Christmas past: Jesus was born-God with us.
Christmas present: Jesus’ church on mission to bring the lost to the Savior.
Christmas future: The Church with God for eternity.
“For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish, but have eternal life” (John 3:16).
“Therefore, since we have a great high priest who has gone through the heavens, Jesus the Son of God, let us hold firmly to the faith we profess. For we do not have a high priest who is unable to sympathize with our weaknesses, but we have one who has been tempted in every way, just as we are—yet was without sin. Let us then approach the throne of grace with confidence, so that we may receive mercy and find grace to help us in our time of need” (Hebrews 4:14-16).
The book of Hebrews clearly points to Jesus as our only hope of salvation. When we look at the manger and the infant Son of God we must look beyond to view the cross. Jesus came to live among us, to live as any human lives, yet without sin. Mary, his mother, cared for him as mothers do. She fed, bathed, cuddled, and nurtured Jesus. Joseph helped Him walk his first steps, taught him the Scriptures, and most likely showed Him how to help with the carpentry business.
Jesus was fully man and He was fully God. Only He could become our great high priest by offering himself as the sacrifice for our sin. When we sing “Joy to the World, the Lord has come” let us breathe a prayer of praise and thanksgiving for Jesus who made a way for us to “approach the throne of grace with confidence.”
Celebrate Jesus Christ with family and friends. Celebrate Jesus, the Way to the Father and the One who makes us the family of God.
Thank you, Jesus, for humbling yourself to come to this sinful earth as a helpless baby so that we could be called the children of God. Thank you for mercy and grace found at the cross and for triumph over death at the empty grave! Amen
In memory of my mother I am publishing a piece I wrote several years ago. I pray it will encourage you.
My mother told me about a Christmas when she was a little girl. Her story reminded me of the simple joys of a coloring book and crayons, but it also jolted my thinking about the people we encounter each day.
My mother, Alice, was just a young girl during the Depression and her family lived in a four-room house that was cold and drafty. It was Christmas morning and Alice woke before anyone else. She crept expectantly to the small Christmas tree her mom had decorated a few days before and found a present with her name. She quickly opened it and found a new coloring book and crayons. My mother said she doesn’t remember what she was expecting for Christmas, but she remembers feeling very excited about the new crayons and coloring book. Shivering from the cold, she hurried back to her bed and snuggled under the covers to color a picture.
There are those people today who, like my mother, long for a place of warmth and comfort.
Jesus can provide that comfort and more. He can do that through His followers who let His light shine. The Apostle Paul calls this kind of life“living by the Spirit” (Galatians 5:16). The fruit of the Spirit is listed in Galatians 5. Thinking about my mother’s crayons and how the fruit of the Spirit should be evident in my life brought to mind the idea of coloring the world. So, let’s color a picture.
Using the red crayon we can color our world with God’s love, letting others know He loved them so much that He sent His only Son to die for them.
Pick up the yellow crayon to spread around a few smiles and the joy we experience in being a child of God. This yellow glow of joy is surrounded by the blue of God’s peace. Some folks live chaotic lives and need a respite of genuine peace for their souls. Could we share a moment with them to rest in the meadow under God’s blue sky of peace?
Our world also needs the brightness of orange. We must be generous in coloring in those bright spots of kindness and goodness. There are people around us just waiting for that kind word or good deed that we can say or do. Of course, no picture is complete without the green of grass, the trees, and other plants. Neither is our spiritual life complete without faithfulness. Allow the world to see you walking on the lush, green, and living grass of faithfulness as a sign that God has given you new life and life lived to the full (John10:10).
There should also be a purple crayon in your collection, the color of royalty. King Jesus is all-powerful but also gentle. As our King, He gives us the gentle spirit we need to brighten our world. We can use the white crayon of patience to highlight the edges of the other colors. Finally, to enhance all those wonderful colors in our picture of life, let’s color a black frame of self-control around it.
“But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control” (Galatians 5:22-23). What better way to color our world than to bear the fruit of the Spirit.
“And Mary said: ‘My soul glorifies the Lord and my spirit rejoices in God my Savior, for he has been mindful of the humble state of his servant. From now on all generations will call me blessed, for the Mighty One has done great things for me—holy is his name’” (Luke 1:46-49).
I recently heard Dr. David Jeremiah speaking of Mary, the mother of Jesus. He reminded his listeners of Mary’s submission and suffering. I don’t think I’d ever thought about her submission. But it’s certainly showing right there in Luke, chapter 1. Mary is troubled by the angel’s appearance and announcement to her, but she does not resist. She asks how this pregnancy was to happen and accepts the angel’s answer with, “I am the Lord’s servant. May it be to me as you have said.”
Mary submitted to God’s will and purpose for her life despite the suffering and ridicule she must have endured. I can only imagine how her family and friends must have accepted her news—an unwed Jewish girl, promised to the young man, Joseph, and now pregnant with God’s Son. Yeah, right! No wonder Joseph was ready to break the betrothal. In Jewish culture, a betrothed couple was considered as husband and wife but did not live together until their year-long betrothal was over. What would anyone think? Mary had been unfaithful to Joseph or they didn’t wait for physical relations until marriage. Joseph knew it was not the latter. It took an angel’s revelation to change his mind about breaking the betrothal. He, too, became submissive to God’s will. He, too, must have suffered ridicule along with Mary.
When Mary and Joseph were required to travel to Bethlehem for the census we see submission to the government authorities We see Mary’s suffering when no room was found for her comfort. She gave birth to Jesus in a stable and used a manger for his bed!
The worst suffering any mother can imagine is to see her own child tortured and killed. Mary was there! At the cross! She saw Jesus’ wounds and heard his cries of anguish. Then she heard Jesus give John the responsibility for her care. What grief! What suffering!
I’m compelled to ask if I am submissive to Almighty God? Am I willing to suffer for the sake of Jesus? Am I willing to give up comfort and selfish ambitions to be obedient to God?
“Do nothing out of selfish ambition or vain conceit, but in humility consider others better than yourselves. Each of you should look not only to your own interests, but also to the interests of others. Your attitude should be the same as that of Christ Jesus” ( Philippians 2:3-5).