By Marshall Segal from DesiringGod.Org

If we are always concerned with what people think about us, we will always be reluctant to tell them about Jesus.

Perhaps the single most significant hindrance to Christian witness in the world today is our hunger for human approval. By nature, we think more about what people think of us than about what they think of Jesus. We crave acceptance and dread rejection — which inclines us toward whatever might improve others’ perception of us. And that will very rarely, if ever, lead us to call them to repent from their sin and believe the gospel.

The apostle Paul lived differently. Apparently he had been liberated from the need to be liked, or even respected. He moved from town to town, in and out of crowds, anchored in the safety and satisfaction of knowing Jesus (Philippians 3:8). Many adored him, even to the point of worshiping him, and others hated him, even to the point of trying to murder him. But he lived and served above approval ratings. He worked for someone else’s fame, whatever that fame might cost him personally in popular opinion.

He abandoned the haunted hayride of human approval to walk Calvary’s underground road to freedom from the fear of man.

Zeus, Hermes, and Human Approval

Everywhere Paul went, he met dramatically mixed reviews.  During his and Barnabas’s time in a town called Lystra, for instance, they came to a man crippled from birth. He had literally never used his feet (Acts 14:8). Paul saw through the man’s disability, though, into his heart, and he saw faith — a brilliant and strong belief that Jesus could heal him inside and out (Acts 14:9). So Paul healed the man’s legs (Acts 14:10).

The crowds saw the man walking, after sitting for so many years, and they rushed Paul and Barnabas. They treated them like gods (Acts 14:11) — not like governors, or star athletes, or movie stars, but gods. They called them “Zeus” and “Hermes” after familiar figures in the pantheon (Acts 14:12). They even brought oxen to sacrifice to them (Acts 14:13).

Imagine your neighbors trying to worship you by slaughtering their animals.

The Seduction of Attention

How do Paul and Barnabas respond to these acts of worship? Do they bask in the attention? Do they relish the over-the-top affirmation and support? Do they change their handles to @Zeus and @Hermes, and retweet a few lines of the people’s praise?

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Frank Retief was pastor at St James Church Cape Town for 31 years, having planted the church in 1968 with his wife Beulah.  He became the Presiding Bishop of the Church of England in South Africa until he retired in 2010.  Frank remains active in ministry through preaching, teaching, pastoral work & writing, and has authored a number of books.

An uncommon King (Part 3)

Matthew 1 v 18. This is how the birth of Jesus Christ came about. His mother Mary was pledged to be married to Joseph, but before they came together, she was found to be with child through the Holy Spirit.

We are still grappling with the mystery of the Person of Jesus, our King. Continuing from where we left off yesterday we should note that the miraculous conception of Jesus is not the reason why He was sinless.

It is sometimes thought that original sin is transferred through the male line. But this is not true because women share in the sinfulness of the human race. This fallenness would have encompassed Mary too. In fact Mary herself was conscious of being a sinner and in Luke 1:47 she said: “My spirit rejoices in God my Saviour”.

This does not suggest that there was any special or carnal sin about Mary. The book titled “The Da Vinci Code” and many liberal scholars have done enough of that. There is nothing to suggest that Mary was anything but a pure and upright Jewish teenager, who was chosen by God to bear the Saviour into the world. However that in itself does not make her sinless or above the rest of the human race. So if we want to trace the sinlessness of Jesus we must look elsewhere.

It is far more likely that God who can do anything, when He caused Mary to conceive also in a divine way preserved the special child who was to be born, from inheriting human sinfulness which Mary otherwise would have transmitted to her firstborn child. We do not use the word “begot” anymore today, but in this divine “begetting”, God preserved the new foetus from any sinful influence in a supernatural manner.

Incredible? Yes! But why should we not believe it? Our whole body of faith is based on God’s sovereign ability to provide us with a Saviour who was without sin Himself. And this seems to be the way He chose to do it. Jesus is truly an uncommon King.

Meditation:  Read Hebrews 4:15 and ask yourself whether Jesus could have been any help to us if He himself was a sinner. Then read Hebrews 4:16 and lift your heart to God.

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Written by John Bloom from DesiringGod.org

For many, the last few days before Christmas are rarely peaceful. This is especially true for parents and pastors. These days are packed with final (and often pressured) preparations of presents and programs and celebrations and sermons. “All is calm” is not our experience. This can leave us wondering if we are nothing more than Christmas “Martha’s,” “distracted with much serving . . . anxious and troubled about many things” and missing the “Mary” moment in all the merry (Luke 10:40–42).

While such distractions are, of course, a year-round ever-present danger, let me encourage you with some brief Christmas perspective on busy-ness.

Remember Joseph and Mary

First, we must keep in mind that the original Christmas was not peaceful, not for Joseph and Mary. They were the first parents who had to prepare for Christmas and the pressure they felt dwarfs what most of us are experiencing right now. Bethlehem was overcrowded with census registrants. Things did not go as they likely envisioned. Joseph was desperately searching for lodging for his wife who was in labor. All he could secure was a stable.

If an unforeseen crisis emerges in the midst of your already challenging Christmas labors, remember Joseph and Mary. That place of desperation is often where the grace of God breaks in with the greatest power.

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