Two Responses to Jesus’ Birth

“Then Herod, when he had secretly called the wise men, determined from them what time the star appeared.” (Matthew 2: 7)

“And when they had come into the house, they saw the young Child with Mary His mother, and fell down and worshiped Him. And when they had opened their treasures, they presented gifts to Him: gold, frankincense, and myrrh.”  Matthew 2: 11)

Historically and currently there are two basic responses to the birth of Jesus.  The same message has been given both.

There was the response of Herod. Magi were heralds who brought news of  the birth of Jesus. Who were they? Magi are not called wise men in the Bible. The term “wise men” was first applied to the Magi by a man who was himself wise, the venerable Bede, an 8th-century British monk.

The Magi were not kings. Were they King Herod would have greeted them as were all heads of state with a royal banquet. Magi were king makers in their home land. They were astronomers who studied the stars.

Herod, who was called the king of the Jews, was on the throne, his paranoia was legendary. Herod had, at this point, killed several of his children, his in-laws, and others he felt were rivals. Herod’s plot was one of – – – ENVY AND EVIL.

Cunningly Herod devised a plot to find and obviously kill the young child. He told the Magi to find the child and come and tell him where he was. In keeping with his character and conduct he doubtlessly desired baby Jesus’ death. Failing to deceive the Magi to report to him, he later killed all the male children born in Bethlehem within the designated time frame.

News of His birth, as celebrated at Christmas, is still responded to with envy and evil by a large segment of our society. Concerted efforts are made to minimize and mock news of His birth and life. 

On a personal basis many still reject Him and refuse to pay Him homage at Christmas.

The response of the Magi was one of – – – – EUREKA AND EXALTATION 

Eureka, they found Him and exaltation, they fell down and worshiped Him. 

To find Jesus is to receptively know Him as He is, Savior and Lord.

To worship Him is to pay allegiance to Him, to submit to Him.

In the captivating trappings of Christmas today may He be found by those who have never established a life transforming relationship with Him. May those who have a saving relation with Him find Him more clearly than ever.

What Does God Require of You? Part Five

“He has shown you, O man, what is good; And what does the Lord require of you But to do justly, To love mercy, And to walk humbly with your God.” (Micah 6: 8)

“To walk humbly with your God” means to live in conscious fellowship with God.

It is to recognize God’s absolute holiness and submit to His will.

In Scripture the term “walk” often refers to a lifestyle.  To be humble means to be respectfully obedient.

When Elizabeth Barrett married the ultimately famous poet Robert Browning her parents disowned her. She and Robert moved far away to Florence, Italy. She loved her parents and sought reconciliation. Several times a month she would write telling them of her love. After 10 years there came a response. She received a package from her parents which she opened with excitement. Elizabeth’s happy moment rapidly faded when she found inside all of her letters to her parents — unopened.

Elizabeth, like Robert, was a poet. Her letters of reconciliation have been called “some of the most beautiful and expressive in the English language.”  Unfortunately her parents never read them.

Like Elizabeth, our Lord went to extreme measures to achieve reconciliation. Have you left His love letters unread. As Micah said God has shown us what is good. To find what is “good” read and obey His love letters. Accept His offer of reconciliation.

Come to the cross. It is an exhortation to “do justly.” It was sin, human kinds injustice, that put Him there. 

Come to the cross. It is an appeal to love mercy because of the mercy manifested there.

Come to the cross. It empowers one, enabling a walk with God.

God has mercy on us even though we often lack obedience. This verse describes what God wants us to do after receiving the grace of forgiveness: to do justice, love mercy, and walk humbly with God. 

To “walk humbly with God” is the basis for loving mercy and doing justice. Because of what God has done, we should fully invest in healing the world around us through mercy and justice.

God has given each of us gifts and abilities to live out the truths in Micah 6: 8. These truths are what He wants out of you as a show of all He has done and is doing for you. 

Consider yourself entering God’s school room for an exam based on Micah 6: 8. How would you do? Here is a prep sheet to prepare for the test.

“…what does the Lord require of you But to do justly, To love mercy, And to walk humbly with your God.”

What Does God Require of You? Part Four

“He has shown you, O man, what is good; And what does the Lord require of you But to do justly, To love mercy, And to walk humbly with your God.” (Micah 6: 8)

With justice and mercy so closely linked in the text some persons often confuse the two.

When a person commits a crime and thereafter expresses an apology or gives a self-excusing explanation it is often said the person should be forgiven even if a crime was involved.

There are conditions for forgiveness. Contrition, confession, repentance, and a request for forgiveness precedes forgiveness.  Some Christians become confused at this point and think that under these circumstances even the crime should be forgiven. There is a distinct difference in forgiveness of a wrong and acquittal of a crime.

Some persons not only want a criminal forgiven, but restored to their former position. Acquittal and restoration are admirable and should be encouraged. The restoration should be with God, not a formal position.

Moses was forgiven for striking the rock, but not allowed to enter the Promised Land.

David was forgiven, but not allowed to build the temple.

There are times when justice and mercy can be compatible.

When Fiorello La Guaridia was mayor of New York City he liked to keep in touch with all departments of government. He would even substitute for various heads. Once he sat in for the Night Court judge. It was a cold night and a trembling man was brought in charged with stealing a loaf of bread. He said he did it because his family was starving.

