Category: Encouragement For The Downcast

² The people who walked in darkness have seen a great light; those who dwelt in a land of deep darkness, on them has light shone. ~ Isaiah 9:2

In the ancient world, the darkest and longest night of the year, today/tonight, was often marked by offerings and/or sacrifices to the gods in the hope of bringing the sun back with blessings for the next year. December, a month of coldness, long nights, and short days. A time often associated with mourning, because it’s when the crops die, and there is no harvest, is the time the Church celebrates.

The Church celebrates the birth of Christ. The birth of the God-man, Jesus Christ, the very Light of the World. The ancient world mourned, sacrificed, and brought offerings in hope of gaining favor from the gods, some even going as far as to sacrifice humans during this time, but our God shows His love for us by sending His Son as a gift to the whole world in order that we might be saved.

During a time of deep darkness, God came into our world and brought within Him the Light, which is the life of men. We are no longer in darkness. No. We are now dwelling in the Light of the LORD. No matter how dark the world may get, always remember the Light can never be overcome by it.

Peace. Love. Go Forth and Dwell In The Light.

The Christmas song I find myself playing on repeat this year is I Heard The Bells On Christmas Day. It truly grasps the overwhelming feeling that can sneak up on you this time of year and then builds to the solution “Christ.” The song goes as follows:

And in despair I bowed my head
There is no peace on earth I said
For hate is strong and mocks the song
Of peace on earth, good will to men

But the bells are ringing (Peace on Earth)
Like a choir singing (Peace on Earth)
Does anybody hear them?
Peace on earth, good will to men

Then rang the bells more loud and deep
God is not dead, nor doth He sleep (Peace on Earth, peace on Earth)
The wrong shall fail, the right prevail
With peace on earth, good will to men

Sometimes the darkness feels too dark. It feels too much to overcome. Too much to even handle but there’s the subtle whisper of the Holy Spirit reminding you of the hope of Christ coming into the world and bringing salvation to all people.

Yes, the world is dark and getting darker, but we have the Light of Christ dwelling in us and through us. So, no matter how dark the world may seem, the darkness can never overcome the Light.

Peace. Love. Go Forth and Listen To The Bells Ring.

[1] After Jesus was born in Bethlehem in Judea, during the time of King Herod, Magi from the east came to Jerusalem [2] and asked, “Where is the one who has been born king of the Jews? We saw His star when it rose and have come to worship Him.” ~ Matthew 2:1-2^NIV

As the beloved Christmas Carol says, “Long lay the world in sin and error pining until He appeared and the soul felt it’s worth.” For thousands of years before Jesus was born in Bethlehem, mankind was lost without hope and without redemption. We lay, as it were, in our sins hoping for and needing a Savior. Then the good news rang out, a Savior, the King of the Jews is born, and immediately wisemen from the east traveled a great distance to worship Him.

He was born to die for all mankind, and because of this, it’s almost impossible to separate the birth from the crucifixion — God’s most prefect and best Sacrifice.

As we learned some interesting history about the Mayan civilization this week while on vacation it got me thinking.  Apparently, they (the Mayans) played a sport that was a combination of soccer and basketball, but with vastly different results. The goal was to get a rubber ball into a hoop without using their hands. This game was played by the entire Mayan civilization.

The winners were sacrificed to their pagan gods, because only the best was offered. Jesus, the Redeemer of the world, came to be that Sacrifice for us — the righteous for the unrighteous, the holy for the unholy. There is no better sacrifice. And that is what Christmas is really about, the good news, that the dearest and best Sacrifice has come and because of Jesus, mankind will live forever, at least those who have accepted Jesus’ sacrifice on the cross. So, as we enjoy our Christmas celebrations, let us never forget that the dearest and the best has come, and now we can have everlasting life in Him because there is no better sacrifice.

Father in heaven, we adore You, LORD Jesus, we lift Your Name in all the earth. We will sing of all You’ve done, and tell of all Your wondrous works, in Jesus’ Name I pray, amen.

[20] But after he had considered this, an angel of the Lord appeared to him in a dream and said, “Joseph son of David, do not be afraid to take Mary home as your wife, because what is conceived in her is from the Holy Spirit. [21] She will give birth to a son, and you are to give him the name Jesus, because he will save His people from their sins.” ~ Matthew 1:20-21

We visited the site of an ancient Mayan ruins today. The tour guide explained that the high priests were buried with a mask made out of jade. The reason was, it was used to purchase their way into paradise. The other Mayans were also buried with pieces of jade for the same reason, to purchase entrance into paradise. But here is what an angel of the LORD who appeared to Joseph in a dream after he considered divorcing Mary when he found out that she was pregnant said.

