The Ancient of Days

Mark 2: 1 – 12 (NIV): A few days later, when Jesus again entered Capernaum, the people heard that he had come home. So many gathered that there was no room left, not even outside the door, and he preached the word to them. Some men came, bringing to him a paralytic, carried by four of them. Since they could not get him to Jesus because of the crowd, they made an opening in the roof above Jesus and, after digging through it, lowered the mat the paralyzed man was lying on. When Jesus saw their faith, he said to the paralytic, "Son, your sins are forgiven." Now some teachers of the law were sitting there, thinking to themselves, "Why does this fellow talk like that? He's blaspheming! Who can forgive sins but God alone?" Immediately Jesus knew in his spirit that this was what they were thinking in their hearts, and he said to them, "Why are you thinking these things? Which is easier: to say to the paralytic, 'Your sins are forgiven,' or to say, 'Get up, take your mat and walk'? But that you may know that the Son of Man has authority on earth to forgive sins . . ." He said to the paralytic, "I tell you, get up, take your mat and go home." He got up, took his mat and walked out in full view of them all. This amazed everyone and they praised God, saying, "We have never seen anything like this!"

If you believe that a man named Jesus walked the earth – he preached and healed and died, but he wasn't God in the flesh, then you believe that man, Jesus, was a liar. Because Jesus clearly claimed to be God incarnate. Jesus called himself “I Am” in John 8:58, and here, refers to himself as the Son of Man. This was Jesus' favorite way to refer to himself, calling himself this 83 times in the Gospels. The Son of Man was equal in power and sovereignty to the Ancient of Days in Daniel 7:13. The Son of Man was worshiped by all people in Daniel, and here the Son of Man forgives sins. Only God can forgive sins.
John 1:1 and Colossians 1:15 say Jesus was the voice and face of the unseen God. Jesus accepted worship from the disciples in Matthew 14:33. Stephen prayed to him in Acts 7:59. Paul says in Colossians 1:16 that nothing was created that Jesus didn't create. This not only means Jesus is the creator of the universe, but also that he was not created. Only God is not created.
I know this is pretty deep for a three-minute study, but we must get this one right. We must understand who Jesus is. He was not just a prophet, or just a teacher, or just a man, or a martyr. He conquered death and every other enemy of mankind, and who but God could do that? He not only healed, but gave eternal life to all who believe. He was the sinless, human form of the Ancient of Days.

Pressing On in 2011

Philippians 3: 10 – 16 (NIV): I want to know Christ and the power of his resurrection and the fellowship of sharing in his sufferings, becoming like him in his death, and so, somehow, to attain to the resurrection from the dead. Not that I have already obtained all this, or have already been made perfect, but I press on to take hold of that for which Christ Jesus took hold of me. Brothers, I do not consider myself yet to have taken hold of it. But one thing I do: Forgetting what is behind and straining toward what is ahead, I press on toward the goal to win the prize for which God has called me heavenward in Christ Jesus. All of us who are mature should take such a view of things. And if on some point you think differently, that too God will make clear to you. Only let us live up to what we have already attained.

Paul realized that the Christian walk is more of a marathon than a sprint. He knew he had grown toward maturity some days, and some days, not so much. We can all identify with this. We've all grown in our Christian journey, but we've also made mistakes and gone backward at times.

Paul encourages us to forget our mistakes and shortcomings and press forward. Somehow the miracle of resurrection awaits us. Somehow we will reach perfection – but not in this life. In this life we are on a journey toward maturity and perfection, but we mustn't be discouraged that we haven't arrived yet. We have a brand new year before us and it is our opportunity to strain forward and become more and more like Christ in 2011.

So this new year, let us forget and remember. Forget our mistakes from the past. Forget the old hurts that hold us back. But remember God's faithfulness in the past. Has God been good to you? Do you have life in your body and air in your lungs? Do you have the blessings of friends and family? Are you fed and sheltered and clothed? Have you seen God work in your life? May we never forget. And may we never forget his promises for our future. Chiefly, eternal life with him. It is a prize for which we are reaching.

Press on this year. Strain forward toward perfection and don't give up. We will fail at times and we will make mistakes and commit sins. But God measures our success by our faithfulness. If we trust in him and obey him, then we are pleasing him. When we fall, we pick ourselves up, dust off our britches, and keep going. Paul was in prison when he wrote this, yet his goal was the same as anyone's: to press on to maturity.

Paul ends this passage encouraging us to live up to the maturity we have attained and not to slide backward. Did God teach you anything new this year? Are you more mature today than you were a year ago? Live up to that, move forward, and don't backslide. Let that be our goal for this new year. Press on.

Presenting Jesus in the Temple

Luke 2: 21 – 32 (NIV): On the eighth day, when it was time to circumcise him, he was named Jesus, the name the angel had given him before he had been conceived. When the time of their purification according to the Law of Moses had been completed, Joseph and Mary took him to Jerusalem to present him to the Lord (as it is written in the Law of the Lord, "Every firstborn male is to be consecrated to the Lord" ), and to offer a sacrifice in keeping with what is said in the Law of the Lord: "a pair of doves or two young pigeons." Now there was a man in Jerusalem called Simeon, who was righteous and devout. He was waiting for the consolation of Israel, and the Holy Spirit was upon him. It had been revealed to him by the Holy Spirit that he would not die before he had seen the Lord's Christ. Moved by the Spirit, he went into the temple courts. When the parents brought in the child Jesus to do for him what the custom of the Law required, Simeon took him in his arms and praised God, saying: "Sovereign Lord, as you have promised, you now dismiss your servant in peace. For my eyes have seen your salvation, which you have prepared in the sight of all people, a light for revelation to the Gentiles and for glory to your people Israel."

It was required of Jewish families to circumcise their sons on their eighth day, and to take their children to the temple for special sacrifices at the appointed times. The sacrifice in this passage was called the “redemption of the firstborn” and it had to be paid in blood. Why? To recognize that they were only borrowing the child for a time, but he actually belonged to God.

Realizing that our children belong to God changes everything. We think we love our children, but God loves them more. We think we know what's best for them, but God does know what's best for them. We think they belong to us, but truly, we are only borrowing them for a time. God is the giver of life, and every life belongs to him.

So, we should give our children right back to God like Mary and Joseph did. This means we rear them in the “training and instruction” of the Lord. God has commanded us to teach our children what he requires. “Impress them on your children,” Deuteronomy 6:7 says. “Talk about them when you sit at home and when you walk along the road, when you lie down and when you get up.” Children learn by watching – may our actions always show that God is our first priority.

Simeon realized that all of history rested on this child, and that the blood coursing through his veins would one day save all who believed. He knew, too, that God's promise was for all people.