This means that anyone who belongs to Christ has become a new person. The old life is gone; a new life has begun! 2 Corinthians 5:17 Happy New Year! Yes, today is the first day of the new year. But it is also the eighth day in the Christian season of Christmas. So, today we continue our series in Keeping Christmas Well. At the same time, our reflection today picks up the theme of newness, focusing of how we can... Read more
I always enjoy reading the blog of Dr. Claude Mariottini, Professor of Old Testament at Northern Baptist Theological Seminary. One of the things he does is to link to fascinating articles that I would surely miss without his guidance. One such article appeared on Archaeology, the website of the Archaeological Institute of America. It featured the “Top 10 Discoveries of 2011.” I find it fascinating to read about key archeological finds throughout the world today. Along with these discoveries, the... Read more
And so, dear brothers and sisters, I plead with you to give your bodies to God because of all he has done for you. Let them be a living and holy sacrifice—the kind he will find acceptable. This is truly the way to worship him. Romans 12:1 Do our bodies really matter? Or are they just insignificant shells for our spirits? Does God care about what we do with our bodies? Romans 12:1-2 answers these questions by showing us how... Read more
So let us come boldly to the throne of our gracious God. There we will receive his mercy, and we will find grace to help us when we need it most. Hebrews 4:16 If we’re sinful people, how is it possible for us to come into the presence of a sinless, perfect God? And if we’re permitted to approach God, how should we come before him? Should we cower in shame? Or can we approach God with confidence? Hebrews 4:14-16... Read more
Since he himself has gone through suffering and testing, he is able to help us when we are being tested. Hebrews 2:18 Does God understand us? How does God regard us when we struggle? When we’re discouraged? When we’re tempted? Hebrews 2:10-18 offers an encouraging answer to these questions. As we saw in yesterday’s Reflection, the main point of Hebrews 2:10-18 is that the Incarnation makes salvation possible. Because Jesus was fully human, he was able to break the power... Read more
Because God’s children are human beings—made of flesh and blood—the Son also became flesh and blood. For only as a human being could he die, and only by dying could he break the power of the devil, who had the power of death. Hebrews 2:14 How can we escape from the power of sin and death? How can we experience forgiveness? How can we live each day in unbroken relationship with God? Answers to these questions can be found in... Read more
No one has ever seen God. But the one and only Son is himself God and is near to the Father’s heart. He has revealed God to us. John 1:18 How do we know God? How can we know God, not just theologically, but relationally? Let’s keep these questions in mind as we turn to John 1:15-18. After celebrating the Incarnation of the Word of God, who became human and revealed his divine glory (1:14), the Gospel of John underscores... Read more
So the Word became human and made his home among us. He was full of unfailing love and faithfulness. And we have seen his glory, the glory of the Father’s one and only Son. John 1:14 Today is the second installment in a series of reflections called Keeping Christmas Well. If you missed my introduction to this series, you might want to check out yesterday’s reflection. In this series, I’m working on the question: What would it mean to keep... Read more
Click on the image to the right to see the Advent Doodle for Christmas Day, December 25. For the last seven years, I have put up an online Advent calendar during the season of Advent. It featured pictures suitable for the season, matched with passages of Scripture. This year, I’m doing an online Advent Calendar once again, but with some exciting new content. I am using Advent Doodles by my wife, Linda. She has a unique ministry of doodling, combining... Read more
Keeping Christmas Well…Like Ebenezer Scrooge Luke 2:1-16 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. Luke 2:7 In the first stave of Charles Dickens’ classic story, A Christmas Carol, Ebenezer Scrooge didn’t have much enthusiasm for Christmas. “If I could work my will,” said Scrooge indignantly, “every idiot who goes about with ‘Merry Christmas’ on his lips... Read more
Mark D. Roberts
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