Category: It Is Happening

This is the time of the year when we celebrate the birth of Jesus Christ. For many, the Christmas season is a celebration all about giving and getting gifts. But for those that believe that Jesus is our personal savior, we celebrate the gift that God gave to man.

God, the creator of the universe, loved us so much that He gave us the gift of His own Son.

John 3:16, “For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life.

As proof of just how much He really loved us, He sent His Son into this world to satisfy His holy law. No man had been able to keep the law. But Jesus, the perfect man, met the demands of that law. Then He died in our place for our sins. Now, God can generously forgive those who believe on the Lord Jesus Christ.

1 John 4:10, “Herein is love, not that we loved God, but that he loved us, and sent his Son to be the propitiation for our sins.”

This is the miracle of the Christmas story. God gave us His Son to die for our sins that we may live with Him forever.

During this Christmas season in the Himalayas, native believers place a special focus on sharing the good news of Jesus’ birth with their neighbors and relatives. When they hear the good news, many people come to believe in Jesus. Where there was hopelessness, now there is hopefulness. Where there was despair, now there is assurance that the Lord is watching over them. Where there was turmoil and fear, now there is peace, love and joy.

When people meet Jesus, their lives are changed. In the Gospel of Luke, chapter 19, we see just how completely He can change a person when they believe in Him.

Luke 19:1-10 describes the meeting of Zacchaeus and Jesus. Zacchaeus was a tax collector for the Roman conquerors. He was also a Hebrew. He was a rich man. But as a tax collector, he was a cheat, he was dishonest, and considered a traitor by his own countrymen. He had lived only for himself without regard to how he got his riches.

Then he meant Jesus. And his life was completely turned around. Jesus filled Zacchaeus with mercy and kindness and love. Luke tells us about Zacchaeus’ change of heart in Luke 19:8.

Luke 19:8 And Zacchaeus stood and said to the Lord, “Behold, Lord, the half of my goods I give to the poor. And if I have defrauded anyone of anything, I restore it fourfold.”

What a change that was! It highlighted the whole purpose of why Jesus was born as a little baby here on earth. He said it of Himself in Luke 19:10:

Luke 19:10 For the Son of Man came to seek and to save the lost.

And He is still in that business today. During this season of celebrating Jesus’ birth, let us give thanks for what He has done for us. Thank Him for giving us the gift of eternal life.  Thank the Father for sending His Son to die for our sins.

And if you do not know him personally, that Man that came over two thousand years ago, loves you and wants you to get to know Him. He wants to give you that hope, peace, love and joy right now. Tell Jesus that you believe He is the Son of God. Thank Him for taking your sins away over 2000 years ago, on that cross at Calvary. Ask Him to fill you with that peace, joy, love and hope that so many have come to know. He will change you completely.

Paul tells us in 1 Corinthians 11 to emulate him as he copies Christ.

1 Corinthians 11:1 Imitate me, just as I also imitate Christ.

So, what does that mean, to imitate Christ? Let’s look at all the interactions with people that Jesus had just in Matthew 9. Is this what He meant when we are told to imitate Him?

In Matthew 9 verses 2 through 7 He healed a person whose was paralyzed.

Matthew 9:8 Now when the multitudes saw it, they marveled and glorified God, who had given such power to men.

Many people wanted to be with Him to see the wonderful things He was doing. Verse 10 says tax collectors and sinners sat with Him to eat. In verse 18 a ruler interrupted Jesus while He was talking to ask Him to come raise his daughter from the dead. On His way to the ruler’s house, as the crowd pressed in on Him, a sick woman touched Him. He took time to talk with her and heal her of her infirmity.

After He raised the ruler’s daughter from the dead, two blind men followed Him. He touched them and gave them their sight. Then people brought a mute who was demon possessed to Him. He cast out the demon and the person spoke for the first time.

Matthew 9:35-36 sums up how Jesus felt for people.

Matthew 9:35-36 35 Then Jesus went about all the cities and villages, teaching in their synagogues, preaching the gospel of the kingdom, and healing every sickness and every disease among the people.  36 But when He saw the multitudes, He was moved with compassion for them, because they were weary and scattered, like sheep having no shepherd.

