Digging Deeper

Sorry, the blog team is taking the week off. Please feel free to browse our past entries from this year. Thank you for reading and we will see you in 2009. Have a happy New Year!!! and God bless.

In those days Caesar Augustus issued a decree that a census should be taken of the entire Roman world. (This was the first census that took place while Quirinius was governor of Syria.) And everyone went to his own town to register.

So Joseph also went up from the town of Nazareth in Galilee to Judea, to Bethlehem the town of David, because he belonged to the house and line of David. He went there to register with Mary, who was pledged to be married to him and was expecting a child. While they were there, the time came for the baby to be born, and she gave birth to her firstborn, a son. She wrapped him in cloths and placed him in a manger, because there was no room for them in the inn.

The Shepherds and the Angels

And there were shepherds living out in the fields nearby, keeping watch over their flocks at night. An angel of the Lord appeared to them, and the glory of the Lord shone around them, and they were terrified. But the angel said to them, “Do not be afraid. I bring you good news of great joy that will be for all the people. Today in the town of David a Savior has been born to you; he is Christ the Lord. This will be a sign to you: You will find a baby wrapped in cloths and lying in a manger.”

Suddenly a great company of the heavenly host appeared with the angel, praising God and saying,  “Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace to men on whom his favor rests.”

When the angels had left them and gone into heaven, the shepherds said to one another, “Let’s go to Bethlehem and see this thing that has happened, which the Lord has told us about.”

So they hurried off and found Mary and Joseph, and the baby, who was lying in the manger. When they had seen him, they spread the word concerning what had been told them about this child, and all who heard it were amazed at what the shepherds said to them. But Mary treasured up all these things and pondered them in her heart. The shepherds returned, glorifying and praising God for all the things they had heard and seen, which were just as they had been told.

Some may think I’m lazy or unimaginative but this is what I felt lead to post today. I found it appropriate and could not say it any better than this. Merry Christmas to all.

- Rick Phillips

The Word became flesh and made his dwelling among us. We have seen his glory, the glory of the One and Only, who came from the Father, full of grace and truth. -John 1:14

This week Pastor Darrel used the acronym G.R.A.C.E. – God’s Riches At Christs’ Expense. Let’s unpack that, God’s riches=eternal life. Christ’s expense=the crucifixion. It’s such an amazing thing for me to think about Jesus dying for my sins. Could I die for someone? I’d like to think that I could put my life on the line for my wife or daughter but I’m so selfish I usually put dirty dishes in the sink instead of the dishwasher (it’s true, just ask Jenni). Besides that we’re essentially talking about people who behave badly. Not just loved ones but not so loved ones. Jesus lived His life knowing that it would end in a horrible way and not because of anything He did but because of the things all of us did, our sins. He came into this world, He lived a perfect sinless life, He fought temptation AND WON! He healed people, He brought the dead back to life, He did all these amazing things and then He was killed in spite of it all. Then all we have to do, basically, is accept the fact that He did this for us and we will receive eternal life (God’s riches). In Isaiah 53:5 we learn: But he was pierced for our transgressions, he was crushed for our iniquities; the punishment that brought us peace was upon him, and by his wounds we are healed. Really? Man, what a deal for us (see there’s that selfish streak again).

Heavenly Father, thank you for sending Your son to die for our sins. I pray that we not take this ultimate sacrifice lightly and that we can live by Christs’ example and sacrifice ourselves daily for others. Amen

by Rick Phillips

“For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life.” – John 3:16

My only child started driving this year. Every single time she gets behind the wheel I get a little twinge in the pit of my stomach. It’s not that I don’t trust her, she seems to be a good driver but I always have this little moment of fear for her. I just don’t want to see her get hurt or worse… I always struggle a little with letting her go and not knowing what may happen.

How must God have felt sending His Son into this world knowing what would come of Him? He knew His Son would die a horrible, nasty, excruciating death and still He let Him go. Why? We find the short answer in John 3:16 “For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life.”

He sacrificed His Son for us. He let that precious little baby be born into this world and let Him grow up and die a horrible death for the sins we have committed. He did this knowing that none of us deserve it and many of us still refuse to even accept it. It always messes me up and humbles me to think about that innocent man dying on the cross for me and all the stupid, terrible sins I have committed and still continue to commit.

If you are reading this and have still not accepted this amazing gift our God has given to us all please don’t delay any longer. It’s really very easy. Join me in the following prayer:

God, thank You for sending Your Son to die for me so that I may live eternally. Father, I know that I am a sinner and even though I don’t deserve it I accept this gift You have given me. Amen.

by Rick Phillips

I am the father of a 16 year old daughter, Marissa. I have had many moments of inadequacy as a parent and I have often asked for God’s direction and forgiveness in my parenting skills. But can you imagine how Mary and Joseph must have felt. We don’t know a lot about Mary and Joseph as parents. We do know from Luke 2 that they were a whole day from Jerusalem before they realized He was not with them. How would that feel? <Joseph>”Mary, where’s Jesus?”<Mary> “I thought He was with the Joneses, haven’t you seen Him?” Now of course Jesus had a mission and purpose and was protected by God but I think I still would have freaked “Great! God entrusts us with His only begotten Son and we go off and forget Him!” How often did Mary and Joseph ask themselves “Are we prepared for this? Who are we to raise this child? What can we offer Him?”

