WONDER...

Matthew 1:18 (NLT) This is how Jesus the Messiah was born. His mother, Mary, was engaged to be married to Joseph. But before the marriage took place, while she was still a virgin, she became pregnant through the power of the Holy Spirit.

I don’t know about you, but if I had a daughter and she came to me saying that she was pregnant and had never had relations with a man, I would think she was either a terrible liar or crazy.

How then are we to accept what the writer tells us here? How are we to believe that the Holy Spirit could cause this young woman to become pregnant? Well, if we first remember that the Holy Spirit is the Spirit of God, the same God that gathered up some dirt, formed a man and breathed life into it, the feasibility of such an event taking place isn’t too hard to imagine.

The faith involved in believing that the event took place is not so difficult when we remember all of the mighty miracles that God has done before this point in history:

• God told Noah to build an ark and saved his family from the flood.
• God caused Abraham and Sarah to have a baby after they were in their 90’s.
• God allowed Joseph to be taken from his family and put him in a position of importance in Egypt in order to save his father and brothers. His father was Jacob, also know as Israel.
• God called Moses to lead the people out of Egypt and demonstrated His power by ten plagues, leading the people with a pillar of fire and causing the waters of the Red Sea to part allowing His people to walk across on dry land.
• God fed His people manna and quail while they wandered in the desert and caused water to come out of a rock to satisfy their thirst.
• God caused the walls of Jericho to fall after Joshua was faithful in doing what he was told.
• God gave His people victory over their enemies and moved them into the Promised Land.

And the list goes on and on and on….

God caused Mary to become pregnant by the power of His Holy Spirit. The baby to be born would be called Jesus and would offer Salvation to all who would believe.

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RECOGNIZE

John 1:30-34 (NLT)

He is the one I was talking about when I said, ‘A man is coming after me who is far greater than I am, for he existed long before me.’ 31 I did not recognize him as the Messiah, but I have been baptizing with water so that he might be revealed to Israel.” 32 Then John testified, “I saw the Holy Spirit descending like a dove from heaven and resting upon him. 33 I didn’t know he was the one, but when God sent me to baptize with water, he told me, ‘The one on whom you see the Spirit descend and rest is the one who will baptize with the Holy Spirit.’ 34 I saw this happen to Jesus, so I testify that he is the Chosen One of God.”

Many in the world do not know Jesus Christ as the Messiah. They may believe he existed as a man and that he did good things. They may even believe that he was the son of God. Unless they accept the gift of Salvation that he offers and FOLLOW him, obeying his commands, their limited knowledge is of no benefit to them.

According to the pollster George Barna, over 50% of the 20-30 year olds today have never even been in a church. Chances are they do not have any idea who Jesus is. How are they to recognize Him let alone know Him as Savior?

The scripture says whoever will call on the name of the Lord shall be saved (Romans 10:13, NASB). It goes on to say in verse fourteen of the same chapter,

How then will they call on Him in whom they have not believed? How will they believe in Him whom they have not heard? And how will they hear without a preacher?

And in verse 17 (NLT)

So faith comes from hearing, that is, hearing the Good News about Christ

It has been said that you and I (Christians) may be the only Jesus someone ever sees. Will they recognize Jesus in your life? Will you be the one who shares Christ with them?

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COMING...

Do you get excited when a friend is coming to visit you? How about when your very best friend is having a birthday, do you get excited and throw them a party? Do you buy them presents?

Wouldn’t it be great if this Christmas, we threw a party for Jesus and gave Him presents? After all, isn’t Christmas the celebration of His birthday?

What can you give the King of kings as a present? How about…

Your love

Your attention

Your devotion to His Word

What about a renewed commitment to…

Seek His will even in the little things

Give a portion of your income to His work

Be used by Him no matter what it is

We have turned the celebration of Christ’s birthday into something for ourselves. We buy presents for other people and expect presents from them. We decorate our houses with lights, tinsel, plastic reindeer, Santa and an occasional Nativity Scene. And, more often than not, it turns out to be a competition to see who can do the most lights, or the fanciest tree.

This year, let us worship the Almighty God for the awesome gift of His Son. Let us rejoice at the birth of Jesus, not as a baby who came into the world, but as God who came down to earth in the flesh so that we might have life eternal.

Finally, let us celebrate with eager anticipation of His return. Jesus is coming back for his people. He is coming to take those of us who follow Him to live with Him in heaven.

Do you know the Christ of Christmas? Do your friends know Him? Give Christ a present this Christmas. Pick out something special for His birthday. He is coming again…it could even be today.

John 1:29 (NLT) The next day John saw Jesus coming toward him and said, “Look! The Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world!

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UNWORTHY

John, the Baptizer, when questioned by the Priests and Levites as to what gave him the authority to baptize, told them he was not the Messiah, or the prophet they were waiting for and that he was not a re-incarnated version of Elijah. He pointed to one greater than himself, Jesus.

Though his ministry follows mine, I’m not even worthy to be his slave and untie the straps of his sandal. John 1:27

His calling was to prepare people to meet the coming Messiah, the Lord Jesus Christ, a high calling indeed. Yet, his response was one of humility as he gave such a vivid picture of his unworthiness for the task.

Most of us would consider ourselves above being someone’s slave or the menial task of stooping down to untie someone’s shoes. However, John causes us to see just how great this man called Jesus was; that he was indeed much more than a mere man; he was the Messiah, the Anointed One of God. He was far above and beyond anything or anyone John had ever had contact with before. After all, this was God Himself in the flesh.

