–Luke 2:20 (HCSB)
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I want to bring just a few more thoughts regarding the Incarnation.  This could be the last “Echo” of the year, as I’m not sure if I’ll write any next week or not.  I want to encourage you to take time to contemplate on the Incarnation and what it means.  Don’t shake your head in question, but open your eyes wide in wonder.
       The New Bible Dictionary discusses the Incarnate State and I want to bring a few thoughts to your mind.
               1)  Dependence and Obedience
                         –the relationship between he Son and the Father did not change.
               2)  Sinlessness and Impeccability
                         –the nature and character of the Son did not change.
                         –“He was exempt from the entail of original sin in Adam is evident from the fact that He was not bound to die for sins of His own…”
               3)  Temptation and Moral Conflict
                         –it was necessary for Him to fight temptation in order to overcome it.  (Remember, the first Adam did not overcome).
                         –His deity assured that He would not be tempted to stray from the Father’s will.

       Nicene Creed
               “…Lord Jesus Christ, the Son of God, begotten of the Father, only begotten, that is, of the substance of the Father, God of God, Light of Light, true God of true God, begotten not made, of one substance with the Father, through whom all things were made, things in heaven and things on the earth; who for us men and for our salvation came down and was made flesh, and became man, suffered, and rose on the third day, ascended into the heavens, is coming to judge the living and the dead…”

       Statement of Fundament Truths of the Assembles of God
               “The Lord Jesus Christ, as to His divine and eternal nature, is the proper and only Begotten of the Father, but as to His human nature, His is the proper Son of Man.  He is, therefore, acknowledged to be both God and man; who because He is God and man, is ‘Immanuel,’ God with us.
               Since the name ‘Immanuel’ embraces both God and man in the one Person, our Lord Jesus Christ, it follows that the title, Son of God, describes His proper deity, and the title Son of Man, His proper humanity.  Therefore, the title Son of God, belongs to the order of eternity, and the title, Son of Man, to the order of time.”

Normally throughout this season I write regarding several of the wonderful Christmas carols.  I do not want to be remiss, so I will give you a smidgen that speaks of the Incarnation.

       “Thou didst leave Thy throne and Thy kingly crown, When Thou camest to earth for me….” (Thou Didst Leave Thy Throne, Emily E.S. Elliott)
       “Christ, by highest heaven adored; Christ, the everlasting Lord; Late in time behold Him come, Offspring of a virgin’s womb.  Veiled in flesh the Godhead see, Hail th’ incarnate Deity!  Pleased as man with men t’ appear, Jesus our Immanuel here.”  (Hark! the Herald Angels Sing, Charles Wesley)

And of course that solemn, wonderful hymn by Joseph Mohr.

       “Silent night holy night
       All is calm, all is bright
       ‘Round yon virgin mother and Child,
       Holy infant so tender and mild,
       Sleep in heavenly peace,
       Sleep in heavenly peace.”

      MERRY CHRISTMAS!

                         –1 Corinthians 11:25 (HCSB)
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               “Then the angel said to her, ‘Do not be afraid, Mary, for you have found favor with God.  And behold, you will conceive in your womb and bring forth a Son, and shall call His name Jesus.’…  Then Mary said to the angel, ‘How can this be, since I do not know a man?”  And the angel answered and said to her, ‘The Holy Spirit will come upon you, and the power of the Highest will overshadow you; therefore, also, that Holy One who is to be born will be called the Son of God.'”
                          –Luke 1:30-31, 34-35 (NKJV)

