Christmas Eve is without a doubt my favorite night of the year. But probably not for the reasons you may be thinking. Ever since I can remember, the Christmas greeting of “Peace on Earth,” resonated with me. Early on, to me that meant a cessation of hostilities. A world without war. A world where people got along. Last year, I took a cruise and one of our stops was the island of Bonaire. I explored the small island. As we passed through one community, we were told the police department there was closed due to a lack of business. I thought, “How wonderful that they don’t need a police department.”  Obviously, if they had a problem, a department from another part of the island could respond. 

But as I grew and matured (some say that hasn’t happened yet) I realized that the world’s peace and God’s peace are two different things. In John 14:27 it is recorded “Peace I leave with you; My peace I give to you; not as the world gives do I give to you. Do not let your heart be troubled, nor let it be fearful. (NASB).” Did you get that? Jesus’ peace is a different kind of peace, not the world’s peace. What is different about this peace that Jesus brings? I had a friend who once made a statement to me that God’s peace is the only thing that Satan cannot counterfeit. Some have described Satan as a counterfeit Jesus. He can seemingly replicate many of Jesus’ characteristics. But he cannot replicate the Peace of God. Remember, one of Jesus’ names is Prince of Peace.

But back to why this is my favorite night of the year. Several years ago, we lived near the Interstate highway. When it was quiet, we could go outside and hear the traffic. We also had a dog. And, he required a trip outside every night. It was my custom to take him out around 10:00 pm. When I did that on Christmas Eve. I was struck by the total silence and sense of peace in the air. No traffic was heard from the interstate. No cars drove down the street. It was blissfully quiet. I came to cherish this time every year, and now that I don’t have a dog, I still make it a habit to take a walk during the night. 

I realized that the silence was a tribute to the One whose birthday we were celebrating the next day. As an aside, my paternal grandmother’s birthday happened to be Christmas Day. I sort of got in trouble in Sunday School one year when the teacher asked us whose birthday we celebrated on Christmas. I enthusiastically responded “My grandmother!” That was not the answer she was looking for.  

It never ceases to amaze me that the silence, the lack of hustle and bustle outside, was a tribute to the greatness of God. It’s as if the whole world was stopping to acknowledge or worship the Prince of Peace, the King of Kings. And that this is unique. His birth occurred over 2,000 years ago and we still celebrate His life. Men (and women) have come and gone over those 2,000 years. Some of the greater ones we still remember – for good and bad reasons. But none have had the impact on this world equaling what Jesus did. 

If you’re still with me, you probably would not be surprised to know that my favorite Christmas Carol is “I Heard the Bells on Christmas Day.” This song originated as a poem by Henry Wadsworth Longfellow. He was a widowed 57-year old father of six and while dining alone of Christmas day he received word that one of his sons was killed in the Civil War. Out of his sorrow came this poem of Pain and Hope. (the story can be found here, along with the complete lyrics The True Story of Pain and Hope Behind “I Heard the Bells on Christmas Day”).

It concludes with this stanza:

Then pealed the bells more loud and deep:

“God is not dead, nor doth He sleep;

The Wrong shall fail,The Right prevail,

With peace on earth, good-will to men.”

First, God does not tempt us. James 1:13-15 explicitly states that temptation is not from God. “Let no one say when he is tempted, “I am being tempted by God”; for God cannot be tempted by evil, and He Himself does not tempt anyone. But each one is tempted when he is carried away and enticed by his own lust. Then when lust has conceived, it gives birth to sin; and when sin is accomplished, it brings forth death.” I would hasten to add that we sometimes use the word “temptation” somewhat loosely. We may say, “I’m tempted to go to tonight’s ball game.” Temptation is defined in its simplest form as “the desire to do something.” I desire to go to the ball game.” That is not sin, and it is not what we are talking about here. The definition, however, continues and states “especially something wrong or unwise.” That’s where we get in trouble if we succumb to the temptation.  Note that James states that we are “carried away by our own lust.” Sin is conceived in our hearts when we neglect our relationship with God.

