Happy Birthday, Sydney, my daughter, my sister-in-Christ
As our children age, it’s sometimes a little more difficult to buy them gifts for their birthday. When they were small, it was easy to know what toy they wished to receive, and so we would buy our birthday gift and excitedly gift them on their birthday, knowing they would just LOVE their birthday gift. On this day, January 30th, our daughter turns twenty-seven, and since she lives so very far away, I cannot gift her with a special meal at a restaurant, nor can I take her shopping, asking her to choose something from the store that she might want. Since she lives thousands of miles away from us, the gift of words through WhatsApp and gifts of money are sent through Amazon are our options of choice.
However, as I think back to her childhood, the Lord reminds me of the most precious gift HE has given our daughter when she was nine years old. During VBS, she accepted Jesus Christ as her Savior. The Lord gave our little girl the ultimate gift of life, and today, on her twenty-seventh birthday, I am still so grateful she has received the gift of eternal life.
Some would argue that this ‘Gift’ is not true, but the Bible speaks the truth.
“God is not a man, that He should lie,
(Numbers 23: 19 NASB)
Nor a son of man, that He should repent;
Has He said, and will He not do it?
Or has He spoken, and will He not make it good?”
Since the first Passover, atonement for man’s sins was made through unblemished lambs. In the Bible, the book of Exodus records the children of Israel’s exodus from captivity. Just as atonement was made for them through the blood of the lamb applied, we too receive atonement for our sins through the Lamb’s precious blood. Jesus, the Son of God, said these words, assuring us of His Truth, His Gift of Life.
“I am the good shepherd; the good shepherd lays down His life for the sheep.
(The Gospel According to John 10: 11-15 NASB)
He who is a hired hand, and not a shepherd, who is not the owner of the sheep, sees the wolf coming, and leaves the sheep and flees, and the wolf snatches them and scatters them.
He flees because he is a hired hand and is not concerned about the sheep.
I am the good shepherd, and I know My own and My own know Me,
even as the Father knows Me and I know the Father;
and I lay down My life for the sheep.”
The Jews accepted Jesus as the Good Shepherd, and they easily understood the metaphor; however, they struggled to accept, to believe, that this man named Jesus was God Incarnate. The Good Shepherd guides, feeds, protects, and guards the sheep. How could this man Jesus be the One who sacrificed His life so they might receive eternal life? This concept seems preposterous, and still today, many believe the same. However, “God is not a man, that He should lie, Nor a son of man, that He should repent; . . .”
Today, on this 30th day of January, I find my heart so full of praise, of thanksgiving, that our little girl has received Jesus’ gift of eternal life. No other earthly gift supersedes God’s Gift of Salvation.
Happy Birthday, Sydney, my daughter, my sister-in-Christ. I find my heart swelling with praise, overjoyed that we will share eternity together, standing in the presence of our Lord Jesus Christ.
John the Baptist testified of this truth.
“The next day he saw Jesus coming to him and said,
(The Gospel According to John 1: 29 NASB)
“Behold, the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world!”
Notice the exclamation mark.
See the statement of fact, followed by the punctuation designed to indicate the interjection to show emphasis.
Jesus came to lay down His life, as the Good Shepherd, to make atonement for mankind, for the whole world. His sinless life was given for us, for the lost, for the guilty, for the sinners. Whoever will trust in the Only Begotten Son of God—Will Receive Life.
Jesus, the Son of God, said:
“Truly, truly, I say to you, an hour is coming and now is,
(The Gospel According to John 5: 25-29 NASB)
when the dead will hear the voice of the Son of God, and those who hear will live.
For just as the Father has life in Himself, even so He gave to the Son also to have life in Himself;
and He gave Him authority to execute judgment, because He is the Son of Man.
Do not marvel at this; for an hour is coming,
in which all who are in the tombs will hear His voice, and will come forth;
those who did the good deeds to a resurrection of life,
those who committed the evil deeds to a resurrection of judgment.”
Some would argue that this ‘Gift’ is not true, but the Bible speaks the truth!
“God is not a man, that He should lie,
(Numbers 23: 19 NASB)
Nor a son of man, that He should repent;
Has He said, and will He not do it?
Or has He spoken, and will He not make it good?”