There is a poem by one Rebecca Barlow Jordan that has touched my heart for ever so long. Can't recall where I first ever laid eyes on it but perhaps it was in a Christmas card. Several years ago I used this poem for a Sunday School Christmas message. I'll give it to you in snatches as I add in my extra two cent's worth of thought with a modified version. It starts with...
Who is "His" Who has been born? Is it not our Lord Jesus Christ?
This speaks of "hope". We hope to go swimming, get new clothes, get lots of this or that on our birthdays, and especially as gifts for Christmas. Maybe it'll happen; maybe not. This hope is not sure.
With Jesus you'll find that His hope is always sure. He keeps His promises and you won't be disappointed. With His birth into this world, something new and exciting was precipitated. He came to make the way to Heaven where there will be no more suffering, pain, or tears. There will only be happiness and JOY and contentment.
That Christmas carol comes to mind "Joy to the World, the Lord has Come!" The JOY of Jesus.
Do you like to get new things? Here's another something new. What is it? Strength! Yes! Our help comes from the Lord who gives us strength. And that strength can be renewed. And the joy of the Lord gives us strength (Nehemiah 8:10; Isaiah 41:10). We have new hope and new strength to be like Him and live for His glory.
People lift dumbbells or other weights. That takes strength. Who gives that strength? God does. He gave them good muscles to do so. The more one lifts the weights the stronger one gets.
So too God can give us the strength to say "yes" to good things and "no" to the bad. The more we say, "Yes" to "yes" and "No" to "no", the stronger and more courageous we will be to say "Yes" and "No" to what we should. We don't have to do so by ourself; He, Jesus, helps us.
What's next?
The third new thing now. Acceptance. What a blessed thing that is! To be accepted for who we are and not because of what we have achieved!
When someone gives you a gift - you take it - that means you 'accepted' it.
Jesus will accept you no matter how good or how bad you've been. You need Him and He'll accept you. God sent you His gift, Jesus. Will you accept Him?
A person doesn't have to work for God's acceptance. God doesn't say:
"Ok, climb Mount Kinabalu twenty times, on your knees, and then I'll accept you." NO!
He doesn't say, "Give all your money to the poor and then I'll accept you." NO!
He even doesn't say, "Read your Bible 100 times and pray two hours a day and then I'll accept you." NO!
He says, "I'll accept you no matter how tall or short; fat or lean, black or white, etc you are and no matter what you may have done. He wants you and you and you alone. He wants everyone so He'll accept you just as you are.
From the manger to the cross, Jesus lived about 33 years on earth.
Most of us know what a manger is. Baby Jesus was laid in a feeding trough for horses; the best bed His parents could find at the time. If Jesus had never been born, He'd never have died on the cross. We have both: birth and death. For 33 yrs, approximately, Jesus walked the earth from infancy to grown manhood; fully God yet fully man. Everyone knew Him. He was obedient to His earthly parents and learned carpentry. Then He started with the miracles revealing His divine power if the people had wished to realize. But His most important purpose was the cross. To give His life for you and me and bring us salvation. He knew His purpose of life and aimed for it.
Because of that...
Jesus meets our every need, and desire. That does not say "every want". It says "every need". Our biggest need is Him. Have you accepted His gift of salvation? Please do. He lovingly offers His gift to you, and in turn you can gain purpose for living.
Make Jesus your KING. How do you make Jesus your KING? Do we simply put a crown on His head and say, "Hello, King?"
Let's back up a bit...look at the character of a king. How does one 'treat' a king? One must respect, obey, and say, "Yes, Your Majesty". If you don't obey or show proper respect, you get into trouble. Right?
And then there are good kings and bad kings. Jesus is a good King: kind, gentle, loving, just, and we must make Him #1 in our lives; the most important Person. Put Him at the top of your heart and let Him fill it. Put Him above sports, clothes, computer games, etc.
How will Jesus get into your heart so you can make Him your King?
We've all done bad things such as lying, disobeying, disrespecting our parents or teachers; talking back, cheating, or kicking someone; perhaps as adults, committed adultery or become addicted to pornography, etc.
Jesus loves and accepts us but NOT the bad things. Let me tell you, the good things are good but still not good enough to earn us salvation. So how can a person have Jesus in their heart when there are so many bad things there?
Start with saying you are sorry to God for all those wrongdoings; admit you are wrong. Have a willing heart to change that and humbly repent. Ask Jesus to wash the sins away. He died on the cross and shed His blood for just such a reason. It's the...
"...blood of Jesus Christ that cleans us from all sin" (1 John 1:7)
When a person has done that, he or she has made Jesus Savior of his or her life. Then that person can start making Him king too, by obeying Him. Read the Bible for instruction. As a person reads and obeys, that is making Jesus king. It is like putting the crown on His head and putting Jesus at the top of your heart.
He gives the power to stop the lying and cheating, and bad words, etc. He gives us the power to obey Him; to live circumspectly for Him.
Once we make Jesus the King of our life we can also worship Him. We tell Him how good He is; how great He is for all He's done for us, and thank and praise Him for giving us that new hope, strength, and acceptance.
Yes, Jesus is the greatest gift for all of us. You like to get gifts right? Jesus is like a GREAT BIG gift from GOD, sent by special delivery.
Now we want to worship Him.
If you have a birthday cake handy, light a candle on it because it is Jesus's birthday... you can sing the Happy Birthday song but an even better one for worshiping Him is...
Our God is an Awesome God!
LET'S SING AND WORSHIP KING JESUS.
Father God in Heaven we love You because You first loved us. Thank-you so much for the best gift ever, that of Your dear Son Jesus Christ Who came into this world to buy our pardon and give us the salvation we so desperately needed. In Your Son Jesus's Name we give you praise.
Amen.
~ERC December 2018~
No comments:
Post a Comment