"....HE APPEARED SO THAT...."

"But you know that He appeared so that He might take away our sins.  And in Him is no sin."  (1 John 3:5, NIV)

Out text is an also a great "Christmas Story."  All my sins "disappeared" when Jesus, the Babe in the manger, "appeared."

The Carol declares that, "....the hopes and fears of all the years are met in thee tonight."  Man's "hopes and fears of all the years" are self-destructive, full of self-centeredness, self-reliance.  Both are driven by sin, rebellion against the Living Triune God.  Jesus, "appeared," however, in those "dark streets" of Bethlehem, "....so that He might take away our sins."

 

No matter the "hopes" and "fears" in life, because of our Lord Jesus Christ, "Immanuel, God with us," we can live as David declared so long ago, "The Lord is my Light and and my Salvation; whom shall I fear?  The Lord [Jesus Christ] is the Strength of my life; of whom shall I be afraid."

Father, in Jesus' Name, I so thank You that, "....He appeared so that He might take away our sins."  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