You are the One we look to for hope and healing. You are the One who gives new life so appealing.
You are the One who brings wholeness from brokenness. You are the One who restores ruins and messes.
You are the One, the mender of breaches. You are the One for whom my soul gladly reaches.
You are the One who shelters and saves. You are the One who raises the dead from graves.
You are the One, all-encompassing truth. By faith, my sight needs no visible proof.
For You are the One who saves from eternal fire. You are the One, my glory and holy desire.
You are the One who bears us on eagle’s wings. You are the One who carries us forever to eternity.
You are the One who saves to the utmost. You are the One in whom my soul gladly boasts.
You are the One, the only one God true and right, to Whom none can compare, my soul’s joyful delight.
“To whom then will ye liken God? or what likeness will ye compare unto him?” Isaiah 40:18
“Hear, O Israel: The LORD our God is one LORD:” Deuteronomy 6:4
“I am the Lord, and there is none else, there is no God beside me: I girded thee, though thou hast not known me: That they may know from the rising of the sun, and from the west, that there is none beside me. I am the Lord, and there is none else.” Isaiah 45:5, 6
Heavenly Father,
take my hand,
and lead me through
this desert land.
Where hope seems dismal
and love fades.
But, You are my shelter.
Your heart is my shade.
Each step I walk,
I am found with You.
You hold me, You guide me.
You carry me through.
No matter the dreariness
of the land ahead.
I have no reason
to fret or dread.
My hand in Yours,
we keeping walking through.
Til I arrive in that City
whose destination is true.
“Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil; For You are with me; Your rod and Your staff, they comfort me.”
Psalm 23:4
“And I give unto them eternal life; and they shall never perish, neither shall any man pluck them out of my hand. My Father, which gave them me, is greater than all; and no man is able to pluck them out of my Father’s hand. I and my Father are one.”
Holy Affection, upon my knees, there I turn with my heart’s pleas.
Near the cross to Him, I bow, request made known, burdens laid down.
Unloaded griefs, upon Christ, I stand, blessed assurance, promises in hand.
Helped and held by relieving grace, upon my knees, I run this race.
Raised in courage, full speed ahead, for upon my knees, my faith is fed.
“For this cause I bow my knees unto the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, Of whom the whole family in heaven and earth is named, That he would grant you, according to the riches of his glory, to be strengthened with might by his Spirit in the inner man; That Christ may dwell in your hearts by faith; that ye, being rooted and grounded in love, May be able to comprehend with all saints what is the breadth, and length, and depth, and height; And to know the love of Christ, which passeth knowledge, that ye might be filled with all the fulness of God. Now unto him that is able to do exceeding abundantly above all that we ask or think, according to the power that worketh in us, Unto him be glory in the church by Christ Jesus throughout all ages, world without end. Amen.” Ephesians 3:14-21
“For unto you is born this day in the city of David a Saviour, which is Christ the Lord.” Luke 2:11
Not displayed in decorated windows. Nor purchased from the store shelf. Nay, the only purchasing to be done is His purchasing you for Himself.
For you, the Savior has come. For you, the prophecy fulfilled. For you, heaven’s glory lay in a manger. For you, born by God’s perfect will.
The greatest Christmas gift in history to be received is the truest reason for Christmas, found in Christ, the newborn King.
Were it not for us, He would not have come. Were it not for us, no storied nativity. The begotten Son, God in the flesh, was born to save us from sin’s captivity.
December 25th is waited for with hope throughout the year of giving and receiving gifts. But on that holy night, at the angel’s announcement of the Lord’s birth, the shepherds working the sheep in the field knew the real gift of Christmas had been waited for much longer.
“For unto you.” Let the beauty of those words speak to your heart. The gift of Jesus was given for you, for us, for me.
God’s gift, wrapped in swaddling clothes at His birth (Luke 2:12), and linen at His burial (John 19:40), was personally wrapped and given for failing humanity.
May we ponder, as Mary did that night, the real gift of Christmas a little more closely this year. I pray that you will feel the Father’s love as He presents this Gift to you for unwrapping. I pray you would know the heart of the Father more fully as you receive His “indescribable gift” (2 Corinthians 9:15) for yourself.
