The REAL Meaning of Christmas

Nothing gives me more joy than to take time out to say thank you to God, because the gift He's given me never wears out, never breaks, never gets old and will never end.

Source: www.pinterest.com

Autumn is upon us and one of the things I'm really thankful for as the season changes is seeing all the amazing colours on the trees as they start to change from green to the wonderful oranges, browns and all the other different shades of colour. Of course the down side to this time of year is that the dark nights are setting in, but the upside can only mean one thing...Christmas is just around the corner. 

What comes to mind when you hear the word 'Christmas?' When I hear people say ‘Christmas is almost here’, they often get long faces and think of all the money they're going to have to spend on presents, food and drink. Their minds go to last year when they were rushing around the shops not knowing what to get Aunt Gladys, and stressing as they watched the bank account falling fast to zero as the kids presents ran into the £100's for each one they bought. Then there's the stack of money they spent on food in the supermarkets as they had to stand in queue's that stretched the length and breadth of the shop with people's trollies filled to overflowing with items of food and drink, much of which will probably got thrown away. Then when Christmas Eve finally arrived there was the last minute panic shopping and the wrapping of the rest of the presents till 2am in the morning. Is this what Christmas is really all about? No!

Source: www.pinterest.com

The fact is that Christmas is something we should really be thankful for. Think about it this way; what if it's not about spending tons of money or eating too much food and drinking too much alcohol, or buying overly expensive presents that don't really satisfy for very long? What if it's actually about remembering and giving thanks to God, who so loved you that He gave His one and only Son so that if you believe in Him you will not perish but have everlasting life? What a great gift that is!! and it costs you nothing. It's been paid for, and all you have to do is receive it, and I can guarantee you if you do Christmas will never be the same again. I love Christmas, I love singing the Carols, I love getting together with friends and family, and when I receive a gift it's great to say thank you to the person who's given it to me. But nothing gives me more joy than to take time out to say thank you to God, because the gift He's given me never wears out, never breaks, never gets old and will never end. Knowing without any doubt that when I finally leave this earth I shall be with Him is amazing and can never be equalled by anything, because for me nothing this World has to offer can even come close to comparing to the surpassing greatness of just knowing Him, let alone having eternal life. You too could know this.

Psalm 150:6 Let everyone who has breath praise the Lord. Praise the Lord.

God bless you.

Author: Kevin Hunt 

May God bless and enrich your life

Please feel free to share this article and other articles on this site with friends, family and others

Royal Robes (I don’t deserve)

To think that for all of my faults and failings, my Father has not just a robe, but a royal robe waiting for me in heaven is truly amazing.  A robe that I don’t deserve but for the Grace and Mercy of our Father in heaven through the sacrifice and blood of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ

Source: lambofgodglory.wordpress.com

Earlier this year in May I was asked to deliver a short Word at our Church Sunday Service and whilst preparing for this I prayed and asked God what He wanted me to say.  God is amazing because He communicates with us in so many different ways and a few weeks before I was due to deliver the Word we sang the well know worship song, King of Kings Majesty.  This is one of my favourite worship songs, which I have heard and sung many times before, however this time what really struck me is the part where we sang ‘Your Majesty I can but bow, I lay my all before you now, in royal robes I don’t deserve, I live to serve Your Majesty’ (you can enjoy this worship song for yourselves by playing the video at the end of this article).  As I have said, I have heard this worship song many times before but the image of a clean, fresh, perfect set of royal robes waiting for me, a sinner saved by grace kept going around and around in my mind.  I felt that God was telling me that this is the Word He wanted to deliver through me during the service.

