Matthew 2:3 (KJV) A Baby’s Birth Shakes a Kingdom

Matthew 2:3 (KJV)

When Herod the king had heard these things, he was troubled, and all Jerusalem with him. 

 

Why would anyone be troubled at the news of a baby’s birth?

 

This was no ordinary baby; this was the news of one born to be king. It was a concept everyone in Jerusalem was familiar with. In the best of circumstances, the arrival of a new king would bring monumental change to their way of life. But these were far from the best of circumstances.

 

Herod was troubled by the threat of replacement.

Herod, a half-Jew appointed to the throne, ruled as a Roman compromise. He was only grudgingly accepted by the Jewish people. A cruel and monstrous man, Herod was feared more than respected. Though he had commissioned the building of the temple to its current grandeur, no one in Jerusalem would mourn his passing.

 

The Pharisees and the Sanhedrin were troubled by the messengers.

The Jewish religious leaders were prejudiced against Gentiles, and this animosity was only intensified by their forced submission to Roman rule. The one promised to be born king of the Jews, in their minds, was supposed to deliver them from Gentile oppression. That His arrival would be announced by Gentiles was unthinkable—a direct affront to their national pride and religious biases.

 

The citizens of Jerusalem were troubled because their leaders were troubled.

Who among us is not concerned when our leaders—both political and spiritual—are disturbed? We know that when their peace is shaken, the consequences often trickle down to us. News of government instability is rarely good news, and when spiritual leaders echo those concerns, it only compounds the unease. It’s disheartening to hear about corruption in government, only to attend church and have those fears confirmed.

 

Despite all that was troubling in Jerusalem, this was the best news the world would ever hear.

The lesson for today is this: Look for the star of God’s glory in all the unsettling news you hear. God is alive and at work. Neither governments, religions, nor the enemy of your soul can change that.

 

#ChristTheTrueKing #GodInControl #HopeInDarkTimes #UnsettlingNewsBestNews #LookForGodsGlory

A Baby’s Birth Shakes a Kingdom: The News that Changed Everything

• What news have you heard recently that feels unsettling? Share your thoughts in the comments.

  Take action today: Open your Bible, read Matthew 2:3, and write down one way you can trust God to work in the challenges you’re facing right now.

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To my readers:

Thank you! It is a great joy to me to know you read the thoughts and lessons God has given me in His word. I would love to hear from you. Please feel free to leave comments.

For this and, more than 6600 earlier Daily Visits with God, visit https://mckenzie-visit-with-god.blogspot.com. There you will find daily visits going back to 2005.

If you have been blessed by this blog, please subscribe to my feed and share it with others.

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Matthew 2:3 (KJV) A Baby’s Birth Shakes a Kingdom

Matthew 1:16 (KJV) The Genealogy of Jesus

Matthew 1:16 (KJV)

And Jacob begat Joseph the husband of Mary, of whom was born Jesus, who is called Christ. 

 

I absolutely love the Christmas story. 

·       I love the hope in it. 

·       I love the purpose of it. 

·       I love what I’ll call here the romance of it, “For God so loved the world…”

 

I love that God used a messy story to bring about a perfect conclusion. Everyone involved in this account, beginning with Abraham, and including David, the two key players beside Jesus, were notable sinners. There are four women included in the account, none but Mary has a clean record, and even Mary admitted she needed a Saviour. 

 

This particular line to Christ includes Solomon and ends in Joseph. Solomon’s lineage was disqualified from the throne “about the time they were carried away to Babylon,” but though they lost the right to the throne in Jerusalem, God never lost sight of them. The record of their genealogy was maintained, and God saw fit to preserve that record in His eternal Word.

 

We have an interesting conclusion to the account. The lineage ends with Joseph, who is the husband of Mary “of whom was born Jesus.”

 

Joseph was Mary’s husband, and Mary gave birth to Jesus, but Joseph was not Jesus’s father. 

And that is explained for us in the rest of the chapter - how an imperfect and messed-up bunch of people could be instruments of God to deliver to this world the perfect and holy Son of God.

 

#TheChristmasStory #GodsPerfectPlan #HopeInChrist #JesusIsBorn #GodsLove

The Genealogy of Jesus: A Perfect Savior from an Imperfect Family

• The Christmas story reminds us that God can work through our imperfections to bring about His perfect plan. What part of the Christmas story speaks most to you about God's grace? Share your thoughts in the comments below!

