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by Rob Globke
Merry Christmas!!
Christmas is a time of year we celebrate the birth of Jesus Christ; God coming into the world to save us from our sin. Now, this is not usually what the media and the world around us might want us to believe about the reason this time of year is so special. So often, the message we hear about Christmas is all about a time of being with family, with friends, and giving gifts. While these things are not bad, and are actually quite good, they shouldn’t take the primary place in our thoughts over this season.
The thing that should dominate our thoughts over the next few weeks is the astounding fact that God sent His one and only Son to humble himself and put on human flesh. God came to be with us!! This is amazing. Yet, in the midst of the world around us, it’s easy to forget.
This is why it’s important to never let our Bible’s get dusty. Use God’s word because it’s a good reminder of His story...which is so much better than the story the world tries to write for us. Today, we are going to dust off our Bible’s and try to come up with something that will help us as we celebrate Christmas.
Let's read the two verses below before we jump into the lesson....Isaiah 7:14
Therefore the Lord himself will give you a sign: The virgin will conceive and give birth to a son, and will call him Immanuel.
Luke 2:8-11
And there were shepherds living out in the fields nearby, keeping watch over their flocks at night. An angel of the Lord appeared to them, and the glory of the Lord shone around them, and they were terrified. But the angel said to them, “Do not be afraid. I bring you good news that will cause great joy for all the people. Today in the town of David a Savior has been born to you; he is the Messiah, the Lord.
Life is full of broken promises. It may be….- a coach who promises you that you will play more, but never do
- a friend who guarantees to get you a tryout with the city's best team, but the phone never rings
- a parent who pledges to get you to the rink on time from here on out, but a month later you find yourself sprinting to get dressed before the game starts
- a teammate who promises he will definitely move the puck better next game, only to proceed to put the blinders on and play his own game
- yourself who commits to never do ________ again, but one week (or day even) you find yourself destroying that promise.
And these are just hockey examples!! Think about all the other parts of life. It’s crazy how many things let us down and fail to fulfill the claims they make.
Not so with God. And the birth of Christ is our great reminder of that fact. In the two verses above you have one verse written thousands of years before the other. Yet, they both say the same thing only with different verbs. One says, “I will” the other says, “I have” (in essence).
In Isaiah 7:14, God is making a claim...a promise, just as He did so many times throughout history before Jesus stepped into the world. He is basically saying,
“One day, I will send someone who will make all things right again.”
In Luke 2, we see the fulfillment of this promise. Not “I will”, but “Here HE Is”. This is what we celebrate. We celebrate a God who loves us enough to give His Son. We celebrate a God who provides a way for our salvation. We celebrate a God who KEEPS HIS PROMISES.
SO What?
You may be asking, “So, how does this help me with my life?” And we would argue that if you truly think about the reality of Jesus coming into the world, you will find a million things that will be relevant for your life. But, here is just one to get you started…..TRUST. We can put our trust into many things of this world. Hockey, family, money, fame, possessions, and the list can go on. But, as we have seen and know, these things won’t and can’t follow through on the promises they make. At some point, they will break down.
YET, Christmas reminds us that we can TRUST in someone who will NEVER break a promise. That is pretty cool. That is GREAT news of good JOY!
Questions- What are you thinking about this Christmas season?
- Where is your trust lately?
