Christmas..."it's the most wonderful time of the year"! Right? That's what the song says. It's a time of celebration, of giving, of family, of traditions, of caroling... Yes, it truly is all of that - but what about those who are facing extremely difficult circumstances, for whom Christmas just seems to magnify the pain?
For instance, those who are grieving the death of a member of their family. I can't help but think of the Sproul family, who just days ago, suffered the loss of their mom/wife, to cancer. Or my friend Katie's family, who face their first Christmas without her. (I need to tell Katie's story sometime soon - I didn't know her for very long, but she made such an impact on my life. She's an incredible young woman...and I can't wait to see her again!)
For those who feel the absence of someone dearly loved, like a big, gaping hole in their heart...Christmas could become more of an ordeal, than a celebration.
There are many other things that can get in the way of the ever-elusive "perfect Christmas"...worry and stress over money problems, strained relationships, and of course, dealing with diseases - like PD, Alzheimer's, ALS, cancer, depression, anxiety, and so many more...
But when you look at the events of the first Christmas - the reason we celebrate today - the circumstances surrounding what happened were in no way "perfect". Mary, who was engaged to Joseph, was pregnant by the Holy Spirit. Mary knew this, and Joseph knew it (after an angel told him in no uncertain terms in a dream), and maybe just a few others (like Elizabeth), but to most people, Mary was a teenage, unwed mother.
The birth itself was hardly "ideal". She and Joseph were far away from home and family, there was no hospital, no doctor or midwife or even her mom, there was not an inn or a home to stay in. These two young people, who had not even consummated their marriage yet, went through labor and delivery all on their own...in a stable.
Oh, but the birth was very special - so very special! Because the Child was no ordinary human being. The Child was God, the Son - becoming flesh and blood, like us - to save us. In that dark night, as Mary endured the labor pains, and pushed with all her might, pushed through the pain, to give birth to this very special baby...everything changed.
Most of the world didn't have a clue of what a momentous event had just happened. Even those in Bethlehem just slept right through it. All except for a group of shepherds - God chose to share the good news with them - via His messengers, angels.
And the angel said to them, "Do not be afraid; for behold, I bring you good news of a great joy which shall be for all the people; for today in the city of David there has been born for you a Savior, who is Christ the Lord."
Those two little words, "for you" - they've had such an impact on me this year as I've read the Christmas story. I'm not sure I can really explain it...but when I think about what those words mean...there has been born for me a Savior...I get this warm, almost burning, awesome feeling deep in the center of my heart and soul - and it fills me with joy.
Christmas isn't about a "perfect" celebration here on earth - that's just not possible. Christmas is about a Savior who was born...for you...for me...for each and every one of us.
For the one who is grieving the death of someone dearly loved...a Savior has been born for you. He has come to conquer death and give us eternal life together with Him in God's kingdom.
For the one who is worried and stressed over money, or mistakes made...a Savior has been born for you. He has come to show us the Father's love, how He will take care of our every need, even our greatest need - forgiveness of our sins -and give us new life in His kingdom, beginning right now, here on earth.
For the one who has been hurt by others, or abused by someone in authority over them, or perhaps your heart is breaking over a child who has rejected you and is on a path of self-destruction...a Savior has been born for you. He has come to make you a part of His family, a child of God, adopted into God's kingdom, forever. He has come to forgive you of all your sin, and you in turn, can forgive others of their sins toward you. He has come to deliver you from anger and bitterness.
For the one who daily battles the degeneration of their body, mind, and/or emotions...a Savior has been born for you. He has come to save the eternal part of us - what is temporary will pass away, but He promises to hold onto that which is eternal, in fact, renew it every day, and one day, clothe that eternal "inner man" with a new body - that is imperishable.
Whatever the darkness is in your life, the good news of Christmas is that a Savior has been born...for you.
