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Prince of Peace

Uncle Luther — Mon, 10 Dec 2007 14:48:00 +0000

Hurry! All the big Christmas sales start today. We have to wake up, get dressed, and go. We have to snag that $300 laptop, those 50 percent off shoes, we must have all those outfits that are discounted, and if we get there early enough, we’ll get free holiday knickknack’s at some of the stores.

Hurry up so we can go and wait in the parking lot. Oh, and when those doors open, run fast. We don’t want to get trampled by the other shoppers. Once we get in, we will shop and shop and shop until our arms can’t hold anymore and we’ve maxed out our credit cards.

Prince of Peace.

There are so many Christmas parties to go to this year. It seems like there are more each year. By mid-October every Saturday in December was already booked. We still have to decide when to have our party. Do we work it in 2 days before Christmas when everyone is out of town, or do we do it super-early, say the first week of December? And what happens when Aunt Harriet decides she wants to have her Christmas party and it conflicts with Cousin Gretchen’s? Oh look, another invitation. We have some really difficult choices to make.

Prince of Peace.

This is a mess. If I spend $50 for mom’s gift, dad will notice that I only spent $30 on his. And if I spend more than $25 on the parents, I’ll need to spend at least that for Grandma, but she has everything. Then there are my two brothers. Pete might get offended if I give him one gift and then give Jim two, but I just bought Pete and his wife tickets to a football game two weeks ago. I hope he remembers. I’d really hate to hurt him, and I don’t want to know what that’s going to look like to Mom. She’s still mad about last year’s gifts. Then there’s Uncle Jack. I have to make up for getting him the same thing two years in a row or he might exclude our entire branch of the family tree from his will. I don’t care about it, but dad is concerned.

Prince of Peace.

How am I going to do this? If I get each of my three children the top thing on each of their Christmas lists, I’m going to spend $700, just on one gift for each. They still believe in Santa Claus, so I can’t explain that they each only got one gift because I’ve been unemployed for three months and the finances are tight. I really can’t even afford to give them the top item on their lists, but I can’t stand to see them disappointed. Oh well… Mastercard will have a good year, even if I don’t.

Prince of Peace.

This seating arrangement is killing me. If I sit mom next to Uncle Erwin, things could get dicey, and there’s a slight chance of physical violence. But if I move Uncle Erwin, he will either be across from Kyle, and his foul language could become a problem for an 8-year-old, or he will be across from Uncle Joey who can’t stand the sight of him. Maybe we’ll just eat on the couches this year.

Price of Peace.

Well, looks like the old artificial tree is ready for the junk heap. I guess I’ll have to pack the family into the Impala and pick out a real tree this year. But I really don’t have time for this. It’s already 2 weeks before Christmas, and I haven’t been able to decorate anything on the house. I haven’t checked the lights, so I don’t know how many strands I’ll have to replace. I have to go re-arrange the attic, and take everything out of it since the Christmas stuff is in the back. Then, we’ll have to go buy supplies for the party we’re hosting on Saturday. I have less than a week to completely decorate the house, fix everything that’s broken, and give the entire house a good scrubbing before guests arrive at 7 p.m. Saturday night. I guess I can do it, if I don’t sleep.

Prince of Peace.

“She gave birth to her first son, wrapped him in cloths and laid him in a manger—there was no room for them to stay in the inn. There were some shepherds in that part of the country who were spending the night in the fields, taking care of their flocks. An angel of the Lord appeared to them, and the glory of the Lord shone over them. They were terribly afraid, but the angel said to them, ‘Don’t be afraid! I am here with good news for you, which will bring great joy to all the people. This very day in David’s town your Savior was born—Christ the Lord! And this is what will prove it to you: you will find a baby wrapped in cloths and lying in a manger.’ Suddenly a great army of heaven’s angels appeared with the angel, singing praises to God: ‘Glory to God in the highest heaven, and peace on earth to those with whom he is pleased!’” (Luke 2:7-14 Good News Bible)

Prince of Peace.