“I have to punish you nevertheless,” said La Guardia. “There is no exception to the law. The fine is $10.00.” As he said this he reached for his wallet, took out $10.00, put it in his famous hat and said, “Here is the $10.00 to pay the fine.”

“Furthermore,” he continued, “I’m going to fine everybody in this courtroom .50 cents for living in a city where a man has to steal bread in order to eat. Mr. Bailiff, collect the fines and give them to the defendant.”  The total was $47.50.

In effect that is what our Heavenly Father did for us. We sin and He has found us guilty. In the person of His only begotten Son He paid the fine and remitted our sin. 

Because of that we are to live out Micah’s third virtue.

Poet Dante wrote, “In His will is our peace.”

What Does God Require of You? Part Three

“He has shown you, O man, what is good; And what does the Lord require of you But to do justly, To love mercy, And to walk humbly with your God.” (Micah 6:8).

“To love mercy” is to willingly show kindness to others.

As with all virtues we can learn from God what is meant by it. Grace is God’s favor shown to spiritual rebels who repent. Mercy is God’s favor shown to those in distress. In His mercy He protects us from harm or punishment we deserve.

Our Lord is spoken of as “the Father of mercies.” (II Corinthians 1:3)

A close synonym for “mercy” is compassion. As followers of the Lord we are to show compassion toward others. “Therefore if there is any consolation in Christ, if any comfort of love, if any fellowship of the Spirit, if any affection and mercy, fulfill my joy by being like minded.”  (Philippians 2:1,2)

In general mercy means to feel sympathy with the miseries of others. God has such mercy toward us and we should show it to others.

Failing to do so results in some such persons as being as upright as a marble column and as cold and hard.

We should even have mercy on ourselves. When we do we overcome inferiority complexes. What might be considered handicaps didn’t handicap these.

Steinmetz, one of the greatest scientists of all times, came to believe he could be useful in spite of the fact his body was terribly deformed.

Milton was blind, but eventually he believed that, in spite of his blindness, he could write poetry that would make life sing — and he did.

Robert Louis Stevenson was sickly. He suffered chronic pain, but during his sickest years, he wrote some of his greatest masterpieces.

Beethoven reached the point at which he believed he could give to the world a composition like the Ninth Symphony, even though he was deaf.

Louis Pasteur made his greatest contribution after he had a stroke.

In showing mercy toward themselves these made of their adversities springboards rather than letting them be stumbling blocks.

On the beautiful Hawaiian Island of Molokai was a colony to which persons inflicted with the dreaded disease of leprosy were sent to live out their lives in misery. A simple noble priest, Father Damien, went there to minister to them. He did so for months addressing them as: “You lepers.” He met with no response.

One day he spoke to them as, “My fellow lepers.”

He had so identified with them as to have contracted leprosy. Thereafter, his ministry met with a positive response. His mercy was their hearts. It so won the admiration of our nation that a statue of Father Damien stands as the only religious figure under the rotunda of our nation’s capital.

All around are persons needing mercy. By showing it you model your loving Lord who has shown all of us His mercy.

What Does God Require of You? Part Two

“He has shown you, O man, what is good; And what does the Lord require of you But to do justly, To love mercy, And to walk humbly with your God.” (Micah 6:8).

Consider this trio of truths. The first is morality. “To do justly.”

“To do justly” refers to our ethical response to other people. To “do justly” there must be a standard for what is just and what is unjust. Some conduct is right and some isn’t.

A new virile virus has been loosed in our culture under the guise of a new virtue. Because of its rapidly increasing influence it needs to be reexamined. It is called tolerance.

For generations people have espoused tolerance. The definition normally given is: “the disposition to be patient toward those whose opinions or practices differ from our own…”

That is now called “negative tolerance.”

Positive tolerance is defined as: “every single individual’s beliefs, values, lifestyle, and truth claims are equal.”  That’s positive tolerance. It is broadly advocated.

If that is true, then the door to the jail cell should be opened. Positive tolerance has replaced the virtue of justice.  Positive tolerance and justice cannot co-exist. They are mutually exclusive.

An advocate of positive tolerance defines for him or herself truth. One opinion is as good as another. Likewise one statement is as good as another. Such a person can state as true what facts reveal as not being true and still say, “I did not lie.” If there are no absolutes there is no truth and no falsehood. In the mind of such persons whatever they say is true.

This time in history is now being called the postmodern era. It is reshaping culture’s concept of truth. Lying is impossible since it presupposes objective reality. To the postmodern mind there is no objective truth. Truth is subjective. That is, what I as the subject define it as.  Such a person can say, “I did not tell him to lie” becomes a “true” statement because lies don’t exist.  To such a mentality words don’t have a fixed meaning. They mean what the user wants them to mean at the moment. An interpretation may be different from an interpretation tomorrow.

God has expressed His desire for us: “Behold, You desire truth in the inward parts, And in the hidden part You will make me to know wisdom.”  (Psalm 51:6).

Our value-free, morally neutral, education opens the door for sources in Hollywood, Madison Avenue, and yes, Nashville to bombard young minds with thousands of hours of sounds and images that glamorize immorality and mock Biblical values. Evaluate your system of values based on biblical values.