Luke 2:1-7 (NASB)
[1] Now in those days a decree went out from Caesar Augustus, that a census be taken of all the inhabited earth.
[2] This was the first census taken while Quirinius was governor of Syria.
[3] And everyone was on his way to register for the census, each to his own city.
[4] Joseph also went up from Galilee, from the city of Nazareth, to Judea, to the city of David which is called Bethlehem, because he was of the house and family of David,
[5] in order to register along with Mary, who was engaged to him, and was with child.
[6] While they were there, the days were completed for her to give birth.
[7] And she gave birth to her firstborn son; and she wrapped Him in cloths, and laid Him in a manger, because there was no room for them in the inn.
Just before we begin to celebrate the beginning of a new year, there is a celebration of the coming of Messiah, the Christmas season. Wow! What a great lead-in to the start of a new year. But last year there was a great distraction orchestrated by Satan.
He got the church focused on telling the world that we would not put up with their nonsense about using Happy Holidays instead of Merry Christmas. I fear in our exuberance, we were so distracted that we never really sat down and thought about what the Christmas season is really all about. And, in that distraction we were not able to convey to the world what the child in the manger was all about.
The world can do what they want to cover up the fact that God came to earth to provide for the salvation of mankind, but that does not change the facts of human and eternal history. We cannot convince the world of the reality of Messiah by forcing the seasonal title, Merry Christmas. We can only show them by allowing the love of that Christ child to shine in all areas of our daily lives. Yes, even in our politics.
In the second half of 2009, we took a look at most of the Sermon on the Mount. The only things that we have not studied are the Beatitudes, which were the start of that great sermon. Before we take a look at the Beatitudes, we need to orient ourselves.
In this New Year, 2010, we are going to take a close look at the Christian journey. The Beatitudes are an important part of the Christian journey because they reveal the attitude with which we approach the Christian journey. But first,...
There is one important fact that we need to understand before we can move into the stream of the Christian Journey. It is this: God makes the first move. From the very beginning of time itself, God has always been the one who made the moves toward mankind.
Thoughts about what the Christmas season really means, help us to understand this fact. I have a link on my face book to the Answers In Genesis web site and on Christmas day Ken Ham, president and CEO of AiG-U.S., wrote a short article that caught my attention. (www.answersingenesis.org)
In his article, he talks about the title of a song written by Buddy Davis. The Hands that Created the World-Made the Hands that Were Now Holding Him. Think about that statement for a moment. That's a weird thought, unless, you know something about how God works in His universe.
When I think about Christmas I can see a scene in my mind of that day Messiah was born. I see a carpenter, his rough hands resting on the shoulders of a young woman. Around him are the sights, smells, and sounds that would surround a manger where animals were fed and kept.
There are animals and a few shepherds standing around, but everyone's focus is on the young woman. Her name is Mary. Just a short time ago, she gave birth to a baby boy and has given Him the name Jesus. He is the promised Messiah of Israel and has come to redeem mankind's relationship with God.
Luke 2:7 (NASB)
[7] And she gave birth to her firstborn son; and she wrapped Him in cloths, and laid Him in a manger, because there was no room for them in the inn.
As a pastor, I have stood by the bedside of hundreds of young mothers who were holding their newborn babies. Out of the memories of those experiences, I can see the care that Mary would have taken as she took her new baby in her hands and wrapped Him in cloth, and then gently laid Him in a manger.
"The hands that created the world - made the hands that were now holding Him." Mary was holding the Creator of the universe in her hands. Wow, what a thought! God had become a man so He could save mankind. That's what Christmas is all about. And the world, as hard as they try, cannot change that fact. They can only accept His love or reject it.
A celebration of Christmas is a celebration of the fact that God has made the first move to redeem and repair the relationship between God and mankind that was broken in the Garden of Eden when man committed the first sin. Let's switch to a different scene now.
One mistake all of us make when we talk about God is to apply human traits and limitations on Him. Now certainly human traits are used to help us get an idea about who God is and how He works in the world. But God is not limited by anything. I think one mistake we make when we talk about creation, is to think that God is limited in some ways like we are.
A good example of this, especially in the discussions about creation, is to think that God is limited by time. God created time and stands outside of it and that is hard for us to get a handle on. So while we use human terms to describe what we know about God, we must remember that God is not limited in any way.
Another example of this is seen in the record of the creation of Adam in the Book of Genesis.
Genesis 2:7 (NASB)
[7] Then the LORD God formed man of dust from the ground, and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life; and man became a living being.
Now when I think about forming something out of dirt (the dust from the ground), I can see the hands of a potter forming an image out of clay. That's the picture I see in Gen 2:7. God, the Creator of the universe, reached down and scooped up some dirt in His hands. He was very careful to form the man just so. And when He had the form of the man just the way He wanted him, God breathed the breath of life into his nostrils and man became a living being.
Now God is a Spirit and to say that He has hands is... Well it is to apply human physical attributes to a spirit. That does not work in our human reality, but it does help us to understand God in a more personal way. And God is a personal God who wants to interact with mankind, He wants us to understand Him, to have relationship with Him. So He takes on human attributes so we can identify with Him.
