baby jesus

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Our Lovely God

December 26, 2023December 21, 2023 krisshetter

Therefore in the east give glory to the Lord; in the coastlands of the sea, give glory to the name of the Lord, the God of Israel. Isaiah 24:15

Today we bask in the glow of a Christ come to us in the form of a baby. A baby which held the power to defeat sin in His tiny hand. A baby that so terrified a king that he called for the deaths of all the young children in Bethlehem. A baby that drew people of all races, creed, religion, nationality to Him for the promise of peace through all eternity.

The other day I read part of a sermon by the renowned 18th century pastor, Jonathan Edwards. He became well known for glorifying God’s beauty and magnificence throughout his lifetime in sermon after sermon. Today I’d like to share a portion of his sermon titled, “Children Ought to Love the Lord Jesus Christ Above All” (Sermons and Discourses 1739-1742). It seems fitting in celebration of the birth of our Savior and a lesson for us all to carry in our minds and hearts.

“Christ is so lovely that the angels in heaven adore Him. Their hearts overflow with love for Him and they are continually, day and night without ceasing, praising Him and giving Him glory. He is so lovely that God the Father infinitely delights in Him.

Christ is His beloved Son, the brightness of His glory, whose beauty the Father continually sees with infinite delight, without ever being weary of beholding Him. And if the angels and God himself love Christ so much more than anyone or anything else, surely all children on earth ought to love Him above all things in this world.

Everything that is lovely in God the Father is in Jesus Christ, and everything that is lovely in any man is in Him. For He is man as well as God, and He is the holiest, most humble, and in every way the most excellent man that ever was. He is the true delight of heaven.

There is nothing in heaven, that glorious place, that is brighter or more lovely than Christ. By becoming man, He was as a flower springing up out of the earth, lovelier than any seen in all this world.

There is more goodness to be enjoyed in Christ than in anything or anyone in all the world. He is not only loving, but all sufficient for any need of humankind. There is enough provision in His person to supply all our wants and satisfy all our desires.”

To our God who created the glorious heavens and earth, to Him be all power and honor and majesty. Amen

Planting His Flag

December 23, 2023December 20, 2023 krisshetter

O Lord, our Lord, how majestic is your name in all the earth! You have set your glory above the heavens. Out of the mouth of babies and infants, you have established strength because of your foes, to still the enemy and the avenger... O Lord, our Lord, how majestic is your name in all the earth! Psalm 8: 1-2 & 9

Close your eyes and picture the scene of Jesus’ birth. It’s probably nighttime with Mary and Joseph and the little baby laying peacefully in a straw-laden manger. A cow and lamb may fill the empty spaces of the room. Above is a bright light shining down on the small structure. It’s the scene shown over and over throughout the earth in church Christmas stories, front yard manger displays, Instagram and Facebook posts, and even blow up Christmas decorations.

I’ll be honest, until just recently I was “all in” with that peaceful, sweet panorama unfolding before me. Lately, however, as I’ve learned more about Old Testament prophecy, the history of the actual way of life and traditions of people in Judea, and the necessity of seeing Jesus as King, my picture has changed. And right on cue, just before I sat down to write this an Instagram post featuring Christian singer Phil Wickham popped up on my screen singing “Manger Throne.”

Glory be to You alone
King who reigns from a manger throne
My life, my praise, everything I own
To Jesus the King on a manger throne
Phil Wickham, Manger Throne chorus

Tied with our verse today I see the amazing and glorious God at work splitting the heavens apart for His entry with all majesty and power. I also see Him mending the world with humility and grace; a baby wrapped in basic, cotton cloth quietly sleeping. He is the Lion of Judah and the Lamb all at once.

So often the nativity scene shows no one touching the baby. Mary sits by with hands clasped either in prayer, reverence or delight. A curious posture for a mom with a newborn. She is possibly remembering the promise from God’s angel. That this sweet little child will be the Savior for all mankind. A promise that would seem too hard to completely grasp. As a mother myself, a promise that also might terrify me.

Jesus didn’t just come quietly into the world. It may have looked that way to us humans. But the battle God will have victory over is not just in this physical world but the spiritual realm. Jesus, the King — when He arrived that day — threw down the proverbial gauntlet. The demons knew. They immediately went to work trying to eliminate Him. The angels worked on God’s behalf to protect Jesus until He was ready to take evil on Himself.

This weekend, as you go about your day and see the nativity scenes in your home or around town, close your eyes and create a new picture. A picture of the King riding down to a little town called Bethlehem and planting His Holy flag in a manger. Declaring in glory and majesty that He shall reign, forever more!

