Therefore the Lord himself shall give you a sign; Behold, a virgin shall conceive, and bear a son, and shall call his name Immanuel.
Isaiah 7:14 (KJV)
The word Immanuel mean, "God with us." We have already seen that Christmas has great significance. It means that God is real and that He is God. It means that God cares. (See earlier posts for the full explanation.) But it even goes further. Christmas means that God is reachable. The agnostic says he believes there is a god but that it is impossible for a finite man to reach up to an infinite God. It is great to know that Christmas makes God reachable because the infinite God reached down to man.
The Bible goes on to say that we have a great high priest that can be touched by the feelings of our infirmities. To you that carry a heavy burden, He is reachable. He says cast your cares upon me. To you that have great needs, He is reachable. Jesus said that the Lord knoweth that you have needs in this world and that you can ask and He will hear and answer.
To you who have known great heartbreak, He is reachable. Jesus said he came to heal the brokenhearted. There is nothing like the comfort of the Lord. Our father is known as the God of all comfort and he loves to heal hurting hearts.
To you that are lost in sin, He is reachable. There is no sin God hasn't already paid for. There is no sinner that God can't save. He delights in forgiving sin and in giving eternal life. When that baby boy was born some 2000 years, God entered our world. We had never seen God like that before. Jesus showed us the love of God and the compassion of a saviour. Christmas made God reachable. Will you take advantage of this opportunity? Jesus is the gift of God that will give eternal life. Have you accepted that gift. If not, ask him today and he will hear. He is reachable.
This is just a touch of the real meaning of Christmas. The depth of this great event will never be fully know this side of Heaven, but today we can rejoice in what we do know.
Just Saying
Monday, December 27, 2010
Sunday, December 26, 2010
The Meaning of Christmas #3
Joh 3:16 For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life.
From the first two posts, I shared that Christmas means that God is real and that God is God. From John 3:16 we see that God sent His son to be born on earth in a human body. This happened on Christmas day as Jesus was born in Bethlehem. It is obvious that God would not have given His son to come to earth and die for the sins of mankind unless He really cared. Christmas in not just an historical event that has become a major economic boon for merchants around the world. It is a constant reminder that God really cares.
God cares so much for every individual He has created that He reached down in love with the greatest gift ever given. Even though man sinned causing a great separation, God still wanted us to spend eternity with Him in heaven. Sometimes we may feel that God is a long way off and that He really doesn't understand our burdens. However, Christmas is a vivid reminder that God does care about us. He cared enough to reach down.
God also cared enough to reach in. Each one of us has a heart darkened by sin. We don't like to submit our will to God and we often close our heart to His call. But God loved us enough to reach into our hearts with the witness of the Holy Spirit. The prophets foretold his birth, the angels declared the night and the star stood over the child, but beyond all this, God spoke to our lost heart and gave us grace to understand His love.
Christmas means that God really cares for us. He cared enough to reach down, to reach in and in the process of time to reach out to us with a gospel witness. The Bible says that how shall they hear except there be a preacher. When Jesus was born, God sent angels to witness to shepherds and shepherds to witness to a town. Christmas shows God is concerned that we know He is reaching out to us. Two thousand years later God is still reaching out to us. Someone carried the gospel to us and shared the message of salvation. God is still reaching out with this same witness each day. God may be using me and this blog to reach out to someone today with a call to receive Christ as saviour. God says, today is the day of salvation and that we should not delay or boast ourselves of a tomorrow that we might not ever see.
Christmas means that God cares. He cares for your soul. He sent His only begotten son and he is calling you to trust in Christ for salvation. Will you accept His love and care? You can call upon the name of the Lord today.
Just Saying
From the first two posts, I shared that Christmas means that God is real and that God is God. From John 3:16 we see that God sent His son to be born on earth in a human body. This happened on Christmas day as Jesus was born in Bethlehem. It is obvious that God would not have given His son to come to earth and die for the sins of mankind unless He really cared. Christmas in not just an historical event that has become a major economic boon for merchants around the world. It is a constant reminder that God really cares.