Christ was given, by the hand of God, for all who were, and for all who were to come: “For unto us a child is born, unto us a son is given: and the government shall be upon his shoulder: and his name shall be called Wonderful, Counsellor, The mighty God, The everlasting Father, The Prince of Peace” (Isaiah 9:6). “For God sent not his Son into the world to condemn the world; but that the world through him might be saved” (John 3:17).
For this Christmas, and all to come, no Christmas gift could be or should be cherished more, than this gift of God’s great love (John 3:16).
At the trial of His crucifixion, Jesus spoke these words:
“To this end was I born, and for this cause came I into the world, that I should bear witness unto the truth. Every one that is of the truth heareth my voice.” John 18:37
The gift was born for you.
Thank You, Father God, for the personal gift of Jesus Christ into my life. Neither words nor time would be enough to express my deepest gratitude for the Savior. Your Gift has intervened in my life and saved me, helped me, protected me, and blessed me far more than I deserve. My thank You seems inadequate for this season, but humbly thank You, I do, and I praise You for the real Gift of Christmas in my life.
More Reference Scriptures:
“Who gave himself for us, that he might redeem us from all iniquity, and purify unto himself a peculiar people, zealous of good works.” Titus 2:14
“Behold, a virgin shall be with child, and shall bring forth a son, and they shall call his name Emmanuel, which being interpreted is, God with us.” Matthew 1:23
“And without controversy great is the mystery of godliness: God was manifest in the flesh, justified in the Spirit, seen of angels, preached unto the Gentiles, believed on in the world, received up into glory.” 1 Timothy 3:16
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You have welcomed us into Your throne room. You have welcomed us into Your grace. You have welcomed us into Your pleasure. You have welcomed us before Your face.
No scepter for Esther needs to extend. For the cross has bought the passage within.
In the courts of the King, we are invited to come. Favor has blessed us through His dear Son.
To approach and pray without fear or doubt. Worries, burdens, and troubles are there, cast out.
Queen Esther, taking her life in her hands, went before the king not knowing if she would find favor to enter the courts for him to hear her petition (Esther 4:16; 5:2).
Not so with our Heavenly Father. Through Jesus Christ, we have obtained a welcome invitation to come: “Let us therefore come boldly unto the throne of grace, that we may obtain mercy, and find grace to help in time of need,” Hebrews 4:16.
With no fear in your heart, come, for you are welcomed before the King of all Kings.
One day we shall rise and meet Jesus in the sky, put away this humanity as we step into eternity.
Heaven, at last, will be our home, forever in Your presence we will evermore roam.
No more clouds, sin, or earthly dismay, we will be caught up, raptured away.
The days draw near, with my heart, I look up, anticipating fellowship at the Lord’s dinner to sup.
Eternity is forever, today is temporary, through trials and toils, look up, blessed honorary.
The King will come to take us home, His people, beloved, as His very own.
If you’re not sure of your future bright, let not this day pass without making it right.
Tomorrow’s not promised. Today is at hand. Repent and turn while you still can.
“For this we say unto you by the word of the Lord, that we which are alive and remain unto the coming of the Lord shall not prevent them which are asleep.
For the Lord himself shall descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of the archangel, and with the trump of God: and the dead in Christ shall rise first:
Then we which are alive and remain shall be caught up together with them in the clouds, to meet the Lord in the air: and so shall we ever be with the Lord.” ~ 1 Thessalonians 4:15-17
“Behold, he cometh with clouds; and every eye shall see him, and they also which pierced him: and all kindreds of the earth shall wail because of him. Even so, Amen.” ~ Revelation 1:7
“In a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trump: for the trumpet shall sound, and the dead shall be raised incorruptible, and we shall be changed.” ~ 1 Corinthians 15:52
“Looking for that blessed hope, and the glorious appearing of the great God and our Saviour Jesus Christ.” ~ Titus 2:13
“And then shall they see the Son of man coming in the clouds with great power and glory.
And then shall he send his angels, and shall gather together his elect from the four winds, from the uttermost part of the earth to the uttermost part of heaven.” ~ Mark 13:26, 27
“Then Peter said unto them, Repent, and be baptized every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ for the remission of sins, and ye shall receive the gift of the Holy Ghost.” ~ Acts 2:38
“Repent ye therefore, and be converted, that your sins may be blotted out, when the times of refreshing shall come from the presence of the Lord.” ~ Acts 3:19
He carried so much. More than “our sins and griefs to bear,”1 He carried the weight, the pain, the inner turmoil, and mental anguish the results of all the by-products of those sins and griefs, upon a heavy-laden heart and mind. Tears welled inside to the bursting, refusing to fall from the eyes that were singularly focused upon a greater joy.
