The Signs that Lead to Sin

And let them be ready for the third day. For on the third day the LORD will come down upon Mount Sinai in the sight of all the people. You shall set bounds for the people all around, saying Take heed to yourselves that you do not go up to the mountain or touch its base. Whoever touches the mountain shall surely be put to death.' Exodus 19:11-12

Have you ever really thought about how good we have it in this New Testament Age? If not, then you really need to consider our verses today.

These are verses that would stand out for us as an amazing contrast between the Old Cov-

enant and the New. The Old Covenant, the old way of life for the people of God, was pretty unapproachable when it came to actually being in the very Presence of God. In fact, it was only the high priest who could go in past that big curtain that separated the rest of the temple from the Holy of Holies. He could only go in on behalf of the people and only one time a year.

And so, here, God is saying that you're going to have to keep your distance and anybody that gets too close is dead on the spot, right? You're going to die. Don't let the people get too close.

What deal do we get in the New Covenant? Gang, listen, you've got to be praising the Lord for this. He says the opposite to you. He says, Draw near to me. Draw near to me! The access and availability for you to be in My Presence has now been paid for and atoned through the sacrifice of Jesus Christ.

Run into my arms, Jesus says. Cry out, Abba, Daddy. You know, our God never changes. Even when He spoke to Israel, telling them to keep away, His heart was one of a Heavenly Father who desires fellowship in the raising of His kids, in developing us, in maturing us. But still in that relationship with Israel, they could only get so close. The rest they would have to live vicariously through someone such as Moses, on their behalf going up and meeting with God.

And yet for us, God welcomes us into His Presence. In fact, He even makes His Presence live in us through the Holy Spirit.

We have access to God that Israel couldn't even imagine having. The only question is, how often do we take advantage of it? How often do we really camp out and enjoy the Presence of the Lord?

Ask the Lord to make His Presence known to you today, and when He does, take the time to rest in it.

Prayer Lord God,

You are such an incredibly awesome and powerful God! Thank You for giving me access to Your Presence! Please meet me in Your Presence today and show me how to truly live in the fullness of this amazing gift that You give me!

Amen

His Presence

And behold, an angel of the Lord stood before them, and the glory of the Lord shone around them, and they were greatly afraid. Luke 2:9

Years ago, I invited a young kid up on stage during a sermon to open a present to help depict what happened with the angels and the shepherds. As this little guy ripped the present open, he was excited and surprised by what was inside: a horn. What in the world does a blow horn have to do with Christmas? I would say everything! It was a heavenly blow horn that hovered over those shepherds on that otherwise quiet first Christmas.

Our verse today says that the shepherds were greatly afraid. They weren't just greatly afraid, they were terrified! This is exactly what God's Presence is meant to represent for us. It's like a good wake-up call. That's exactly what the angels meant to do-to barge into their lives and say, Hey! Everything's different now. Everything that you've been waiting for has now arrived.

I love the shepherds' response. They say, Let us now go. Not, Well, let's think about it. Not, When we get around to it. Certainly not, Well, I don't know if I can get off work to do this.

They said, Let us now go. Just like they heard a starting horn-ready, get set, go! They were off to Bethlehem to find the baby wrapped in swaddling clothes. Those shepherds dropped everything, and everything became about one thing. Has that happened for you? Is Jesus everything you live for?

The horn of Heaven got the shepherds' attention. They listened carefully, and they were off. God wants us to listen up. There's a lot happening in the world right now. There are a lot of things coming down the pike, and if you are out of the earshot of God, it's time to get closer. It's time to wake up, catch up, and keep up. It's time to listen up, like the shepherds did. It's also time to look up.

Why should we look up? Because there is another horn that's about to blow. It's called the Rapture horn. Are you living to hear the sound of that horn? 1 Thessalonians 4:16 says, For the Lord Himself will descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of an archangel, and with the trumpet of God.

It's going to sound. I hope and pray that you are living your life to hear that horn, because it represents the gift of his Presence in your life.

Prayer Lord Jesus,

Thank You that You are coming again soon! I am waiting eagerly for Your coming and Your presence. Let my ears always be listening for Your call!

Amen

More Presence

And God said to Moses, I AM WHO I AM.' Exodus 3:14

I AM. There is no better name for God to prove His Presence to us-that He isn't some hasbeen or would-be or once-was God. He is I AM.

That gift of Presence revealed to Moses left Moses with a choice. The I AM Presence of God was about to become entirely reliant upon whether Moses would believe it or not. Through a burning bush or a newborn babe, God's Presence will either be fully realized or fully missed based upon our belief and acceptance of His Presence.

Moses easily could have turned away and not drawn near. Maybe you find yourself faced with that very same tension: Will you draw near and accept that God wants to reveal Himself to you in a new way?

