Eight Days before Christmas!

It is incredible how fast the year is winding down. Can you believe we only have eight days left until Christmas and fifteen days until the New Year! As we begin to reflect upon this past and plan for the New Year, it is my hope that you will spend some time meditating upon the goodness of the Lord.

Stumbling Blocks and Stepping Stones

“Then He said to the disciples, “It is impossible that no offenses should come, but woe to him through whom they do come!”” (Luke 17:1)

One of the interesting things about this text is that it refers to offenses as something that would be a natural part of the Christian life but it also warns about God’s sentiment concerning those who are guilty of offending others. A close examination of the term “offenses” shows that it can be translated as the trigger of a trap or a snare. This Christian friends, is the reason why Jesus issues a strong warning against those who cause the fall of you believers (little ones---babes in Christ). For this reason I believe that such arbitrary and unwarranted offenses can serve as stumbling blocks or stepping stones to the new believers’ faith.

How can you increase your faith?

Faith in the kingdom of God is like currency in the kingdoms of this world, without it none can be function and serve their purposes in life. A believer’s faith in God plays a major role in his ability to serve God and to fulfill His divine assignment here on earth. The text in Luke 17, we read the disciples’ concern about the need to increase their faith. Clearly the narrative shows that it is not the amount of faith but the quality or the mere existence of faith that is important in God’s economy. “So the Lord said, “If you have faith as a mustard seed, you can say to mulberry tree, ‘Be pulled up by the roots and be planted in the sea,’ and it would obey you” (Luke 17:6). God graciously promised that He would reward such faith when it is present in the believer’s life. It is a work of grace that warrants our gratitude and is not based on work (Luke 17:7-10). This work of grace was manifested in the lives of the ten lepers that were healed from their malady (vv. 11-19).

What and Where is the Kingdom of God?

“Now when He was asked by the Pharisees when the kingdom of God would come, He answered them and said, “The kingdom of God does not come with observation; nor will they say, ‘See here!’ or ‘See there!’ For indeed, the kingdom of God is within you” (Luke 17:20-21).

The central message of Jesus’ first advent is the dominant theme of the “kingdom that now is and that is to come!” It is the proclamation of God’s grace and His offer of salvation to all men. It begins with the internal reality of receiving Christ as Lord and Savior of your life, for He is the embodiment of the kingdom of God. This Christmas let us make the teaching of Christ’s coming as the embodiment of the kingdom of God part of our witness. May we become intentional in pointing to Jesus not just as a baby in a manger but as the Christ who came to save us from a sinner’s hell. May God infuse with the passion to make Him known as the King of kings and the Lord of lords.