Mentoring Minutes

In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was in the beginning with God…And the Word became flesh, and dwelt among us, and we saw His glory, glory as of the only begotten from the Father, full of grace and truth.(John 1:1-2, 14)

Have this attitude in yourselves, which was also in Christ Jesus, who, although He existed in the form of God, did not regard equality with God a thing to be grasped, but emptied Himself, taking the form of a bondservant, and being made in the likeness of men.              Philippians 2:5-7

Love and Lordship in Focus…How easy it is to get caught up in the hustle and bustle of the season and the familiar CHRISTmas story of angels, shepherds, Mary and Joseph, a Baby,  a manger and a stinky animal stall…and forget that the helpless Baby was God giving up His divine glory to become flesh – scrapes, bruises, temptations, scars and all.  This CHRISTmas let’s remember that Jesus became us so that we could be with Him for Eternity!

THE Blessing of Christmas (Matthew 1:21-23)

In CHRISTmas Memories we recognized both the ups and downs that CHRISTmas can bring.  In CHRISTmas Stories we shared a unique perspective from the “least” of the CHRISTmas players, the Bethlehem shepherds, and the role they played as well as lessons we can learn from them. 

In this post, I want to turn our focus directly to the choice that Jesus made which makes CHRISTmas a reality and in doing so gave us the model for our lives and relationships…that of humility and sacrificial love.

Before we unpack The CHRISTmas Blessing I thought it would be worthwhile to point out some things that you may or may not have previously contemplated with regard to the gifts of the Magi (Wise Men) and Herod’s killing of the boys under two years old in Bethlehem found in Matthew 2… 

At about one to two years of age Jesus is visited by Magi or Wise Men (we assume there were three because three gifts are mentioned but The Bible does not indicate how many).  They are overwhelmed and worship Him, presenting Him with the familiar gifts that some scholars say signify His roles as King (Gold), Priest (Frankincense) and The Sacrificial Lamb (Myrrh)…certainly something to think about.  This is beautifully portrayed in the movie, The Nativity, albeit the Wise Men arrive while he’s still an infant in the cave, which is highly unlikely.

What God does next is incredible in protecting His Word that is now become flesh…The Magi are warned in a dream not to return to Jerusalem and Herod (God’s providential protection of this Baby)…Joseph is warned in a dream to go to Egypt and then to return with Mary and Joseph to Nazareth after Herod’s death.  Isn’t it amazing how God orchestrates things clearly and plainly and/or totally behind the scenes to fulfill His prophecies?  God has always protected His Word just as He did His Word in the Flesh!

The reality of CHRISTmas is this…nothing else matters if this didn’t happen!  John 1:1…In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. John 1:14…The Word became flesh and dwelt among us. We have seen his glory, the glory of the one and only Son, who came from the Father, full of grace and truth. 

The “Other” CHRISTmas Story

This is what I call the “The Rest of the CHRISTmas story” in Scripture… Immanuel – God With Us found in John 1 and Philippians 2:3-8.  Follow along with me…

⁵ Have this attitude in yourselves, which was also in Christ Jesus, ⁶ who, although He existed in the form of God, did not regard equality with God a thing to be grasped, ⁷ but emptied Himself, taking the form of a bond-servant, and being made in the likeness of men. ⁸ Being found in appearance as a man, He humbled Himself by becoming obedient to the point of death, even death on a cross.

What does CHRISTmas…for God to take on human flesh in Christ really mean?  What is the lesson for us as His followers?  Philippians 2:3-8 describes Jesus love and humility and calls us to have the same attitude which parallels the life that He calls us to as His disciples in Luke 14:25-35.

Jesus Example for us (Philippians 2:3-8) Jesus Calling of us (Luke 14:25-33)

– Humble Attitude (vv. 3-5) – Christ before all (v. 26)
– Emptied Himself   (v. 6) – Die to self (vv. 26)
– Experienced all of humanity (v. 7) – Count the Cost (vv. 27-32)
– Gave His all for us (v. 8) – Give up all for Him (v. 33)

Casting Crowns in their CHRISTmas song, God is With Us, say it this way, “You’re the Savior we’ve been praying for, In our humble hearts You will dwell, You are in us, You are for us, You are with us… Immanuel.”

