Merry Christmas from God!

Christmas is upon us. Once each year across the world this day is set aside as a day of celebration. For many throughout the world, today is the celebration of the birth of our Savior, Jesus Christ, God in the flesh.

The Birth of Jesus {Matt 1:18-25 [MSG]} 18-19 The birth of Jesus took place like this. His mother, Mary, was engaged to be married to Joseph. Before they came to the marriage bed, Joseph discovered she was pregnant. (It was by the Holy Spirit, but he didn't know that.) Joseph, chagrined but noble, determined to take care of things quietly so Mary would not be disgraced. 20-23 While he was trying to figure a way out, he had a dream. God's angel spoke in the dream: "Joseph, son of David, don't hesitate to get married. Mary's pregnancy is Spirit-conceived. God's Holy Spirit has made her pregnant. She will bring a son to birth, and when she does, you, Joseph, will name him Jesus—'God saves'—because he will save his people from their sins." This would bring the prophet's embryonic sermon to full term: Watch for this—a virgin will get pregnant and bear a son; They will name him Immanuel (Hebrew for "God is with us"). 24-25 Then Joseph woke up. He did exactly what God's angel commanded in the dream: He married Mary. But he did not consummate the marriage until she had the baby. He named the baby Jesus.

The every day miracle of child birth took on a whole new meaning on this day, over two-thousand years ago, when the miracle of childbirth delivered the miracle baby -- the God-baby. Even the wisest among men of that time recognized the event for what it was.

An Event for Everyone {Luke 2:9-20 [MSG]} 8-12 There were sheepherders camping in the neighborhood. They had set night watches over their sheep. Suddenly, God's angel stood among them and God's glory blazed around them. They were terrified. The angel said, "Don't be afraid. I'm here to announce a great and joyful event that is meant for everybody, worldwide: A Savior has just been born in David's town, a Savior who is Messiah and Master. This is what you're to look for: a baby wrapped in a blanket and lying in a manger." 13-14 At once the angel was joined by a huge angelic choir singing God's praises: Glory to God in the heavenly heights, Peace to all men and women on earth who please him. 15-18 As the angel choir withdrew into heaven, the sheepherders talked it over. "Let's get over to Bethlehem as fast as we can and see for ourselves what God has revealed to us." They left, running, and found Mary and Joseph, and the baby lying in the manger. Seeing was believing. They told everyone they met what the angels had said about this child. All who heard the sheepherders were impressed. 19-20 Mary kept all these things to herself, holding them dear, deep within herself. The sheepherders returned and let loose, glorifying and praising God for everything they had heard and seen. It turned out exactly the way they'd been told!

Exactly the way they had been told! The miracle of God coming to earth in the form of His Son, Jesus Christ, happened exactly as God had planned. Exactly as it had been foretold by prophets centuries earlier.

{Isaiah 53:1-10 [MSG] (emphasis mine)} 1 Who believes what we've heard and seen? Who would have thought God's saving power would look like this? 2-6 The servant grew up before God—a scrawny seedling, a scrubby plant in a parched field. There was nothing attractive about him, nothing to cause us to take a second look. He was looked down on and passed over, a man who suffered, who knew pain firsthand. One look at him and people turned away. We looked down on him, thought he was scum. But the fact is, it was our pains he carried— our disfigurements, all the things wrong with us. We thought he brought it on himself, that God was punishing him for his own failures. But it was our sins that did that to him, that ripped and tore and crushed him—our sins! He took the punishment, and that made us whole. Through his bruises we get healed. We're all like sheep who've wandered off and gotten lost. We've all done our own thing, gone our own way. And God has piled all our sins, everything we've done wrong, on him, on him. 7-9He was beaten, he was tortured, but he didn't say a word. Like a lamb taken to be slaughtered and like a sheep being sheared, he took it all in silence. Justice miscarried, and he was led off— and did anyone really know what was happening? He died without a thought for his own welfare, beaten bloody for the sins of my people. They buried him with the wicked, threw him in a grave with a rich man, Even though he'd never hurt a soul or said one word that wasn't true. 10 Still, it's what God had in mind all along, to crush him with pain. The plan was that he give himself as an offering for sin so that he'd see life come from it—life, life, and more life. And God's plan will deeply prosper through him.

