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Heb.2:17 - For this reason he had to be made like them, fully human in every way, in order that he might become a merciful and faithful high priest in service to God, and that he might make atonement for the sins of the people.
You will read it on signs in people’s front lawns, you can read it in store windows, and on Christmas cards. But is Jesus the reason for the season? I think not. Now I am sure I have some people’s attention now. I did a communion meditation using this topic. I laid out my premise this way. If we go all the way back to Adam and Eve and come forward in time and every person who had ever lived did exactly what God wanted them to do. In other words, no one ever sinned. We all lived according to God’s laws. Would there be the need of a sacrifice? The answer is “No”.
The Greek word “logos” when translated means “word”. Would the “word” have to come to earth if man had never sinned? The answer again is no. The Heb. 2:17 passage informs us the “word” became flesh so that He might make atonement for the sins of the people. Paul said it this way in 1 Timothy 1:15 - "It is a trustworthy statement, deserving full acceptance, that Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners,..." Jesus' purpose for coming was to save sinners. Like I said "If there were not any sinners He wouldn't have had to come."
Would the “logos” have come to earth and put on flesh and become a sacrifice for you? The answer is “Yes” He would do that for you. Why would He do that for you? The answer is because the “logos” loves you and He wants the best for you. Think About This: The real reason for the season is so God could save sinful man (John 3:16). The dreams of your future should motivate you more than the history of your past. Stay Pumped, Gary A. Serago Minister of God’s Word
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Luke 2:15-16 – When the angels had gone away from them into heaven, the shepherds began saying to one another, “Let us go straight to Bethlehem then, and see this thing that has happened which the Lord has made known to us. So they came in a hurry and found their way to Mary and Joseph, and the baby as He lay in the manger." NASU I send this Pump Up out every year at this time for all my new subscribers. I have made some updates to it this year.
What some may not know is the meaning of Bethlehem. It means "house of bread". Jesus was the Bread of Life or the Bread of God that came from the "house of bread" to give spiritual life to the world. John 6:33 - "For the bread of God is that which comes down out of heaven, and gives life to the world." John 6:35 - Jesus said to them, "I am the bread of life; he who comes to Me will not hunger, and he who believes in Me will never thirst. John 6:41 - So the Jews grumbled about him, because he said, “I am the bread that came down from heaven.” John 6:48 - "I am the bread of life." John 6:51 - "I am the living bread that came down from heaven. If anyone eats of this bread, he will live forever. And the bread that I will give for the life of the world is my flesh.” Jesus was and is the Bread of Life. If you are spiritually hungry Jesus is the One who can take away all of your hunger pains. If you have been wondering "What is my purpose in life?" Then look to Jesus for your answers.
The sheep were offered on the altar were special as they were sheep without a blemish. When John the Baptist saw Jesus, he said this about Him. John 1:29 - The next day he *saw Jesus coming to him and *said, “Behold, the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world! John saw Jesus as the Lamb of God that takes away the sin of the world and this Lamb was born in Bethlehem where a lot of other lambs were born and would sacrifice their blood. But only the blood of the Lamb of God, Jesus, could totally atone for the sins of mankind. I hope and pray you have allowed the blood of Jesus to wash away your sins.
What greater gift could anyone receive? Truly, Jesus is the Gift that keeps on giving. Think About This: The Christmas season is only as meaningful as we make it. Stay Pumped, Gary A. Serago Minister of God’s Word Deut. 1:30-33 - The LORD your God who goes before you will Himself fight on your behalf, just as He did for you in Egypt before your eyes, 31 and in the wilderness where you saw how the LORD your God carried you, just as a man carries his son, in all the way which you have walked until you came to this place.' 32 "But for all this, you did not trust the LORD your God, 33 who goes before you on your way, to seek out a place for you to encamp, in fire by night and cloud by day, to show you the way in which you should go. NASU
In the above text Moses is retelling the Israelites the story of the Exodus. He is telling them why they had to spend 40 years wandering around in the wilderness and it all boils down to one word.
Vs. 33 -…who goes before you on your way, to seek out a place for you to encamp, in fire by night and cloud by day, to show you the way in which you should go. The Israelites had God leading them miraculously by day with a cloud, and by night with a fire, but they would not TRUST Him. How many days and nights would you need to see this special appearing of a cloud, and a fire before you might have some faith in God? Once your faith falters you are in trouble.
When someone expects something from you this can be seen as a compliment because they trust you and are trying to build a trusting relationship. So go ahead and fulfill their expectations and build up your trust factor.
