GOD DOESN'T LOVE AN IMPROVED VERSION OF YOU - a Christmas blessing

 And we know that for those who love God all things work together for good, for those who are called according to his purpose. For those whom he foreknew he also predestined to be conformed to the image of his Son, in order that he might be the firstborn among many brothers. And those whom he predestined he also called, and those whom he called he also justified, and those whom he justified he also glorified.    (Romans 8:28-30 ESV)
GOD DOESN'T LOVE AN IMPROVED VERSION OF YOU.... HE LOVES YOU RIGHT NOW! 
THAT'S A GIFT WORTH CELEBRATING!

Christmas Comfort and Joy

 "Comfort, comfort my people, says your God.
 Speak tenderly to Jerusalem,
  and cry to her
 that her warfare is ended,
  that her iniquity is pardoned,
 that she has received from the LORD's hand
  double for all her sins."     (Isaiah 40:1-2 ESV)
The comfort and joy of Christmas is this;  God invaded planet earth to fix the mess we made of His good Creation... Our God speaks tenderly to us in our distress.
In Christ, our warfare is ended.
The war in won - IN HIM.
Our sins are forgiven - BY HIM.
The pardon we receive outweighs the severity of our crimes - HE MADE THE PAYMENT.
 
*THE LORD'S COMFORT AND JOY SNUFFS OUT ANY GRIEF THAT OUR SINS HAVE CAUSED HIM. 
It's now that we can truly sing, "Joy to the World" ....

O Come, O Come, Emmanuel

O come, O come, Emmanuel,
and ransom captive Israel,
that mourns in lonely exile here
until the Son of God appear.
Rejoice! Rejoice!
Emmanuel shall come to thee, O Israel.

The words of the beautiful Christmas hymn, "O Come, O Come, Emmanuel" capture the meaning of Christmas for us in the truest possible way. Far removed from Elves, presents under trees, candy canes and reindeer, we see Christmas for what it was intended to be - not what it has become. God sent His Son to deliver His people. "Immanuel" means "God with us". God Himself would dwell among His people once again. The promised deliverer of Isaiah 7:14 would appear... The people of Israel had been in exile and bondage. They were not the victim, however... They had turned their back on God and worshipped others.. But God, who is rich in mercy and steadfastly committed in His love, promised that they would not suffer for their sin forever. He would bring about their deliverance. The Messiah would suffer for their sin - in their place.
Just like captive Israel in the days of Jesus' birth, we are born captives. Held in the chains of our own sin. Without a deliverer we have no hope. Our eternal destiny rides on the shoulders of another. The deliverer would carry our sin to the cross with and tomb with Him.
The long-awaited rescuer hears our cries...
The long-anticipated redeemer paid the price for our sin...
The longing for wholeness, peace, deliverance is here - Immanuel (God with us) has come.

We Killed Him - But God Raised Him

"Now those who were scattered went about preaching the word. Philip went down to the city of Samaria and proclaimed to them the Christ."  - Acts 8: 4 - 5
Notice what Philip proclaimed -  the Christ. Jesus was the essence of his message. The entire apostolic body of preaching was, as Paul puts it, "Jesus Christ and Him crucified" (1 Cor. 2:2). The preaching of the early church was essentially, "You killed him - but God raised him" (Acts 2:22-24, 32, 36; Acts 3:14-15; Acts 4:10-12; Acts 5:30-32; Acts 7:51-53) . . .
The church didn't grow because of strategic planning - God had done all the strategic planning in eternity past. The church didn't grow because of programs to reach all ages - the message was simple and compelling and reached all ages - You killed him, but God raised him...
In the complex world we live in with so many options, it is difficult to not cave in to giving people what the want rather than what they need. There is a big difference between what humanity thinks they need and what they truly need. We need Jesus. And we need Him in heavy doses. We think we want "7 Ways to Unlock the Door to Financial Success", "4 Steps Toward a Happy Marriage",          "3 Reasons Why Stress Must Be Managed", "How To Have a Better Behaved Child"... All these things could well be important - but not at the expense at what is truly needed.
The message of the Bible is clear -  and it's not about making your life happier. The message of the Bible is that the Holy Creator of the universe gave His only beloved Son to die in our place for our sins. Jesus Christ left heaven and became human and obeyed all God's laws like we were commanded to and failed at doing. He paid the price for our failure and succeeded on our behalf, by obeying His Father's perfect will for us. He endured every temptation and never sinned. And He died the death that we should have died. We (because of our sin) killed him - but God raised him...
Philip and the rest of the apostles proclaimed to their listeners the Christ. That's all....
A dying world needs to hear the good news that will outlast the latest craze and will outlive the temporary things in this world that we value far too much. We need Jesus.

