Amelia Church of Christ - Christian Church in Amelia, OH near Cincinnati in Clermont County

John 1:1-18

Reflections: Taken from In the Grip of Grace by Max Lucado:

Stepping from the throne, he removed his robe of light and wrapped himself in skin: pigmented, human skin.  The light of the universe entered a dark, wet womb.  He whom angels worshiped nestled himself in the placenta of a peasant, was birthed into the cold night, and then slept on cow’s hay.

Mary didn’t know whether to give him milk or give him praise, but she gave him both since he was, as near as she could figure, hungry and holy.

Joseph didn’t know whether to call him Junior or Father.  But in the end called him Jesus, since that’s what the angel had said and since he didn’t have the faintest idea what to name a God he could cradle in his arms.

Don’t you think their heads tilted and their minds wondered, “What in the world are you doing, God?”  Or, better phrased, “God, what are you doing in the world?”

“Can anything make me stop loving you?” God asks.  “Watch me speak your language, sleep on your earth, and feel your hurts.  Behold the maker of sight and sound as he sneezes, coughs, and blows his nose.  You wonder if I understand how you feel?  Look into the dancing eyes of the kid in Nazareth; that’s God walking to school.  Ponder the toddler at Mary’s table; that’s God spilling his milk.”

“You wonder how long my love will last?  Find your answer on a splintered cross, on a craggy hill.  That’s me you see up there, your maker, your God, nail-stabbed and bleeding.  Covered in spit and sin-soaked.  That’s your sin I’m feeling.  That’s your death I’m dying.  That’s your resurrection I’m living.  That’s how much I love you.”

Ephesians 2:1-10

Reflections: Have you ever received a Christmas gift that you knew you didn’t deserve?  When we were kids, we were always told that, if we weren’t good boys and girls, Santa would leave a lump of coal in our stocking.  How many of us actually received that coal?  Most of us received good gifts even though we weren’t always good girls and boys.

That’s because gifts are freely given.  They are not earned.  They are not deserved.  They are given out of love to someone who really doesn’t deserve them.

That was never more true than when you consider the gift that God has given us.  In verses 8-9 of this passage, the Apostle Paul writes, “For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith—and this not from yourselves, it is the gift of God— not by works, so that no one can boast.” 

We are saved by grace through faith.  There is absolutely nothing we can do to earn God’s grace.  We can never be good enough to win his favor.  He loves us and forgives us based solely on his grace.  It is a completely undeserved gift that we receive.

That really is the message of Christmas, isn’t it?  We needed a Savior and God provided.  Jesus came to pay the price for our sin.  Fully.  Completely.  And yes, undeservedly.

1 Peter 2:21-25

Reflections: “He himself bore our sins in his body on the tree [cross]…”

I can’t explain how it happened, but when he was on the cross, Jesus took all of my sin and all of your sin on himself.  Imagine how he must have looked in God’s eyes.  God looked down on him and, instead of seeing his Son, he saw all the sin of humanity.  What a ghastly sight.  No wonder God turned his back on his Son (Matthew 27:46).

This was Jesus’ destiny from the moment he was conceived in Mary’s womb by the Holy Spirit.  As J.I. Packer said, “The Christmas message is that there is hope for a ruined humanity—hope of pardon, hope of peace with God, hope of glory.  Because, at the Father’s will, Jesus Christ became poor, and was born in a stable so that thirty years later he might hang on a cross.”

Philippians 2:5-11

Reflections: We can’t adequately understand everything that the incarnation meant.  (Incarnation is the theological term for God coming to earth in human form through Jesus Christ.)  Imagine the glory of heaven.  Now imagine giving it up.

That’s what Jesus did.  He traded in his throne for a manger.  He gave up worship for rejection.  He gave up bliss for pain.  He gave up life for death.

That is the humble, selfless love of Christ.  Without his humility, there would be no Christmas.  Much worse than that, apart from the humble love of Christ there would be no Christianity.  No hope.  No eternity.

Hebrews 1:1-4

Reflections: Jesus is unmatched.  Unrivaled.  Unparalleled.  Unequaled.  Unsurpassed.  As powerful as they are, Jesus is even superior to the angels.  Nothing can compare with his might and power.

But there are times when you wouldn’t know that by examining the lives of his followers.  Christians are often rightly characterized as tentative, timid people.  So many believers tiptoe through life, never taking a risk.  Always playing it safe. 

You would never know that the omnipotent King Jesus was on their side by looking at how they live their lives.  Not only is Jesus omnipotent, but he has promised to never leave us (Hebrews 13:5).  How could you live differently if you truly believed this?

Don’t just focus on the weak, dependent baby in the manger this Christmas.  Remember that Jesus is now seated on his throne.  He is coming back for his people.  And he’s not going to come quietly into our world like he did on that Silent Night in the Little Town of Bethlehem.  He’s going to make some serious noise when he comes back.  He’s going to return in all the might, glory, and majesty of a conquering King.

That same might, glory, and majesty is available in your life right now as you follow him.