It was the psalmist who wrote, “Weeping may endure for a night, but joy cometh in the morning” Psalm 30:5, recognizing the temporary hold tears and sorrow have, especially when one’s heart is fixated upon a greater joy to be found in the morning.
For Christ, the illness of sin had made its mark on His body and throughout His person. Yet, in the heaviness of the load He carried, and the pain His holy vessel endured, we are told, “Looking unto Jesus the author and finisher of our faith; who for the joy that was set before him endured the cross, despising the shame, and is set down at the right hand of the throne of God” Hebrews 12:2.
Although the joy was there for what it would accomplish, let us not approach the pain He endured physically, mentally, emotionally, and spiritually in a lackadaisical fashion. Let us not brush aside what strength of heart and mind this endurance called for. Let’s not subtract what the man, the person of Jesus felt and suffered at the hands of all these afflictions.
So heavy it was, and so hard it was, we couldn’t do it for ourselves: “Not that we are sufficient of ourselves to think any thing as of ourselves; but our sufficiency is of God” 2 Corinthians 3:5.
The tarnished state of man could never find in himself the satisfaction this heaviness of sin required, “For all have sinned, and come short of the glory of God” Romans 3:23. But in Christ, “ God hath set forth to be a propitiation through faith in his blood, to declare his righteousness for the remission of sins that are past, through the forbearance of God” Romans 3:25.
Sin was paid in full. Joy came at the thought and complete process and plan of the redeemed being ransomed from the clutches of darkness. But let us not be unmindful or take lightly the night afflictions He suffered through before the day dawned. In it, there was real pain and real sacrifice beyond the scope of what we can imagine. All for the joy that we might experience a glory unimaginable, where “Eye hath not seen, nor ear heard, neither have entered into the heart of man, the things which God hath prepared for them that love him” 1 Corinthians 2:9.
The weight of what Jesus endured could not dim the glory of the greater joy in the morning. Aren’t we glad about it!
He suffered, To save, His greater joy Came to our aid, And satisfied the debt, We could not pay.
His joy is complete, In the sky We shall meet, The blessed Savior Our sins impaled Hands and feet.
Absent are tears Or turning away, Forever with Him We shall surely stay. Accepting His sacrifice Paved the way.
” For as many of you as have been baptized into Christ have put on Christ.” Galatians 3:27
“I am crucified with Christ: nevertheless I live; yet not I, but Christ liveth in me: and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by the faith of the Son of God, who loved me, and gave himself for me.” Galatians 2:20
Coming to Jesus with all our wrongs and trusting Him to heal and forgive is a walk of faith: “For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God,” (Ephesians 2:8). Now, that one has received that gift of God; that gift of salvation, they are now“the children of God by faith in Christ Jesus” Galatians 3:26.
When Jesus transforms lives with His saving blood, we are renewed, changed, and adopted into the family of God. The old garments of self and sin have been shed and put off, and having “put on Christ,” a new life arises. A great exchange takes place when in Jesus we place our faith, and it is in Him, we want to stay covered. Now, let us press forward and not lessen the steps of righteousness in our lives. Let’s continue onwards and upwards, through struggles and toil, for at the end of life and the things we see, eternity’s gates are waiting for you and me.
“Which hope we have as an anchor of the soul, both sure and stedfast, and which entereth into that within the veil.” Hebrews 6:19
“We are troubled on every side, yet not distressed; we are perplexed, but not in despair; Persecuted, but not forsaken; cast down, but not destroyed; Always bearing about in the body the dying of the Lord Jesus, that the life also of Jesus might be made manifest in our body.” 2 Corinthians 4:8-10
“For I am persuaded, that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor principalities, nor powers, nor things present, nor things to come, Nor height, nor depth, nor any other creature, shall be able to separate us from the love of God, which is in Christ Jesus our Lord.” Romans 8:38, 39
“Cast thy burden upon the Lord, and he shall sustain thee: he shall never suffer the righteous to be moved.” Psalm 55:22
