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Incarnation Begins With “I”

‘Tis the season. Christmas is upon us. And if we are not careful it would be easy to lose sight of what Christmas is all about.  Bottom line – Christmas is about the incarnation. Now that’s just a fancy shmancy word which means that God took on flesh and became a man – in the person of Jesus. Jesus Christ is God incarnate. God knew that the only way a lost and dying world was going to fully understand how great His love was was to show them up close and in person.

The same is true today. The only difference is that He chooses to show the world how great His love is through His children. WE are to incarnate the gospel to the world around us. People should be able to look at our lives and catch a pretty good glimpse of the nature and character of God. So when I say that incarnation begins with “I”, I mean that it begins with me – and it begins with you. Here are a few specific ways  for you to think on about how incarnation begins with “I”.

Ignorant of sin – Jesus walked through this world confronted daily with opportunities to sin and yet chose not to sin. He lived a holy life. His holiness pointed people to God. In the same way, when we choose to be ignorant of sin – not falling prey to temptation – our lives can point people to God as they see a life of faith and integrity being lived out.

Illuminates the darkness – Jesus came to be “the Light of the World.” We also are to let our lights so shine that the world will see our good deeds and give glory to our Father in heaven. As we illuminate the dark places around us the world will be able to see Jesus shining through us and the darkness will have no choice but to retreat.

Identifies with those who are helpless and hurting – It seems like everywhere Jesus went He met people who had desperate needs and huge hurts. He took the time to touch their lives whether it was through a word of hope or act of healing. We are called to incarnate Christ in similar ways as we reach out to those who are helpless and hurting in real and practical ways.

Initiates forgiveness – The greatest spiritual need we have as humans is for forgiveness. This is what Jesus came into the world to address. He came to reconcile  sinful people to a holy God and rebuild the relationship that had been destroyed when we willingly and deliberately turned away from God. We, as God’s children who enjoy His forgiveness, are called to be agents of reconciliation offering Gods’ free gift of forgiveness to a spiritually destitute world. We have the message that people need to hear – the gospel of a forgiving God who yearns for people to turn back to Him and experience amazing grace and abundant life.

Illustrates servanthood – Jesus himself said, “I did not come into the world to be served but to serve.” As we take up the mantle of servanthood, putting aside our rights and desires to have others serve us, then the world will see a visible demonstration of what it means to know Christ.

Intercedes for others – Scripture records numerous instances where Jesus engages the Father in prayer on behalf of the people He connected with. His example should be motivation for us to do the same. God chooses to use the prayers of His people to provoke His hand to work and His heart to save those we are connected to. Lack of prayer on our behalf indicates unbelief and effectually says to God, “I don’t need you. I can get through this life on my own.”

A few years ago I shared the words to a song I wrote in a message I preached about the incarnation. Enjoy and don’t forget that not only does incarnation begin with “I” but it also begins with you!!!

The Word Became Flesh

The Word became flesh and lived for awhile
In a world plagued with sorrow and sin
The Magnificent Son, The Most Holy One
Was determined the plaque had to end.

The Word became flesh as the Father revealed
All His love in the life of His Son
His Manifest grace must have felt out of place
When He saw what the devil had done.

(chorus)

The Word became flesh as God testified
To the truth that had never been heard.
The Savior appeared, God spoke loud and clear
Through the voice of His Incarnate Word.

The Word became flesh as the Father set fort
To give freedom to all who were bound.
Hope was restored, though God’s Word was ignored
When a cross took the place of a crown.

The Word became flesh leaving heaven behind
Giving up all the honor He had.
“Abba Father” He cried, as He suffered and died
I now know what makes You so mad.

(chorus)

One of my favorite cartoonists is Scott Hilborn who publishes “The Argyle Sweater”  comic strip. You have probably noticed some of these popping up in my posts.I came across this one the other day and it reminded me of the story of the dung beetle (order: coleoptera, family: scarabaeidea). Quite fascinating, albeit pretty gross.

The dung beetle it would seem has one purpose in life: to collect dung. When they come upon a pile of dung they begin creating dung balls which they roll away from the pile to keep their property from being plundered by other beetles. They can roll dung balls up to 50 times their weight. Beetles generally work as couples. Usually it is the male that rolls the ball, with the female hitch-hiking or simply following behind. In some cases the male and the female roll together. When a spot with soft soil is found, they stop and bury the dung ball. They will then mate underground. After the mating, both or one of them will prepare the ball as a birthing bed. When the ball is finished, the female lays eggs inside it. When the eggs hatch, they feed on the dung.

So what life lessons are to be learned from these interesting creatures. Here are a few that come to mind:

1) Like the dung beetle, are we fulfilling the purpose that God has created us for – with as much diligence and tenacity?

2) And like the dung beetle, are we investing our lives in the collection of  “dung” – stuff that really isn’t worth a poop.

3) Are we willing to share our “dung piles” with others – the stuff that we have worked so hard for – or do we hide it away for our own enjoyment only?

4) What do we hunger for – dung and more dung? Or do we hunger for the kind of food that will feed our souls?

Paul said this in Philippians 3:8: “I consider everything a loss compared to the surpassing greatness of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord, for whose sake I have lost all things. I consider them like dung (literally this is what the Greek says) that I may gain Christ and be found in Him…”

(If interested in how this really works for the dung beetle then check out this You Tube Video)

Shalom is often translated “Peace”. But it’s meaning is much broader than just peace. Here are a few ways that the word is used in Scripture. You will get a feel for the richness of the word as you read it in context.

