“Behold, the days are coming, declares the Lord, when I will make a new covenant with the house of Israel and the house of Judah . . . ”(Jeremiah 31:31)

God is just and holy and separated from sinners like us. This is our main problem at Christmas — and every other season. How shall we get right with a just and holy God?

Nevertheless, God is merciful and has promised in Jeremiah 31 (five hundred years before Christ) that someday he would do something new. He would replace shadows with the Reality of the Messiah. And he would powerfully move into our lives and write his will on our hearts so that we are not constrained from outside, but are willing from inside, to love him and trust him and follow him.
That would be the greatest salvation imaginable — if God should offer us the greatest Reality in the universe to enjoy and then move in us to know that Reality in such a way that we could enjoy it with the greatest freedom and the greatest pleasure possible. That would be a Christmas gift worth singing about.

That is, in fact, what he promised in the new covenant. But there was a huge obstacle. Our sin. Our separation from God because of our unrighteousness.

How shall a holy and just God treat us sinners with so much kindness as to give us the greatest Reality in the universe (his Son) to enjoy with the greatest possible joy?

The answer is that God put our sins on his Son, and judged them there, so that he could put them out of his mind, and deal with us mercifully and remain just and holy at the same time. Hebrews 9:28 says Christ was “offered once to bear the sins of many.”
Christ bore our sins in his own body when he died (1 Peter 2:24). He took our judgment (Romans 8:3). He canceled our guilt (Romans 8:1). And that means our sins are gone (Acts 10:43). They do not remain in God’s mind as a basis for condemnation. In that sense, he “forgets” them (Jeremiah 31:34). They are consumed in the death of Christ.

Which means that God is now free, in his justice, to lavish us with the all the unspeakably great new covenant promises. He gives us Christ, the greatest Reality in the universe, for our enjoyment. And he writes his own will — his own heart — on our hearts so that we can love Christ and trust Christ and follow Christ from the inside out, with freedom and joy.

— John Piper

Christ has obtained a ministry that is as much more excellent than the old as the covenant he mediates is better, since it is enacted on better promises. (Hebrews 8:6)

Christ is the Mediator of a new covenant, according to Hebrews 8:6. What does that mean? It means that his blood — the blood of the covenant (Luke 22:20; Hebrews 13:20) — finally and decisively purchased and secured the fulfillment of God’s promises for us.
It means that God, according to the new covenant promises, brings about our inner transformation by the Spirit of Christ.
And it means that God works this transformation in us through faith — faith in all that God is for us in Christ.
The new covenant is purchased by the blood of Christ, effected by the Spirit of Christ, and appropriated by faith in Christ.
The best place to see Christ working as the Mediator of the new covenant is in Hebrews 13:20–21:

Now may the God of peace who brought again from the dead our Lord Jesus, the great shepherd of the sheep, by the blood of the eternal covenant, equip you with everything good that you may do his will, working in us that which is pleasing in his sight, through Jesus Christ, to whom be glory forever and ever. Amen.

The words “working in us that which is pleasing in his sight” describe what happens when God writes the law on our hearts in accord with the new covenant. And the words “through Jesus Christ” describe Jesus as the Mediator of this glorious work of sovereign grace.
So, the meaning of Christmas is not only that God replaces shadows with Reality, but also that he takes the Reality and makes it real to his people. He writes it on our hearts. He does not lay his Christmas gift of salvation and transformation under the tree, so to speak, for you to pick up in your own strength. He picks it up and puts it in your heart and in your mind and gives you the seal of assurance that you are a child of God.

– John Piper

Jesus is troubling to people who do not want to worship him, and he arouses opposition against those who do. This is probably not a main point in the mind of Matthew, but it is an inescapable implication as the story goes on.

In this story, there are two kinds of people who do not want to worship Jesus.

The first kind is the people who simply do nothing about Jesus. He is a nonentity in their lives. This group is represented at the beginning of Jesus’s life by the chief priests and scribes. Matthew 2:4 says, “Assembling all the chief priests and scribes of the people, [Herod] inquired of them where the Christ was to be born.” So they told him, and that was that: back to business as usual. The sheer silence and inactivity of the leaders is overwhelming in view of the magnitude of what was happening.

