GOD IN CHRISTMAS?

Like Jesus, Christians believe God is spirit (John 4:24). The fact that God is spirit means that God the Father has no visible form. To say that God is spirit is to say that God the Father is invisible . The Bible affirms the invisibility of God. In the New Testament, the original Greek word used is variously translated as “invisible” or “unseen.” It describes something that has no visible form.

Philosophically, God must be a spirit in order to be infinite, or not limited by time and space.  Also, if God were limited to a physical body, He could not be omnipresent (in all places at once). In essence, God the Father is not limited to the dimensional restrictions of created things but can exist in all places at one time.

Although God is invisible and infinite, He can be known. He has revealed Himself. Some visible appearances of God are called theophanies. These are not allusions or dreams, but rather visible manifestations that communicate the character and presence of God. Well-known theophanies include Moses’ encounters with God at the burning bush (Exodus 3) and at the provision of the Ten Commandments on Mount Sinai (Exodus 19).

In Bible narratives, God often appears as the protagonist or central character. Paul contends that “all Scripture is God-breathed” (2 Timothy 3:16). Peter further argues that     “… no prophecy was ever produced by the will of man, but men spoke from God as they were carried along by the Holy Spirit” (2 Peter 1:20-21). There is no doubt that God is directing the composition and transmission of the text. For this reason, the writer to Hebrews could say, “For the word of God is alive and active. Sharper than any double-edged sword, it penetrates even to dividing soul and spirit, joints and marrow; it judges the thoughts and attitudes of the heart” (Hebrews 4:12).

It is from these Scriptures we learn that whereas God spoke to our ancestors through the prophets… now He speaks to us through His Son (Hebrews 1:1-2). In referring to this Son, Paul stated, “This Son is the image of the invisible God…” (Colossians 1:15). Even before His birth, it was predicted that “the virgin will conceive and give birth to a son, and they will call him Immanuel, which means, God with us” (Matthew 1:23).

An alternate spelling of the name Immanuel is Emmanuel, which comes from the Septuagint, the Greek translation of the Hebrew Old Testament. Immanuel, spelled with an I, is the translation of the original Hebrew name into English, whereas Emmanuel, spelled with an E, is a translation of a translation (from Hebrew to Greek to English).

Immanuel is a masculine Hebrew name meaning “God with us” or “God is with us.” The name Immanuel appears in the Bible three times, twice in the Old Testament book of Isaiah (7:14 and 8:8), and once in the Gospel of Matthew (1:23).

Seven hundred years after the prophet Isaiah spoke about Immanuel, a virgin from Nazareth named Mary was engaged to Joseph. Before they were married, an angel visited Joseph to confirm that Mary had conceived a child through the Holy Spirit (Matthew 1:20-21). When the child was born, they were to name Him Jesus.

Matthew, understanding the fulfillment of Isaiah’s prophecy, delivers this inspired revelation: “All this took place to fulfill what the Lord had said through the prophet: ‘The virgin will conceive and give birth to a son, and they will call him Immanuel’ (which means ‘God with us’)” (Matthew 1:22-23).

Jesus fulfilled Isaiah’s prophecy because He was literally “God with us”; He was fully human yet still fully God. Matthew recognized Jesus as Immanuel, the living expression of the Incarnation—the miracle of the Son of God becoming a human and making His home among us so that He could reveal God to us. Jesus was God with us, manifested in human flesh (1 Timothy 3:16).

The Gospel of John beautifully describes the Incarnation: “The Word became flesh and made his dwelling 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. . . . No one has ever seen God, but the one and only Son, who is himself God and is in closest relationship with the Father, has made him known” (John 1:14-18).

In Jesus Christ, God walked with us and talked with us. His arrival showed all humanity that God is faithful to fulfill His promises. Jesus was not just a sign of God with us, Jesus was God with us in Person. Jesus is Immanuel. He is not a partial revelation of God with us; Jesus is God with us in all His fullness: “For in Christ lives all the fullness of God in a human body” (Colossians 2:9). That is the true message of Christmas – Jesus was Immanuel, God with us in Person.

 

NEEDED: A GOOD BELLY LAUGH!

 NEEDED: A GOOD BELLY LAUGH!

 

When last have you had a good laugh? Did you know that laughter is good for you? When we laugh we stretch muscles throughout our face and body. As a matter of fact, our pulse and blood pressure go up, and we breathe faster, sending more oxygen to our tissues.

Some psychologists believe, laughing is one way in which we express our true selves. We may learn how to walk, stand, sit, and eat properly, but when we genuinely laugh, we lay all pretense aside as our carefully polished image goes right out the window.

