Every tree that does not produce good fruit will be chopped down. . .

Luke 3:3-14 NLT 

   3 Then John went from place to place on both sides of the Jordan River, preaching that people should be baptized to show that they had repented of their sins and turned to God to be forgiven. 4 Isaiah had spoken of John when he said,  “He is a voice shouting in the wilderness, ‘Prepare the way for the LORD’s coming!  Clear the road for him! 5 The valleys will be filled, and the mountains and hills made level. The curves will be straightened, and the rough places made smooth. 6 And then all people will see the salvation sent from God.’” 

   7  When the crowds came to John for baptism, he said, “You brood of snakes! Who warned you to flee God’s coming wrath? 8 Prove by the way you live that you have repented of your sins and turned to God. Don’t just say to each other, ‘We’re safe, for we are descendants of Abraham.’ That means nothing, for I tell you, God can create children of Abraham from these very stones. 9 Even now the ax of God’s judgment is poised, ready to sever the roots of the trees. Yes, every tree that does not produce good fruit will be chopped down and thrown into the fire.” 

  10 The crowds asked, “What should we do?” 

  11 John replied, “If you have two shirts, give one to the poor. If you have food, share it with those who are hungry.” 

  12 Even corrupt tax collectors came to be baptized and asked, “Teacher, what should we do?” 

  13 He replied, “Collect no more taxes than the government requires.” 

  14 “What should we do?” asked some soldiers. John replied, “Don’t extort money or make false accusations. And be content with your pay.”

When the Messiah came the first time, He had an announcer ahead of him, kind of an 'advance man' setting the stage for recognition that we all possess sin. John's job was to present a very simple message. That message was to stop sinning. In order to stop sinning, one must first recognize that the self-centered way one is living in is in opposition to God's will. And, anything in opposition to the will of God is sin. Christ came and fulfilled his mission-- to become the sacrifice for our sins.

Even religious leaders were not spared John's abrupt and straight forward commands. They were caught up in their religiosity and convinced that gave them a holy state better than anyone else. Their arrogance was the sheer evidence of their own sin and they failed to repent.  But others did repent and wait for The Christ to be revealed to them.

Today, in 2010, the fact is that Christ was revealed to the world and there are lots of reasons to believe in Him. The faith that many have, is proof for them. Faith does not need miracles to prove it. Faith is just that-- faith. And we have among us men and women like those early religious leaders who are yet facing the 'ax of God's judgment' mentioned in verse 9, because they refuse to trust in simple faith and, instead rely on their deeds and religious preparations to save them. They view themselves as a cut above the normal Christian rather than the servant of all that Jesus wants us to be.  Notice, John did not tell anyone who asked, to quit doing their daily activities. He merely told them to do it in God honoring ways, honest ways, truthful ways, rather than self-serving ways. The rest of the Good news is that we CAN do that, now that the power of God's Holy Spirit comes to live in us through faith in Christ Jesus as LORD.

Make this clear to someone this Christmas season and watch their joy grow!

Your servant in Christ's love
Dan
drdanelliott@gmail.com

Jesus Grew in Wisdom and Stature and Favor

Luke 2:39-52 NLT 

    39  ¶When Jesus’ parents had fulfilled all the requirements of the law of the Lord, they returned home to Nazareth in Galilee. 40There the child grew up healthy and strong. He was filled with wisdom, and God’s favor was on him. 

   41 Every year Jesus’ parents went to Jerusalem for the Passover festival. 42 When Jesus was twelve years old, they attended the festival as usual. 43 After the celebration was over, they started home to Nazareth, but Jesus stayed behind in Jerusalem. His parents didn’t miss him at first, 44 because they assumed he was among the other travelers. But when he didn’t show up that evening, they started looking for him among their relatives and friends. 

   45 When they couldn’t find him, they went back to Jerusalem to search for him there. 46 Three days later they finally discovered him in the Temple, sitting among the religious teachers, listening to them and asking questions. 47 All who heard him were amazed at his understanding and his answers. 

