In Luke 2:8-11 And there were shepherds living out in the fields nearby, keeping watch over their flocks at night. An angel of the Lord appeared to them, and the glory of the Lord shone around them, and they were terrified. But the angel said to them, "Do not be afraid. I bring you good news of great joy that will be for all the people. Today in the town of David a Savior has been born to you; he is Christ the Lord.
Here we see the fulfilment of thousands of years of Prophecy about the coming of a saviour. A child that would be found Lying in a manger, or a feeding trough (Luke 2:12). The King of Kings, Emmanuel, Yahweh, the Alpha and Omega, come to Earth as a baby, and found lying in a manger, or his cradle if you will. The Gift of God to all mankind, the one who would save the world from their sin, come as an innocent baby born into a world of sin, for all mankind. He could have appeared out of the clear blue sky as a vision to all people everywhere to be seen by all at one time and he didn't. Why? Simply because that wasn't the Father's plan. He didn't want a big time production, he was trying to show us that when Sin is overcome in our lives, we become as he came.Innocent, child like. A baby who needs to be nourished and fed spiritually so that we can grow just as he was going to have to do. As a baby , he had to rely on his mother and his (Step) father Joseph to make sure he got the physical things he needed to grow strong and upright, so that he might be able to walk on his own someday instead of having to be held up when he walked. We are the same way when we come to Christ, we have to rely on our Heavenly father to hold us up as we learn to walk spiritually so that we don't fall. Oh we are going to fall occasionally as we are not perfect, but when we do Christ is right there to pick us up and dust us off , just as Mary and Joseph were for him as a child.
When Christ was grown he went about telling all who he came in contact with about the Father in Heaven and that Redemption was at hand for all who would repent of their sins, and healing those who were sick and in need (Matthew 4:23-25).This is our perfect example of how we should be after we have been fed and grown spiritually in the body of Christ. We should be out telling everyone we can about how he saved us from our sin and how he still heals today. When is the last time you witnessed something that you knew was 100% of God yet you didn't tell anyone at all about it because you were either scared to speak up or you were scared you would offend someone. If we never speak up how will they hear of Christ?Especially if everyone they come in contact with is scared to tell them about Jesus. You may be the vessel God uses to pour out his Love on another and reach out to them to save them, but if we never speak up how will they hear. What if Christ had decided that it was to tuff , to hard and never told anyone about the Father in Heaven, where would we be today?
And Finally our Story ends at a place called Golgotha. Where they Crucified our Lord and Saviour.Matthew 15:22-24 They brought Jesus to the place called Golgotha (which means The Place of the Skull). Then they offered him wine mixed with myrrh, but he did not take it. And they crucified him.They didn't do it to fulfill prophecy, they did it because of ,in my opinion, Fear and Jealousy. Fear that they would lose the control of the people and The Jealousy that Christ had an intimate relationship with the Father that they didn't have. What they didn't realize is that they set in motion a chain of events that could never be stopped.That this Christ that they crucified on that morning, would rise from the dead and set up a Church that would stand for eternity (Isaiah 9:7) His life's mission would be fulfilled on that Resurrection morning when the stone was rolled away and the Tomb was empty.For on that morning The Christmas Story came full circle for Christ, from the Cradle to the Cross.
For us today our Journey starts at the Cross and immediately goes from there to the cradle. When we realize the Sacrifice that Christ made for you and I those 2000 years ago on the Cross and we repent of our sins and ask Christ into our lives, we become as that New Born Baby lying in that "Cradle" in Bethlehem. We are in need of spiritual milk and then we must learn how to walk and be held up by the father as we walk through this world, being careful to try not to fall back in to the Sin from which we came out of. but you see our Journey takes us right back to the Cross. For as we grow in our walk with the Lord, we Realize that we must lay ourselves at that Cross daily, so that we as the imperfect sinners we are will be ready when we have our own "Resurrection" day. That day when , whether by the grave or by the Rapture, we will be raised in perfection to live with our Lord Forever in Heaven. Never to feel sadness, or sorrow or sin again. That will be the day when we can step out and walk on our own through the streets of Glory.
My closing thought for anyone reading this blog is this....Where are you at in your relationship with Christ... Have you made that initial trip to the Cross and are you now in the cradle waiting to be fed? Are you Growing and waling laying yourself at the Cross Daily so that you might be prepared for that coming "Resurrection". If you have never made that initial trip to the Cross than I pray that today is the day you do. If you need someone to pray with you or for you please, contact me at cntrydadof3@gmail.com or christcalled@gmail.com and I will gladly pray for you and assist you in finding a church that will feed you spiritually and help you to grow in Christ. Merry Christmas to all who read this and may the true Spirit of Christmas be with you always.
In Christ's Love,
Bill
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