Good morning my “Walking with Jesus” friends,
I love December, how about you? The Christmas music, the Christmas lights, the sense of anticipation and I find most people seem happier, more inclined to serve others in December. Starting today we’re going to walk toward Bethlehem and Christmas day asking and answering ONE key Christmas question each day. How about this question as our first Christmas question: ‘WHY Christmas’? “WWJ” is intended to be interactive, so if you have a question about Christmas, you’d like me to answer, please send it to me at this link: https://walkingwithjesus.
Yesterday, we looked at one of the most significant chapters in the Bible, Jeremiah 2. As we saw yesterday, God accused His people Israel of abandoning Him and God ended His accusation with this warning: “Your wickedness will punish you; your backsliding will rebuke you. Consider then and realize how evil and bitter it is for you when you forsake the LORD your God and have no awe of Me,’ declares the LORD, the LORD Almighty.” (Jeremiah. 2:19)
So, I have a question for all of us: regardless of your age, your gender, your marital status, the language you speak or the country you call home… have you found these powerful warning words of God to be true in your life, your family, your nation? Have you felt punished or abused by the wickedness in your part of the world? When you have drifted or run away from God, have you found the evil which fills your spiritual vacuum really does rebuke you? Have you found life to be bitter when you or those around you forsake or reject God? Have you found life to be painful and disoriented when you lose your awe of God? Is Jeremiah 2:19 true in your life journey?
Oh yes, Jeremiah 2:19 is one of the most accurate, frightening verses in the Bible and it’s applicable to everyone, everywhere in every generation! And have you noticed we human beings will do almost anything to alleviate our pain or to remove our guilt and shame? So, God told Jeremiah to write this: “Although you wash yourself with soap and use an abundance of cleansing powder, the stain of your guilt is still before Me, declares the LORD.” (Jer. 2:23)
Oh my, that is so true, isn’t it? Every government in the world establishes laws by which the people of that society are required to live their lives. And every government develops punishments for those who break the laws of their land. But strict laws and painful punishments don’t make people good or cleanse them of their wickedness, right? Every society offers painkillers and loneliness antidotes and fun entertainment for the purpose of helping people FEEL good, but the truth is when the party is over, when drug wears off, reality sets in and life is still painful. isn’t it?
And so, God gave Jeremiah these words describing the world situation we have built for ourselves: “They [humanity] have turned their backs to Me [God] and not their faces; yet when they are in trouble, they cry out to Me: ‘Come and save us!’ Where then are the gods, you made for yourselves? Let them come if they can save you when you are in trouble.”(Jer. 2:27,28) Oh my, that is so true for all of us everywhere, isn’t it? It happens every time we face a great natural disaster like a Tsunami wave or hurricane force winds or uncontrollable fires or disease pandemics which have no cure. They all drive us to panic. It happens when war breaks out or when the rains stop and famine spreads or when corrupt governments abuse the people or when crime runs rampant and uncontrolled. It is so true that in times of stress people everywhere cry out for God, and yet without tragedy very few people seek God.
And THAT is the WHY for Christmas!! The MESS humanity has made of our human race, our planet earth, our societies, our governments, our families! You’ve probably heard the Christmas phrase “Jesus is the reason for the Season”? It’s true, but may I suggest this: “The MESS humanity has made is the reason for Christmas”!
Did you know the idea of what we call Christmas is God’s idea? In fact, He had the idea before the creation of the world! Listen to this: “He [Jesus] was chosen before the creation of the world but was revealed in these last times for your sake. Through Him you believe in God, who raised Him from the dead and glorified Him, and so your faith and hope are in God.” (1 Peter 20,21) Did you hear that? Our HOPE in God, while living in the MESS of our world, is only possible because of Jesus in CHRISTMAS! Why?
Oh, that’s the next answer to the WHY of Christmas. Christmas is the ultimate expression of LOVE from God to humanity! Here’s proof: “For God SO LOVED the world that He gave His only Son that whoever believes in Him shall not perish but have everlasting life.” (John 3:16) Therefore no matter the MESS all around you or even IN you, the LOVE of God is available to you and is powerful enough to break through the pain, the dysfunction, the shame and guilt of your MESS! And NOTHING is a greater expression of God’s love to you and me than CHRISTMAS! Do we understand this my friends? We’ll look more closely at that tomorrow.
Let me leave you with one more powerful statement about the unstoppable power of the love of God for you and me and all humanity suffocating in the MESS we’ve made: “I am convinced that neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither the present nor the future nor any powers, neither height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord.” (Romans 8:37-39) Now does that make you want to jump up and clap and shout Amen!?
Ok so our first Christmas question is ‘WHY CHRISTMAS’? And God’s answer is because WE, the human race, have made an irreparable MESS of what God made perfect and beautiful…our planet, our human race, our families and ourselves.
SO, God’s LOVE for what and who He had made perfect, motivated God to find a solution, a repair to the MESS and CHRISTMAS is God’s ‘fix’ for the MESS we’ve made because Christmas brought Jesus, God the Son into the MESS!
Now we need to celebrate that wonderful truth with this song…
Today’s Scripture: Jeremiah 2:19,22,27,28.
Choose below to read or listen.
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Bible images provided with attribution to www.LumoProject.com.
Have a comment or question about today’s chapter? I’m ready to hear from you, contact me here.
Pastor Doug Anderson
“Let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us, with our eyes fixed on Jesus…” (Heb. 12:1,2)
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