Why did Jesus come to earth, to be born as a baby, to live a sinless life, to die on our Cross in our place, to be raised to life again three days later?
Though your sins are like scarlet, they shall be as white as snow. (Isaiah 1:18)
This is an article that I wrote for this week’s Cedar Springs Post newspaper.
Joy to the world, the Lord is come!
Let earth receive her King;
Let every heart prepare Him room,
And heaven and nature sing.
Joy is not something that melts away, it is unaffected by circumstances, remaining rock-solid. Joy is what the birth of Jesus in Bethlehem brings us.
Joy to the world, the Savior reigns!
Let men their songs employ;
While fields and floods, rocks, hills and plains
Repeat the sounding joy.
On the day Jesus was born, the angels sang about peace on earth. Jesus Himself said that He didn’t come to condemn us, but to save us. Jesus came to be our Savior which is another reason for great joy!
No more let sins and sorrows grow,
Nor thorns infest the ground;
He comes to make His blessings flow
Far as the curse is found.
Jesus Christ’s Advent among us was the fulfillment of a promise given all the way back in the first book of the Bible. God the Father said Jesus would come to wipe out sin, and sorrow, and reverse the curse, turning it back into a blessing for all who would put their faith in Jesus. What joy to have all of the negatives turned into positives!
I hope you will discover—or rediscover—the joy that the birth of Jesus brings. At Calvary Assembly of God, where I have the privilege of pastoring, we are talking about the joy and the light that came with Jesus Christ’s birth. If you don’t have a home church, I would love to have you join us over the next couple of Sundays at 10:30am.
Joy! Joy! Joy! Let it reign!
Some call Him Savior. Some call Him a moral teacher. Some call Him a prophet. Some only call His name as a curse word. Regardless of what people call Him, Jesus is almost universally known.
Despite what people call Him, and as much as people claim to know about Jesus, there are still so many questions that swirl around—
As we approach this Easter season, more and more people’s thoughts will be turning toward this Man. Please join me as we consider this simple, yet profound question: Who Is Jesus? The answer to that one simple question will be life-changing!
Check out all of the sermons in this series:
In my devotional time I am studying the life and leadership of Joshua. This morning I was beginning to read the sleep-inducing list of boundaries and towns that were assigned to each of the Israelite tribes (Joshua 15). I read the description of the territory for the tribe of Judah, and I must admit that I sorta glossed over the names of all of the towns. I got to the last verse and was ready to move on, and then it hit me.
As a pastor I’m always thinking ahead to my next series of messages, and currently I’ve been thinking about our Christmas series. So all of a sudden it jumped out at me — something I didn’t read in that list of towns. I went back and re-read the list a little more slowly this time. Nope, still not there. I looked a third time at all 38 cities: still missing. There are a couple of very notable figures that dominate the Old and New Testaments, and they have something in common — King David and Jesus both come from the tribe of Judah. And both of them were born in Bethlehem.
But in the list of towns in Judah’s territory, there is absolutely no mention of Bethlehem.
This town either didn’t exist, or it was so “insignificant” that Joshua didn’t even think to mention it. It would be almost another 500 years before David would be born in Bethlehem, and then another 900 years or so after that before Jesus would be born in this tiny village.
God had in mind for the greatest earthly king in Israel’s history and the King of all kings to come from such humble origins… from a village that didn’t even make the list. On this Thanksgiving Day, I’m grateful to belong to a God who has time after time made a “Bethlehem” for me at just the right moment!
My friend, if you are facing a difficult situation today, know that God already has the answer. He already has a Bethlehem prepared for you!
Craig T. Owens 