Month: December 2020

Multitudes throughout the nation will be making New Year’s resolutions. As another year begins, they will want to turn over a new leaf and try again to reform and to do better than before.

While this may or may not be commendable, the fact is that most resolutions are soon broken and forgotten. The new leaf quickly takes on the same old stains of sin and filthy habits. What a man tries to do through his own efforts does not effect his heart, but unless the heart is changed there will be no permanent reform.

What then is the answer for man as he enters into 2021? The answer is found in Christ. The salvation that He imparts changes the heart and gives to man a new nature, which enables him to live and to live abundantly. This change is called in the Bible the new birth.

For all who are willing to acknowledge themselves as sinners before the Lord, there is hope and help in the cross-work of Christ. His salvation is an accomplished finished work. There is nothing more that we can do except to receive Christ into our lives by faith. How wonderful it would be if you would start 2021 by committing your life to the Lord. He is able to save all who come to Him by faith.

“I am the door: by me if any man enter in, he shall be saved … I am come that they might have life, and that they might have it more abundantly. I am the good shepherd: the good shepherd giveth his life for the sheep” (John 10:9-11).

There is something unique about the New Year that makes us especially aware of time. We look back upon the past year with its joys and sorrows and face the new one with its uncertainties. We make resolutions to better ourselves and project plans into the new year so that we have definite goals toward which to work. But despite our well-laid plans, we realize that all the time we really have is now, the now of today.

None of us know when out time will be up.

As a great French king lay dying, he begged his physicians for time. “I will give half my kingdom for a moment of time,” he cried. But time cannot be bought.

Thomas Edison expressed it in these words, “Time is the cheapest thing that exists in the world and the only thing we cannot buy.”

Fred Smith made this statement, “Great men never complained about the lack of time. They accomplished everything they ever did in twenty-four hour days.”

Benjamin Franklin said, “You may delay, but time will not.”

So it is good for us to be reminded at the beginning of this New Year that time is running out. We can misuse time and waste it, but we cannot stop it. Christians are exhorted to redeem the time (read Ephesians 5: 16). In other words, “buy up the opportunities- make the most of it.” We shall give account at the judgment seat of Christ for how we spent our days and hours.

A little while! He’ll come again; Let us the precious hours redeem; Our only grief to give Him pain, Our joy to serve and follow Him; Watching and ready may we be, As those who long their Lord to see.

The New Year is also a time when many resolve to start over. Many a man or woman whose life is troubled, tormented, and tortured by the power of sin would give anything for the chance to start life all over again. “Things would be different ifl had another chance,” they say.

Well, there is good news for those who have this desire for a fresh beginning. The Lord Jesus Christ offers you the opportunity to be born again! No, you cannot tum back the years and become an infant once more, but you can have an entirely new and wonderfully different life through the transforming power of the Saviour. He will bring into your life new motives, new ideas, new joys, new attitudes, new friends, and new ambitions. In short, He will bring newness of life. A whole new world opens up to us when we surrender ourselves into His hands. The Apostle Paul says it this way, “Therefore if any man be in Christ, he is a new creature: old things are passed away; behold, all things are become new” (2 Corinthians 5: 17).

Would you like to be born again? Would you like to see your unhappy past buried in the depths of God’s love? Would you like to know that all your sins are cleansed in the blood of the Lord Jesus Christ? Would you like all things to become new? Then come to Christ and confess your need to Him; invite Him to come into your heart and life as Lord and Saviour, and He will meet your need RIGHT NOW!

It is Christmas! The best diagnosis of the true meaning of Christmas was given by a doctor over 2000 years ago, and it cannot be improved upon. The doctor is Luke, and the diagnosis is found in the second chapter of his inspired “prescription,” which is known to us as the Gospel according to St. Luke. In the eleventh verse, we have the very core of the message, “For unto you is born this day in the city of David a Saviour, which is Christ the Lord” (Luke 2:11).

Note how clear and sharp is the doctor’s diagnosis! “… unto you …”-that is personal. “… this day … “-that is present. “… a Saviour … ” -that is precious.

There is all the difference in the world between Christmas and Christ. Millions make a holiday over the former and forget the latter. Christ is frequently crowded out of this special day, meant to remember Him the most. Holiness is hidden beneath the holly. The wreath is hung higher than the cross. Often the Saviour is replaced by Santa Claus.