A researcher from Vanderbilt University, conducted a study in which he measured the amount of calories expended in laughing. It turned out that 10 to 15 minutes of laughter burned 50 calories. William Fry, a pioneer in laughter research, claimed “it took 10 minutes on a rowing machine for his heart rate to reach the level it would after just one minute of hearty laughter.”

The focus on the benefits of laughter really began with Norman Cousin's memoir, Anatomy of an Illness. Cousins, who was diagnosed with a painful spine condition, found that a diet of comedies helped him feel better. He said that 10 minutes of laughter allowed him two hours of pain-free sleep. The bottom line, laughter is good for you.

However, in affirming the value of laughter, I am not attempting to justify frivolity, vulgarity or even jokes at another’s expense. The biblical counsel must still be our guide – “Do not let any unwholesome talk come out of your mouths, but only what is helpful for building others up according to their needs, that it may benefit those who listen” (Ephesians 4:29).

In his book, Laughter: A Scientific Investigation (Penguin Books, 2001), Robert Provine, contends, “laughter has a social function. In the absence of stimulating media (television, radio or books), people are about 30 times more likely to laugh when they are in a social situation than when they are alone.” Indeed, people are more likely to smile or talk to themselves than they are to laugh when they are alone. Aside from the obvious implication that sociability can enhance laughter and perhaps one's mood, these observations strongly suggest that laughter is a social signal.

Laughter binds people together. It synchronizes the brains of speaker and listener, so that they are emotionally attuned. Provine believes that laughter establishes or restores a positive emotional climate and a sense of connection between two people, who literally take pleasure in the company of each other. There is a sense in which levity can defuse anger and anxiety, and in so doing strengthen relationships.

I would tend to agree that laughter is a tool. It is the tool that is often used to build relationships. Professor Provine contends that "laughter is social, so any health benefits might really come from being close with friends and family, and not necessarily from laughter itself."

The Bible encourages laughter, when viewed as a physical expression of joy or cheerfulness. In the book of Proverbs we read, “a cheerful heart is good medicine, but a crushed spirit dries up the bones” (Proverbs 17:22).

There is a healing effect when we are joyful, cheerful people. The word used for "joyful" here is the Hebrew word "sameah" which means, 'to be glad, happy, or joyful.' The idea behind this word is that someone is choosing to rejoice - to consider the good that God has done, rather than the misery and the opportunity to be sad and depressed.

Apart from the joy that the cheerful heart brings, the Proverbs text mentions “a crushed spirit as drying-up the bones”. This powerful contrasting imagery has been confirmed in research done by the American Medical Association - if you forcefully restrain a normally active rat, deadly frustration results. The emotional stress produces lethal results.

So, if laughter is a social signal of personal and communal joy, then the question needs to be answered – when last have you had a belly laugh? In the Old Testament book of Ecclesiastes, we are reminded that “there is a time to laugh” (Ecclesiastes 3:4). If you have not laughed for a long time, you might need to check-out a therapist – you need help!

WHEN GOD CALLS

 

WHEN GOD CALLS

About twenty-five years ago my wife and I met John and Amy Lindström. I was serving at my first pastorate in New Brighton, Minnesota, and they were returning to Papua New Guinea, where they were serving as missionaries with Wycliffe Bible Translators.

Their youth and passion captured me. They sensed God’s call to serve and surrendered the comforts and friendships of the Upper Mid-Western States. They chose to make their home in Papua New Guinea, more than 8,000 miles away from Minnesota.

That decision to relocate to Oceania, to the north of Australia, was the outcome of their exposure to Christian missions. Following their wedding in 1982, John and Amy attended a session sponsored by Wycliffe Bible Translators. That session led to their call and training to become Bible translators. They were assigned to work in Papua New Guinea with the Malei people in 1991. For the next thirty years, they piloted the translation of the New Testament into the Malei language.  

Last August, John and Amy celebrated their 40^th Wedding Anniversary in grand style. They dined at the five-star Stanley Hotel in Port Moresby, the capital of Papua New Guinea. Neither of them realized that that memorable event would be their last anniversary.

Following the celebration, Amy developed pain in her lower abdomen and had difficulty going to the bathroom. A Papua New Guinea clinic examined her but could not diagnose the cause of the pain. On September 17 she returned to the United States for more intensive medical attention. After a CT scan, it was determined that she had ovarian cancer.

The one-hour appointment with her oncologist diagnosed an urgent need for chemotherapy. After attending that crucial appointment virtually, John decided to leave Papua New Guinea immediately. Speedy treatment was recommended. John arrived in time for Amy’s first and last chemo treatment. On October 08, Amy was called to meet her Saviour at the age of sixty-two.

When I got the news I remained silent in shock. For years we prayed for Amy and John as they served the Lord with their four children. She had done remarkable work on the mission field. Her diagnosis came toward the end of a scheduled workshop. Her team was reviewing translations on the Gospel of Luke and Psalms 72-150.

