Merry Christmas!

December 25!  ALL about Jesus Christ, the LORD! Merry Christmas!

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esus is the only fulfillment of prophecy of the Messiah/Christ found in the Old Testament. Yet, JESUS did not fulfill prophecy to be the cute-baby-focus of plays, or songs. HE came with a much greater purpose in mind. To save lost sinners; to bring peace...not the kind of temporary peace that man issues and withdraws in the next month, day, or breath. Jesus Christ  brings the only peace that matters, and offers it as a gift (Romans 6.23, Ephesians 2.8-10) to any who will trust Him, any who accept that gift.

The gift is eternal life, found only in Him. He brings peace between us and God. He is the only One who can, for He is the only Saviour this world will be offered. Believe on Him, before you no longer have the gift extended to you.

▬▬ One prophecy ▬▬

• Isaiah 9:6; For unto us a child is born, unto us a son is given: and the government shall be upon his shoulder: and his name shall be called Wonderful, Counsellor, The mighty God, The everlasting Father, The Prince of Peace. 
• Isa 9:7; Of the increase of his government and peace there shall be no end, upon the throne of David, and upon his kingdom, to order it, and to establish it with judgment and with justice from henceforth even for ever. The zeal of the LORD of hosts will perform this.

▬▬ A Second Prophecy ▬▬

• Micah 5:2; But thou, Bethlehem Ephratah, though thou be little among the thousands of Judah, yet out of thee shall he come forth unto me that is to be ruler in Israel; whose goings forth have been from of old, from everlasting.
• Mic 5:3; Therefore will he give them up, until the time that she which travaileth hath brought forth: then the remnant of his brethren shall return unto the children of Israel.

▬▬ Prophecy Fulfilled ▬▬

• Luke 2:6; And so it was, that, while they were there, the days were accomplished that she should be delivered.
• Luke 2:7; And she brought forth her firstborn son, and wrapped him in swaddling clothes, and laid him in a manger; because there was no room for them in the inn.

▬▬ Describing the Prophecy's Fulfillment ▬▬

• Gal 4:3; Even so we, when we were children, were in bondage under the elements of the world:
• Gal 4:4; But when the fulness of the time was come, God sent forth his Son, made of a woman, made under the law,
• Gal 4:5; To redeem them that were under the law, that we might receive the adoption of sons.
• Gal 4:6; And because ye are sons, God hath sent forth the Spirit of his Son into your hearts, crying, Abba, Father.

▬▬ What Jesus Said About His Purpose (I know, this is one among many passages) ▬▬

• John 3:16; For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life.
• John 3:17; For God sent not his Son into the world to condemn the world; but that the world through him might be saved.
• John 3:18; He that believeth on him is not condemned: but he that believeth not is condemned already, because he hath not believed in the name of the only begotten Son of God.

▬▬ What is God's Will? ▬▬

• 1Tim 2:4; [speaking of God] Who will have all men to be saved, and to come unto the knowledge of the truth.
• 1Tim 2:5; For there is one God, and one mediator between God and men, the man Christ Jesus;
• 1Tim 2:6; Who gave himself a ransom for all, to be testified in due time.

▬▬ Where We Stand Before Believing ▬▬

Without Strength, Ungodly, Sinners, and Facing Great Wrath. 

When we believe, We Have Christ who Died for us, having the Father show His Great Love For Us By Sending Christ, and we are Justified (because Christ took our penalty at the Cross!)

• Rom 5:6; For when we were yet without strength, in due time Christ died for the ungodly.
• Rom 5:8; But God commendeth his love toward us, in that, while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us.
• Rom 5:9; Much more then, being now justified by his blood, we shall be saved from wrath through him.
• Rom 5:1; Therefore being justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ:

Lindsey Stirling’s O Come Emmanuelle

Watch this beautiful video here

I

thought b4 the end of this video, we were going to get the whole gospel call! At the very least, in the text messages that appear during the video, Ms. Stirling acknowledges that God "...has given us the greatest gift of eternity. His Son...who gave the very best in Himself..." for us. {Kevin’s Komment - I know, I may not have quoted that exactly.}  

springboard

Not to take away from this video, but rather, using that last quote as a springboard, I like that phrase, “in Himself.” It’s a phrase that can apply to God, as well as, man. A few Biblical references referring to man are: Isaiah 19.17; Jeremiah 10.23; Jonah 4.8; Matthew 13.21; Luke 24.12; Galatians 6.4

note: if viewing from my blog page, hover your mouse-pointer over these scripture references

Yet, there is a marked difference between what man knows, thinks or feels “in himself,” versus how that phrase applies to Jesus Christ.

