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The
Word became Flesh
On a plaque marking Abraham Lincoln's
birthplace near Hodgenville, Kentucky, is recorded this scrap of conversation:
"Any news down 't the village, Ezry?" "Well, Squire McLain's
gone t' Washington t' see Madison swore in, and ol' Spellman tells me this
Bonaparte fella has captured most o' Spain. What's new out here,
neighbor?" "Nuthin' nuthin' a'tall, 'cept fer a new baby born t' Tom
Lincoln's. Nothin' ever happens out here." Some events, whether birthdays
in Hodgenville (or Bethlehem) or spiritual rebirth in a person's life, may not
create much earthly splash, but those of lasting importance will eventually get
the notice they deserve.── Source Unknown.
Long ago, there ruled in Persia a wise
and good king. He loved his people. He wanted to know how they lived. He wanted
to know about their hardships. Often he dressed in the clothes of a working man
or a beggar, and went to the homes of the poor. No one whom he visited thought
that he was their ruler. One time he visited a very poor man who lived in a
cellar. He ate the coarse food the poor man ate. He spoke cheerful, kind words
to him. Then he left. Later he visited the poor man again and disclosed his
identity by saying, "I am your king!" The king thought the man would
surely ask for some gift or favor, but he didn't. Instead he said, "You
left your palace and your glory to visit me in this dark, dreary place. You ate
the course food I ate. You brought gladness to my heart! To others you have
given your rich gifts. To me you have given yourself!"
God is willing to make most any
accommodation to have fellowship with us. Even becoming human. ── Brett Blair,
Sermon Illustrations, 1999.
Lying at your feet is your dog.
Imagine, for the moment, that your dog and every dog is in deep distress. Some
of us love dogs very much. If it would help all the dogs in the world to become
like men, would you be willing to become a dog? Would you put down your human
nature, leave your loved ones, your job, hobbies, your art and literature and
music, and choose instead of the intimate communion with your beloved, the poor
substitute of looking into the beloved's face and wagging your tail, unable to
smile or speak? Christ by becoming man limited the thing which to Him was the
most precious thing in the world; his unhampered, unhindered communion with the
Father.── C.S. Lewis.
He began His ministry by
being hungry, yet He is the Bread of Life.
Jesus ended His earthly ministry by being thirsty, yet He is the Living Water.
Jesus was weary, yet He is our rest. Jesus paid tribute, yet He is the King.
Jesus was accused of having a demon, yet He cast out demons.
Jesus wept, yet He wipes away our tears.
Jesus was sold for thirty pieces of silver, yet He redeemed the world.
Jesus was brought as a lamb to the slaughter, yet He is the Good Shepherd.
Jesus died, yet by His death He destroyed the power of death.
── Gregory of Nazianzus,
A.D. 381.
JESUS
I
would propose that the subject of the ministry of this house, as long as this
platform shall stand, and as long as this house shall be frequented by
worshipers, shall be the person of Jesus Christ. I am never ashamed to avow
myself a Calvinist; I do not hesitate to take the name of Baptist; but if I am
asked what is my creed, I reply, "It is Jesus Christ." My venerated
predecessor, Dr. Gill, has left a [theological heritage] admirable and
excellent in its way. But the [legacy] to which I would pin and bind myself
forever, God helping me,...is Jesus Christ, who is the arm and substance of the
gospel, who is in Himself all theology, the incarnation of every precious
truth.── C.H. Spurgeon, first words in the pulpit of the Metropolitan
Tabernacle, London.
The mystery of the
humanity of Christ, that He sunk Himself into our flesh, is beyond all human
understanding. ── Martin Luther, Table Talk.
If our greatest need had
been information, God would have sent us an educator.
If your greatest need had been technology, God would have sent us a scientist.
If our greatest need had been money, God would have sent us an economist.
If our greatest need had been pleasure, God would have sent us an entertainer.
But our greatest need was forgiveness, so God sent us a Savior.
── Source Unknown.
Purposes of the
incarnation:
- To do the Father's will (Jn 6:38),
- To bear witness to the truth (Jn 18:37),
- To bring light to the darkness (Jn 12:46),
- To bring true judgment (Jn 9:39),
- To bring abundant life (Jn 10:10).