The second thing from this passage is that evil is real, personified by Satan. The passage in the original Greek reads “deliver us from the evil one.”  When Jesus and the Bible speak of evil, Satan, or sin it is not metaphorically. This is real. In our society today, it is fashionable in some cases to minimize this. Jesus went to the cross to save us from our sins. That is a pretty drastic move, especially for something that isn’t real. Jesus did not go to the cross “just in case.”

Third, praying not to be led into temptation should be understood that we are praying that we not be tempted to sin. God has control over the evil one and can save us from the power of sin if we call upon Him. But there is a second aspect to this phrase. We are also asking God to lead us from difficult trials. We can pray to God that he will protect us in times of trials no matter what they are. He may not remove the trials, but he will lead us through and protect us if we seek Him and submit to His will.

Finally, let’s look at the term “deliver.” As a child, I had a vision of a delivery van driven by God speeding up to me, jumping out and rapidly scooping me into the van and going as fast as it could away from evil. While that’s not exactly what happens, the visual has stayed with me for years and is a vivid description. In the year 2020 we have all used the term “deliver” much more than in the past. To avoid getting out in crowds we have food, meals, virtually anything delivered to our door with “contactless delivery.” These delivery solutions protect us. 

Think for a minute about what happens when a delivery occurs. Something is transported from one place to another. I get on my computer and place an order with Amazon. From all over the world, I can have just about anything delivered to me quickly. When God delivers us from the evil one, He is doing more than removing us from a bad situation. We have to be taken somewhere. God will deliver us to where we need to go, when we seek Him. We don’t always know where we’re going but we do know it’s away from evil. My brother works for a tour bus company. One of their most popular tours is a reunion tour. This is a tour for prior customers of the bus line. But they don’t know their destination. The popularity of these tours attests to the fact that people are excited as they board the bus for destinations unknown. They are being delivered to a place unknown to them. That’s how it is with God. We may not know where we are going but we know two things. One, we are being taken away from evil. Two, we are being taken to the place of ministry God has for us. 

To be delivered from evil means we need God’s help because we can’t do it on our own. We should pray that He will help keep us strong and focused on Him.

What is reality? Although it is defined as “the world or the state of things as they actually exist, as opposed to an idealistic or notional idea of them” that doesn’t capture all we need to know about this word. I readily acknowledge that some people are living in a dream world, escaped from reality. Their idea of reality is not the same as the next person. But, at the same time, reality for me may be different then your reality, because reality is based on what we know, see, or believe. I recall once, Gloria and I were disembarking from a cruise and we happened to be on an elevator with one other person. On the ride down, he was complaining about what a lousy cruise experience it was. We just sort of looked at each other as we thought it to be a very enjoyable cruise. Obviously, his experience and expectations on the cruise were different than ours. His reality and our reality did not match. Maybe we were wrong in our assessment. Maybe he had a bad experience that we did not share. Maybe he was a seasoned cruiser and knew more about what a cruise should be that we did.

Our reality is based on experience. Over time, as we gain new knowledge, experiences, and maturity our reality may change. If you are not open to seeing reality, you probably have a closed mind and are not open to new ideas. We all know Jeremiah as the weeping prophet as his task from God was to proclaim the coming destruction of Jerusalem. For this he suffered. He was ridiculed, imprisoned, and held in low esteem. I once read an historical fiction account of Jeremiah. The prophesied destruction was happening and someone said to Jeremiah “I guess you are happy now. The doom and gloom you’ve been proclaiming has come about.” Jeremiah’s weeping response was simply that he was not happy, Jerusalem was precious to him. He was merely proclaiming the message God had given him. 

