ANYTHING BUT A KING

In Bethlehem, the human being who best understood who God was and what he was doing was a teenage girl in a smelly stable. As Mary looked into the face of the baby—her son, her Lord, his majesty—she couldn’t take her eyes off him. Somehow Mary knew she was holding God. So this is he. And she remembered the words of the angel when he said, “His kingdom will never end.”

He looked like anything but a king. His cry, though strong and healthy, was still the helpless and piercing cry of a baby. Majesty in the midst of the mundane. Holiness in the filth of sheep manure and sweat. Divinity entering the world on the floor of a stable, through the womb of a teenager, and in the presence of a carpenter. God came near! Luke 1:33 says, “His kingdom will never end.” May you be a part of it.

Devotion by Max Lucado | The Almighty Jehovah | https://thealmightyJehovah.com

Nothing in Between

Make no mistake, Jesus saw himself as God. And he leaves us with two options: accept him as God, or reject him as a megalomaniac. There’s no third alternative. Oh, but we try to create one! Suppose you came across me standing on the side of the road. I can go north or south. You ask me which way I’m going. “I’m going sorth. I can’t choose between north and south, so I’m going both. I’m going sorth!” “You can’t do that,” you reply. “You have to choose.”

When it comes to Christ, you’ve got to do the same. Call him crazy, or crown him as king. Dismiss him as a fraud, or declare him to be God. Walk away from him, or bow before him, but don’t play games with him. He is either hope or all hype. But nothing in between.

Hear Jesus

The Torah sends you to Moses. The Quran sends you to Muhammad. Buddhists invite you to meditate; spiritists, to levitate. “Step right up—try my witchcraft.” “Psst, over here. Interested in some new age channels?” Oh, the voices. And we pray, “Father, help me out! Please modulate one and relegate the others.”

If that’s your prayer, then Luke 9 is your chapter. The day God isolated the authoritative voice of history and declared, “Listen to him.” On the Mount of Transfiguration Jesus was praying with Peter and James and John. And his face became different, and his clothing became white and gleaming. “And a voice came out of a cloud, saying, ‘This is my beloved Son. Hear him!’ (Luke 9:35). Hear Jesus amidst all the other voices. Listen to him.

ANYTHING BUT A KING