Since the dawn of creation, it is through God's holy Word that God's holy Presence is clearly seen. It was through the Word of God speaking to Moses through a bush that God's Presence was revealed to Moses. God's Presence is most clearly found for us in the pages of His Word.

You might feel I am over-emphasizing things-that this is a hopeful, exaggerated wish that God's Presence shows up in his Word. Nonsense! Hebrews 4:12 tells us, For the word of God is living and powerful, and sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing even to the division of soul and spirit, and of joints and marrow, and is a discerner of the thoughts and intents of the heart.

That's the power not of a book, but of God's Word, whether read on a greeting card, on an iPad, a Kindle, whether the NIV or the KJV. It is the Word of God. And the Word of God is the Presence of God. In fact, the NIV says that the Word of God is alive and active.

His Word is alive. In other words, Presence. I know that this goes contrary to popular opinion of a post-Christian society that wants to convince you that God's Word is boring and Christmas is dead. On the contrary, God's Word is boring for people who've not read it. I can assure you, there is nothing boring about Presence of God. Anyone who is being led to believe that the Bible is boring is being led to believe it by an unbelieving world.

Moses had that choice, and you have that same choice before you. Are you going to believe what you're reading? If you approach the Word of God apathetically, unbelieving, as though it were dead, then that's all it will be.

But Moses approached with a heart that turned aside. He turned toward the Presence. He believed that what was speaking to him was being spoken by the very Presence of God.

Prayer I AM,

Thank You that Your presence is still with me today every time I read Your Word! Especially at this Christmas time of year, I choose to receive and believe Your presence, just as Moses did.

Amen

The Christmas War

Now a great sign appeared in heaven: a woman clothed with the sun, with the moon under her feet, and on her head a garland of twelve stars...And another sign appeared in heaven: behold, a great, fiery red dragon having seven heads and ten horns, and seven diadems on his heads...And the dragon stood before the woman who was ready to give birth, to devour her Child as soon as it was born. Revelation 12:1,3-4

Pop Christmastime quiz, for you-ready? Why was Jesus born?

Be careful in how you answer, because I'll warn you that I'm setting you up. I imagine that most of you answered, Oh, well, Jesus was born to die. He had to be born so that He could take our sins on the cross and die in our place; He's the only one who could do that. If that's what you answered then I have good news and bad news. The good news is that you are 100 percent correct. The bad news is that you didn't finish the story, so you still got the answer wrong. Sorry.

Jesus did come to die, and He did that as only He could do. But ultimately, in the big picture of Christmas and why this Child was born, it was so that He would rule and reign forever and ever.

Now, it wasn't easy for Jesus to be born in the first place. The devil has been working and trying, from the very beginning, to devour Him and His people before He had a chance to come. Then, even after He was born, the dragon worked all Jesus' life to derail and destroy Him, finally killing Him on the cross.

Satan thought he had won this war when Jesus died on the cross, but three days later, Jesus rose again from the dead. That had to have been the devil's worst day! This child has become the conqueror of our enemy and foe, Satan, and He will reign forever!

I pray and hope that this war has been won for you, that there isn't a war going on in your heart or soul or mind. I pray that you have experienced this victory in the name of Jesus Christ for yourself up close and personal. I pray that Satan, who is cast down and cast out from Heaven, has also been cast out of your life once and for all, that he would be rebuked in the name of Jesus Christ.

And that's really what this Christmas War is all about, because we are the battlefield. Who is going to rule at the end of the day? Is Jesus going to rule your life, or is the devil?

For those who will choose Him, the victory has already been given to us through Christ Jesus, the everlasting Lord of all.

Prayer Lord Jesus,

Thank You that You were born to rule! I am so glad that You rule over my life today and every day. I give my life to You now and ask that You would be my King, winning this war now and forevermore!

Amen

More Presence

And He said, My Presence shall go with you, and I will give you rest.' Exodus 33:14

Whether young or old, rich or poor, only child or one of multiple siblings, celebrating Christmas seems to involve the insatiable appetite of wanting more presents. That might sound overly selfish, but with a simple re-type in the spell check, I think you'd agree, the entire purpose of Christmas is none other than-More Presence.

Far too many folks today think that the first time God's Presence appeared on earth was as a baby in Bethlehem. We need to back up in the story a bit, and in doing so, I pray the result would be that His Presence become the greatest and more preeminent Presence in your life, and much more recognizable every single day.

Throughout Scripture, the most common word that describes the Presence of God is the word holy. Six hundred sixty-one times in Scripture we're reminded that God's Presence is holy. Holy is what God is and what we're not. And yet, it is this holy God who invites us into His holy Presence.