  As a step of faith, take a moment today to reflect on how God is working in your life, even in the midst of your struggles. Trust that He can bring about His purpose through you, just as He did through the imperfect people in the genealogy of Jesus.

  For more insights and resources to grow in your faith, visit my website at marvinmckenzie.org. 

👉 Join our community in studying God’s Word and strengthening your faith.

To my readers:

Thank you! It is a great joy to me to know you read the thoughts and lessons God has given me in His word. I would love to hear from you. Please feel free to leave comments.

For this and, more than 6600 earlier Daily Visits with God, visit https://mckenzie-visit-with-god.blogspot.com. There you will find daily visits going back to 2005.

If you have been blessed by this blog, please subscribe to my feed and share it with others.

My books, and other resources, are available at:
https://marvinmckenzie.org

Join me at Daily Visits with God Podcast
https://marvinmckenzie.substack.com/

Merch at my Teespring store https://macz.creator-spring.com/
Be a witness with hats, mugs, t-shirts, sweat shirts, and more

Let’s have coffee?
The link to Ko-fi  is an opportunity to support this effort to reach a world of souls with the Word of God. I would appreciate any gift you can give. 

Matthew 1:16 (KJV) The Genealogy of Jesus

 

Revelation 22:5 Where Tears End and Light Begins

Revelation 22:5

And there shall be no night there; and they need no candle, neither light of the sun; for the Lord God giveth them light: and they shall reign for ever and ever. 

 

Revelation 21:4 ( KJV) says,

And God shall wipe away all tears from their eyes; and there shall be no more death, neither sorrow, nor crying, neither shall there be any more pain: for the former things are passed away. 

 

It’s easy to focus on these “no more’s” because - who wants them?

Tears, death, sorrow, crying pain - good riddance!

 

But as significant as these are, the Bible says in the eternal state there are at least two other things that no longer exist:

The temple

Revelation 21:22 ( KJV)

And I saw no temple therein: for the Lord God Almighty and the Lamb are the temple of it. 

 

The temple is such a prominent feature of Old Testament faith, of the progression (or digression, depending on your point of view) of the nation of Israel, and of prophecy that it’s difficult to imagine an eternity without one. In an absolutely perfect world, the temple will not exist.

 

The sun

Revelation 22:5

And there shall be no night there; and they need no candle, neither light of the sun; for the Lord God giveth them light: and they shall reign for ever and ever. 

 

The sun and stars, the Bible says, are for lights and signs. Just today, I read an article where scientists say they have discovered “the first ever pair of binary stars,” which they say “sheds new light on the evolution of stars in the universe.”[1]

The sun, moon, and stars are a matter of wonder to everyone, a matter of worship and witchcraft to some, and a matter of study to the sciences. But they do not exist in a perfect world.

 

More significant, and the point of all the things that will no longer exist is what, or rather, Who does exist.

Revelation 21:22 ( KJV)

And I saw no temple therein: for the Lord God Almighty and the Lamb are the temple of it.

Revelation 22:5

And there shall be no night there; and they need no candle, neither light of the sun; for the Lord God giveth them light: and they shall reign for ever and ever. 

 

The healthiest souls attend to He Who does exist rather than all those things that will not exist.

 

#HeavenlyLight #NoMorePain #GodIsTheTemple #EternalReign #FocusOnHim

Where Tears End and Light Begins: Eternity Illuminated by God

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[1] Binary Stars - I saw the article referenced in the 1440 Newsletter. The link they provided was https://phys.org/news/2024-12-binary-star-galaxy-supermassive-black.html

 

• What are you focusing on — what fades or who remains? 
• Visit marvinmckenzie.org for more!

👉 Join our community in studying God’s Word and strengthening your faith.

To my readers:

Thank you! It is a great joy to me to know you read the thoughts and lessons God has given me in His word. I would love to hear from you. Please feel free to leave comments.

For this and, more than 6600 earlier Daily Visits with God, visit https://mckenzie-visit-with-god.blogspot.com. There you will find daily visits going back to 2005.

If you have been blessed by this blog, please subscribe to my feed and share it with others.

My books, and other resources, are available at:
https://marvinmckenzie.org

Join me at Daily Visits with God Podcast
https://marvinmckenzie.substack.com/

Merch at my Teespring store https://macz.creator-spring.com/
Be a witness with hats, mugs, t-shirts, sweat shirts, and more

Let’s have coffee?
The link to Ko-fi  is an opportunity to support this effort to reach a world of souls with the Word of God. I would appreciate any gift you can give. 