Ecce Homo

"Ecce homo" - the Latin phrase used by Pontius Pilate is translated; "Behold the man." ... Without knowing it, Pilate is presenting Christ as the representative of sinful humanity. "The man" is term referring to Adam in the garden of Eden - Genesis 1:26 tells us that man was made imago dei - "in the image of God. Genesis 2 tells us that "the man" was formed from the dust of the ground that God had created and formed man from the dust and breathed the breath of life into him. Adam would become God's image bearer, and all who follow after him would as well. Adam would be the federal head of the human race, and as Adam goes, humanity goes. We know what happens from here. Adam disobeys God's Word and rebels against God. God would put a plan in action for a "New Man" to succeed where Adam (and the rest of us) failed.
Romans 5:12-20 lets us know that Adam's sin infected us all and Christ's obedience to God's law and His death in place of ours, places our life into Christ's life (Col.3:3). We become righteous because Jesus is righteous. We live eternally because Jesus lives eternally. Jesus is the federal head of God's new creation. If we are "in Christ" we are God's new creation (2 Cor. 5:17).
Behold THIS Man! - This man Jesus is the fulfillment of God's Law that we are called to obey, yet continually fall short of (Matt. 5:17). This man Jesus is the perfect sacrifice that God requires for us to enter His holy presence (Heb. 4:14-16). Behold the Man, Jesus - God in the flesh who has a perfect compassion and understanding of our every frailty and weakness - and He gives us the righteousness we need to approach God. Behold this Man who loves us this much - to live and die for the undeserving and give the eternal life and righteousness that only He deserves.

Today You Will Be "With Me"

        

39 hOne of the criminals who were hanged irailed at him,1 saying, “Are you not jthe Christ? Save yourself and us!” 40 But the other rebuked him, saying, “Do you not fear God, since you are under the same sentence of condemnation? 41 And we indeed justly, for we are receiving the due reward of our deeds;but this man has done nothing wrong.” 42 And he said, “Jesus, remember me kwhen you come into your kingdom.” 43 And he said to him, “Truly, I say to you, today you will be with me in lParadise.” (Luke 23:39-43, ESV)

The picture of human suffering and the wages of sin are graphically displayed in the crucifixion story. However we also we the beauty of God's plan of redemption clearly set forth in the conversation. One thief, represents unrepentant sinners. Mocking and deriding God to his last breath. The second thief represents repentance and faith which includes:
1. The awareness of his sin ("Don't you fear God? We are getting the justice our deeds deserve)v.41a
2. The recognition of Christ's sinlessness ("this man has done nothing wrong")v.41b
3. The belief that Jesus is entitled to a kingdom - thus, acknowledging His right to rule ("Jesus, remember me when you come into your kingdom... the most religious of Jesus' day should have been the one's most eager to welcome the King - but although He fit God's criteria, He didn't fit theirs)v.42
Jesus' response to the man's confession - The greatest promise we could ever hope to hear ..
"TODAY - You will be with me in paradise." v.43 - To be "with Christ" is paradise- no matter the suffering at the present time (Romans 8:18).
Grace for the guilty. Peace for the restless. Mercy for the sufferer. All in God's garden. All in God's Son.

Lift The Veil From Our Eyes

 

“It is he who made the earth by his power,
  who established the world by his wisdom,
 and by his understanding stretched out the heavens.
 When he utters his voice there is a tumult of waters in the heavens,
  and he makes the mist rise from the ends of the earth.
 He makes lightning for the rain,
  and he brings forth the wind from his storehouses..." - Jeremiah 51:15-16

God created the earth by His sheer power and established the universe- and how nature works- by His brilliant wisdom. God is in all senses of the word a genius.

In His understanding of all that He would create, He designed all things in such a way as to bring Him glory.

The natural, created order is prepared by God's design to cause mankind to marvel.  

 

"Every man is stupid and without knowledge;
  every goldsmith is put to shame by his idols,
 for his images are false,
  and there is no breath in them.
 They are worthless, a work of delusion;
  at the time of their punishment they shall perish.
 Not like these is he who is the portion of Jacob,
  for he is the one who formed all things,
 and Israel is the tribe of his inheritance;
  the LORD of hosts is his name." Jeremiah 51: 17-19

 

By comparison, does everything he can to look the other way - to reject the Creator in order to create gods that they can control. The ancient struggles continues -

man seeking to be God...

But the eternal, all-powerful, ever-present God will win this battle (v.18) the created, putting themselves in the Creator's place is delusional thinking and they are of no worth. No value will be given to God rejecters on the day of judgment: The self-exalting man will receive what is due him. "The wages of sin is death" (Romans 6:23a); But God will lift the veil off the eyes of His people (v.19). They recognize the greatness of the Creator - "but the free gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord (Romans 6:23b).