Colossians 1:15-20

Reflections: “God was pleased to have all his fullness dwell in him.”

Jesus was God in human form.  He was, “God with skin on.”  He was 100% human and 100% God…at the same time.  It’s impossible to fully wrap our minds around that, but just because it is incomprehensible does not mean that it isn’t true.

Without his humanity, the cross would have been pointless.  The payment for sin required a blood sacrifice.  If Jesus wasn’t human, then a blood sacrifice would have been impossible.

Without the divinity of Christ, he would not have lived a perfect, sinless life.  And if he wasn’t completely holy, then the cross would have once again been pointless.  The sacrifice for our sins had to be absolutely perfect, and that required Jesus to be totally pure and sinless.

“Christ is God shining through the personality of a man, and shining unhindered.  His sacred humanity does not veil his divine beauty in any degree.” (A.W. Tozer)

Matthew 2:19-23

Reflections: God directed the steps of Joseph.  God told him to take his family and escape to Egypt because Herod was trying to kill Jesus.  Then after Herod died, God stopped Joseph from returning home because Herod’s son, Archelaus, was reigning in his father’s place.

Joseph ended up settling with his family in Nazareth.  This is not at all where he had planned to live.  Nazareth was an agricultural settlement with a population of maybe 200 people.  But this is where God wanted his Son to be raised, and he directed Joseph there, step by step.

We may not always hear God’s call as clearly as Joseph, but God still wants to direct us.  Sometimes it may come through something we read in the Bible.  Sometimes it may be revealed to us through prayer.  Sometimes it may come through the wise counsel of another person.  Sometimes it may just be an overwhelming feeling in your mind and heart.

However he chooses to do it, God does want to direct our steps.  But we can short-circuit his leading by busying ourselves with other things.  It’s difficult, if not impossible, to hear God’s voice when we’re on the run.  And we never run any faster than we do at Christmastime.

Take some time today to slow down.  Quiet your heart.  Ask God to direct you today.  And then follow where he leads.

Matthew 2:13-18

Reflections: The blood of children flowed in the streets.  It is one of the most awful, unthinkable stories in Scripture.  Herod was so threatened by Jesus and so angry that the Magi had outsmarted him that he ordered all boys, two-years-old and under, to be killed.

This story from Jesus’ early childhood graphically illustrates why he came in the first place.  Our world is filled with hate and violence.  The sinful brokenness of mankind is everywhere we look.  Our days are constantly filled with reminders that we really do live in a fallen world.  Pain and suffering and grief, like that of the parents in this story, are commonplace.

But even in the midst of this horrible story, there is hope.  Herod wasn’t able to stop Jesus.  Jesus came to bring hope to the hopeless and comfort to the afflicted.  He came to bring everlasting life to sinners like us.

No one was going to stop him…and no one ever will.

Matthew 2:7-12

Reflections: The Magi presented gifts to the Christ child of gold, incense, and myrrh.  Each of those gifts holds special significance.

Gold was a gift for a King.  In the Old Testament, King Solomon received 25 tons of gold each year!  Gold was the expected offering for a king.  It was a gift that signified honor, respect, gratitude, and submission.   The Magi approached this child as a King, because that’s exactly what he was.

Incense was a gift for a Priest.  Incense was used in Jewish temple worship.  The priest performed the role of opening the way between God and man.  The Latin word for priest is pontiff, which means “bridge-builder.”

In Judaism, the high priest would make a sacrifice to God on the Day of Atonement to atone for his sins and the sins of all the people.  By giving him incense, the Magi recognized that Jesus was going to make a full and final sacrifice for sins.  He would be our great high priest (Hebrews 4:14-16).

Myrrh was a gift for a Savior.  Myrrh was a burial spice.  To one who didn’t know the story of Jesus, this would seem like a very strange, and pretty insensitive gift to give a child.  It’s a gift representing death, not life.

But Jesus was born to die.  He was born with a death sentence on his head.  He was born to be the Savior of the world by giving his life on the cross.

Gold for a King.  Incense for a Priest.  Myrrh for a Savior. 

Three gifts that perfectly capture Jesus’ mission on earth.

Matthew 2:1-6

Reflections: These Magi (or Wise Men) weren’t normal guys.  Verse 2 tells us that they stopped and asked for directions.  Nothing makes a man feel less manly than that.

But sometimes in our spiritual lives, that’s exactly what we have to do.  The Magi weren’t going to find Jesus unless they asked where he was.

Sometimes in our walk with Christ, we get lost.  Maybe we run into a question that we can’t answer.  Maybe a Bible passage stumps us.  Maybe we experience more confusion than clarity. 

In those times, don’t hesitate to ask for directions.  There is no shame in asking another Christ-follower for help.

Even if you’ve been following Christ for many years, you can still experience times when you need the help and counsel of another believer.  Don’t allow your pride to stop you from asking them to assist you.

The church exists to help one another grow in Christ.  The day we can’t ask another believer for some spiritual direction is the day that we cease to be the church as God designed.