Good morning,
Praise the Lord for winter season which has officially began. One good thing about this is that the days will getting longer from today on. It was a blustery weekend here in New York. The performance of Messiah was canceled on Friday, but we were able to have our Living Nativity on Saturday. It was brilliant and beautiful. The Lord blessed us with a wonderful day of worship yesterday in His House. Our Choir presented the Christmas Cantata during both morning worship services. The Cantata was anointed and powerful. Our Choir director, Aric Phinney, worked wonderfully with the choir. The choir consisted of many gifted and talented singers. Praise the Lord for the songs of the season that honor the Savior whose birth we celebrate.
One of the readings for yesterday was the Magnificat found in Luke 1. This is the song of Mary about her Savior and Lord. Mary truly was a special person. She loved the Lord for he had done great things for her. She understood that she did not deserve this special privilege of being the mother of the Messiah, for she said, “he has been mindful of the humble state of his servant” (Luke 1:48). She was a special person, who had been faithful in her obedience and love for God, but still she needed a Savior. Shortly before her death in 1988, Marghanita Laski, a well-known writer, was amazingly candid in a television interview. She was a secular humanist, which means that she denied the need for, and the existence of, God. However, in this moving moment of truth before the world, she said, “What I envy most about you Christians is your forgiveness, I have nobody to forgive me.” How wonderful that we have someone to forgive us — that our hearts can be washed clean. We have forgiveness because we have a God who came to the world to save us. Somebody once said “Mary was the first person in the world to carry the Gospel.” What an enormous privilege was hers. She understood this privilege and worshiped God because of it. She said, “From now on all generations will call me blessed” (Luke 1:48). Here is the irony: she who needed a savior gave birth to the Savior. Mary gave birth to the One who created her. The Bible says of Christ, “Through him all things were made; without him nothing was made that has been made” (John 1:3). This was more than enough reason for her to worship, but the second thing Mary sang was, "He has performed mighty deeds." The key word here is victory. The mighty deeds that God was doing would overcome the world and turn the world right-side-up. She sang about God scattering the proud. She said that he brought down rulers from their thrones and lifted up the humble. He filled the hungry, but sent the rich away with empty stomachs. In other words, God turned the tables on the world. Those who were proud and arrogant, having power in this world to oppress others, would be scattered by God. Those who ruled with injustice would be pulled down from their thrones, and the humble servants would be put in their place. Those who used their wealth to oppress the poor would live in spiritual hunger, while those who were the poor of this world would be filled with all the good things of God. All of this would take place because of what Jesus would do. During his ministry he said, “Blessed are you who are poor, for yours is the kingdom of God. Blessed are you who hunger now, for you will be satisfied. Blessed are you who weep now, for you will laugh” (Luke 6:20-21). He would reverse the fortunes of the proud and humble, the rich and poor, the strong and weak. He was the Savior who would right the wrongs of the world and would give those who were downtrodden great reason to rejoice. What this means is that Jesus came for everyone, regardless of their status in the world. The humble are valued by God, and even the arrogant can humble themselves and become right with God. The oppressed find mercy and help. The oppressors can stop their oppression, and find grace. Those who are weak can be strong in God. The strong can admit their weakness apart from God, and find true strength. The first thing we must do, however is to come to God on his terms rather than ours. We must humble ourselves. We must admit our weakness. We must turn from our sin. Then we must turn to God for his strength, his wealth, and his wholeness. Dallas Willard tells about the military fighter pilot who was performing high-speed maneuvers. The pilot thrust the controls for a steep upward climb, only to crash into the ground. Somehow the pilot had lost his horizon, and was unaware that the plane had been flying upside down. It is a parable of the world today. While we live at breakneck speed, we don’t even realize that we are living upside down. People are crashing and can’t seem to figure out why. Many are not sure if there is even such a thing as right-side-up. They believe that all roads lead to the same place, and that as long as you believe in God and practice some form of religion, we all get to heaven eventually. Can’t I love God and still live in any way that I want? The answer is no. We cannot live outside of God’s will and expect to receive God’s blessing. We will be flying upside down and eventually crash.
Jesus Christ said, “I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me” (John 14:6). He came to turn us right-side-up and enable us to overcome this world if only we are willing to let him have control of our lives. He is victorious over life, for he has said, “Take heart! I have overcome the world” (John 16:33). Someone recently told me that a college had contest to see who could get the most food for the poor with a set amount of money. Several went to Aldi’s, Sam’s club, or an Amish bulk food store. There were green beans and squash galore; dried food and bulk staples. But one person took the money and bought Starbuck’s coffee, brownies and other delicacies. That person loaded up on good things that people love to eat. This is how God gives: extravagantly and lavishly. He fills the hungry with good things. The Bible says, “For no matter how many promises God has made, they are ‘Yes’ in Christ” (2 Corinthians 1:20). Our response should be patterned after Mary’s response. “Lord, here is my life. I will do whatever you want me to do. I will go wherever you want me to go. Make me your servant.”
Go and do likewise.
Brown
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yAyplzXmjVE
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