Finally.
A few quiet moments to gather my thoughts that have been flowing through the courses of my mind in the last weeks and months.
Life has been hectic and crazy. I fully believe that Satan likes our lives like that so that we do not take the time to fully focus on the Lord and about what our purpose is on earth - praise and worship of our Savior. It is about giving God the glory for all He has done. When we are caught up in the rat-race of this culture in which we live in America, these truths can fall on deaf ears.
Sometimes we are part of the problem because we continue to add to what we "think" we are supposed to do. We live "on-the-go".
Sometimes it is just life in and of itself - the jobs, responsibilities, and needs of our families.
Sometimes it just out of our own laziness for us to really grasp this life isn't all about me, myself,
and I.
We are now in the middle of the Christmas season and my heart has been pondering a great deal on the story of Christmas. As I was teaching my students the "oh-so-familiar" Christmas story of Luke 2 last week, the Lord began to really work on stretching me to grasp more deeply what He has done.
I am thankful for the Lord teaching me as I teach those children He has put into my care. Here are some things the Lord continues to reveal to me about Himself through my own study of His Word, teaching His Word, and taking the time to listen to His truths through preaching or His still, small voice.
Here are names Christ spoke of Himself while on this earth. I found it a wonderful study of the Christmas story to view it through His names. See how the Lord showed me how His names relate to His actual birth/birthplace and of what He would speak to us. I know I am far from being a Bible scholar, but I do desire to find connections of the Lord in every part of life, so why not the Christmas story?
(I used my Bible study Finding I Am by Lysa TerKeurst as a springboard for my deeper study in this.)
"I am the Bread of Life."
"I am the True Vine."
"I am the Living Water."
John 6:35 - Jesus said to them, “I am the bread of life; whoever comes to me shall not hunger, and whoever believes in me shall never thirst.
John 15:1 - I am the true vine, and my Father is the vinedresser.
John 4:13-14 - Jesus said to her, “Everyone who drinks of this water will be thirsty again,
14 but whoever drinks of the water that I will give him will never be thirsty again. The water that I will give him will become in him a spring of water welling up to eternal life.”
Mary and Joseph went to Bethlehem for taxation with the Roman government because Joseph was of the household of David. As we already know, it was also where Jesus was born. What does this have to do with Jesus being the Bread of Life?
Bethlehem means the City of Bread! How fitting that the Bread of Life would be born in a city that is so rightly named. Our Savior, born in a lowly stable and laid in a manger - a feed or watering trough for animals - would become our Bread of Life where we would never hunger. Spiritually, we can be fed through His Word and His truths.
In researching Bethlehem, I found that it was famous in the ancient times for its abundant growth of olives, vines, and almonds. How fitting to me that Jesus, the "True Vine" would be born with that abundant growth on the hillsides surrounding Bethlehem. To apply this to our Christmas story today, we can find abundant growth in our spiritual walk when we abide in our True Vine and allow Him to prune us into bringing forth more fruit. Just as fruit cannot grow unless it is attached to the tree, so can we not grow unless we abide in Jesus - the One who was born to give us life.
Lastly, I have learned in my research that Bethlehem was also near a great spring of water. In my reading I found that the water was used to fill Solomon's pools for the Temple in Jerusalem. This water was used in part to wash away the blood from the daily sacrifices at the Temple and would be increased more during sacrifices on feast days. I can't help but link this to our Living Water who not only quenches our spiritual thirst, but also cleanses us from what the law could not.
https://news.nationalgeographic.com/2017/12/bethlehem-christ-birth-blincoe/
https://www.bible-history.com/jesus/bethlehem.htm
https://www.bibleplaces.com/grapevines-vineyards/
http://www.bible.ca/archeology/bible-archeology-jerusalem-temple-mount-threshing-floor-aqueduct.htm
"I am the Light of the World."
John 8:12 - Again Jesus spoke to them, saying, “I am the light of the world. Whoever follows me will not walk in darkness, but will have the light of life.”
In the familiar Christmas story, there were the shepherds in the field who were shown a bright light that cast out the darkness around them. There were wisemen from the east who followed a star that led them to the true Light.
The shepherds were going about their daily lives tending the sheep at nighttime. Darkness was part of night - and darkness had been surrounding the Jewish people for around 400 years with the Roman rule and no signs or visions from God. The angels broke that darkness with marvelous light to announce the birth of Christ - the Messiah - to the shepherds. The shepherds' lives were changed forever as they went to seek the Light of the World - the Messiah as a baby in a manger.
The Wisemen - such knowledge they held. They searched the scriptures and searched the skies watching the stars as they lit the night sky. God was telling His story through His creation and they were willing to view it through the truth of His Word. They were not Jews - God's chosen people. They were Gentiles - those outside of the beloved nation of Israel - but God chose to let a light lead them to the Light of the World. Jesus did not come just for the Jews to be rescued from Roman rule. Jesus came as the angels declared to the shepherds in Luke 2:10 - I bring you good news of great joy that will be for all the people.
