"....Do not be afraid, for behold, I bring you good tidings of great joy which will be to all people. For there is born to you this day in the city of David, a Savior, Who is Christ the Lord." (Luke 2:10, 11)
The tree is lit; one of my favorite Christmas Carols is playing, "God Rest Ye Merry Gentlemen;" it's snowing here, as in, "just like the ones I used to know," and all accompanied by some great memories of childhood Christmases. There was that year I got a Lionel Steam Locomotive, then the year I got the Bee Bee gun, and another year of that glorious Flexible Flyer sled, which, by the way, could get up to delightful speeds. And, O, the great Christmas Day traditional dinner at Grandpa and Grandma Barnette's house. As we would drive up to the house, that turkey smell would come out and drag you in. But it's really about even more than this, right?
So now what? I pray that you have such great memories, and not dwell on any which may not be so pleasant. It was just a couple of days after Christmas, 1969, that we discovered something was wrong with Stephen. You know the rest of the story. The, "Now what?" for me is that I want to encourage any who have difficulty at this time of year, a time which is supposed to be full of, "love and joy come to you," but they don't. Do not allow the Enemy of our souls to defeat you in sorrow, grief, resentment, sadness. Our Lord Jesus Christ Who appeared in that Bethlehem stable will again appear. As the Scripture tells us, "so Christ was sacrificed once to take away the sins of many; and He will appear a second time, not to bear sin, but to bring salvation to those who are waiting for Him."
The, "Salvation," spoken of in this Hebrews 9:28 passage is the deliverance from, "this present world," system. It is destined to be the deliverance from suffering, pain, despair, sorrow, as in, "And God will wipe away every tear from their eyes; there shall be no more death, nor sorrow, nor crying. There shall be no more pain, for the former things have passed away." This is nothing other than the, "salvation to those who are waiting for Jesus." What you and I are now living is, "....the former things...." Keep pressing on and in, my friend. The glorious "latter things" are coming.
Father, in Jesus' Name, I thank You for what David thanked You for, "Who am I, O Lord God? And what is my house, that You have brought me this far?" Amen.
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.'"
Hebrews 12:2
Hebrews 12:2
