Luke 2:13

Title:  Praising God

The birth of the Lord Jesus was a celebration of worship in heaven and on earth.

The Son of God’s love was born a King, of royal heritage on both side of the bloodline, and whose rule will never be tainted by human frailty, or error in judgment, or injustice.

When the darkness of the shadow of death was most palpable there shone a light from heaven, the magnitude of which revealed the thoughts of men’s hearts and marked, from grace to grace, the narrow path to salvation and peace and service without fear, through the forgiveness of sins by God’s tender mercy.

Job 38:2

Title:  Who is this?

We are not privy and have no capacity to all the facts of life that even an explanation from God for all the ills and pain and suffering buffeting a Christian will only pose more mystery than it would bring to light.

The sovereign God does not owe us an explanation and we are unworthy to ask him for one, albeit we can cry out to him in our deepest moment of despair, and we should, for He has undergone a most bitter suffering and the greatest loss in giving his Son to die for our sins.

While answers to our questions may not be available to us now, there is more than enough reason to worship the Lord.  And we must.

Luke 9:17

Title:  Twelve basketfuls

A miracle from God will always produce a sweet aftertaste in further physical and spiritual nourishment for those partaking in its blessings and for eyewitnesses to an awesome display of power from on high.

The Lord Jesus did not endeavor to perform miracles to give evidence to his divinity, but to some degree they did reveal God to the eye of faith, and after His resurrection recalled those deeds that defied natural laws, and by faith were persuaded that the Lord Jesus was Messiah.

Luke 2:14

Title:  Glory to God

Enduring peace can only be attained if mankind would pursue the glory and pleasure of the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob in the person of his Son, the Lord Jesus, in its worship, government, educational system, domestic affairs, entertainment, in cultures in particular.

We know this will never happen in this age, but the Lord is giving us an idea how lasting peace can be achieved: by faith that the Lord Jesus was the Immanuel whose death reconciled to the Father those who would come to him in repentance and would believe.

Peace always involves the Father, the Lord Jesus, and the Holy Spirit, the God who is One.  Without the Lord at the helm of power and authority, even external tranquility would , at best, be fleeting as the afternoon shadows.

Romans 1:16

Title:  I am not ashamed

In Canada and in the U.S.A., preaching against sin is now being labeled as “hate speech” and the Bible as “hate literature”.  In no time the preaching of the gospel will be forbidden outside the walls of a place of worship and the Bible banned in public places.

The assault against the gospel (1Cor. 15:1-4) is intensifying day by day.  Now it has become a political issue, just the same way abortion and same-sex (abomination) union have been legitimized in the halls of Congress, whereas these are spiritual and moral concerns that should have been decided upon by the church of the Lord Jesus in the light of Scriptures.

The church must stand its ground and call abortion and same-sex union as sins abominable, disgusting, repulsive, loathsome, indecent, shameful, and unnatural; that if self-serving politicians and sodomites will not repent, they will all likewise perish.

We must preach against sin in the face of imprisonment or even death.

That is our calling.  That is our blessing.

Romans 1:26,27

Title:  God gave them over

A nation/government condoning sodomy/same-sex union (abomination) will have to confront and answer to God who has defined homosexuality as:

VILE: infamous, disgraceful, shameful

AGAINST NATURE:  not inborn, unnatural

THAT WHICH IS UNSEEMLY: indecent

ERROR: fraudulent, a perversion

In any social order an act carrying these characteristics will be declared illegal and unacceptable. 

But far from being a social issue, homosexuality is a sin that has reached the face of God, and in judgment He has abandoned the sodomite/lesbian to the full course of their idolatry, for homosexuality is idolatry, to receive in themselves the due penalty of their perversion.

The same can be said of nations that sanction this abomination, foremost of which is the U.S.A.

Romans 1:26,27

Title:  What is against nature

Sodomy is unnatural in the sense that it is not inborn, meaning nothing in our physiological, our biological and chemical makeup is designed in support of a homosexual lifestyle.