Showing posts with label joy. Show all posts
Showing posts with label joy. Show all posts
Thursday, December 15, 2011
Thursday, May 14, 2009
"For the joy set before us..."
Hebrews 12:1-2 says, "Therefore, since we have so great a cloud of witnesses surrounding us, let us also lay aside every encumbrance, and the sin which so easily entangles us, and let us run with endurance the race that is set before us, fixing our eyes on Jesus, the author and perfecter of faith, who for the joy set before Him endured the cross, despising the shame, and has sat down at the right hand of the throne of God."
I wonder what exactly "the joy set before Him" was. Although I don't completely understand that, I have come to see that since we are to run the race according to Jesus' example, we also should endure whatever cross we are given to bear - for the joy set before us. There is quite a description of what Jesus has in store for those who overcome, for those who endure to the end, for those that finish the race - within His letters to the churches in the second and third chapters of Revelation.
Revelation can be a hard book to understand. I remember first studying it as a teenager in our church youth group. But I had not built much on that foundation over the years, until our Pastor began preaching through the book of Revelation, verse by verse, in the past year. There's still a lot that goes over my head, but there's a lot that's sinking in, and it is a blessing, just as God promised in verse 1:3 - "Blessed is he who reads and those who hear the words of the prophecy and heed the things which are written in it; for the time is near."
In each letter, Jesus tells His churches, and He is also telling His Church, that He knows - He knows them, He knows what they are doing, He knows what their circumstances are; He tells them what they're doing right, and what they're doing wrong; He warns, but He also sets before them the "prize" - what they will receive if they endure, if they stay faithful, if they overcome.
When you put all of those promises together, well, it's just pretty awesome...
To the angel of the church in Ephesus:
"To him who overcomes, I will grant to eat of the tree of life, which is in the Paradise of God." (2:7)
To the angel of the church in Smyrna:
"Be faithful unto death, and I will give you the crown of life." (2:10)
"He who overcomes shall not be hurt by the second death." (2:11)
To the angel of the church in Pergamum:
"To him who overcomes, to him I will give some of the hidden manna, and I will give him a white stone, and a new name written on the stone which no one knows but he who receives it." (2:17)
To the angel of the church in Thyatira:
"And he who overcomes, and he who keeps My deeds until the end, to him I will give authority over the nations; and he shall rule them with a rod of iron, as the vessels of the potter are broken to pieces, as I also have received authority from My Father;" (2:26-27)
"and I will give him the morning star." (2:28)
To the angel of the church in Sardis:
"He who overcomes shall thus be clothed in white garments, and I will not erase his name from the book of life, and I will confess his name before My Father and before His angels." (3:5)
To the angel of the church in Philadelphia:
"He who overcomes, I will make him a pillar in the temple of My God, and he will not go out from it anymore; and I will write upon him the name of My God, and the name of the city of My God, the new Jerusalem, which comes down out of heaven from My God, and My new name." (3:12)
To the angel of the church in Laodicea:
"He who overcomes, I will grant to him to sit down with Me on My throne, as I also overcame and sat down with My Father on His throne." (3:21)
And then, there is this...
And I saw a new heaven and a new earth; for the first heaven and the first earth passed away, and there is no longer any sea. And I saw the holy city, new Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God, made ready as a bride adorned for her husband. And I heard a loud voice from the throne, saying "Behold, the tabernacle of God is among men, and He shall dwell among them, and they shall be His people, and God Himself shall be among them, and He shall wipe away every tear from their eyes; and there shall no longer be any death; there shall no longer by any mourning, or crying, or pain; the first things have passed away." And He who sits on the throne said, "Behold, I am making all things new." And He said, "Write, for these words are faithful and true." And He said to me, "It is done. I am the Alpha and the Omega, the beginning and the end. I will give to the one who thirsts from the spring of the water of life without cost. He who overcomes shall inherit these things, and I will be his God and he will be My son." (Revelation 21:1-7)
Oh, how He loves you and me!
