“Behold, the virgin shall conceive and bear a son, and they shall call his name Immanuel” – Isaiah 7:14, Matthew 1:23
In the Gospel of Matthew, this verse from Isaiah is applied to our Lord Jesus. The name Immanuel means “God with us” and the name Jesus means “the Lord saves.” In these two names is a beautiful picture of salvation, which means a restoration to a life lived with God beginning imperfectly here on earth, but eventually perfectly in His paradise. Salvation and togetherness go together. What we are saved from is our inability to live with God because our sin and His justice were unreconciled until the cross.
Among Jesus’ last words on earth were His command to “make disciples of all nations” (Matthew 28:19). Included in this is bringing the hope to the world that He brought to us by being present. God did not leave us alone but bore the cost of our reconciliation on Himself.
Today, be among those who need the hope God provides through the salvation He bought. His desire is to live among the world through us, calling His current and future people to live with Him.
Jesus and the apostles spent a lot of their time preaching and ministering to Jews in synagogues. Some of us might think of the synagogue as similar to a modern church, just a place where believers meet, but in the Bible’s synagogues it’s amazing the type of people you’d find among the “believers.” Mark 1:23-24 gives us such an example:
“And immediately there was in their synagogue a man with an unclean spirit. And he cried out, “What have you to do with us, Jesus of Nazareth? Have you come to destroy us? I know who you are—the Holy One of God.””
Here, Mark points out that there are unclean spirits even in the synagogue, perhaps in hiding. There are probably unclean spirits even in our churches! Like in our times, Jewish people who did not go to synagogue probably rationalized that by saying the synagogue isn’t perfect, but terribly flawed. Why associate with those people? Mark’s gospel was targeted at Gentile readers, who were probably more likely to criticize those in the synagogue than the Jews. But, Mark then tells us in verses 25 and 26:
“But Jesus rebuked him, saying, “Be silent, and come out of him!” And the unclean spirit, convulsing him and crying out with a loud voice, came out of him.”
Who knows how many unclean spirits there were in the synagogue, how long they had been there, and how powerless the Jewish leaders were to do anything about them! But, if Mark’s Gentile audience knew the synagogue wasn’t perfect, Jesus was saying He has authority and power to make it perfect in ways nobody else could. Jesus wasn’t trying to draw people to the synagogue, but to Himself!
Coming back to the idea that our churches in some ways are the modern equivalent of synagogues, the world knows there are a lot of bad people going to church, from hypocrites pretending to follow Christ, to people who are just obviously bad. Jesus, however, knows perfectly who His people are and who are not, but regardless He isn’t trying to draw people to an imperfect church, but to His perfect self!
Every group of people has a mix of good and bad, and possibly even people with “an unclean spirit.”
Therefore, no institution can accurately reflect who Christ is, not even the visible global church, which is made up of a mix of people that can’t be neatly divided into “good” and “bad.” Everyone there is a sinner in need of forgiveness and salvation. But Jesus, who cast out the “unclean spirit” in Mark’s gospel, can also cast out all the evil in His people’s hearts to build the one institution that will last forever in eternity.
Jesus, “the Holy One of God,” has come to build a church full of holy people, and He will not fail. From within and without synagogues and churches with unclean spirits, God will find His people.
Do you ever clap for God? Maybe we’ve clapped during a worship song or after a speech or sermon, but do we just clap for God because He’s God and we’re joyful about it? Psalm 47:1 tells us to:
“Clap your hands, all peoples! Shout to God with loud songs of joy!”
Ok, but should we, really? After verse 1 above, verse 2 begins with “For…”, a transition which usually means the writer is about to give us reasons for the thing previously mentioned, which is that we should praise God with clapping and shouts of joy. So, seeing the “For…” we should ask “Why should we praise God?” and expect an answer in the next verses, which say:
“For the LORD, the Most High, is to be feared, a great king over all the earth.
He subdued peoples under us, and nations under our feet.