The story of the greatest gift of all is not complete with the birth of Jesus Christ, for that gift receives it's greatness through the sacrifice He made for us on the cross. Jesus Christ died for our sins, and arose, so that there might be no doubt that he was God in the flesh, here to save us from our sins, so that we might spend an eternity with Him. Merry Christmas, world! May we never forget the meaning of this day. Your comments? Joe

Cross posted at Average Joe American.

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Peace

At church today, the topic of the sermon was Peace. We're in the advent season, and over the past four weeks, the sermon topics have been Hope, Love, Joy and (today) Peace. During today's sermon, Pastor Derek Duncan talked about, of course, Peace. There was one passage that I felt was a major take away: "I have told you these things, so that in me you may have peace. In this world you will have trouble. But take heart! I have overcome the world." John 16:33 [NIV] In this day when we are at war in Iraq and Afghanistan, fighting terrorism and drugs, and concerned about the future plans of North Korea, Iran, and Russia, the word Peace has become quite a buzzword. Whether you call it "troop withdrawal," or "draw down," or some other term that refers to ending hostilities, the meaning is the same: Peace. Politicians often run on a platform of Peace (either obtained through withdrawal or victory). But can they truly bring us peace? No. Absolutely not. Only one person can bring us Peace: Jesus Christ, the Messiah, the Son of God. Our lives will be filled with trouble, but in the arms of Christ, we find true peace. Even in the hardest of times, we have peace in Christ. There was something that Pastor Duncan said that I had never considered before. Today, the term "god" can mean many different things to many different people. While I might refer to God as the Creator of all, another might think of their "god," whomever that might be. As Christians, as followers of God through His Son Jesus Christ, we need to shift our focus on the One and Only source of peace and salvation: Jesus Christ. There can be no confusion whom we serve when we serve the Son.

Merry Christmas!

Happy Birthday, Jesus!

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One Eye Closed

Today's Daily Soap {Scripture | Observation | Application | Prayer} FOR TODAY'S FULL READING, CLICK THE TITLE LINK ABOVE.

• S: Dear friends, let me be completely frank with you. Our ancestor David is dead and buried—his tomb is in plain sight today. But being also a prophet and knowing that God had solemnly sworn that a descendant of his would rule his kingdom, seeing far ahead, he talked of the resurrection of the Messiah—'no trip to Hades, no stench of death.' This Jesus, God raised up. And every one of us here is a witness to it. Then, raised to the heights at the right hand of God and receiving the promise of the Holy Spirit from the Father, he poured out the Spirit he had just received. That is what you see and hear. For David himself did not ascend to heaven, but he did say, God said to my Master, "Sit at my right hand Until I make your enemies a stool for resting your feet." "All Israel, then, know this: There's no longer room for doubt—God made him Master and Messiah, this Jesus whom you killed on a cross." Acts 2:29-36 [MSG]
• O: Christ knows Hell from the standpoint of Creator.
• A: There has been debate among Biblical scholars about where Christ went during His three days in the tomb between His crucifixion and resurrection. I'm not one to claim to be a Biblical scholar. I can offer only my viewpoint (or, if you prefer, my opinion). Some have suggested that Christ might have made a trip to Hell during those three days. The book of Acts seems to refute that, saying that Christ "was not abandoned to the grave." [NIV] As He was indeed in a grave -- or tomb -- the term "grave" in this passage is likely in reference to the eternal grave of Hell. It stands to reason, therefore -- to my finite mind, at least -- that Christ did not taste of Hell. But what, then? Heaven? When He would be ascending to Heaven shortly after His resurrection, I think that is unlikely. I ask you this: why did Christ have to go anywhere during His three days in the tomb? Or better yet, why couldn't Christ be everywhere during those three days? As God in the flesh, Christ is one part of a triune God. God is omnipresent -- everywhere all the time. Christ, then, must be omnipresent, too. Close your right eye, and you're still here and can still see through the left eye. God in the flesh while in the tomb -- in my opinion -- was still everywhere in the form of God the Father. Just because a body lied in a tomb doesn't mean something had to happen to Christ during that time. As He is God, I believe there was no change to Him. With one eye closed, our God was still in control.
• P: Father, the very Being that is You is a wonder. How You came to earth and died for my sins, yet never lost control of Your creation. You are truly and Almighty God.

