By Sandy Jones
As we enter the holidays with reminders everywhere we turn of Jesus’ birth, I often find myself thinking about Mary, and her trip to Bethlehem on the back of a donkey. It makes my back ache just to think about it. Here she was 9 months pregnant, and undoubtedly feeling every ounce of the added weight she was carrying, both physically and emotionally. I’m sure it had been an incredible roller coaster since that angel visited her as told in Luke 1:28-34 NIV:
The angel went to her and said, “Greetings, you who are highly favored! The Lord is with you.”
Mary was greatly troubled at his words and wondered what kind of greeting this might be. But the angel said to her, “Do not be afraid, Mary; you have found favor with God. You will conceive and give birth to a son, and you are to call him Jesus. He will be great and will be called the Son of the Most High. The Lord God will give him the throne of his father David, and he will reign over Jacob’s descendants forever; his kingdom will never end.”
“How will this be,” Mary asked the angel, “since I am a virgin?”
I mean I’ve been told some incredible things in my life, but never anything close to this! And, I know it’s something often talked about in Christian circles – but can you imagine the scandal? People were a whole lot less tolerant in those days.
But who is this Son of the Most High? If God is His Father, how does King David figure into all of this? We could fill every page of this edition with so many facts about Jesus’ lineage. One of my favorite topics is to go back through His family line and see how God used everyday people, like you and me, some of them not so nice either, in Christ’s earthly genealogy. But for this column we’ll explore the Reader’s Digest condensed version of this: Who is Jesus? Why? Because I find it good to consciously reexamine Who He is, so I don’t take for granted His beautiful gift of Salvation.
In John 1:1 we’re told, In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word WAS God (emphasis my own).
Wait! What? But He was born of a human. That’s true, but if we are to believe what the Bible tells us – “the Word WAS God,” again the emphasis is my own, but only because I think it’s sometimes missed. “The Word” here is Jesus.
CalvaryChapel.com explains this quite well: “Jesus embodied that total message, and that is why He is call the ‘Logos,’ or ‘Word,’ of God.” They go on to share that this is further backed by the verses found in Colossians 1:19 and 2:9.
BibleStudyTools.com expands on this even further, sharing that, “This one verse establishes the Word as being both divine and eternal in nature. Everything you read after this must be filtered through this reality that the Word was God.”
Before Jesus came, people lived under the Law of Moses, confessing their sins to their priest, who would then make atonement for them, which most often included a ceremony of sorts involving the sacrifice of an unblemished animal.
Jesus came as the fulfillment of that law – as the ultimate, unblemished sacrifice as atonement for all who believe in Him.
In John 14:6 Jesus told us Himself: I am the way, the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me (NIV).
And Romans 10:9 NIV tells us that the gift is easy to receive: If you declare with your mouth, “Jesus is Lord,” and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved.
It would be my hope, my prayer, that if you dear reader have not accepted this free gift, that this holiday season you will prayerfully consider accepting Jesus Christ, the Son of the Living God, as your Savior. It is the ultimate gift, offered by the Ultimate Savior, and is the best gift you could ever give yourself. If you need help with this, please don’t hesitate to reach out to our Prayer Line at 208-968-1991 (hosted by The Idaho Chaplains Association).
In closing remember we serve the King of Kings, and the Lord of Lords. He Alone shall reign for all eternity. Aren’t we blessed to be called His sons and daughters?
Merry Christmas!
Until next time,
God Bless!
This time of year I often hear the lyrics to “Silver Bells” rambling through my head. “City sidewalks, busy sidewalks, dressed in holiday style…” and I remind myself that the Grinch got it right, it’s not about the boxes or bows, but most of us do Christmas shopping. As you’re out looking for just the right gift, or needing services yourself, would you please frequent our advertisers? When there, thank them for supporting Christian Living Magazine; you see, without them, there’d be no magazine, no e-copy, no website, no radio show – we need them, so that we can continue to bring you the hope and encouragement of God’s love, grace and mercy. Thank You!
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