   48 His parents didn’t know what to think. “Son,” his mother said to him, “why have you done this to us? Your father and I have been frantic, searching for you everywhere.” 

   49 “But why did you need to search?” he asked. “Didn’t you know that I must be in my Father’s house?” 50 But they didn’t understand what he meant. 

   51 Then he returned to Nazareth with them and was obedient to them. And his mother stored all these things in her heart. 

   52 Jesus grew in wisdom and in stature and in favor with God and all the people.

What must it have been like to raise the only begotten Son of God, as an infant, a toddler, a young boy, a teenager?  Scripture tells us that the Messiah was tempted in all ways as we are so that he can be our example. Thus all of life's experiences that other humans know, he too would come to know them-- except that he would always choose NOT to sin.  His little heart listened to God. As he grew up his young heart listened to God and He obeyed. Children sin, teens sin, young adults sin. All sin. We do so because we wrestle with our self and self preferences. Christ had those and the had to wrestle with them as well. But He managed to obey God and say no to self.

Notice that the pre-teen boy was teaching scholars about the Word of God. This suggests that he had studied God's word and had hidden it within his mind and heart. Notice his innocent response to Mary and Joseph's panic statement "why have you done this to us. . ." What had he done to them? He was obeying His father by teaching truth to people who were lost in darkness. It was in complete innocence that he said "didn't you know that I must be in my Father's house?"  Jesus knew then he was the Son of God. If that then he also knew what future lay ahead of him in another 21 years and yet he pursued obedience along his path. As a child then he was obedient to his parents, just as he was to his Heavenly Father.

Mary recorded these images and experiences to be played back years later when she would make sense of the terror of the crucifixion, and when she would also help the other first believers make sense of it too. God will help us to always do His will when we make the commitment to do so and trust Him for the resources and strength. Jesus promised that whatever miracles he did we would be able to do also, so living outside of sin is possible for us who live in Christ. How about making this day one of those days in your life?
Your servant in Christ's love

Dan

drdanelliott@gmail.com

Shepherds went back. . .glorifying and praising God

Luke 2:8-20 NLT 

   That night there were shepherds staying in the fields nearby, guarding their flocks of sheep. 9 Suddenly, an angel of the Lord appeared among them, and the radiance of the Lord’s glory surrounded them. They were terrified, 10 but the angel reassured them. “Don’t be afraid!” he said. “I bring you good news that will bring great joy to all people. 11 The Savior—yes, the Messiah, the Lord—has been born today in Bethlehem, the city of David! 12 And you will recognize him by this sign: You will find a baby wrapped snugly in strips of cloth, lying in a manger.”

   13  Suddenly, the angel was joined by a vast host of others—the armies of heaven—praising God and saying, 

   14  “Glory to God in highest heaven,  and peace on earth to those with whom God is pleased.” 

   15 When the angels had returned to heaven, the shepherds said to each other, “Let’s go to Bethlehem! Let’s see this thing that has happened, which the Lord has told us about.” 

   16 They hurried to the village and found Mary and Joseph. And there was the baby, lying in the manger. 17 After seeing him, the shepherds told everyone what had happened and what the angel had said to them about this child. 18 All who heard the shepherds’ story were astonished, 19 but Mary kept all these things in her heart and thought about them often. 20 The shepherds went back to their flocks, glorifying and praising God for all they had heard and seen. It was just as the angel had told them.

The birth of God's Messiah, the Savior of Humanity was a one-time, unique historical event. It was bound to be different from any other birth throughout time. The birth to a virgin girl was significant enough, but there was to be more. The visits by angels to Mary and to Zechariah were astonishing enough but there was to be more. These shepherds, the nomads of the day, and the lowest class of society just above beggars, were to be the ones honored by an invitation to the nativity by thousands of singing angels. This invitation exemplifies how not one person of any society is to be excluded from the love of God and His salvation.



