My Father's House - Luke 2:41-51

Luke 2:41-51 ESV 

Now his parents went to Jerusalem every year at the Feast of the Passover.

And when he was twelve years old, they went up according to custom.

And when the feast was ended, as they were returning, the boy Jesus stayed behind in Jerusalem. His parents did not know it,

but supposing him to be in the group they went a day's journey, but then they began to search for him among their relatives and acquaintances,

and when they did not find him, they returned to Jerusalem, searching for him.

After three days they found him in the temple, sitting among the teachers, listening to them and asking them questions.

And all who heard him were amazed at his understanding and his answers.

And when his parents saw him, they were astonished. And his mother said to him, “Son, why have you treated us so? Behold, your father and I have been searching for you in great distress.”

And he said to them, “Why were you looking for me? Did you not know that I must be in my Father's house?”

And they did not understand the saying that he spoke to them.

And he went down with them and came to Nazareth and was submissive to them. And his mother treasured up all these things in her heart.

Jesus was twelve years old and had reached the age of accountability, when He was of spiritual maturity and able to take responsibility for His actions. 

After three days of searching for Him back in Jerusalem, they find Him in the temple sitting among the teachers conversing with them in a way that amazed all those hearing Him speak. The three days of searching may remind us of the three days before He would rise from the dead after His crucifixion. His ministry to humanity would there after be of a different nature, not unlike this change of perspective. 

Mary tells Him she and His father had been worried sick being unable to find Him. Jesus replies that He is in His Father's house. They did not understand what He was saying. Jesus was telling them He knew His true Father and it was His Father's business that He must tend to. Jesus returns home with Mary and Joseph as their son, but now He begins preparing to fulfill His calling as the Son of God. 

Mary would remember all these things and treasure them in her heart, but the full implications of what just took place would not be understood until later. 

Yet Which I Will Choose - Philippians 1:19-23

Philippians 1:19-23 ESV 

for I know that through your prayers and the help of the Spirit of Jesus Christ this will turn out for my deliverance,

as it is my eager expectation and hope that I will not be at all ashamed, but that with full courage now as always Christ will be honored in my body, whether by life or by death.

For to me to live is Christ, and to die is gain.

If I am to live in the flesh, that means fruitful labor for me. Yet which I shall choose I cannot tell.

I am hard pressed between the two. My desire is to depart and be with Christ, for that is far better.

Those who believe in Christ will not be ashamed. It is an expectation and hope that is based on the promise of God which is more dependable than a promise of man because it is already accomplished. The word of God is spoken and creation came forth from beginning to end. We have been placed on this earth that we might find the tree of life. Eating it's fruit will yield everlasting life. 

We now live in the body of Christ. Living as Christ we give Him honor in our body. Paul says that to die is to gain. Now Christ is with us, but when we die we will be with Christ in a new and glorious way, face to face. To be with Christ is to gain more of the inheritance that awaits, for He is our inheritance. 

Paul then says something interesting. He doesn't know if he will choose life or death. It is a difficult decision. He has a strong desire and to leave and be with the Lord. He decides to remain for the benefit of the Philippians with helping them in their walk of faith. His decision will bear fruit for all of us. 

Does this mean we can decide whether we live or die? We have already made the decision between life and death when we chose to believe the Lord, for He is our life. We will pass from this body, but we have already passed into life. May we have the courage to honor Christ in all things as members of the body of Christ. 

 

To Stand Firm - Ephesians 6:10-13

Ephesians 6:10-13 ESV 

Finally, be strong in the Lord and in the strength of his might.

Put on the whole armor of God, that you may be able to stand against the schemes of the devil.

For we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the cosmic powers over this present darkness, against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly places.

Therefore take up the whole armor of God, that you may be able to withstand in the evil day, and having done all, to stand firm.

The whole armor of God is for spiritual warfare. Spiritual warfare only begins for the believer after rising from the grave of the world. We are warned to make the best use of our time because the days are evil. To withstand this evil, God provides protection. 

The prince of this world goes to and fro to devour man and oppose God. Satan is thrown from heaven and is the prince of the air. He rules the spiritual forces of evil fallen with him. It is here we make our stand. 