He chose our heritage for us, the pride of Jacob whom he loves. Selah”
Each of the 3 verses gives us reasons to clap our hands and shout in praise. First, these verses remind us He is “king over all the earth.” There are many authorities in the world, and many authorities we follow. We have governments that rule us, cultures that influence us, and even spiritual forces that strive to pull us away from God. But, however high and mighty these other authorities may be, only the Lord is “Most High”, as King of Kings and Lord of Lords. While every other authority is flawed and can lead us astray, He is not and does not. This is a cause for a clap of praise!
The next verse reminds us that He has overcome many opposing people and nations in the past:
“He subdued peoples under us, and nations under our feet.”
To its original audience, this probably referred to God’s victory over Egypt at the Red Sea, or the conquest of Canaan, however it can be read more broadly as God’s victory over any nation that seeks to rival Him. Consider the Roman Empire, which to many at that time seemed like it ruled the entire world. Roman emperors such as Nero and Diocletian tried to stamp out Christianity forcefully and violently, but in 410 AD, Germanic tribes would sack the city of Rome and eventually overthrow the empire. No nation will outlast or overrule the reign of God. This also is a cause for praise!
Lastly, verse 4 reminds us that however our circumstances might look to us, He loves us, provides for us, and will give us eternal refuge:
“He chose our heritage for us, the pride of Jacob whom he loves. Selah”
Being chosen by God is infinitely better than winning the lottery or anything else we might hope for in this world. We might say we’ve won the spiritual lottery, only it was not won by chance, but by the favor of the Lord. Our inheritance, our heritage, is guaranteed by Him. Another reason to praise Him! So…
“Clap your hands, all peoples! Shout to God with loud songs of joy!”
Here is the list of readings for this week: 2 chapters to read per day as the main reading plan, and extra chapters for anyone who wants to read the whole Bible in 2025. I hope this encourages others to read and study their Bible more, whatever parts they decide to read.
Follow along (or not) any way you choose! Also, let me know if you’re interested in me doing this again next year with a different order of books.
2 chapter a day plan:
Monday, December 1: Ezra 5-6 Tuesday, December 2: Ezra 7-8 Wednesday, December 3: Ezra 9-10 Thursday, December 4: 1 Peter 1-2 Friday, December 5: 1 Peter 3-4 Saturday, December 6: 1 Peter 5, 2 Peter 1 Sunday, December 7: 2 Peter 2-3
Extra chapters for those reading the whole Bible this year: Micah 6-7, Nahum 1-3, Habakkuk 1-2
In Hebrews chapter 11 there is a list of Biblical figures who “by faith” were obedient to God, but it also says that, in this life, their faith was not fully rewarded. Everyone mentioned in the chapter “died in faith, cnot having received the things promised”[1] But these faithful examples knew that God wouldn’t fail them. In this world, they would be unfulfilled, “but as it is, they desire a better country, that is, a heavenly one.”[2]
Their obedience was motivated not by current, earthly reward, but by future rewards in a new heaven and new earth. Although Peter tells us “Beloved, do not be surprised at the fiery trial when it comes upon you to test you, as though something strange were happening to you,”[3] Paul wrote “For I consider that the sufferings of this present time are not worth comparing with the glory that is to be revealed to us.”[4] In this world, we will have trials and experience persecution, which means that much of what a Christian has to be thankful for is in the future.
However, our faithful actions can be motivated by a future hope, just as those listed in Hebrews 11 were. Because of the unchanging character of God, and His faithfulness, we can be so sure of our heavenly future that we can be thankful for it now. God promises “a better country” and He is trustworthy.
Do we desire this “better country”? While we wander in this world, do we believe that “a better country” is possible? Do we believe God when He says He has promised us our place in it? Jesus said “In my Father’s house are many rooms. If it were not so, would I have told you that I go to prepare a place for you?”[5]
If we trust God for our future in eternity, we have much more to live for and to be thankful for than we have right now! When you count your blessings, don’t forget the ones in the future that you can count on.
“Desire a better country.”
[1] Hebrews 11:13a [2] Hebrews 11:16a [3] 1 Peter 4:12 [4] Romans 8:18 [5] John 14:2
Driving Toward the Morning Sun 