Chris Loehmer Kincaid's Blog, page 26

Lamb

       The following day as John was standingwith two of his disciples, Jesus walked by. John looked at him intently andthen declared, “See! There is the Lamb of God!” (John 1:35-36, Living Bible)

Jesushas frequently been called the Lamb of God. Why is that?

InBible times, when a Jew sinned, they had to take a lamb to the temple as asacrifice to be forgiven. In the book of Exodus, God’s final plague for Pharaohto let His people go was that the firstborn son of every family would die. Forthe Jews to have their sons spared, they had to kill a male lamb who waswithout blemish and spread its blood on the tops and sides of their door frame.   

Nowpicture Jesus as the Lamb of God, the sacrifice that would save us all, Hisblood spread on the cross.

King

Jesus was born in the town of Bethlehem inJudea during the time when Herod was king. When Jesus was born, some wise menfrom the east came to Jerusalem. They asked, “Where is the baby who was born tobe the king of the Jews? We saw his star in the east and have come to worshiphim.”  (Matthew 2:1-2, New CenturyVersion)

Sohere we have three different sorts of kings. First, King Herod and we all knowwhat kind of king he was – vicious, merciless, and egotistical. Second, thewise men from the east, who weren’t kings at all, but are referred to as kings insome stories. But regardless of what we call them, they turn out to be prettygood guys.

Andthe final King in this passage was that innocent Baby laying in the manager. WhenHe was born, He was nothing like anyone thought He would be. But look at howHis story turns out.

Immanuel

         All this took place to fulfill what theLord had spoken by the prophet: “Behold, the virgin shall conceive and bear ason, and they shall call his name Immanuel” (which means, God is with us). WhenJoseph woke from sleep, he did as the angel of the Lord commanded him: he tookhis wife, but knew her not until she had given birth to a son. And he calledhis name Jesus. (Matthew 1:22-25, English Standard Version)

Thisis actually a continuation of yesterday’s post, where an angel of the Lord cameto Joseph in a dream, telling him what to do about the situation with Marybeing pregnant.

Jesusis known by many names. The words of the prophet here are from Isaiah 7:14, andit’s a long story why they named the baby Jesus instead of Immanuel.  But I think the important thing to remember is“God is with us”. No matter what name Jesus goes by, He is always with us.

Joseph

        Now the birth of Jesus Christ took placein this way. When his mother Mary had been betrothed to Joseph, before theycame together, she was found to be with child from the Holy Spirit. And herhusband Joseph, being a just man and unwilling to put her to shame, resolved todivorce her quietly. But as he considered these things, behold, an angel of theLord appeared to him in a dream, saying, “Joseph, son of David, do not fear totake Mary as your wife, for that which is conceived in her is from the HolySpirit. She will bear a son, and you shall call his name Jesus, for he willsave his people from their sins.”

Thingswere a little different back then. Today, this story might have played outcompletely differently. Joseph still might have stayed with Mary. But if heleft her, she would have had three options. 1) Have the baby and give him upfor adoption. 2) Have the baby, keep him and raise him on her own. 3) Well, Idon’t even want to write it, let’s not even consider it, as God knew Mary’sheart.  

Howlucky we are that Joseph was an honorable man who listened to the angel in hisdream and that he remained with Mary, protecting her and the Baby she carried.  

Butwhat happened to the letter I? Come back tomorrow to find out. 

Hungry

          “Then the King will say to those onhis right, ‘Come, you who are blessed by my Father; take your inheritance, thekingdom prepared for you since the creation of the world. For I was hungry andyou gave me something to eat, I was thirsty and you gave me something to drink,I was a stranger and you invited me in.” (Matthew 25:34-35, New InternationalVersion)

Ifyou remember from yesterday, those on the right were the sheep. As believers,their names were in God’s Book; they would make it to heaven. They fed those whowere hungry and thirsty. They gave strangers a place of rest.  

Butthey were put on God’s right side because the stranger they fed was Jesus.

Here’sa sudden thought I had. Who invited Jesus in, when Mary and Joseph were lookingfor a place for Him to be born? Maybe the words Invited, In, and Inn should be tomorrow's words. Nope, guess again. 

Goat

All the nations will be gathered in hispresence, and he will separate the people as a shepherd separates the sheepfrom the goats. He will place the sheep at his right hand and the goats at hisleft. (Matthew 25:32-33, New Living Translation) 

Grace,glory, gift, gospel – so many great words which begin with the letter G. Andyet, here I picked the word goat.

Inthe above verse, Jesus was saying that the sheep were the compassionate people,those willing to help out a stranger. Meanwhile the goat refused to help anyoneout, except themselves. God would bless the sheep and curse the goats.

Wantan example of how those sheep helped others and how the goats ignored them?Check back tomorrow. 

Friend

Greater love has no one than this, than tolay down one’s life for his friends. (John 15:13, New King James Version)

Wouldyou give up your life for your friends? Maybe your best friend, and hopefully yourclose family members.

This is how we know what love is: JesusChrist laid down his life for us. And we ought to lay down our lives for ourbrothers and sisters. (1 John 3:16, New International Version)

Doyou think that when John wrote these verses, he was talking about your bloodrelatives and your best friends? I’m pretty sure he was talking about strangersas well. And why do I think that? Because Jesus was born in Bethlehem to liveamong us and give His life for anyone who believes in Him. Now that’s aFriend. 

Eternal Life

    “I tell you the truth, those who listen to my message and believe in Godwho sent me have eternal life. They will never be condemned for their sins, butthey have already passed from death into life.” (John 5:24, New LivingTranslation)

When I started this blog series, I came up with words beginning with each letter to see if I could even do this. You wouldn’t think the letter E begins with many spiritual words, but I found a few. 

However, Eternal Life stood out, shining the brightest. (Since it’s two words, can I also check the letter L off my list?)

What was the point of God sending His Son to earth as a tiny Baby? The baby grew into a young Man who shared the Word of His Father. He was loved by many but also ridiculed by many, to the point that they demanded His crucifixion.

But it was all part of God’s plan so that we may have Eternal Life, that Jesus’s blood would wash us clean and take away our sins. It was all so that we would have Eternal Life.

Darkness

The people who walked in darkness haveseen a great light. They lived in a land of shadows, but now light is shiningon them. (Isaiah 9:2, Good News Translation)

Onething about December, which I don’t think anyone likes, is that the sun sets soearly. Where I live, it’s getting dark by 4:30 in the afternoon. (But myhusband just reminded me that there are less than three weeks until the daysstart getting longer. Yeah!)

I had to look it up online and discovered that Bethlehem’s days are nearly asshort as ours this time of year. Who knew?

Well,God did, of course. His Son Jesus came into this world in the dark of thenight, but ever since that Blessed night, there has been light in the world,24/7, for those who believe.

Children

But Jesus called for the children, saying,“Let the little children come to me. Don’t stop them, because the kingdom ofGod belongs to people who are like these children. I tell you the truth, youmust accept the kingdom of God as if you were a child, or you will never enterit.” (Luke 18:16-17, New Century Version)

Inmany ways, Christmas is a holiday for children. Santa Claus, holiday programs,presents, even hot chocolate. They have a glow on their faces, and their eyes are filled with excitement.  

Then,we get older, and we lose that glow. Instead of excitement, all we feel is stressover paying for all these presents, planning family get-togethers, decoratingthe tree, and the list goes on.

 Whyis that? As adults, shouldn’t we be able to feel the wonder of Christmas? Andshouldn’t we feel the wonder of being a child of God?