Soli Deo Gloria. Amen.

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In His Time

December 21, 2023December 19, 2023 krisshetter

For I consider that the sufferings of this present time are not worth comparing with the glory that is to be revealed to us. Romans 8:18

In the advent study I’ve been working through we reviewed many of the Old Testament prophecies which came true with the birth of Christ. From Genesis 12 to Isaiah 9 and Micah 5 to Psalm 72 so much of these historical texts focus on the coming Messiah. Even the genealogical texts are there to affirm the lineage of the future King of Kings.

Some of the events foretold by the prophets have a time span gap of 500 to 800 years before they came to fruition. Surely people in their time brushed much of what they said aside thinking they weren’t speaking in the name of God because the events “never came true.”

St. Augustine, in his autobiography Confessions, is noted as being one of the first to write of and discuss the experience of time. After his conversion to Christianity in about 386 AD he wrote about time in relation to God.

“Who will lay hold on the human heart to make it still, so that I can see how eternity, in which there is neither future nor past, stands still and dictates future and past times? Can my mind have the strength for this?”
St. Augustine

In God’s eternal existence there is no past, present or future. It is all just now — just one big present moment, Augustine surmised. A bit mind blowing and hard to grasp. For us, a 500 or 800 year wait to see a prophecy come about seems almost pointless. We are creatures of our own conscious timeframe. Our past was last week or last year. The future is next month or next year.

What does all this matter to us now as we live in a broken world? In Romans 8 we are promised that the suffering we see or experience is nothing compared to the promised glory of the Lord that will be shown to us. For some that may mean we expect the results of an election to turn the tide. For others it may be a physical healing, next month. A quick completion of a war means peace will reign forever. I would imagine that during Jesus’ time it meant He was going to conquer the Romans and bring the Jewish nation back into glory.

And since Jesus’ death and resurrection we all, even non-believers, have been waiting for the greatest prophecy to be fulfilled — the return of Christ to complete His victory over evil. Those first century Christians were probably bolstered in their faith by thinking along their own human timeline. They suffered intense persecution and death, all on the promised return of the Savior. The entire chapter of 2 Peter 3 is a great read on this topic. But let me pull out this one verse:

But do not overlook this one fact, beloved, that with the Lord one day is as a thousand years, and a thousand years as one day. The Lord is not slow to fulfill his promise as some count slowness, but is patient toward you, not wishing that any should perish, but that all should reach repentance.  2 Peter 3:9

At the end of the weekly advent study we were asked, “What evidence is there in the world today that Christ truly did come to reign as King over all His creation?” One member answered simply, “The existence of the Bible.” And she’s right. The Bible is filled with historical documents, proven over and over throughout history to be true. Jesus was a real man who was seen as a resurrected Savior by hundreds of people. He says the Old Testament and is prophecies are true. And as Frank Furtek of Stand to Reason once said, “I tend to believe the guy who said he would die and rise again, when he actually did rise again.”

My answer? All around us we see evil striving harder than ever it seems to fight against the will of God. Trying to erase God from our everyday lives. They are thrashing and gnashing and screaming — as they are being pressed back against the coming truth of God’s judgment day. In the face of all the unrest, anger, selfishness, and sinful behavior however, thousands are being baptized each month in the name of Jesus Christ. Masses of people are coming to the Lord knowing they want to be on the right side of the coming judgment.

Friends, the glory of the Lord was seen on the first light of day many millennia ago. He saved a remnant of His chosen people to be the first witnesses to the glory of His coming to earth to save us from our sins. One day the whole world will see His glory reign throughout the earth when He comes again. Until then we can rest in steadfastness that He is the God who fulfills all His promises, in His time, not ours.

May all Honor, Glory and Power be to our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ. Amen

The Child Who Saves Us

December 20, 2023December 19, 2023 krisshetter

"But he said to me, "My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness." 2 Corinthians 12:9

In 1850, Sir John Everett Millais, a painter of distinction during the pre-Raphaelite tradition, put on display at the Royal Academy his first important religious subject. The meticulously detailed painting unveiled a scene that would cause outrage across all Britain. Millais was viciously attacked by the press, with The Times describing the painting as “revolting.”

You might think with such a vehemently negative reaction the painting featured some heresy surrounding Jesus. Maybe in some compromising position with busty women. You would be very wrong. This painting that caused Charles Dickens to be one of its harshest critics depicted Jesus as a young boy in his father’s carpenter shop. Sounds fairly innocuous doesn’t it? Here’s how The Times further described this piece of art.

