Seeing Jesus, Seeing Salvation

25 Now there was a man in Jerusalem, whose name was Simeon, and this man was righteous and devout, waiting for the consolation of Israel, and the Holy Spirit was upon him. 26 And it had been revealed to him by the Holy Spirit that he would not see death before he had seen the Lord's Christ. 27 And he came in the Spirit into the temple, and when the parents brought in the child Jesus, to do for him according to the custom of the Law, 28 he took him up in his arms and blessed God and said,

29 “Lord, now you are letting your servant depart in peace,
    according to your word;
30 for my eyes have seen your salvation
31     that you have prepared in the presence of all peoples,
32 a light for revelation to the Gentiles,    and for glory to your people Israel.”

(Luke 2)

Notice the emphasis on seeing here. Simeon's promise was based on his seeing the Savior before he saw death.  He saw Jesus. But he believed before he saw.  That's why he was watching and waiting.  His watching paid off, as God entrusted him with this song of deliverence.  May God put a song in your heart today, as you trust in His salvation through Christ, and as you watch and wait to see Him come.  

Seeing Jesus, Sharing Jesus

16 And they went with haste and found Mary and Joseph, and the baby lying in a manger.17 And when they saw it, they made known the saying that had been told them concerning this child. (Luke 2)

No, I have not been taken hostage by the department stores in rushing the celebration of  Christmas.  Rather, I've just seen "Jesus", the presentation given by Sight and Sound Productions.  It's one of those events people experience and want to tell everyone about - it is  professionally done, scripturally accurate, and a pleasant experience.  So is Jesus Himself. He is perfectly done, the True Word, and brings everlasting joy to those who see and receive Him as God's gift. How else should we properly respond than how the shepherds did. Let others know the Savior has come, and He is Jesus. 

Wanting to See Jesus

20 Now among those who went up to worship at the feast were some Greeks. 21 So these came to Philip, who was from Bethsaida in Galilee, and asked him, “Sir, we wish to see Jesus.” (John 12)
Today I will have the opportunity to see "Jesus", the Biblical musical production of the life of Christ on earth.  To be sure, it is something I want to do. As Jesus taught and performed miracles, word of Him spread, and more and more people wanted to see Him.  On this ocassion, Jesus was with the crowds preparing to celebrate Passover, and many there wanted to see Him.  Do we really want to see Jesus? That is the lingering question from yesterday's blog.  Are we saying "Come quickly, Jesus, so we can see you and spend eternity with you?" Or are there things we would much rather do today?  May our top priority today be to see Jesus - looking on others with His eyes, seeing life's choices through His wisdom, living life walking in the footsteps of His will. After all, the object of "seeing Jesus" is to come away changed. 

His devices are divisive...

10 Anyone whom you forgive, I also forgive. Indeed, what I have forgiven, if I have forgiven anything, has been for your sake in the presence of Christ, 11 so that we would not be outwitted by Satan; for we are not ignorant of his designs. (II Corinthians 2)
I was reading an article in the Focus on the Family magazine by Wande Goodall, Protecting the Call God has Placed on You, and was struck by this paragraph:
The enemy loves to distract and divide us through the methods of judging others and fault finding. When we become involved in meddling or gossip and have a critical spirit toward someone with another assignment from Heaven, we are opening ourselves to an attack from the enemy. Our spirit has become critical, judgmental, and arrogant. The enemy loves to divide and to bring pride into our lives. 
How true that is!  Satan's design, device, scheme, is to divide husband and wife, leader and servant, anyone seeking to carry out God's plan for their lives, in His Story, for His glory.  Let us not be ignorant or willing accomplices!  Let us "Resist the devil, and he will flee from you." James 4:7

Are we too comfortable here?

20 He who testifies to these things says, “Surely I am coming soon.”Amen. Come, Lord Jesus!

21 The grace of the Lord Jesus be with all. Amen. (Revelation 22)

Yesterday, as I worshipped, and today, as I read these concluding words of the Story of God, I felt an uneasiness in my soul.  How little, how often, we find ourselves crying in our hearts, let alone crying out loud: "Come, Lord Jesus!"  We have no sense of anticipation or joy at the thought.  Often it is just thinking about what more of this life we want to experience before we die or He comes. That is where this grace comes in. Grace to live.  God giving me the peace and joy knowing that I will never see everything in this world.  We live in a day that we can see and do more than anyone who has gone before us because of mass transportation and communication.  But we don't have to do it all. Because all of it put together is nothing in comparison to being with Him.  We need to be looking more towards what is yet to come, so we can enjoy all He has given in this life, yet joyfully anticipating what is yet to come.  Being content, but not too comfortable. This world is  not our home. 

Quite a Blessing!

24 Now to him who is able to keep you from stumbling and to present you blameless before the presence of his glory with great joy, 25 to the only God, our Savior, through Jesus Christ our Lord, be glory, majesty, dominion, and authority, before all time and now and forever. Amen. (Jude)
Every week.  Almost every week for his over 30 years of ministry my dad prayed this blessing and benediction over the people.  I don't remember it ever becoming stale or monotonous or routine for him.  It is quite a blessing. To God be the glory, majesty, dominion and authority which is His, which he deserves, and which we we some day see in all of His eternal perfection. It is into His hands that we entrust ourselves and one another. He is able. He is able to keep us from stumbling and falling (the old King James translation). Christ is able to present us to the Father with joy, as overcomers who trust in Him.  He has made us part of His Big Story of Salvation, which someday we will be able to see from above, not below.  This blessing puts life, and its bumps, in persepective and keeps us going. We do not walk alone. He is there to hang on to so we don't stumble. He will get us to the end of the journey. Just keep walking and talking with Him. 

Good Examples

11 Beloved, do not imitate evil but imitate good. Whoever does good is from God; whoever does evil has not seen God. 12 Demetrius has received a good testimony from everyone, and from the truth itself. We also add our testimony, and you know that our testimony is true. (III John)
In his first letter to the Corinthians Paul talks about the things in Scripture written for our example.  What he was referring to were the people of the Old Testament - some did good, some did very evil.  In the ongoing Big Story of God, we then see how these things affected others - both immediately and over time.  We also are examples. Those of us who claim to be the people of God make an impact - good or evil - on those around us, and on those who follow.  Like Demetrius, may we have a good reputation to follow based on what we have done - being compared not to other imperfect people like us, but to the Truth itself.