Newsletter - December 2006

Dear Friends:

I trust you are having a blessed Christmas season, one that is filled with preparation–

for remembering Jesus’ coming to earth,


for showing love for friends and family, and


for touching lives of those in need around us.

Jesus’ coming to earth in human form for the purpose of giving His life to rescue from sin those who would believe in Him was truly the pivotal time in the history of mankind. But it was not the first time God came to earth. It is also interesting to take notice of earlier times when God actually visited this planet and made His presence known to particular human beings.

One that I was studying recently was His coming to Mt. Sinai to give the Ten Commandments (as well as civil and ceremonial law) to the Israelites. You can read about it in Exodus 19-24. Just as with the coming of Jesus, the fact of the visit was announced ahead of time. And preparation was made for His coming. The people had three days of consecration during which they washed their clothes, refrained from sexual relations, offered sacrifices and put up barriers around the mountain so no one would inadvertently touch it when God was present and, thereby, die.

When God visited the mountain, a few choice leaders were able to come partway up to the summit, but the masses of the people stayed below and simply watched in fear as they saw lightning, a thick cloud, and smoke; and as they heard thunder and a trumpet blast. Then Moses and God began to talk. After hearing God’s initial giving of the law, Moses returned to get Aaron, two other priests, and 70 elders. This group of men actually saw God. Moses said it was as if his feet were standing on a sapphire pavement. What was amazing to them is that they survived this encounter with the Almighty!

Jesus’ coming as a baby to Bethlehem seems to be in sharp contrast to the coming of God to Mt. Sinai. Jesus came quietly in the night. There were angels announcing His birth, to be sure, but only to lowly shepherds. Magi from the East did follow His star, but no credence was given to them by the Jewish spiritual leaders of the day. After all, they were foreigners probably following some strange superstition. There was no thunder, no trumpet blast, no show of power or might. Just a gentle entry to the world of flesh and blood for the purpose of living a perfect life culminating in dying an undeserved death in ultimate fulfillment of the requirements of the law given in Mt. Sinai millennia earlier.

Jesus returned to Heaven after His resurrection, but God’s presence did not leave the earth. While His visits were seemingly sporadic in the Old Testament, after Jesus’ entry into humanness, His presence has been constant through the Holy Spirit. Because Jesus’ Spirit lives in every believer, God’s presence has been spread over the entire planet. When Christians yield their bodies and minds to the control of this Spirit, amazing things happen in our world.

But there is more to come. We would all acknowledge that,

although God has visited the earth throughout history,


although Jesus came to give us an exact representation of God while He lived with humans, and


although the Holy Spirit has been an active force in this world since Jesus’ return to the Father,

the earth is still a mess. It is obvious that sin and evil, war and murder, poverty and starvation, abandonment and death still occur. Sin has a way of multiplying itself and God is allowing Satan to show his true colors during these years between His comings.

Jesus first coming was foretold many years before He came as a baby in Bethlehem. Jewish believers watched expectantly for centuries for the promised Messiah. His second coming has also been foretold and it will occur even though it seems that 2,000-plus years to too long to wait! Time seems to mean a lot more to us humans than it does to God. But the promise of his coming is there and it will happen in God’s perfect timetable. We simply don’t know when.

When Jesus returns to earth, it will not be quietly. The Bible tells us that everyone will see Him come and that everyone will fall down in worship. There will be no question about who is in control, about who is worthy of our adoration, loyalty, and service. I think the initial feeling that all of us will have when Jesus comes in His glory and might will be that of fear. The people were so afraid at Mt. Sinai that they told Moses to go up and just come back and tell them what God had said. They weren’t going to risk being invited to meet God themselves! There is fear that is natural when coming face-to-face with an awesome and powerful God.

After our initial reaction of fear, I think the second emotion we will sense is love. John tells us in his epistle that perfect love drives out all fear. Those of us who are followers of Jesus will recognize His power, but then we will sense His love. And receiving and glorying in that love will take away all fear.

And so we know and rely on the love God has for us. God is love. Whoever lives in love lives in God, and God in him. In this way, love is made complete among us so that we will have confidence on the day of judgment because in this world we are like him. There is no fear in love. But perfect love drives out fear . . .” (I John :16-18a)

When Jesus comes next time to earth, He will take over, He will banish Satan and his followers and pure perfection will follow. We then will see what He had had in mind when He created the earth and its inhabitants in the first place! Everything will be restored to its pre-sin condition. There will be no fighting among animals and, amazingly, none among humans either! Just peace, love, and joy in being in the presence of the One who rules in holiness and love.

The people of Israel prepared themselves to meet God at Mt. Sinai. But, there were only a few who were truly prepared for the coming of Jesus as a babe in Bethlehem. And, again, there will be many who are not prepared for Jesus’ next coming which will culminate the redemptive history of planet earth. We don’t want to be among that group. We, as Jesus’ disciples, want to be ready when He comes again. So, how do we prepare for His coming?

By being faithful day by day in what He gives us to do –

faithful in our family relationships,
faithful in our friendships,
faithful in our commitment to purity,
faithful in our work,
faithful in our responsiveness to God’s direction in our lives,
faithful in our growing relationship with Him.

So then, men ought to regard us as servants of Christ and as those entrusted with the secret things of God. Now it is required that those who have been given a trust must prove faithful. (I Corinthians 4:1-2)

He is not asking that we change the world, just that we be faithful and that we look forward to seeing Him face-to-face someday. One day, one hour, one moment at a time, we can do that!

May your Christmas be filled with blessings as you remember His first coming and look forward to His second!

Bev

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