I have to admit I found it quite amusing that God wanted me to talk about clothes because anyone who knows me will know that I am not very fashion conscious or imaginative with clothes at all and in fact I would be one of the least likely people you would expect to talk about this subject. There are however numerous examples throughout the bible where God uses what the World would see as the most unlikely of people, so I continued preparing with confidence that this was God’s will. As I prepared God took me to many different scriptures where clothes (or robes) are significant: 

Genesis 37:3 ‘Now Israel loved Joseph more than any of his other sons, because he had been born to him in his old age; and he made an ornate robe for him’

Genesis 41:42 ‘Then Pharaoh took his signet ring from his finger and put it on Joseph’s finger. He dressed him in robes of fine linen and put a gold chain around his neck’

1 Samuel 18:4 ‘Jonathan took off the robe he was wearing and gave it to David, along with his tunic, and even his sword, his bow and his belt’

Luke 15:22 ‘But the father said to his slaves, 'Quickly bring out the best robe and put it on him, and put a ring on his hand and sandals on his feet;’

Genesis 37:3 Joseph receives his ornate robe from Israel  
Source: www.doubleportioninheritance.com

There are numerous other scriptures throughout the bible where clothes/robes are used to signify a gift or a reward of some description however these scriptures demonstrate how significant clothes were in these well know passages. To think that for all of my faults and failings, my Father has not just a robe, but a royal robe waiting for me in heaven is truly amazing. A robe I don’t deserve but for the Grace and Mercy of our Father in heaven through the sacrifice and blood of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ. 

In the book of Revelation in the letter to the church of Sardis it is emphasised that those who’s clothes are not soiled are worthy and that when Jesus returns for us He will be dressed in white.  Revelation 3:4-5 'Yet you have a few people in Sardis who have not soiled their clothes. They will walk with me, dressed in white, for they are worthy. The one who is victorious will, like them, be dressed in white. I will never blot out the name of that person from the book of life, but will acknowledge that name before my Father and his angels'.  White represents cleanliness or purity and worthiness and indeed this also represents the perfect robes we will receive when we arrive in heaven.  Unclean clothes are the complete opposite and are a representation of the sin in our lives.  If I continue to sin in anyway and do not continually ask for forgiveness and repentance, and I do not try to lead my life according to the will of God then I am walking around in soiled and dirty clothes.  I continually need to ‘wash’ or change my clothes to ensure that I stay clean just like Joshua in Zachariah 3:3-4 ‘Now Joshua was dressed in filthy clothes as he stood before the angel. The angel said to those who were standing before him, ‘Take off his filthy clothes.’ Then he said to Joshua, ‘See, I have taken away your sin, and I will put fine garments on you'. Praise God that my Father clothes me in clean garments every time I ask for forgiveness and I repent.

Revelation 22:14 ‘Blessed are those who wash their robes, so that they may have the right to the tree of life, and may enter by the gates into the city’.  If I need to wash my robes then I am acknowledging that they must be dirty in the first place and I am therefore continually blessed if (as the Word of God states), I wash my robes I will then have the right to the tree of life. There is no doubt that life is sometimes a challenge and I continually make mistakes and soil my robes. However, I believe that Jesus Christ is my Lord and Saviour and that I can have my soiled robes washed in the confidence that He died for my sins.  I am saved, Praise God, and I will sparkle like a jewel in a crown because in my new clean white robes and I will be clean and blameless; Zechariah 9:16 ‘The Lord their God will save his people on that day as a shepherd saves his flock. They will sparkle in his land like jewels in a crown’. 

Our robes are ready, our sins have been washed away and our Father is waiting to greet us into heaven, because of the gift He gave us in Jesus Christ.  What a wonderful thought.

Author: Gary O’Neill 

May God bless and enrich your life

Please feel free to share this article and other articles on this site with friends, family and others

Was Solomon a Good or Bad King? – Part 2

Ultimately Solomon’s desire for wealth and power eventually clouded his judgement and he fails in the most important area of his life, his walk with God.

Source: BiblePic.com

In my previous article I discussed the reign, wisdom and organisational skills of King Solomon and in this article I would like to discuss his riches and power, and finish with a conclusion to try to establish whether King Solomon was a good or a bad king.

Solomon’s Riches and Power - God’s promise to Solomon of great riches was fulfilled. He acquired 1,400 chariots and 12,000 horses for use in the large international trade. A large fleet of ships operating in the Mediterranean and the Red sea, trading goods in the various countries they visited, returning every three months with a cargo of ivory, gold and other riches. Solomon’s personal wealth and the prosperity of his kingdom was also increased by the flow of visitors from all over the world bringing him presents to sit in his court and listen to his wisdom and many stories.

