Tag: #Blessed

The First Christmas

The following is from “Prepare Your Hearts: Christmas Devotions,” day 10, available on YouVersion, the Bible, at https://bible.com/bible ….

“Your First Christmas”

Christ’s first coming surprised everybody.

Zechariah was surprised. Mary and Joseph were surprised, first by the angelic announcements and surprised again at the terribly inconvenient time that Mary’s labor pains began. Third-shift shepherds were surprised by the sound and light show that they alone experienced. As they knelt at the manger and peered in at the little bundle on the straw, their worship of God would never be the same.

I guess you aren’t surprised at the coming birthday celebrations this December 25–you’ve had all year to prepare. But what you may not have expected is the satisfaction that comes from worshiping Jesus as though this were your first Christmas. There before you, wrapped in his little strips of cloth, is the ultimate paradox: God and man, Co-Creator and yet begotten, helper and helpless, frail and mighty, brand-new and ancient. There before you lies your salvation–the One who would put himself, his body, between you and death. How can you not love him?”

Do you think much about how the first Christmas came to be? Before anything else could happen, GOD had to make the momentous decision to walk away from heaven, where angels and celestial beings worshiped Him constantly. He made the choice to leave the perfect place and existence, to become human. He didn’t even come as an exalted son of a king, born into a palace, so that He could be pampered in this life. He came as the child of a poor carpenter, to be born in a stable and facing a life of physical hardships from day one. I’m pretty sure I wouldn’t give up luxury to live in poverty if I had the choice….

“Though He was GOD, He did not think of equality with GOD as something to cling to. Instead, He gave up His divine privileges; He took the humble position of a slave and was born as a human being. When He appeared in human form, He humbled Himself in obedience to GOD and died a criminal’s death on a cross. Therefore, GOD elevated Him to the Place of Highest Honor and gave Him the Name above ALL other names, that at the Name of JESUS every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth, and every tongue declare that JESUS CHRIST is LORD, to the Glory of GOD the Father.” – Philippians 2:6‭-‬11 NLT

Just as Jesus surprised everyone by the time and method of His birth, He will surprise us all when He returns, even though we have had millennium to prepare.

“…. And they will see the Son of Man coming on the clouds of heaven with Power and Great Glory… However, no one knows the day or hour when these things will happen, not even the angels in heaven or the SON Himself. ONLY the FATHER knows.” – Matthew 24:30‭b,36 NLT

Celebrate His birth with gratitude and thanksgiving, and spread the word that JESUS has come, and that He will return for His people…. soon. Amen.

Go Tell It On the Mountain

“I believe in Christianity as I believe that the sun has risen: not only because I see it, but because by it I see everything else.” –
CSLewis

“For we live by believing and not by seeing.” – 2 Corinthians 5:7 NLT

Did you grow up singing carols and goimg to Christmas performances? If you did, you are probably familiar with the words of the song “Go Tell It On The Mountain,” but have you ever really thought about it? According to Wikipedia, “Go Tell It on the Mountain” is an African-American spiritual song, compiled by John Wesley Work, Jr., dating back to at least 1865, that has been sung and recorded by many gospel and secular performers. It is considered a Christmas carol because its original lyrics celebrate the Nativity of Jesus. I’ve sung hundreds of times, and I’m not sure I’ve eve paid attention to the last verse:

He made me a watchman
Upon the city wall,
And if I am a Christian,
I am the least of all.

Go, Tell It On The Mountain,
Over the hills and everywhere;
Go, Tell It On The Mountain
That Jesus Christ is born.

If I believe this, then God has made me to be a watchman, a crucial role in His Kingdom. The prophet Ezekiel wrote tha God said to him: “Son of man, I have appointed you as a watchman for Israel. Whenever you receive a message from Me, warn people immediately…..” We are charged to be watchful, and to tell people about God and His Son, Jesus. We are to warn the people away from the temptation posed by the enemy, and the death that awaits when we fall for his charms. We are responsible to share the Good News, from the walls and the watchtowers and the mountaintops. Read Ezekiel’s words closely!

“If I warn the wicked, saying, ‘You are under the penalty of death,’ but you fail to deliver the warning, they will die in their sins. And I will hold you responsible for their deaths. If you warn them and they refuse to repent and keep on sinning, they will die in their sins. But you will have saved yourself because you obeyed Me. “If righteous people turn away from their righteous behavior and ignore the obstacles I put in their way, they will die. And if you do not warn them, they will die in their sins. None of their righteous acts will be remembered, and I will hold you responsible for their deaths. But if you warn righteous people not to sin and they listen to you and do not sin, they will live, and you will have saved yourself, too.” – Ezekiel 3:17‭-‬21 NLT

This job is not one that Christians should take lightly. We are celebrating the most momentous gift in the history of mankind. Now is the season for us to take the Good News, and Go, tell it on the mountain, that Jesus Christ is born!

Lie or LIFE

“You won’t die!” the serpent replied to the woman. “God knows that your eyes will be opened as soon as you eat it, and you will be like God, knowing both good and evil.” – Genesis 3:4‭-‬5 NLT

“For ever since the world was created, people have seen the earth and sky. Through everything God made, they can clearly see his invisible qualities—his eternal power and divine nature. So they have no excuse for not knowing God. Yes, they knew God, but they wouldn’t worship him as God or even give him thanks. And they began to think up foolish ideas of what God was like. As a result, their minds became dark and confused. Claiming to be wise, they instead became utter fools. And instead of worshiping the glorious, ever-living God, they worshiped idols made to look like mere people and birds and animals and reptiles.” – Romans 1:20‭-‬23 NLT

I love traveling and watching travel shows; seeing the world through the eyes of other cultures. Temples and churches, chapels and cathedrals, ancient and modern, proliferate in the landscape of our earth, dedicated to gods and goddesses and animals; deities of all shapes and sizes. There are majestic, extravagant buildings, sometimes almost side-by-side with little humble structures. You might hear the bells of a great cathedral juxtaposed onto the chanting of an Iman, underlaid with murmurs of a group worshipping nature.

Can they all be right in their beliefs?

“For, There is one God and one Mediator who can reconcile God and humanity – the man Christ Jesus. He gave his life to purchase freedom for everyone. This is the message God gave to the world at just the right time.” – 1 Timothy 2:5‭-‬6 NLT

No, God is very clear on this. ONE God. ONE Mediator. Truth from the Creator, or the lies of a fallen angels who is lower than a worm? I chose God to be Lord of my life, and I am most humbled and awestruck that the Lord of all – ALL – creation, King of the world, the Almighty, chose me. He chooses you, too. All you have to do is accept the Love and salvation that He offers through the death and resurrection of the Son Jesus Christ. Pretty simple, but you have to chose, because He won’t force you. Not church, not religion, the choice is this:

Love or hate, beauty beyond belief or the ugliest ugly; Eternal Life or an eternity of death, Grace or eternal damnation…… if you don’t choose Love, then by default you have chosen death.

“Multitudes who sleep in the dust of the earth will awake: some to everlasting life, others to shame and everlasting contempt.” Daniel 12:2 NIV

I choose LOVE, Jesus Christ, and Eternal Life with Him.