- araratchurch
- Dec 16, 2022
- 3 min read
“And she brought forth her firstborn Son, and wrapped Him in swaddling cloths, and laid Him in a manger, because there was no room for them in the inn.”
Luke 2:7 NKJV
Many sermons, devotions, and lessons, have focused on the last part of our opening scripture for today. The point is made that the reason Jesus’ birth happened in a stable was because there was no room for Mary and Joseph in the inn. Then the question is presented: “Do you have room in your life for Jesus?”
Now, that question is often met with responses pointing to church attendance, prayers before meals, or just simply believing that Jesus exists along with excuses about being so very busy.
What I want to do is to point out a few things and then allow you to ask yourself that question again.
As we learned earlier on, Joseph and Mary were in Bethlehem because of a required census. As we know, this census was imposed on all the Roman citizens. Therefore, it followed that the inns were overwhelmed with people looking for a place to stay while fulfilling their obligation to the government.
In other words, the innkeeper didn’t turn Mary and Joseph away because they were rejecting them as people, or even because they didn’t have compassion on them. The fact was, the innkeeper, in attempting to accommodate a high demand, seemingly had no choice but to turn them away.
Face it, life happens. And with our daily grind comes myriad demands on our time, attention, and money. Now, the Lord can strengthen us to do what we need to do; He can even help us to do what we do expediently and to be good managers of all our resources. But, the fact remains that there are just so many hours in the day, a limited amount of personal resources, and a limit to the number of things on which we can focus at one time.
In order for Mary and Joseph to have had a room in the inn, someone else would’ve had to have been kicked out. What I’m saying is that if most of what we have in terms of time, energy, finances, attention, etc., is taken up by other things such that the room we have for the Lord couldn’t even hold a broom, then something’s got to be kicked out.
Obviously, we all have responsibilities we must meet; the Lord never calls for us to shirk our personal responsibilities. But the fact is, many people will somehow make room for the things that are really important to them. So, when we find ourselves having no time, no space, and nothing to give to the Lord, we have inadvertently given a commentary on what we hold dearest to us.
For today meditate on how the use of your time, attention, and personal resources does or does not reflect that you have room for the Lord in your life.
The Lord truly wants to come into our lives and abide with us. Indeed, His abiding Presence in us by way of the Holy Spirit is the only way in which we can be transformed into His very image. Additionally, it is the only way we can access the many great and precious promises the Lord has given to us.
So let’s pose that first question again, but in a slightly different way: “Does the way you use all of your resources (time, attention, money, mental energy, etc.) indicate that the Lord has room to be born into your life, or must His glorious gift be relegated to be realized somewhere else?”
Peace to you.
- araratchurch
- Dec 15, 2022
- 2 min read
“And she brought forth her firstborn Son, and wrapped Him in swaddling cloths, and laid Him in a manger, because there was no room for them in the inn.”
Luke 2:7 NKJV
For the next two days we will be looking at the same portion of scripture we have considered the last two days.
Here, we are in the part of the story where it is time for the promise to be revealed, as our Lord took His first breath as one of us.
As we have discussed, the humility of the King of glory making His fleshly entrance in a manger, is beyond my personal comprehension. Imagine, the first scents into His precious nostrils were of lowly animals!
Along with this unimaginable scene, let’s take a step back and look at the fact that the promise of God was not prevented by adverse circumstances. Indeed, you will find throughout the Bible—as is often true in our own lives—that adversity can actually be the womb for God’s promises.
Look at the classic example of Abraham and Sarah. They had been given a promise, but with the passage of time, it seemed that the fulfillment became less and less likely. Oh, but that’s only how it is in the “natural.”
“Even when there was no reason for hope, Abraham kept hoping—believing that he would become the father of many nations. For God had said to him, “That’s how many descendants you will have!” And Abraham’s faith did not weaken, even though, at about 100 years of age, he figured his body was as good as dead—and so was Sarah’s womb.”
Romans 4:18-19 NLT
I like how Hebrews puts Sarah‘s assurance of her promise even in the face of adversity:
“By faith Sarah herself also received strength to conceive seed, and she bore a child when she was past the age, because she judged Him faithful who had promised.”
Hebrews 11:11 NKJV
The fulfillment of God’s promises is not dependent on perfect circumstances; but rather, it is dependent on the perfect faithfulness of He who has promised.
There was no room in the inn, so a very tired couple had to deliver their firstborn son in a manger. But none of the scents, sounds, or other adversities kept He Who was promised for centuries, He Who was personally promised to Mary and Joseph, from making His entrance into time, changing everything forever.
For today meditate on the fact that God’s promises are often realized in the midst of adversity. Be assured of the fact that God’s promises don’t check with your circumstances to determine whether they can be fulfilled. This also applies to the fact that it doesn’t matter what anybody says, or how it looks in the world, Jesus will come again, just as He said He would.
Finally, remember, the promises of God haven’t come into your adversity to die; on the contrary, perhaps that is where they will be born!
Peace to you.
- araratchurch
- Dec 14, 2022
- 2 min read
“And she brought forth her firstborn Son, and wrapped Him in swaddling cloths, and laid Him in a manger, because there was no room for them in the inn.”
Luke 2:7 NKJV
I want to break down a couple more points from our opening scripture reference from yesterday. Today we consider the portion of the scripture referencing the fact that Mary brought forth her “firstborn son.”
In Jewish culture the firstborn (generally a son) had a privileged position and a larger portion of the inheritance. With that, he also had the additional responsibility of caring for his mother and unmarried sisters in the case where the father was incapacitated (in which case he would take care of both parents) or deceased.
“He is the exact living image [the essential manifestation] of the unseen God [the visible representation of the invisible], the firstborn [the preeminent one, the sovereign, and the originator] of all creation.”
Colossians 1:15 AMP
Our Lord, as our older Brother and Firstborn of the Father, has authority over us all. But, He also took on the responsibility to make a way for us to be reinstated into fellowship with the Father; He takes care of us all.
“For whom He foreknew, He also predestined to be conformed to the image of His Son, that He might be the firstborn among many brethren.”
Romans 8:29 NKJV
Additionally, Jesus became the Firstborn from the dead so that we could also be raised from death to eternal life. We know that Jesus was not the first to be raised from being dead per se as He raised people from the dead in His earthly ministry. And, in the Old Testament we see multiple cases of people being raised from the dead. However, none of those people (raised from the dead) were raised to eternal life; they had to again experience death at some point. But— Jesus being raised from the dead—did so to never die again.
“and from Jesus Christ. He is the faithful witness to these things, the first to rise from the dead, and the ruler of all the kings of the world. All glory to him who loves us and has freed us from our sins by shedding his blood for us.”
Revelation 1:5 NLT
For today meditate on what it means for Jesus to be the Firstborn of the Father. What responsibilities and authority does He assume for us?
Additionally, consider the soon coming of Jesus Christ for those who are His. We will be raised from a body of death to eternal life in a glorified body, never to face death again!
Peace to you.