Since her passing, I wrote to John. That was the first time I could not say, “Dear John and Amy”. He lost a wife, a colleague, a friend and mother of their four adult children. Thankfully, we will see Amy again. Her eulogy said it best, “… for Amy, death is an event and not a destination”.

An event is defined as “a thing which arrives, occurs, happens or takes place on an occasion.” We prepare for and attend events throughout our lives. We go to church, political, school, and sporting events. One event ends and we attend another and then another. Events are a big part of our lives and take up a lot of time.

Death is the shortest event we will ever experience. It is that one last event in this life that brings us to the very first event in the next life. Death, because it is an event, is not a termination of life but a continuation of life. Death is that event that brings us to the portal where we leave behind our brief existence on earth to enter an existence that will be eternal.

For the Christian, death is that event in which we are absent from the body but present with the Lord in Heaven. This is why we can stand with John and agree with the Psalmist in saying, “… Precious in the sight of the LORD is the death of his faithful servants…” (Psalm 116:15).

 

IS JESUS THE ONLY WAY TO HEAVEN?

 

Many religious scholars avoid answering this question. They believe the answer is divisive. Some scholars will contend that Jesus is one of the ways to heaven. The question portrays Jesus as a religious leader making a claim. In light of this we should view the claim through the lenses of other religious leaders.

Interestingly, other than Jesus, no founder of any major religion, claims to be a way to heaven. Furthermore, some of the major religions of the world do not believe in heaven. One major religion is considered to be non-theistic. In other words, this religion does not believe in the concept of a god, much more to believe in heaven, as the place where God dwells.

Other than Christianity, no other religion includes its founder in its understanding of ultimate reality. Said differently, the founder is not a part of the ultimate goal of the religion. The nature of, and path to ultimate reality, is determined by followers of the religion.

A reasonable approach to responding to the topic under review, would require us to answer a few critical questions. For instance, did the religious founder ever make the claim to be the way to heaven? Is the religious founder sufficiently credible to make such a claim? Do other claims of the religious founder provide sustainable support of the founder’s claim to be the way to heaven? Do followers of the religious founder consider the claim to be credible?

There is no doubt that Jesus Christ is the founder of Christianity. His followers were first referred to as people of the Way. That was consistent with Jesus’ claim that He was “the way…”. His followers were later referred to as Christians by the people of Antioch. The people had obviously seen behaviours similar to Jesus’. In His closing messages, Jesus instructed His disciples to “make disciples.” Furthermore, it was Jesus who said to Peter, “… I will build my church”. Because of this understanding, Paul referred to the church as the movement which Jesus “purchased with His own blood” (Acts 20:28).

It was this leader who said to his disciples that He was leaving them and going to heaven to prepare a place for them. Jesus continued to inform them about the way one could enter heaven. Hear His words: “I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me” (John 14:6). The use of the definite article is clear in the original language, Jesus knew He was “the way…”.

Jesus used the definite article to distinguish Himself as “the only way.” A way is a path or route, and the disciples had expressed their confusion about where He was going and how they could follow. As He had told them from the beginning, Jesus was again telling them (and us) “follow me.” There is no other path to heaven, no other way to the Father. The exclusive nature of the only path to salvation is expressed in the words “I am the way.”

The statement “I am the way” is not merely declaring that Jesus is a path to heaven, the statement is also introducing Jesus as the only path to heaven. In the Greek language, “I am” is a very intense way of referring to oneself. It would be comparable to saying, “I myself, and only I, am.” Several other times in the Gospels we find Jesus using these words. In Matthew 22:32, Jesus quotes Exodus 3:6, where God uses the same intensive form to say, “I am the God of Abraham, and the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob.” These words reflect the very name of God in Hebrew, Yahweh, which means “to be” or “the self-existing one.” It is the name of power and authority, and Jesus claimed it as His own.

The Jews clearly understood Jesus to be calling Himself God. On one occasion they took up stones to stone Him for committing blasphemy in equating Himself with God. The disciples of Jesus also understood the uniqueness of His claim to be the way. Following His death, both Peter and John said to the Sanhedrin (the Jewish Council), “… salvation is found in no one else, for there is no other name under heaven given to men by which we must be saved” (Acts 4:12). Even Paul, who was known for his persecution of Jesus’ followers, wrote “… for there is one God and one mediator between God and men, the man Christ Jesus…” (1 Timothy 2:5).

These are some of the reasons Christians stress that Jesus is the only way to heaven. Jesus himself said it. Only Jesus was qualified to say it. His early followers believed it and taught it. Hence today, at the risk of being politically incorrect, Christians believe and declare that Jesus Christ is the only way to heaven.