Mighty God

Uncle Luther — Thu, 27 Sep 2007 05:35:00 +0000

Most of us can accept that a man will be born who will be called Wonderful Counselor. Many of us, could probably think of people in our lives to whom we could ascribe that title. But when Isaiah says the Messiah will be called “Mighty God,” he has added a new wrinkle that most people, particularly religious people have a hard time accepting. A man will be born, a flesh and blood human being, will be called Mighty God. Think about your circle of friends. You may have several wonderful counselors, but would you say that any of your friends and associates would fit the description Mighty God? You might know a few people who think they themselves fit this description, but others probably aren’t convinced.

The idea of calling another human being a Mighty God, is repulsive and backwards to most people. Two out of the world’s three largest religions reject the idea of Jesus of Nazareth being the Messiah because He and His followers claimed He was God. It is not something we expect or can fathom. So why would anyone believe it? Why would someone willingly choose to ascribe this identity to another man?

I’m not talking theology here. It’s not my intent to get into Jesus being fully man while at the same time fully God. I want to look at the actions of Jesus that would cause us to identify Him with the description given in Isaiah. What did Jesus do that makes some from his time and some from our time feel comfortable calling Him “Mighty God?”

If we really look at it, Jesus earns this particular name through his miracles, his forgiveness and through his resurrection.

HIS MIRACLES: Being 2,000 years removed from the events that occurred during Christ’s life, we tend to glaze over the miracles He performed as though they were fairy tales. But to those who were at the center of these well-known stories, the might of God would have been almost unmistakable.

Ask Jairus’ daughter whose hand touched her and rescued her from death, and she would tell you it could be none other than the hand of God. Ask the lepers what brought them from outcasts to spotless, and they would tell you it was the presence of God. Ask the blind man who opened his eyes, and he would tell you it was the source of light. Or, ask a crowd of 5,000 hungry men on a hillside who provided dinner, and they would say the Bread of Life.

Jesus’ miracles set Him apart, and while they didn’t on their own prove that He was God, they showed that His power could come only from God. His works were mighty.

HIS FORGIVENESS: God alone can forgive sins. This is what got Jesus in trouble on several occasions. He would tell people their sins were forgiven and the religious leaders of the day would say, “Where does he get the authority to forgive sins?” Being God, of course, He would have a right to, but let’s look at the personal end of this. Think about the people who would have seen the might of God through Christ’s acts of forgiveness.

Picture the woman who interrupted dinner at Simon’s house. Jesus forgave her sins, and she washed His feet with her hair. The religious among them scoffed, but Jesus reminded them that those who have been forgiven more are much more grateful. The woman was someone the aforementioned religious leaders would never consider forgiving, and if they had any idea she would be joining them in Heaven, they would have gladly chosen hell just to avoid her. Jesus, the only one at the table who had the right to condemn her, forgave her in full for transgressions no man would forgive her for.

The next person I want you to look at is not someone who interrupted a party, but someone who came late for one. He is a thief, a man condemned to death on a cross. He’s guilty and he knows it. He has done absolutely nothing in his life that could redeem himself, and he feels the emptiness and pain of the death that comes after a wasted life. The guy on the cross next to him, is about to change his life and his death. He asks Jesus for forgiveness and eternity. Jesus gives it to Him, no questions asked. Society couldn’t forgive the thief, but Jesus showed mercy times ten.

No one knows the might and the power of forgiveness more than those who have seen true forgiveness with no strings attached. Were you to ask these two broken people, they would tell you that the forgiveness they received was an act of love from a mighty God.

HIS RESURRECTION: On the basis of this, and this alone, Jesus is worthy of the moniker ascribed to Him by Isaiah. If a man who claims to be God, starts walking around three days after several witnesses saw him die, there is an overwhelming chance that the claims of divinity and any other claims made by that person are true. How many dead guys do you see up and walking around? What would you think if you saw one? This, more than anything else, seals the deal, and it is the very thing that made the disciples finally “get” who Jesus was.

