glorious” is not used here; it’s actually “glory.” Our King’s resting place will be glory itself. And so his heavenly castle will not only be enveloped in the full extent of his majesty and power and brilliance and splendor, heaven will be glory. How can any human language do that justice when we have no idea what that is going to be? But that is where we are going to live. Those of us who have been rescued by the King. Those of us who have been led to that Banner and led by the Banner will live in glory forever.
And this Banner unfurled one night in a feeding trough of Bethlehem, this Banner found fluttering one afternoon on Calvary’s hill, this Banner soon to be soaring on the clouds with thousands of angels in its train, flies with just as much vigor and just as much intensity today; but only in his holy Word. And so get closer to that Banner in the words of Scripture. March right by its side. And never let it out of your sight. Because it’s the only place you’ll find this banner waving. It’s the only thing that will get you through this life. It’s the only thing that will remain standing when this battle is done.
Amen.

“The Lord will rescue us from every evil attack and bring us safely to his heavenly kingdom. To him be glory forever and ever. Amen.” - 2 Tim. 4:18

12/1/10 - Midweek Advent 1 - Isaiah 9:6a

GOOD ADVICE

When Noah was 600 years old the Lord spoke to him and told him to build a massive boat in which he could keep safe all of the different kinds of animals in this world as well as his wife and immediate family. And the Lord told him to build this ark because he was about to destroy the entire world with water. I think that we would all agree that the Lord gave Noah some pretty good advice. Centuries later, during the time when the Israelites were traveling in the desert, the Lord warned them that they were not to go into the land of Canaan because they had doubted the Lord’s promises and so he was not going to go up with them at that time. The Israelites ignored his warning, however, tried to enter the land of Canaan, and were driven out by the natives. They should have followed the good advice that the Lord had given them, but they did not and they suffered for it. While our Lord himself was on this earth as a true human being, a man named Nicodemus came to him late at night asking about salvation. And Jesus said to him that unless he was born again by the water and the Holy Spirit in baptism, he would not enter the kingdom of God. We don’t know what happened right after that conversation, but we do know that Nicodemus ended up helping to bury Jesus’ body after he died on the cross years later. And so it seems that Nicodemus did end up taking Jesus’ good advice and was ultimately saved through faith in his Savior.
These three examples should suffice in pointing out that our Lord has always given “good advice” to his people: advice about what we should believe, advice about what we should do, advice about who he is. And so it’s nothing out of the ordinary for the prophet Isaiah to call the coming Messiah “Wonderful Counselor,” because that is what he has proved to be throughout the centuries. And that word “counselor” is just what it sounds like: it is someone who gives advice and counsel to another. The advisors of a king mentioned in the book of Proverbs as well as King David’s own royal advisors are described with this same Hebrew word. And so this kind of counselor is someone who can be trusted, someone who is dependable, someone who is wise and able to see things clearly. Someone who has been around a while. Someone who has been through it all before. Someone who is on your side. “And he will be called Wonderful Counselor…” But not just a counselor who gives good advice to anyone; a counselor who gives good advice to you. A counselor who is looking out for your best interests. A counselor who cares about what happens in your life and does not want to see you hurt or harmed in any way.
And it should be fairly obvious to you how this Wonderful Counselor gives you such good advice: through the clear words of the Bible. This is where he talks to you. This is where he encourages you and warns you and guides you and instructs you and teaches you and comforts you. This is where he gives you the words you need to hear when you’re in trouble. This is where he whispers in your ear when you don’t know what to do. This is where he holds out his arm for you to lean on when you’re a little nervous about what might happen in the future. Our Wonderful Counselor does not give us good advice through visible signs in this world or through the warm feelings of the heart. Our Wonderful Counselor gives us good, solid, never-changing advice through the words he had written down for us thousands of years ago. We just have to learn to take his advice more often!
He lets us know in his Word that if we obey his commandments and do what he asks us to do, he will be pleased. But we don’t always take that good advice from our Wonderful Counselor because we want to do what we want to do and we don’t want anyone to tell us otherwise. He lets us know in his Word that he is always with us, he is always in control, he is always working things out for the good of his people, and because of that we don’t have to worry about anything! But we don’t always take that good advice from our Wonderful Counselor either. We worry about bills that we have to pay. We worry about the future of our congregation. We worry about relationships. We worry about the weather. We worry about the safety of those we love. We worry about almost everything, don’t we, despite our Lord’s advice to the contrary. He tells us in his Word that we must fully rely on him for everything; we can’t accomplish anything in this life by ourselves. But how often do we follow that good advice? We trust in our own abilities to get things done; we rely on our own savvy to fix the problems in our lives; we lean on our own experience to sort through the various messes we have to clean up. Our Wonderful Counselor’s good advice is oftentimes ignored because we think we know better, because we think we can get by without it.
What a mistake that is! And what an insult to our Lord! He offers us the answers; he gives us the solutions; he provides us with the comforts and the reassurances and the peace that we need… and we shove it aside! We try out our own plan first! We say, “Thank but no thanks. I appreciate what you’re trying to do, Lord, but I think I’ll go in a different direction for the time being.” Who do we think we are? Whom do we think we’re talking to?
We are talking to our Wonderful Counselor. And it’s a good thing he is our Wonderful Counselor because that means he doesn’t get mad at us. He doesn’t get frustrated. He might be a little disappointed at times, but he never gives up on us. He just patiently continues to explain and instruct and hold our hand as he walks us back to his Word. Pricking our consciences to get our attention. Kneading our hearts like dough. Convincing our souls that he knows what he is talking about in his Word. Because there in his Word he also gives us the good advice about our forgiveness: the advice to do nothing at all because he has already gotten everything done. The advice to forget about how good we think we are and focus on how badly he suffered. The advice to stop looking at ourselves and start looking at a little baby in a Bethlehem barn. And that’s the best advice of all. To look at our Savior in all his humility. To see him become one of us. To watch him sacrifice everything for us. Forgiveness is the best advice our Wonderful Counselor gives. It’s the best advice he has gained. And this advice is absolutely free of charge and it requires nothing from us. I think that’s advice worth taking.