God cares so much for every individual He has created that He reached down in love with the greatest gift ever given. Even though man sinned causing a great separation, God still wanted us to spend eternity with Him in heaven. Sometimes we may feel that God is a long way off and that He really doesn't understand our burdens. However, Christmas is a vivid reminder that God does care about us. He cared enough to reach down.
God also cared enough to reach in. Each one of us has a heart darkened by sin. We don't like to submit our will to God and we often close our heart to His call. But God loved us enough to reach into our hearts with the witness of the Holy Spirit. The prophets foretold his birth, the angels declared the night and the star stood over the child, but beyond all this, God spoke to our lost heart and gave us grace to understand His love.
Christmas means that God really cares for us. He cared enough to reach down, to reach in and in the process of time to reach out to us with a gospel witness. The Bible says that how shall they hear except there be a preacher. When Jesus was born, God sent angels to witness to shepherds and shepherds to witness to a town. Christmas shows God is concerned that we know He is reaching out to us. Two thousand years later God is still reaching out to us. Someone carried the gospel to us and shared the message of salvation. God is still reaching out with this same witness each day. God may be using me and this blog to reach out to someone today with a call to receive Christ as saviour. God says, today is the day of salvation and that we should not delay or boast ourselves of a tomorrow that we might not ever see.
Christmas means that God cares. He cares for your soul. He sent His only begotten son and he is calling you to trust in Christ for salvation. Will you accept His love and care? You can call upon the name of the Lord today.
Just Saying
Thursday, December 23, 2010
The Meaning of Christmas #2
1 Now when Jesus was born in Bethlehem of Judaea in the days of Herod the king, behold, there came wise men from the east to Jerusalem,
2 Saying, Where is he that is born King of the Jews? for we have seen his star in the east, and are come to worship him.
Matt 2:1-2 (KJV)
In part one I addressed the fact that Christmas proves the reality of God. Evolution can't be proven, atheism can't be proven, but history records the birth of Christ. Christmas means that God is real !
Christmas also means that God is God. The prophecies regarding the birth of Christ can not be explained away. There is no human explanation for such a miraculous birth. Only God could have predicted and fulfilled all the Biblical prophecies concerning the birth and life of Christ.
Thousands of verses of prophecy dating between 400 and 1400 years before His birth detail every aspect of the incarnation. Details such as his lineage, his place of birth, the shepherds and wise men visiting, the timing, etc. all make the birth of Christ a divine event. The probability of this happening naturally without Divine assistance has been calculated by mathematicians to be one in 10 to the 36th power. (check out www.squidoo.com/messianicprophecy for more info) A quintillion is a 1 with 18 zeros. Henry Morris, (noted creation scientist and author), has stated that he believes the cumulative population of the world since creation is only about 30 billion people. Others, non-Christian, have guessed as high as 100 billion, (that's 1 times 10 to the 4th power). If Jesus were to be the only one of all living people to naturally fulfill the Biblical predictions, there would have to have been one trillion, quintillion more people born before there would be a chance of a Jesus Christ! In other words, the birth of Christ was simply a miracle of God.
Jesus is the virgin born son of God. He is God incarnate, that is, God in human form. He came into ths world in a miraculous way and he left this world just as miraculously. He was born to be the Saviour of the world and he fulfilled that prophecy when he died on a cross and rose from the grave.
Christmas means God is real. He came in the form of a real person that forever marked the pages of history. He also came in such a miraculous way that he proved himself to be God. The only question remaining is whether or not He is your God and your Saviour.
Just Saying
2 Saying, Where is he that is born King of the Jews? for we have seen his star in the east, and are come to worship him.
Matt 2:1-2 (KJV)
In part one I addressed the fact that Christmas proves the reality of God. Evolution can't be proven, atheism can't be proven, but history records the birth of Christ. Christmas means that God is real !
Christmas also means that God is God. The prophecies regarding the birth of Christ can not be explained away. There is no human explanation for such a miraculous birth. Only God could have predicted and fulfilled all the Biblical prophecies concerning the birth and life of Christ.
