THE TRUE MIRACLE OF CHRISTMAS IS CHRIST THE LORD

The Christmas season is upon us, and it truly brings a multitude of thoughts and emotions that are different for almost every person who recognizes its significance and truly celebrates it with joy. For those who are Christians in faith, it is the story of the Birth Of Jesus. Born in a manger in Bethlehem to Mary and Joseph. A Savior for mankind that came in the most incredible way….not with pomp and circumstance, but rather in a humble and simple manner. A birth that would not only follow the many prophecies of scripture, but also show the TRUE LOVE that God The Father has for all of mankind. Perhaps the most amazing thing is that Jesus came to us in the exact same way that all of us enter life in this world. How amazing that Jesus would be like us, and yet so different as well. Completely man, but also completely Divine. God, in a human body. A human body with all the emotions and feelings that we experience, but also carrying a purpose and task that only He and His Father truly knew and understood. For the non believer, or people of a different faith, Christmas can be regarded as a time of Traditions and Family, a commercialized time of celebration and giving of gifts, or perhaps even viewed as an insignificant or pagan ritual. All of these viewpoints miss out on what I Believe is Truly the special meaning and significance of this Incredible event. To me, Christmas is THE ABSOLUTE LOVE THAT GOD HAS FOR US, HIS CREATION ! It is the very beginning of a plan for mankind to be reunited with God The Father through the Birth Of His Son. The very beginning of the Story that would Evolve into the Perfect Gift Of The Gospel that ensures ALL WHO FOLLOW CHRIST, ETERNAL LIFE ! Some will point out that Jesus might not have been born on the exact day that we celebrate, or that somehow we have mixed in a Winter Solstice component that makes it less than perfect. I think that THEY ARE MISSING THE POINT. Christmas is all about seeing the Grace and Mercy and LOVE that God has for us in bringing the perfect solution to our sin and fallen state as His Creation. Christmas is the beginning of HOPE AND RESTORATION !

I BRING YOU GOOD NEWS THAT WILL CAUSE GREAT JOY FOR ALL THE PEOPLE. TODAY IN THE TOWN OF DAVID A SAVIOR HAS BEEN BORN TO YOU; HE IS THE MESSIAH, THE LORD. THIS WILL BE A SIGN TO YOU: YOU WILL FIND A BABY WRAPPED IN CLOTHES LYING IN A MANGER. Luke 2:8-12

FOR TO US A CHILD IS BORN, TO US A SON IS GIVEN; AND THE GOVERNMENT SHALL BE UPON HIS SHOULDER, AND HIS NAME SHALL BE CALLED WONDERFUL COUNSELOR, MIGHTY GOD, EVERLASTING FATHER, PRINCE OF PEACE. Isaiah 9:6

AND THE WORD BECAME FLESH AND DWELT AMONG US, AND WE HAVE SEEN HIS GLORY, GLORY AS OF THE ONLY SON FROM THE FATHER, FULL OF GRACE AND TRUTH. John 1:14

Is your vision of God truly a God that you can relate to and understand ? Many people see God as this cosmic power that must have somehow put everything in motion in a huge event of creation, or evolution, or maybe just a Big Bang of “Being”. Believing in a “Spiritual Power”, but having no idea how to approach “It” from a reasonable or logical standpoint. GOD IS TRULY A CHALLENGE TO OUR SMALL MINDS TO CONTEMPLATE, and yet Scripture tells us that WE WERE CREATED IN HIS IMAGE ! This is the Grace and Beauty of the God that I worship and bow down unto. A Father that knows me intimately, because He Created Me. Providing me with the GIFT OF HIS SON, whom I can recognize and ABIDE IN ! Not some vague being, but a flesh and blood Lord and Savior that spoke to Men and Women about God, His ways, His Love, His Plan, that we all might know and experience a future full of Hope and Peace. A KING that will some day rule over our lives and allow us to become EVERYTHING THAT GOD MADE US TO BE. A baby boy, growing into manhood with many of the same challenges we face, and yet so different in divine power and insight. Growing into a teacher and Rabbi that would have wisdom and truth far beyond a mere mortal man. Then embarking on a journey to His Final Purpose. Dying on a cross for all of our sins, but then resurrecting back to LIFE that Death has been defeated for all who Believe In Him and Call Him Their Own ! THAT IS MY JESUS ! THAT IS MY LORD, SAVIOR AND KING:)

FOR THE WAGES OF SIN IS DEATH, BUT THE FREE GIFT OF GOD IS ETERNAL LIFE IN CHRIST JESUS OUR LORD. Romans 6:23

THE TRUE LIGHT, WHICH GIVES LIGHT TO EVERYONE, WAS COMING INTO THE WORLD. HE WAS IN THE WORLD, AND THE WORLD WAS MADE THROUGH HIM, YET THE WORLD DID NOT KNOW HIM. John 1: 9-10

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 SAW HIS STAR WHEN IT ROSE AND WE HAVE COME TO WORSHIP HIM.” WHEN HEROD THE KING HEARD THIS, HE WAS TROUBLED, AND ALL JERUSALEM WITH HIM; AND ASSEMBLING ALL THE CHIEF PRIESTS AND SCRIBES OF THE PEOPLE, HE INQUIRED OF THEM WHERE THE CHRIST WAS TO BE BORN. THEY TOLD HIM, “IN BETHLEHEM OF JUDEA FOR SO IT IS WRITTEN BY THE PROPHET. Matthew 2: 1-12

FOR UNTO US A SAVIOR IS BORN ! Do you believe it ? Do you see the absolute Love and Grace that God has poured out upon each of us by sending His Son to Redeem Our Lives ? In the days of Jesus’s birth, there was great fear and consternation. Just Like Today, many did not want a NEW COVENANT OF FORGIVENESS AND LIFE. They were all content living in their traditions and beliefs. The last thing they wanted was to be CHALLENGED TO CHANGE ! Isn’t it the same today ? A true desire to FOLLOW JESUS will not allow you to be complacent and content in a place of SIN and FLESHLY LIVING. NO ! Jesus asks us to BE DIFFERENT. A new creation that will Abide in Him and HIS TRUTH, while also letting HIM BE THE MASTER OF OUR WILL AND ACTIONS. Are you ready for that ? In this season, open your Heart to see the GIFT, and may YOU FIND PEACE AND HOPE IN tHE LOVE OF CHRIST….born so long ago on a starry night, as THE HEAVENLY HOST PROCLAIMED HIS COMING. MAY HE COME INTO YOUR HEART/JAA

LOOK AMONG THE NATIONS AND WATCH ! BE ASTONISHED AND STARE BECAUSE SOMETHING IS HAPPENING IN YOUR DAYS THAT YOU WOULDN’T BELIEVEEVEN IF TOLD. Habakkuk 1:5