Archive for January, 2015
A Beginning Like No Other
Many parents have some kind of odd childbirth story. A long labor. A short labor. A fainting father. An overly exuberant grandparent. A child born at home, in the car, or just after arriving at the hospital.
Childbirth is a wonderful and amazing thing.
Jesus was Robed With Humanity
The birth of Jesus Christ was different from any before, and different from any since. He was not the result of two 1st century, Middle Eastern parents. In a unique miracle, Jesus was conceived in the womb of a virgin girl by the power of God. As Tony Evans has written, “His was a birth like no other–like nothing else in history–for in Him God was robed with humanity.”1
There are three things unique about the birth of Jesus that demonstrates He is like no other: His birth was prophesied, His birth was announced, His birth was accomplished.
Jesus Fulfills Prophecy
The Old Testament prophets foretold the coming of Christ in many ways. Isaiah talked about the virginity of His mother (7:14). Jeremiah wrote of His lineage from David (23:5). Micah mentioned Bethlehem as his birthplace (5:1-2). Isaiah also prophesied that Jesus would have a predecessor (40:3-5), who we now know was John the Baptist. The details and fulfillments of these prophecies are unique in history.
Jesus’ Arrival Announced
Jesus birth was also like no other in the way it was announced. Jesus was not the only birth announced by an angel, but He was the only one announced as the Son of God. Luke records the angel’s words to Mary, “Now listen: You will conceive and give birth to a son, and you will call His name Jesus. He will be great and will be called the Son of the Most High, and the Lord God will give Him the throne of His father David. He will reign over the house of Jacob forever, and His kingdom will have no end.”2
Jesus is Reality
Last, Jesus’ birth was accomplished. That is, all of the prophecies were realized, Mary gave birth, and the Son of God entered the world. Matthew records the moment simply, “When Joseph got up from sleeping, he did as the Lord’s angel had commanded him. He married her but did not know her intimately until she gave birth to a son. And he named Him Jesus.”3 The King of Glory has entered the world! This is not a myth; it is reality.
Jesus is the Living Savior
What does this birth like no other mean? It means a new way of living for followers of Jesus. We do not adhere to the teachings of a mere rabbi from the first century A.D. We do not claim one of many moral codes generated from various religions. We follow a living savior whose unique birth began a sinless life and substitutionary death and a victorious resurrection.
“The baby born of a virgin came not only to live and to die, but to reign. Through Jesus, God has set up a kingdom that will never be destroyed or abandoned. His kingdom and reign will last forever.”
Yes, His beginning is like no other. He is the One who was, who is, and is to come!
Yours for the Great Commission,
Ronnie W. Floyd
Senior Pastor, Cross Church General Editor, Bible Studies for Life President, Southern Baptist ConventionReferences
1–Bible Studies for Life, Like No Other, Tony Evans
2-Luke 2:31-33, Holman Christian Standard Bible
3-Matthew 1:24-25, HCSB
4–Bible Studies for Life, Like No Other, Tony Evans
Dr. Ronnie Floyd is the President & CEO of the Southern Baptist Convention Executive Committee.
The Spiritual State of Our Union
This is State of the Union season, where our president will address the nation, governors will address their states and mayors will address their cities. They will unveil their dreams for today and their hopes for tomorrow.
Questions Worth Asking
Who is addressing the spiritual state of our nation? Are we really trusting only in governmental powers and processes to heal our land?
I love America and believe each citizen needs to be involved in charting the future of our nation. Our churches have compartmentalized faith and kept it from influencing our nation for far too long, just as most of America’s leaders compartmentalize their faith from their politics. Today, our nation has become a product of this sad reality.
We need to return to the conviction that a faith worth believing in is a faith worth dying for. Our faith cannot be checked at the door like a piece of luggage at an airport.
The Time is Now
The time is now for churches to rise up and address the spiritual state of our nation. With compassion, we need to tell it like it is. With hope, we need to share it like we believe it. With fervency, we need to pray like God alone is our hope.
The time is now for our nation to recognize that we cannot fix ourselves. The signs of our brokenness are glistening in our dark world. The blatant destruction of the family, the killing of unborn children, the continuing racial tension, the rebellion against authority, the ongoing reality of poverty, the rising threat of our security, the clear attacks against religious liberty and, of all things, the arrogance to believe the highest court in our land can rule on what the Bible says is genuine marriage testify to just how broken we really are.
Where Do We Go From Here?
I am just one man and one pastor of a local church. I refuse to be silent and see our nation continue to struggle. Therefore, I submit four actions that will change the spiritual state of our union.
1. We need to repent.
Repentance occurs when we have a change of mind. This change of mind changes our behavior.
As a nation, we need to personally and collectively repent of our sins. We need to ask God for His free gift of forgiveness for the sins we have committed, resulting in change from that point forward.
2. We need to return to God.
America is a nation that was built on a deep belief in God. A desire for religious liberty was the catalyst for the beginning of our nation. While we have gone through ups and downs in our history, God has been very merciful and gracious toward us.
It is time to return to God. It is time to stop making every issue about ourselves, posturing to ensure we get our way. God’s way is the only way. There is no other. Anything less than God’s way diminishes our happiness, our fulfillment and even our liberty.
3. We need the church to wake up.
Churches all over our nation need to wake up from the slumber we find ourselves in as a whole. We need pastors to return to their spiritual calling, be rekindled by the fire of God and declare the hope we have in the Lord. As a pastor goes, so goes the church.
As our churches go, so goes our nation. The evidence is overwhelming of just how broken we are as a nation. This is the greatest hour for our churches to rise up. Never more has America needed our churches to lead the way forward, serving and influencing our communities with compassion and hope.
4. We need spiritual awakening.
In our history, there have been seasons of spiritual awakening that have influenced the spiritual state of our nation dramatically. Lives were changed and subcultures became different. Spiritual awakening is our greatest need in America today. This is why I have written a free e-book entitled Pleading With Southern Baptists that calls us to spiritual awakening.
There are many who have probably never even thought about this need. Others may feel we have gone too far. But I want to assure you: God can do more in a moment than we can ever do in a lifetime.
Wherever you are in life, would you just stop for one moment and pray something like this: “God, would you please bring spiritual awakening to America? It is our greatest need.”?
America’s greatest need is the next great move of God. This is our hope.
Yours for the Great Commission,
Ronnie W. Floyd
Senior Pastor, Cross Church President, Southern Baptist Convention*******
Dr. Ronnie Floyd is currently serving as the President of the Southern Baptist Convention. The Southern Baptist Convention is America’s largest Protestant denomination with more than 15.7 million members in over 46,000 churches nationwide.
To request an interview with Dr. Ronnie Floyd
contact Gayla Oldham at (479) 751-4523 or email gaylao@crosschurch.com.
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Dr. Ronnie Floyd is the President & CEO of the Southern Baptist Convention Executive Committee.