Thousands of verses of prophecy dating between 400 and 1400 years before His birth detail every aspect of the incarnation. Details such as his lineage, his place of birth, the shepherds and wise men visiting, the timing, etc. all make the birth of Christ a divine event. The probability of this happening naturally without Divine assistance has been calculated by mathematicians to be one in 10 to the 36th power. (check out www.squidoo.com/messianicprophecy for more info) A quintillion is a 1 with 18 zeros. Henry Morris, (noted creation scientist and author), has stated that he believes the cumulative population of the world since creation is only about 30 billion people. Others, non-Christian, have guessed as high as 100 billion, (that's 1 times 10 to the 4th power). If Jesus were to be the only one of all living people to naturally fulfill the Biblical predictions, there would have to have been one trillion, quintillion more people born before there would be a chance of a Jesus Christ! In other words, the birth of Christ was simply a miracle of God.
Jesus is the virgin born son of God. He is God incarnate, that is, God in human form. He came into ths world in a miraculous way and he left this world just as miraculously. He was born to be the Saviour of the world and he fulfilled that prophecy when he died on a cross and rose from the grave.
Christmas means God is real. He came in the form of a real person that forever marked the pages of history. He also came in such a miraculous way that he proved himself to be God. The only question remaining is whether or not He is your God and your Saviour.
Just Saying
Monday, December 20, 2010
Important and Urgent
We all have our list of important things. (Whether we know it or not.) We also have our list of urgent things. These are the things that get instant attention. Often the really important things don't get this urgent status in our lives. Like when a preacher is preaching a truth that could very well make an eternal difference in one's life and a teen or adult chooses to treat a text message as urgent by transferring his attention to it. What is critical is knowing what to give urgent and important status to.
I believe Jesus had in mind for us to make the Great Commission both important and urgent. With hundreds dieing every minute and most going into eternity without knowing Christ, it is urgent that they hear the most important message they could hear, the gospel.
Great churches make the Great Commission urgent. Great Christians make the Great Commission urgent. When we get to heaven, all the trivial things of life will seem just that and the really important things will be clear, as well. What sets one person or one church apart from another is the spiritual discernment to recognize the really important things now and to give them urgent status.
Will you take some time as a new year approaches to examine what has been important in your life? Is your important list what you want it to be? Is is what God would have it to be? And finally, are you making the important things urgent?
Just Saying
I believe Jesus had in mind for us to make the Great Commission both important and urgent. With hundreds dieing every minute and most going into eternity without knowing Christ, it is urgent that they hear the most important message they could hear, the gospel.
Great churches make the Great Commission urgent. Great Christians make the Great Commission urgent. When we get to heaven, all the trivial things of life will seem just that and the really important things will be clear, as well. What sets one person or one church apart from another is the spiritual discernment to recognize the really important things now and to give them urgent status.
Will you take some time as a new year approaches to examine what has been important in your life? Is your important list what you want it to be? Is is what God would have it to be? And finally, are you making the important things urgent?
Just Saying
Thursday, December 16, 2010
The Meaning of Christmas
For unto us a child is born, unto us a son is given: and the government shall be upon his shoulder: and his name shall be called Wonderful, Counsellor, The mighty God, The everlasting Father, The Prince of Peace.
Isaiah 9:6 (KJV)
Well, whether we want it to or not, Christmas is upon us. Year after year we go through the ceremonies of Christmas. The decorating, the shopping, the meals, (oh the meals), and the music. I wonder if we really stop to think what Christmas really means. You say; I know, it's the birth of Christ, right. You're right so far. But just what does this birth mean to us? Over the next few blogs I will talk about the meaning of Christmas.
Therefore the Lord himself shall give you a sign; Behold, a virgin shall conceive, and bear a son, and shall call his name Immanuel.
Isaiah 7:14 (KJV)
In these Old Testament verses God promises to send a virgin born child into this world. This child is to be Immanuel, which means "God with us". On that first Christmas day, God came through on His promise.
Christmas means that God is real !
History records with no doubt that Jesus Christ came into this world and fulfilled these and many other prophesies. God can be trusted and believed in because He delivered on His promise. The Bible declares that those who saw Jesus had seen God. God became man and walked among us. He ate our food, He drank our water, He felt our pain, He even bled our blood. Multitudes had heard about God. They had read about Him and grew up with the stories of Him. But now they saw Him in the flesh and knew He was real.