So while the way I see God's hands reaching down and scooping up dirt to form the first man many not be physically correct, it does convey a correct accounting of what happened as God allows me to understand it with my limitations as a human being.
My favorite passage in the book of Psalms is found in chapter 139. It helps me get a handle on the amazing thought that The Hands that Created the World-Made the Hands that Were Now Holding Him.
Psalms 139:13-16 (NASB)
[13] For You formed my inward parts; You wove me in my mother's womb.
Can you see the hands of a weaver weaving a beautiful garment or rug? Yes, I know, it is absurd to think that God's hands work in the womb to weave together a baby child. But it does convey to all of us that we are carefully created by Almighty God.
The color of our skin, eyes, and hair, the shape of our nose, ears, and body, all of it; carefully made by the hands of Almighty God. Don't ever let the world through advertising and the media make you feel intimidated by what they perceive to be the beautiful and perfect body and look. You are perfect just the way you are. You were created by the hand of Almighty God.
[13] For You formed my inward parts; You wove me in my mother's womb.
[14] I will give thanks to You, for I am fearfully and wonderfully made; Wonderful are Your works, And my soul knows it very well.
[15] My frame was not hidden from You, When I was made in secret, And skillfully wrought in the depths of the earth;
[16] Your eyes have seen my unformed substance; And in Your book were all written The days that were ordained for me, When as yet there was not one of them.
So the hands that God used to create Adam and Eve are the same hands that worked in the womb of Mary's mother to create Mary. And so "The hands that created the world - made the hands that were now holding Him." God has made the first move. He has reached out with His hand to save mankind.
The hand of Almighty reaches out at times to heal, comfort, and save.
I could go on and on about how Jesus reached out His hand to touch the lives of the people around Him but we must move on.
If you watch The Passion, by Mel Gibson, or if you are familiar with Catholic tradition, you will be familiar with a scene at the foot of the cross that is not recorded in the Scriptures. It is the scene of Mary holding her son Jesus in her arms, after they have taken Him down from the cross. Now I don't think it is unreasonable to think that that might have happened.
It brings to mind the words we have been pondering, "The hands that created the world - made the hands that were now holding Him."
The hands that created the world, Jesus' hands, are pierced for the sins of rebellious mankind. Jesus is crucified for the salvation and redemption of mankind. God has made the first move to repair the broken relationship with man.
John 19:17-19 (NASB)
[17] They took Jesus, therefore, and He went out, bearing His own cross, to the place called the Place of a Skull, which is called in Hebrew, Golgotha.
[18] There they crucified Him, and with Him two other men, one on either side, and Jesus in between.
[19] Pilate also wrote an inscription and put it on the cross. It was written, "JESUS THE NAZARENE, THE KING OF THE JEWS."
Fast forward.
John 20:6-7 (NASB)
[6] And so Simon Peter also came, following him, and entered the tomb; and he saw the linen wrappings lying there,
[7] and the face-cloth which had been on His head, not lying with the linen wrappings, but rolled up in a place by itself.
There in the tomb where the dead body of Jesus lay, suddenly, there is an overwhelming light. Two hands reach down and begin to unwrap the lifeless head of Jesus, carefully rolling the wrapping as He takes it from Jesus' head. When finished, He sets it aside. Gently lifting Jesus' head with His hands, He places his open lips around the mouth and nose of Jesus. He then breathes the breath of life back into Jesus' lifeless body.
God has made the first move to save mankind.
I want to take you to one last scene in the New Testament. Jesus has just appeared to His disciples after the resurrection.
Luke 24:36-40 (NASB)
[36] While they were telling these things, He Himself stood in their midst and said to them, "Peace be to you."
[37] But they were startled and frightened and thought that they were seeing a spirit.
[38] And He said to them, "Why are you troubled, and why do doubts arise in your hearts?
[39] "See My hands and My feet, that it is I Myself; touch Me and see, for a spirit does not have flesh and bones as you see that I have."
[40] And when He had said this, He showed them His hands and His feet.
Some of Jesus' followers are cowering in a room fearing that at any moment soldiers will come and take them away. Suddenly the Creator of the universe stands before them. He shows them the scars in his hands, feet, and side. He stands there as proof that God has taken a journey from the glory of Heaven to make the first move to save mankind.
From the creation, to the manger, to the cross, to the conviction of the Holy Spirit in my personal heart, God makes the first move to repair my broken relationship with Him. I must make a choice to accept or reject His love for me. The Christian Journey is all about what to do after one accepts the love of God in their heart. In 2010, what will you do with God's move to repair, grow, and strengthen your relationship with Him?
NASB - New American Standard Bible (NASB). Cedar Rapids: Laridian, 2002.
I want to thank my research assistants, Debi Peck and Robyn Harper, who do hours of research to provide many of my resources. I also want to thank Vonda Watson-Bostick and Robyn Harper, who help me with editing.