What about Jesus as a child? Was He a good kid? Did He need disciplined?

How in the world do you raise the Son of God? I imagine it took a lot of faith, discipline, obedience and of course prayer. Well, huh? That sounds a lot like how Jenni and I try to raise Marissa. You see, while our children are ours, ultimately they/we are all God’s children. And as parents we are all entrusted with God’s children. But we can only raise them to the best of our abilities and we have to trust in God for the rest.

Read Luke 2

by Rick Phillips

At this the Jews began to grumble about him because he said, “I am the bread that came down from heaven.” They said, “Is this not Jesus, the son of Joseph, whose father and mother we know? How can he now say, ‘I came down from heaven’?” John 6:41-42

Long before Jesus’ arrival, the people were waiting for the coming of the Messiah.

When Jesus came to the earth, prophecy was fulfilled.  Throughout his life and his teaching, prophecy was fulfilled. 

 Many people witnessed his miracles and his acts.  More than we can know about, as John said at the end of his Gospel:

 ” Jesus did many other things as well. If every one of them were written down, I suppose that even the whole world would not have room for the books that would be written.” John 21:25

Through His teaching and his acts, many people came to believe Jesus as the Messiah and found everlasting life.

Many though, refused to believe.  They demanded more signs, more miracles, more proof.  They wouldn’t take the leap of faith to trust in Him.

Faith is necessary in our walk with Jesus.  If we don’t trust in Him, if we don’t trust that He is the great I Am, there is nothing that can bring us to Him. 

Faith is a necessary part of our every day lives.  Driving down the road, coming upon a stop sign, we believe that if we step on the pedal in the middle, we will stop in time.  Why do we believe that?  We’ve seen it happen.  We don’t all know the mystifying inner workings of an automobile’s braking system, but we’ve accepted that the middle pedal makes us stop.  We don’t have to be able to name all of the components in the brake system, we don’t have to put our hands on each and every piece; we just accept that it’s going to work.

Why then, do we so often struggle with faith in our Savior?  His own disciples struggled with the magnitude of His greatness, so it’s little wonder that we, 2000 years later, have our times of doubt. 

A person with faith is a beautiful thing.  I know a young man who is on the cusp of letting go, and I am so excited for him.  I can see in him a look of a toddler, sitting at the top of the slide at the playground, unsure about letting go, unsure if someone will be there at the end of the slide to catch him.  I can’t wait for him to let go of the rails and slide, I know he’ll be laughing with glee and fright, and when Jesus meets him, I know he’ll do what all toddlers do after that first slide – he’ll run to the top and slide again, this time with no fright, with no apprehension, just the acceptance that he’ll be caught up in the love of Jesus again and again.

Father, thank You for being there to catch me every time.  Forgive me in my times of apprehension, and help me remember that I can count on You to catch me every time I let go

Read: John 7:14-24

by: Jeanne Roberts

 He came to Jesus at night and said, “Rabbi, we know you are a teacher who has come from God. For no one could perform the miraculous signs you are doing if God were not with  him.”          John 3:2

 Jesus is the Teacher.  He is the Word of God and the word of God. 

 Just think if we sent our kids to school where there were no teachers.  They would go into each classroom with a book on each desk and no one to show them how to read them, how to learn from them.

It might be interesting to see the lessons they come up with, left on their own with the subject matter.

 I did get to witness something similar this month.  My daughter, Faith, is a sophomore at Brookville High School.  She also takes college courses at Sinclair through a program called PSEO.  She had the opportunity to take a “mini term” class online.  This class would run from December 1 through December 12, and would count as a full quarter of history.  She jumped at the chance, and I think she had no idea how tough those twelve days were going to be.  She was required to read three chapters per night, answer a discussion question online each night, write 3 essays total, and take 3 tests total.  That’s not too bad when there are 10 weeks to complete the work.  She would go to her room with every intention of reading her chapters every day.  Every day I would check on her to see how it was going, and invariably I would find her asleep in the book.  Literally, I found her with her face on the pages, apparently learning through osmosis, snoozing away.  We decided that for her next history class, she would sign up for a class on campus with a teacher.

 Faith with her history book makes me think of the Pharisees with their scrolls.  They had no teacher.  How easy it must have been for the scriptures to be twisted into something that only faintly resembled the true meaning.  They had become so attached to their man-made rituals that when the Teacher, the Word came to this earth, they were offended by his very presence.