Still In This Tent - 2 Corinthians 5:1-5

2 Corinthians 5:1-5 ESV

For we know that if the tent that is our earthly home is destroyed, we have a building from God, a house not made with hands, eternal in the heavens.

For in this tent we groan, longing to put on our heavenly dwelling,

if indeed by putting it on we may not be found naked.

For while we are still in this tent, we groan, being burdened—not that we would be unclothed, but that we would be further clothed, so that what is mortal may be swallowed up by life.

He who has prepared us for this very thing is God, who has given us the Spirit as a guarantee.

Adam and Eve found themselves naked after eating the forbidden fruit. We are spiritually naked until we are covered by the blood of Christ. To be spiritually naked is to be dead. 

We have been spirituality made alive, though we remain in bodies of death. Our mortal bodies will die, but we will not face the second death. We are alive eternally. 

The time will come when we will leave behind the blood of Jesus that covers our mortal bodies and don the white robes of our heavenly bodies. 

No Longer A Slave - Galatians 4:1-7

Galatians 4:1-7 ESV 

I mean that the heir, as long as he is a child, is no different from a slave, though he is the owner of everything,

but he is under guardians and managers until the date set by his father.

In the same way we also, when we were children, were enslaved to the elementary principles of the world.

But when the fullness of time had come, God sent forth his Son, born of woman, born under the law,

to redeem those who were under the law, so that we might receive adoption as sons.

And because you are sons, God has sent the Spirit of his Son into our hearts, crying, “Abba! Father!”

So you are no longer a slave, but a son, and if a son, then an heir through God.

Before we were set free by Christ, we were enslaved to the elementary principles of the world. The darkness of the world, of our world, was complete. As light continued to rise in the world, the law was given to expose sin. It did not free us, but enabled us to perceive the weakness of man. 

In the fullness of time the light of the world came in the form of the man called Jesus. It took the fullness of time for Isaac to be born. Jesus set us free from the law and sin. We are no longer slaves, but sons of God. We are children of light and heirs of the promise. 

We are the descendants of Abraham promised by God, the seed of his loins and the seed of the Word. 

Curse Of The Law - Galatians 3:10-14

Galatians 3:10-14 ESV 

For all who rely on works of the law are under a curse; for it is written, “Cursed be everyone who does not abide by all things written in the Book of the Law, and do them.”

Now it is evident that no one is justified before God by the law, for “The righteous shall live by faith.”

But the law is not of faith, rather “The one who does them shall live by them.”

Christ redeemed us from the curse of the law by becoming a curse for us—for it is written, “Cursed is everyone who is hanged on a tree”—

so that in Christ Jesus the blessing of Abraham might come to the Gentiles, so that we might receive the promised Spirit through faith.

The law is a curse. Moses delivered the law to Israel and told them it was a gift of blessings or curses, depending on their obedience. A similar choice was given to Adam and Eve. Like the tree of life knowledge of good and evil, the law became a curse as it revealed the knowledge of sin and the inability of man to overcome the reality of that sin. 

It is Christ who redeems us, for He is the tree of life. Yet He becomes a curse for us by hanging from a tree. It is from the branch of the forbidden tree He hung, replacing the forbidden fruit plucked from that branch in the Garden of Eden. 

All this was done to bring light into the world, "so that we might receive the promised Spirit through faith."

Sons Of Abraham - Galatians 3:7-9

Galatians 3:7-9 ESV 

Know then that it is those of faith who are the sons of Abraham.

And the Scripture, foreseeing that God would justify the Gentiles by faith, preached the gospel beforehand to Abraham, saying, “In you shall all the nations be blessed.”

So then, those who are of faith are blessed along with Abraham, the man of faith.

The sons of Abraham, the offspring of Abraham referred to here are not those natural descendants of human bloodline, but those who claim the blood of Christ as their own. Through the divine blood of our Savior we are reborn into that family of God as sons of God. 

Israel was chosen to bring light into the world. Though that proved to be a heavy and costly burden, the light of the world did come through this tiny nation for all people. They are the stump of the tree of life in which we live as wild olive branches grafted in the life of God. The fruit of the Spirit hangs upon those branches. 

We are blessed as Abraham is blessed. We are his seed, the body of Christ. We are from all nations, united by the one Spirit.