Eternity Daily Bible Study No. 259

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Thoughts About Christmas - 1

The Incarnation – Our Activity & God’s Activity

Passages: Luke 2:1-40, Matthew 2:1-23

The birth of Jesus caused quite a stir – angels, shepherds, wise men, kings, soldiers, prophets and sages were all caught up in it. But Jesus did nothing, He was wrapped in swaddling clothes, unable to move, not lifting a finger or uttering an intelligible word - because He was a baby. 

There are three points in Jesus life that all Christians celebrate – His birth, His death on  a cross and His resurrection - and at each of these points Jesus was motionless. At birth He was wrapped up, on the cross He was nailed down, and during the resurrection He was dead, shrouded, and entombed. At each of these points in His life, His activity level was practically zero – yet the impact of each event was cosmic. 

The impact of Jesus was not because He knew more or did more than anyone else or because He hustled better, networked better or had more money than the next person. The impact of His life was due to factors such as who He was and what he stood for and where He fitted into history. During the next few minutes we will look at how Jesus changed the world at His birth and how we also can change the world.

1.	The birth of Jesus caused a political stir because of His ancestors - He was born King of the Jews and was the legitimate heir to David’s throne.
2.	The birth of Jesus caused a heavenly choir to sing because of what He was - a Savior, Christ the Lord,  and what He would do in the future in bringing peace on earth and goodwill to men.
3.	The birth of Jesus caused prophets to speak out because He would be Luke 2:32 -  a light for revelation to the nations, and the glory of Your people Israel.
4.	The birth of Jesus caused wise men to follow a star in the East and they came to worship Him because He was a sign of heavenly hope. 
5.	The birth of Jesus caused Anna the prophetess to speak of redemption to all those gathered around. For it was clear the Redeemer had come.
6.	The birth of Jesus caused shepherds to spread the good news because they marveled at these things.
7.	The birth of Jesus caused angels to warn Joseph about the intentions of Herod because evil was stirred up to wrath by the presence of Christ.
8.	The birth of Jesus caused, indirectly, the death of the babies in Bethlehem because of the insane madness of a cruel ruler.
9.	The birth of Jesus caused the first missionaries to be sent out as the wise men returned home by another route with the news of the birth of Christ.
10.	The birth of Jesus Christ radically altered the lives of Mary and Joseph and caused them to live in Egypt for a while.

Meanwhile what was Jesus doing? Sleeping! It was not Jesus’ activity that accomplished all these things but God’s activity in and around Jesus and Satan’s response to that activity.

Our activities as Christians are in the midst of a much larger heavenly context, earthly context and demonic context. We live in a time and place in history, and God does things around us, in us and through us - and the Devil reacts to them. On one hand we can do almost nothing and yet change a life, or on the other hand we can sweat and labor and accomplish nothing. 

One day I was buying paper in a supermarket and gazing at the shelves rather blankly when a man ran up to me and said “I’ll go to church, I’ll go to church, I haven’t been for a long time but I will..” and then ran off again. He knew I was a preacher and simply because of Gods arranging I was in the right place at the right time. I did nothing – God did everything.

Who we are, what we represent, where we fit in history, how we connect to others, what others think we will do, what others say abut who we are, how the Holy spirit anoints us, the destiny mapped out for us and the spiritual context around us have a much bigger say in what we accomplish than our own abilities, knowledge or labor.

In our own strength we are like hand splashing in a bucket, making a few waves, but once the hand is withdrawn everything goes back to the way it was. We make a few waves, and feel important, but nothing is really altered.

By contrast the birth of Jesus really did alter things – forever, because it was God’s work and that cannot be undone. And the cross altered things forever,  and the resurrection altered things forever. And this does not just apply to Jesus but to us as well. Paul’s epistles have changed millions of lives for thousands of years while most books change almost nothing - because God was in the writing of those epistles.

Lasting achievement is independent of our brains or brawn. Lasting achievement comes from letting God into the warp and woof of our lives. Of letting Him place us in the supermarket, or in the Philippines, or in a certain situation and then we succeed by simply being obedient to Him there just as Mary and Joseph were. Humble ordinary people who are obediently submitted to God and who find themselves in the midst of His times and purposes can accomplish great things.

We have to give up pride in our selves and our strength and power and wisdom. Rather we have to submit to God and to His working in us, through us and around us.  It is as we enter into those risky situations where God is most at work and Herods and soldiers and angels and demons abound that we will find ourselves caught up in greatness. Average people in extraordinary times can accomplish salvation through the power of God - Noah at the time of the flood, Lot fleeing Sodom, David facing Goliath, Sarah giving birth to Isaac.

Pray that God may place you in a “redemptive moment”. Pray that you may become a part of redemptive history. Pray for courage and humility and obedience. Pray for God’s power to be all around you. 

Even a baby wrapped in swaddling clothes can change the world – if that Child is in the center of the purposes of God.

Blessings,

John Edmiston johned@aibi.ph

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