12/25/20 WHAT’S NEW? #6 — Luke 2:10-11 (HCSB) But the angel said to them, “Don’t be afraid, for look, I proclaim to you GOOD NEWS of great joy that will be for all the people: 11 Today in the city of David a Savior was born for you, who is the Messiah, the Lord.

“GOOD NEWS” is “euangelizo” in NT Greek, from which we get “Evangelism!” “Great” is “mega-” and “joy” is “chara,” Together “great joy” could be translated as “maximum joy,” “excessive gladness, or “full cheerfulness.” The angel announced to the shepherds the VERY BEST NEWS there has ever been! God had finally fulfilled His Genesis 3 promise to send us a “Savior,” a “Messiah,” who just happens to God (“the Lord”) as well. He would fix the mess that Adam and Eve made with their sin and which each and every one of us has contributed nearly every day of our lives.

THAT is the REAL MEANING of CHRISTMAS; Jesus really IS the REASON for the SEASON! Praise the Lord. I hope you can embrace this GOOD NEWS and enjoy the merriest, godliest Christmas ever!

12/21/20 WHAT’S NEW? #5 — Isaiah 65:17 (HCSB) “For I will create a NEW HEAVEN and a NEW EARTH; the past events will not be remembered or come to mind.” — Israel's future kingdom will include a temporal kingdom of a thousand years (see Rev 20:1-10) and an eternal kingdom in God's new creation (51:6, 16; 54:10; 66:22).

2 Peter 3:13 But based on His promise, we wait for the NEW HEAVENS and a NEW EARTH, where righteousness will dwell. — The "promise" of a new universe is rooted in the OT (e.g., Ps 102:25). The word "new" means new in quality, i.e., different from before, not just new in chronology. The universe is new in quality because righteousness has settled in and taken up permanent and exclusive residence (cf. Isa 60:19-22).

Revelation 21:1 Then I saw a NEW HEAVEN and a NEW EARTH, for the first heaven and the first earth had passed away, and the sea no longer existed. — All the sinners of all the ages, both demons and men, including Satan, the beast, and false prophet, are in the lake of fire forever. The whole universe has been destroyed, and God creates a new universe to be the eternal dwelling place of the redeemed. The entire universe as we now know it will be destroyed and be replaced by a new creation that will last forever. [adapted from The MacArthur Study Bible]

12/18/20 WHAT’S NEW? #4 — Isaiah 62:2 (HCSB) Nations will see your righteousness and all kings, your glory. You will be CALLED BY A NEW NAME that the LORD’s mouth will announce.

Most of chapters 1-35 of the book of Isaiah involve God’s declaring His frustration with the faithlessness of His people, His rejection of them and His plans to remove them from the Holy Land. He predicts that other nations will regard them as a humiliated, rejected, useless people.

But in the last third of the book, Isaiah the prophet describes the character and mission of the Messiah—Who is the Conquering King AND the Suffering Servant. Then God promises to remember His covenants He made with Abraham, Moses, David and so on. Eventually, someday in the future, God will restore His people to their former position at the head of the nations of the earth. And their enemies will no longer refer to them with the slurs of the past. Because of God’s intervention, they will have a NEW reputation, indeed, a NEW NAME.

When our politicians, celebrities, news anchors, and even neighbors say awful things about Christians, let’s remember that God promises to set ALL things right someday, (hopefully) SOON!

12/14/20 WHAT’S NEW? #3 — Isaiah 48:6 (HCSB) You have heard it. Observe it all. Will you not acknowledge it? From now on I will ANNOUNCE NEW THINGS to you, HIDDEN things that YOU HAVE NOT KNOWN.

In the preceding verses, God expresses His frustration over the unfaithfulness of the northern kingdom of Israel. He reminds them that He deliberately predicted many of the current events long ago so that when these things happened they would recognize God’s working on their behalf. Instead they have turned to false gods and have begun to trust them. So God says that from that time on He would ANNOUNCE (predict) brand NEW THINGS, thus far HIDDEN from them and not KNOWN to them.

Let’s RECOMMIT ourselves to READ, MEDITATE on and MEMORIZE God’s Word more frequently and faithfully than ever before. Plus, the Bible is clear that our Heavenly Father is a communicating God; He wants us to know His plans and will (Amos 3:7; Romans 12:2 ). Let’s converse with Him regularly in prayer and ask Him to show us and plan to involve us in His brand NEW projects.