Immanuel – God. With. Us. From the humble stable in Bethlehem to the humble hearts of mankind!  Each heart must have a Bethlehem experience and find room for Him. Have you received Him into your heart and life?

We must remember the beautiful story of CHRISTmas with all the incredible characters, events and scenes.  However, we must be careful to remember the real purpose of that first CHRISTmas, the Blessing we were given and what it calls us to.

The Beauty of CHRISTmas in a Culture of Self

December Nativity scenes are still quite common (that’s a good thing) even in an age where they have become political fodder in public schools and government facilities.  In the “commonness” we can easily forget how sharply these scenes call to our attention the self-absorbed culture we live in.

First of all, there’s the pure, common teenage virgin, leaning over the manger, who responded with a humble “yes” when divinely charged with bringing about the pivotal point in all of history!  She said, “I am The Lord’s servant, may it be unto me as you have said” (Luke 1:38), knowing full well that the burden of an out-of-wedlock pregnancy would continue far beyond nine months for her entire life.  Her faithful obedience allowed your burdens and mine to be lifted for eternity.

Then there’s the man who stood quietly beside her, remembered by all of history as good and noble because he put this young woman’s welfare, and the Precious Child she bore, above his own reputation.  He raised God’s son, not his own flesh and blood, and he did so without hesitancy or complaint.

Of course, there’s the central figure…God as a Baby…Jesus Himself.  As pointed out in “the rest of the CHRISTmas story” from Philippians 2 above, he emptied Himself of His Divine Glory, took on the form of a lowly human servant and, in doing so, bore all our sin, debt and brokenness on the Cross.  Check out Self-Giving in The Nativity for more and note the “beauty” in all that God does in contrast with our culture, to which I would add question displayed by Mary and Joseph…Which is more beautiful and fulfilling, the sacrifice, purity, engagement and marriage that honors God’s love for us or our culture’s alternatives to relationships and sexuality?”

You see, without Immanuel nothing else matters.  If He’s not Immanuel, then Lord, Shepherd, Friend, Brother, Savior…nothing else matters.  God With Us…He not only came to us, He became us, to save us and offer us Eternity with Him! 

Without CHRISTmas there is no Easter – no chance of salvation if Christ doesn’t put on flesh, doesn’t become human and give up His life as the perfect sacrifice and atonement for us.

Oh, He is forever King of kings and Lords of lords…but He could never have been our Savior/Lord had he not become a baby…become us…Immanuel!

That’s CHRISTmas…The womb of a virgin, the manger, the swaddling cloths, the hay, manure, cows, sheep and maybe even a dog or two…That’s God wrapped in our injured, dying, decaying flesh!  Don’t miss this!  Everything else you hear this season…Savior, Lord, Shepherd… everything – could only happen because He became IMMANUEL – GOD WITH US…He came as us!!!

Enjoy all of it because He not only came to us…he became us!  We have every reason, even in the struggles, stresses and trials to rejoice because of CHRISTmas!

Food for Thought…Have you considered that God becoming flesh in the Christ Child at CHRISTmas had to happen or there would have been no sufficient sacrifice for us on Good Friday? How does the “Other” CHRISTmas story in this article affect your perspective of CHRISTmas? 

Love in Action –

1. Read the Scriptures in this article and ask The Holy Spirit to teach you.
2. How does the Truth of an empty manger, an empty cross and an empty tomb impact you? 
3. In your prayer time ask The Holy Spirit to draw you closer to Him as He reveals to you the significance of what Christ did for you at CHRISTmas.
4. Find at least one way to share CHRIST this CHRISTmas.
5. Highly recommend you take time to watch these with family and loved ones…The Chosen’s The Shepherd and Christmas With The Chosen.

