FOR GOD SO LOVES YOU THAT HE GAVE!
Christmas is the season of giving! Why do we give? Because it is in our Spiritual DNA. Our King of Kings started it and engrained giving into the hearts of those who love Him.
Holy Spirit reminded our teacher Paul that: “God loves (He takes pleasure in, prizes above all things, and is unwilling to abandon or to do without) a cheerful (joyous, “prompt to do it”) giver whose heart is in his giving.”
(2 Corinthians 9:6)
God loves to give and give in abundance.
He gave the greatest gift ever, Himself, JUST FOR YOU!
In the Christmas movie “Home Alone,” all Kevin wanted was His very own cheese pizza.” We all want our own personal blessings. God loves us all personally and gave us our very own eternal salvation.
THE BEGINNING OF CHRISTMAS…
It all started not in Bethlehem but in the Garden of Eden when the evil one lied to Adam and Eve and convinced them to disobey God. We were all poisoned with sin when they partook of the fruit of the tree of the knowledge of Good and evil.
In that moment, the evil one led humanity into the bondage of sin. Also, in that split second, God the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit created the plan of redemption.
God declared the plan to the evil one in the third chapter of Genesis: “And I will put enmity(hostility, hatred) between you and the woman, and between your offspring ( his follower, demons, sin leading to eternal separation from God) and her Offspring (Jesus) He will bruise and tread your head underfoot, (He will set the captives of sin free from the price of their sins) and you will lie in wait and bruise His heel.” (Genesis 3:15) The stench in God’s nostrils convinced the Pharisees and Sadducees to crucify Jesus’s body. So they drove spikes through His heels to nail Him to the cross.
That was the first of the more than four hundred prophecies about Jesus fulfilled in His life. It was not given to a prophet but came directly from the mouth of God.
Jesus bruised and treaded on the evil ones’ head underfoot by throwing the stench in God’s nostrils to earth as a bolt of lightning, taking away his power and giving it to us, and by paying the price of our sins by being sacrificed for them. Now, the only power the heap of ashes has is to lie and get men to agree with him.
(Luke 10:18, John 1:29, Revelation 1:5, Isaiah 53:4-5, 1Peter2:24, Psalm 103:1-3, Hebrews 8:12, Hebrews 10:10-18)
Here is a prophecy to the children of Israel and those of us who love Him from God the Father through His anointed prophet Isaiah about His coming to earth:
“Therefore, the Lord Himself shall give you a sign: Pay attention, the young woman who is unmarried and a virgin shall conceive and bear a son and shall call His name Immanuel, GOD WITH US.”
(Isaiah 7:14)
When we believe and believe in Jesus, He makes His home with us. He actually lives inside of us, and He will never leave us or forsake us.
(John 15:4-7)
“The people who walk in spiritual darkness
Will see a great Light; Those who live in the dark land,
The Light will shine on them.
(Jesus is the Light. He is the pulsating, illuminating energy that creates and maintains all things. He is the Light of the world. John 8:12).
“You, O God, will increase the nation,
You will multiply their joy;
They will rejoice before You
Like the joy and jubilation of the harvest,
As men rejoice when they divide the spoil of victory.”
For to us a Child shall be born, to us a Son shall be given; And the government shall be upon His shoulder,
And His name shall be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace.”
There shall be no end to the increase of His government and peace; He shall rule on the throne of David and over his kingdom, To establish it and to uphold it with justice and righteousness From that time forward and forevermore.”
(Isaiah 9:2-7)
God sent His messenger, Gabriel, to announce His entry into the world, and this is what happened:
“And behold, an angel of the Lord stood before them, and the glory of the Lord flashed and shone all around them, and they were terribly frightened.
This scene always astonishes me. God wanted to be as emphatic as He could be. What would you do if suddenly the “Glory of the Lord flashed and shone” all around you? He wanted the urgency and importance of the declaration that He sent through the angel to remain with us forever.
“But the angel said to them, DO NOT BE AFRAID; FOR PAY ATTENTION, I BRING YOU GOOD NEWS OF A GREAT JOY WHICH WILL COME TO ALL THE PEOPLE.
For to you is born this day in the town of David (Bethlehem) A SAVIOR WHO IS JESUS THE LORD!
Now, if that wasn’t enough to cause the poor shepherds to pass out in fear, this happened:
Then SUDDENLY THERE APPEARED WITH THE ANGEL AN ARMY (visualize an army) OF THE TROOPS OF HEAVEN (think about this, one angel could destroy the Chinese military), PRAISING GOD AND SAYING, GLORY TO GOD IN THE HIGHEST (Heaven) AND ON EARTH PEACE, AMONG MEN IN WHOM HE IS WELL PLEASED!”
(Luke 2:9-14)
MEANING:
At the instant that God entered the earth and donned an earth suit, He pronounced the GOOD NEWS OF GREAT JOY, WHICH IS TO ALL PEOPLE! Not those who repent, confess, get baptized, do good, never sin, and go to church… but to ALL PEOPLE. If the news you hear is not GOOD NEWS and does not bring you joy and happiness, it is not the Gospel of Jesus. At that very instant, God declared HIS PEACE ON EARTH, with all people, because He is well pleased.
And He did all this as His love gift, just for you! Because you are that special to Him. You are His glorious inheritance, and He cherishes you. Because He loves you infinitely, eternally, without qualifications, without conditions, just the way you are, sin and all.
Meditate on this message and ask yourself: If God has given me all of this, what can I give Him in return?
May I suggest what He really wants more than anything? You, your belief, your heart, your love, your time, your energy, your devotion, your commitment to making Him and His Word the most important thing in your life, to become a reflection of Him, to give as He gave, to love others as He loves you, forgiveness, mercy, charity, peace, and joy.
A MARY CHRISTMAS.
End of teaching