Before that, they could see Him as Messiah, they could call Him a Prophet, they knew Him as a miracle worker, and they knew He made some bizarre claims about being equal to God, but it isn’t likely that they bought into his claims fully. You wouldn’t either. If one of your buddies started going around claiming to be God, you would either be preparing the straight jacket, or you might think, “Yeah, Josh is a great guy, and I really like him, but he’s got this weird quirk…” Now, if Josh rose from the dead, you would take that “weird quirk” as gospel, and that’s exactly what the disciples did.

Thomas is the perfect illustration of this. When told that Jesus was up and walking around, Thomas said “show me.” Jesus showed up and offered his hands and side for examination, and Thomas immediately fell to his knees and said, “My Lord, and my God!” There was no question about Christ’s identity after that.

Why would someone call a man “Mighty God?” If this man heals you when no one else can, if He forgives you when no one else will, and if He qualifies all of that by reviving Himself from death, how can you not have the same reaction as Thomas. “My Lord and my God! You are good and you are Mighty!”

We All Need Help

Uncle Luther — Sun, 05 Aug 2007 05:02:00 +0000

Why are Christians so phony? A Google search on “Wonderful Counselor,” one of the names given to Christ in Isaiah, will turn up a few song lyrics and a couple of sermons, but on the whole there doesn’t seem to be a great body of work available on the Internet about this particular name.

What does that have to do with being phony? Take a look at modern-day Christianity. The name of the game is image. Look happy… no, better yet, look joyful. Pretend like you don’t have any problems, even though your struggles may be so evident that everyone you come in contact with knows you are severely flawed. Be strong. Telling people about your problems might hurt your witness. Outwardly, we create this appearance of joy and thankfulness– or of righteousness even– but inwardly we’re dying for something that will ease the pain we try to hide.

We don’t talk much about gluttony or materialism or greed or racism or hatred or lustful thoughts. Instead, we pick on other people’s issues. Smoking, drinking, prostitution and drugs, we feel safe condemning those things, especially if they aren’t sins we struggle with. If they are, we pretend and plea the fifth.

Christians are often the first to talk about moral decline and breakdown in the family. We’re really good at criticizing divorce and judging adulterers. But if we’d step away from the pulpit and look in the mirror, the reality is more then 50 percent of Christian marriages end in divorce too.

We’re phony. That’s why you don’t hear many people in the church talking about Jesus as the wonderful counselor that Scripture tells us He is. To talk about Him in this role is to admit one needs to be counseled.

It’s OK, really. Jesus gave counsel all the time. He counseled a woman at a well in Samaria, He counseled a Pharisee named Nicodemus and a tax collector named Levi. He offered assurance to a thief on a cross, and told a denier named Peter there was a bigger plan, and everything would be alright.

The flaws of the very people Christ came to save were not hidden in the Bible. James and John had some major anger problems. Matthew was a thief who betrayed his own people. Thomas struggled with doubt and Peter with denial. Paul was a persecutor and a murderer. Then there is Jesus. The wonderful counselor who came to show them the way.

The message of Scripture isn’t to suck it up and put on a mask. It isn’t to be strong. The message is that we are broken and we need help. We need a counselor, and not only do we need one, we need Him to be wonderful. We need him to be supernatural. We need God in the flesh. God knows we’re broken, and our brothers and sisters in Christ need to realize it and accept it as well.

If we’re not broken, we don’t need Jesus, and if we don’t need Jesus we can all sleep in on Sundays. Jesus is our healer, and that applies to emotional wounds as well. If you’re hurting, Jesus loves you and grieves with you. If you’re abused, you can bring that to Him. If you’ve been through a divorce and you just can’t shake the loneliness and the bitterness and you’re tired of forcing a smile, God understands your need. That’s why He promised a Wonderful Counselor more than 700 years before that counselor showed up.

Run to the counselor. He sure did come a long way to help you.