He told Joseph to name the baby Jesus because He would save His people from their sins. Where the Mayans depended on the green semi-precious stone known as jade to purchase entrance into paradise, Christians depend on the shed blood of Jesus to enter paradise. As the angel said He will save His people from their sins.

No amount of gold, silver, diamonds, or even jade can purchase our way into paradise. Because it’s by faith in the Name of Jesus that we are saved. There is no other Name, and there is no other way, but by Jesus, the Son of God. Because He will save His people from their sins.

Father, thank You for the hope that we have in Jesus. Thank You LORD Jesus for shedding Your blood that I might have an entrance into paradise, Amen.

¹⁴ Therefore the LORD Himself will give you a sign. Behold, the virgin shall conceive and bear a son, and shall call His Name Immanuel. ¹⁵ He shall eat curds and honey when He knows how to refuse the evil and choose the good ~ Isaiah 7:14-15

That is a pretty bold statement by Isaiah, the virgin shall conceive and bear a son. First, a virgin cannot conceive. Second, we can only hope, but we cannot predict with any kind of accuracy at all what sex a child will be, whether male or female, and especially more than 700 years in advance. Therefore, that is quite a startling statement/prediction to say the least. So startling that many doubt the validity of the interpretation fueled by the presupposed Jewish understanding of Isaiah 7:14 and say that the word translated as “Virgin”… in the Bible… more naturally means “young woman.” And to be sure, it does. But it is not just any young woman that this word refers to. It refers to a young unmarried woman who is believed and expected to be a virgin since she is unmarried.

The Bible would never presuppose that this young, unmarried woman would have been sexually active. You must agree with that! Therefore, it was not just any young woman, because a young woman could be a married woman with children, and while she is indeed young, this word does not refer to her, since she is married with children and is no longer a virgin. So, because of that, it is true to its definition to translate the word “a virgin,” as the young woman is expected and believed to be a virgin due to her unmarried status.

So, in light of that, to say that Isaiah 7:14 is referring to a specific contemporary event and woman, possibly Isaiah’s wife, rather than a future miraculous birth by the virgin Mary, is ridiculous and misleading, a false diversion to throw confusion on the virgin birth of the Messiah and distract from the truth. So, don’t be afraid to embrace what you have been taught about the virgin birth of Jesus. Jesus had an earthly mother, as He was fully human, but He had no earthly father, as He was also fully God. He was there in the beginning, and He will be here in the end. All things where made through Him, and by Him, and without Him, nothing was made that was made. He is Creator God.

The long awaited promise has finally come. Jesus is the true and only Redeemer of the world, because in Him was and is the life, and no one can come to the Father except through Him, and that is what He came for, to save His people from their sins. Yes, it was long in coming, but it came: Joy to the world, the LORD is come…

Father thank You for the wonderful Christmas gift called Jesus. Jesus thank You for the wonderful Easter gift of life. In Jesus’ Name, amen.

² The people who walked in darkness have seen a great light; those who dwelt in a land of deep darkness, on them has light shone. ~ Isaiah 9:2

Isaiah described the people as those who have walked in darkness and dwelt in a land of deep darkness, because of spiritual, political, and now physical darkness. Zebulun and Naphtali were the two most northern territories and were steeped in idolatry and Baal worship for generations. At the time of Isaiah’s writing, these two territories had fallen to the Assyrian army and were now under the direct rule of a pagan king, Tiglath-Pileser III.

Assyria had just invaded Zebulun and Naphtali and had destroyed cities, killed or deported most of the Israelite inhabitants, and turned the region into empty, ruined provinces (2 Kings 15:29). Villages were burned, fields lay abandoned, survivors were marched away in chains — literal gloom, desolation, and night had fallen over the land. This region became known as Galilee of the Gentiles. A place despised by orthodox Jews, as Nathanael said, “Can anything good come from Nazareth?” (John 1:46), because Nazareth was a town in Lower Galilee.

Now here is the good news: being the first to fall, Zebulun and Naphtali, now known as Galilee, were the first to have the Christmas light of Jesus the Messiah shine on them. Capernaum in Galilee was the headquarters of Jesus’ ministry, Cana, also in Galilee, was the place of Jesus’ first miracle, and Jesus was known as the Nazarene, or Jesus of Nazareth.

A place spiritually cut off, devoid of hope, and emptied of any expectation was chosen to be the first to have the great light of hope shine down upon them. The Savior of the world had come and made His dwelling among them. That is the Christmas message—a message of hope.

