This is for all the Marthas in the world. You are those people who are working hard to do what you can for everyone else. You are the ones who are preparing the house, the food, wrapping the presents and making the phone calls for family and friends to arrive. You are the ones who don't expect anything nor do you really want anything. You may even feel like you don't deserve anything.
But Christmas is for you, too. Jesus didn't come to this world just so that everyone else would hear of His birth. He did not come so that you would have to work hard to make it a special time for others and never receive the joy of Christmas. He didn't overlook you. He came for you, too.
I know. Some of you Marthas may think it is more important to do all the work than to enjoy the presence of Christ. It isn't. You are very special to the Lord. You are believing a lie if you don't believe that. He crossed over from heaven to earth for you, too.
This is also for all you who haven't been so close to the Lord this past year. You are the people who didn't come to church much. You are the ones whose Christian walk hasn't been that close. You are the ones who want to walk with the Lord, try to walk with the Lord but always fall away after a few days of effort. You are the ones who have rededicated your lives to the Lord but can't seem to get it too stick. Christmas is for you, too.
This is for all of you who do not think Jesus would come for you. You may think you are not good enough. You may think you are so good that you don't need Him. You may think that He has forgotten you or has never thought of you. Let me assure you: He came for you, too.
Jesus didn't come into the world just so that we would go to church or read our Bibles. He came so that our lives would be changed. He came so that we might know that we are loved while we are yet sinners. And since He came for all sinners, He came for you, too.
Sometimes we don't get the significance of the angels coming to the shepherds. They were considered to possess quesitonable character since they nomadicly led their flocks from place to place. It was easy to blame a shepherd when something went missing. It was easy to blame them because they may not have been part of the community. They would not have thought that the Lord came for them. And they were wrong.
So, Jesus came for them, too.
And if He has come for them, He has come for you, too.
Luke 2:8-18 (ESV)
8
And in the same region there were shepherds out in the field, keeping watch over their flock by night.
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And an angel of the Lord appeared to them, and the glory of the Lord shone around them, and they were filled with fear.
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And the angel said to them, “Fear not, for behold, I bring you good news of great joy that will be for all the people.
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For unto you is born this day in the city of David a Savior, who is Christ the Lord.
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And this will be a sign for you: you will find a baby wrapped in swaddling cloths and lying in a manger.”
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And suddenly there was with the angel a multitude of the heavenly host praising God and saying,
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“Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace among those with whom he is pleased!”
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When the angels went away from them into heaven, the shepherds said to one another, “Let us go over to Bethlehem and see this thing that has happened, which the Lord has made known to us.”
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And they went with haste and found Mary and Joseph, and the baby lying in a manger.
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And when they saw it, they made known the saying that had been told them concerning this child.
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And all who heard it wondered at what the shepherds told them.
2 comments:
Herein 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
And he is the propitiation for our sins: and not for ours only, but also for the sins of the whole world. - 1 John 2:2
Jesus was sent, not just for some of us, but for all of us, the whole world. Jesus has come for any and everyone in the world who is willing to believe that Jesus is the only way for us to be reconciled back to God.
When we are reconciled back to God through Christ Jesus, we can journey through life with the Lord walking with us when we abide in Him. Life may not be without troubles, but a Christian is most assuredly assured of God being with him in his troubles when he loves God back even as God has first loved him and is still loving him (Ps 91:14-15). Wouldn't you like that - God being with you in your journey through life, even in trouble?
We come into this season with a thankful heart,
remembering God's great gift of reconciliation back to Him by the giving of His one and only begotten Son, Jesus Christ who is also called Emmanuel - God with us. You too, can join us in this thanksgiving, and remembrance. If you do not know how you can join us, by appropriating the propitiation for your sins, talk to a Christian friend, or since you reading this, communicate with Ps Prentis, or even send me an email at high.expressions@gmail.com. We would be most happy to communicate with anyone who wish to know how he/she can be a believer.
Blessed Christmas to one and all.
Anthony Chia, high.expressions
What a great post! All of it.
I was such a Martha on Thanksgiving that I ended up in a snit (just like Martha) before it was all over. (My son was late...so the grandchildren ate before they got here and, then, didn't eat the dinner I had held for them.) Everyone said the food was wonderful--I was so mad, I barely tasted it. Sigh.
I need to lighten up and enjoy Christmas, so thanks for the reminder.
The rest of the post was a a blessing. One Christmas Eve, I brought a message using John 3:16 as my text, but ended the message with verses from Luke that you ended with. "..news of great joy...a savior has been born...)
This post reminded me not only of the message that I brought, but of the message that God gave. :)
I'm asking God for this year to be a "Mary" year for me at Christmas time. Thanks for nudging me to offer that prayer up NOW, rather than in the midst of the chaos.
Deb
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