The Marvel of God's Mercy

 Three things we should understand from Romans 9, one of the most challenging chapters of the entire Bible: First, We Long for the Salvation of Others; Second, We Lean on the Faithfulness of God and Third, We Live for the Glory of God.
We Long for the Salvation of Others:  Paul said that he experienced intense sorrow and continual anguish in his heart for those who were without Christ.  I wonder if I have that same cry in my soul for those around me without Christ.  This is the concern of this complex portion of Scripture.  Romans 9 is not an argument for theologians but an affection Christians should have.
We Lean on the Faithfulness of God: The text gives four ways we are to lean on God’s faithfulness
A.        We cannot deny God’s election
God’s call to salvation is unconditional and effectual
When we begin to contemplate the doctrine of God’s election, immediately we begin with the question, “Doesn’t God love everybody and want all people to be saved?”  According to 2 Peter 3.9 and John 3.16, the answer is a resounding yes!  But Romans 9.11-13 are just as true, ⁹ For this is the statement of the promise: At this time I will come, and Sarah will have a son. ¹⁰ And not only that, but also when Rebekah became pregnant by Isaac our forefather ¹¹ (for though they had not been born yet or done anything good or bad, so that God’s purpose according to election might stand, ¹² not from works but from the One who calls) she was told: The older will serve the younger. ¹³ As it is written: Jacob I have loved, but Esau I have hated.
Couple of things that we must remember concerning God’s election
1) Remember the multiple perceptions of God’s will
First there is God’s revealed will; what He has declared in His Word – things like do not murder, commit sexual immorality, do not lie, steal or covet
Then there is God’s secret will; what He has decreed in the world  -- things God has ordained but no one knows, like the number of days any of us will live
2) Remember the multiple dimensions of God’s love
First there is God’s general love that He has for all people, John 3.16
Second, God’s particular love He has for some people, like the way He chose Israel over all the other nations, the way Jesus chose His disciples over other people
God’s election should compel deep humility in us because there is nothing in us that would have made Him choose us; it’s the marvel of His mercy
God’s election should create hope for others, because no one merits salvation.  Again it’s all the marvel of God’s mercy.  That’s the whole point of Romans 9.
B.        We do not desire God’s mercy
Every one deserves God’s wrath and punishment, yet in His great mercy, He saves some
Caution must be applied when we think of God extending His mercy to some and not to others.
C.        We dare not defy God’s authority
He is God and we are not, so we don’t have any right to judge His ways because He has the right to do whatever He wants!
D.        We must not diminish our responsibility
God is sovereign and we are accountable to Him.
Some will object saying, “If man cannot thwart God’s will, then man is not responsible for his sin.”  Paul anticipated that and used Pharaoh as an example.  Pharaoh’s heart was hardened toward God and his choices and actions proved so.  Was God sovereign over Pharaoh?  Yes, without question.  God is sovereign over good and bad alike.  Is Pharaoh accountable to God for his choices?  Definitely, yes!
So how does this come together?  That’s a mystery, not a contradiction.  The mystery that Romans 9 & 10 spells out for us is that God is sovereign over everything and that man is accountable for his or her choices to Almighty God.
Our responsibility is not to determine whether we are part of God’s elect or not.  Our responsibility before God is what we choose to do with His Son, Jesus Christ.  Anyone and everyone who sees their own sin, and how God displayed His love to them through Jesus Christ and God’s power over sin and death by the resurrection of Jesus Christ, can be saved.  Anyone and everyone!
WE LIVE FOR THE GLORY OF GOD:  Once we have come to God and received His mercy and grace through Jesus Christ, we will receive His power and begin to make His Name known in Jerusalem, in Judea and Samaria and to the ends of the earth!

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Subharathiri vela idi....

Power of the Most High

  “The angel answered, ‘The Holy Spirit will come upon you, and the power of the Most High will overshadow you.” (Luke 1:35)
Across the centuries, the virgin birth of Jesus Christ has been considered a foundational doctrine by Christians of virtually every denomination. Both Matthew and Luke plainly ascribe the conception of Jesus Christ to the action of the Holy Spirit. Matthew uses phrases such as “through the Holy Spirit” and “from the Holy Spirit” to describe what happened. Luke adds an intriguing phrase when he reports the angel Gabriel’s words to Mary: “The Holy Spirit will come upon you, and the power of the Most High will overshadow you” (Luke 1:35). The verb for “overshadow” speaks of the direct, personal presence of God. The same verb is used in all three accounts of the Transfiguration to describe the cloud that enveloped Jesus, Moses and Elijah (and Peter, James and John) on the mountain. From that cloud came a voice saying, “This is my Son,” even as Gabriel told Mary, “The holy one to be born will be called the Son of God.”
What is the significance of Jesus being begotten of the Holy Spirit? Since Jesus was born of Mary, we know that He was truly human. Since He was conceived through the Holy Spirit, we know that He was more than a man.
The virgin birth was God’s way of announcing to the world that Jesus was indeed his Son. We’ll never know if God could have done it some other way, but because he did it this way, the unique entrance of the Son of God into the world proves that Jesus was indeed “the Word made flesh” (John 1:14). Through the virgin birth, the Son of God entered the human race, taking upon himself all aspects of true humanity, yet remaining sinless, and without surrendering any aspect of his deity.
Thus the Babe in the manger was truly Almighty God from heaven. He was fully God and yet fully man at one and the same time. Deity and humanity joined together. Theologians call him the God-Man.
What role did the Holy Spirit play? Through some means unknown to us, during the “overshadowing” he created within the womb of Mary the unborn (yet fully human and fully alive) Person of Jesus Christ.
It is a pure miracle of the highest order. No one can explain it. No scientist can duplicate it. It happened once and only once-never to be repeated. The virgin birth of Jesus Christ stands absolutely alone. Nothing can be compared to it because no other birth has been or ever could be like it.
But there it is. A truth to be believed. A fundamental fact to be accepted. A miracle at which to marvel. An amazing beginning for the God-Man. A birth like no other because Jesus was indeed God’s one-and-only Son.
Father, we believe in the virgin birth because we believe your Word. As we contemplate this miracle, increase our faith to believe that nothing is impossible with God. Amen.

