Born to Die: Merry Christmas † ¤ †

Luke 2:16-18 NASB So they came in a hurry and found their way to Mary and Joseph, and the baby as He lay in the manger. When they had seen this, they made known the statement which had been told them about this Child. And all who heard it wondered at the things which were told them by the shepherds.

A humble beginning for a king... Don't you think??? Born of a virgin... born in a barn.... Jesus stepped out of heaven into time, and lived among us!!!! All who heard about His birth was astounded- surprised.... it was the talk of the day!!! Some questioned why God would be born this way? Think about it- all power and authority was granted to God and Jesus, but instead of having a glorious birth at the top-notch hospital with all the modern amenities, Jesus choose to be born in a barn!!! And then the first people to hear of the precious birth were lowly shepherds... dirty, smelly sheepherders out in the fields tending the flock of critters!!! Not a glamorous birth, but just the same, Jesus came into the world with the sole purpose to bridge the gap between God and mankind alike!

Psalm 65:4-8 AMP Blessed (happy, fortunate, to be envied) is the man whom You choose and cause to come near, that he may dwell in Your courts! We shall be satisfied with the goodness of Your house, Your holy temple. By fearful and glorious things [that terrify the wicked but make the godly sing praises] do You answer us in righteousness (rightness and justice), O God of our salvation, You Who are the confidence and hope of all the ends of the earth and of those far off on the seas; Who by [Your] might have founded the mountains, being girded with power, Who still the roaring of the seas, the roaring of their waves, and the tumult of the peoples, So that those who dwell in earth's farthest parts are afraid of [nature's] signs of Your presence. You make the places where morning and evening have birth to shout for joy.

Blessed are those who rejoice in the gift granted to each person on Christmas morning! Not the physical presents under the tree, but the only gift that can give each of us new life!!! The gift that can only be found in Jesus Christ... We all must choose how we are going to live our lives... to live according to the plan and purpose set forth by the cross, or to live according to our own desires and dreams! God spoke life into each one of us the day we were conceived and He speaks life into us when we accept the gift found through Jesus Christ. Shout for joy all you earth! Shout in triumph at the name of Jesus!!! Today is the day of salvation, are you ready? Psalm 85:8-9 MSG I can't wait to hear what he'll say. God's about to pronounce his people well, The holy people he loves so much, so they'll never again live like fools. See how close his salvation is to those who fear him? Our country is home base for Glory! Our nation was once founded upon the purpose and grace that is God desires for His children to have! Slowly, little by little Satan is trying to destroy this glorious gift, to remove the name of Jesus from the Christmas season and thus to destroy the purpose of Jesus birth! Happy are those who will persevere and experience the grace of God through His Son for they shall see the kingdom of God; even here on earth! It's time to get back to the real meaning of Christmas- to celebrate the birth of the only King that can bring change not only to our nation, but to our world!!!

Psalm 95:1-5 NLT Come, let us sing to the Lord! Let us shout joyfully to the Rock of our salvation. Let us come to him with thanksgiving. Let us sing psalms of praise to him. For the Lord is a great God, a great King above all gods. He holds in his hands the depths of the earth and the mightiest mountains. The sea belongs to him, for he made it. His hands formed the dry land, too. Psalm 85:10-13 MSG Love and Truth meet in the street, Right Living and Whole Living embrace and kiss! Truth sprouts green from the ground, Right Living pours down from the skies! Oh yes! God gives Goodness and Beauty; our land responds with Bounty and Blessing. Right Living strides out before him, and clears a path for his passage.

Peace and beauty are yours for the taking! Joy and salvation are like garlands wrapped around our hearts! Stand up and bless the Lord all you His people! Rejoice for our steps are ordered of the Father!!! God is calling each one of us to find our salvation through Him- to stop searching at the street corners for answers! He has called each one of us into His holiness and worshipful reverence of Who He is in our lives. Let us rejoice for our steps are ordered of God! Let us rejoice that the answer to our struggles is never far from our lips! We are called to live our lives separated unto His calling and to dwell in the safety of His shadow! Our whole world is crying out for His return- are you ready?!?!?! Psalm 85:10-11 CEV Love and loyalty will come together; goodness and peace will unite. Loyalty will sprout from the ground; justice will look down from the sky above. Let us all fix our eyes on Jesus this holiday season and put aside our hurts and pride so that our lives will be a witness to those around us. God is waiting for us to reach out to Him, trust Him, and to fully rely on Him so that He may bless our lives abundantly greater than we ever thought possible! Psalm 85:10-11 CEV Our LORD, you will bless us; our land will produce wonderful crops. Justice will march in front, making a path for you to follow. We are not alone to face life's seasons without the possibility of victory! His Spirit and truth will go before us preparing our way, making our paths straight! We need to trust in Him, laying aside our fears in order to live victorious!

