God's Promise for His Provision

God's word says: "But my God shall supply all your need according
to his riches in glory by Christ Jesus." – Philippians 4.19

1. The Promise of Provision is Conditional:
   
   
   It is not a blanket statement but is written to those who believe in Jesus. It is also written to those who practice giving. The verse begins with the word "But." This refers us back to the previous verses that say, "But I rejoiced in the Lord greatly that now at last your care for me has flourished again... you shared in my distress ... Indeed I have all and abound. I am full, having received from Epaphroditus the things sent from you." This was a giving church, and God will give to a giving people. Jesus said, “Give and it shall be given unto you.” (Luke 6.38)
   
   
2. The Promise of Provision is Personal: 
   
   
   The servant of God writes,      "my God shall supply." He had a personal relationship with him. Once we experience the awesome provision of God, he becomes very real and personal to us.
   
   
3. The Promise of God is Supernatural
   
   
   It is God who provides. We must thank God who gives to us every good gift and every perfect gift which “is from above, and comes down from the Father of lights, with whom there is no variation or shadow of turning.” (James 1.17)
   
   
4. The Promise of Provision is Instrumental:
   
   
   The interesting thing about God's supply is that he often uses others. When we receive a check in the mail, we don't give the praise to the mailman, but to the one who sent it. When God provides, he will usually send it by someone else.
   
   
5. The Promise of Provision is Eventual:
   
   
   Notice the words "shall supply." It won't all arrive at once, but it will all arrive. We must take each day at a time. God will provide – sometimes bit by bit.
   
   
6. The Promise of Provision is Total:
   
   
   He said he would provide "all" our needs. Not one thing will be left out. They are "according to his riches in glory." God has an endless supply of which he will never run out. His blessings are not just material things, but Spiritual blessings as well. In the book of Ephesians we read that God has "blessed us with all Spiritual blessings in heavenly places in Christ." (Ephesians 1.3)
   
   
7. The Promise of Provision is for the Essential:
   
   
   He didn't say he'd give us everything we want, but everything we need. There may be some things we think we need, but only God really knows and understands our true needs.
   
   
8. The Promise of Provision is Instrumental:
   
   
   It comes from the Father to us "by Christ Jesus." Jesus is the channel of everything that God provides for those who believe in him.

Silent Night?

When we think of Messiah’s birth we often get a picturesque image in our minds that is anything but true. Mary had to travel close to one hundred miles by foot or beast while fully pregnant. They had to pay taxes that could have been spent on other needs. They must have arrived later than expected because by the time they did, there were no rooms left and it was time! It was time for the baby to be born. The only accommodations they could find for this was a stable. I’m pretty sure it wasn’t a silent night and it’s very possible that the little Lord Jesus really did cry.

When the wise men came to inquire as to "Where is he that is born King of the Jews? For we have seen his star in the east, and are come to worship him" they stirred up a hornet's nest.

They were speaking to Herod, who had been appointed “King of the Jews” by the Roman Senate. He and all of Jerusalem were troubled. Herod deceitfully said to the wise men that he wanted them to come back by Jerusalem when they found this King so he could come and worship him too.

Joseph and Mary were “warned of God in a dream” they started to return to their home in Nazareth by another route – avoiding Jerusalem. But God further warned them to go into Egypt for awhile so this threat against Jesus died down.

This was not the end of the story though. The story grows darker and bleaker, for Herod in his madness had all the children two and under killed to prevent this “King of the Jews” from coming to usurp his place.

Matthew quotes Jeremiah the prophet;

A voice was heard in Ramah,
Lamentation, weeping, and great mourning,
Rachel weeping for her children,
Refusing to be comforted,
Because they are no more.

We don’t know how many children died at that time but it was a source of great bitterness. Why was this allowed? What happened to our beautiful Christmas story that this tragedy had to be thrown into the mix?

I think God wants us to know that there are many things in life we will never understand. There is suffering and pain and death. There is such heartache that we will never be able to grasp. Why? How could God allow such things?

The big picture tells us how. For Jesus Christ is the light who entered into this world of darkness. He would himself suffer for us.

An old man later prophesied to Mary; "Behold, this Child is destined for the fall and rising of many in Israel, and for a sign which will be spoken against (yes, a sword will pierce through your own soul also), that the thoughts of many hearts may be revealed."[i]

Each time we suffer, if we’ve lost a child, a parent, a spouse or a dream – whatever we may have endured, remember that Jesus did not enter the world of tinsel, trees and terrific times; he came to be our suffering Savior and to die for our sins.

For His anger is but for a moment, His favor is for life; Weeping may endure for a night, But joy comes in the morning.[ii]

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[i] Luke 2.34-35

[ii] Psalm 30.5

The Extra-Celestial

When God created and placed Adam in the garden of Eden and then made Eve from Adam's side, they were brand new. There is no indication from the bible that they had any previous existence nor is there any indication that any of the rest of us did.

