Yesterday we saw how King Herod was clinging to power using violence and fear to rule.  Such times were described in book of Isaiah, prophetically, as a time of great darkness.

But contrast him to Jesus.  Jesus also claims to be King of the Jews.  But for him, that is a position he has not taken by force or manipulation, but by right.  It is a position he hangs on to not by violence and fear, but by peace and love.

This is why he’s described by the Prophet Isaiah, 500 years before Jesus, as the light rising in the darkness.

What a contrast!

Herod has gone down in history, Christian and otherwise, as a brutal tyrant, a false king who never belonged in power.

And by contrast, Jesus is still known as a king.  The sign above his cross – king of the Jews.  Sing this Christmas: glory to the newborn king.

Then he got in the way of a different kind of power – the religious power of the scribes and Pharisees, and eventually Rome, who had him executed.  And yet, Jesus is still known today as alive and active in people’s lives.

Jesus scares the powerful, because he is truly power.  He is the source of all power and authority in the world.  All power is given by God.  All the ways people exert power rely on God having created and sustained world in the first place.  When people who are abusing those means encounter true power, they are afraid.  Like an employee who has been claiming to speak for the boss will suddenly shrink when the boss actually enters the room.

Jesus had that kind of true power, he scared those with false power.

The question is how will we respond to Jesus?  Will we cling to power like Herod, or do everything we can to find and worship him, like the Magi?

Question:  What do you think true power and authority looks like?  How would you recognize it?

Reminder: We have a great Christmas event coming December 14th, 2013: The Original Christmas Party.  Hope you’re coming!

Read the Bible in Sync Today

Ryan Sim - January 20, 2014

Monday - A New Idea - Reset: Goals

We’re recently started a new series called “reset”. Last week, we talked about how Jesus makes it possible to reset all of life, giving us a fresh start in life that impacts every key area. We’re going to look at many of these in depth, starting this week with how Jesus resets our goals. When my wife and I were having our first baby, we were encouraged to write birth plan. This is where you write down a plan for who’s in the room, and make choices about everything from epidurals to breastfeeding to how bright the lights should be. I know someone who works closely with an OB, and she has some wild stories about how people let some of the small choices get in the way of the big picture. In a perfect, routine childbirth, a parent’s ideal may be to have the lights just so, no pain with no drugs, and a favourite song playing at the exact moment the child is born. But when things don’t go perfectly, there are some people who forget the point, or the goal. They start to argue for their personal preferences, instead of arguing for a baby’s health. When my wife and I were writing up a birth plan, we decided to stay goal focused. The goal was to have a healthy child. All our personal preferences, hopes and dreams for the birth experience were going to be expressed, but we’d drop them in an instant if things were going wrong. That was a moment we reset our goals…to make sure they were focused on the right thing. It’s not a bad thing in life to regularly reset our goals, and ensure we’re focused on the right ones. Not just in childbirth. We can get so bogged down in day to day tasks we forget the point in our careers. Do we live to work, or work to live? I heard a TED Talk (attached) that shared the job description of a hospital janitor. It was what you’d expect – mop, clean, scrub, restock. It had nothing at all to do with hospital patients and healthcare. But some psychologists interviewed hospital janitors. They met one who told them about how he stopped mopping the floor because a patient was walking slowly down the hall. Another told them how she ignored her supervisor and didn’t vacuum the visitor’s lounge because there were some family members who were there all day, every day. In the drudgery of cleaning, these janitors remembered the real goal of the hospital, and perhaps even of their human race. They reset their goals to be about more than cleaning, but about caring for others. Question: When have you had to reset your goals? Why did you do it? Reminder: We are reading the Bible in sync as one community - so check out today's reading here. Reminder: The best way to grow spiritually this year is to join our Christianity 101 in the Cafe Course in Pickering starting this Wednesday, January 22nd. Register for you and a friend today!

From Series: "Reset"

When our computers get bogged down and unmanageable, we know to hit a reset button to simply start over. Wouldn't a reset button be great in life? We know it would be complicated, with all our responsibilities and routines to consider, but imagine the freedom and refreshment of a new start in life! What would you do differently? What would you pay more attention to, and what would you ignore? How would you avoid getting bogged down and broken again? The great news is, in coming to earth as Jesus Christ, God has begun to "reset" our universe, our world, and even us. We're invited to start over with him, in what he calls his kingdom. We're invited to start a new life with a clean slate. What gets wiped clean, and lived differently, when God resets our lives? We'll explore how God resets these key areas of our lives: Reset: Goals Reset: Time Reset: Money Reset: Work Reset: Body & Food Reset: Sex & Marriage Reset: Family Reset: Compassion Reset: Nature Reset: Society Reset: Death Join us for the next several weeks, and invite God to reset your life.

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