Yet without Christ, there is really no Christmas. Without Him, there is nothing to sing about or rejoice over. Outward merriment all too quickly becomes inward mockery to the starved soul. It is time for us to tum back to that perfect prescription of the old doctor and spend a quiet moment with his words.

“… unto you …” This is a personal message, and there can be no evasion nor denial. What have you done with the Lord Jesus Christ for this occasion? You have remembered family and friends with gifts, but have you remembered Him?

“… this day …” Yes, this day, this very moment! Thoughts of Christmas fill the air, and there is at least the passing acknowledgment of His person. But do you know that the thoughts of Christ concerning you are those of grace and eternal life? He offers you the most wonderful Christmas gift available- the gift of your soul’s salvation. What will you do with Christ this Christmas?

“… a Saviour …” Yes, that is the power source of the prescription. The road from Christmas to Calvary is really a short one, for this Babe of Bethlehem came to die as the Sin-Bearer upon Calvary’s cross. Not “Santa” but the Saviour; not “Claus” but Christ. It is only the man or woman, the boy or girl, who has truly been to Calvary, whose sinful heart has been broken at the foot of the cross, whose life has been cleansed and transformed, who can really and truly know the blessed joy of a “heavenly Christmas” within the heart.

How precious are those words, “… unto you … this day … a Saviour …”, when the heart is open to receive Him.

How is it with you? Do you belong to the Lord? Or are you still passing by the manger, forgetting that the Holy Babe long ago climbed from His cradle and died on the cross for your redemption. “For all have sinned, and come short of the glory of God”, but we are “… justified freely by his grace through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus” (Romans 3:23-24).

Make this redemption your own by accepting into your heart God’s gift, the Christ of Christmas, as your personal Saviour.

C-Comfort. The Christ of Christmas promises, “… I will never leave thee, nor forsake thee” (Hebrews 13:5).

H-Hope.”… Christ in you, the hope of glory” (Colossians 1:27).

R-Redemption. “In whom we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of sins, according to the riches of his grace”(Ephesians 1:7).

I-Inspiration. “All scripture is given by inspiration of God … ” (2 Timothy3:16).

S-Salvation. The Bible says,“… now is the day of salvation” (2 Corinthians 6:2).

T-Truth. Jesus said, “… I am the way, the truth, and the life: no man cometh unto the Father, but by me” (John 14:6).

M-Mercy. “The LORD is merciful and gracious, slow to anger, and plenteous in mercy” (Psalm 103:8).

A-Assurance. “… the effect of righteousness quietness and assurance for ever” (Isaiah 32: 17).

S-Satisfaction. “… he satisfieth the longing soul, and filleth the hungry soul with goodness” (Psalm 107:9).

IS GIVING

Christmas is a time for giving. God’s gift is infinite, eternal, and unchangeable- truly a “changeless Christ, in a changing world.” “For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son …” (John3: 16). “For unto us a child is born, unto us a son is given …” (Isaiah 9:6). “Thanks be unto God for his unspeakable gift” (2 Corinthians 9:15).

IS GAINING

Christmas is a time for gaining. Obtaining, acquiring receiving. There is much gain in receiving when the gift is of value. “But as many as received him, to them gave he power to become the sons of God … ” (John 1:12). “And of his fulness have all we

received … ” (John 1:16). ” … but one receiveth the prize? So run, that ye may obtain” (1 Corinthians 9:24).

IS GOING

Christmas is a time for going. Jesus Christ sets the pattern in always going to others. “For even the Son of man came not to be ministered unto, but to minister, and to give his life a ransom for many” (Mark 1 0:45). ” … and took upon him the form of a servant … ” (Philippians 2:7). ” … Go ye into all the world, and preach the gospel to every creature” (Mark 16:15). ” … give ye them to eat” (Matthew 14:16).

” … they saw the young child … ” (Matthew 2:11). To see is to worship; to worship is to be obedient; to be obedient is to do whatsoever He saith. May these truths become real to us in our attitude toward reaching the lost. ” … Lord, what wilt thou have me to do? … “(Acts 9:6). This can be the most glorious, the most profitable, the most lasting Christmas we celebrate. “But seek ye first the kingdom of God … and all these things shall be added unto you” (Matthew 6:33).