There is one person, however, who did exist before coming to earth. Jesus (the second Adam), came down from heaven.

The first man was of the earth, made of dust; the second man is the Lord from heaven.[i]

Jesus said;

And now, O Father, glorify thou me with thine own self with the glory which I had with thee before the world was.[ii]

Jesus is called the Creator:

For by him were all things created, that are in heaven, and that are in earth, visible and invisible, whether they be thrones, or dominions, or principalities, or powers: all things were created by him, and for him: And he is before all things, and by him all things consist.[iii]

All things were made by him; and without him was not any thing made that was made.[iv]

So, you see, Jesus is not, nor ever was, an extraterrestrial being. He is the extra-celestial being. He came to earth from another realm. He came from the presence of the Father, God.

Jesus is a man, but he is not merely a man. He is God who has become flesh.

Christ Jesus, who, being in the form of God, did not consider it robbery to be equal with God, but made Himself of no reputation, taking the form of a bondservant, and coming in the likeness of men.[v]

As we think upon Jesus’ birth, let us remember that he was born to die. Consistently, in the scriptures, we see the connection between his birth and his death.

The wise men[vi] brought gifts from the east for the child who was King. Those gifts they brought were gold, frankincense, and myrrh.

The gold was a gift fitting for a King, one who was of royal ancestry. As a descendant of David, the King of Israel Jesus is fully qualified to inherit that throne, but he was also the King of Glory.[vii] He sits now at the right hand of the Father in heaven. When he returns, he will be called “King of Kings and Lord of Lords.”[viii]

The perfume frankincense was, I believe, a gift which speaks of the fragrant aroma of his life. He was without sin. He was holy, harmless, undefiled and separate from sinners and made higher than the heavens. [ix] He did no violence nor was there any deceit in his mouth.[x] All things are for him and by him.[xi] When he spoke, he spoke the words of eternal life.[xii] He showed love and compassion to the downtrodden and outcast and was no respecter of persons.

The myrrh was an oil of incense for one’s burial. Jesus said of himself:

Even as the Son of man came not to be ministered unto, but to minister, and to give his life a ransom for many.[xiii]

Here’s what the Extra-Celestial Jesus did. He left heaven’s praise and glory to step down into this sinful cesspool of humanity as one of us and then to die for all of us –  sorry sin stained creatures that we are. That, my friend, is love.

Merry Christmas.

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[i]     1 Corinthians 15.47

[ii]    John 17.5

[iii]    Colossians 1.16-17

[iv]    John 1.3

[v]     Philippians 2.5-7

[vi]    Matthew chapter 2

[vii]   See Psalm 24

[viii] Revelation 17.4 and 19.6

[ix]    Hebrews 4.15; 7.26

[x]     Isaiah 53.9

[xi]    Romans 11.36

[xii]   John 6.68

[xiii] Matthew 20.28

Have You Received Your Gift?

"I don't accept no charity from nobody." 

"I've never accepted handouts from anyone in my life and I ain't going to start now." 

Each of us has heard a lot of things like this. Maybe you've said such things yourself. 

You may want to believe – and want others to believe – that you are a  "self-made man." You may think that you have been able to pull yourself up by your own bootstraps.

But the truth is that none of us manufactured all of the oxygen we breathe. God has given it to us freely. None of us has created the life we live. "For the Lord giveth," Job said. We didn't mix the water (H2O) that we drink. This was done for us. We didn't create a brain for ourselves with which to think. We didn't form a heart in our chest that pumps our blood throughout our bodies. We didn't pay for our own feet or hands with which we move and work.

As we look around and within, we see that just about everything we have has been given to us. 

It is pride which says, "I must pay for everything." In pride, I may not allow anyone else to pay for my meal. I think that I must be the one who pays for everything.

You may have worked for the money with which you pay for your food, but the food itself came from amazing plants and animals that God placed here on our planet. If you don't believe me, try going somewhere like Mars or any other planet in the universe and see what kind of food you can scare up for yourself. The bible says:

Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above, and comes down from the Father of lights... – James 1.17

It also tells us to trust "in the living God, who gives us richly all things to enjoy." (1 Timothy 6.17)

The greatest gift God ever gave you is his Son. This means that Jesus was God come down to us in flesh. We read in John 3.16:

For God so loved the world that he gave his only begotten Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have everlasting life. 

God gave us his Son. He did not bargain with us to require something of us in return. He gave him to us and for us. Isaiah wrote:

For unto us, a child is born. Unto us a Son is given

Eternal life is a gift:

But the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord (Romans 6.23).

It is free, gratis, without charge, irrevocable, without stipulation and priceless. If you try to work to pay for God's favor, you will never get it paid. The debt is too great, but it was paid for by the precious blood of the Lord Jesus Christ. We are saved by grace.

Have you received your free gift?