It is the glory of God to conceal a thing: but the honour of kings is to search out a matter. Proverbs 25:2

Posts tagged ‘Christmas’

 Jesus Christ Is The Light of the World

People over the centuries have sung “Joy to the World, the Lord has come,” but not many really understand the significance of those words. The world was in great darkness from the time of the fall of mankind.  God’s glorious light His Shekinah glory, the indwelling Holy Spirit inhumanity, had ceased to be within them, and they were in spiritual darkness. Most historians call the “Dark Ages” after the fall of Rome, when Europe was marked by a decline economically, intellectually and culturally. But in truth the world had been living in the dark ages from thefall of humanity when the true light of the Holy Spirit departed from mankind. 

God is faithful to His promise, that a Savior would come to bring light and truth back to humanity and He would crush the serpents head and regain dominion over all that God had created. In the fullness of time Jesus was born, the Son of God, Jesus came as the Son of Man to set humanity free from darkness and the power of sin and death. 

Genesis 3:15 And I will put enmity between you and the woman, and between your offspring and hers; he will crush your head, and you will strike his heel.” NIV

Upon Jesus arrival on the earth, the Angel appeared to the shepherds, who were one the lowest in their societies and culture, to announce the birth of the Son of God, our Savior and King. It was truly good news of great joy, an amazing fact, that born in the city of David was The Savior, who is The Christ. The One who will save His people, who will bring light into darkness and set the people free from the lies of Satan with His truth. 

Luke 2:10-11 Then the angel said to them, “Do not be afraid, for behold, I bring you good tidings of great joy which will be to all people.  For there is born to you this day in the city of David a Savior, who is Christ the Lord. NKJ

Satan came as a thief and stole the dominion God had given mankind and enslaved them into darkness and sin. God in His mercy and grace saw us in our sin and would not leave us in our fallen state. 

Through mankind’s disobedience they fell into depravity, wickedness and corruption, but God would not leave us without Hope. God The Father,sent His Son Jesus into the world and He came that we might have life, a more abundant life, and not just existing. But with all things it is a matter of the will, every person will choose life or death, blessing or cursing if not by words they will by their actions and deeds.

John 10:10 The thief does not come except to steal, and to kill, and to destroy. I have come that they may have life, and that they may have it more abundantly. NKJ

Jesus is the living word of God. He came to bring truth and light into the world that humanity should no longer live in darkness. God promised a Savior who would redeem humanity and bring the light of God’s salvation back to His creation. 

John 8:12 Then Jesus spoke to them again, saying, “I am the light of the world. He who follows Me shall not walk in darkness, but have the light of life.” NKJ

When we by faith through the grace of God accept Jesus as our Savior we receive the Holy Spirit within us and then we become God’s light in dark places. Then we become the light to a world in darkness.

John 9:5 As long as I am in the world, I am the light of the world.” NKJ

Matthews 5:14 “You are the light of the world. A city that is set on a hill cannot be hidden. NKJ

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Love is God’s Gift of Christmas – Jesus is our Gift of Love  

The spirit of Christmas is Love and Grace which God has given us in Christ Jesus! God is showing His love, favor, kindness, and goodwill to all humanity, through the life of His SonJesus Christ. 

God’s grace provides us with what we cannot obtain for ourselves. His love and mercy have provided the payment for our sin. His grace gives us forgiveness of sin, which is undeserved, unmerited and unearned, but is a gift from God through faith. We too can express God’s love through kindness, goodwill and generosity toward others who may not deserve it, but we may still give it regardless of their merit. 

God so loved this world that He gave His best, Jesus, to save us even when we were in our worst state. God loved us while we were still lost and an enemy toward God and yet, He expressed His love in the Precious Gift of Christ our Savior. God sacrifices and gives His love even though it may not be received, reciprocated or returned.

 John 3:16 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. NIV

 Jesus emptied Himself of all His rights as The Prince of all, and He humbled Himself to be born of flesh, in humanity as a childon earth. He was born as the Son of man and restricted Himself to a life in a fallen world, fixed in an appointed time and spacefor the service of others. Jesus came to show the grace, mercy and love God has for all mankind. 