Jesus was very popular. People wanted to be around Him. They wanted to hear His teachings and preaching. They wanted to experience His miracles and healings. We see in verse 36 how He felt about those people. He was moved with compassion for them. He saw them as sheep needing a shepherd. This is why He gave His disciples a new commandment.

John 13:34 A new commandment I give to you, that you love one another; as I have loved you, that you also love one another.

We are told that as we serve Christ in expressing peace and joy to our fellow man, God accepts us and men approve of our actions. Romans 14 tells us to chase after or hunt for things that make for peace and build others up.

Romans 14:17-19 17 for the kingdom of God is not eating and drinking, but righteousness and peace and joy in the Holy Spirit. 18 For he who serves Christ in these     things is acceptable to God and approved by men. 19 Therefore let us pursue the things which make for peace and the things by which one may edify another.

Remember, He is in us and His Spirit flows through us. People always reacted to Him. Do others want to be around us because the peace and joy of Jesus is so apparent in our lives?

Acts 3:6-8 6 Then Peter said, “Silver and gold I do not have, but what I do have I give you: In the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, rise up and walk.” 7 And he took him by the right hand and lifted him up, and immediately his feet and ankle bones received strength. 8 So he, leaping up, stood and walked and entered the temple with them — walking, leaping, and praising God.

Let me ask you something. Do people leap for joy when we meet them? Or do they leap up to run in another direction? People should notice a difference in us. They should notice something within us that makes them want to be around us.

Jesus is in us. Letting Him work through our lives as we rest in Him will bring His fruit out in us. The more we understand that His grace is a free gift to us for our benefit, the more we will want to submit to Him, the more we will want to commune with Him, the more we will want to worship Him, and the more we will be like Him.  The more we let Him fill us with His love, His mercy and His grace, the more we will reflect those characteristics to the people around us.

Focus on Jesus today!

In Proverb 4, we are told to keep our heart. The word “to keep” in this verse means to guard, so we are instructed to guard our heart.

Proverbs 4:23-27 23 (NKJV) Keep your heart with all diligence, For out of it spring the issues of life. 24 Put away from you a deceitful mouth, And put perverse lips far from you. 25 Let your eyes look straight ahead, And your eyelids look right before you. 26 Ponder the path of your feet, And let all your ways be established. 27 Do not turn to the right or the left; Remove your foot from evil.

Notice in this passage, it is you who are told to keep or guard your heart. Also notice the commands in verses 24 through 27. They tell you to “Put away, keep from, look straight ahead, fix gaze, make level, take only, do not swerve, and again, keep from.” We are told: do this, or don’t do that, do, don’t do, do, don’t do; it is all about working to keep from sinning! We are constantly thinking about the sins so that we won’t commit them. These commands are good things. There is nothing wrong with these commands. But all these commands keep us thinking about not doing those wrong things. As Isaiah said in Isaiah 28:

Isaiah 28:13 (NIV) So then, the word of the Lord to them will become: Do and do, do and do, rule on rule, rule on rule; a little here, a little there —so that they will go and fall backward, be injured and snared and captured.

Verse 25 of Proverbs 4 says, “Let your eyes look straight ahead, fix your gaze directly before you.” Keep your eyes straight ahead. You do not want to step in the wrong place or go in the wrong direction. Notice you are constantly looking down, focused on the path before you.

But in Hebrews we are told to look up; to fix our eyes on Jesus.

Hebrews 12:2 (NKJV) looking unto Jesus, the author and finisher of our faith, who for the joy that was set before Him endured the cross, despising the shame, and has sat down at the right hand of the throne of God.

So, what is the difference between Proverbs 4 and Hebrews 12? Calvary is the difference. Jesus endured the cross. He put away our sins that we might live in victory! Now, we are encouraged to focus on Him. We are encouraged to follow in His steps.

1 Peter 2:21 (NKJV) For to this you were called, because Christ also suffered for us, leaving us an example, that you should follow His steps:

When we look up to Jesus, we will find the peace of God guarding our hearts AND our minds.

Philippians 4:6-7 6 Be anxious for nothing, but in everything by prayer and supplication, with thanksgiving, let your requests be made known to God; 7 and the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus. 

