Smile it's Friday

I BELIEVE LINUS HAS IT RIGHT!

The Birth of a King...

As we are preparing our hearts for Christmas we have looked at who this "Baby" in the manger is...He is Emmanuel "God with us". He is God...The Eternal one.... John tells us "He was with God in the beginning", John 1:2. Yesterday we read in Philippians how He took the form of a Bond-servant, how He descended from Heaven. He is fully God and fully man. Christ the Child lay in the manger.
Mostly we have looked at His Deity...His power and humility to lay aside His heavenly rights and step down to earth in human form. I thought today, I needed to look at His human birth. I imagine most of us know the story of Jesus' birth. Some of it, I am sure is glamorized at times, even romanticized as almost a legend is. But we must remember this is the true story of a family.
Luke 2:1-7 tells us the birth story:
"In those days, Caesar Augustus issued a decree that a census should be taken of the entire Roman world...And everyone went to his own town to register.
So Joseph also went up from the town of Nazareth in Galilee to Judea, to Bethlehem, the town of David because he belonged to the house and the line of David. He went there to register with Mary who was pledged to be married to him and was expecting a child. While they were there, the time came for the baby to be born, and she gave birth to her firstborn, a son. She wrapped Him in cloths and placed Him in a manger because there was no room for Him in the Inn."
Having a baby today is much different than it was back then. Today we enter a room, that has all the conveniences of home. We have nurses who tend to our needs. Pain medication should we need it and doctors who are nearby to "bring the baby into the world". But to appreciate the the birth of Christ, we have to go back to that time.
Even as Luke begins chapter 2, He is going even further back in time and showing us that even before His birth Jesus was fulfilling prophecy. Micah 5:2 says "But you, Bethlehem. Ephrathah, though you are small among the clans of Judah, out of you will come for me one who will be ruler over Israel, whose origins are from of old, from ancient times." The Jewish nation had heard of the coming of a ruler...He would be one who would destroy their enemies and establish the kingdom of Israel. They had heard about it for hundreds of years. And on the day that the Roman Emperor Caesar Augustus made the decree, they never realized God was beginning to bring to fulfillment the right time and place for His coming.

But Mary must have known. She must have known in her heart and body that the time was coming for the baby to be born. And as they searched for a room where the baby could be born, there was no room. She probably wanted a clean room, with access to clean water. She had never had a baby before and she was probably just 12 or13. There was no midwife or assistance for Mary. No bed to lay the child. No soft sheets to clean and wrap him up. She had to do it all by herself...clean the baby and clean herself.

MacArthur in his book "God's Gift of Christmas " says "Mary did it herself. And where usually would have been a cradle or basket for the baby, there was none. Mary had to put Him in an animal's feeding trough. When Christ entered the world, He came to a place that had some of the smelliest, filthiest and most uncomfortable conditions. But that is part of the wonder of divine grace, isn't it? When the Son of God came down from heaven, He came all the way down."
Yes from the very beginning, Christ humbled himself...even as a baby. He could have come with a triumphant announcement letting the world know the King has been born. I remember when Princess Diana had her first son...it was televised on TV! Masses of people where on the street waiting for the announcement that the "Princess has had a son!"
The angels could have heralded it from every mountain top to the world "Hail, your King has been born". But not our Lord...He came quietly, unsuspecting and in the most "down to earth way" that would not become a King. But that is His humility..."I came to serve not to be served" He would say later to His disciples.
Even today, people go about their business...making plans, running here and there. They have no idea that Jesus was born and a Saviour has been given. This Saviour, was foretold a long time ago...and today, His coming is heralded and announced by many Christians...yet the world has no clue He has come. They see Christmas as a wonderful holiday...time off...time to get gifts and time to enjoy all the festivities. They have no room for Christ. Just as there was no room at His birth...today there is no room for Him in hearts and days. How sad...How tragic!
The question we all need to ask...do we marvel at the Birth of Christ. Do we stand in amazement at His wonderful arrival? Do we see Christmas as His!
But who did know and hear and respond to His arrival?...Next week we will see the most unlikely of people welcome Christ!

Any thoughts? Can you share this event with someone today? Your kids? Friends?

Yes...we have a new look but the content is the same...

To fully grasp and understand the meaning of Christmas, we have to look at Christ. Yesterday we saw that Jesus is "Immanuel" which means "God with us". That is an amazing statement. God, the creator took the form of the created. The Infinite One became finite. To fully understand that (and I am not sure we fully can) we have to look at the precise words Paul uses to describe this marvelous reality.

Yesterday, I quoted Paul's description of Christ's humility from
Philippians 2:6-7, "...although He existed in the form of God, did not regard equality with God a thing to be grasped, but emptied Himself, taking the form of a bond servant and being made in the likeness of men"

To bring to light the fullness of what Paul is trying to say, we have to look at a couple of words as they are in the Greek text. The first word is "form". "Form" in this context is the word "morphe" which refers to the outward appearance of the inner reality. In other words, Jesus has always existed in the "form of God'. By His very nature, He is and will always be God, possessing all the divine before He came as the Christ-child and even after. It is who He is. By His very nature, Christ is, always has been and forever will be divine.

Now there is another word that can often be translated as "form". This word is quite different it is "Schema" . "Schema" is the outward form that changes from time to time and from situation to situation. A good way to look at these two words is to think of ourselves. We are all essentially human. Our nature is human...as a women it is female and as a man it is male. That is our "morphe" but we change depending on our stage in life. I was a child then a young girl and then a young woman. Now I am a middle-aged woman and will be one day an old-woman. My outward "schema" changes all the time but my inward "morphe" stays the same.