And notice, Matthew 2:3 says, “When Herod the king heard this, he was troubled, and all Jerusalem with him.” In other words, the rumor was going around that someone thought the Messiah was born. The inactivity on the part of the chief priests is staggering: why not go with the magi? They are not interested. They are not passionate about finding the Son of God and worshiping him.

The second kind of people who do not want to worship Jesus is the kind who are deeply threatened by him. That’s Herod in this story. He is really afraid. So much so that he schemes and lies and then commits mass murder just to get rid of Jesus.

So today, these two kinds of opposition will come against Christ and his worshipers: indifference and hostility. I surely hope that you are not in one of those groups.

And if you are a Christian, let this Christmas be the time when you ponder what it means — what it costs — to worship and follow this Messiah.
– John Piper

Jesus is troubling to people who do not want to worship him, and he arouses opposition against those who do. This is probably not a main point in the mind of Matthew, but it is an inescapable implication as the story goes on.

In this story, there are two kinds of people who do not want to worship Jesus.

The first kind is the people who simply do nothing about Jesus. He is a nonentity in their lives. This group is represented at the beginning of Jesus’s life by the chief priests and scribes. Matthew 2:4 says, “Assembling all the chief priests and scribes of the people, [Herod] inquired of them where the Christ was to be born.” So they told him, and that was that: back to business as usual. The sheer silence and inactivity of the leaders is overwhelming in view of the magnitude of what was happening.

And notice, Matthew 2:3 says, “When Herod the king heard this, he was troubled, and all Jerusalem with him.” In other words, the rumor was going around that someone thought the Messiah was born. The inactivity on the part of the chief priests is staggering: why not go with the magi? They are not interested. They are not passionate about finding the Son of God and worshiping him.

The second kind of people who do not want to worship Jesus is the kind who are deeply threatened by him. That’s Herod in this story. He is really afraid. So much so that he schemes and lies and then commits mass murder just to get rid of Jesus.

So today, these two kinds of opposition will come against Christ and his worshipers: indifference and hostility. I surely hope that you are not in one of those groups.

And if you are a Christian, let this Christmas be the time when you ponder what it means — what it costs — to worship and follow this Messiah.
– John Piper

“My soul magnifies the Lord, and my spirit rejoices in God my Savior, for he has looked on the humble estate of his servant. For behold, from now on all generations will call me blessed; for he who is mighty has done great things for me, and holy is his name. And his mercy is for those who fear him from generation to generation. He has shown strength with his arm; he has scattered the proud in the thoughts of their hearts; he has brought down the mighty from their thrones and exalted those of humble estate; he has filled the hungry with good things, and the rich he has sent away empty. He has helped his servant Israel, in remembrance of his mercy, as he spoke to our fathers, to Abraham and to his offspring forever.” (Luke 1:46–55)

Mary sees clearly a most remarkable thing about God: He is about to change the course of all human history; the most important three decades in all of time are about to begin.

And where is God? Occupying himself with two obscure, humble women — one old and barren (Elizabeth), one young and a virgin (Mary). And Mary is so moved by this vision of God, the lover of the lowly, that she breaks out in song — a song that has come to be known as “The Magnificat.”

Mary and Elizabeth are wonderful heroines in Luke’s account. He loves the faith of these women. The thing that impresses him most, it appears, and the thing he wants to impress on Theophilus, his noble reader of his Gospel, is the lowliness and cheerful humility of Elizabeth and Mary as they submit to their magnificent God.

Elizabeth says (Luke 1:43), “And why is this granted to me that the mother of my Lord should come to me?” And Mary says (Luke 1:48), “He has looked on the humble estate of his servant.”

The only people whose soul can truly magnify the Lord are people like Elizabeth and Mary — people who acknowledge their lowly estate and are overwhelmed by the condescension of the magnificent God.

