Aspects of Advent

"For there is born to you this day in the city of David a Savior, who is Christ the Lord." ~Luke 2:11

Nick,
It's not only five days until Christmas. 'But what are you looking forward to more: Gifts and food, or celebrating Christ's birth? As a family, we have been reading a book called , "O come, Though long-expected Jesus." It's a collection of writings from many "wise heads", including George Whitfield, J. C. Ryle, R. C. Sproul, Calvin, Luther , Spurgeon, Edwards, Piper, and St. Augustine. All of them speak about an aspect of Advent. Some write about how the shepherds, despised as much as swineherds and dung-sweepers, were the first to know about Christ's birth and come and see Him in the flesh. The wise men, Gentiles and foreign rulers, journeyed hundreds upon hundreds of miles to find a toddler. Yet they had faith and believed that Jesus was indeed the Messiah and bowed down and worshiped him. A teenage girl is told she will give birth to the Son of her Creator. But she believes and says, "Let it be to me according to your word" (Luke 1:39) What marvelous faith existed in that day! Today we regard God more as a friend than a Lord. True, He is the best Friend we could ever have. But He is also All-powerful, All-wise, And Omnipotent. We are His servants and should address Him as such. Today we want to be as independent as possible. "I can do this," we often say. In effect, we're telling God we don't need Him. In that we are sadly mistaken. Christmas is one of the greatest reminders that we have besides Communion. These two remind us of our sin and about God's redemption of us. Listen to the Song of Mary from Luke 1:46-55 and make it your prayer.

“ My soul magnifies the Lord, And my spirit has rejoiced in God my Savior. For He has regarded the lowly state of His maidservant; For behold, henceforth all generations will call me blessed. For He who is mighty has done great things for me, And holy is His name. And His mercy is on those who fear Him, From generation to generation. He has shown strength with His arm; He has scattered the proud in the imagination of their hearts. He has put down the mighty from their thrones, And exalted the lowly. He has filled the hungry with good things, And the rich He has sent away empty. He has helped His servant Israel, In remembrance of His mercy, As He spoke to our fathers, To Abraham and to his seed forever.”

Merry Christmas and God Bless!
Your Brother in Christ,
Corey

God's Awesome Power!

"In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth." ~Genesis 1.1

Nick,
We often do not realize what that sentence means. We just say, "'God created.' Yep!" But God made our world incredibly complex. Of course this was a simple thing for Him, but to us it shows great and unsurpassed power. Think of a piece of metal. You are trying to figure out what to do with it. Will you make it into a toy truck? Think of all the work you would need to put into it to transform the metal into a truck, and, especially if it was your first time building one, think of all the flaws it would have. Yet our Creator created a flawless masterpiece out of absolutely nothing. How great is the Potter! Something else I have struggled to comprehend is that God is eternal. I have no trouble processing the fact that He will be forevermore. But it is very hard to understand how He has been forever. Our minds cannot imagine something that does not have a starting point. The concept is completely impossible and unbelievable. How awesome is His knowledge and majesty, and how awesome are His plans! All is done to His glory. So let us be aweful before our Lord! (Note that aweful in this case doesn't mean "bad" or "disgusting". It simply means "full of awe") God Bless!

Your Brother in Christ,
Corey