Psalm 70:1-5 CEV Save me, LORD God! Hurry and help. Disappoint and confuse all who want to kill me. Turn away and disgrace all who want to hurt me. Embarrass and shame those who say, "We told you so!" Let your worshipers celebrate and be glad because of you. They love your saving power, so let them always say, "God is wonderful!" I am poor and needy, but you, the LORD God, care about me. You are the one who saves me. Please hurry and help!

The cry for help was answered over 2000 years ago when Jesus was born! People not only rejoiced, but desired to put a stop to the gift that God gave us so many years ago! Are you ready to stand up for God when the storms come? Are you prepared to give it all like Jesus did in order to be victorious through Christ Jesus our Lord? We have been blessed to live in a society that for a long time allowed us to come into fellowship openly with other believers! We are blessed to be able to openly speak the truth of God's word... Jesus stepped into time, born into a not so glorious birth! Was worshipped by many, persecuted to the point of death! Rose again giving all who will believe the victory over life and death! It's an awesome thought, powerful dream! Embrace the truth, for a time is coming when we will be forced to take sides--- either you are for God or against... there will be no more middle ground. Each day there is a greater void between good and evil, or what is perceived as good and evil. Choose you this day whom you shall serve!

Luke 1:68-75 MSG Then Zachariah was filled with the Holy Spirit and prophesied, Blessed be the Lord, the God of Israel; He came and set His people free. He set the power of salvation in the center of our lives, and in the very house of David his servant, Just as He promised long ago through the preaching of His holy prophets: Deliverance from our enemies and every hateful hand; Mercy to our fathers, as He remembers to do what He said He'd do, What He swore to our father Abraham— a clean rescue from the enemy camp, So we can worship Him without a care in the world, made holy before Him as long as we live.

It's a powerful gift... so powerful that His word is sharper than any double-edged sword. The gift of life is open to any and all who are willing to accept! God does not desire that any should perish, but that through Jesus Christ all shall be saved!!! Are we living our lives according to that purpose? Are we shining forth God's light in every choice we make? Are we really living a life that reflects who we are in Jesus? I am convicted as I write this that my life is not perfect! That sometimes my life does not reflect the grace that is found only through our Father... It breaks my heart that I am not perfect! What's worse is that I know sometimes my behaviors hinder those around me! If my life does not appear to be different then the worlds then why would they want my Jesus??? Salvation belongs to God alone, it's ours for the taking... Father, move in our hearts until our hearts beat as one with Yours. Draw us ever closer and strengthen us in the name of Jesus Christ! Purify our hearts so that all that we do will bring glory to You. Luke 1:74-75 NLT We have been rescued from our enemies so we can serve God without fear,in holiness and righteousness for as long as we live. We are saved from the second death! Saved from eternal separation from God through Jesus Christ! Nothing can separate us from the love of the Father... We are saved, sanctified and free through the Holy Spirit!

Psalm 65:9-13 MSG Oh, visit the earth, ask her to join the dance! Deck her out in spring showers, fill the God-River with living water. Paint the wheat fields golden. Creation was made for this! Drench the plowed fields, soak the dirt clods With rainfall as harrow and rake bring her to blossom and fruit. Snow-crown the peaks with splendor, scatter rose petals down your paths, All through the wild meadows, rose petals. Set the hills to dancing, Dress the canyon walls with live sheep, a drape of flax across the valleys. Let them shout, and shout, and shout! Oh, oh, let them sing!

Let us come and bow down before Jesus... Let us worship the Lord our God the maker of heaven and earth! Let us rejoice in the birth of our Lord Jesus for this is the day that the Lord has made. As we look out at the painting of our world- each perfect detail made to bring tranquility to our hearts- let us not forget who we are in, through, and by Christ. We are saved by grace, set apart for the glory of the coming kingdom. Our hearts an open book, being written each day. Isaiah 50:10 AMP Who is among you who [reverently] fears the Lord, who obeys the voice of His Servant, yet who walks in darkness and deep trouble and has no shining splendor [in his heart]? Let him rely on, trust in, and be confident in the name of the Lord, and let him lean upon and be supported by his God. Let those who call upon the name of Jesus learn to fully rely on God in all things... not just today... not when things are going wrong... not just when you feel good!!! But in all things... in all ways... in all seasons! There's something powerful when we press into God's presence and step out of our time into His! There's something that changes us from the inside out when we look up instead of down for the answers. Confident that as our faith grows, His grace grows within as well... confident in the fact that God is a "Yes Man" rather than a hindrance.

