Are you ready for Jesus to come?

Be Still . . .
Devotionals for Daily Living ^©

“But you, Bethlehem Ephrathah,
though you are small among the clans of Judah,
out of you will come for me
one who will be ruler over Israel,
whose origins are from of old,
from ancient times. ”

Therefore Israel will be abandoned
until the time when she who is in labor gives birth
and the rest of his brothers return
to join the Israelites.

He will stand and shepherd his flock
in the strength of the LORD,
in the majesty of the name of the LORD his God.
And they will live securely, for then his greatness
will reach to the ends of the earth.

And he will be their peace.
(Micah 5:2-5 (NIV))

This prophecy speaks clearly of the coming of Jesus. During this time of year when we celebrate the birth of our Savior, we must also keep in mind that He is first a light to the Jews and then to the nations.

The covenant that God made with Israel was for this nation to be a light unto the world. Yet, they took the meaning of “God’s Chosen People” to mean that they had special privileges that set them above every other nation.

There are many words within this passage that can be interpreted to reflect what has happened in the history of Israel. When it speaks of Israel being abandoned … and the rest returning to Israel, this could be taken to mean the upper tribes being taken into captivity from which they never really returned. Now, the nation of Israel is once again a nation, and people from all over the world are returning to their “home land.” Perhaps, many of these people are descendants of those who were taken into captivity from the Northern Kingdom.

God has always used “near-term” and “long-term” prophecy within the same words. This passage obviously points to the first coming of Jesus. It also gives hints and glimpses of what will be in the second coming.

After two thousand years since Jesus’ birth, it is right that we celebrate this coming and the gift that was given through this coming. We must also not forget that He will return. Every Christmas that we celebrate brings us closer to the time of this much anticipated, often ridiculed, and greatly controversial event.

We need to be ready for the second coming.

Copyright 1998 – 2015 Dennis J. Smock
Daily Living Ministries, Inc.
http://www.dailylivingministries.org
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Are we above reproach in the eyes of God?

Be Still . . .
Devotionals for Daily Living ^©

Now the overseer must be above reproach, the husband of but one wife, temperate, self-controlled, respectable, hospitable, able to teach, not given to drunkenness, not violent but gentle, not quarrelsome, not a lover of money.
(1 Timothy 3:2-3 (NIV))

What does it mean to be above reproach?

The word reproach means an expression of disapproval or scorn. To be above reproach means that there is nothing that can cause someone to disapprove.

What are some things that we should disapprove of? Perhaps this question should be worded what does God disapprove of? Many people today are shifting what their thinking is on this topic.

Has God changed?

It is us who are changing!

Do we find ourselves trying to justify things in our mind that have been accepted as wrong by the Body of Christ for two thousand years? Do we think that we have a better understanding today because we are more compassionate and better educated than the people who wrote down what they saw God do? Have we allowed two thousand years to make us think that those words that were written in the Old Testament and those spoken by Jesus and recorded in the New Testament are now somehow different from what they meant when they were written?

Who wrote those words?

Who inspired those words to be written?

Did humanity suddenly become God? Since when did we become allowed to change the meaning of words to suit our desires?

I know that this is a touchy subject, but everything that I have read, and I am trying not to be legalistic, points to the simple fact that what we are allowing to be done to God’s Word is wrong. God’s Word is alive. It is intended to change society and not have society change it.

What are we doing?

Are we above reproach in the eyes of God?

Copyright 1998 – 2014 Dennis J. Smock
Daily Living Ministries, Inc.
http://www.dailylivingministries.org
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