Hi all,
Merry Christmas and Happy New Year! We pray we each of us find His peace and joy as we close out one year and start the next.
Personal news:
Chris is doing better and will hopefully return to his group home around January 2. The CT showed ‘an 80% collapse of the L3 vertebrae’. By the Father’s grace it collapsed in one compact pile and didn’t send shards of bone into the spinal cord or nerves.
We are now at week 10 and he is down to over the counter pain medicine and able to function fairly normally. Thank you for thanking the Father for healing as we do daily. We look for what is healed each day, not what remains to be healed. We focus on what does today better than yesterday, and therefore see constant progress.
Thank you also for your prayers for Barb and I. It’s been exhausting, expensive, emotionally draining, disruptive and basically, we are very tired and behind in about everything ‘work’.
Some of you know what it is like to care for someone in your home who can’t care for themselves. Thank you also to many who sent personal donations for us, you have no idea who much we have appreciated such generosity. The expense of everything from buying a hospital style bed, to specialized wheelchair to so much more – thank you as you’ve been used by the Father to help supply us.
It’s all been grace – and thank you again for your prayers and patience. I especially look forward to resuming our Zoom meetings, and will set some date for early next year.
Jesus’ birth:
In a Weekly Thoughts earlier this month, which is archived on our web site under ‘Weekly Thoughts’, I dealt with ‘Should we celebrate Christmas’? I went into some detail how the pagan roots and sources of foods, drink, and days bothered some in Paul’s time. He told them if pagan roots and sources of such things bothered them, then don’t participate.
But for others who weren’t bothered by the pagan roots, go ahead and eat or drink or celebrate. Each should not be an ‘evangelist’ for their point of view, keeping in mind the Lord has accepted both those who do and those who don’t. If He accepted all, then we should too. He told them ‘let everyone be fully persuaded in his own mind.
But the fact is, Jesus was born in Bethlehem at some point in the year, angels did announce His birth, and the rest of the Christmas story did happen. That’s what we celebrate, the greatest gift.
We know the story; shepherds were watching their flocks that night outside of Bethlehem.
Luke 2:9 in the Greek says ‘the angel of the Lord stood by them’. He wasn’t in the air, he just suddenly appeared in their midst to announce the birth of Jesus.
Consider that – it is dark, a group of shepherds are talking, maybe around a campfire, then suddenly a stranger is standing in their midst. Not in the air, just ‘there’ among them. This same phrase is used 18 times in the NT and always means someone suddenly standing in the midst of others. This stranger was bathed in such light of the glory of God they knew it was an angel, and were very afraid.
In v10-12 he tells them not to be afraid, for he is there to announce great news, about the birth of their savior, Christ the Lord, not to bring judgement.
The army
Then with those words, verse 13 says; “Suddenly joining with the angel was a multitude of the heavenly army.” The word ‘host’ in the King James and other versions, means ‘army’.
In Joshua 5: 13-15 Israel has just crossed into the Promised Land, and the mighty city of Jericho stands before them. As Joshua pauses for direction from the Lord, the text tells us he sees a man with a sword drawn near him.
Joshua approaches he asks: “Are you for us, or against us?” And the stranger replies, “Neither (Hebrew: Lo) I have come as Captain of the Army of the Lord.” Many translations say ‘No, but as Captain of the Army of the Lord’.
Actually, He was deflecting Joshua’s question because He wasn’t strictly an ally or an enemy, for it was God’s battle not Israel’s. He was there as Commander of the Army of heaven.
We know it was the Lord who appeared to Joshua and not an angel as some erroneously teach for these reasons: Joshua worshipped Him, and he was commanded to remove His shoes in His presence. Shoes are man made, and no one may approach God on his own efforts. So in the OT shoes could not be worn in the presence of God. And angels do not receive worship as the Captain of the Lord’s Army did here. It was the Lord who appeared to Joshua, and chapter 6 of Joshua reveals what He told Joshua about how to take the city.
Why did the army of heaven appear with the angel among the shepherds?
The army wasn’t there to war with humans, they were following their Captain. The army was there as part of a peace treaty with mankind. Their Captain had left heaven not to war with man, but to become a man. They were amazed and worshipped Him. No wonder I Peter 1:12 tells us the angels desire to look into the mysteries of man’s salvation!
II Corinthians 5: 18-19 it says the Father reconciled the world to Himself through Jesus. He didn’t charge our sins to us, but to Jesus. The army was there because their Captain was born a human being in the Father’s plan to reconcile us to Himself. What grace! May we continue to marvel at the love the Father and the Lord have shown us, which all the angles marvel at – the birth of Jesus Christ our Lord!
In other news...
The Netherlands conference May 2-5 is already 85% full. If you plan on attending, you need to act now by emailing Wil and Ank: cwowi@solcon.nl
June 29-30 conference in Tulsa – we are excited for this weekend! We hope to see many of you here in Tulsa. These weekends are always so rich in the Lord – enough time to get to know one another, Q&A, teaching, deep worship, personal prayer and ministry – make plans now, registration information above.
KWOWI Update December 2023, www.kwowi.org
Daniel (in Kenya) sends a very grateful “Thank you!!” to those who helped him finalize the purchase of the SUV. He will be able to visit the many house churches and KWOWI children under his care much easier now.
The Uganda school has finished their 3rd and final term for the school year. The students did very well and graduated into the next level of schooling. The new school year will begin in February, so the students, teachers, and staff will enjoy a much-needed long break over the holidays. The kids who live at the school full time will remain and the rest of the kids have gone back to the villages to stay with “kinship parents” until school starts again. Thank you to everyone who gave towards their Christmas celebration for these hard-working kids!
Merry Christmas and thank you for being in our lives!
Blessings, John & Barb, Brian & Amy
