December 24 - 1 John 1:1-4:6

Good morning everyone,

The book of 1st, 2nd, and 3rd John was written by John, a son of Zebedee, and a brother of James. Yes, he also wrote the book of John and later the book of Revelation. At this point in his life John is an old man and the last living of the twelve apostles. Once carrying the nickname, along with his brother,  “Sons of Thunder” for their colorful characters and aggressive behavior, they later were transformed by God to become different men. More gentle, full of grace, loving men. James was the first apostle to be martyred for Christ, John went on to deliver a message of obedience to Jesus and love for all, telling us in 3:18, “And this is his command: to believe in the name of his Son, Jesus Christ, and to love one another as he commanded us.”

John warns us of the spirit of the antichrist, making us aware that even now it is already in the world but that we should not fear because we, as Christians, are from God who has overcome the enemy, allowing us to be bold in the knowledge that the One who is in you, who is in me, is greater than the one who is in the world. Right? 

Jesus Christ, the one and only son of our Abba Father, humbled himself by coming to earth . He was obedient to death paying the debt for all sin, for all of forever, allowing us the opportunity to have the Holy Spirit, the “greater than the one who is in the world” dwell within us. I find that to be incredibly humbling, I lift up my hands and give Him all glory, honor and praise. There are no words to express the depth of my gratitude to God the Father, Christ Jesus His Son and the Holy Spirit, so I will simply say, “Thank you!”

On this the 24th of December, the day we celebrate as the day before Jesus was born, I asked my friend earlier and I am going to put it to you now; could you imagine for a moment, if you will, on this the eve of Christ's birth over two thousand years ago, Mary, a girl herself of only 16 or 17 years old, 9 months pregnant riding into Bethlehem on a donkey and finding nowhere to stay but what is thought to probably be a shallow cave where livestock were fed. How frightened and still excited she must have been. Did she know all of what her son would grow to be? Did she consider her story would be told throughout all of time? A story that is true, needed to fulfill prophecy. What an amazing picture.

Our King humbled himself, leaving his throne in the heavenly realms to come into the world as a helpless little baby and grow to be our Savior. He did this for you, and He did this for me. I sometimes like to share lyrics I find particularly appropriate for what I have written and today is one of those days. The song speaks for itself and is definitely in my top 5 Christmas songs, it was written by Marc A. Martel, Jason Ronald William Germain and is  called ‘How Many Kings’ and goes like this;

Follow the star to a place unexpected. 

Would you believe after all we've projected

A child in a manger

Lowly and small, the weakest of all

Unlikeliest hero, wrapped in his mothers shawl

Just a child

Is this who we've waited for?

Cause how many kings, stepped down from their thrones?

How many lords have abandoned their homes?

How many greats have become the least for me?

How many Gods have poured out their hearts

To romance a world that has torn all apart?

How many fathers gave up their sons for me?

Bringing our gifts for the newborn savior

All that we have whether costly or meek

Because we believe

Gold for his honor and frankincense for his pleasure

And myrrh for the cross he'll suffer

Do you believe, is this who we've waited for?

It's who we've waited for?

How many kings, stepped down from their thrones?

How many lords have abandoned their homes?

How many greats have become the least for me?

How many Gods have poured out their hearts

To romance a world that has torn all apart?

How many fathers gave up their sons for me?

Only one did that for me

All for me

All for you

All for me

All for you 

He came for you. He came for me. He came for all who will let Him in. Our God’s love is more selfless and more powerful than anything known to man and that power lives in you, Christian. Believe in His love and power. Amen?

Have a good day and to God be the glory.

God bless you all …..