That should make us all rejoice in and of itself. I imagine most of those reading this have no Jewish ancestry. We would be those Gentiles. We would be the ones following the light to the true Light of the World.
"I am the Good Shepherd."
"I am the Gate for the Sheep."
John 10:11 - I am the good shepherd. The good shepherd lays down his life for the sheep.
John 10:7 - So Jesus again said to them, “Truly, truly, I say to you, I am the door of the sheep.
This one seems much easier to connect. Jesus, the Good Shepherd, was born in a lowly stable and who were the first outsiders to meet him? It was those bumbling, smelly, awkward shepherds who were just doing a regular night's work taking care of those wandering sheep on the hillside. When that light exploded the night, and the angel spoke of the Messiah being born and lying in a manger, they took off running to see what had come to pass. They didn't have to go all the way to Jerusalem to herd their sheep through the Sheep Gate for sacrifice. They could go directly to Bethlehem to see the "Lamb of God" who would enter that Sheep Gate once for all (Hebrews 10:10) and become our sacrifice for our sins.
This is a beautiful picture of ALL coming to our Savior. If Jesus, the King of Kings and Lord of Lords had been born in a palace, do you think those smelly shepherds would have ever darkened the courtyard of the palace, let alone come to His room to fall at His bed? Never would they have been allowed because of their lowly stature. But they were the first to greet Jesus - our Good Shepherd.
Have you ever thought about it this way, though? As I stated above, those shepherds were bumbling, smelly, awkward, and lowly. That is basically what sheep are - and God's Word tells us we are like sheep. (Isaiah 53:6) We need our Good Shepherd and we must fall before Him with our bumbling attempts of righteousness, our smelly sin nature, and our awkward excuses for not following Him with a lowly and humble spirit. Then, we must go and tell others the same. (Luke 2:17-18) He brings us through the Sheep Gate, cleansing us and making us whole while He became the sacrifice in our place.
"I am the Resurrection and the Life."
"I am the Way and the Truth and the Life."
John 11:25 - Jesus said to her, “I am the resurrection and the life.Whoever believes in me, though he die, yet shall he live,
John 14:6 - Jesus said to him, “I am the way, and the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.
Think again on what I shared above. Jews and Gentiles alike came to see Jesus when He was born - the Messiah. The part of John 14:6 that has struck me most for this section is: "No one comes to the Father except through me."
This name couples with another name of Christ - one that is spoken of and sung about much this time of year but can become so heard that we forget the majesty of it - Emmanuel - God With Us.
This was God coming down among the creation He made and becoming one of us so that He could be the "Resurrection and the Life." No other could take away our sins. The priests gave sacrifices, but none could take away the sins completely. It was only one WAY through Christ - fully God and fully Man, perfect in every way - that our sins could be forever paid.
God came down.
God came to live among us.
God humbled Himself and came in the form of an innocent baby.
God, through His Son, came to face what we face, live what we live, yet without sin.
God, through His Son, became our sacrifice so that even though we might die physically, we can live forever with Him.
This name brings to my mind this Psalm from David - the ancestor of Christ:
Psalm 8
O Lord, our Lord,
how majestic is your name in all the earth!
You have set your glory above the heavens.
2 Out of the mouth of babies and infants,
you have established strength because of your foes,
to still the enemy and the avenger.
how majestic is your name in all the earth!
You have set your glory above the heavens.
2 Out of the mouth of babies and infants,
you have established strength because of your foes,
to still the enemy and the avenger.
3 When I look at your heavens, the work of your fingers,
the moon and the stars, which you have set in place,
4 what is man that you are mindful of him,
and the son of man that you care for him?
the moon and the stars, which you have set in place,
4 what is man that you are mindful of him,
and the son of man that you care for him?
5 Yet you have made him a little lower than the heavenly beings
and crowned him with glory and honor.
6 You have given him dominion over the works of your hands;
you have put all things under his feet,
7 all sheep and oxen,
and also the beasts of the field,
8 the birds of the heavens, and the fish of the sea,
whatever passes along the paths of the seas.
and crowned him with glory and honor.
6 You have given him dominion over the works of your hands;
you have put all things under his feet,
7 all sheep and oxen,
and also the beasts of the field,
8 the birds of the heavens, and the fish of the sea,
whatever passes along the paths of the seas.
9 O Lord, our Lord,
how majestic is your name in all the earth!
how majestic is your name in all the earth!
I hope this helps you see Jesus as more than just a baby in a manger born in Bethlehem.
He is the Great I AM. God in flesh.
Let's celebrate Christmas in light of that great name.
1 comment:
I loved this statement - Bethlehem means the City of Bread! How fitting that the Bread of Life would be born in a city that is so rightly named.
Good thoughts Kellie!
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