 Luke 2: 10-11 Then the angel said to them, “Do not be afraid, for behold, I bring you good tidings of great joy which will be to all people. For there is born to you this day in the city of David a Savior, who is Christ the Lord. NKJ

 God gave us His best gift; Jesus Christ His Son! The angels sang of this joy that has come to all humanity and we, His creation, responded in worship with thanksgiving to God. Wise men sought Jesus, the Savior of the world and brought gifts to honor the Child who was born to be King of kings over all the earth. Wise men are still seeking Jesus and are still giving gifts to honor Jesus as Lord and King. 

These wise men went looking for the Christ though it was at a great cost and with much preparation. They came from a far country to search out where Jesus was born to give great and costly gifts that they had prepared for the One who was worthy of all, Jesus our Lord and King,

These gifts were to show honor to the God in heaven and tomake provision for Mary, Joseph and the Christ Child. We bring honor to God today when we make provision for His children and give to those created in God’s image. When we give to the least of those in humanity, those who are in need on the earth, we are giving to God.

 Proverbs 19:17 When you give to the poor, it is like lending to the LORD, and the LORD will pay you back. GNT

 We should make it our tradition and to teach our children that the true Spirit of Christmas is to give the gift of grace, love and forgiveness to those, who some may feel, are undeserving. Christmas in not about focusing on ourselves and our friends but about being an example of God’s love.  We are to give to those who may not have earned it, but out of God’s love, graceand mercy to us, we give gifts to others. We should show love to honor our Lord and King by giving forgiveness and showing kindness to those who are without strength or income. 

We should be determined to express the love that Christ has shown us, to those around us who lack and are underserved. We should show the world that Christmas is about the greatest gift ever given, Jesus our Lord and Savior.  Therefore, we want to give this good and great gift of our Father’s love, to others. 

 Romans 5:6, 8 For when we were still without strength, in due time Christ died for the ungodly. 8 But God demonstrates His own love toward us, in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us.

 Jesus walked in the grace of God as a man to fulfill His purpose. We are given and have access to that same power today, through the Holy Spirit. God has given us the ministry of reconciliation and the command to love others as He has loved us. 

It is during the season of Christmas we desire even more to give this gift of grace to others and we make deliberate determinations to express this Spirit of Christmas, through love and grace to those around us. During this time of the year the whole world softens its heart to express kindness and to show compassion to others. How much more should we, who are in the household and family of God, express His Grace to those who are without hope?

 Galatians 6:10 Therefore, as we have opportunity, let us do good to all, especially to those who are of the household of faith. NKJ

 This Christmas let us give the gift of Christ’s grace, love, mercy and forgiveness. In a word of encouragement, in an expression of concern, in the displaying of love to those who may be ill tempered and unlovely but who are in desperate need of God’s love.

 Ephesians 4:7,12 But to each one of us grace was given according to the measures of Christ’s gift… for the equipping of the saints for the work of the ministry, for the edifying of the body of Christ, NKJ

 Jesus is our reason for Christmas; He is our gift of grace and the reason we give to those around us. Jesus came and provided what we could not provide for ourselves, forgiveness and hope. 

So let us choose to be the provision that someone may need during this Christmas season. Let us be as the wise men of old and prepare gifts for our Sovereign King to show honor and to worship Him, through the people we encounter during this season.  

 

 

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Grace is God’s Gift of Christmas – Jesus is our Gift of Grace

he spirit of Christmas is Grace in Christ Jesus! God is showing His grace, favor, kindness, goodwill and love to all humanity through Christ. Grace provides what we cannot obtain for ourselves, grace gives us forgiveness, love and mercy, which is undeserved, unmerited and unearned. We can express God’s love through kindness, goodwill and favor to others who may not deserve it but it is still given regardless of merit. 

God so loved this world that He gave His best, Jesus, to save us even when we were in our worst state. God loved us while we were lost and did not care or love Him and He expressed His love in the Gift of Christ our Savior. The love of God sacrifices and gives even though it may not be received or be reciprocated.

Jesus emptied Himself of all His right as the Prince in heaven and humbled Himself to be born of flesh as a child on earth. He was born of flesh and restricted to a life in a fallen world fixed in an appointed time for the service of others. Jesus came to show the grace, mercy and love God has for all mankind. 

