Month: December 2012

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The following guest post is a special Christmas series from George Lockhart of the Youth Culture Report:

MTV produced CRIBS, a show that takes us into the homes of famous people. In the span of 5 to 15 minutes, we can catch a glimpse of all that is important, meaningful and celebrated by this “star.” Taking virtual tours like this through a celebrity’s home reveals much about the person and gives insight to who they really are.

There’s nothing like seeing the “crib” of someone you admire or idolize! We look at houses as a reflection of who we are. Our home is an extension and revelation of what we value.

The case is no different for Jesus! Not only was the fact that Jesus was born in a manger something to take notice of but the city in which Jesus was born! Jesus made His grand appearance in a small town called Bethlehem. It is in this small village where He established His “crib.” In doing so, He fulfilled a prophecy:

Micah 5:2
“But you, Bethlehem Ephrathah, though you are small among the clans of Judah, out of you will come for me one who will be ruler over Israel, whose origins are from of old, from ancient times.”

In Hebrew the word “Bethlehem” means “House of Bread.” Could this be why Jesus chose to refer to Himself as the Bread of Life? If your house/crib represents you, then wouldn’t you take up the name for your house? I don’t think it’s any coincidence that Jesus is born in this “crib.” It is nothing short of the supernatural sovereignty of God that has the Bread of Life being born in the “House of Bread,” Bethlehem.

Going a step further, in Aramaic the word “Bethlehem” means “House of Flesh.” Is this more irony? Another coincidence? I believe this is HUGE! Here we have the God of all, who is Spirit, taking on FLESH! He has come. God with us is truly WITH US.  It was in the House of Flesh that Jesus became flesh with us and for us. He would never be the same, nor would we because of this one single act. God was now tangible, huggable, and even kissable, because He was in the flesh. He was able to also feel hurt, pain and even suffer death because of this incarnation. Jesus had become the physical representation of His crib, the House of Flesh.

So here we are at Christmas celebrating a babe born in a little town called Bethlehem. How would this Christmas be different if Jesus was born into you?

What if the House of Bread and the House of Flesh became the House of You?

What if Bethlehem was more about Calvary?

What if the manager was more about the resurrection and God saying to us through His Spirit: “Be Him In Them”?

If our lives are an extension of God and we are the temples in which He dwells, then we are His CRIB for life.

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The following guest post is a special Christmas series from George Lockhart of the Youth Culture Report:

There’s nothing like the anticipation of getting a gift you really want at Christmas! From looking at a catalog to sending letters to Santa, Christmas morning holds great expectation and hopes of getting what we dreamed of and desired in previous weeks!

Imagine the anticipation that came with such an expectation of the Messiah.

People had been waiting for hundreds, even thousands of years for the Messiah and now He was here…but where’s all the partying? Where are all the decorations? Where’s the pomp and circumstance? The King of Kings had arrived but there was very little fanfare. As Jesus makes His crib a lowly manger in a stable with only humble shepherds attending His birth, He demonstrates a very important truth: You don’t always get what you expect the way you expected it.

Some of the best gifts I’ve ever gotten have been most unexpected! They were surprises. They were unplanned. This is no doubt the case for Mary, Joseph and Jesus! Jesus was quite a surprise for them! For people who had longed for the Messiah, Jesus coming as a baby wrapped in swaddling cloths laying in a manger in Bethlehem was not what they expected. People would have surely expected a coronation with festive music and a royal celebration not a virgin named Mary whose husband was a carpenter!

Even as Jesus grew up, people couldn’t believe anything good would come out of Bethlehem, so how could He be the Messiah? Because Jesus had come from such a humble crib, people doubted His teaching, His lifestyle and His deity. He didn’t make it easy for people who had such high expectations of who and what God should be. By choosing a crib in a stable, Jesus was making clear that God doesn’t value the same kind of things we do. From riches to rags this King would come and completely undo all sin had done.

Not only did Jesus come in an unexpected way He welcomed unexpected people. Shepherds were the only ones who attended His birth. Of all the people invited to come and visit Jesus in the manger, angels were sent to summon shepherds! These were not fancy, high-society people! They were not gonna get dressed to the hilt donning the most ritzy clothes. No. They would simply come as they were: smelly, dirty, shepherds. In other words: common people. Jesus surrounded His crib with common people, people like you and me! That was certainly unexpected!

From the beginning of his earthly journey, Jesus welcomed the common man. His angels announced good news of great joy along with peace on earth and good will toward men. This announcement was made to the blue-collar workers of His day: shepherds. They journeyed to see what these strange tidings of joy meant and got more than they could have expected. Jesus’ crib had become a place of worship. No one would have ever guessed that this manger would hold the expected Messiah.

In the same way, no one may expect that your heart would hold the Messiah or that you would be invited into His presence…but it’s true! Jesus longs to dwell in the lives of men, He wants to make our hearts His crib! Anyone may come to His crib. Not what you expected? But it’s true. He will live in anyone who will receive Him. Not what you expected? But it’s true. His crib proves Jesus does the unexpected!

PART III TOMORROW

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The following guest post is a special Christmas series from George Lockhart of the Youth Culture Report:

A Crib.

Babies spend much of their early days in a crib. It is their home, their resting place, their safe haven in the days when they are most vulnerable.

Who would have thought that we would come to love the term so much in the 21st century that we would call our homes our “crib.” In fact, MTV has even developed a show called “Cribs” which celebrates the luxurious lifestyles of the rich and famous. In this series of blogs, I’d like to look at how Jesus’ crib was not only different than ours but how it set the stage for everything else that would happen in the course of his life. Not only did his crib define his purpose, it would define his journey into the hearts of the people He came to save.

Jesus went from riches to rags!

When we think of the MTV version of Cribs, it’s easy to see how over-the-top some people live. Not that there’s anything wrong with big houses, bowling alleys, Olympic size swimming pools, etc. but isn’t it a little excessive? Isn’t it a little more than what is necessary? Sure in America we celebrate bigger being better. The American Dream is all about more of whatever it is you want. However, Jesus coming as a baby in a manger completely blows the mindset for those who would believe that your crib needs to be equipped with the biggest and best of everything.

The whole foundation of Christmas is founded upon the fact that Jesus was willing to go from riches to rags. This is not a feat of any other god! Instead of opting for the red carpet, paparazzi package, Jesus settles for a humble feeding trough in an obscure village called Bethlehem. He chose a crib that wasn’t fancy but rather messy! He came without much glitz or glamour. Instead His arrival, though announced by angels (How cool is that?!), went unnoticed by most of the rest of the world.

Yet, here we are today, some 2000 years later still talking about this babe in a manger, not because it was fancy or bigger or better than any other king of his day or time. No! We are celebrating Christmas because our savior was wrapped in swaddling cloths and laid in a manger! That was His crib! He came this way, born in a stable because our world was unstable…our lives a wreck! He came and chose a manger amidst all the putrid smells and filth of a stable to reveal His heart for all mankind.

All of our lives are messy, filthy, out-of-whack, and full of crap and yet Jesus is willing to come and live in us! He’s willing to make our hearts His crib! This is the essence of Christmas: that Jesus was born and had a humble crib to be born again in our humble hearts. Jesus went from riches to rags so that one day I could go from rags to riches! In Christ I am promised a “crib” in heaven unlike anyone on earth could build and it’s all because Jesus made a manger His crib!

PART II… COMING TOMORROW