Part
1 of 2
(Ephesians
6:12) “For we do not wrestle
against flesh and blood…”
How often we
overlook this truth in our lives, because something is not physically visible
it is often overlooked. Take a trained government agent and see how they are
trained to process as much information surrounding them at any given time, why?
So that they would have the upper hand at any given moment, we could learn from
them, the more we see and understand the better equipped we will be to handle
the wrestling that takes place in the inner man. The struggles of life often
leave us feeling dejected and we often fall prey to the same traps. Which in
turn condemn us as we yield to the strongholds of sin!
Take today as
an example, now this would now be a very prickly subject, as the day Christmas
is probably the most anticipated holiday for all, especially children. I have vivid
memories as a child of the nights in which I woke up long before the sun showed
itself; only to find the foot of the Christmas tree bare. Restless and disappointed
I would toss and turn unable to sleep and then I would eventually hear my parent’s
door open and see my father lugging presents down the passage. So much for Father
Christmas! The conditioning we and others teach our children is nothing more
than a wicked trap; it is not cute and cuddly to place the Lord Jesus on the
backburner while Father Christmas gets all the glory! What on earth did he ever
have to do with Christmas? No, rather he seems to have everything to do with
Christmas, another lie another lure and the greatest of all acceptable traps.
Let us not taint our glorious Saviours birth by accepting the appendage of
another. Did you know that our great God will not share His glory with another
and why should He? God forbid we ever accommodate that thought.
“For the LORD your God is a consuming fire, a jealous God.” (Deuteronomy 4:24)
Let me roll-play this to highlight the point… The world is at war and
on the brink of destruction, but our leaders have worked out a plan to save
millions and keep our hopes alive. However the only way to do this is to find a
hero that will infiltrate the enemies lair but it will cost him his life, there
is no other way! Someone’s son then volunteers and dies to obtain the
objective, life for so many! With much celebration we as a people will now
continue to live, but that hero is soon forgotten, no, even worse another gets
the glory for his accomplishment. What if that was your son, how would you
feel? Need I say more? If it
is Christmas we choose to celebrate, let us make sure we honour Him and not another.
I have highlighted
but one of these traps that we must become aware of. We must learn although at
times it may be somewhat heavy and cumbersome to speak out against these types
of traps, but then again what about our hero’s sacrifice? Was that easy? No
greater sacrifice can a man give than to lay down his life for another; “but God
shows his love for us in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for
us.” (Romans 5:8)
In today’s day
and age with technology as advanced as it is, our “deception detector” can be
lugged around with ease. Back in the 16th hundreds bibles were an
unseen commodity in the lives of the common man. Today we need not even carry a
paperback; we can readily glimpse at any particular verse at any given time with
the touch of a button. My phone has four different bible translations stored on
it. We are without excuse! We must learn to use God’s Word with skill. There is
an unseen element that is as real as the sun, demonic forces are the enemies of
the cross and their sole objective is to get us to sin and today to forget
Christ’s achievement as we replace it with the likes of Santa Claus and the
giving of gifts, shrouded with love one for another as families come together
is a slap in the face for our Saviour if we forget Him.
(Isaiah
7:14) “Behold, a virgin shall
conceive, and bear a son, and shall call his name Immanuel.”
“Let us to-day go down to Bethlehem, and in
company with wondering shepherds and adoring Magi, let us see him who was born
King of the Jews, for we by faith can claim an interest in him, and can sing,
“Unto us a child is born, unto us a son is given.” Jesus is Jehovah incarnate,
our Lord and our God, and yet our brother and friend; let us adore and admire.
Let us notice at the very first glance his miraculous conception. It was a
thing unheard of before, and unparalleled since, that a virgin should conceive
and bear a Son. The first promise ran thus, “The seed of the woman,” not the
offspring of the man. Since venturous woman led the way in the sin which
brought forth Paradise lost, she, and she alone, ushers in the Regainer of
Paradise. Our Saviour, although truly man, was as to his human nature the Holy
One of God. Let us reverently bow before the holy Child whose innocence
restores to manhood its ancient glory; and let us pray that he may be formed in
us, the hope of glory. Fail not to note his humble parentage. His mother has
been described simply as “a virgin,” not a princess, or prophetess, nor a
matron of large estate. True the blood of kings ran in her veins; nor was her
mind a weak and untaught one, for she could sing most sweetly a song of praise;
but yet how humble her position, how poor the man to whom she stood affianced,
and how miserable the accommodation afforded to the new-born King!
Immanuel, God with us in our nature, in our
sorrow, in our lifework, in our punishment, in our grave, and now with us, or
rather we with him, in resurrection, ascension, triumph, and Second Advent
splendour.” (C.H.Spurgeon)
Signing off
Tyrone
No comments:
Post a Comment