Jesus thought before He gave; because He desired to satisfy the deepest need; because in fact He gave something of Himself in every gift. All true Christmas-giving ought to be after this pattern.”
–Henry Van Dyke
“In this is love, not that we loved God, but that He loved us and sent His Son to be the propitiation for our sins.”
–1 John 4:10 (NKJV)
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“For I am persuaded that neither death nor life, nor angels nor principalities nor powers, nor things present nor things to come, nor height nor depth, nor any other created thing, shall be able to separate us from the love of God which is in Christ Jesus our Lord.”
–Romans 8:38-39 (NKJV)
We live in perilous times, yet we live at the right time in history for this is the time and place that the Lord has set us. The year is almost over and there is turmoil in the Middle East, there is turmoil in other places, but in the midst of that we have the promise of the Lord that nothing, I repeat nothing, can separate us from the love of God. We should be longing more and more for the things of God, and what better time than now to start seeking Him more fervently than this day of closing out November and beginning the wondrous Christmas season?
“My soul today is thirsting for living streams divine,
To sweep from highest heaven to this poor heart of mine;
I stand upon the promise, in Jesus’ name I plead;
O send the gracious current to satisfy my need.”
–A. I. Zelley
All this world offers us is artificial compared to the great love of God. The gifts He has for us is above measure and will last throughout eternity. They are not temporal, here today, gone tomorrow. With Christmas coming in to greet us, let us rise to meet it because it was at that first Christmas that God fully poured out His mercy with the birth of His Son–Jesus Christ. Look at this Christmas with expectation and contemplate the completeness of His mercy and grace.
“I see the clouds arising, the mercy clouds of love,
That come to bring refreshing down from the thrones above,
The earnest of the shower, just now to us is giv’n,
And now we wait, expecting the floods of grace from heav’n.”
“For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life.” (John 3:16, NKJV) This is Christmas! God gave His son, the mystery of the Incarnation, to show His love and pour out His grace. Light has now come into the world, the mercy of God is freely given through Jesus. Grace and mercy–salvation–is available. What a tremendous present from the Father. Hearken to it this Christmas; heed the message of the birth of Christ.
“The show’rs of grace are falling, the tide is rolling in,
The flood-tide of salvation, with pow’r to cleanse from sin;
It’s surging thro’ my being and takes my sin away,
It keeps me shouting glory! thro’ all the happy day.”
When you receive that present from a loved one this year, think of the deeper message that it represents–the special gift of Jesus by His Father. A gift that, if received, washes the sin of our life away. It is truly a “flood-tide”! Maybe sometime during this Christmas season it would do you good to give a resounding shout of “Glory”!
“It’s coming, yes, it’s coming, it’s coming down this hour,
A torrent of salvation in saving, cleansing pow’r.
I hear the billows surging, I see them mount and roll;
O glory, hallelujah! they’re sweeping thro’ my soul.
Like a mighty sea, like a mighty sea,
Comes the love of Jesus, sweeping over me;
The waves of glory roll, the Savior to extol,
Comes the love of Jesus, sweeping o’er my soul.”
Let the love, mercy, and grace reach down this Christmas season to grip your soul.
—————————–
“For I am persuaded that neither death nor life, nor angels nor principalities nor powers, nor things present nor things to come, nor height nor depth, nor any other created thing, shall be able to separate us from the love of God which is in Christ Jesus our Lord.”
–Romans 8:38-39 (NKJV)
We live in perilous times, yet we live at the right time in history for this is the time and place that the Lord has set us. The year is almost over and there is turmoil in the Middle East, there is turmoil in other places, but in the midst of that we have the promise of the Lord that nothing, I repeat nothing, can separate us from the love of God. We should be longing more and more for the things of God, and what better time than now to start seeking Him more fervently than this day of closing out November and beginning the wondrous Christmas season?
“My soul today is thirsting for living streams divine,
To sweep from highest heaven to this poor heart of mine;
I stand upon the promise, in Jesus’ name I plead;
O send the gracious current to satisfy my need.”
–A. I. Zelley
All this world offers us is artificial compared to the great love of God. The gifts He has for us is above measure and will last throughout eternity. They are not temporal, here today, gone tomorrow. With Christmas coming in to greet us, let us rise to meet it because it was at that first Christmas that God fully poured out His mercy with the birth of His Son–Jesus Christ. Look at this Christmas with expectation and contemplate the completeness of His mercy and grace.
“I see the clouds arising, the mercy clouds of love,
That come to bring refreshing down from the thrones above,
The earnest of the shower, just now to us is giv’n,
And now we wait, expecting the floods of grace from heav’n.”
“For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life.” (John 3:16, NKJV) This is Christmas! God gave His son, the mystery of the Incarnation, to show His love and pour out His grace. Light has now come into the world, the mercy of God is freely given through Jesus. Grace and mercy–salvation–is available. What a tremendous present from the Father. Hearken to it this Christmas; heed the message of the birth of Christ.
“The show’rs of grace are falling, the tide is rolling in,
The flood-tide of salvation, with pow’r to cleanse from sin;
It’s surging thro’ my being and takes my sin away,
It keeps me shouting glory! thro’ all the happy day.”
When you receive that present from a loved one this year, think of the deeper message that it represents–the special gift of Jesus by His Father. A gift that, if received, washes the sin of our life away. It is truly a “flood-tide”! Maybe sometime during this Christmas season it would do you good to give a resounding shout of “Glory”!
“It’s coming, yes, it’s coming, it’s coming down this hour,
A torrent of salvation in saving, cleansing pow’r.
I hear the billows surging, I see them mount and roll;
O glory, hallelujah! they’re sweeping thro’ my soul.
Like a mighty sea, like a mighty sea,
Comes the love of Jesus, sweeping over me;
The waves of glory roll, the Savior to extol,
Comes the love of Jesus, sweeping o’er my soul.”
Let the love, mercy, and grace reach down this Christmas season to grip your soul.