Doubtless the shepherds were shocked by the sight and sounds but they did not doubt for a second. Higher more 'responsible' levels of society would want to debate with the angel and demand proof, but to these simple shepherds, the angels were proof enough that this nativity was, indeed, an event planned and carried out by God Himself. The spokes person angel, probably Gabriel again, announced the place, the time, and even described how the baby would be dressed.


I once was in a very large concert hall filled with thousands of choir members from everywhere around our area who had been invited to a Messiah Sing Along. We all had our books for Handle's Messiah and were singing our parts. There were hundreds of tenors, and hundreds of Sopranos. There were as many Altos and Bases, as well as a pretty good sized string orchestra. We had all learned our music at our home churches and were now there just to experience the joy of singing the Christmas portion of the Messiah. The glory of the sound was mind boggling to me and the impact was not lost on the others. As I looked around there were hundreds of other bass singers with tears streaming down their faces just like me, as we were singing 'Hal-le-lu-jah! Hal-le-lu-jah!Hal-le- e-e -lu-jah!. . . And He shall reign for ever and ever! And He shall reign. . . . " That must have been something like those Shepherds experienced only on a much grander scale. The Birth of the Messiah came accompanied by the Angelic Choir of Heaven's Temple.


The Shepherds sat mesmerized by the sights and sounds until the choralers departed back into Heaven from whence they had come so suddenly. Next they rushed to Bethlehem as they had been invited to do and worshiped God's Messiah, the Christ Child. The King of the universe was there before them in the tiny body of a new born baby boy and they rejoiced. In fact, apparently they continued rejoicing back to camp and wherever else their shepherding duties would take them for Verse 18 says that 'all who heard the shepherds were astonished.  They were the world's first evangelists to the King of Kings and Lord of Lords.  That was why they were invited-- because of their simple faith and their willingness to share their faith. They were not hindered by the social standards of the day, they just told about their experiences, probably for decades after. That was why, when Christ began his ministry 30 years later, the people responded as they did. The society had been primed that the Messiah was among them and would begin calling them to Himself.


I wonder if we can be like those simple shepherds, quick to believe, quick to share our faith, and persistent at doing so wherever we go. Maybe you can tell somebody this Christmas season what Christmas is truly all about.
Your servant in Christ's love

Dan

drdanelliott@gmail.com

The Time Came. . . and She Laid Him in a Manger

Luke 2:1-7 (NLT)  

   At that time the Roman emperor, Augustus, decreed that a census should be taken throughout the Roman Empire. 2 (This was the first census taken when Quirinius was governor of Syria.) 3 All returned to their own ancestral towns to register for this census. 4 And because Joseph was a descendant of King David, he had to go to Bethlehem in Judea, David’s ancient home. He traveled there from the village of Nazareth in Galilee. 5 He took with him Mary, his fiancee, who was now obviously pregnant. 

   6 And while they were there, the time came for her baby to be born. 7 She gave birth to her first child, a son. She wrapped him snugly in strips of cloth and laid him in a manger, because there was no lodging available for them.

God's plan through the ages of history was playing itself out. Centuries earlier Prophets foretold this event, that the Messiah from God would come this way, first as a child of special circumstance, then grow into a man without succumbing to the plague of humanity-- sin. Here, Joseph and Mary carrying the Lord of the Universe within her, followed human orders of a human emperor, but all that had been long before planned. And, as promised, the Messiah would come to Bethlehem, even while it slept. These descendants of wise King David, were mere nobody's on the road. They were poor and hardly noticeable among so many other poor that crowded the roads and residences during this time of upheaval called census. But not even their poverty could prevent the coming of the Son of God. Not event he hard journey of a young woman across miles of desert within days of delivering her baby could forestall the coming of God's Messiah and Mankind's Redeemer.

You see, God has a plan. God always had a plan then and does yet today. No matter what we might be facing, no matter how overwhelming the troubles might be, God's plan is in motion. We are blessed to be but a party to God's plan. We need to resist discouragement by remembering that God is working His plan and when we have yielded our lives to Him through faith in Jesus Christ, then we are forever a part of that plan as redeemed children of God. Make Christmas special among your family members this year by focusing on this truth.

