Christmas Came
Do we need Jesus, still today, the day AFTER CHRISTMAS? Look around and you will begin to see the lights begin to come down, for the nativity scenes to be stored. The gifts have been unwrapped, and now the tree sits, and maybe you have not even plugged in the lights today, the day AFTER CHRISTMAS. We counted down the days leading up to Christmas, hopeful, expectant, and joyously, and maybe today, we have awoken to the reality—Christmas day came & Now Christmas day has passed.
With that thought snug in my head, I have begun to contemplate the answer to the question:
When did Jesus first come to earth?
During the season of Christmas, we are given numerous opportunities to see the depictions of the nativity scene: the stable, the animals, the shepherds, Joseph, Mary, and the babe laying in the manger. When someone inquires, asking us: “ Is this when Jesus came to earth?” we might respond with affirmation, saying: “Yes, Jesus came as a babe in the manger,” and truly, He did.
“Therefore the Lord Himself will give you a sign:
(The Book of Isaiah 7: 14 NASB)
Behold, a virgin will be with child and bear a son,
and she will call His name Immanuel
[God is with us].”
Yes, Jesus truly came as a babe in the manger; however, with that thought also comes the realization:
Actually, God spoke of His Only Begotten Son Much Earlier.
“Now the serpent was more crafty than any beast of the field which the LORD God had made.
(Genesis 3: 1a NASB)
And he said to the woman, . . .”
Man has a heart problem and the solution is a heart change.
We have HOPE because the Bible reveals the way to salvation, the only way!
Sin separates us from the LORD God.
“They heard the sound of the LORD God walking in the garden in the cool of the day,
(Genesis 3: 8-10 NASB)
and the man and his wife hid themselves
from the presence of the LORD God among the trees of the garden.
Then the LORD God called to the man, and said to him, “Where are you?”
He said,
[the first man Adam said]
“I heard the sound of You in the garden,
and I was afraid because I was naked;
so I hid myself.”
We must understand that we are not sinners because we sin; we sin because our old sin-nature is married to our unrighteous behavior. We sin because sin is enticing and fun, and Satan is deceptive. That’s right. The devil desires to entice and tempt man to sin, and Satan seeks to keep each person sinning until the person dies and goes to hell. The Bible tells us so.
Just look at the sly devil in the Garden of Eden and the way he enticed the first man and woman to eat the forbidden fruit.
“And He said,
(Genesis 3: 11-13 NASB)
[the LORD God said to man, to Adam]
“Who told you that you were naked?
Have you eaten from the tree of which I commanded you not to eat?”
The man said, “The woman whom You gave to be with me,
she gave me from the tree, and I ate.”
Then the LORD God said to the woman,
“What is this you have done?”
And the woman said, “The serpent deceived me, and I ate.”
Man has a heart problem and the solution is a heart change.
Man cannot save himself or anyone else.
Only the LORD God has the power to save!
Man is born into this world—sinful by his very nature.
Nevertheless, man can stand, but only in the authority of Scripture.
We have HOPE because the Bible reveals the way to salvation, the only way out of our sin that separated us from the LORD God.
Because the LORD God saves, man stands, but only in the authority of Scripture.
We are not sinners because we sin; we sin because our old sin-nature is married to our unrighteous behavior. We sin because sin is enticing and fun, and Satan is so deceptive, enticing man to keep him sinning until he dies and goes to hell. This is harsh, I know, but true. The Bible tells us so; just look at the sly devil in the Garden of Eden and the way he enticed the first man and woman to eat the forbidden fruit. Praise the LORD, God has given us a clear purpose for living—
Do not sin!
Do not dishonor God!
Yes, Praise the LORD, our FATHER, the GARDENER, keeps us, helps us, holds us, sustains us, and HE remains with us throughout and forevermore.
“The LORD God said to the serpent,
(Genesis 3: 14-15 NASB)
“Because you have done this,
Cursed are you more than all cattle,
And more than every beast of the field;
On your belly will you go,
And dust you will eat
All the days of your life;
And I will put enmity
Between you and the woman,
And between your seed and her seed;
He shall bruise you on the head,
And you shall bruise him on the heel.”
We are human, then we are born with two natures: A nature to sin & A nature to be convicted by our sin. To the person who remains lost to God, then his slavery resides in the sin he commits, but to the person who had been found through Christ, then he has become a bondservant to God.
Christ Jesus Died Unto Sin! Through His shed blood on the cross and through His death, humanity has been set free. The death of Christ became our death to the old self, so that by His life, He became our life.
Believe Jesus.
Christ Came!
- Did our eyes focus on the lights and the beauty of the Christmas season—OR—
- Did our eyes see the Light of Life and the beauty of the reason for the season?
- As we step into our today, will our schedules focus on the duties we need to accomplish—OR—
- Will our eyes focus on the Star of David, the One who came as a babe in a manger, the One who came to set us free?
- Are the days of our lives filled with sharing the Gift of God—JESUS—the Person of the Holy Trinity?
Follower of Christ, God has given us HOPE!
We know our sins have been forgiven, so we must fight sin & do not stop—ever!
Christ Jesus will help us fight sin in the New Year.
Trust Jesus with your fight.
“You are from God, little children, and have overcome them;
(The First Letter of John 4: 4 NASB)
because greater is He who is in you than he who is in the world.”
Christmas came and went (on the calendar).
However, we know the truth—CHRIST JESUS came & HE will come again someday soon!
MAY WE TESTIFY!
MAY THEY SEE JESUS—IN US—IN ALL WE SAY & DO!