Bible Ballistics: BBs #608  Christmas IS About Family??? Pt.2

 

Continuing with our look at Christmas and family, I want us to go back to the first family—the place where the promise of Jesus was first announced (the promise that would culminate in His birth, life, death, resurrection, and ascension back to His Father—and the “rest of the story”, HIS coming as King of Kings and Lord of Lords!) in the midst of sin and failure; Adam and Eve’s sin initiated the promise of redemption; which, by the way, was no surprise to God!  For He had the plan all along, for He knew our choices would lead to sin, death and hell for mankind—BUT GOD!  Oh, how I love those words—BUT GOD—our God knew all along that we would fail, yet He had already made provision through the sacrifice of HIS “only begotten son”!

“And the LORD God commanded the man, saying,

Of every tree of the garden

thou mayest freely eat:

17 But of the tree of the knowledge

of good and evil,

thou shalt not eat of it:

for in the day that thou eatest thereof

thou shalt surely die.”  Genesis 2:16-17

God warned the man, yet by the same token, without the opportunity to choose, we would have been puppets, rather than free moral agents; and while God knew that man would fail, out of His love for us and desire that we choose Him, He gave Adam and Eve a choice! People often say, ‘Well, they didn’t die!”, so, God didn’t mean what He said!  But truly He did—man died spiritually and lost His soul-tie, and beautiful intimacy with his creator!  His soul was marred by sin, and that’s why Jesus said we must be “born again” to see God’s kingdom, much less enter it!  And Jesus is (as my pastor often says) the ‘issue’ and the “issuer’ of salvation, life to all who will believe in His substitutionary, atoning sacrifice for sin—my sin and yours!  Jesus was, is and ever shall be the answer to the sin problem. (And sin IS the problem!)

“And I will put enmity between thee and the woman,                               and between thy seed and her seed;

it shall bruise thy head,

and thou shalt bruise his heel.”  Genesis 3:15

The promise of the One who would crush the serpents head—and bring us victory over sin, death and hell.  Jesus received the ultimate blow from Satan, yet God knew all along that it would only crush His heel, but His resurrection from that blow of death would deliver all who would trust in His blood, crushing Satan!

“O death,

where is thy sting?

O grave,

where is thy victory?

56 The sting of death

is sin;

and the strength of sin

is the law.

57 But thanks be to God,

which giveth us the victory

through our Lord Jesus Christ.

58 Therefore, my beloved brethren,

be ye stedfast,

unmoveable,

always abounding in the work of the Lord,

forasmuch as ye know

that your labour is not in vain

in the Lord.”  1 Corinthians 15:55-58

Paul reveals this principle of spiritual death in his letter to the Ephesians—we are all born dead spiritually, but Jesus came that we might have not only “life” but “that they might have it more abundantly.”!  Jesus truly is our all in all, even before the world began—before sin!  Jesus was, is and ever shall be The Only Way!  There never was, nor is there now plan ‘A’ which failed, making Jesus plan ‘B’—Jesus has always been, and now is The Only “way….truth…..life” which reconciles to God!

“And you hath he quickened,

who were dead

in trespasses

and sins;

2 Wherein in time past ye walked

according to the course of this world,

according to the prince of the power of the air,

the spirit that now worketh

in the children of disobedience:

3 Among whom also we all had our conversation

in times past

in the lusts of our flesh,

fulfilling the desires of the flesh

and of the mind;

and were by nature the children of wrath,

       even as others.

4 But God,

who is rich in mercy,

for his great love

wherewith he loved us,

5 Even when we were dead

in sins,

hath quickened us together

with Christ,

(by grace ye are saved;)

6 And hath raised us up together,

and made us sit together

in heavenly places

in Christ Jesus:

7 That in the ages to come

he might shew the exceeding riches

of his grace

in his kindness

toward us

through Christ Jesus.”  Ephesians 2:1-7

Oh, how excited I get just writing these words on paper—we are so loved, blessed and treasured by the God who created us and ‘bought us back’ from sin, death and hell—Amen and Amen!  Jesus saves today, and I’m so grateful for the truth that He changed me!  How about you—do you know the Christ Jesus of Christmas.  Do the bells ring true in your heart the song of saving grace?  Does the light shine in your heart no matter how dark it is around you?  I pray that you will rejoice in the gift that God gave to us the night that Jesus was born so many years ago; and regardless of the date, or exact spot, or the circumstances—God came into this world as a babe to live the perfect, sinless life that we never could, to die as the Lamb of God who “taketh away the sin of the world”, that we might be “born of God”!

We’ll continue our quest to know God’s truth next time, and I pray that you will ponder these things and that God will draw you to Himself, that you might rest in HIM!  May you rejoice with the angels who proclaimed the glory of this marvelous gift of God!

“And, lo, the angel of the Lord came upon them,

and the glory of the Lord shone round about them: and they were sore afraid.

10 And the angel said unto them,

Fear not: for, behold, I bring you good tidings

of great joy,

which shall be to all people.

11 For unto you is born this day in the city of David

a Saviour,

which is Christ the Lord.

12 And this shall be a sign unto you;

Ye shall find the babe

wrapped in swaddling clothes,

lying in a manger.

13 And suddenly there was with the angel a multitude of the heavenly host praising God, and saying,

14 Glory to God in the highest,

and on earth peace,

good will toward men.”  Luke 2:9-14

Amen!