November, 1935
T H E K I N G ' S B U S I N E S S
428
Suggestions on Daily Readings I. W hy J esus C ame (Matt. 1:21).
several times, hoping that you would speak to me, but you did not, and another led me to Jesus Christ.” Would you want something like that to happen to you ? N ote : The leader for this meeting will do well to secure a copy of Ambassadors for Christ, by Mildred Cable and Francesca French. ■This 159-page book defines and describes true missionary service in a very attractive and readable style, and gives many concrete suggestions for Christian workers. The book may be ordered from the China Inland Mission or from the Biola Book Room for thirty-five cents. DECEMBER 15, 1935 KEEPING CHRIST IN CHRISTMAS L uke 2:8-14; E phesians 3:16-19 Meditation on the Lesson Once again that season so sacred to the Christian has rolled around. Our thoughts inevitably turn to the advent of our Saviour, and the story, perennially new, glows with even added beauty and significance. Let us ask that the Holy Spirit, whose office and work it is, shall again take the things of Christ and make them personal and vital in our own lives! By what humble circumstances His com ing was attended 1 In a manger in the empty stallof an animal, lay the incarnate Son of God. He is here set .forth, not as the King of the Jews, as’ Matthew’s Gospel reveals Him, but as the Saviour. Hence the news came, not to the wise and great, nor to the chief priests and elders, but to shepherds who were “poor in spirit.” How rich they became that night! The joyful message of the angels, her alded by the words “ fear not” (used over fifty times in the Bible), told of the birth of “a Saviour, which is Christ the Lord.” Our Lord did not become a Saviour at the close of His life ; He was born a Saviour. Notice the completeness of the name: “ Christ”—the anointed and promised One; “Lord”—the coming “King o f Kings, and Lord o f Lords.” The “swaddling clothes” which were for a “sign,” were literally “grave clothes.” What a sign! A babe in grave clothes! The Lord Jesus came “out of the ivory palaces, into a world o f woe,” that He might redeem lost humanity by His own death. In its theme, the angels’ message was two fold: First, there was exultant praise to God for the birth of the Saviour, who would glorify His Father in His life and by His death (cf. John 17:4), and second, there was the promise of peace—“among men in whom he is well pleased” (R .V .). The Lord’s first coming did not bring peace on earth in general, for we see the earth still full o f strife and bitterness and warfare in spite o f the coming of the Saviour and the preaching of the gospel these nearly two thousand years. But there is peace in the hearts o f those who receive Him as Saviour. Has the Christ-child been born in the manger of your heart? Does His match less peace reign in your heart? At the time of His first coming, He “tabernacled” (R .V .) among men but a few years; but Paul prays (Eph. 3:16-19) that Christ may dwell ( “settle down and be at home,” as the original Greek would indicate) in the hearts o f His people. At this Christmas season, may the fullness of the apostle’s beautiful and comprehensive prayer be realized in each life!
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The fact that Jesus came is history ; the reason for His coming is the crux of Christianity. Why did Jesus Christ come? Why did the eternal Son become the in carnate Son? He stooped to earth that He might become the crucified Son (Phil. 2:8; Matt. 20:28). The very name given to Joseph for “that holy thing” born of Mary was significant: “Jesus”—“ Saviour.” Christ’s mission was not one of condemna tion, but o f salvation ; .not of education, but of redemption, for He was born to save. This eternal purpose required the incar nation, which, in turn, might have been accomplished by creation or by birth. Had the former mode been chosen, how differ ent a Christ He would have been! He could not have been man’s Substitute, for He would have been unlike man. He would never have been “touched with the feeling o f our infirmities.” He could not have been “in all points tempted like as we are.” In order to be the perfect Saviour and to provide a perfect salvation, He “made himself of no reputation, and took upon him the form of a servant, and was made in the likeness of men” (Phil. 2:7 ). “Hallelujah 1 What a Saviour 1” II. O H oly N ight (Lk. 2:13-18). The shepherds were not indifferent to the news which the angels brought them. They may have been ignorant men, but they were “wise” in the sense that they believed the word of God. They did not go to “prove” or “test” the word of God, but to “ see” what had come to pass. Real faith ever takes God at His word 1 They were eager and went “with haste.” As Bishop Hooper said, “ They did not reason nor debate with themselves who should keep the wolf from the sheep in the mean time, but did as they were commanded, and committed their sheep to Him whose pleasure they obeyed.” Nor does faith such as theirs go unrewarded. They found Him whom they sought. They could not keep the good news to themselves, but fold it to others. Have you sought—-and found? Have you shared that “good news” ? III. G ifts M ust be to H im (Matt. 2:11). The Magi of the East did not present Mary, “the handmaid of the Lord” with gifts, but they did present those gifts unto Him, the Babe. There are those who analyze the gifts and spiritualize the sig nificance of each gift. Cold, they say, was given to indicate His deity, for gold in Scripture speaks of deity. Frankincense would evidence the Son’s holy and perfect life o f obedience and yieldedness to the Father’s will. Myrrh would foreshadow His death, the object of His birth. Has He been acknowledged by you as God manifest in the flesh, the matchless One who died in your stead ? IV. I mmanuel (Isa. 7:14; Matt. 1:23). About seven hundred years before Christ was born, Isaiah gave utterance to a prophecy which was to be a “sign.” What a wonderful prophecy it was, and how definitely and minutely it was fulfilled in the birth o f our Lord! Many scholars tell us that what appears in our King James’ Version as “ a virgin,” is rendered as “ the virgin,” in the Hebrew, thus indicating some definite damsel, whose identity was well-known to God even at the moment.
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