God With Us

Advent Christmas Eve – JESUS

By Scott Richardson

Isaiah 9:6-7

For to us a child is born,     
to us a son is given; 
and the government shall be upon his shoulder,     
and his name shall be called 
Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace.

Of the increase of his government and of peace     
there will be no end, 
on the throne of David and over his kingdom,     
to establish it and to uphold it 
with justice and with righteousness     
from this time forth and forevermore. 
The zeal of the Lord of hosts will do this.

Philippians 2:9-11

Therefore God has highly exalted him and bestowed on him the name that is above every name, so that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth, and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.

Hebrews 4:15-16

For we do not have a high priest who is unable to sympathize with our weaknesses, but one who in every respect has been tempted as we are, yet without sin. Let us then with confidence draw near to the throne of grace, that we may receive mercy and find grace to help in time of need.

God With Us

By Scott Richardson

Joy to the world, the Lord is come!  So begins one of my favorite Christmas carols.  It is so upbeat, and reminds me of the true reality of the joy we have received in Christ.  And I sure needed to be reminded of that this past week.  I didn’t experience any tragedy or deep personal pain.  But it was the most physically difficult week in a long time.  (Actually, last January was pretty bad too!)   First we had the record snowfall, which was hard for everybody.  Then, my main employee is out with an injury.  Then another employee couldn’t work. Vehicles got stuck.  Equipment broke down.  Had to cancel a trip to visit my dad.  On top of everything, I got sick again and have had to work through everything feeling terrible.  I had to ask the question:  Why Lord? Of course, He gave me no clear answer. 

I am not complaining.  We have all experienced these kinds of things.  And the truth is, in the big picture, we are all blessed beyond measure.  But when everything goes wrong all at the same time, we feel the brokenness of our situation here on earth.  As I said to my daughter Heather:  “We were never meant to live this way.”  By which I mean, we were meant to live in a perfect garden, walking with God in the cool of the  day.  That is how the first man and woman lived before the Fall.

The good and great news is, that Jesus came to restore us to that place.  The astounding fact of Christmas is that God has come to earth!  He did not remain in heaven and watch us suffer.  He came down and walked among us, suffered with us.

In fact, through his atoning death on the cross, he suffered more than we will ever know.  And He is there to help us through everything: from the small frustrations to the unimaginable losses and tragedies.  Thank God for Jesus!

I don’t know how people live without a relationship with the living God.  When I didn’t know the Lord, all I could think about was finding Him.  I searched and searched, but I never would have found Him if He had not graciously opened my eyes.  And my life has never been the same.

This Christmas season, it is our great privilege to once again be reminded of and celebrate the birth of our Lord Jesus into this world. He hasn’t fixed everything yet, but he surely will.  As the scripture says, “The earth will be filled with the knowledge of the Lord as the waters cover the sea.” Isa 11:9   We are going to see that day!  Until then, I  pray that His presence and joy will keep you and sustain you.  All glory to Jesus!

Reflect:

If you are not sure you have a relationship with Jesus, now is a great time to be sure. Take the time to pray to Jesus and ask him to be your savior and lead your life. It’s as simple as admitting you are a sinner in need of a savior, confessing that you believe that Jesus lived and died to rescue you from your sin, and committing to follow him.

Think about this last week. Take a moment to picture Jesus right there with you in your joy, sorrow, frustration, failure. Thank Him for being with you.

Let’s Pray:

Thank You, Jesus, that I can run to you and find mercy and grace when I need help. Thank You that you came down from heaven to walk with me and suffer with me and save me. Help me to live each day with a greater awareness that you are with me. On this Christmas Eve, we celebrate your birth and we look forward to the day when you will come again. Come, Lord Jesus! Amen.