Don't be afraid of them.
Remember the Lord,
who is great and awesome
and fight for your brothers,
your sons and your daughters,
your wives and your homes.
When our enemies heard that we were aware of their plot and that God had frustrated it, we all returned to the wall, each to his own work
Nehemiah 4: 13-15
This passage in the Old Testament is so encouraging for us even in our days.
Further down, we read that Nehemiah tells all his fellow Jews:
Our God will fight for us! Indeed our God did just that many times all through the Old Testament, helping his people even in this present time of distress, He was helping them and He is helping us now
For those of you who haven't tackled the Old Testament yet, here is an explanation I share with you:
God, in His long suffering, gave people a chance: by sacrificing an animal without blemish, the people could get forgiveness. Once a year the high priest could enter the Holiest of Holies, carrying the blood of the sacrifice, and obtain atonement for the people. Through the spilling of the blood of an innocent sacrifice, the debt of sin could be paid.
(Leviticus 17:11; Hebrews 9:22)
However, the blood of animals couldn’t take away the root cause of the problem, the sin in human nature. After their sins were forgiven, the people continued
to sinTo commit sin is to consciously do something that you know goes against God’s will. This can be in word, deed, or even thought. (James 1:14-15)... More
, meaning that they had to come back and sacrifice again, year after year. Not even the high priest could help them; he himself was a sinner, and the sacrifice was for himself just as much as for the people. (Hebrews 10:1-4)
God hated this frightful state of affairs. His longing was to have communion with people and to save them. He looked for someone who could lead the people out of the vicious circle of sinning and forgiveness. But, despite the fact that there were righteous, God-fearing people throughout history, none of them were blameless, and none of them could
“stand in the gap” between God and mankind. So then God sent His own Son to carry out this greatest work in history.
(Ezekiel 22:30; Isaiah 41:28; Isaiah 60:16; Isaiah 63:5; John 3:16-17)
Jesus was the Son of God, but He willingly “emptied Himself” and became the “Son of Man” – a human being in every sense of the word, with the same human nature as all of us. This meant that Jesus was tempted as we are. But Jesus was also born of God’s Spirit, and this Spirit accompanied Him His whole life, giving Him the strength to carry out the task He was sent for.
(Luke 1:30-35; Philippians 2:5-8; Isaiah 61:1-3)
“And being found in appearance as a man, He humbled Himself and became obedient to the point of death, even the death of the cross.”
Philippians 2:8. It was as a man that Jesus had to learn obedience, because, being a man, He had His own self-will, or sin in the flesh, and was tempted. There He learned to deny Himself, “take up His cross daily” and put that sin to death. The result was that He never sinned and was without sin. (
Hebrews 2:18;
Hebrews 4:15;
Hebrews 5:7-8)
Being blameless, the only human being in all history who was completely pure and without sin, Jesus was the only one who could
“stand in the gap,” the only one on whom Satan had no claim. He was the only one who had not deserved death, either physical or spiritual. But, fulfilling the purpose for which He had come to earth, Jesus voluntarily offered Himself.
He was crucified as the ultimate, blameless sacrifice.
He died as the Lamb of God, the atonement for all mankind.
Not only did He die a physical death, but He even experienced separation from God while He was hanging
on the cross Jesus was physically crucified on the cross at Calvary.
Though blameless, He took upon Himself the punishment for sin, which was death, so He could pay our debts and forgive us our sin if we are willing to believe in Him and follow Him.
When the cross is mentioned in the Bible, it most often does not refer to a physical wooden cross, except when specifically describing Jesus’ crucifixion on Calvary.
“Taking up your cross” refers to the metaphorical cross that Jesus’ speaks about in
Luke 9:23. “Taking up your cross” is the act of denying the sinful thoughts that come up in you...
More on Calvary, though absolutely one of the most momentous and powerful events ever on earth, is actually only part of the Christian story.
By the strength of the Spirit that was with Him from birth, Jesus had “suffered in the flesh” by denying it and not giving in to the inclination to sin that He had in His nature as a human being. In this way the sin in His flesh was condemned and He “put it to death,” “crucifying” the
lusts and desiresThe desires that we experience that go against God’s will. In other words, a desire for anything sinful.
See
James 1:14. Also called “sin in the flesh.” Although the expression “youthful lusts” is often thought of in connection with sinful sexual desires, lusts include anything that go against what is good and right in God’s eyes.
(
2 Timothy 2:22.; Galatians...
More.
So though He was tempted, He never sinned. (
Hebrews 2:18;
Hebrews 4:16)
When Jesus died on the cross, He cried out, “It is finished!” At that moment, every last shred of the sin He had inherited in His human nature had been crucified, and His work on earth was finished. When Jesus died, the heavy veil in the temple was torn from top to bottom. The debt had been paid; the way back to the Father was open.
Jesus’
victory over sin“Victory over sin” means that you do not commit conscious sin – that which you know would be sin at that time when you are tempted. It doesn’t mean that you are without sin, but that temptation is overcome before it can become sin. (
Romans 8:37;
1 Corinthians 15:57;
Revelation 2:7)...
More was also a victory over death. He did not remain in the grave, but arose from the dead with a glorified body, containing the whole fullness of God’s own nature. Forty days later He ascended to heaven, where He is sitting today at the right side of His Father. (
Philippians 2:5-11;
Colossians 2:9)
With these words we lift our heads above our individual struggles and come in imagination to the Temple. 'All the earth is invited (v 1) You are probably reading this alone at home but imagine yourself coming in a great joyful crowd. You are probably reading silently, but in imagination shout and sing (vs 1,2) This is exuberant joyful worship.
2
What about you, which cards did you buy this Christmas?What are your favorite?