Revelation 22:5 Where Tears End and Light Begins

Revelation 21:4 ( KJV) Grief in Glory?

Revelation 21:4 ( KJV)

And God shall wipe away all tears from their eyes; and there shall be no more death, neither sorrow, nor crying, neither shall there be any more pain: for the former things are passed away. 

 

I imagine this is one of our most precious considerations about meeting God, when He wipes away all the tears from our eyes. We often think about our loved ones who’ve passed away and say, “At least they’re not suffering anymore.” 

 

The Bible speaks of no more death, no more sorrow, no more crying, no more pain.

 

I can’t help but note that none of these things come to pass until after the rapture of the believers, after the Tribulation, after the Millennial Kingdom, and after the Great White Throne judgment. I can’t say for sure what this means.

 

· Do believers in heaven still weep over lost souls before this time?

· Do Christians in heaven still grieve over the sins being committed in the world previous to this?

 

Will we shed tears at the Great White Throne as we watch those we could not, would not, and did not witness to cast into the Lake of Fire?

 

I am so looking forward to heaven, to our rest, to our reward. But could it be that, before God makes all things new, even in glory, there’s grief, sorrow, tears, maybe more profoundly shed than ever before, as we see reality from incorruptible eyes, we see the Word of God as we could never see it before, and we suddenly and completely understand how far short we came of the glory of God?[1]

 

#HeavenlyHope #NoMoreTears #EternalRest #GodsPromise #PerfectGlory

Grief in Glory? The Tears God Will Wipe Away

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[1] Romans 3:23

• Are you ready for the day when God wipes away all tears?
• visit marvinmckenzie.org for more biblical teachings and encouragement.

👉 Join our community in studying God’s Word and strengthening your faith.

To my readers:

Thank you! It is a great joy to me to know you read the thoughts and lessons God has given me in His word. I would love to hear from you. Please feel free to leave comments.

For this and, more than 6600 earlier Daily Visits with God, visit https://mckenzie-visit-with-god.blogspot.com. There you will find daily visits going back to 2005.

If you have been blessed by this blog, please subscribe to my feed and share it with others.

My books, and other resources, are available at:
https://marvinmckenzie.org

Join me at Daily Visits with God Podcast
https://marvinmckenzie.substack.com/

Merch at my Teespring store https://macz.creator-spring.com/
Be a witness with hats, mugs, t-shirts, sweat shirts, and more

Let’s have coffee?
The link to Ko-fi  is an opportunity to support this effort to reach a world of souls with the Word of God. I would appreciate any gift you can give. 

Revelation 21:4 ( KJV) Grief in Glory?

Revelation 20:6 (KJV) Taking God at His Word

Revelation 20:6 (KJV)

Blessed and holy is he that hath part in the first resurrection: on such the second death hath no power, but they shall be priests of God and of Christ, and shall reign with him a thousand years.

 

Only a week or two ago, I published a short video on my YouTube Apologetics channel where I mentioned the 1,000-year reign of Christ. Not all, but most comments I get on YouTube are critical or negative, and on that video, one of the comments was “1,000 years? Where do you find that?” My answer to the comment was “You might try first reading Revelation 20.” 

 

Several Christian groups have taken to believe either that 

·       we are in the Millennial Kingdom of Christ now, or else 

·       the Millennial Kingdom is already past, or else 

·       there will never be a Millennial Kingdom of Christ. 

 

I believe a key to being a Bible-believing Christian[1] is to take the position that both Genesis and Revelation[2] should be understood literally/normally. We call it the "historical-grammatical interpretation.” We believe every Word of the Bible is to be taken literally unless the Bible itself tells us to understand some section otherwise.  When Jesus called Herod a fox, every rational thinking person understands he did not mean Herod was a four-legged creature with a bushy tail. There are, of course, metaphors, allegories, and types contained in the Bible. But the Bible itself is not an allegory. It is a factual document, delivered by God through the instruments of men He chose for the purpose of recording His message of salvation to us.

 

When once we have that settled in our heads and hearts, the Bible begins to make wonderful sense. It is a perfect book, and we are not. So, of course; there are things in the Bible we haven’t yet learned and likely will not learn until we are face to face with Jesus. But the Bible, every word of it, is readable, understandable, and profitable.

