MERRY
CHRISTMAS
John
3:16-17
For
God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever
believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life. For God did not
send His Son into the world to condemn the world, but that the world through
Him might be saved.
John
3:16 is one of the most recognized, most memorized and most spoken verse in all
of Scripture. It can be seen printed on T-Shirts, Banners and even on signs at
sports events. This one verse sums up all of Scripture: God loved humanity, but
humanity sinned and thus, is condemned to Eternity in Hell, but because of
God’s great love for us, He sent His only unique Son, Jesus Christ, God in
human form into the world that thru Him. His death and His resurrection,
whoever comes to Him in faith and repentance will not die, but have Everlasting
Life!
This
is the Christian message. This is the Christmas message: the birth of this
Savior coming down from Heaven into the world to save as many as are willing to
turn to Him.
The
whole world marvels at the holiday of Christmas, but many miss the message of
Christmas. We long to give extravagant gifts to family and friends, but
overlook the greatest gift that has ever been given.
God
created Christmas. Christmas or Christmas Day (Old English: Crīstesmæsse, literally "Christ's
mass") is an annual commemoration of the birth of Jesus
Christ,
celebrated generally on December 25.
Without
salvation from our sins, the whole world is condemned to Hell. No matter what
kind of life we would have lived; even if we were to become the richest person
who ever lived; to die and spend eternity in Hell would not be worth it. Beyond
death, there is no second chance; no repentance, no forgiveness.
Hebrews
9:27-28
It
is appointed for men to die once, but after this the judgment, so Christ was
offered once to bear the sins of many. To those who eagerly wait for Him He
will appear a second time, apart from sin, for salvation.
Jesus
Christ is God’s FREE GIFT of Salvation! We cannot earn it nor do we deserve it.
It is unmerited (not earned) grace (undeserved favor).
Ephesians
2:4-9
But
God, who is rich in MERCY, because of His great LOVE with which He LOVED US,
even when we were dead in trespasses, made us alive together with Christ (BY
GRACE YOU HAVE BEEN SAVED), and raised us up together, and made us
sit together in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus, that in the ages to
come He might show the exceeding riches of His GRACE in His KINDNESS
toward us in Christ Jesus. For by GRACE you “HAVE BEEN SAVED” through FAITH,
and that NOT OF YOURSELVES; it is the GIFT of God, NOT OF WORKS
(not good deeds), lest anyone should boast.
Examine
the words I capitalized; meditate on these. Think and see how very much God
loves a world gone wrong; how much God loves you! God has made a way for us to
escape the judgment to come. He has provided a sacrifice for our sins. It all
started that night in Bethlehem,
Israel, where
Jesus lay in a lowly manger. This is the event that would change the world
forever!
So
many of us get depressed at the time because we get caught up in what we cannot
give and do not have. I urge you to focus on what HAS BEEN DONE for you!
Heavens gates are wide open, accepting anyone who would turn from their sins
and towards Jesus Christ. Salvation is for ANYONE who would put their faith in
Christ. No matter what you have done, where you have gone, where you are now,
there is Forgiveness for you! Come just as you, where you are and grab hold of
God’s Free Gift of Salvation!
For
all those who trust in Christ, the day is coming when everything will made new,
corrected, made clear. This is the greatest news for the poor, the lame, the
diseased, the hopeless and all those who ruined their lives and desire another
chance. This world is temporary, it is fading; Eternity is forever and Heaven
is perfect! Don’t let the troubles of this life bring you down. What God has
for you in Heaven makes ANYTHING you can possibly go through down here to get
there…worth it! Look at the amazing verse:
1 Corinthians 2:9
But as it is written: “Eye has not seen, nor ear heard, Nor have entered into the heart of man The things which God has prepared for those who love Him.”
But as it is written: “Eye has not seen, nor ear heard, Nor have entered into the heart of man The things which God has prepared for those who love Him.”
WOW!!
God
says you can’t even imagine the awesome things He has prepared for those who
follow Jesus. Nothing can explain it, nor can you compare it with ANYTHING
great you can think of. Think about it! Think about ALL the tings you could
possibly wish for if God granted you EVERY and ANY wish you desire…ANY…are you
seeing this is your mind? Money, Fame, Health, Peace, Rest, Food, Amazing
Travel, ...ANYTHING!
With
all that dreamed up…your every wish…God says “IT DOESN’T EVEN COME CLOSE” to
all the things He has prepared for you! WoW! Makes you want to stop focusing so
much on all the things you Don’t Have, and focus on all the things you have to
look forward to!
God
has given the world a PRICELESS GIFT: JESUS CHRIST!
This
Christmas, think on these things. Put your mind and heart on God’s Gift…to YOU!
Think about what all this means. I know life can be hard, but God has made a
way. Let Christmas remind you of why you celebrate and who’s child you are and
where you are going. When Jesus’ disciples were amazed at the power given
to them to cast out demons, Jesus replied:
Luke
10:20
Nevertheless
do not rejoice in this, that the spirits are subject to you, but rather rejoice
because your names are written in heaven.”
Likewise,
REJOICE! Because YOUR NAME is WRITTEN IN HEAVEN!
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