 ”You diligently study the Scriptures because you think that by them you possess eternal life. These are the Scriptures that testify about me,” John 5:39

 Father forgive me when I put my own twist on Your words, to make my own will seem right.  Thank You for Your eternal presence and guidance as I study Your words and live by them.

 Read: John 5: 31-47

by: Jeanne Roberts

He was in the world, and though the world was made through him, the world did not recognize him. -  John 1:10

The Gospel of John is a record of Jesus’ miracles.  Yet all through the book of John, we see the Pharisees attempting to discredit Jesus.   In John Chapter 5, he tells of the lame man being healed by Jesus.  Instead of being awestruck by this miracle, the Pharisees chose to focus on the man carrying his mat on a Sabbath day, something that was unlawful, and on the man who directed him to do such a thing.

A lame man was healed, a Light shone in the darkness.  Still, they would not see.

It seems incredible that they would choose to blind themselves to the miracle so they could find a flaw.  How often do we do the same?  More than I’d like to admit, I’ve looked past the miracles all around me to see a crack in the pavement.  Instead of being captivated by the proof of God’s perfect love, I allow an insignificant blotch to trip me, to make my faith falter.

The Pharisees would not see because this Jesus character was so different from them.  Instead of remembering that we were made in the image of God, the Pharisees were expecting a Messiah made in THEIR image.  They had contorted the word of God in such a way that their rituals and their image became more important than the True Word of God.  The very notion of this scruffy carpenter being the Son of God was preposterous to the Pharisees.

Through His teachings and miracles, Jesus shone a light in this dark world.  The church leaders did everything in their power to extinguish the light.  2000 years later, His light still burns to chase away the shadows.

Read John Chapter 5

Dear Lord, thank You for the accounts of Jesus’ miracles so that I may remember His light that shines in the darkness.

by Jeanne Roberts

Jesus did not come into being when he was born, He is eternal.

Jesus was fully divine, yet fully human.  Although he humbled Himself to live as a man, He never stopped being eternally divine.  He not only humbled Himself to live as a man, but He did so in full recognition of the cost.

Jesus chose to make his dwelling among us, so that we may achieve everlasting life with Him.

How amazing is it that this perfect, powerful, eternal being chose to bridge the gap between us and eternity?  God could have said, “You know, I gave it a shot.  They had the garden; they had all creation in their care.  They had perfect lives and a perfect relationship with me.  But no, that wasn’t enough, they had to disobey and give in to the tempter.  Oh well.”

I mean really, how many of us have said something like that about people in our lives that have messed up?  Not so with God.  He loves us so much, that Jesus lowered himself to become fully human to absorb our sins and pay the price for our salvation.  Jesus paid the price for all of us.  He knowingly and willingly became the bridge between us and a life with God.

While we know that Jesus is perfect and without sin, it’s easy to forget that he was also fully human, so he knew physical and mental pain.  He knew hunger, thirst, exhaustion.  He knew despair and temptation, He knew heartbreak.   He experienced all of these things and more, and at a higher level than any of us can imagine, because of His perfect love for us – and yet he remained sinless.  Sinless and devoted to the task of being the Bridge that carries us to God.

Read: John 1:10-13

by Jeanne Roberts

The Word became flesh and made his dwelling among us.  We have seen his glory, the glory of the One and Only, who came from the Father, full of grace and truth.

John 1:14

The Word became flesh.

Why?

God gave us His Word. From the beginning of time, the Word was there, given to humanity for all to receive.  Why bring the Word to flesh?

We’ve all heard it said one way or another – words are words, actions make the difference.

The Word has been here always:

In the beginning there was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.  John 1:1

We are mere humans.  God knew that for us to understand the Word, for us to believe the Word, we needed to see the Word in action.

Spiritually, all humans are from Missouri: “show me.”…

The Word became flesh.

Born to a virgin, the Word became flesh.  He opened his eyes in a small place of filth, of dirt, filled with the stench of animals.  He came to save us, in this larger place of filth, of dirt, filled with the stench of our sins.

Word became flesh.

Why? Because God loves us and desires a relationship with each of us.  He loves us so much, He gave us His Word.  He gave us a love note.  He didn’t say it with a Hallmark, He said it with Jesus.

My husband can send me love notes.  He can tell me he loves me a hundred times a day.  It’s not until I see his words become action that I can believe him.  Whether it’s through sacrifices of his time, his attention, even his comfort, the action shows me his words are true.

Jesus, God’s Word became flesh, for humanity to see, to receive, to learn.  The Living Word.  The ultimate sacrifice.

I encourage you to spend time in the Gospel of John this week.

Read: John 1:1-5

Father, thank You for giving us your Word, Your Son, Jesus Christ.  Lord, not only during this season, but all through the year, help me remember the wonderful, perfect gift you gave to us.

by Jeanne Roberts