Be encouraged, stay faithful, run the race with endurance - for the joy He sets before us.
Amen.
"Things which eye has not seen and ear has not heard, and which have not entered the heart of man, all that God has prepared for those who love Him." (1 Corinthians 2:9)
I wonder what exactly "the joy set before Him" was. Although I don't completely understand that, I have come to see that since we are to run the race according to Jesus' example, we also should endure whatever cross we are given to bear - for the joy set before us. There is quite a description of what Jesus has in store for those who overcome, for those who endure to the end, for those that finish the race - within His letters to the churches in the second and third chapters of Revelation.
Revelation can be a hard book to understand. I remember first studying it as a teenager in our church youth group. But I had not built much on that foundation over the years, until our Pastor began preaching through the book of Revelation, verse by verse, in the past year. There's still a lot that goes over my head, but there's a lot that's sinking in, and it is a blessing, just as God promised in verse 1:3 - "Blessed is he who reads and those who hear the words of the prophecy and heed the things which are written in it; for the time is near."
In each letter, Jesus tells His churches, and He is also telling His Church, that He knows - He knows them, He knows what they are doing, He knows what their circumstances are; He tells them what they're doing right, and what they're doing wrong; He warns, but He also sets before them the "prize" - what they will receive if they endure, if they stay faithful, if they overcome.
When you put all of those promises together, well, it's just pretty awesome...
To the angel of the church in Ephesus:
"To him who overcomes, I will grant to eat of the tree of life, which is in the Paradise of God." (2:7)
To the angel of the church in Smyrna:
"Be faithful unto death, and I will give you the crown of life." (2:10)
"He who overcomes shall not be hurt by the second death." (2:11)
To the angel of the church in Pergamum:
"To him who overcomes, to him I will give some of the hidden manna, and I will give him a white stone, and a new name written on the stone which no one knows but he who receives it." (2:17)
To the angel of the church in Thyatira:
"And he who overcomes, and he who keeps My deeds until the end, to him I will give authority over the nations; and he shall rule them with a rod of iron, as the vessels of the potter are broken to pieces, as I also have received authority from My Father;" (2:26-27)
"and I will give him the morning star." (2:28)
To the angel of the church in Sardis:
"He who overcomes shall thus be clothed in white garments, and I will not erase his name from the book of life, and I will confess his name before My Father and before His angels." (3:5)
To the angel of the church in Philadelphia:
"He who overcomes, I will make him a pillar in the temple of My God, and he will not go out from it anymore; and I will write upon him the name of My God, and the name of the city of My God, the new Jerusalem, which comes down out of heaven from My God, and My new name." (3:12)
To the angel of the church in Laodicea:
"He who overcomes, I will grant to him to sit down with Me on My throne, as I also overcame and sat down with My Father on His throne." (3:21)
And then, there is this...
And I saw a new heaven and a new earth; for the first heaven and the first earth passed away, and there is no longer any sea. And I saw the holy city, new Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God, made ready as a bride adorned for her husband. And I heard a loud voice from the throne, saying "Behold, the tabernacle of God is among men, and He shall dwell among them, and they shall be His people, and God Himself shall be among them, and He shall wipe away every tear from their eyes; and there shall no longer be any death; there shall no longer by any mourning, or crying, or pain; the first things have passed away." And He who sits on the throne said, "Behold, I am making all things new." And He said, "Write, for these words are faithful and true." And He said to me, "It is done. I am the Alpha and the Omega, the beginning and the end. I will give to the one who thirsts from the spring of the water of life without cost. He who overcomes shall inherit these things, and I will be his God and he will be My son." (Revelation 21:1-7)
Oh, how He loves you and me!
Be encouraged, stay faithful, run the race with endurance - for the joy He sets before us.
Amen.
"Things which eye has not seen and ear has not heard, and which have not entered the heart of man, all that God has prepared for those who love Him." (1 Corinthians 2:9)
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