Your servant in Christ's Love
Dan
drdanelliott@gmail.com

Give light to those who sit in darkness.

Luke 1:67-79 NLT  

   Then his father, Zechariah, was filled with the Holy Spirit and gave this prophecy: 

    “Praise the Lord, the God of Israel,  because he has visited and redeemed his people. 69 He has sent us a mighty Savior  from the royal line of his servant David, 70 just as he promised  through his holy prophets long ago. 71Now we will be saved from our enemies and from all who hate us. 72 He has been merciful to our ancestors by remembering his sacred covenant— 73 the covenant he swore with an oath to our ancestor Abraham. 74 We have been rescued from our enemies so we can serve God without fear, 75 in holiness and righteousness for as long as we live. '

   76  “And you, my little son, will be called the prophet of the Most High, because you will prepare the way for the Lord. 77 You will tell his people how to find salvation through forgiveness of their sins. 78 Because of God’s tender mercy,  the morning light from heaven is about to break upon us, 79  to give light to those who sit in darkness and in the shadow of death, and to guide us to the path of peace.”

After nine months of being without speech because of his lack of faith in the Lord, Zechariah makes up for lost time by proclaiming this prophesy at the Holy Spirit's urging. All that was taking place was ground for praise to God. The coming of the Savior was now not just a hopeful story told from generation to generation, it was a fulfilled promise and the evidence was in the birth of John. In three more months, John's cousin, Jesus would come into the world. And the process would be set into motion that could bring salvation from sin to human kind.

Unfortunately, Zechariah was too steeped in Jewish lore to see the bigger picture for he states that they would be saved from those who hate Jews. Actually it is all people who love God that will be saved from the one in the universe who hates God-- and all his minions that seem to control the world's affairs. He gets it right in verse 74-5 for we truly are saved so that we can serve God without fear. Because of Jesus Christ we cans serve God in true holiness and righteousness. Christ's righteousness enters us and replicates itself within us by God's power when we are committed to Him.

John's task was large-- to "prepare the way of the Lord and tell people how to find salvation through Him. John's testimony was to open the door so others would see the light that God had sent into the world. That light has been with us for two thousand years now. Is that light in you? Does it shine out to others? It can, if you want to permit it to do so.

Your servant in Christ's love

Dan

drdanelliott@gmail.com

For the hand of the Lord was surely upon him in a special way

Luke 1:56-66 NLT  

  56 Mary stayed with Elizabeth about three months and then went back to her own home. 

  57 When it was time for Elizabeth’s baby to be born, she gave birth to a son.  58 And when her neighbors and relatives heard that the Lord had been very merciful to her, everyone rejoiced with her. 

  59 When the baby was eight days old, they all came for the circumcision ceremony. They wanted to name him Zechariah, after his father. 60 But Elizabeth said, “No! His name is John!” 

  61 “What?” they exclaimed. “There is no one in all your family by that name.”  62 So they used gestures to ask the baby’s father what he wanted to name him. 63 He motioned for a writing tablet, and to everyone’s surprise he wrote, “His name is John.” 64 Instantly Zechariah could speak again, and he began praising God. 

  65  Awe fell upon the whole neighborhood, and the news of what had happened spread throughout the Judean hills. 66 Everyone who heard about it reflected on these events and asked, “What will this child turn out to be?” For the hand of the Lord was surely upon him in a special way. 

 



In ancient Israel, as in many eastern cultures the naming of a child is a very big event. It is not a private thing with the parents and the hospital records clerk as today. The whole family had a say in the child's name. And, a first born son was surly to be named after his father or a more significant grand father. The extended family was present for this 8th day circumcision celebration. The event was much like 'christening' ceremonies are or dedication ceremonies are in more modern western cultures. In fact those are most likely modeled after this old testament Jewish tradition.




You recall that Old Zechariah had been rather thoughtless and very "Jewish" in his conversation with Gabriel and dared to ask an Archangel to prove what he was saying was true. The consequence, the proof, if you will, came in making Zechariah speechless until the birth and naming of John. Sometimes we must endure challenges that we have called down upon ourselves when we don't fully and immediately trust and obey what God calls upon us to accept in His strength.