In 1 Kings 2:13, when Bathsheba asked Adonijah, “Is your coming shalom?”, she was not asking if he had come peacefully. Rather, she was asking if he had come with friendly intent. Although he answered, shalom, he was lying. Even though he did not come in war, he did not come with friendly intent, but rather with treachery in his heart.

In 2 Kings 4:26,  the Shunamite woman was asked by Elisha’s servant if it was well with her, her husband and child. In the original Hebrew text the question was simply, “Do you have shalom?” It would be like asking someone today “How are you doing”.

in Judges 11:31, Jephthah tragically vowed that if he returned from the battle “in shalom,” that he would sacrifice to the Lord the first living thing that came out of his house to meet him. Shalom here is used with the same meaning as in Isaiah 41:3, “He pursues them, advancing in shalom (the NIV translates this “unscathed”)

And check out Isaiah 52:7, ” How beautiful on the mountains are the feet of those who bring shalom.” Sound familiar. Paul references this verse in Romans 10:15. We often hear it translated “good news.”

Isaiah 9:6 – “And He will be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Shalom.”

With those verses in mind, I will leave you with this blessing. And the next time you see me instead of saying “Hey man”, or “What’s up”, or “How you doing”, or “Dude” – just say “Shalom my friend!” and I will know exactly what you mean.

Numbers 6:24-26 – “The Lord bless you and keep you; the Lord make His face shine upon you; the lord turn His face toward you and give you SHALOM.”

Probably most of you know that I am Jewish by birth. It is a part of my spiritual heritage that I am very proud of. Around the office I am affectionately called ‘The Rabbi” – and on my business cards under the title Executive Pastor I have put “Resident Rabbi”. If you’ve ever called me at church and been diverted to my voice mail then you have heard me end my greeting with “Shalom.” It is one of the great words of the Hebrew language. Here are a few things for you to know about what is meant by the word.

1) First of all it is one of the names of God. Here’s an excerpt from another blog I found that does a great job of detailing the story of Gideon – who referred to God as Jehovah-Shalom (Judges 6):

Gideon had only one thing going for him: God called him. God addressed him this way: “The Lord is with you, you mighty man of valor!” (Judges 6:12) There was nothing in the natural to suggest that this was true. Gideon replies back to the Lord; “O my Lord, how can I save Israel? Indeed my clan is the weakest in Manasseh, and I am the least in my father’s house.” (Judges 6:15) He was just being honest. It sounds like Gideon was more realistic than the Lord in his self appraisal. In fact, when God appeared to him he was threshing wheat in secret inside a winepress so as not to be observed and possibly attacked by the Midianites who were riding roughshod all over Israel.

God saw Gideon differently than Gideon saw himself. God saw the secret weapon with which he had equipped Gideon: HIMSELF. God said; “Surely I will be with you, and you shall defeat the Midianites as one man.” (Judges 6:16) Oh my goodness, the stark terror that Gideon must have felt at that moment! I know I would have wanted to go running in the opposite direction with my ears covered. Probably as a delay tactic, Gideon asked for a sign about who was really speaking to him and then begged to prepare a meal for his guest. He probably hoped no one would be there when he got back with the meat and bread.

But God was still there, waiting, when Gideon returned. The Lord told him to lay the meal on a rock as an offering and pour the broth over it. Then God touched the sacrifice with the staff in his hand “and fire rose out of the rock and consumed the meat and the unleavened bread.” (Judges 6:21) Then he disappeared. Now Gideon understood beyond all doubt that he had been talking face to face with Jehovah. That scared him worse than what God was calling him to do.

So the Lord said to Gideon, “Peace be with you; do not fear, you shall not die.” And then Gideon built an alter in that place and called it THE-LORD-IS-PEACE: Jehovah-Shalom. Why did the Lord reveal himself as PEACE at that time? Why not “The Lord is Courage” or “The Lord is Strength”? I think it is because the Lord’s peace is so profound that it overcomes every other consideration. Peace was the real thing that Gideon needed. Peace is the real thing each of us needs when we are up against the wall.

Very very true don’t you think? In my next post I’ll talk a bit more about this incredible word. In the meantime…. “Shalom” – or as we like to say in the South… “Shalom ya’ll”!!

I’ve been a fan of The Far Side cartoons for a long time. Of course the question behind the question in this cartoon is “Why did the chicken cross the road?” But what if it was me standing there instead of the chicken – what would MY question be? Here are a few that came to mind as I started pondering on this:

• Why should I seek to live a holy and blameless life?
• Why should I work at developing an intimate relationship With God?
• Why should the motivation of everything I do be “will this be pleasing to the Lord?”
• Why should I very loosely hold on to the material possessions that I have and presently enjoy?
• Why should I be intentional about serving others and living a sacrificial life?
• Why should the advance of the gospel be the focus of my ministry?

So why do I need a reason to do any of these things? The reason has already been given. Christ gave his life as a ransom to pay a debt that I could not pay on  my own. Were it not for His sacrificial death on the cross I would be doomed to live a life without an eternal purpose and doomed to die without knowing the One who created me and rescued me. However, because of what He has done for me I am destined for “the other side” and that is reason enough. The only real question at this point is “Will I be a chicken… or will I be a courageous servant of the Most High God?”