Luke 2: 10-11 Then the angel said to them, “Do not be afraid, for behold, I bring you good tidings of great joy which will be to all people. For there is born to you this day in the city of David a Savior, who is Christ the Lord. NKJ

God gave us His best gift; Jesus Christ His Son and the angels sang of this joy to all mankind and the men responded in worship. Wise men sought Him and gave gifts to honor the Child who was born to be King of kingsover all the earth. Wise men are still seeking Jesus and are giving gifts to honor Jesus as Lord and King. 

These wise men went looking for the Christ though it wasa great distance way, at much cost and much preparation. They came from a far country to search out where Jesuswas born to give great and costly gifts they had prepared for the King, the One who was worthy of all they had and more. 

These gifts were to show honor to the God in heaven andto Mary and Joseph so they could survive and provide for the Christ Child. We honor our God when we honor His children and give to those created in God’s image. When we give to the least of those in humanity, those who are in need on the earth, we are giving to God.

Proverbs 19:17 When you give to the poor, it is like lending to the LORD, and the LORD will pay you back. GNT

We should make it our tradition and to teach our children the true Spirit of Christmas is to give the gift of grace to others, to those who may be undeserving. Instead of teaching them to focusing on themselves and their friends we should be an example of God’s love and give to thosewho have not earned it but out of grace we give gifts. We should show love to honor our Lord and King by givingthe gift of grace to those who are without strength or assets. 

We should be determined to express the love Christ has shown us to those who are underserving are around us. We should teach our children that Christmas is about the greatest gift ever given was given to us.  We should wantto give this good and great gift of God our Father to others rather than looking to receive one. 

Romans 5:6, 8 For when we were still without strength, in due time Christ died for the ungodly. 8 But God demonstrates His own love toward us, in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us.

Jesus walked in the grace of God as a man to fulfill His purpose. He was given the same power that we have access to today, the Holy Spirit. God has given us the ministry of reconciliation and the command to love others as He has loved us. 

We should desire to give this gift of grace to others and determine how we will express this Spirit of Christmas, love and grace to those around us who are in need. During this time of the year the world softens its heart and expresses kindness and show compassion to one another. How much more should we, who are in the household and family of God, express His Grace to otherswho are without hope?

Galatians 6:10 Therefore, as we have opportunity, let us do good to all, especially to those who are of the household of faith. NKJ

Jesus is our example and was led by the Spirit of God to give the good news of the gospel, that God’s kingdom has returned to the earth that we can now be forgiven and enter into His kingdom. Jesus showed the love of God to the brokenhearted that they did not have to be alone and that they can receive the Holy Spirit as their companion,guide and God as their Father. To those who wereenslaved to the appetites of the flesh and their addictions,they too can be set free by the power of the Holy Spirit. 

We also can help those who are blind to the truth of God’s word by showing the love of God in our actions. Those who are oppressed through injustices of this fallen world system or who live under the tyranny of social or cultural hatred can be set free by the love of God through the blood of Jesus. Now is the acceptable time to receive from God this precious gift of Grace.

Luke 4:18-19 The Spirit of the Lord is upon Me, Because He has anointed Me To preach the gospel to the poor; He has sent Me to heal the brokenhearted, To proclaim liberty to the captives And recovery of sight to the blind, To set at liberty those who are oppressed; To proclaim the acceptable year of the Lord.

Jesus is our reason for Christmas; He is our gift of graceand the reason we give to those who are unable to help themselves. Jesus came and provided what we could not provide for ourselves. Let us choose to be the provisionthat someone may need during this Christmas season. Let us be as the wise men of old and prepare gifts for our Sovereign King to show honor and to worship Him, through the people we serve who are in need. 

Ephesians 4:7,12 But to each one of us grace was given according to the measures of Christ’s gift… for the equipping of the saints for the work of the ministry, for the edifying of the body of Christ, NKJ

This Christmas let us give the gift of Christ’s grace, in a word of encouragement, in an expression of concern, in the displaying of love to those who may even be ill tempered and unlovely but who are in desperate need of God’s love.

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