Post by MIRIAM JACOB on Dec 4, 2014 10:44:04 GMT -5
CHRISTMAS IS ABOUT JESUS - the real Reason for the Season. When we look beyond the manger, at the Cross of Calvary, we will know the reason. Christmas brings such a great joy to you and me. Bethlehem's stable was the first step in God's journey of love to the cross. If we grasp the central truth of Christmas, we have the answer to our deepest dilemmas. What is the central truth? It is this: God the Father has come to us in the Person of His Son to make us His children.
Let me quote Dr. Stanley Jones' story : " A little boy who stood before a picture of his absent father and then turned to his mother and said wistfully:" Oh, how I wish father would step out of the picture" . That little boy expressed in his own way the deepest longing of all those who lived before Christ.
The Old Testament saints must have thought many times as they looked up to the heavens through the lattice of the law and creation: " How I wish the Father would step out of the picture" . Well, He has stepped out of the picture. He stepped out at Bethlehem. The Word became flesh and dwelt among us . God came at a certain hour in history and to a certain place on earth, a town called Bethlehem, to reveal Himself to us. Indeed, the Father has stepped out of the picture. "
Christmas is a Reason. .....
1 A Reason to be Joyful ,
2 A Reason to Believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God, and that by believing we may have life in His name,
3 A Reason to be Grateful for the blessings we receive,
4 A Reason to Have faith and trust in our gracious Lord above,
5 A Reason to Be filled with hope and love,
6 A Reason to Have peace that transcends all understanding,
7 A Reason to Share what we have with others.
May the gracious Lord help us to communicate the real meaning of Christmas to others.
Let us thank God for His indescribable gift.
- Professor George Mathew
(Quotes from "The Meaning Of Christmas" by Joanie Yoder, Dennis De Haan in "Our Daily Bread", Dr. Stanley Jones)
Let me quote Dr. Stanley Jones' story : " A little boy who stood before a picture of his absent father and then turned to his mother and said wistfully:" Oh, how I wish father would step out of the picture" . That little boy expressed in his own way the deepest longing of all those who lived before Christ.
The Old Testament saints must have thought many times as they looked up to the heavens through the lattice of the law and creation: " How I wish the Father would step out of the picture" . Well, He has stepped out of the picture. He stepped out at Bethlehem. The Word became flesh and dwelt among us . God came at a certain hour in history and to a certain place on earth, a town called Bethlehem, to reveal Himself to us. Indeed, the Father has stepped out of the picture. "
Christmas is a Reason. .....
1 A Reason to be Joyful ,
2 A Reason to Believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God, and that by believing we may have life in His name,
3 A Reason to be Grateful for the blessings we receive,
4 A Reason to Have faith and trust in our gracious Lord above,
5 A Reason to Be filled with hope and love,
6 A Reason to Have peace that transcends all understanding,
7 A Reason to Share what we have with others.
May the gracious Lord help us to communicate the real meaning of Christmas to others.
Let us thank God for His indescribable gift.
- Professor George Mathew
(Quotes from "The Meaning Of Christmas" by Joanie Yoder, Dennis De Haan in "Our Daily Bread", Dr. Stanley Jones)