We don’t need to worry or be anxious. We just take our requests to God. Then, through Christ Jesus, the peace of God guards not only our heart but our mind as well.

As we do as Paul instructed in Philippians 4, we are resting in Jesus. We are thinking about Jesus. Our focus, our gaze is now on Jesus and His goodness. Now, our attention is totally changed from the works of sin consciousness to thinking on the goodness of Jesus. That is being Christ consciousness. Then our hearts will overflow with His goodness:

Luke 6:45 A good man out of the good treasure of his heart brings forth good; and an evil man out of the evil treasure of his heart brings forth evil. For out of the abundance of the heart his mouth speaks.

And what is the effect of Christ consciousness? Look at what James had to say about it:

James 3:18 Now the fruit of righteousness is sown in peace by those who make peace. 

When we believe on Jesus, when we think on Him, when we rest in Him, when we trust in Him, we have a right relationship with Abba, our Father. No longer do we have to guard our own heart. Our Father’s peace, that is the peace that is beyond our understanding, now guards our hearts, guards our minds and we are at rest in Him.

Psalm 91 has long been known as the Psalm of Protection because of the many protections the Lord has promised. Every one of the verses of Psalm 91 carry a wonderful promise to us as believers. But today let’s focus on verses 14 through 16. Let’s read:

Psalms 91:14-16 (NKJV)14 “Because he has set his love upon Me, therefore I will deliver him; I will set him on high, because he has known My name. 15 He shall call upon Me, and I will answer him; I will be with him in trouble; I will deliver him and honor him. 16 With long life I will satisfy him, And show him My salvation.”

If we had time to read all the verses of Psalm 91 you would notice that in the first 13 verses of this Psalm the promises of protection are told by the author to someone. But notice in the last three verses it is God speaking to His people. Now notice the subject matter of these three verses. It is all about a deep relationship between God and us. He is content to let the author tell someone about His promises of safety and security. But when the subject of love and relationships is brought up, He desires to speak directly to us.

From the very beginning in Genesis, we are told the story of God wanting to commune with His people. He still demonstrates that intense desire to be in a relationship with us today. Actually you could say that His love affair with us started even earlier than Genesis.

Ephesians 1:4 just as He chose us in Him before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and without blame before Him in love,

He loves us so much that He raised us up with him. The Lord says, “I will lift him out of reach of his enemies and honor him.” God has lifted us above the reach of our enemies. He has set us in a place of honor with Jesus at the right hand of the Father. We are told that in Ephesians:

Ephesians 2:6 and raised us up together, and made us sit together in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus,

Ephesians 1:20-21 20 which He worked in Christ when He raised Him from the dead and seated Him at His right hand in the heavenly places, 21 far above all principality and power and might and dominion, and every name that is named, not only in this age but also in that which is to come.

Now look at all these “I wills” that the Lord gives us in verses 14 through 16:

I will deliver him; I will set him on high; I will answer him; I will be with him in trouble;
I will deliver him; I will honor him; I will satisfy him; (with long life), and I will show him My salvation.

These blessings are all promised to the one who loves God and acknowledges His Name. All of these blessings, these “I wills” will follow us. This is an ironclad guarantee from the Lord, Jehovah. “I will do this,” He says. Look at Numbers 23:19:

Numbers 23:19 “God is not a man, that He should lie, Nor a son of man, that He should repent. Has He said, and will He not do? Or has He spoken, and will He not make it good?

God has spoken these promises. He will do them!

One final word we need to look at before we close. That is the final word in Psalm 91: salvation.
God will show us His salvation. The Hebrew meaning goes beyond just salvation, which is to be rescued from punishment. It also means deliverance from distress and/or danger. It also means help and security in time of need. It also carries the meaning of victory and of prosperity. All of those meanings, wrapped up in just one word. In Old Testament Hebrew that word is pronounced “yeshuwah.” In New Testament Greek, that word is pronounced “Jesus.”

Jesus provides us with all of those things. We just keep our eyes focused on Jesus. We follow the Great Shepherd and these blessings of Psalm 91 follow us.