Consider this:  if animals practiced homosexuality, they would produce no offspring, and we will have nothing to eat.

One has to directly challenge God in order to justify the abominable, loathsome, repulsive, and disgusting act of sodomy, for even the beasts of the field, the birds in the air, the fishes of the great seas by their instincts seek the opposite sex.  That is the reason why the average life expectancy of sodomites is just thirty-nine (39) years.

Homosexuality is death.

Luke 3:16

Title:  I am not worthy

The greatest among the prophets considered himself not having arrived in season and insufficient in his person and unfit in his character to perform even the most menial of tasks for the Messiah.

In Christianity everything is God’s: the honor, the glory, the centrality of attention; and he is clothed in unapproachable light that our worship and service contribute nothing to the splendor of his awesome power.

We have not the right to approach him but for our faith in his Son, and our greatest accomplishments add up to nothing and fall short of the act of untying the thongs of the Lord’s sandals.

Luke 1:17

Title:  To make ready

Are we leading the church to get the most out of life or are we preparing it for the destruction of the earth and the return of the Lord Jesus?

Do our friends and neighbors suspect that we are building an ark in our backyards?

A Christian possesses a life hidden with the Lord Jesus in God; for purposes of understanding, a Christian is in heaven looking down to earth.  Nothing on earth can bring him joy except those things and opportunities which he can use to edify the church and proclaim the gospel.

Everything we see in this world will be destroyed by fire.  This world is condemned.  Not a thing can be done to save the economy, to bring peace between nations, to alleviate poverty and hunger, to stem the spread of disease.

What remains for us to do is to declare the gospel, so that those who had been chosen before the foundation of the world might hear and believe.

And then the end will come.

Matthew 5:14

Title:  Light of the world

Light signifies the presence of life.  Wherever there is light, there is life.

We may also appreciate light for its speed, which, at 186,000 M/S, is the limit in the universe.  Uniting these properties into a single influence and attributing it to the Christian shows the remarkable position and scope of responsibility a believer has been charged with in the struggle between good and evil, life and death, particularly in the area of representing God and the love he offers through the Lord Jesus.

The Christian message and testimony, by the influence of the Holy Spirit, should be able to break and overcome the darkness prevailing in the hearts of men, so those who are lost or groping about in ignorance may come within the influence of a follower of the Lord Jesus, and see the reality of sin and judgment, and the only way to the Father and redemption, the Son of his love.

Without your light and mine, all is lost.

James 2:1

Title:  Partiality

When we expect or demand recognition and the best seat in an assembly, are we not distinguishing ourselves as a class above the rest?

Although at the receiving end of the distinction and the attention, we still stand guilty of favoritism because we have encouraged and allowed it to be bestowed on us.

What separates us from other believers?  Nothing!  We know almost nothing about God; even the corporate understanding of the church about God is of no consequence compared to what has not been revealed by his mercy.

Only God has the right to recognition and the best seat in our midst.

Philippians 1:21

Title:  To die is gain

Death is best for the Christian considering the utmost joy and blessedness of being in the presence of the Lord Jesus, if not for the propagation of the gospel and the edification of the church for the glory of God.

Simply put, the Christian is alive to be like the Lord Jesus, and this is manifested by a life dedicated to the announcement of the gospel and the nurture of believers.  There is no other meaning to life that would identify a believer with this earth which is perishing; we are no longer of this world.

Life goes on for the gospel, the spiritual growth of the brethren, to the praise of God.  Once the task appointed to us by the Father has been completed, it would be time to leave, and with much rejoicing.

James 5:14

Title:  Anoint him with oil

A Christian who is sick should call the elders of his congregation for prayer, and he must also visit a physician.

Oil here is considered for its therapeutic properties and translates to modern/herbal medicines and medical procedures.

With much powerful and effective prayer, medication should be administered in the name of the Lord Jesus because physical treatment even calls for the cleansing of the soul from every transgression, in order to receive complete healing, God willing.