(The Couch Potato will be on Christmas vacation until Tuesday, December 26. Have a merry Christmas.)
“And she (Mary) shall bring forth a son and thou shall call His name Jesus: for He shall save His people from their sins.” This is the angel’s announcement about the birth of Jesus. When the time was right Jesus can into a world that had great needs. The world is still in need, but Jesus will come into people’s lives and meet their needs. The first need that Jesus met then, and meets now, is the need for salvation. Since “all have sinned and come short of the glory of God” all stand in need of the salvation that only Jesus can offer. The angel announced to Joseph “thou shall call His name Jesus: for He shall save His people from their sins.” The name “Jesus” itself means “one who saves” When people realize that their main problem is sin, they can confess to Jesus and He will forgive and save them. Lest we forget, this is the main message of Christmas.) The second need that Jesus came to meet is personal peace. People who lived in Jesus' day were living in a troubled world, controlled by the Roman Empire, and they did not have personal peace. The fact is that people are still troubled today and still need the peace that only Jesus can give. Jesus promised to give people His peace in John 16:33b: “I have said these things, you might have peace. In the world you will have tribulation, take heart; I have overcome the world.” This is really the truth and Jesus wants to give you peace in your life. What better time to get the peace that you need from Jesus, “the Prince of peace” (Isaiah 9:6) at the time of the celebration of His birth that we call “Christmas.” Claim His peace and have a merry Christmas. The third need that Jesus came to meet is the need of personal joy. Jesus promised to give us joy in John 15:11: “These things have I spoken unto you, that my joy might remain in you, and that your joy might be full.” He did not say that we would always be happy, but happiness is fleeting and the joy of Jesus is eternal. In fact the joy that I have in Jesus has rescued me in a lot of unhappy situations. This joy can be yours too. Reach out to Jesus and claim His joy and have a Merry Christmas. I will conclude with what you might have thought I would have begun with: Jesus came to fulfill the world's need for God’s love, grace and mercy. These are at the foundation of all that Jesus brings into our lives. Without God’s love, grace and mercy, we would be eternally without hope. The foundational Christmas passage in the New Testament is John 3:16: “For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whosoever believes in should not perish but have everlasting life. “Jesus loves (you) this I know, for the Bible tells me so." Bro. Joe
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AuthorDr. Joe Beauchamp is the author of this blog and website. Categories
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