The very place where the darkness fell first and deepest, God had already planned for the Light to rise first and brightest, and that is the heartbeat of Christmas. The first shall be last and the last shall be first. Jesus came for the lost, the forgotten, the contaminated, the unlovable, and the despised. A land of deep darkness, behold, a light has shone on us.

So this Christmas, lift up your eyes. The same Jesus who turned a nowhere town into the epicenter of eternity is still moving in hopeless places, still dawning on forgotten people, still choosing the last, the lost, and the least to be the first to see His light.

A land of deep darkness?

Behold — the Light has shone on us. His name is Jesus.

Father, thank You for letting Your light shine on us, though we are unworthy and despised by the world. Thank You for loving us and sending Your Son to die for us so that we might live. We thank You and give You praise, in Jesus’ Name, amen.

⁹ But there will be no gloom for her who was in anguish. In the former time He brought into contempt the land of Zebulun and the land of Naphtali, but in the latter time He has made glorious the way of the sea, the land beyond the Jordan, Galilee of the nations. ~ Isaiah 9:1

At the time of this writing, they, the Israelites, were still walking in darkness and much gloom hung over the region. Ahaz was king of Judah, and he had led the nation into deep idolatry. He made metal images for the Baals, burned incense in the Valley of Hinnom, and even offered his own son as a burnt sacrifice to Molech. He used sacred vessels from the house of God and cut them into pieces. He shut the doors of the temple so that regular worship ceased in Jerusalem and Judah, and he set up altars on every street corner along with high places in every city in Judah to offer sacrifices to false gods.

So yes, under Ahaz’s rule, Judah was a land of deep darkness and God had brought it into contempt, meaning He gave them over to the Babylonian army because of their idolatry, their unfaithfulness, and their constant straying from the things of God. They suffered much because of their unfaithfulness, and their stiff-neckedness.

But with God, there is always a silver lining behind every dark cloud. Even though the punishment might be severe, the promise is greater than the punishment. He will build back more abundant, will make stronger, and He will increase more prosperous. He is a God of more than enough. So, while the verdict was indeed severe for the land of Zebulun and the land of Naphtali God’s promise for the future was bright. He would not leave them in darkness, but a glory, His glory was coming. Jesus is that promised glory, the birth of the long awaited Messiah.

Sometimes we feel like we are living in a time of bad news, violence, and gloom. But a brighter day is coming. A time of refreshing is promised for God’s people. Just as Jesus came 2,000 years ago as a baby wrapped in swaddling clothes and lying in a manger, so He will return riding on a cloud, at the sound of the last trump, and the dead in Christ will rise first and those of us who are alive and remain will be caught up to meet Him in the air, and there we will be with Him forever, and then there will be no more gloom, forever.

Thank You LORD Jesus for Your great and wonderful promises that we can believe and depend on. We look forward to Your return, even so, come LORD Jesus, amen.

Ecclesiastes 3:1-8 ESV

[1] For everything there is a season, and a time for every matter under heaven: [2] a time to be born, and a time to die; a time to plant, and a time to pluck up what is planted; [3] a time to kill, and a time to heal; a time to break down, and a time to build up; [4] a time to weep, and a time to laugh; a time to mourn, and a time to dance; [5] a time to cast away stones, and a time to gather stones together; a time to embrace, and a time to refrain from embracing; [6] a time to seek, and a time to lose; a time to keep, and a time to cast away; [7] a time to tear, and a time to sew; a time to keep silence, and a time to speak; [8] a time to love, and a time to hate; a time for war, and a time for peace.

For everything under the sun, there is a season. And it’s okay to be going through a rough season. A season of pain, sorrow, and heartache. One of confusion, anger, and rage. A season where God seemingly is a miss. That’s how you could characterize this season. Right now. A season where you cry out “where is God?” And “why is He not near?” It’s during these seasons of mourning and weeping that we have to do a little more to see the light shining in the darkness. Because no matter how dark the darkness may get or how hopeless the nights seem, one thing does not change, and that is the goodness of our God.

Today, we buried my last grandparent. Emotions were high. Tears were shed. Feelings were felt. There was even chaos at one point but still nevertheless, one thing was constant. One thing remained the same. One thing kept our peace. The goodness of God.

When it feels like the entire world is crashing in, remember, it is the goodness of God that holds us together. It keeps us from falling apart because it is His love that is the goodness of God.

Peace. Love. Go Forth and Depend On The Goodness of God.