We have just past the time of the year when our thoughts were turned to the Nativity. The songs we sang, our Christmas cards, our Christmas plays, the live Nativity scenes all reminded us that Jesus was born in a lowly stable. He was wrapped in swaddling clothes and laying in a manger. That's exactly what the angel told the shepherds. We know that these shepherds came and worshipped Him. We know that a couple of years later, wise men came and worshipped Him. And yet, how many of those shepherds and wise men realized that before Jesus would be declared the King of kings as promised, He would go through three years of 'stinky town?'
At the age of twelve, Jesus spent three days in the temple at Jerusalem asking questions to the scribes and priests. They were amazed at His knowledge and questions. Yet, how many of them recognized Him as the Saviour of the world? How many of them realized that in just twenty years, this knowledge-hungry young man would be considered a criminal to be hunted down and slaughtered?
We know the end of the story and in a few months we will rejoice over His resurrection. As we read the New Testament, we know that all these things were prophesied about Him. We are content to read that the ugly things that happened to Jesus happened for a reason and eventually worked out for OUR good.
Consider the apostle Paul. When God knocked Paul off of his horse on the road to Damascus, He told Ananias to pray for Paul because Paul was going to carry the message of the gospel before kings. Before Paul ever got before the kings, he had to go through stonings, beatings, shipwrecks, prisons and had to run for his life on several occasions. Read through the book of Acts and you will find that Paul went through a lot of 'stinky towns.' However, he did not let these things take his eyes off of the promise of God that God and himself had 'set' before him. (See my previous blog.) As previously mentioned, Paul talks about rejoicing in the Lord always, giving God thanks in everything and living in a daily fellowship with the Father.
The single thing that kept Jesus and Paul on God's course for them is the same thing that will keep every successful Christian on course. They did not let the day's events shape their future. If we let the newspaper headlines be our gospel, then let's all get drunk and drop out of church. That seems prevalent, now doesn't it? What the events of today ought to make us do is make us take a long drink from the wells of salvation (Is. 12:3). The events of today ought to make us drop to our knees and boldly declare 'This is the day that the Lord hath made; we will rejoice and be glad in it' (Ps118:24).
We should get up enough nerve and tell the devil that he is not the lord of our lives and that God has great and wonderful things planned for him.
Finally, in Mt 16:33, Jesus told Peter to quit talking like the devil. In essence, Jesus was saying, "Don't try to keep me from my cross. My death on the cross doesn't shape my future. My obedience to my Father's will makes me WANT to go to the cross, this stinky town. Going through the cross I will get my thrill of destroying the devil's power for all mankind. That is my joy that my Father has set before me. I have set that as my joy also."
Let us do likewise. Get a hold of God's promises and SET them as your joy. Then, don't let anything that happens to you today, stop you from rejoicing about the outcome of God's Word. What God has spoken, He is faithful to do. Amen and Amen.
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