In himself

again, just hover over the Scripture reference, unless you want to verify for yourself, that I have the right verses with the correct reference.

Mark 5.30

Mark 5.30

Jesus is aware when the GOOD that is within Him is shared with another.

John 6.61

John 6.61

No one needs to tell God our secret thoughts and our secret conversations. He already knows! Think about that while reading Ecclesiastes 12.13,14.

John 13.31,32

John 13:31; Therefore, when he was gone out, Jesus said, Now is the Son of man glorified, and God is glorified in him.John 13:32; If God be glorified in him, God shall also glorify him in himself, and shall straightway glorify him.

Figure that one out!! I underlined those phrases, and they are worth pondering over. Perhaps, you’d like to think of that while reading Hebrews 12.2? How about Revelation 5.9, 12-14. This is the glory of Christ now, and throughout all eternity! ☺

John 5.26

I saved this one for last, and wanted to put this entire verse in here, too. This is what makes God, God! Something we, nor any other earthly or angelic creature has!!

John 5:26; For as the Father hath life in himself; so hath he given to the Son to have life in himself;

Before time, before the foundation of the world, there is God. He neither ages, grows weary, nor does He grow old. He alone is completely self-existent. That is why in Exodus 3.13, 14, God names Himself, I AM THAT I AM! Jesus equals that statement in John 8.58.

So, where is the Gospel in this?

If Jesus has life in Himself, and yet died for our sins, giving His life for us, do we not owe Him something?

Yet, there is nothing any one of us can do FOR Him. We owe the debt to Him, completely, utterly unable to pay that debt. Our tiniest evil thought, to our biggest, most outragest sin, keeps us from Him, and eternity in Heaven. But God (Rom 5.8!), who has life in Himself , sent His only begotten Son, who also has life in Himself to us in the form of a baby. He learned obedience, growing as a child, living as an adult until the day of the cross. Jesus lived perfectly, and without sin. Though, without sin, the Bible says He became sin for us, laying down His life that we may have life in Him! (John 10.17,18, 2 Corinthians 5.21)

The solution is

The oft quoted scripture: John 3.16

When we trust Christ, it’s a done deal. We are His for all eternity. Not an eternity that is somewhere-out-there-drift-along-on-a-cloud-playing-your-harp eternity. This is eternity that will last much longer than this vapor-life. Eternity lasts something like, forever. Note that John 3.16 actually says that believers shall have everlasting life. It is always good, with every good gift imaginable, that will never rust, corrode, be stolen, have a lien put against it, kind of gift. (Romans 6.23) All because Jesus gives that life to us!

Just remember that John 3.16 is followed by John 3.17, 18. Those who are condemned already, i.e., those who do not put their trust in Christ, have an eternity as well. In the nasty-now-and-now, we call Hell. At the great white throne of Judgment, Hell is followed by being cast into the lake of fire. (Revelation 20.12-15)

God, thru the Bible, makes it plain: there are only two ways our life is going to END on this earth. Of those two ways, God leaves us the choice to make: Trust Christ or Not. Everlasting life, or eternal condemnation. You will either be a Saint or an Ain’t. Saved or lost. Choose Christ. Choose now.

Oh, Come, Emmanuelle!

Playing With Fire

The following story is from this Sermon Audio link, and my "komment" is connected to it.

 

 

 

 

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any boys have a fascination with starting and watching fires. Give them a few matches, some dry paper, dry leaves, firecrackers, or carpet, a house (!), anything to put a match to, and it seems big fun is to be had. Quite dangerous fun, and boys are generally warned of the risks of playing with fire.

Fire can be likened to "sin"

Fire can be likened to "sin" which so "easily besets us." (Hebrews 12.1) In the case of our story, you can warn a boy of the risk of playing with fire, but put the matchbook or lighter in front of him, he may not be able to help himself. Read on.