It is reminiscent of the attitude of the Centurion in Matthew 8:8 when he said, “I am unworthy” to have you (Jesus) even come under my roof. In spite of that, Jesus healed the man’s servant because of the faith and humility that he demonstrated.

God doesn’t desire that we grovel at His feet, but I believe He wants us to recognize His greatness and subsequently our weakness. The hymn writer reminds us in the first line of “Just a Closer Walk with Thee;”

I am weak but Thou art strong.

There is nothing we can do to earn salvation. We cannot be “good enough” to get to heaven on our own.

For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God: 9 Not of works, lest any man should boast. 10 For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus unto good works, which God hath before ordained that we should walk in them. Ephesians 2:8 - 10 (KJV)

Despite our unworthiness, God has loved and still loves us so much…

For one will hardly die for a righteous man; though perhaps for the good man someone would dare even to die. 8 But God demonstrates His own love toward us, in that while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us. Romans 5:7 - 8 (NASB)

His love is without end. Humble yourself before the Almighty God.

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REVEALED...

If there was a person who could tell you precisely what to do so that you would successful, wouldn’t you like to meet him or her?

If there I was to tell you that there was the person that was able to introduce you to the President of the United States, Dr. Billy Graham, Third Day, the lead singer from Kutless or some other person that you held in high esteem, wouldn’t you be excited?

I know someone who can introduce you to the Creator of the entire Universe and all that is in it. Are you excited?

John testified about him when he shouted to the crowds, “This is the one I was talking about when I said, ‘Someone is coming after me who is far greater than I am, for he existed long before me.’” 16 From his abundance we have all received one gracious blessing after another. 17 For the law was given through Moses, but God’s unfailing love and faithfulness came through Jesus Christ. 18 No one has ever seen God. But the one and only Son is himself God and is near to the Father’s heart. He has revealed God to us. John 1:15 - 18 (NLT)

Jesus Christ is himself God…

And the word became flesh and dwelt among us… John 1:14

He has revealed the very nature and character of God to us…

And He (Jesus) is the radiance of His (God the Father’s) glory and the exact representation of His nature, and upholds all things by the word of His power. When He had made purification of sins, He sat down at the right hand of the Majesty on high, Hebrews 1:3 (NASB)

Has God revealed Himself to you through the person of Jesus Christ?

Spend time in the Word, which He gave us so we could know His thoughts.

Spend time in prayer asking for understanding.

Previously, I talked of our testimony. Another way to think about that is simply sharing with others how God has revealed Himself to us.

God has revealed Himself through Jesus Christ and His Holy Bible. Open your heart, eyes and mind to receive what He has for you today.

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TESTIMONY...

You’ve all seen it on Perry Mason, Justice, Shark or Judge Judy; someone gets up on the witness stand and gives their account of what happened, their testimony.

The testimony of the witnesses either frees or condemns the person on trial.

God sent a man, John the Baptist, 7 to tell about the light so that everyone might believe because of his testimony. John 1:6-7

Now the light that John was referring to was Jesus. Jesus said in John 8:12,

I am the light of the world.

John’s task was to tell people about Jesus Christ so that everyone might believe because of his testimony. Some believed some did not. Some were condemned because of their disbelief and some were set free from their sin to receive eternal life offered by Christ.

Each of us that claim Christ as Savior is a witness for Him. Jesus himself said,

But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you; and you shall be My witnesses both in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and even to the remotest part of the earth.” Acts 1:8 (NASB)

We are a witness just by the way we live our life. Our life is a testimony to what we believe or do not believe. If we live according to God’s word, we are an effective witness for Christ. If we do not, people see us and find our actions do not line up with our words. So, our goal is to seek His help daily in living the way that he would desire us to in order to improve our testimony.

There is also a spoken testimony about Christ that each of us has. We can testify to what he has done in our own life. This is extremely powerful because it is testifying to actual events that we have been through. For example, I know that Christ is who he said he is, because after I came to accept, acknowledge and surrender to him, he totally changed and improved my life. My selfishness started to change to caring for others. He changed my self-destructive bad habits into a more positive life-style, a more positive testimony for Him.

Think about your testimony: both lived out in the flesh and spoken. If either needs to be improved, work on it. Use your testimony to be an effective witness for the One who saved you and the One that can save all who would believe.

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SENT...

God sent John the Baptist

“to tell about the light so that everyone might believe because of his testimony.” John 1:6-7

Then, God sent His son

¹⁶For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life. ¹⁷For God sent not his Son into the world to condemn the world; but that the world through him might be saved. John 3:16-17 (KJV)

And soon, He shall send His angels…

³⁰And then shall appear the sign of the Son of man in heaven: and then shall all the tribes of the earth mourn, and they shall see the Son of man coming in the clouds of heaven with power and great glory. ³¹And he shall send his angels with a great sound of a trumpet, and they shall gather together his elect from the four winds, from one end of heaven to the other. Matthew 24:30 - 31 (KJV)

Meantime, He has sent us…

¹⁹Go ye therefore, and teach all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost: ²⁰Teaching them to observe all things whatsoever I have commanded you: and, lo, I am with you alway, even unto the end of the world. Amen. Matthew 28:19 - 20 (KJV)

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