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The Gate of God

Today's Daily Soap {Scripture | Observation | Application | Prayer} FOR TODAY'S FULL READING, CLICK THE TITLE LINK ABOVE.

• S: Then the man brought me back to the outside gate complex of the Sanctuary that faces east. But it was shut. God spoke to me: "This gate is shut and it's to stay shut. No one is to go through it because God, the God of Israel, has gone through it. It stays shut. Only the prince, because he's the prince, may sit there to eat in the presence of God. He is to enter the gate complex through the porch and leave by the same way." Ezekiel 44:1-3 [MSG]
• O: As imperfect humans, we are not fit or worthy to follow in the footsteps of God or receive His gift of salvation.
• A: In describing the Temple, Ezekiel spoke of a gate to the Sanctuary that was closed -- off limits -- because God Himself had passed through the gate. As Creator of all things, God is omnipresent -- everywhere all the time -- and surely has no need to actually enter His Sanctuary through a gate. Unless it was God in the form of man entering through that gate. The book of Ezekiel is 65% prophecy -- containing the largest amount of predictive prophecy to appear in any book of the Bible. Much of the prophecy of Ezekiel has alredy been fulfilled, to include that of God walking through the Sanctuary gate. This very gate is believed to be the gate through which Jesus entered the Sanctuary on Palm Sunday. Jesus -- God in the form of man on Earth -- entered the Sanctuary through a gate that has since been shut, not to be used by man. As this passage is prophetic, it describes something that had not yet happened at the time of its writing. Prophecy in the Bible is often written as if it has already happened, which is the case in Ezekiel. In this case, Jesus later fulfilled this prophecy. It is believed that when Christ returns to rule his Millenial Kingdom on Earth, he will enter again through that very same gate.
• P: God, thank You for giving us a gift we could never deserve -- the gift of salvation through Your Son Jesus Christ.

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God In The Neighborhood

Today's Daily Soap {Scripture | Observation | Application | Prayer} FOR TODAY'S FULL READING, CLICK THE TITLE LINK ABOVE.

• S: I heard a voice thunder from the Throne: "Look! Look! God has moved into the neighborhood, making his home with men and women! They're his people, he's their God. He'll wipe every tear from their eyes. Death is gone for good—tears gone, crying gone, pain gone—all the first order of things gone." Revelation 21:3-4 [MSG]
• O: God living in the neighborhood. Imagine!
• A: God's people live not only with the promise of His Son's return, but with the promise that God Himself will dwell among us. The thought of a world with our Creator living among us: no more death, no more pain, no more tears. All light, all the time, emitting from the Creator Himself. Not just God living within us, but God living with us. It is the one promise that every Christian longs to see fulfilled.
• P: Father, we are ready. The world has so much more to do to prepare, but Your people are ready for Your triumphant return.

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God Almighty

Today's Daily Soap {Scripture | Observation | Application | Prayer} CLICK THE TITLE ABOVE FOR THE FULL DAILY READING.

