Pleasing God, Making Disciples of Jesus Christ

Every Day Is Christmas

MATTHEW 1:23 – Behold, the virgin shall conceive and bear a son, and they shall call his name Immanuel (which means, God with us).”

 

THEME OF THE DAY:  EVERY DAY IS CHRISTMAS.  We are a little over two weeks past Christmas.  Likely all the things reminding us of the holiday that were sitting on mantles, tables, and hanging in windows have been retired to boxes in garages, basements, or attics.  They have once again served their festive purposes and now go back into hiding.  But Luke 2 is still in our Bibles.  Today’s scripture so emphasized just recently in song and sermon is still in the pages of scripture.

 

So, since December 26th, how often have we started the day thinking of Immanuel, which means God with us?  I hope we do daily.  The whole of the Christian life is God with us, by faith now in this life, and by sight soon in the next life.  The last book in our Bibles and the next to last chapter draws us to the reality of God with us, not by faith, but literally.  That is what makes heaven, heaven – living in the holy Presence of God.  The Apostle John writes – Then I saw a new heaven and a new earth, for the first heaven and the first earth had passed away, and the sea was no more. And I saw the holy city, new Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God, prepared as a bride adorned for her husband. And I heard a loud voice from the throne saying, “Behold, the dwelling place of God is with man. He will dwell with them, and they will be his people, and God himself will be with them as their God. He will wipe away every tear from their eyes, and death shall be no more, neither shall there be mourning, nor crying, nor pain anymore, for the former things have passed away.” And he who was seated on the throne said, “Behold, I am making all things new.” Also he said, “Write this down, for these words are trustworthy and true” (Revelation 21:1-5).  Yet, we are to have a “glimpse” of this truth in our current walks with the Lord.

 

How do we cultivate a life lived in the Presence of the Lord?  Before we identify the how, let’s state what it is not.  To live in the Presence of the Lord doesn’t mean always feeling the Presence of the Lord.  We walk by faith, and that means to live in the conscious awareness, though not always felt, of the Presence of the Lord. The how is a mind saturated, and thus controlled, by the Word of God.  Jesus told the religious crowd, “You search the Scriptures because you think that in them you have eternal life; and it is they that bear witness about me” (John 5:39).  On the Road to Emmaus, our Lord tells His disciples the same truth, “And beginning with Moses and all the Prophets, he interpreted to them in all the Scriptures the things concerning himself” (Luke 24:27).  From the Apostle Paul, we are instructed to – Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly, teaching and admonishing one another in all wisdom, singing psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, with thankfulness in your hearts to God (Colossians 3:16).

 

Combining all these truths and thinking on all these truths will make Immanuel, God with us, Christmas every day. Our minds will be renewed through the scripture on the Person who dominates scripture, the Lord Jesus. And we will find that every day really is Christmas.

 

PRAYER: “Father, help me to remember every day of my life is to be lived in the awareness of Your Presence.”

 

QUOTE: “Immanuel, God with us, makes every day Christmas.”

 

In the affection of Christ Jesus,

 

Pastor Jim