"Behold, the virgin shall be with child, and bear a Son, and they shall call His name Immanuel, which is translated, 'God with us.'" (Matthew 1:23)
The Baby in the manager was, "Immanuel, God with us," no more, no less, and there is a very real sense in which it cannot be "more or less." There is nothing "more" than God Himself, and there is nothing "less" than a helpless baby, a baby lying in an animal's feeding trough (somehow "manger" does not sound quite as lowly). This is how the Living Triune God chose to reveal Himself fully to the human race, "How silently, how silently, the Wondrous Gift is given." As someone has once said, "God became a baby." This is Christmas. This is a "Very Merry Christmas."
This time of year has so many different "challenges" for so many different people. It is a sad time for those whose remembrances of "Christmas Past" are not good. I propose to those who are enslaved in sad memories to think of "Christmas Future," the "Second Great Christmas," if you will, "that Day," of which the Bible speaks when our Lord Jesus will appear to all, not to be debated, but as in, "every eye shall see Him." Whatever your past Christmas', whatever your present Christmas, your future "Christmas" is even better.
Father, in Jesus' Name, "Even so, come, Lord Jesus." Amen.
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Please pray for the DC Mission, December 17
The Baby in the manager was, "Immanuel, God with us," no more, no less, and there is a very real sense in which it cannot be "more or less." There is nothing "more" than God Himself, and there is nothing "less" than a helpless baby, a baby lying in an animal's feeding trough (somehow "manger" does not sound quite as lowly). This is how the Living Triune God chose to reveal Himself fully to the human race, "How silently, how silently, the Wondrous Gift is given." As someone has once said, "God became a baby." This is Christmas. This is a "Very Merry Christmas."
This time of year has so many different "challenges" for so many different people. It is a sad time for those whose remembrances of "Christmas Past" are not good. I propose to those who are enslaved in sad memories to think of "Christmas Future," the "Second Great Christmas," if you will, "that Day," of which the Bible speaks when our Lord Jesus will appear to all, not to be debated, but as in, "every eye shall see Him." Whatever your past Christmas', whatever your present Christmas, your future "Christmas" is even better.
Father, in Jesus' Name, "Even so, come, Lord Jesus." Amen.
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Please pray for the DC Mission, December 17
When Peter, an 18 year old Norwegian, "heard the call to evangelize China, on that day he not only emptied his wallet into the collection plate, but included a small note with the words, 'and my life.'"
"Looking unto Jesus"
Hebrews 12:2
"Looking unto Jesus"
Hebrews 12:2