• S: By His power He made earth. His wisdom gave shape to the world. He crafted the cosmos. He thunders and rain pours down. He sends the clouds soaring. He embellishes the storm with lightnings, launches the wind from His warehouse. Stick-god worshipers look mighty foolish! god-makers embarrassed by their handmade gods! Their gods are frauds, dead sticks— deadwood gods, tasteless jokes. They're nothing but stale smoke. When the smoke clears, they're gone. But the Portion-of-Jacob is the real thing; He put the whole universe together, With special attention to Israel. His name? God-of-the-Angel-Armies! Jeremiah 51:15-19 [MSG]
• O: Wow! What a powerful description of an Almighty God!
• A: We grow pretty comfortable pretty quickly with God. All cake and cookies, we think, expecting Him to meet our every need, grant our every wish, fulfill our every desire. We think that He is here to serve us, and while Jesus showed His disciples the concept of servant leadership, by no means should we believe that the Almighty God is here to serve us. The vain and selfish nature of the human race so easily convinces us that all of nature is at our disposal, to do with what we wish, regardless of the outcome. Yes it was only after God -- the Almighty, all knowing -- created everything else that He made man in His own image. He didn't make earth and nature and all that it consists of to suit our needs. God made man last because He wanted someone to care for His vast creation. He wanted a steward of the earth. God didn't make man Because He wanted to serve someone. God made man to worship Him -- to love Him and spend eternity with Him. We are His. His creation, His people. He is our God -- to worship -- not our servant. Lest we ever forget.
• P: Almighty God, we see You in everything around us, in nature wherever we go, in love, in the songs of birds and the blowing breeze. You are our God, and we worship You.

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God Communicates

Today's Daily Soap {Scripture | Observation | Application | Prayer}

• S: Here's how we can be sure that we know God in the right way: Keep his commandments. If someone claims, "I know him well!" but doesn't keep his commandments, he's obviously a liar. His life doesn't match his words. But the one who keeps God's word is the person in whom we see God's mature love. This is the only way to be sure we're in God. Anyone who claims to be intimate with God ought to live the same kind of life Jesus lived. ... Anyone who claims to live in God's light and hates a brother or sister is still in the dark. It's the person who loves brother and sister who dwells in God's light and doesn't block the light from others. But whoever hates is still in the dark, stumbles around in the dark, doesn't know which end is up, blinded by the darkness. 1 John 2:2-6,9-11 [MSG]
• O: "Anyone who claims to be intimate with God ought to live the same kind of life Jesus lived. ... Anyone who claims to live in God's light and hates a brother or sister is still in the dark.
• A: Think God isn't in control? That He doesn't speak to us? Try this. Every day I pull the readings for my Life Journaling (Daily Soap) from an established reading plan. I don't make these up or try myself to find something that meets a particular purpose. Today, my own religious beliefs were challenged and I was called a racist because of some content that appeared beneath a recent article I wrote on Redstate.com. The content was not of my design, but rather appended to my article by Redstate without my knowledge or approval. Today, I sat down to Life Journal and read the above passage from 1 John 2. It's the person who loves brother and sister who dwells in God's light and doesn't block the light from others. As I stood accused of being a racist, posting content that I did not post, my faith being called into question, it is comforting -- like reassurance from God -- to read such words of wisdom. By no design of my own, simply following my established reading plan, I was led to such a timely passage. Say it's fate. Say it's coincidence. Say it's my imagination. Say whatever you want, but I say it's the way that God communicates in our world today.
• P: Father, as I try to live a life that is an example of Your love, it is inevitable that I will face accusation and insult from time to time. Your Word says so, and I've certainly experienced it before. Thank You for using Your Word and my daily journaling to provide reassurance and affirmation in the face of such accusations.