However, it was his need to maintain that wealth and his apparent love of money that corrupted his character. Pawson in his book, Unlocking the Bible, suggests that many of Solomon’s marriages were politically motivated such as his one to Pharaoh’s daughter.  He goes on to say, that in the case of Pharaoh’s daughter, as an Egyptian she could not live in the Holy city of Jerusalem. Solomon therefore built her a palace outside the city wall just north of the temple. Excavations there have recently uncovered the only Egyptian artefacts in the whole of Israel.

Source:biblepic.com

During his reign Solomon took for himself, Moabite, Ammonite, Edomite, Sidonianite and Hittite wives acquiring a harem of 700 wives and 300 concubines. The result was that they brought their own gods with them setting up shrines in and around Jerusalem, leading him and the people astray into the idol worship of their gods. This was clearly against God’s instructions given in Deuteronomy 17:17, stating that an Israelite king must not take many wives, or his heart will be led astray. In addition to this, his heavy taxation and forced labour of the Jews brought him no favour amongst his own people, especially amongst the ten northern tribes as Solomon taxed his own tribe, Judah, less heavily than the others. They were however, not in a position to complain, as he was every part the King that the Jews had asked for. As we see in 1 Samuel 8:11, 16-19 when God makes clear what will happen if they insist on an earthly king; ‘He said, this is what the king who will reign over you will do: He will take your sons and make them serve with his chariots and horses, and they will run in front of his chariots. Your menservants and maidservants and the best of your cattle and donkeys he will take for his own use. He will take a tenth of your flocks and you yourselves will become his slaves. When that day comes, you will cry out for relief from the king you have chosen, and the Lord will not answer you in that day.’ But the people refused to listen to Samuel. ‘No!’ they said.‘ We want a king over us’.

Conclusion

Solomon began his reign well, following in the footsteps of his father David in his worship of God. His wisdom was unequalled, a demonstration of this was his judgement over the two prostitutes who claimed to be the mother of the same baby (1 Kings 3) and the fact that people from all over the world came to him bearing gifts just to sit and hear him talk and listen to his stories. He had excellent organisational skills and was a great statesman of current affairs which also added to his immense wealth. 

It could therefore be concluded that Solomon was in fact a good king. However, he was not everything that God said an Israelite king should be as described in Deuteronomy 17. It has also been suggested that he lacked the common touch and was ambitious and selfish by nature, concerned more with his own glory and reputation than that of God’s. 

Therefore taking in to account all the above let's consider the final conclusion: Politically, economically, strategically, and his skill in showing great wisdom in worldly matters, Solomon was a good king. However, spiritually, he is lacking in his dedication and worship of God and fails to keep God’s laws and commandments. Solomon’s allegiance should have been to God first and foremost and not to other nations and their kings, or the false god’s of his many wives. Ultimately Solomon’s desire for wealth and power eventually clouded his judgement and he fails in the most important area of his life, his walk with God. Therefore as to whether Solomon should be considered a Good King or a Bad King, may well rest with your view point regarding God's plan for salvation and His amazing grace. So, Good or Bad King? You decide.

The Lord bless you.

Author: Kevin Hunt 

May God bless and enrich your life

Please feel free to share this article and other articles on this site with friends, family and others

Was Solomon a Good or Bad King? – Part 1

Early in Solomon’s reign God appears to him in a dream and offers to give him anything he asks for. Solomon, being aware of his inadequacy to rule Israel, asks the Lord for a wise and discerning heart, showing his concern for the people he has been given the responsibility to rule.

Source: Children's Bible Lessons

Have you ever started on a journey in life and in the beginning everything goes to plan, but as the journey continues you find that you get distracted and even led astray by the things that go on around you day to day, until where you finally end up bears no resemblance to the plans you had when you started out. This happened to a great king in the Bible and this article is going to look at his life and decide at the end of it if he was a good or a bad king. He was, King Solomon.

Solomon’s Reign - Solomon came into prominence towards the end of David’s life when Adonijah, his half-brother and David’s eldest surviving son, makes a bid for the throne. Solomon’s mother Bathsheba tells David of the plot and David commands Zadok the priest and Nathan the prophet to anoint Solomon as King. Adonijah is summoned to Solomon after taking refuge in the sanctuary and is sent home unpunished. Later, however, Adonijah’s execution is ordered after Solomon considers him a threat along with that of his army commander Joab.