As the family members came to the part in the ceremony when they spoke the new baby's name, it was as though they would be speaking him into existence in the presence of the whole world. Normally it would be the dad who would speak this part but he was silenced by Gabriel. He humbly accepted his role and they asked Elizabeth to name the Baby. Everyone was expecting her to say 'his name will be Zechariah. But she said  firmly and with joy in her heart that his name is John! They couldn't believe their ears so they turned to the silent dad asking him. He had to write his answer to them, probably rather perturbed at them refusing to acknowledge his wife's pronouncement of the name. Someone produced a tablet and Zechariah wrote "His name is John."  Instantly his tongue was loosed because of his faithful obedience to God's plan. He started by praising God.

This turn of events made it clear to all present that this baby was more than just a very unusual child of old-age parents. He was announced by an angel, and it was told then that he would be a profit of the Most High and would be the one introducing the coming Messiah. That made John special and everyone knew it. Their comment was that "the hand of the Lord was surely upon him in a special way.

That could be the way people speak about you or me when we are living in complete obedience to our Lord's will. God has promised that His hand will be upon us when we believe and obey. How about today? Can the hand of the Lord be upon you today in a special way?

Your Servant in Christ's Love

Dan

drdanelliott@gmail.com

How My Soul Praises the Lord!

Luke 1:39-56 NLT  

  A few days later Mary hurried to the hill country of Judea, to the town40 where Zechariah lived. She entered the house and greeted Elizabeth. 41 At the sound of Mary’s greeting, Elizabeth’s child leaped within her, and Elizabeth was filled with the Holy Spirit. 

  42  Elizabeth gave a glad cry and exclaimed to Mary, “God has blessed you above all women, and your child is blessed. 43 Why am I so honored, that the mother of my Lord should visit me? 44 When I heard your greeting, the baby in my womb jumped for joy. 45 You are blessed because you believed that the Lord would do what he said.” 

46  Mary responded, 

 “Oh, how my soul praises the Lord. 

47 How my spirit rejoices in God my Savior! 

48 For he took notice of his lowly servant girl, 

and from now on all generations will call me blessed. 

49 For the Mighty One is holy, 

and he has done great things for me. 

50 He shows mercy from generation to generation 

to all who fear him. 

51 His mighty arm has done tremendous things! 

He has scattered the proud and haughty ones. 

52 He has brought down princes from their thrones 

and exalted the humble. 

53 He has filled the hungry with good things  

and sent the rich away with empty hands. 

54  He has helped his servant Israel and remembered to be merciful. 

55 For he made this promise to our ancestors, 

to Abraham and his children forever.” 

56 Mary stayed with Elizabeth about three months and then went back to her own home. 

Elizabeth was very elderly, more like a great aunt than a cousin to Mary, really. She probably had a hand in raising Mary as an infant, and here she is calling her young relative "the Mother of my Lord."  That had to stop Mary's heart once more in remembrance of things that the Angel Gabriel had told her. I so love Mary's heart to turn this praise from herself back to praise for God, who, after all, made it all happen. Her praise reads like a wonderful song of praise sung in a worship service. Mary didn't need a song director or a band to start up to sing a praise song to Jesus. She just opened her heart and her mouth and out come these beautiful words. Repeat them over a few times like you might do in a praise and worship chorus time in church.

This was such a beautiful song to have been composed by this teen-aged girl through whom God would bring the Savior of all the World. How did you praise our Lord today? What glorious things that He has done for you and others did you sing happily about as you went about your day yesterday? How might you sing about His praises today? Why not start right now. We can sing about his great forgiveness! We can sing about His unconditional love. We could sing about how His nature takes up residence within our own and remakes us over into His image. We could sing about our desire to be unconditionally committed to the will and priorities of our Lord and Savior. We could, but will we?

Your servant in Christ's love

Dan

drdanelliott@gmail.com