God longs to take what is unholy-us-and make it, transform it, and wrap it up in His holy habitation. This process is so awesome, and something only God can do. God has this ability to take things that are foul and unholy and make them His home, His habitation. That's so cool. And it's something that happens time and time again throughout Scripture. In fact, that's how the Bible begins.

God, who has always been Holy-sacred and separate-makes known to us His Presence, first of all by speaking. He speaks and He says, Let there be light. Literally, Light be and light was. And immediately, all creation lit up so this holy, sacred, and separate God could now be known. That's how the miracle of God's Presence in this world began, and it doesn't stop there. No, there's more! Not only does He speak, but He also appears. He comes. He comes in various ways, and did so many times prior to coming in the form of a newborn baby.

Certainly at Christmas we celebrate God's arrival in the form of a newborn baby, the Savior of the world. But in so many other ways, He also has come with this purpose of making known His Presence.

Will you ask God to reveal His Presence to you today?

Prayer Lord God,

I can't think of anything more wonderful or frightening than Your Presence, but I know that I need Your presence to come and wrap me up in Your holiness. Please come and reveal Your Presence to me today!

Amen

No Presence

Now when they had departed, behold, an angel of the Lord appeared to Joseph in a dream, saying, Arise, take the young Child and His mother, flee to Egypt, and stay there until I bring you word; for Herod will seek the young Child to destroy Him.' Matthew 2:13

Maybe you've read the story of the wise men visiting baby Jesus dozens of times. But this time, consider Herod's point of view.

When I was a kid, my parents would threaten me with no presents to keep me in line. No presents? That's the scariest thought for kids. Yet, much more than a threat or a thought, it became a reality for Herod and all of Jerusalem. No Presence.

Jerusalem is only about five miles away from where the Presence of the newborn King came into the world. And yet, they missed it. We need to find out why so that we don't also miss it and end up spending Christmas with no Presence.

We can see from the circumstances in Herod's life that God was desperately attempting to get his attention. First of all, many historians, both secular and Christian, have traced what's been written about King Herod and believe that he was sick, physically sick, as this particular event recorded in Matthew 2 was unfolding.

Secondly, God used the same external sign for Herod that He did for the wise men. There was a star in the heavens that all of a sudden appeared. I think Herod had to wonder where it had come from and why it was there. God was trying to get the world's attention. It didn't work for Herod.

Thirdly, there was this emotional thing going on with Herod. These wise men showed up from the Orient and asked, Hey, do you happen to know where this King of the Jews has been born? That was Herod's title! That was what he was supposed to provide for Rome. He was king over the Jews. That had to have brought up all sorts of emotions from anger to pride to jealousy.

God disrupted things so that He could break through in Herod's life, but it didn't work. Herod ran to religion in search of the truth, but it didn't bring him to Christ. And he remained one with no Presence as a result.

God is trying to speak to you today; are you listening? Don't spend this Christmas with no Presence.

Prayer Lord Jesus,

Thank You for giving me Your Word so that I can learn from Herod's mistakes. Thank You even more that I can experience Your presence this Christmas! I am listening, and I worship You.

Amen

You Go

Then Herod, when he had secretly called the wise men, determined from them what time the star appeared. And he sent them to Bethlehem and said, Go and search carefully for the young Child, and when you have found Him, bring back word to me, that I may come and worship Him also.' Matthew 2:7-8

One of the failures of our generation has to be the infamous car known as the Yugo. Although it seems to be gone for good, the legacy of the car lives on as a picture of engineering incompetence.

Herod's You Go philosophy of life is not much sounder. There was a breakdown in Herod that kept him from experiencing all that God desired for him to experience. He said to the wise men, You go and check it out. You go see if you can find him. I'm going to stay here. If you find him, come back and let me know where he is, so I can go and worship him with you. Like that famous broken-down car, Herod didn't budge.

Sadly, the spirit of Herod is prevalent in our culture these days. It's lived out in the dad who says to his family, You guys go to church. I'll stay home and hold down the fort. Or the mom who says, For me, Sundays are all about tennis. But if you guys want to go to church, you go. Or the teenager who says, Church is not for me. What a yawner to have to go and listen to that. You guys want to go, you go.

Herod practically did nothing because his self-confidence was ruling as the overwhelming presence in his life. As a result, Herod was eternally separated from God's Presence. I think this is much more than a Bible passage telling one man's story. This is a picture of a global breakdown, and the God of the universe wants to fill us with His Presence. Yet, it is the intention of Satan to remove His Presence once and for all.

The answer to the You go breakdown is to seek. Seek like the shepherds. Seek like the wise men. Seek the Presence of the One who sent His Son so that you could live in His abiding Presence each day of your life.

Prayer Lord Jesus,

I don't want to be a You go person. I want to be the one who finds you, not the one left behind, outside of Your Presence. I choose to seek You, today and every day, so that I might find You.

Amen