Source: oakgrovechurchofchrist.net

King Solomon’s reign began promisingly, following in his father’s footsteps, by offering sacrifices to God at Gibeon and showing a great love for Him, and he benefited from the peace that his father had secured during his reign. Solomon inherited an empire that was both united and powerful, and had no desire to expand it, but rather concentrated his efforts on turning Israel into a trading nation. This was made possible partly by the fleet of ships he had built, his many chariots and horses and also by the fact that the international climate at the time, was stable. Whilst this may bode well initially for Solomon’s character, Anderson suggests in his book, The Living World of the Old Testament, that Solomon’s reign is seen somewhat through rose-coloured glasses. He tells us that Solomon’s reign was very different to his father’s. David came to the throne the hard way, starting at the bottom in a shepherd’s field, into the hard and rough life of a warrior. But in his greatness he never rose so high that he was cut off from the common soil or the traditions of the Tribal Confederacy that had nourished him in his youth. In contrast Solomon was, as Anderson puts it, ‘born to the purple,’ knowing only the sheltered, extravagant life of a king’s palace. This meant that from the beginning to the end of his reign he ruled with absolute power, and cared little for the sanctities and social institutions of the former Confederacy.

Solomon’s Wisdom - Early in Solomon’s reign God appears to him in a dream and offers to give him anything he asks for. Solomon, being aware of his inadequacy to rule Israel, asks the Lord for a wise and discerning heart, showing his concern for the people he has been given the responsibility to rule. Because of his humble heart God not only answers his prayer for wisdom, but promises him wealth and honour also, (1 Kings 3:1-14).

The words Jesus spoke in Matthew 6:29, ‘Even Solomon in all his glory was not arrayed like one of these,’ when He referred to the natural features of the lilies of the field indicate how Solomon’s name came to be a symbol of wealth and glory. His wisdom is demonstrated when he has to judge in the case of two prostitutes who claim to be the mother of the same child; through Solomon’s wisdom the correct identity of the mother is established and the problem is resolved. (1 Kings 3:16-28)

However, the counter argument to Solomon’s wisdom and his ability to rule as a good king is highlighted by Bright in his book, A History of Israel, when he says; that Solomon exhibited in other areas of his life a blindness and even a stupidity that hastened the demise of his empire toward disintegration. One example of this is found in 1 Kings 9 where God appears to Solomon in a dream giving him a stern warning that the temple will become a heap of ruins if he or his descendants turn aside from God. Solomon immediately follows this by giving 20 cities away to Hiram king of Tyre, which involved giving away part of the land of Israel and its inhabitants.

Solomon’s Organisational Skills - Hughes in his book, Cover to Cover, points to 1 Kings 4:1-34 and comments on Solomon’s sound organisational abilities being demonstrated, when he appoints a cabinet to help him govern, and selects other officials giving them the responsibility to govern 12 districts and to administer and collect taxes from them. This may intimate Solomon’s concern to make sure everyone was treated equally and fairly. However, Anderson argues, that the actual facts in Solomon’s administration shows his lack of the common touch that would have in fact turned his dream into a reality. He also suggests that Solomon was ambitious and selfish by nature, and that his lavish court in Jerusalem was nothing more than a hall of mirrors reflecting the glory and reputation of the great King of Israel. This was in contradiction to the law given in Deuteronomy 17:14-20, which specifies that a king of Israel shall not rule autonomously but shall be guided by the book of the law given to the Levites by God.

This article has considered the reign of King Solomon, his wisdom and his organisational skills. Next week in Part 2, I will discuss his riches and power, and conclude with whether King Solomon was a good King or a bad King.  In the meantime why not take a look at the life and reign of King Solomon by reading 1 Kings chapters 1 to 11, and along with parts 1 and 2 of this article decide for yourself if indeed you feel Solomon was a good or bad king.

Author: Kevin Hunt 

May God bless and enrich your life

Please feel free to share this article and other articles on this site with friends, family and others