That baby lying in the manger was the personal manifestation of God…not a resemblance or facsimile…Jesus was God incarnate. In Colossians, Paul wrote that Jesus was placed above all creation in that He was the first to rise from the dead with a transformed body…leading the way for us.
Tag: jesus
Isaiah 40:11 ” He gathers the lambs in His arms and carries them close to His heart…”
Like many of you, I have been trying to put my mind around the senseless killings at the grade school in Newtown, Connecticut a few days ago. We were at our Bible Study Friday night and were praying for all those affected by this tragedy, when I asked the Lord to show me where He was during those horrific moments in the classrooms. Suddenly I saw Jesus in those classrooms gently picking up tiny baby lambs one by one and gathering them all close to Him. I was struck by how calm and peaceful the picture was, the lambs weren’t scared, but rather were running up to Jesus waiting to be picked up. He gathered those little lambs in His arms and will now and forever carry them close to His heart.
I John 4:9 ” This is how God showed His love among us; He sent His one and only Son into the world that we might live through Him.”
God could have sent someone else, but so important was the mission, He sent His Son. In ancient times, the more important the matter, the higher the level of the person that was sent as an ambassador. To send a son showed gravity in the situation…to send an only son showed immense seriousness of the undertaking. God commissioned His one and only Son to the greatest mandate known to man…to save the world and give eternal life through His Son Jesus.
Romans 8:3 ” For what the Law was powerless to do in that it was weakened by the sinful nature, God did by sending His own Son in the likeness of sinful man to be a sin offering…”
That tiny baby in the manger was fully man…and fully God. What the Old Covenant and animal sacrifices were unable to do, Jesus came to accomplish…once, for all. God offered His Son as an atonement for our sins. But Jesus was also fully man, sharing in our humanity…He looked like a baby, cried like one, acted like one. The biggest difference was that this baby had come to save us from our sins.
Mark 5:34 ” He said to her, ‘Daughter, your faith has healed you. Go in peace and be freed from your suffering.’ “
For 12 years this woman was considered unclean. She was shunned by others and barred from going into the Temple. Sadly, she had spent all her money on treatments that had not worked, and instead of getting better she was now so weak it took all she could do to fight the crowds to get close to Jesus. But in an act of sheer desperation, with total, absolute belief that she could be delivered from this disease, she reached out and touched His cloak. Simultaneously, Jesus felt power leave Him as she was healed. That same Dynamis power is still there today… dry your tears on the hem of His garment and be made whole.
I Corinthians 3:11 ” For no one can lay any foundation other than the one already laid which is Jesus Christ.”
What is your life built on? Maybe its education and career, or your family name, or self-made success. Conversely, it may be built on a shaky base, like a house of cards ready to fall at anytime. For our lives to be firmly established we need a “Jesus” shaped foundation. We are all part of God’s family, built on the precious saints that have gone before us, with Jesus as the solid foundation.
Matthew 22:37 ” Jesus replied: ‘Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind.’ “
Jesus called this the First and Greatest Commandment- to love the Lord with all our mind, body, and emotions. He wants us to surrender it all to Him…every corner, every part, every area of our lives. Many of us though, put stipulations on giving everything to Him…”You can have all of me ,except for this area of my life that I want to still control.” To be wholly surrendered to God is to heed, listen and obey what He’s asking you to do.
Safetypinlove 