Today, on Christmas, choose to turn toward God and do not rebel
Truly, God works in mysterious ways.
When faced with the possibility of a new king, Herod the Great, the present king, responded to the birth of Jesus with words of hatred—
“Destroy Him. Kill Him why he lays in the cradle.”
Then thirty-plus years later, when given a choice to release Jesus from His torture, the Jewish mob in Jerusalem responded to the false accusations voiced against Jesus with words of rage—
“Crucify Him. Crucify Him.”
Today, may we ask ourselves: How have we responded to Jesus?
On Christmas morning, the day when people from across the world celebrate the birth of Jesus, we pause to question: Would it not have been quite appropriate for GOD HIMSELF to just open up the heavens and to descend to earth in His majesty and power?
For several weeks, our pastor has been preaching through the biblical accounts of Jesus’ holy birth, and once again, we have marveled at the way GOD sent His Son. At the center of the narrative, we see two obedient ones (Joseph and Mary) and the faithful shepherds keeping watch over their flock in the fields that lay just outside Bethlehem. Years prior, Moses, the servant of God wrote these words.
“I see him, but not now;
(Numbers 24: 17 NASB)
I behold him, but not near;
A star shall come forth from Jacob,
A scepter shall rise from Israel,
And shall crush through the forehead of Moab,
And tear down all the sons of Sheth.”
We live in a world where we drive more than we walk, one where we look down at our screens more than up at the stars. We find ourselves caught up in the frenzy of modern life, but do we really SEE? It is Christmas morning, but are we truly THANKFUL?
If we believe in the Designer, who created the design of everything, then we will know WHOM to THANK.
It was the renowned St. Augustine who wrote: “Some people read books in order to find God. But the very appearance of God’s creation is a great book. Look above you! Look below you! Take note! Read!” Truly, to observe nature as a book communicates a designer, a creator.
At Christmastime, we often sing these lyrics:
“Silent night. Holy night.
“Silent night”
Son of God, love’s pure light.
Radiant beams from Thy holy face.
With the dawn of redeeming Grace.
Jesus, Lord at Thy birth.
Jesus, Lord at Thy birth.”
How have we personally responded to Jesus?
Amazingly, it was about two years later after Jesus’ birth in Bethlehem that Magi from the far east traveled a five-week journey, walking what historians tell us was a 550-mile trek, and these astronomers—
“arrived in Jerusalem, saying, “Where is He who has been born King of the Jews?
(The Gospel According to Matthew 2: 1b-2 NASB)
For we saw His star in the east and have come to worship Him.”
Our pastor said the magi knew they had found Jesus, the One whom they sought & they bowed down and worshipped Him. Then he reminded us that the religious ones (the Scribes and Pharisees), who knew the biblical prophecy of where Jesus was to be born, refused to go and see, to bow and worship Jesus, the King of the Jews.
It has been said that to the educated and also to the children, Jesus appears in a way each person can understand. So today we ask ourselves:
Have we personally seen Jesus? &
How have we chosen to respond when we saw Him?
JESUS—
HE Is Personal. Intimate. &
He Invites us to SEE HIM.
Today, on Christmas, choose to turn toward God and do not rebel.
“And she gave birth to a son, a male child, who is to rule all the nations with a rod of iron;
(The Revelation to John 12: 5 NASB)
and her child was caught up to God and to His throne.”
Yes, may we each choose to turn toward God and not rebel nor reject the TRUTH, who descended from heaven to bring salvation—to each who will believe in JESUS, THE SON OF GOD.