     Notice that it was not explained to Mary.  She received no answer, only a word, and she was content with what the angel said.   Mary simply, in faith, replied, “Behold the maidservant of the Lord!  Let it be to me according to your word…”. (Luke 1:38, NKJV)  Mary had an angel with the news from God, we have the Bible telling us the story of how it transpired.   “God has told us only what the incarnation was, leaving to us the duty of believing what He said.” (E.S. Williams)  The Son of God in person began to live a fully human life.
     We must never push aside His deity however.  He was fully God, He laid aside only His glory.  F.F. Bruce said that the Word “is the self-revelation or self-expression of God.”  He became flesh and dwelt among us (John 1:14).  “When the Word ‘became flesh’ His deity was not abandoned, or reduced, or contracted, nor did He cease to exercise the divine functions which had been His before.” (New Bible Dictionary).  In fact, His very birth, the circumstance and the event itself, point to His deity.  
     He worked miracles, He healed many of various infirmities, He rose from the dead, then why question a miraculous birth?  The Incarnation is not the diminishing of deity, but the acquiring of manhood.  J.I. Packer said, “Jesus’ humanity was sinless, and the circumstances of His birth call attention to the miracle that was involved when Mary, a sinner, gave birth to one who was not ‘in Adam’ as she was, nor therefore needed a Savior as she did.”  
     Jesus emptied Himself of outside glory–the “kenosis.”  Philippians 2:7, from the Amplified says, “But emptied Himself [without renouncing or diminishing His deity, but only temporarily giving up the outward expression of divine equality and His rightful dignity] by assuming the form of a bondservant, and being made in the likeness of men [He became completely human but was without sin, being fully God and fully man].”   His followers had little trouble accepting His humanity, it was His deity that they struggled with; it was His deity that amazed them.  John the Baptist declared that “He was before me” (John 1:30).  John wrote, “No one has ascended to heaven but He who came down from heaven, that is, the Son of Man who is in heaven” (John 3:13, NKJV)
     Why are we surprised at the miracle of His birth?  Jesus entered and left this world by acts of supernatural power.  As Karl Barth put it, “God for man, and man for God.”  Miracles, the supernatural are beyond us.  It is beyond natural this birth of Jesus.  “To grasp what the incarnation was in positive terms is beyond us.” (J.I. Packer)  As I wrote earlier last week, the Incarnation is a mystery; it requires belief rather than explanation.  Accept it, grasp hold of its truth.  To not accept the Incarnation–Jesus coming in the flesh–is as John wrote “antichrist.”  In this season in which we celebrate the birth of our Lord rejoice in the miracle of the supernatural birth of Jesus–God in the flesh come to save mankind from their sins.

               “Answer thy mercy’s whole design,
               My God incarnated for me;
               My spirit made the radiant shrine,
               My light and full salvation be;
               And through the shades of death unknown
               Conduct me to thy dazzling throne.”
                         –Charles Wesley

                    –Colossians 2:9 (Amplified)
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               “So all this was done that it might be fulfilled which was spoken by the Lord through the prophet, saying:  ‘Behold, the virgin shall be with child, and bear a Son, and they shall call His name Immanuel,’ which is translated, ‘God with us.'”
                         –Matthew 1:22-23(NKJV)

     The mystery of the Incarnation flows from the infinite mind of God.  His ways are for surely above and deeper than we could even begin to imagine.  F.F. Bruce wrote, “He manifested the form of God in the form of a servant…  He shared the true nature of God.”  The “I AM” was being revealed to mankind in a new and different way.  God did not change, but He presented Himself in the form of man.  The more I think of the Incarnation the more I am amazed.  It is incomprehensible.  “The Almighty appeared on earth as a helpless human baby, needing to be fed and changed and taught to talk like any other child.  The more you think about it, the more staggering it gets.  Nothing in fiction is so fantastic as this truth of the Incarnation.”  (J.I. Packer)
     Scripture declares that He was born of a virgin.  Isaiah prophesied many years before, “Therefore the Lord Himself will give you a sign:  Behold, the virgin shall conceive and bear a Son, and shall call His name Immanuel.” (7:14, NKJV)  The above verse in Matthew proclaims the validity of that prophecy.  Furthermore, Luke writes, “to a virgin betrothed to a man whose name was Joseph, of the house of David.  The virgin’s name was Mary. (1:27, NKJV)
     Because Jesus was virgin-born He did not inherit original sin.  He was the “second Adam.”  No sin, and unlike Adam, remained sinless.  This virgin-birth “cannot be explained away.  It can only be accepted or denied.  It is history or the boldest fiction.” (Encyclopedia of the Bible).  We see in the first three Gospels the emphasis being placed upon Jesus’ humanity.  He was born in Bethlehem (Luke 2:4-7); there was the flight into Egypt (Matthew 2:13-15); He was anointed at His baptism in the Jordan (Matthew 3:13-17); and was tempted of the devil (Matthew 4:1-11).  “The New Testament writers never attempt to dissect the mystery of His person; it is enough for them to proclaim the incarnation as a fact, one of the sequences of mighty works whereby God has wrought salvation for sinners” (New Bible Dictionary).  Only Joseph and Mary alone knew the tremendous secret.
     This is the “mystery of godliness:  God was manifested in the flesh” so wrote the Apostle Paul.  Jesus, not less than man, was more than man.  He came to His own world as a visitor; He came from God, and went to God.  The Incarnation is not the diminishing of deity, but the acquiring of manhood.  The Son in person began to live a fully human life.  We can now relate fully to God for He became like us.