── Source Unknown.
Mary Had The Little Lamb
Mary had the little Lamb,
who lived before His birth;
Self-existent Son of God, from Heaven He came to Earth.
Micah 5:2
Mary had the little Lamb;
see Him in yonder stall --
Virgin-born Son of God, to save man from the Fall.
Isaiah 7:14
Mary had the little Lamb,
obedient Son of God;
Everywhere the Father led, His feet were sure to trod.
John 6:38
Mary had the little Lamb,
crucified on the tree
The rejected Son of God, He died to set men free.
1 Peter 1:18
Mary had the little Lamb
-- men placed Him in the grave,
Thinking they were done with Him; to death He was no slave!
Matthew 28:6
Mary had the little Lamb,
ascended now is He;
All work on Earth is ended, our Advocate to be.
Hebrews 4:14-16
Mary had the little Lame
-- mystery to behold!
From the Lamb of Calvary, a Lion will unfold.
Revelation 5: 5,6
When the Day Star comes
again, of this be very sure:
It won't be Lamb-like silence, but with the Lion's roar.
Psalm 2:12
Revelation 19:11-16
── Marv & Marbeth
Rosenthal - Copies of this poem may be used without written permission from the
authors.
Jesus went into the
synagogue on the Sabbath and saw a man with a crippled hand. He knew that the
Pharisees were watching to see what he would do, and he felt angry that they
were only out to put him in the wrong. They did not care a scrap for the
handicapped man, nor did they want to see the power and love of God brought to
bear on him.
There were other instances
where Jesus showed anger or sternness. He "sternly charged" the leper
whom he had healed not to tell anyone about it (Mark 1:43) because he foresaw
the problems of being pursued by a huge crowd of thoughtless people who were
interested only in seeing miracles and not in his teaching. But the leper
disobeyed and so made things very hard for Jesus.
Jesus showed anger again
when the disciples tried to send away the mothers and their children (Mark
10:13-16). He was indignant and distressed at the way the disciples were
thwarting his loving purposes and giving the impression that he did not have
time for ordinary people.
He showed anger once more
when he drove "out those who sold and those who bought in the temple"
(Mark 11:15-17). God's house of prayer was being made into a den of thieves and
God was not being glorified -- hence Jesus' angry words and deeds. Commenting
on this, Warfield wrote: "A man who cannot be angry, cannot be
merciful." The person who cannot be angry at things which thwart God's
purposes and God's love toward people is living too far away from his fellow
men ever to feel anything positive towards them.
Finally, at Lazarus' grave
Jesus showed not just sympathy and deep distress for the mourners (John
11:33-35), but also a sense of angry outrage at the monstrosity of death in
God's world. This is the meaning of "deeply moved" in John 11:38. ──
James Packer, Your Father Loves You, Harold Shaw Publishers, 1986.
CHRIST,
THE NEEDY ONE.
Does He who
made all things need anything? No, in one sense, as we read in Acts 17: 24,25; but He became a needy One, as we shall see.
Christ was a
needy Man when on earth.
Ⅰ.
He had no home in which to be born (Luke 2:7).
Ⅱ.
No place to lay His head (Matt.8:20).
Ⅲ.
No money to pay the tax (Matt.17:27)
Ⅳ.
No comforter in Gethsemane agony (Matt.26:40).
Ⅴ.
No friend to plead for Him when He was falsely accused (Mark 14:50).
Ⅵ.
No God to befriend Him when suffering for sin (Matt.27:46).
Ⅶ.
No grave of His own in which to be buried (Matt.27:60).
Christ became a
needy Man that He might meet our need. “ Though He was rich, yet for your sakes
He became poor, that ye through His poverty might be rich” (2 Cor.8:9).
He was poor,
that we might have all spiritual blessing (Eph.1:3).
He had no
comforter, that we might have the Comforter (John 14:16).
He had no
friend, that we might have an abiding Friend (Proverbs 17:17)
He was made
sin, that we might become the righteousness of God (2
Cor.5:21).
── F.E. Marsh《Five Hundred Bible Readings》