– John Piper

May 27, 1950

2 Peter 3:8, Psalm 90 – I have been considering the greatness of God this morning and am quite amazed that my thoughts of Him have been so human before now. Particularly I am impressed with the eternality of the Godhead. When Peter says that one day is as a thousand years to the Lord, he does not mean that God is on a slower time scale than we are; that is, that 365,000 years of man’s time would equal 365 days of God’s ‘time’. He means only that, in relation to men, God represents Himself as One with whom the passage of time has no effect. “A thousand years are in Thy sight as yesterday when it is past, and as a watch in the night.” (Ps. 90:4)

The real significance is that god is timeless in His relations with the universe. Eternality is not the length of passing myriads of ages; it is above, beyond, and utterly unrelated to any measurement. This settles much talk of foreknowledge and election. God does not think a thing, and then do it. He can think nothing but it is done instantaneously. Further more, there is no succession in His mind. To Him, eternity is a single act, having no cycles, starts, or ends. What God has become in Christ, God IS from everlasting. It is not that God stooped to become a man and decried to remain such in Christ. God created man in the image He Himself already sustained; this is meaningless unless I believe that God does not become anything. I AM. That settles all possible change. God can neither reverse, go beyond, nor step beneath His eternal mode of being. Thus, none can frustrate His design, for His designing is part of His eternal doing, and those are forever occurring because of His eternal being . . . . He begins, sustains, carries out, and fulfills His every decree—from our point of view. In Himself, however, it is a single act, even as though my entire life were a single breath.

– Jim Elliot

May 18, 1950
Last night I went for a walk around the hills. Found myself again dedicating my clay, asking for God’s presence to be sensed more continually. Analyzed afresh and repudiated my desire to DO something for God in the sight of men rather than to BE something, even if great results are never seen. The clouds over the western hills seemed to speak to me: “What is your life? It is a vapor.” I saw myself as a wisp of vapor being drawn upward from the vast ocean by the sun’s great power and sent landward by the winds. The shedding of blessing upon earth must be as the rain, drawn up first by God, born along by His Spirit, poured out by His own means and in His place, and running down to the sea again as “water poured out.” So my weakness shall be God’s opportunity to refresh the earth. I would that it should be, just as He has shown me.

October 7, 1950
I have just come from the OU-Texas A&M football game, one of the best, I suppose, I shall ever see. A&M led out, and the score read 7-0, 7-7, 14-7, 14-14, 21-14, 21-21, and then 28-21 until the third quarter. Then O.U. failed their conversion attempt, which put the score at 28-27 with 1:55 remaining. With one minute remaining, O.U. scored a touchdown, setting the final score at 34-28. The crowd reaction was interesting to watch.
Ah, what will it be like when, not 40,000 people, but an unnumbered multitude rivet their excited attention upon the Son of God. No need for cheerleaders then! No need to tell people to stand, for all shall mourn or rejoice over Him. Wonderful day! Oh, Jesus, Master and Center of all things, how long before that final glory of Yours which is so long awaited! Now there is not much thought of You among men, but in that day there shall be thought for nothing else. Now other men are praised, but then none shall care for any other’s merits. Hasten, hasten, You who are the Glory of Heaven, take Your crown, subdue all kingdoms, and enthrall Your people!

“The forgiveness of sins, according to the riches of His grace.” – Ephesians 1:7

Could there be a sweeter word in any language than that word “forgiveness”, when it sounds in a guilty sinner’s ear, like the silver notes of jubilee to the captive Israelite? Blessed, forever blessed, is that dear star of pardon, which shines into the condemned cell, and gives the perishing prisoner a gleam of hope amid the midnight of despair! Can it be possible that sin such as mine can be forgiven, forgiven totally and forever? Hell is my portion as a sinner; there is no possibility of my escaping from it while sin remains upon me. Can the load of guilt be lifted and can the crimson stain be removed?Jesus tells me that I may yet be cleared.

Forever blessed be the atoning love, which not only tells me that pardon is possible, but that it is secured to all who rest in Jesus. I have believed in the appointed offering, Jesus the crucified, and therefore my sins are at this moment and forever forgiven through His substitutionary pains and death. What joy is this! What bliss to be a perfectly pardoned soul!

My soul dedicates all its powers to Him, who of His own love became my surety, and accomplished for me redemption through His own blood. What riches of grace does free forgiveness exhibit! To forgive all, to forgive fully and freely, to forgive forever! When I think of how great my sins were and how gracious was the method by which pardon was sealed to me, I am in a maze of wondering and worshipping affection. I bow before the throne of grace, which pardons me, I clasp the cross which delivers me, and from now on, all my days I serve the incarnate God, through whom I am now a pardoned soul.

– C. H. Spurgeon

Jim Elliot’s wife, Elizabeth, once said of him, “At 21, Jim began an adventure that would require the ultimate sacrifice.” That adventure, was to follow Christ toward the mission field of Equador, and ultimately, martyrdom at the hands of the Auca Indians he loved so much.