Someone's past performance helps us to build trust in them and a poor performance will cause us not to trust them. You know people right now you can trust and people you can't trust because of their past performance. You probably have friends who are either always on time or consistently late. So, if you need someone to be there for you, you are not going to ask the person who is consistently late. The Israelites didn't trust God. His past performance suggested that they should have trusted Him. He sent the 10 plagues on the Egyptians of which not a one of the plagues hurt the Israelites. He led them out of Egypt. He parted the Red Sea. Let’s be honest God had a great track record. The Israelites failed to allow God's miracles to build their trust. You can read God's word today and trust in the miracles that you read about in His Word. The greatest miracle that I trust in is the resurrection of Jesus Christ, my Lord and Savior. I hope you trust in His resurrection as well.
When a person wants to be trusted they will do the best they can to earn your trust. Think About These: Few delights can equal the presence of one whom we trust completely. A man who trusts nobody is apt to be the kind of man nobody trusts. Stay Pumped, Gary A. Serago Minister of God's Word Matt. 27:24 - When Pilate saw that he was accomplishing nothing, but rather that a riot was starting, he took water and washed his hands in front of the crowd, saying, "I am innocent of this Man's blood; see to that yourselves." NASU
He was giving them chance after chance to abandon their plan of murder. Earlier in this chapter of Matthew it says, "So when the people gathered together, Pilate said to them, "Whom do you want me to release for you? Barabbas, or Jesus who is called Christ?" For he knew that because of envy they had handed Him over." Pilate was giving them another chance to do the right thing, but they were not going to free Jesus. They were envious of Jesus and because of their envy they had one thing on their minds killing Jesus, the Son of God.
Jesus is still causing riots today. You are either for Him or against Him. The choice is yours. As we get ready to celebrate the birth of Jesus in a few days I hope you have made your choice to believe in Him as the Son of God. For you see there is no way we can wash our hands from this Man's innocent blood. He was born so that He could die and atone for the sins of mankind. We have before us each day a choice to either be with Jesus or against Him. It says in Matt 12:30 - He who is not with Me is against Me; and he who does not gather with Me scatters. So you see you can't wash your hands and say I choose to remain neutral for there is no neutral ground with Jesus.
It is the time of the year when everyone is giving gifts. Give the greatest gift to yourself and others and the gift is Jesus is the Light of the world. Jesus came into this dark world to help us see what God really wants for us. God wants us to truly know Him and how much He loves us. Life here on planet earth without Jesus is no life at all. God has given the world the greatest gift, Jesus Christ, His Son, but everyone needs to accept God's gift for themselves. So make a real statement this year, accept Jesus as your Lord and Savior, if you have not already done so, and be baptized in the name of Jesus for the remission of your sins and to receive the gift of the Holy Spirit (Acts 2:38). If you have named Him as your Lord and Savior and walked away from Him, now might be a good time to recommit your life to Jesus. Think About These: Keeping Christmas is good, but sharing it with others is much better. The Christmas season reminds us that a demonstration of Christianity is often better than a definition of it. Stay Pumped, Gary A. Serago Minister of God’s Word 1 Sam. 1:6-7 - "Her rival, however, would provoke her bitterly to irritate her, because the LORD had closed her womb. It happened year after year, as often as she went up to the house of the LORD, she would provoke her; so she wept and would not eat." NASU
It was the Lord who had closed Hannah's womb. She is in this situation because this is where the Lord wants her. I am not saying God wanted Peninnah to provoke her most likely by mocking her, but the fact remains she is childless because of God. You will notice in the Old Testament when God was at work delaying a pregnancy or being involved in some way the child born was always a special child. Isaac birth comes when Sarah is 90 years old, John the Baptist birth was when his mother and father were both old and here we are seeing the early days before the birth of Samuel who will become a famous Judge over all Israel. God had Hannah there for a reason. The mistreatment she endured led her to make a vow to God if He would give her a son she would dedicate him to the Lord. Samuel was going to be dedicated as a child and would become a part of the Nazarite vow. Would she have made this vow about Samuel had she not been provoked? Samuel was special as can be seen by the life he lived.
I would like for you to pray, "Lord, I don't like my present situation, but what I really want is to do Your will. Show me how You are going to use me in this situation to bring Glory to Your Name."
Think About These: The Lord calls for us to stand, but not always understand. When God allows a burden to be put upon you, He will put His arms underneath you to help you carry it. Stay Pumped, Gary A. Serago Minister of God’s Word |
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