If you are questioning the reality of God and heaven, then this should put your doubts to rest. About 2000 years ago a baby came into this world and became a man like no other. How He was born, where he was born, how he lived, the miracles he did, even the death he died were all prophesied hundreds to thousands of years earlier. The God of heaven, creator of earth and all that is in it, went out on a limb. He staked His whole reputation and credibility on this baby. The birth of Christ confirmed the reality of God.
Evolution can't be reproduced or proven. Atheism can't be proven. But, we can prove Jesus! Christmas produced a real baby, a real man, and a real saviour. Two millennia later, our world has never been the same. Since that first Christmas night, everywhere the Gospel of Christ has reached it has changed people and societies. Christianity has its objectors and deniers, but they can't take you back to a manger or a child and say here is where our faith became real. Here is where we can prove the promise of our god. Here is where things changed. But we can.
We know that Christmas means that God is real! We have seen Him and He is all the Bible claimed him to be. Have you seen Jesus? Is He real to you. In the midst of your shopping and decorating, will you stop to acknowledge that God is real and that He sent His son into the world to be mankind's savior? Will you ask this Saviour to become yours? Will you let his forgiveness and love become your reality? This real God is just a prayer away and Christmas would be a great time to accept His free gift of salvation.
Just Saying
Isaiah 9:6 (KJV)
Well, whether we want it to or not, Christmas is upon us. Year after year we go through the ceremonies of Christmas. The decorating, the shopping, the meals, (oh the meals), and the music. I wonder if we really stop to think what Christmas really means. You say; I know, it's the birth of Christ, right. You're right so far. But just what does this birth mean to us? Over the next few blogs I will talk about the meaning of Christmas.
Therefore the Lord himself shall give you a sign; Behold, a virgin shall conceive, and bear a son, and shall call his name Immanuel.
Isaiah 7:14 (KJV)
In these Old Testament verses God promises to send a virgin born child into this world. This child is to be Immanuel, which means "God with us". On that first Christmas day, God came through on His promise.
Christmas means that God is real !
History records with no doubt that Jesus Christ came into this world and fulfilled these and many other prophesies. God can be trusted and believed in because He delivered on His promise. The Bible declares that those who saw Jesus had seen God. God became man and walked among us. He ate our food, He drank our water, He felt our pain, He even bled our blood. Multitudes had heard about God. They had read about Him and grew up with the stories of Him. But now they saw Him in the flesh and knew He was real.
If you are questioning the reality of God and heaven, then this should put your doubts to rest. About 2000 years ago a baby came into this world and became a man like no other. How He was born, where he was born, how he lived, the miracles he did, even the death he died were all prophesied hundreds to thousands of years earlier. The God of heaven, creator of earth and all that is in it, went out on a limb. He staked His whole reputation and credibility on this baby. The birth of Christ confirmed the reality of God.
Evolution can't be reproduced or proven. Atheism can't be proven. But, we can prove Jesus! Christmas produced a real baby, a real man, and a real saviour. Two millennia later, our world has never been the same. Since that first Christmas night, everywhere the Gospel of Christ has reached it has changed people and societies. Christianity has its objectors and deniers, but they can't take you back to a manger or a child and say here is where our faith became real. Here is where we can prove the promise of our god. Here is where things changed. But we can.
We know that Christmas means that God is real! We have seen Him and He is all the Bible claimed him to be. Have you seen Jesus? Is He real to you. In the midst of your shopping and decorating, will you stop to acknowledge that God is real and that He sent His son into the world to be mankind's savior? Will you ask this Saviour to become yours? Will you let his forgiveness and love become your reality? This real God is just a prayer away and Christmas would be a great time to accept His free gift of salvation.
Just Saying
Tuesday, December 14, 2010
What an interruption.
Matt. 1:18 Now the birth of Jesus Christ was on this wise: When as his mother Mary was espoused to Joseph, before they came together, she was found with child of the Holy Ghost.
Well Mary and Joseph had their lives planned out. They would get married. No doubt, a beautiful wedding is being developed. Joseph would continue his carpentry business. They would build themselves a nice little home and plan to have several children.