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God is Knocking

Today's Daily Soap {Scripture | Observation | Application | Prayer}

• S: From the very first day, we were there, taking it all in—we heard it with our own ears, saw it with our own eyes, verified it with our own hands. The Word of Life appeared right before our eyes; we saw it happen! And now we're telling you in most sober prose that what we witnessed was, incredibly, this: The infinite Life of God himself took shape before us. We saw it, we heard it, and now we're telling you so you can experience it along with us, this experience of communion with the Father and his Son, Jesus Christ. Our motive for writing is simply this: We want you to enjoy this, too. Your joy will double our joy! This, in essence, is the message we heard from Christ and are passing on to you: God is light, pure light; there's not a trace of darkness in him. If we claim that we experience a shared life with him and continue to stumble around in the dark, we're obviously lying through our teeth—we're not living what we claim. But if we walk in the light, God himself being the light, we also experience a shared life with one another, as the sacrificed blood of Jesus, God's Son, purges all our sin. If we claim that we're free of sin, we're only fooling ourselves. A claim like that is errant nonsense. On the other hand, if we admit our sins—make a clean breast of them—he won't let us down; he'll be true to himself. He'll forgive our sins and purge us of all wrongdoing. If we claim that we've never sinned, we out-and-out contradict God—make a liar out of him. A claim like that only shows off our ignorance of God. 1 John 1 [MSG]
• O: "The infinite life of God Himself took shape before us."
• A: Different denominations of the Christian faith will sometimes engage in a dangerous debate. Was Jesus Christ a prophet? The Son of God? Or God Himself in the form of man? This question is answered several places in the Bible, though the answer often goes overlooked. Jesus Christ was God made man. Not "God-made man" (that would be Adam and all the rest of us), but God, made man. God made into a man. God in the flesh -- in the form of man. Emmanuel: God with us. Some stumble with the fact that Jesus referred to "the Father," meaning God -- even prayed to Him -- during His time on Earth. Does this mean that He prayed to Himself, or that He was not actually God in the flesh? If you are a believer of God and follower of Jesus, then you likely know that God is everywhere. Meaning that He was here, on Earth, as Jesus, and at the same time in Heaven, as the Father. If we believe that God has the power needed to have spoken the world into existence, why must we think that He might be limited by things of His own creation -- such as time, space, and the physical realm? Such a powerful God certainly isn't limited by the things of Earth. God is everywhere, all the time. Looking over my shoulder as I write this. Looking over yours as you read it. Hopefully living in your heart. Or certainly, at the very least, knocking and asking you to invite Him in. Behold, I stand at the door and knock: if any man hear My voice, and open the door, I will come in to him, and will sup with him, and he with Me. Revelation 3:20 [KJV] Will you open the door and invite Him in?
• P: Father God, You are truly an awesome God, Creator of all things, in all places at all times. By Your awesome power You existed as both God and man at the same time. You died for us and live today, so that we might live forever with You. Knock, Lord. Knock loudly, so that others might hear, answer, and invite You in, to experience the awesome power of Your endless love.

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Two Are One

Today's Daily Soap {Scripture | Observation | Application | Prayer}

• S: Again the Jews picked up rocks to throw at him. Jesus said, "I have made a present to you from the Father of a great many good actions. For which of these acts do you stone me?" The Jews said, "We're not stoning you for anything good you did, but for what you said—this blasphemy of calling yourself God." Jesus said, "I'm only quoting your inspired Scriptures, where God said, 'I tell you—you are gods.' If God called your ancestors 'gods'—and Scripture doesn't lie—why do you yell, 'Blasphemer! Blasphemer!' at the unique One the Father consecrated and sent into the world, just because I said, 'I am the Son of God'? If I don't do the things my Father does, well and good; don't believe me. But if I am doing them, put aside for a moment what you hear me say about myself and just take the evidence of the actions that are right before your eyes. Then perhaps things will come together for you, and you'll see that not only are we doing the same thing, we are the same—Father and Son. He is in me; I am in him." John 10:31-38 [MSG]
• O: God and Jesus Christ -- Father and Son -- are actually one and the same.
• A: It can be difficult for our finite minds to comprehend how God and Jesus can be the same. How they can be One. The Father in Heaven and His Son who came to earth to save us from our sins. How can two be One? Think about this: you cannot see air. You can't touch it, taste it, or feel it. You can't smell it. It's not something tangible that you can measure. When the wind blows, you're feeling the wind, not the air -- rather the effect of air being moved. You may smell scents or aromas, but they are merely carried by the air, not actually the air. But we know the air is there, we know it's all around us. We believe that. Why? Because someone we trust told us. Similarly, our belief in God is based on faith -- because someone we trust told us. We can't see Him (though we see His works in nature around us), we can't touch Him, taste Him, or feel Him (though we may feel Him working in our hearts). We certainly can't smell Him. But we know that He's there. And if we believe in God, and believe that Jesus is His Son, then we must accept the fact that God's Son doesn't lie. And if God's Son doesn't lie, then all that He says is true. And if Jesus says that He and God are One, then it must be true, because someone we trust -- Jesus -- told us.
• P: Father, my finite mind may not be able to fathom all of your wonders, but I take it on faith that Your Word is true. Because I trust You and You've told me these wondrous things.

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