Merry Christmas Blessings
Matthew 2:1-6 Now after Jesus was born in Bethlehem of Judea in the days of Herod the king, behold, wise men from the East came to Jerusalem, saying, “Where is He who has been born King of the Jews? For we have seen His star in the East and have come to worship Him.” … And when he had gathered all the chief priests and scribes of the people together, he inquired of them where the Christ was to be born. So they said to him, “Bethlehem of Judea, for thus it is written by the prophet: ‘But you, Bethlehem, in the land of Judah, are not the least among the rules of Judah; for out of you shall come a Ruler who will shepherd My people Israel.”
Luke 1:31-33 “And behold, you will conceive in your womb and bring forth a Son, and shall call His name Jesus. He will be great and will be called the Son of the Highest; and the Lord God will give Him the throne of His father David. And He will reign over the house of Jacob forever, and of His kingdom there will be no end.”
Luke 1:68-69 “Blessed is the Lord God of Israel, for He has visited and redeemed His people, and has raised up a horn of salvation for us in the house of His servant David, as He spoke by the mouth of His holy prophets, who have been since the world began, that we should be saved from our enemies and from the hand of all who hate us, to perform the mercy promised to our fathers and to remember His holy covenant, the oath which He swore to our father Abraham: to grant us that we, being delivered from the hand of our enemies, might serve Him without fear in holiness and righteousness before Him all the days of our lives.
It’s the Christmas season. This is the time of year when Christians celebrate the fact that God sent his son, Jesus, to earth, to take human form, to know man’s feelings, frustrations, needs, desires, and anger, joy and so forth. God wanted his son to become man in all manner….with the ultimate goal of being the sacrifice for all of our sins. No more pigeons, goats, lambs or other animals to be slaughtered as a sacrifice as the Old Testament had the Jewish peoples do in their temples as sin offerings. The many rules and mandates for sin sacrifices would be over. God had sent His only Son, Jesus, to take the place for all time of the animals being sacrificed, of being the sin offering for all, forever. His death would free us all….if only we would believe in Him.
There is no finer reason for the season, than to recognize and be humbled by the ultimate gift of the Saviour’s arrival, persecution and death….for us. He is the reason for the season…and if I had my way, He is my reason to strive to be better, not just for this time of year, but each day.
It is not just the hectic scrambling for the “perfect” gift, the shopping, the sale, the pressure to decorate, to do it all. But for those who believe as I do, that Jesus was sent to be sacrificed to free us; that’s the most important reason for us to remember and honor the most special birth to ever occur.
His arrival, his sacrifice, his death….on a cross, after a severe whipping, (I can’t even imagine having a whip strike me once and tear flesh from my body), but our Lord received 40 lashes. But He did get a crown….Royalty! No, this crown was not of royalty, but of thorns, a mockery, not any kind of true acknowledgement of being with the Prince of Peace, the Son of God, the final sacrifice. Jesus came to die for OUR sins. Not his sins; He had none. But his death was to free us from eternal damnation…simply if we believed and asked for His presence in our lives. (John 3:16) It’s that simple, that freeing, that special.
I have asked and received. I strive to follow life in a manner worthy of following Christ. Because I want to. Not because it is demanded, but I want to be pleasing to Him, to honor the ultimate sacrifice. But lo, I am so short of His goodness. Daily, I get frustrated and realize I fall so short of being Christ-like. You have so much to do, Holy Spirit, to help me overcome all these shortcomings. But no matter if I never overcome any of the shortfalls, if I die tonight, I die saved.
The reason for this season, that Christ came for us, and sacrificed His life for mine. What a wonderful–the best–blessing!
This is what I am most grateful for this season. This is my blessing…my bellaviews.
Merry Christmas and many blessings
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