But something interrupted their plans. Joseph finds out that Mary is pregnant. Can you imagine how they must have felt. By now Joseph has been told by God that the child is from Him. However, all their plans have changed. It's hard to find a beautiful wedding dress in a maternity size. All their friends are talking. If Joseph is not going to divorce her, he must be the father. No matter how sincere they are, who would believe that this child's father is God? For many people this would be too much of an interruption to bear, but not for Mary and Joseph. They accept God's change of plans for their life and go where He leads.
How would you react to such an interruption? Would you accept God's change of plans so graciously? Many times we read the Bible and pass judgment on the characters with a thumbs up or thumbs down. However, we face the same circumstances in our own lives and we have to make similar decisions.
I remember the night that I accepted God's call to preach His gospel. I also remember the day I got the call to leave my construction career and become a full-time pastor. In 1999 my family and I had worked for 14 months remodeling a run-down little mill village house. Just when we were about to move into it I felt God's leading to come to Dawsonville, Ga. to start a new church. I wondered how my wife and two sons would react to this change of plans. I remember my wife saying that God had already spoken to her and that she was willing to do whatever He wanted. My sons had worked alongside of me for months. How would they react to never even living in this new home? It was so amazing to see them excited about following their father and their God to do whatever He wanted in a new town. It was a real interruption, but one I am glad we accepted.
Often, it seems that the interruptions that God brings into our lives open doors for His greatest blessings. Yet, we tend to see them as intrusions. We resent God asking such of us. Many times we even say no to God. Yet, we would never know of Noah, Abraham, Moses, Rahab. and Mary had they not accepted these unusual interruptions into their life. What is God talking to you about? It just may be that His call will lead you to His greatest blessings. In Luke chapter one we can see Mary's initial reaction to God's change of plans. She declared, "My soul doth magnify the Lord."
Before you dismiss God's leading as an unwanted intrusion, consider the blessing God is bringing into your life. Mary will throughout all eternity be glad for having the opportunity to bring God's Son into the world. I will always be glad that I left construction to preach the gospel. And you too will be glad that you accepted God interruptions with joy.
Just Saying
Well Mary and Joseph had their lives planned out. They would get married. No doubt, a beautiful wedding is being developed. Joseph would continue his carpentry business. They would build themselves a nice little home and plan to have several children.
But something interrupted their plans. Joseph finds out that Mary is pregnant. Can you imagine how they must have felt. By now Joseph has been told by God that the child is from Him. However, all their plans have changed. It's hard to find a beautiful wedding dress in a maternity size. All their friends are talking. If Joseph is not going to divorce her, he must be the father. No matter how sincere they are, who would believe that this child's father is God? For many people this would be too much of an interruption to bear, but not for Mary and Joseph. They accept God's change of plans for their life and go where He leads.
How would you react to such an interruption? Would you accept God's change of plans so graciously? Many times we read the Bible and pass judgment on the characters with a thumbs up or thumbs down. However, we face the same circumstances in our own lives and we have to make similar decisions.
I remember the night that I accepted God's call to preach His gospel. I also remember the day I got the call to leave my construction career and become a full-time pastor. In 1999 my family and I had worked for 14 months remodeling a run-down little mill village house. Just when we were about to move into it I felt God's leading to come to Dawsonville, Ga. to start a new church. I wondered how my wife and two sons would react to this change of plans. I remember my wife saying that God had already spoken to her and that she was willing to do whatever He wanted. My sons had worked alongside of me for months. How would they react to never even living in this new home? It was so amazing to see them excited about following their father and their God to do whatever He wanted in a new town. It was a real interruption, but one I am glad we accepted.
Often, it seems that the interruptions that God brings into our lives open doors for His greatest blessings. Yet, we tend to see them as intrusions. We resent God asking such of us. Many times we even say no to God. Yet, we would never know of Noah, Abraham, Moses, Rahab. and Mary had they not accepted these unusual interruptions into their life. What is God talking to you about? It just may be that His call will lead you to His greatest blessings. In Luke chapter one we can see Mary's initial reaction to God's change of plans. She declared, "My soul doth magnify the Lord."
Before you dismiss God's leading as an unwanted intrusion, consider the blessing God is bringing into your life. Mary will throughout all eternity be glad for having the opportunity to bring God's Son into the world. I will always be glad that I left construction to preach the gospel. And you too will be glad that you accepted God interruptions with joy.
Just Saying
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