                    –John 1:8 (NLT)
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In reading and studying Psalm 107 something caught my eye.  There seems to be four sections to this Psalm each dealing with different groups of people (or are they?).  (1) Wanderers who got lost in the desert; (2) prisoners condemned to hopelessness; (3) sufferers of incurable illnesses; and (4) sailors about to be shipwrecked (William J. Petersen).  This Psalm is used to describe Israel, but they can describe each of us as well.

          1 — Oh, give thanks to the LORD, for He is good!  For His mercy endures forever.
          2 — Let the redeemed of the LORD say so, whom He has redeemed from the hand of the enemy,
          3 — And gathered out of the lands, from the east and from the west, from the north and from the south.
          4 — They wandered in the wilderness in a desolate way; they found no city to dwell in.
          5 — Hungry and thirsty, their soul fainted in them.
          6 — Then they cried out to the LORD in their trouble, and He delivered them out of their distresses.
          7 — And He led them forth by the right way, that they might go to a city for a dwelling place.
          8 — Oh, that men would give thanks to the LORD for His goodness, and for His wonderful works to the children of men!
          9 — For He satisfies the longing soul, and fills the hungry soul with goodness.   (NKJV)

       Where do you find yourself wandering?  This time of year many people wander in loneliness or in regret or in past memories.  People wander when they lack direction, or are cut off from others.  Jesus came to bring life, to give light to the wandering soul and to be the way.  He seeks to save those who are lost, those who are wandering in the world and in sin.  He wants to deliver those trapped in bondages of alcohol, drugs, chaining habits and/or destructive relationships.  Listen, God is reaching out–He is good!  He is the Redeemer and His mercy is there for everyone and anyone who will reach out to Him.  No matter our circumstances let each of us declare that God is good.
       Wanderers have no place to light.  No place to call their own for they are searching, possibly lost.  They have no constant supply of food and they are always seeking water to satisfy their thirst.  Sustenance is from day to day, but then God shows up.  There is a way out of the wilderness.  He satisfies the hungry, He quenches the thirsty soul.  He is good!
       I read a story from George O. Wood’s book on the Psalms.  There was an inscription on the back of a photo of a young girl that she had given to her boyfriend.  “Dearest Tommy, I love you with all my heart.  I love you more and more each day.  I will love you forever and ever.  I am yours for all eternity.”  signed Dianne.  But…it contained a P.S., “If we should ever break up, I want this picture back.”  Isn’t that the way it is with so many people today?  However, not with the Lord.  His mercy endures forever!  There is no P.S. to His love letter to us.  We are His and He is our Redeemer and He will keep us.
       This may not be a normal psalm to read at Christmastime, however, meditate carefully on the last two verses.  The goodness of God–sending His Son to earth to become a sacrifice, the final sacrifice for sin.  Think of His wonderful works–His great blessings.  He satisfies the longing soul–the soul that is wandering without direction.  When you sit down to feast at your Christmas table, think of the words, “He fills the hungry soul…”  WOW!  Now that is a real Christmas gift!

               “All my life long I had panted for a drink from some cool spring
               That I hoped would quench the burning of the thirst I felt within,
               Hallelujah!  I have found him whom my soul so long has craved!
               Jesus satisfies my longings; through his blood I now am saved.”
                           –Clara T. Williams