Merry Christmas!

I hope everyone has a very merry Christmas, as we celebrate the birth of our Lord and Savior.

It always amazes me that the creator of the universe would humble Himself like this - to place Himself in the body of a helpless baby - in the body of a human - one who would ultimately endure hardships, pain, sickness, hunger, thirst, and then ultimately, the most brutal beatings, whippings, and then death by one of the most painful mechanisms ever known to man. Wow. What an incredible God we serve. It never ceases to amaze me that our Lord would place Himself in such condition - the human condition, with all of the pain, struggles, and difficulties that we know all too well.

Rather than (again) expose my poor writing abilities with an attempt to convey a Christmas message, I found a very simple, brief message, as typically well written by Max Lucado:


Max Lucado, writing in "God's Greatest Gift" Link here


"Untethered by time, (God) sees us all. From the backwoods of Virginia to the business district of London; from the Vikings to the astronauts, from the cave-dwellers to the kings, from the hut-builders to the finger-pointers to the rock-stackers, He sees us. Vagabonds and ragmuffins all, He saw us before we were born. And He loves what He sees.
Flooded by emotion. overcome by pride, the Starmaker turns to us, one by one, and says "You are My child. I love you dearly. I'm aware that someday you'll turn from Me and walk away. But I want you to know, I've already provided a way back."

And to prove it He did something extraordinary. Stepping from His throne, He removed His robe of light and wrapped Himself in skin, pigmented human skin. The light of the universe entered a dark wet womb. He whom angels worship nestled Himself in the placenta of a peasant, was birthed into the cold night, and then slept on cow's hay. Mary didn't know whether to give Him milk or give Him praise, but she gave Him both since He was, as near as she could figure, hungry and holy. Joseph didn't know whether to call Him Junior or Father. But in the end called Him Jesus, since that's what the angel had said and since he didn't have the faintest idea what to name God whom he could cradle in his arms.

You wonder how long My love will last? Find your answer on a splintered cross, on a craggy hill. That's Me you see up there, your Maker, your God, nail-stabbed, and bleeding. Covered in spit and sin-soaked. That's your sin I'm feeling. That's your death I'm dying. That's your resurrection I'm living. That's how much I love you."

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It s hard to add anything to this message. If you are interested, I found three other very well written messages regarding the true meaning of Christmas:


"The Christmas Story", by David Zimmerman (Bible Baptist Church, Sapulpa, OK).


"The Real Christmas Story", by Darrow Perkins (Mesa View Baptist Church, San Diego, Ca).


"The Christ of Christmas: a message from Billy Graham".



And of course, this wouldn't be complete without a prophecy reference regarding the birth of Christ Jesus:


Christmas Prophecies of the Old Testament".


I hope everyone has a deep and meaningful Christmas season, and somehow during this period we all can draw closer to God.