Make it a great CHRISTmas season with family and loved ones in and for The Lord (Matthew 1:21-23)!

Love and Lordship Prayer Focus…Gracious Heavenly Father, our praise and thanks seems feeble when we consider all that You offered in Your Word made flesh in Christ. We offer it anyway because without Immanuel there is no hope but because He came, because the manger, the cross and the tomb are empty, we have the full assurance of Eternity with You. Thank You for Christ and CHRISTmas!  In His Name we pray, Amen.

Therefore the Lord Himself will give you a sign: Behold, the virgin will conceive and give birth to a son, and she will name Him Immanuel.  Isaiah 7:14

Behold, the virgin will conceive and give birth to a Son, and they shall name Him Immanuel, which translated means, God with us.   Matthew 1:23

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.  Luke 2:7

Love and Lordship (L&L) in Focus…May we have the faith, humility and courage of Mary and Joseph to be obedient to The Lord in all things no matter how the outcomes may appear, what others may say, or what it may cost.

First of all, if you’ve followed me and this ministry for very long you know that I’m a CHRISTmas freak…I love it all…Santa, Grinch, Charlie Brown, Scrooge, 34^th Street, all of it!  You know why…because I choose to take every part of it and allow it to point me to Christ!  That’s why I share with you that CHRISTmas is CHRIST!

NOTE: If you don’t already have a set Bible Study for this Advent/CHRISTmas season please consider using the Scriptures and talking points in this post as a good place to begin.

He is much more than a Baby in a Manger, but it began there and there would be no HOPE without that First CHRISTmas when He came in the flesh, in the form of a helpless human baby! So let’s look at all The CHRIST of CHRISTmas is…

He is much more than a Baby in a Manger, which would have meant nothing without that First CHRISTmas when He came in the flesh, in the form of a helpless human baby! So let’s look at all that Jesus, The CHRIST of CHRISTmas is…

1) Christ is the Eternal God, King of kings, Lord of lords, the Creator and Sustainer of all that exists!

As we look at Christ let’s begin with His Eternal existence as God, the Son (Isaiah 9:6; John 1:1-3; 8:58; Colossians 1:17; 1 John 1:1; Hebrews 7:3; 13:8 to name a few)!  He is, always has been and, always will be the King of Heaven and earth, King of Kings and Lord of Lords (1 Timothy 6:15-16; Revelation 17:14; 19:16), the very Creator of the universe who holds all things together (Colossians 1:15-17).  In order for us to understand all that He did in coming to earth we need to remember and know Who He has always been and what He gave up (Philippians 2:3-8).

2) Christ is Immanuel…God With Us!  He gave up all the glories and lifestyle of heaven, even His Divine nature as God to become a man in the very form of a helpless human baby in a manger as Immanuel…God With Us (Isaiah 7:14; 9:2-7; Matthew 1:18-25; John 1:14; Luke 1 & 2).  He was fully God and fully man and it is not only crucial in our salvation but in our faith that we are of His Spirit (1 John 4:1-4).  The writer of Hebrews tells us that in becoming flesh and man, He became the perfect High Priest and perfect Lamb, the sacrifice for our sins and to bring us into a relationship with Himself as God, The Father, Son and Holy Spirit (Hebrews 5:1-10; 9:11-14; 10:11-18)!  Had He never come in the flesh…as us…we would still have to offer imperfect and continual sacrifices!  In coming to us as the Babe of CHRISTmas, Immanuel made the way for forgiveness of sins and for us to enter into both His Presence and a relationship with Him!  Remember that without CHRISTmas there would be no Cross and no Easter Resurrection…no Hope!  Praise The Lord…He came!

3) Christ lived as a boy and a man… He grew in wisdom and stature (Luke 2:52) yet disrespected as the son of a blue-collar tradesman (Matthew 13:54-56).  He traveled as a homeless itinerant preacher and teacher (Matthew 8:19-20; Luke 9:57-58) and was rejected by the spiritual leaders and people of His day (Luke 11:14-15; John 10:31-38; Matthew 26:65-66; Mark 14:63-65).  He experienced everything that we as human beings experienced with regard to pain, temptation and ridicule and yet was without sin (Hebrews 2:17-18; 4:14-15) and able to help us in all our struggles and temptations.