Mystery and Wonder

  “How will this be” Mary asked the angel, “since I am a virgin?” (Luke 1:34).
Christmas has been slow in coming this year. Maybe that’s a statement about me personally, but I think it’s more than that. It’s almost as if the whole nation has been busy and distracted and we almost forgot that a special occasion is just around the corner. But now, at last, Christmas is upon us, just thirteen days away. Earlier this week I looked at our tree and realized we had some work to do. And that’s why I’ve been shopping not once but twice and even three times this week. And I even enjoyed it, although nowadays I prefer to do as much shopping as possible via the Internet.

But gift-giving does not exhaust the meaning of this holiday. Behind the celebration is a solemn and wonderful truth: the birth of Jesus Christ signals that God has entered our world. You will recall that the name Immanuel means “God with us.” The angel told Joseph to call the baby Immanuel because that’s precisely what Jesus is--God with us. He stripped off his royal robes and exchanged them for strips of peasant cloth. He traded a palace for a stable so that he might truly be “God with us.”

Here’s how one Statement of Faith puts it: “We believe in the deity of Jesus Christ, that He was conceived of the Holy Spirit, born of the Virgin Mary, lived a sinless life, and is fully God and fully Man.” That sentence contains a phrase that will make the smartest man stop and scratch his head: “fully God and fully man." How that could be is a mystery to us. By that phrase we simply mean that the baby in the manger was God in human flesh. John 1:14 explains the matter this way: “The Word became flesh and made his dwelling among us.” See his little hands and feet; they are the hands and feet of God. Listen to him laugh; it is the laughter of God. Wipe the tears from his infant cheeks; you are wiping the tears of God.

Some things we understand and therefore believe. Christmas is a miracle of another order. We can think of a thousand other ways God could have done it. But God chose the unusual (a virgin birth) and the unlikely (a baby born in a stable) as his means of visiting our planet. As we ponder the meaning of it all, our theology leads us to mystery and the mystery leads to wonderment. At Christmastime, like the Wise Men of old, we are invited to bring our gifts to Bethlehem and welcome God to our world.
Gracious Lord, you entered our world and brought light into our darkness. We gladly say, “Welcome to our world.” We hope you feel at home because we need you so much. Amen. 
In HIS Service,
SANGHA 

King in a Cradle

  “On coming to the house, they saw the child with his mother Mary, and they bowed down and worshiped him" (Matthew 2:11).
When the Magi finally found the baby Jesus, were they disappointed? They might have been. After all they been through, after such a long journey, after the detour in Jerusalem, did what they find seem anticlimactic? It might have seemed that way.
-He did not look like a king.
-His home did not look like a castle.
-He had no scepter in his hand, commanded no armies, gave no speeches, passed no laws. He could not walk or talk. No royal decree came from his lips.
-There was nothing to make you think he was a king. To the outward eye, he was nothing but a peasant child born in dire poverty.
But to the Magi, he was a king.
He possessed more royalty in a cradle than Herod possessed in his fine palace. He was greater in his infancy than Louis XIV in his ascendancy. He was more powerful as a child than Napoleon as an emperor.
But it did not seem that way. The eyes of flesh revealed nothing but a normal baby, gurgling and cooing, moving his tiny hands side to side, reaching eagerly for his mother’s breast.
Somehow the Magi saw beyond the present and into the future and in deep faith, they worshipped him. They saw that this child would one day rule the world and they were not ashamed to fall on their faces before him.
Let me paraphrase the words of one Bible commentator: Although we read that the Magi met Herod, we do not read that they worshipped him. But when they found this tiny baby, not yet two weeks old, rocking in his mother’s arms, these great men fell on their faces before him. To this baby they gave the honor due a king. What Herod craved, the baby received.

Lord Jesus, grant me eyes of faith to see you as you are, King in a cradle and Lord of the universe. Amen. 

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Naa Jeevithana By Sushil BR