CHRIST’S BIRTH IS AN ONGOING EVENT IN OUR LIFE

“And she will bring forth a son, and you shall call His name Jesus, for He will save His people from their sins.”—Matthew 1:21

 

I want to encourage you today to think on Christ’s birthday as an on-going event in your life, and not just a one-day-a-year event that we as Christians celebrate His birth.  The day of His coming was prophetically declared by Isaiah, the prophet, centuries before the actual occurrence, “Therefore the Lord Himself will give you a sign: ‘Behold, the virgin shall conceive and bear a Son, and shall call His name Immanuel” (Isaiah 7:14).  Sometimes we receive prophetic words but do not anticipate and pray about the fulfilling of God’s plan.  Many people have done the same thing concerning the birth of Christ and are still looking for the Messiah to come; however, He has already come and we must recognize His birth.

 

When we accept the virgin birth of Christ, his death, burial and resurrection, we are saying yes to everything that He provided for us.  His birth is on-going in our life by faith.  Salvation and our personal relationship with Him are by faith.  He is the Good Shepherd, who cares for us individually, unconditionally, and with great passion.

His unconditional love, is the gift that keeps on giving in our lives that no matter what it is never taken away.  He loves us so much.  He is faithful, trustworthy, available at all times.

 

Jesus is our Shepherd, Friend, and indwelling Teacher.  His gift of redemption allows us to live abundantly now and also promises eternity in His presence.  Take the time to explore some to the countless benefits of His gift so you can enjoy and be grateful for all the blessings we have in Him.

 

Prayer—Father thank You for Your gift of Jesus to me, Lord help me never to take You for granite and to always be aware that You are my faithful trustworthy friend, in Jesus' Name. Amen.

GOD’S GRACE RESTORES

“For by grace you have been saved through faith, and that not of yourselves; it is the gift of God.”—Ephesians 2:8

 

The transforming power of God’s grace is the heart of our Christian faith and the heart of our relationship with God.  Grace is the means by which God brings himself to us and restores us.  Grace is best defined as: God giving me what I need, not what I deserve.  I deserve to be punished for my sins, but in grace, God offers me forgiveness.  Through forgiveness, I am able to experience blessings upon blessing.  Grace is a fit that we accept in faith, and that is totally undeserved.  We tend to offer people conditional love; I love you, if.  But Jesus Christ offers each of us unconditional love: I love you, period!  And, when we are the recipients of such an awesome gift, our hearts are transformed and the desire of our hearts becomes helping others understand this amazing grace.  Dr. T. L. Osborn related that his older brother was transformed by the power of grace at his conversion to Christ.  Before being transformed his brother was mean and treated people badly, afterward he spoke kindly to people and treated them nicely.  Dr. T. L. wanted to experience the new birth because it made such a radically change in his brother.  Grace transforms people.

 

The apostle Paul is another example of the Lord’s power to transform an unrighteous man into an image-bearer of Jesus.

 

God changed a sinner into Christian. Paul was deeply religious before his conversion, but he relied on good works and a pious nature to gain divine acceptance.  When he met the Lord on the road to Damascus, the future apostle learned that all of his religious zeal meant nothing.  The only way for people to be acceptable before God is to receive the saving grace of Christ—He replaces our sin nature with a righteous spirit.  And even though Christians will sometimes falter and make mistakes, our heavenly Father remains patient and loving toward His children.  He uses our failures to teach us more about Himself and His ways.

God changed a servant of sin into a servant of the Lord. Paul was welcomed into the kingdom in spite of his hostility toward the church.  He had promoted blasphemy, punished believers, and cast his vote against those being put to death (Acts 26:10-11).  The lesson here is that nothing can separate you from the love of God (Romans 8:38-39).

 

The Father shapes and chisels His children until they mirror His Son.  He turned one of the early church’s enemies into a wise and repentant leader. Commit to obey the Lord, and see what He will do in your life.  He is faithful to complete the good work He has begun in you, “Being confident of this very thing, that He who has begun a good work in you will complete it until the day of Christ” (Philippians 1:6).

 

I have made many mistakes in my life, and in repentance I have seen that God’s grace is always willing to receive me back in love and mercy.  We all need God.  The Apostle Paul wrote that, “The most important thing is that I complete my mission, the work that the Lord Jesus gave me—to tell people the good news about God’s grace” (Acts 20:24 NCV).  Sharing the transforming grace of God with others is a sacred responsibility.  When we experience the transforming grace of God and His miraculous intervention, we should be filled with the desire to share that same wonderful reality with others.

 

Prayer—Father I thank You for Your miraculous transforming power of grace at work in my life.  I thank You that I will complete the work that You have given me to do, to share the good news of Your grace with others, in Jesus’ Name. Amen.