Immanuel: God With Us

Uncle Luther — Sun, 29 Jul 2007 04:26:00 +0000

Immanuel. In Hebrew it means “God With Us.” (“El,” means God and Immanu means “with us.”) It is a name we don’t invoke often. In most cases, pastors pull out this name and dust it off every year at Christmas, and we talk about the birth of Christ and the Christmas star, and the wise men and the promise made in the Old Testament being fulfilled. After Christmas, we go on about our lives and we don’t often think about the implications of Christ’s arrival. The name Immanuel, given only twice, once in Isaiah, and once in Matthew, compels us to focus on those implications.

“His name shall be called Immanuel.” If Isaiah had written that in modern day English, it would read, “He will be called God among us.” This revelation, given 700 years before Christ, was unfathomable to its hearers. Even today, people have a difficult time accepting this idea that God who created the universe would actually become a man and walk among us. When Jesus came, the religious leaders accused him of blasphemy for claiming to fulfill this prophecy.

The prophecy, found in Isaiah 7:14, sets this child apart from others. It signifies that there is something inherently different about this baby. This child will not be your ordinary human, this unique child will one day be called God. He will be the Almighty clothed in the flesh and blood of a mortal man.

The idea of God With Us, while unbelievable, is not unheard of. God was with us once before. At the dawn of creation, in a garden that He planted, God walked among the first two members of the human family. Creator and creation were together and the world was for a brief season the way it should be.

The sin of Adam and Eve created a chasm between us and God, it drove us away from God, in such a way that no act of man could ever bring us back into His presence. God was with us in the beginning before sin entered the garden, and at the moment of our sin, God promised He would one day be with us again, that the offspring of the woman would crush the head of the serpent.

God didn’t demand that we come to Him. Instead, He promised that He would return to give us freedom from the sin we invited into the world. For us to be with God, we would have to be righteous. We would have to go to a righteous and perfect place. We would have to do something that we are not capable of doing. But for God to be with us, it means God would have to traverse the chasm and come into our sin. The Holy of Holies would have to put Himself into a world infected with a curse. The strongest being in the universe would have to enter our weak and pathetic state to make it possible for us to come home.

That’s the spiritual reality of the name Immanuel, but there are also physical realities behind this concept. The hands that worked in his earthly father’s carpentry shop would have had real finger prints at their tips. The feet that walked the desert sand would have left real footprints. The man who claimed to posses divinity would have a real impact on the world.

The “great physician” who laid his hands on those whom he healed, would carry the physical touch of God. When He cried in Gethsemane, the tears were real, not mythical. God cried real tears. God felt real pain. The blood that was shed on that cross was pumping through the veins of the very one who initiated all sacrifices. The heart that was pierced was the heart of the Master. God left the world of “spirituality” and “philosophy” and entered our physical reality. He became flesh and blood. He was just as real as you and me. The one who hovered over the waters in the beginning of time walked thousands of miles across desert terrain He is no longer the voice on the mountain top, the writing on the tablets or the source of a divine message. He is the God who bridged the gap between Heaven and earth and touched His creation.

But we can’t stop at the reality of Christ’s incarnation. “God With Us” is just as important to us today, as it is in Scripture. The name Immanuel is not just a commentary on the incarnation. Because God does not change, the Immanuel of scripture is the God who is with us still. God is with us in our day to day struggles and in our triumphs. He is with you at work, He is with you when you are at home, He is with you when you sin and He is with you when you ask forgiveness. The gap has been bridged, and the God who entered the world 2,000 years ago as a carpenter, enters the everyday life of His people today.

God is among us. He is among us in His church and through His people. He is among us through the gentle leading of the Holy Spirit. He is with us through His Word, and He is with us through our prayers. This is not a distant God who waits for you to mess up and punishes you heftily for it. This is the God who saw you mess up and came to pay your debt. This is the God who has a name and who had a physical appearance, who talked about love and called His followers friends. This is the God who bridged the gap. “God With Us” made it possible for us to be with God.