 

#LiteralBibleInterpretation #MillennialReignOfChrist #Revelation206 #BibleBelievingChristian #GodsWordIsTruth

Taking God at His Word: Why Literal Interpretation Matters

 

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[1] A true Christian. No one is truly a Christian unless they believe the Bible is the very Word of God.

[2] And that means everything else in between.

• Are you ready to follow Christ in His victory?
• Surrender your efforts to His leading, and commit to walking in His truth.

👉 Join our community in studying God’s Word and strengthening your faith.

To my readers:

Thank you! It is a great joy to me to know you read the thoughts and lessons God has given me in His word. I would love to hear from you. Please feel free to leave comments.

For this and, more than 6600 earlier Daily Visits with God, visit https://mckenzie-visit-with-god.blogspot.com. There you will find daily visits going back to 2005.

If you have been blessed by this blog, please subscribe to my feed and share it with others.

My books, and other resources, are available at:
https://marvinmckenzie.org

Join me at Daily Visits with God Podcast
https://marvinmckenzie.substack.com/

Merch at my Teespring store https://macz.creator-spring.com/
Be a witness with hats, mugs, t-shirts, sweat shirts, and more

Let’s have coffee?
The link to Ko-fi  is an opportunity to support this effort to reach a world of souls with the Word of God. I would appreciate any gift you can give. 

Revelation 20:6 (KJV) Taking God at His Word

Revelation 19:13-14 (KJV) Dressed for Victory

Revelation 19:13-14 (KJV)

And he was clothed with a vesture dipped in blood: and his name is called The Word of God.

And the armies which were in heaven followed him upon white horses, clothed in fine linen, white and clean.

 

Verse 13 describes the clothing of the Lord Jesus Christ as he comes “to judge and make war.”

Verse 14 describes the clothing of the armies that followed Him.

 

It is apparent to me that the armies that follow Him are the same as his wife in verse 7. Verse 8 describes her clothing in this manner, Revelation 19:8 (KJV) And to her was granted that she should be arrayed in fine linen, clean and white: for the fine linen is the righteousness of saints.

 

I’m going to go out on a limb not everyone is willing to climb on and say that his wife is the same as His church, the believers, redeemed during the church age. That’s you and me, the Christians of this age. We follow the Lord Jesus Christ out of heaven when He comes to judge and make war. We’ve made ourselves ready. We’re dressed in righteousness. We’re raptured away from the earth’s Tribulation. We’re coming to the earth again to rule and to reign with Christ during the 1000-year reign - the Millennial Kingdom.

 

Notice that Jesus is clothed with a vesture dipped in blood, but our clothes are still white and clean. It’s representative of the functions of Jesus and of us. Jesus is busy about the work. Our only business is to follow Him. 

Our righteousness is not our own - it is the righteousness of God through Christ.

Our part in the battle is to follow, not to fight. Jesus defeats the enemies with the sword out of His mouth.

 

If only we could get this figured out, we’d be so much better at the work we are called to do. Our work is to follow Christ. His work is to win souls, mature believers, convict the sinners, and to judge the wicked. Our work, and it is a good work, is to follow Christ.

 

#FollowChrist #RighteousnessOfGod #JesusIsVictor #MillennialKingdom #WalkInFaith

Dressed for Victory: The Believer’s Role in Christ’s Return

• Are you ready to follow Christ in His victory?
• Surrender your efforts to His leading, and commit to walking in His truth.

👉 Join our community in studying God’s Word and strengthening your faith.

To my readers:

Thank you! It is a great joy to me to know you read the thoughts and lessons God has given me in His word. I would love to hear from you. Please feel free to leave comments.

For this and, more than 6600 earlier Daily Visits with God, visit https://mckenzie-visit-with-god.blogspot.com. There you will find daily visits going back to 2005.

If you have been blessed by this blog, please subscribe to my feed and share it with others.

My books, and other resources, are available at:
https://marvinmckenzie.org

Join me at Daily Visits with God Podcast
https://marvinmckenzie.substack.com/

Merch at my Teespring store https://macz.creator-spring.com/
Be a witness with hats, mugs, t-shirts, sweat shirts, and more

Let’s have coffee?
The link to Ko-fi  is an opportunity to support this effort to reach a world of souls with the Word of God. I would appreciate any gift you can give. 

Revelation 19:13-14 (KJV) Dressed for Victory