4) Christ became us so He could become sin for us, and suffer and die a humiliating criminal’s death on a Cross, which was actually meant for us (2 Corinthians 5:21; Philippians 2:5-8; Romans 5:8). He gave up heaven, was born as a human, lived in poverty and homeless, became sin and died so that I could be set free and become righteousness through Him (John 14:6; Roman 3:21-23; 5:17; 6:23; Galatians 5:1)! Without the Cross, His Incarnation would mean nothing and we would be lost.  But Praise The Lord for His indescribable Gift coming to us at CHRISTmas!

5) Christ rose again as a Victor of sin, death and hell and by grace through faith has given me that same victory in Him (Hebrews 2:9-10; 14-15; Colossians 2:9-15; 1 Corinthians 15:53-56; Romans 6:4; 8:1-5).  Christ has become all things in that He was, is and always will be fully God and came as fully man, existing as both fully God and man so He could overcome the flesh, sin, death and hell for the sake of all those who believe in Him (John 3:16)!  Without Easter and the Resurrection, CHRISTmas and Good Friday would mean nothing. Our Hope is in Him and His Resurrection to give us new life!  We are victorious in Christ! 

6) Christ will return again as conquering King of all the nations (Revelation 12:10-11; 15:3-4; 17:14; 19:16) and claim all of His own who believe in and Him and walk by faith in obedience to Him (Matthew 19:28; 1 Corinthians 15:57; 2 Timothy 2:12; 1 John 5:4)!  Because He came, lived, died and rose again…because heaven was temporarily emptied of His presence and the Manger, Cross and Tomb are all empty, we who believe in Him will reign in His Kingdom with Him!  The CHRIST of CHRISTmas was not just a Babe in a Manger.  He is the Creator and Sustainer of the entire universe. He was Immanuel…God With Us, God in the flesh…God and Man.  He suffered an excruciating death in humility and rejection…all for us.  He rose from the dead as the First fruits of all those who would follow Him in resurrection life (1 Corinthians 15:20).  And He will return again as the conquering King for all those who have chosen to make Him Savior and Lord!  This is the Christ of CHRISTmas! 

Let us worship this Babe in the manger for all that He is…Creator, Sustainer, Immanuel, The Suffering Servant, The Risen Son of God and Son of Man, the returning Conquering King and our Savior and Lord! 

Do you know Him?  Let me encourage you to listen to SM Lockridge’s “That’s My King” and remember that He’s The Babe in the Manger that we love and adore…and so much more!  And thank God that He gave His Indescribable Gift (1 Corinthians 15:57; 2 Corinthians 9:15)! 

I pray this new CHRISTmas song helps you enjoy all that CHRIST brings as we end 2024…”Behold Him” by Francesca Battestelli… https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ulGqyckf-oI

Make it a great Advent/CHRISTmas season with family and loved ones in Christ!

Food for Thought…Do you know The Babe Who became flesh to be your Savior?  The Suffering Servant as your Lord?  The One Who laid down His life for you as your Friend?  The itinerary homeless teacher as your Master?  The falsely accused and wrongly condemned criminal as your conquering King?  Do you know Him?

Love in Action Items –

1) Ask The Lord to show you what it meant for Him to leave all the Glory of Heaven to become human?

2) Ask Him to show you this CHRISTmas what it meant for Him to live and suffer as we do in our humanity?

3) Ask Him to show you what it meant to die in your place?

4) Ask Him what it is like to live with Him as Savior and Lord?

5) Ask Him what it will be like to reign with Him in Truth and Love?

Love and Lordship Prayer Focus…Heavenly Father, as we celebrate CHRISTmas let me know The Babe in the manger as Creator and Sustainer of my life and all that exists.  Let me know Him as Friend.  Let me know Him as the King of kings and Lord of lords.  Let me know Him as my Savior and my Lord.  In His Precious Name I pray.  Amen.

