Is Jesus Really the Reason for the Season?

Is Jesus Really the Reason for the Season?

“They say that Jesus is the reason for the season.
Should He not be the reason for our lives?” – Brian Ridgell

From December 14, 2004:

This year as Santa comes strolling into town, he’s got an eye out for those who have been good and those who have been bad. We all know the lyrics, “He’s making a list. He’s checking it twice. He’s gonna find out whose naughty or nice…”

The difference between Santa Clause and God are that Santa only offers his gifts to those who have been good. Now, with this being true, I can understand why no one believes in Santa Clause. He’s never left the North Pole because his list is blank. No one deserves his gifts so we have to go out and buy them for each other.

good - Of moral excellence; upright: a good person.

By God’s standards, no one matches up. We ask ourselves if we have ever stolen, looked upon another in lust, said God’s name in vain, shown ill will towards another, or have broken any of the other commands that God expects us to obey. If you say that you haven’t, you’ve already fallen short of the perfection of God by lying.

The difference between Santa Clause and God are that while no one deserves God’s gift either, he offers it anyway. We are all naughty. In fact, that is the reason God offers His gift. If we weren’t naughty, there would be no reason for His gift, which is salvation through His son Jesus Christ. A lot of us in America know of this free gift, yet we don’t receive it. Receiving a gift means taking it in and making it yours. Jesus doesn’t just want us to know about Him, but to receive Him.

When Jesus was being crucified on the cross, there were two criminals hanging next to Him. Today’s scripture is from the Gospel of Luke. After you read the lines below, take time to listen to the song I have posted on the Psalm 22 website concerning these criminals.

1. http://www.psalm22.net/song2.htm

2. http://www.psalm22.net/song2.mp3

John 23:39-43

39One of the criminals who hung there hurled insults at him: “Aren't you the Christ? Save yourself and us!”

40But the other criminal rebuked him. “Don't you fear God,” he said, “since you are under the same sentence? 41We are punished justly, for we are getting what our deeds deserve. But this man has done nothing wrong.”

42Then he said, “Jesus, remember me when you come into your kingdom.”

43Jesus answered him, “I tell you the truth, today you will be with me in paradise.”

Scott A. Hescht
Psalm 22 Ministries
http://www.psalm22.net

Work for the Lord - the pay isn't much
but the retirement is out of this world!

How to be Miserable

“How to be Miserable” - Author Unknown

Think about yourself. Talk about yourself. Use “I” as often as possible. Mirror yourself continually in the opinion of others. Listen greedily to what people say about you. Expect to be appreciated. Be suspicious. Be jealous and envious. Be sensitive to slights. Never forgive a criticism. Trust nobody but yourself. Insist on consideration and respect. Demand agreement with your own views on everything. Sulk if people are not grateful to you for favors shown them. Never forget a service you have rendered. Shirk your duties if you can. Do as little as possible for others.

“How Not to be Miserable”

According to the Apostle Paul

Philippians 2:3 (ESV)
Do nothing from rivalry or conceit, but in humility count others more significant than yourselves.

According to the Jesus

Luke 9:23 (ESV)
And he (Jesus) said to all, "If anyone would come after me, let him deny himself and take up his cross daily and follow me.”

John 13:12-17 (ESV)
When he (Jesus) had washed their feet and put on his outer garments and resumed his place, he said to them, "Do you understand what I have done to you? You call me Teacher and Lord, and you are right, for so I am. If I then, your Lord and Teacher, have washed your feet, you also ought to wash one another's feet. For I have given you an example, that you also should do just as I have done to you. Truly, truly, I say to you, a servant is not greater than his master, nor is a messenger greater than the one who sent him. If you know these things, blessed are you if you do them.

Scott A. Hescht
Psalm 22 Ministries
http://www.psalm22.net

Work for the Lord - the pay isn't much
but the retirement is out of this world!

