“I have come that you may have life, and have it to the full” (John 10:10)

God. God who is the Creator and God who will one day hold everyone accountable.

To modern day Americans who values self-discovery, freedom, and independence, the entire concept of God seems so oppressive, so restrictive, so un-American.

We don’t like the idea of having to answer to anyone. As long as we are not hurting anyone, we should be free to dictate what is right for our own selves. So how does the concept of God even fit in the modern world anymore?

That’s a fantastic question. But there is one major flaw to this way of thinking. We are free to choose but we are not free from the created order of things. We are not free to reject gravity. We are not free to reject cause and consequences.

Fish are restricted to water. But water is the only environment fish are free to flourish. Outside of water, outside that environment, fish die.

That is the way with us. God’s rule and kingdom is the only environment where human beings can flourish. It is within the bounds of God’s laws that we can find true freedom to flourish.

• You shall have no other gods before me
• You shall not make for yourself an image in the form of anything in heaven above or on the earth beneath or in the waters below. You shall not bow down to them or worship them
• You shall not misuse the name of the LORD your God
• Observe the Sabbath day by keeping it holy
• Honor your father and your mother
• You shall not murder
• You shall not commit adultery
• You shall not steal
• You shall not give false testimony
• You shall not covet

God’s laws are given to us, not to restrict us, but to free us so we can flourish in the world God has created. It is when we submit and subject ourselves to the rule of God that we are truly free. Freedom without God is not freedom at all. Freedom without God’s laws entraps, enslaves, and ultimately kills.

Life is found in Christ and Christ alone.

That’s the meaning of Christmas. That’s why Christ came. Jesus tells us, “I have come that you may have life, and have it to the full” (John 10:10).

Friends, may you discover freedom as you submit to Christ.

Happy Advent! Let us prepare ourselves for the reality of Christ.

“I have no need of a bull from your stall or of goats from your pens” (Psalm 50:9).

The Verse of the Day is from Psalm 50. God literally tells the Israelites, “Don’t give me your bull!” The problem is not that Israel has ignored offering burnt offerings to God.

Then what was the problem?

God tells us what God desires, “Sacrifice thank offerings to God, fulfill your vows to the Most High” (Ps. 50:14).

• What God desires is our hearts that respond in gratitude for recognizing all that God has done for his people. The sacrifices and the offerings aren’t offered out of compulsion but out of genuine gratitude for all that God has given us.
• Secondly, what God desires is for us to fulfill our promises to God. Live out our vows. Live as if God is God. Submit. Obey. Because God is God.

The bull that God calls out is, “You hate my instruction and cast my words behind you” (Ps. 50:17).

• When we say God is God, but live as if God’s word doesn’t pertain to us.
• When we put ourselves above the authority of God’s word. We do this when we say things like, “I know what the Bible says, but I think…, but I feel…”

God flat out declares, “Don’t give me that bull!”

God is honored by “Those who sacrifice thank offerings honor me, and to the blameless I will show my salvation” (Ps. 50:23).

Again God declares, “But the LORD takes pleasure in those who fear him, in those who hope in his steadfast love” (Ps. 147:11).

We say every Sunday before we receive the offering and tithes that God is not interested in your money. God wants our hearts of gratitude. You see, no matter how much we give, God doesn’t need our money. A bazillion dollars doesn’t make God any grander or more glorified. What God is honored by and gloried in is when we respond with genuine gratitude for salvation and for all that God has done for us in Jesus Christ. Our tithes and offerings are only a token representation of our gratitude. What God desires is our hearts.

During this Advent season, give your heart to God. And out of gratitude, dedicate and offer yourselves and your tithes to honor and glorify God.

“Peace I leave with you; my peace I give you. I do not give to you as the world gives. Do not let your hearts be troubled and do not be afraid” (John 14:27)

Peace.

That sounds good. That sounds really good for December 2020.

There are two things we need to know about the peace that Jesus gives.

1. Jesus gives us a peace that is unlike the peace that the world offers – “I do not give to you as the world gives”
2. Jesus gives us a peace that the world is incapable of giving – the part that is translated as “I do not give to you as the world gives” in the Greek literally reads, “Not as the world gives, I give to you.” The sense is that Jesus offers us a peace that the world cannot give, a peace that the world is incapable of giving

Let’s take a look at these two things.

First the peace that Jesus offers is unlike anything that the world can offer. The world’s offer of peace is completely dependent upon circumstances and situations. When things are peaceful, we have peace. When things are not peaceful, we have no peace. Peace is dependent upon situations that are outside of our control.

The peace that Jesus offers is not like that at all. This is the peace that is founded on the bedrock foundation of God’s absolute certainty and love. This is a peace that has already been established through the cross and the resurrection of Jesus Christ. That is why we’re told in Romans:

“If God is for us, who can be against us? He who did not spare his own Son, but gave him up for us all – how will he not also, along with him, graciously give us all things?…

Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? Shall trouble or hardship or persecution or famine or nakedness or danger or sword?…

No, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him who loved us. For I am convinced that neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither the present nor the future, nor any powers, neither height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord” (Romans 8:31-39).

Nothing can steal nor disturb the peace that God offers us. This is a peace that has already been ushered in and purchased by the cross and the resurrection of Jesus Christ.

Second, Jesus gives us a peace that the world is incapable of giving. Only Jesus can offer us this peace because only Jesus died for sinners. But the tragic thing is we keep looking for peace in this world. We look for peace in finding the right person, the right job, the right home, the right salary, etc.

All these things are transient, temporary, and flighty. They are incapable of giving us peace. In fact, the very temporariness of these things disturbs peace.

Peace is found only in the one who has already made peace a reality by dying on the cross and rising from the dead.

Peace has a name. His name is Jesus Christ. It is when you bow your knee before him, and confess Jesus as Lord and Savior that you too can experience God’s peace.