The Story

A little boy (the preacher in the afore-mentioned link) and his brother had a fascination with fire. Mom sends these boys outside with the instructions not to play with matches or the fire. The warning is stern, serious, and her command rightfully demanded obedience.

You know already what these two young men did before I tell you, right? Yes, sir/ma'am! Outside they go, and almost immediately proceed to play with the matches and start lighting little fires. Mostly, harmless patches of dry grass. Then, after awhile, they see a patch of dry grass they had not yet scorched, so being irresistibly drawn to the idea, like "moths to a flame," off they go, and on they light this one last patch of grass.

You know already that this is going to be the one that catches them, right? Perhaps, you are thinking, "One or both boys ended up badly burned, or even killed by the fire?" Good guess, but no. For the preacher in this sermon, it was actually WORSE than he imagined.

This patch of grass was directly next to a house. As the flames engulfed the grass and nearly caught the neighbor's house on fire, mom came out the door and saw what was happening. In that time (many years ago) and location, mom could not call 911, neither did she have a water-hose or other fire-extinguisher handy. Instead, she immediately ran over to the fire, and began putting the flames out with her hands. Her arms and hands were severely burned. Those burns left scars on her hands and arms from which she never recovered.

This preacher relates that his mom lived for decades after. For all those years, he could not look at his mom without seeing those burn-scars. Furthermore, he would never forget what she did that day. Instead of making the two boys put the fire out, however they may (or may not) have been able to, SHE put that fire out, and suffered the consequences on their behalf. He thought of that every time he saw her. He does not say it, but his mom loved him all the rest of his days. He loved her. Yet, she bore in her body the marks of his disobedience.

Conclusion

You know already the conclusion that I'm about to make, but I'm making it anyway.

God gave specific instructions to Adam and Eve: do not EAT of the tree in the midst of the garden (Genesis 2:17). Genesis 3.1-7, Adam and Eve explicitly disobey the Lord's instructions. Hence, the curse of sin and death not only fell on Adam and Eve, but has followed their descendants all down thru time. (Romans 5.12) By nature, we ALL sin, we all play with fire, and we all are expectantly awaiting the day of Judgment, when our condemnation is executed. Unless...

Unless, of course, Someone stands in our place. That someone is Jesus Christ. When we disobediently "play with fire," simply because that is our nature, He left glory and suffered for us on the cross. Jesus, ran to the fire we started, and put it out with His bare hands. Now, He bears the marks of His suffering on our behalf in His body. Forever. My fire, My sin. Your fire. Your sin. (1Pet 2:24; Who his own self bare our sins in his own body on the tree, that we, being dead to sins, should live unto righteousness: by whose stripes ye were healed.)

Because we trust in what He has done on the cross, and in His resurrection, we are safe from our own fire-playing, our own disobedience. Because He lives, we live. Because He has risen from the dead, we shall also. To be clear, the believer is raised to life forever with God, but the unbeliever rises, too: read the end of Revelation 20. That is serious reading material.

I confess that I have played with fire. Though commanded not to, I have anyway. You have, too. Remember, Romans 3.23? Ecclesiastes 7.20? How about Galatians 3.22 and 1 John 1.8-10?

However, I would like to remind you that Romans 3.23 is followed by Romans 3.24. In other words, the situation is not hopeless. Jesus Christ is the answer!

I am thankful to Jesus Christ for His mercy, and His grace, that He offered Himself in my place.

Dread or Desire?

Prov 10:24; The fear of the wicked, it shall come upon him: but the desire of the righteous shall be granted.

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hat do you desire? We all desire something. Many things, even. Every fulfilled desire on earth will result in one last stopping place: nothingness. Or, as the Bible puts it, vanity. The last thing that comes after that nothingness, is judgment. AKA, what the "wicked" fear, or should fear.

On the other hand, those who are righteous will have their desire filled. How are we made righteous? What is our greatest desire? When we believe on JESUS CHRIST, trusting that HE covers our sin with HIS shed blood, not only are we made righteous, but HE...is....our...RIGHTEOUSNESS. In other words, HE becomes our desire.