A big personal part of that adventure for Jim was that he was always reading; at least, the evidence is there that this was true.When one reads Jim’s life, especially his journals, one thing that stands out is his perpetual habit of reading. He was always using, consistently and fruitfully, Bible study aids, such as word studies of the Old and New Testaments, lexicons, and other books that helped him understand Hebrew and Greek word usages and meanings. In addition, he was always reading a good book. Sometimes he even read authors and books that were not particularly spiritually helpful because he thought he would learn something that would help him. “Always reading” seemed to be his plan and practice. The richness of his reading life-style can be seen particularly in his journal entries, where he was always referring to his discoveries.

Journal entry, February 7, 1948 – Genesis 44-45 on Jacob’s life — In Benjamin, Jacob’s life was ‘bound up’ (44:30) So in me, God’s life is bound up in much the same sense. His nature is given to me; His love is jealous for me; all His attributes are woven into the pattern of my spirit. What a God is this! His life implanted in every child. Thank you, Father, for this. Love through me today.

” ” August 7, 1948 – 2 Samuel 11 on David’s life — Uriah the Hittite was a man who declined offered ease because the soldiers of his God dwelt in tents and open fields. This was David’s error: ‘When kings go out to battle . . . . David tarried at Jerusalem.’ (vs. 2) How often is this the history of Christian failure. The time comes for forward marching and some Christians are laying on beds of self-interest. In such a context, Satan sees to it that a Bathsheba is not far away. David’s tarrying in Jerusalem meant Uriah’s death in the thickest of the fight. Lord, don’t let me be found so reluctant because of my selfishness.

October 18, 1949 – In David Brainerd’s account of the Forks of the Delaware awakening [among the Indians], the Holy Spirit began evident conviction at a time which surprised Brainerd, for he was sick, discouraged, and cast down, at the time little expecting that God had chosen the hour of his weakness for the manifestation of His strength. Brainerd said, ‘I cannot say I had any hopes of success, yet that was the very time when God saw fit to begin His glorious work’. So God ordained strength out of weakness, whence I learn that it is good to follow the path of duty, even when in the midst of darkness and discouragement.

November 11, 1949 – I am spending this drizzly afternoon reading The Pilgrim Church by W. H. Broadbent. I see clearly now that anything, whatever it might be, if it is not rooted in divine grace, is not of God.

November 17 – Finished The Pligrim Church today. Noted again the importance of biography and history in learning God’s ways. Anthony Norris Groves was a pioneer missionary in India. I must read his memoirs if I can get them.

December 5, 1949 – “Give attendance to reading”; Finished a short biography of Allan Smith, missionary on the Paraguayan and Amazon river systems; then I prayed to be sent out soon with definite steps of guidance for my path. Having finished Gaussen’s Theopeneustia last week, I began S. J. Andrew’s Christianity vs. Anti-Christianity in their Final Conflict. It is prophetic and clarifying to some big present-day issues.

January 18, 1950 – Just finished reading F. W. Krummacher’s The Suffering Savior. I found it stimulating to my imagination and warming to my heart. The emotional unwritten backgounds he interprets from the text are helpful and encouraging to the use of sanctified, imaginative powers. He lacks accuracy in one or two points of interpretation, it seems to me, but on the whole has written a spiritually edifying work.

February 4, 1950 – I have just this moment finished reading Amy Carmichael’s Gold Cord. How can I express the effect it has had on me? Ah, what a sham I am carrying on in the name of spirituality! I talk well, but, oh God of the thorny crown, please privilege me to walk Thy path of royalty.

ALWAYS READING. The truth is, Jim Elliot in his days of preparation for the mission field, was a student, an athlete, a part-time substitute school teacher, an itinerant evangelist, a mountain climber, and a number of other things. Always active in those early days of preparation, long before he went to Equador, he was a disciplined young man in pursuit of godliness. But mixed through it all was a thread woven throughout the fabric of his life style–the discipline of reading. Private reading to stir his heart and to equip him further in the pursuit of God. He once wrote, “Spent the entire day–6 to 8 hours–just reading.” In addition to the Bible, his first book, a different book was always daily at some point in his hands.

Is a book often in our hands? We ought to be often reading. Under the blessing of the Spirit, it will produce continuing godliness and growth. Let us be always reading!

— Mack Tomlinson