The Times objected to the way in which the artist had dared to depict the Holy Family as ordinary, lowly people in a humble carpenter’s shop with no conceivable omission of misery, of dirt, or even disease.”
Frances Fowle of the Tate Museum

When we think on the glory of God so often we may equate it with blinding majesty and immense power. We must not forget however, the greatest wielding of that power after creating the heavens and the earth, was to decide to humble Himself and become fully man and fully God. He didn’t come and swoop down on a winged creature scaring the living daylights out of us (that’s coming later, though!). He didn’t come shaking the ground with a vast army blowing trumpets (again, He will one day). No, He came as the gentlest of all humans — a helpless baby.

"While they were there, the time came for the baby to be born, and she gave birth to her firstborn, a son. She wrapped him in cloths and placed him in a manger, because there was no guest room available for them." Luke 2:6-7

No magnificent purple robe with gold threads woven among the jewels for this King. Simple, cotton cloths. If you believe in Jesus, if you believe the eyewitnesses who told of these real events, then you must see how incredibly amazing this was. God laying on some hay in a borrowed room with real human parents cooing at Him!

What really disturbed people about Millais’ painting was that the adolescent Jesus is shown having cut his hand on a nail. Blood is seen dripping from the center of his hand to the top of his foot. Do you grasp the imagery the painter is putting forth? But the critics complained that Jesus wouldn’t get hurt. He was too godly and lofty for that. He wouldn’t need a mom to comfort Him and a father to bandage His hand. I mean, this was God for heaven sake!

"Therefore, since we have a great high priest who has ascended into heaven, Jesus the Son of God, let us hold firmly to the faith we profess. For we do not have a high priest who is unable to empathize with our weaknesses, but we have one who has been tempted in every way, just as we are—yet he did not sin. Hebrews 5:14-15

God set Himself among us so we can know His character better. We can see how He dealt with temptation and trials and even pain. We can watch Him celebrate just like us. And yet be so much more than us. Yes, He is our great teacher. But He is also the only one who can be our Savior for all eternity. He has thought of every detail from our creation, to our salvation and our sanctification. He dampened His glory so that we could look upon Him without fear and trembling. Yet doing so makes Him more amazing!

My friends, many of you may have watched the series, The Chosen. In one episode and scene, Jesus is camping out and carving various toys, bowls, and utensils. He is chopping wood and building fires. He’s eating food He prepared. Just like us. As evening draws near Jesus looks at His worn hands and touches a wound caused by a broken blister. He takes a strip of cotton fabric and wraps His hand to protect it. He then lays His head down in His tiny tent and prays to His Father.

As I watched that scene I was struck by the side of Jesus I really never paid that much attention to — Jesus the man. And I was opened up to God’s glory — suddenly more aware of how great His love is for us. That He would send His son, a tiny baby who became a child loved by His earthly parents, and then a man who gave His life to save my soul. I think if I had live in 1850 and viewed Mr. Millais’ painting I would have had this same reaction. And shook my head perplexed on how such supposedly great minds could miss the glory of the Lord.

Soli Deo Gloria. Amen

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Jesus

November 30, 2021November 30, 2021 krisshetter

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And the angel answered her, “The Holy Spirit will come upon you, and the power of the Most High will overshadow you; therefore the child to be born will be called holy—the Son of God. Luke 1:35

Dear God,

I wanted to write to you today and thank you for the amazing gift you gave me and all of humanity. It was so thoughtful of you to think of us! I really wasn’t expecting something so wonderful and life giving!

I am of course, writing to thank you for Jesus. For that little baby you breathed into Mary thousands of years ago. For that little child who grew to be a powerful yet quiet man. God clothed in skin who experienced all the hardships, joys, temptations, love, frustrations and miracles you have blessed this world with.

I’m so sorry, however, that your Son had to also experience the pain of our sin. When I think of His last days it brings me so much sadness. Your gift to us was so beautiful and we destroyed it with a vengeance. And yet you still love us. So much so you raised up that gift of Jesus for awhile to teach us a few more lessons before He went home to you.

Heavenly Father, we are entering into a season that should be all about the gift of your Son, Jesus. Help us, through your Holy Spirit, to remember that little baby, that man, who gave so much in order to cleanse us of our sins.

Today, oh God, I’m so thankful for the salvation your Son brought to those of us who pronounce Him King of our lives. Your gracious and mercy-filled gift to us is all we ever need. I know this small note of thankfulness can never repay you for your kindness. I look forward to seeing you one day so that I can thank you in person.

Your loving servant,

Kris

I hope you have enjoyed these 30 Days of Thankfulness! I’m taking some time off from the blog to enjoy this most wonderful time of the year! God bless and Merry Christmas!