Jeremiah and God carried on numerous conversations. In Chapter 32 of Jeremiah, he is lamenting his situation. Everything around him is crumbling. He is not seeing what God sees. He is tired of it all. Yet he remains faithful. In Chapter 33:3 God tells Jeremiah “Call to Me and I will answer you, and I will tell you great and mighty things, which you do not know.” God is telling Jeremiah that there is an alternate reality. What he sees is not the whole picture. God is saying if we call on him, he will respond. And God’s reality is “great and mighty.”

In I Corinthians, Paul states “For now we see in a mirror dimly, but then face to face; now I know in part, but then I will know fully, just as I also have been fully known.” We don’t fully see, we don’t have a clear picture of all that is. There is an interesting part of this passage we may often overlook. Paul first says that we don’t see fully at this time. But the day will come when we do know fully, just as I have been fully known.  God already knows us and our situation fully

We can learn from Jeremiah because, like him, we do not see the whole picture. We are looking at that same dim reflection that Paul referred to. When it seems that our world is caving in around us remember that God is still in control. This side of heaven we will not fully see God’s reality, but we can tune into it. The better we know God, the more we will understand His reality. How do we do that? We come to know God better by prayer and Bible study. 

God’s home is so different from ours, we can scarcely imagine it. Scripture assures us that unimaginable blessings and rewards await those who are faithful to the Lord in this life. 

Steven Curtis Chapman sings “My redeemer is faithful and true. Everything He has said He will do.” What marvelous assurance!  There is an old saying “God said it, I believe it, that settles it.” But you know what? It doesn’t matter if we believe it or not. God said it. That settles it. Period. End of discussion. In a past blog we have discussed finishing well. (https://wonderfullyplagued.com/2020/09/04/finishing-well/). With Jesus, we don’t have to worry about that. If we are faithful, we will finish well. We also previously discussed the concept of faith, where we saw Hebrews 11:6 says “Without faith we cannot please God.”  (https://wonderfullyplagued.com/2020/09/28/a-leap-of-faith/).  

Being faithful is a two-way street. God is faithful to us, we are faithful to God. Faithfulness is a characteristic of God that reflects His ethical nature. He is constant in His relations with us. God is faithful and true and is worthy of our trust. God made a promise, a covenant,  to Abram. Despite the unfaithfulness of the Isralite people, God remained faithful. In the New Testament we read that God’s faithfulness, as well as His righteousness, is manifested in the forgiveness of sin (I John 1:9). 

On our side of this street, being faithful involves us living out our faith. There is a point in time when we proclaim our faith in Jesus Christ. Being faithful is a never-ending process in which we live out our faith. If you ask people, many will state that they are Christian. In a number of these cases, what they are really saying is that I used to go to church, I was baptized as a child, and so on. But I don’t go to church now. God is not really a part of their lives now. I am not one to judge but if we have faith we will want to please God. If he is not in our lives, if we are not faithful, I wonder if they really are Christian.

Faithfulness is living to please God. It involves more than our relationship with Him, however. A faithful life will impact our relations with others. The way to a faithful life can be keeping a promise, paying our debts on time, being honest in act and motive. Watch your words – don’t exaggerate or gossip. 

God has promised what is called an afterlife for us. But you know what? If we know Jesus, it’s not an afterlife – it’s a great beginning of a new life. We will awake in a world so wondrously better than this one. We have never really been at our best, our best we will be when in heaven. And it will be forever. For the redeemed, eternity starts now. And because He is faithful and true, we can trust that this will come to be for us.

When I was very young, I would hear sales pitches that included the language “This is a temporary offer.” In my young mind, I thought everything is temporary, nothing lasts forever. But one thing is forever – God’s promise that he will prepare a place for us. This world is temporary. Heaven is forever. Count on it – God is faithful and true. 

Zealous and jealous are two concepts frequently encountered in the Bible. Generally we regard jealousy as a negative emotion. If that is the case, why is God said to be a jealous God? Zealous is usually seen in a more positive light, but we know it can be overdone. As it turns out both words derive from the Latin zelus and from the Greek zēlos. 