So as Christ became a child then a man, His "morphe" never changed but His "schema" did... as He took the "schema" of a "bond-servant". He is fully divine and fully man as He lived a human life with all the changes it brings.

How does this help us worship Him more fully at Christmas time? As John MacArthur puts it " In light of the profound reality of Jesus' full and uncompromising deity, His incarnation was the most profound possible humiliation. For Him to change in any way or to any degree, even temporary by divine decree of His Father, required descent. By definition, to forsake perfection requires taking on some form of imperfection. Yet, without forsaking or in any way diminishing His perfect deity of His absolute holiness..."

Now before we truly can appreciate this passage there is one more word to look at. Philippians 2:6 says "He did not regard equality with God a thing to be grasped". The word "equality" is in a plural form in the Greek (isa= "equalities") Which suggests that Paul may be thinking of every aspect of Jesus' deity. The term refers to exact equivalence...like an isosceles triangle has two equal sides. Jesus did not in any way forfeit His equality with God as He became man. Both the Divine and the human are found in Christ. That is why He can be the perfect sacrifice, have a sinless life, be our Atonement and provide our justification.

When you put all that together, NOW take a look at that baby in the manger. It is the Christ Child...born human with all the frailties and limitations and yet fully God with all the power and perfection of God.

Christmas is the good news...God came to earth! He is with us!
Let me know your thoughts girlschat@gmail.com

Here is a picture sent by Julie of her two, with their cousin "warming their toes" Thanksgiving weekend..

Immanuel...

It is not hard to see that Christmas is quickly upon us. Many are already caught up in the pressure of shopping, gift giving, parties. Everyday I must get about 20 catalogues letting me know what to give for Christmas. Toys, sweaters, platters etc. It seems that Christmas has become a business...or should I say busyness...Everyone in a hurry!

In the next couple of weeks the pressure will build ... is it possible to move slower? Is it possible for us to "take back" Christmas? I think so...we have to first change our minds and receive a clear picture of what Christmas is all about. Christmas is about Christ. And to really experience Christmas we have to know whom we celebrate and it is not us!

Isaiah 7:14 says

"Behold, the virgin shall conceive and bear a Son, and shall call His name Immanuel"

Who is Immanuel? He is "God with us" Matthew 1:23.

It is hard for us to conceive that God Himself would step down from His heavenly throne and restrict Himself to an earthly body.

Paul tells us ..."Who in very nature God,

did not consider equality with God something to be grasped,

but made himself nothing,

taking the very nature of a servant,

being made in human likeness," Philippians 2:6-7

How could one who was without boundaries confine himself to time restrictions?

One who is the most powerful find himself tired and hungry?

"Early in the morning He was on the way back to the city, He was hungry." Matthew 21:18. And there are many other depictions in the Gospel of Jesus being tired, hungry and even deeply grieved.

John MacArthur in his book "God's Gift of Christmas" says, "...Can anyone explain how God could become a baby? Yet He did. Without forsaking His divine nature or diminishing His deity in any sense. He was born into our world as a tiny infant...He was fully human with all the needs and emotions that are common to every human."

Jesus, "Immanuel" is at the very heart of Christmas. He is its heartbeat.

Paul tells us in 2 Corinthians 8:9,

"For you know the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ,

that though He was rich

yet FOR YOUR SAKE HE BECAME POOR,

so that you through His poverty might become rich"

That is the truth of Christmas...God made Himself nothing to redeem a sinful, poverty stricken people. And through His richness we become rich. We who had nothing are given everything! He is the gift and He is the giver. So Christmas has really nothing to do with us and everything to do with Him. Our focus and joy comes from knowing Him. And celebrating Him!

How can we keep that focus? If He is the greatest gift, then that is what we should be reflecting to the world, giving to the lost and savouring in our hearts.

Man's condition apart from Christ is the same today as when He first came. The world continues to need a Saviour. Man continues to be poor and sinful. The only answer to the world's condition is Christ...Immanuel ... God be with us!

Any thoughts? girslchat@gmail.com

It was a wonderful Thanksgiving...

OK...we returned from Atlanta late last night. It was very cold but absolutely breathtaking. We seem to have caught the last of the "Leaves Change" so God's spectacular color schemes were everywhere. I downloaded some picture of the weekend...if you have any of yours, send them to girlschat@gmail.com and I will post them in the next few days. Hope you all had a wonderful Thanksgiving.

Kaity, me and Jess on a brisk walk ....

The three COOKS...my sisters Carmen and Anita

The 3rd Annual Family Turkey Bowl

If you are already thinking of your Christmas shopping, here are a couple of links to help you with some ideas:

http://www.shutterfly.com/ (Lets you download your pictures and create a professional photo book. to send as a gift. I usually do one for my brother and two sisters of Thanksgiving.)

http://www.karladornacher.com/ (she is an artist and author. Does beautiful gift books.)

http://stores.sharetheson.com/StoreFront.bok ("Heaven is Better" t-shirts)

http://www.breadwinnerbreads.com/ (Send homemade breads and coffee. Just found this little store in Atlanta)

http://www.savannahtearoom.com/ ( A great little place to order custom teas..we love the Vanilla Jasmine...you can buy loose tea or tea bags)