Luke 4:18-21 MSG He came to Nazareth where he had been reared. As he always did on the Sabbath, he went to the meeting place. When he stood up to read, he was handed the scroll of the prophet Isaiah. Unrolling the scroll, he found the place where it was written, God's Spirit is on me; he's chosen me to preach the Message of good news to the poor, Sent me to announce pardon to prisoners and recovery of sight to the blind, To set the burdened and battered free, to announce, "This is God's year to act!" He rolled up the scroll, handed it back to the assistant, and sat down. Every eye in the place was on him, intent. Then he started in, "You've just heard Scripture make history. It came true just now in this place."

This is the day of salvation--- today is the day grace is flowing from God's throne! God has chosen you and I to preach the acceptable year of the Lord to our family, friends, co-workers...the grocery clerk.... any and all people we meet! The scripture was fulfillled by the birth of our Savior, in that all now can be saved through grace! Again I will say: Luke 1:19 CEV And to say, `This is the year the Lord has chosen.' Do you not hear Him calling? Can you not hear the angels rejoice over the salvation of one person? In the old testament a sacrifice was made daily in order to bring the sins under forgiveness... our sins... today's covenant with God is one of grace! Not because we deserve it... or work for it... not because we have status in society... nor that we are "good" people... but because of God's love and forgiveness this day truly is the day of salvation! It's impossible to build a house without the right tools! It's impossible to build faith pleasing to God apart from accepting Jesus Christ into our lives! Many churches preach works is salvation... preach that penance is forgiveness... preach that Jesus is only a stepping stone not the full bridge to God! Acts 4:11-13 CEV He is the stone that you builders thought was worthless, and now he is the most important stone of all. Only Jesus has the power to save! His name is the only one in all the world that can save anyone. The officials were amazed to see how brave Peter and John were, and they knew that these two apostles were only ordinary men and not well educated. The officials were certain that these men had been with Jesus. These men who preached early on appeared not only in word, but in deed to glorify God in His authority with everything they did. You cannot earn grace... you cannot build a bridge to God! Acts 4:12 AMP And there is salvation in and through no one else, for there is no other name under heaven given among men by and in which we must be saved. Today is the day of salvation--- Happy Birthday Jesus!!!

Romans 1:16-17 AMP For I am not ashamed of the Gospel (good news) of Christ, for it is God's power working unto salvation [for deliverance from eternal death] to everyone who believes with a personal trust and a confident surrender and firm reliance, to the Jew first and also to the Greek, For in the Gospel a righteousness which God ascribes is revealed, both springing from faith and leading to faith [disclosed through the way of faith that arouses to more faith]. As it is written, The man who through faith is just and upright shall live and shall live by faith.

Happy Birthday Jesus!!! Jesus came into the world, born of a virgin, in a stable.... His first visitors were the barn yard animals.... His birth like no other, was with for the purpose of bridging the gap between God and man. Jesus was born to die carrying the weight of the world upon His shoulders and to rise again in order to grant adundant life to everyone willing to accept His gift of life! I am not ashamed--- are you truly ready to stand up for Jesus? Of the gospel--- do you really know His word??? Of Christ--- His power is the authority to change not only our lives, but the world forever! For it is the power of God--- does our lives really reflect this power so that others may see God through us? Unto salvation--- Lord, help us to live our lives according to Your calling and with the authority of Your word in our hearts! For all who believe-- come now is the time to worship!!!! Jesus same, He saw, and He conquered!!!!

Father, Happy Birthday Jesus!!! I just praise You this day for our salvation... not of ourselves nor of our works, but of You sweet JEsus! I am not my own I was bought at a price I am sanctified by Your spoken word and set free through Your Spirit! Help us to live our lives according to YOur purpose and to be set apart in all that we do. Lord, help us to remember You each and every day... to spend time in Your presence to strengthen our faith. I just thank you for all that you have given us-- Jesus is the reason for this season!!! Hold us close to You until our hearts beat as one with Yours, In Jesus name amen!