Over time, the meaning of zealous has evolved so today it does not really share the same meaning as jealous. You might say that zealous has become the poor stepchild from the common root. 

Today, zealous describes an excessive feeling, meaning “fiercely partisan” or “uncompromising enthusiastic.” We all know someone who fits this category, maybe all of us do in at least one respect. The sports fan whose team can do no wrong and never get a break from the refs is a zealous person. I have a friend who is fond of saying that there is nothing more obnoxious as a new convert to anything. This is where the negative side of zeal rears its head. Being enthusiastic is not bad, but it can be overdone. If we are seeking converts to our side, fierce enthusiasm is not the way to do it and may result in the opposite effect. But we admire individuals who are passionate, zealous about something, as long as they don’t overdo it.

In discussing zeal, Joel Ryan commented that, as Christians, we often long for the adoption of a childlike faith. Buy Ryan suggests that we might better adopt in our faith the zeal often shown by teenagers and young adults. When someone in these groups cares about something they are “all in.” We should be passionate about our faith.

From a Christian perspective we need to be zealous about the Word of God. We are told that we should treasure the Word to help keep us from sin. Read it, meditate on it, memorize it, sing it, study it. If we are zealous for God we will want to be in His presence. When we love someone, we want to be with them. It should be even more so in regards to God. We want a personal relationship with Him more than anything. We do not want to be separated from the love of God.

A zealous Christian will be bold in his or her stand for Christ. We proclaim Christ in a variety of ways. In Mark 8:35 Jesus stated “whoever is ashamed of Me and My words in this adulterous and sinful generation, the Son of Man will be ashamed of him when He comes into the glory of His Father.” There should be no thing as a “secret service” Christian. Not everyone is a gifted speaker. Not everyone can witness one-on-one effectively. But we can all witness. My wife was not a public speaker, she could not mount an effective argument one-on-one. But through her singing and the life she lived, she proclaimed Christ. Her favorite song to sing was Baynard Fox’s “I’ll Tell The World that I’m a Christian.”

Jealousy, on the other hand, is generally seen as a negative emotion. But God is frequently described as a jealous God. This may be hard to reconcile. However, a study of how this concept is used in the Bible sheds some interesting light. It seems that the Hebrew word  qanna is also translated as jealous, but is only used in describing God. Zelus is not used to describe Him. There are three contexts for jealousy in the Bible. Two are positive.

First, God is jealous for the hearts of His people. In  several passages in Deuteronomy we read “I the Lord your God am a jealous God.” God chose the Israelites, they were His people. They agreed to worship, obey, and serve Him. Instead they strayed and worshiped idols. Even to the point where God wanted to wipe them off the face of the earth, but He relented.

Second is the feeling that a Christian gets when others do not give God the glory due Him. When we realize how much God has done for us, that He is the creator of the universe, we hurt when others disregard or disrespect Him. We are jealous that God has not received His due. But we must respond in patience and gentleness. Proverbs 15:1 reminds us “A soft word turns away wrath, but a harsh word stirs up anger.”

Third is the use of jealousy that carries a negative emotion. It is a jealousy, envy, or even covetousness that we experience when we want to have something that someone else has. Or it can be a strong desire to keep what we have. We want to “keep up with the Joneses.” It is hostility toward a rival or one believed to enjoy an advantage. Joseph’s brothers wanted to keep their position in the family and were jealous of Joseph’s ascendency. Jesus showed us that this type of jealousy was not appropriate. Matthew 6:25-34 tells us to not be anxious for material things. Also in Matthew 6:19-21 Jesus tells us not to seek riches on earth but focus on eternal treasures.

Two words: zealous and jealous. Both have good and bad aspects. We would do well to heed Paul’s words in Colossians 3:2 “Set your mind on things above, not on things on the earth.” Strike a balance in both cases.