Salvation Part 3: Glorification

Glorification
“Free from the presence of sin.”
"Eye has not seen, nor ear heard, Nor have entered into the heart of man The things which God has prepared for those who love Him."
- 1 Cor.2:9

When I was a kid I thought Bruce Lee was the most amazing man on the planet. He could move faster, hit harder, and kick higher than anyone else who would dare challenge him, and what was truly awe inspiring was the cool attitude he had while doing the seemingly impossible. I wanted to be like him so badly I could almost taste it. I took martial arts training. I practiced. I stretched. I practiced. I did push-ups. And yes, I practiced some more. I got to where I could move kind of fast, hit pretty hard and kick reasonably high. In fact, I could do those things better than many of my peers . . . but I was no Bruce Lee. No matter how hard I tried, that was out of my reach. Perhaps if I had trained for years and dedicated myself to that one goal maybe, just maybe, I could have achieved it, but I doubt it. There was only one Bruce Lee . . . and I’m not him.

These days I find myself striving to be like someone else and if you think Bruce Lee’s moves were lofty goals, my current goal is even more elusive. Now, I want to be like Jesus. I want to walk in his perfection, unaffected by the world and its cares. I want to be holy as He is holy. I want to love as He loves. I want to fulfill all that it means to be a man of righteousness. I’ve been striving for that goal for eighteen years. It has been an obsession with me virtually everyday of those eighteen years. Am I better? Yes. Have I achieved that goal? No. I’m not even close. I still struggle with fleshly attitudes and sinful behaviors. Why? Because I still live in my earthly body with all of it’s frailties and faults. Paul addressed this in Romans 7:18 where he writes, “For I know that in me (that is, in my flesh) nothing good dwells; for to will is present with me, but how to perform what is good I do not find.” (NKJV) The entire chapter from which this verse is drawn is a discussion of the struggle of a believer to live and do right while the flesh is still alive and well. This what makes glorification so glorious.

Glorification is the perfect conformity of the believer to the image of Jesus Christ at the final resurrection. In other words it is the completion of the work of God in the believer. Simply put, I will one day achieve my goal of being just like Jesus. As we’ve already discussed in previous articles, we were justified; we are being sanctified; but one day we will be glorified. One commentator said this, “Glorification is the ultimate salvation of the whole person. This occurs when we are face to face with our Savior in His coming kingdom. At that time, God will completely mold us into the image of Christ (Ro.8:29, 30; Phil. 3:21). Then we will be able to enjoy complete fellowship with God, singing His praises forever.”

Glorification will take place at the resurrection. At that time those who are dead in Christ will be reunited with their bodies, which be a glorified version of the old man. Our glorified bodies will enable us to be just like Jesus. There will be no more battles with sin. There will be no more struggles with temptation. We will be finally free to serve God and love Him without hindrance or hesitation. Paul writes of this in anticipation in Romans 8:23, “we ourselves groan within ourselves, eagerly waiting for the adoption, the redemption of our body.”

Hymn writer, Jim Hill, sums up the satisfaction of this much anticipated ‘redemption of our body’ in the hymn What a Day That Will Be:

There is coming a day when no heartaches shall come
No more clouds in the sky, no more tears to dim the eye.
All is peace forevermore on that happy golden shore,
What a day, glorious day that will be.

Chorus
What a day that will be when my Jesus I shall see,
And I look upon His face,
The One who saved me by His grace;
When He takes me by the hand
And leads me through the Promised Land,
What a day, glorious day that will be.
There'll be no sorrow there, no more burdens to bear,
No more sickness, no pain, no more parting over there;
And forever I will be with the One who died for me,
What a day, glorious day that will be.

Chorus
What a day that will be when my Jesus I shall see,
And I look upon His face,
The One who saved me by His grace;
When He takes me by the hand
And leads me through the Promised Land,
What a day, glorious day that will be.
What a day, glorious day that will be!

Until the day of our ultimate glorification may our hearts echo the words of another Christian song writer who penned the words:
In my life, Lord, be glorified, be glorified.
In my life, Lord, be glorified today.

Pastor Kenny Ballard
http://www.freedomfellowship.info
Psalm 22 Ministries
http://www.psalm22.net