“Love one another…”  (1 John 3:11; 3:23; 4:7; 4:11-12; 2 John 1:5)

Love and Lordship in Focus…I’ve asked this question many times, and it is the title of a classic rock-and-roll song, “What’s Love Got To Do With It?” Maybe it’s a question we should be asking in our Christian relationships, our churches and in our discipling of others to make more disciples of Jesus Christ. In a word the answer is, “EVERYTHING!”

However, we must consider what we mean by love and more importantly, what God means when He talks of love…because He is Love. We then must determine whether we are loving as He has defined, taught and modeled for us in Christ and His Word…or if we are using the word and living it out in a way that  appeals to us but is far from love. 

We are going to wrap up the “one anothers” of God’s Word that I pray have helped us to grasp and live out more fully God’s love in and through us to love others. I think you’ll find it interesting that the final six “one anothers” in Scripture are found in the letters of the Beloved Apostle, John, and they all reinforce and encourage us in the all-encompassing “one another.”

In 1 John 3:11; 3:23; 4:7; 4:11, 12 and in 2 John 1:5, we find “the one whom Jesus loved” reminding us over and over again to “love one another.”

How profound that The Holy Spirit through John and guiding those who gathered and canonized the Scriptures would close out all the “one anothers” with multiple reminders of the greatest commands…love God with all you are so you can know and love who you are in Christ because the way others will know us is by our love for “one another.”

How have you been doing (or are doing) when it comes to loving others? Spouse? Family? Church family? Friends? Coworkers? Enemies? All of these we are commanded in some way or another to love and none better than our repeated commands of today to “love one another.”

I pray that you know Him and His Love and that you are spending time with Him daily to know and love Him more fully, allow Him to show you who you are so you can truly love yourself…and then we can “love one another” in a way that the world will want to know Him…Love Himself!

My desire today is simple, in line with God’s Words and commands…help me…you, us…die to our self (selfish desires of our flesh, our natural man) so that we can live in Christ. In so doing help us to love You with all our being…body, mind, soul and spirit…and worship You alone; help us to listen and learn from You, Your Word and Spirit so we can love who we are in Christ and let this overflow in our love for all others to point them to Him.

As we conclude this “one another” series with the command in this episode remember that all of these are predicated on the Biblical reality that we are only able to truly love because God first loved us. We then can only grow in this love as we learn to and mature in our love for Him and as He reveals more and more of who we are in Christ so we can be fully confident and content in who we are recreated to be in Christ, i.e., loving ourselves. Now we are able to love others…apply all the “one anothers” because of Christ and His Holy Spirit abiding in us and empowering us with His love to do so.

Food for Thought…Love is such a loaded word not only in our day and time but throughout history. Never has it been so easy to peddle “love” as it has been in our digital and otherwise easily connected world. And yet we are farther apart than maybe anytime in history because we have failed to keep and practice God’s perfect concept of Love…because He alone is love. Let’s return to His Word of Truth and love according to His Love and watch it change our lives and those around us as we “one another” others in His perfect Love…Christ and The Holy Spirit in us.

Love in Action…

1. Spend time with God and in His Word, prayer and listening every day…begin with the Scriptures in this message.
2. Ask The Holy Spirit to teach you.
3. Take a virtual trip back through this “One Another” series and consider all the ways that God has clearly called us to love one another. Consider your strengths and weaknesses when it comes to how you are loving others in each of these ways.
4. Based on what you determine in the previous step, pray and ask The Lord to show you where He would like for you to better love others…and then follow through!  

Contact us at loveandlordship@gmail.com.

Love and Lordship Prayer Focus…Heavenly Father, forgive us for thinking that we can live and love according to our desires, standards and definitions rather than Your Truth and how Christ modeled it for us. Help us to live in Your Love and see it changes our lives and relationships as well as those that we share it with.  In Jesus Name. Amen.