FROM THE DAWGHOUSE…
CHRISTMAS & THE MAN OF THE HOUSE
One super important text for Christian men at Christmas are two verses said about John the Baptist, the forerunner/advance man of Jesus:
“And he will turn many of the sons of Israel back to the Lord their God. 17 And it is he who will go as a forerunner before Him in the spirit and power of Elijah, to turn the hearts of fathers back to their children, and the disobedient to the attitude of the righteous, to make ready a people prepared for the Lord.”
Luke 1:16-17
Check out these truths…
- John was called before birth to be the advance man for Jesus, carrying out a role as a sort of super prophet of God. Flip back a few pages from Luke to Malachi 3:1 & 4:5-6 and you’ll see the connection of Prophecy to John the Baptist. He was a called man, prepared by God. His life purpose came from God.
- John’s ministry was one of turning around the most difficult object to move known to mankind: a human heart. Once our hearts get turned from God by our sin, they are stronger than steel and it takes something more powerful than steel to turn us back! It literally takes Almighty God to turn a human heart to Himself!
- John would be wildly successful! He would and in fact did turn MANY of the Israelites back to their own God, and as the FORERUNNER of Messiah Jesus, he would specifically turn the hearts of the fathers back to their children. Catch that? One major impact of the Gospel and the transformation of men’s hearts because of Jesus is that our often-hard hearts get soft and pliable and more loving toward our children and our families. In the ancient times due to a lot of intermarriage of Jews with non-Jews and the prevalence of divorce, families were a mess with a capital M! And kids were and are the casualty of broken families.
Fact: the well being of people spiritually and physically was set by God to take place in families. Fact: The true prosperity of a nation and a church and a culture comes with strong families. Bad governments try to destroy the family unit because they want people to be dependent on them.
Brothers, as you celebrate the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ this Christmas, reflect for a few minutes about your key role. You are the man of the house and your influence is designed by God to be super-influential even though we won’t be super-prophets like John the Baptizer.
So sit alone sometime this Christmas season and…
- Remember that Jesus was born not just so your kids could have a lot of cool gifts under the tree. He was born to defeat sin and reclaim you to be his son. Through Jesus, God is not mad at you, and likes and treasures you! Unwrap that gift every day.
- Remember that when you accepted Christ as Savior there was a change in your heart, and your heart was turned to your family and to key relationships. Life can distract us and is so powerful it can turn our hearts away from them. Let Jesus turn your heart back to your family this season. Ask:
“Lord where does my heart need to be turned? What do I need You to do in my heart so I have more room for my family, more supportive words, more emotional energy for them? Thank you that I am Your son. Empower me with the same power that you gave to Elijah and then later to John the Baptist to be your man. Flow through me. Make me ready, to make my people ready for You!”
Merry Christmas men!
Pete Alwinson