“… It is more blessed to give than to receive” (Acts 20:35).

The giving of gifts at Christmas is without Scriptural warrant. When confronted with the question of giving gifts, we usually say, “Well, it was always practiced.” Yet to our surprise the practice of exchanging gifts has really no Bible foundation. It is said that the early Christians made presents to their children on Christmas morning under the pretense that they were the gifts of the Christ Child. This practice has become so commercialized that the real meaning of the Christmas story is completely lost. Yet, we know that God gave us the greatest gift that first Christmas when He gave us His only begotten Son. The exchange of gifts was not between God and man. Therefore, Christmas ought to be a time when we acknowledge “… his unspeakable gift” (2 Corinthians 9:15).

Let us for a few moments examine God’s most precious gift to a sinful world. Its value cannot be computed in silver or gold. There is no human evaluation that can be set on Heaven’s most expensive gift to the undeserved sinners.

A PROMISED GIFT

In the dark shadows of Eden, when Adam and Eve were expelled out of the garden, God promised man a glorious gift, “And I will put enmity between thee and the woman, and between thy seed and her seed; it shall bruise thy head, and thou shalt bruise his heel” (Genesis 3:15). In this glorious package is wrapped up a promise that the Messiah, born of the virgin, would come and bruise Satan’s head and redeem the human family back to God. The prophet Isaiah catches a glimpse of this generous promise by prophesying, ” … Behold, a virgin shall conceive, and bear a son … ” (Isaiah 7:14).Thus throughout the ages the human family looked for the fulfillment of the promised gift.

A PRECIOUS GIFT

“Unto you therefore which believe he is precious …” (1 Peter 2:7). One could almost exhaust the human language to appraise the meaning of the word precious. It must surpass the evaluation of anything in terms of material; be it rubies, diamonds, or gold. This is impossible to appraise. It is Heaven’s best, and who is there that can place a price tag on that which the Father Himself prepared and delivered. Yes, to us who believe, Jesus is very precious. Ask those who have experienced deliverance through His precious blood, and they will all say, “He is precious.”

A PERFECT GIFT

Material gifts, as lovely wrapped and expensive as they may be, are not perfect. They soon lose their luster and become damaged and often destroyed. At best man can only give a perishable gift, that is soon disposed of and even forgotten. But not so with the “perfect gift” that Heaven gives in the person of Jesus Christ. “… This is my beloved Son … ” (2 Peter 1:17) was the Father’s appraisal of His perfection. Sinless gift wrapped up in a napkin of sinless flesh. Like the veil that once wrapped the mercy seat when transported from place to place, so in the veil of sinless flesh, the Father wrapped up “His perfect gift” addressed to us personally in the person of Jesus Christ. The Bible says, “For he hath made him to be sin for us, who knew no sin; that we might be made the righteousness of God in him” (2 Corinthians 5:21). Therefore, when we accept Christ, we instantly receive a perfect redemption and a perfect justification, so that we can be accepted in the beloved. This is God’s perfect gift, and only God can afford so expensive a salvation absolutely free.

A PRICELESS GIFT

“Ho, every one that thirsteth, come ye to the waters, and he that hath no money; come ye, buy, and eat; yea, come, buy wine and milk without money and without price” (Isaiah 55:1). The Bible says that by no amount of money can this gin be purchased. It is freely bestowed because it is already paid for in full by “… the precious blood of Christ, as of a lamb without blemish and without spot” (1 Peter 1: 19). Salvation cannot be earned; it is given! We are not saved by our good works, but by “… grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God” (Ephesians 2:8). If you have received Christ, you have a “priceless gift” of eternal life right now.

A PERSONAL GIFT

“… to you is the word of this salvation sent” (Acts 13:26). Again Paul says, “Be it known unto you therefore, men and brethren, that through this man is preached unto you the forgiveness of sins: And by him all that believe are justified from all things, from which ye could not be justified by the law of Moses” (Acts 13:38-39).

Dear friend, you need not window shop any longer for the “… unspeakable gift” (2 Corinthians 9:15), because it is already wrapped up, delivered to your address, and it bears your name. The Holy Spirit delivers this gift to you personally, and it is up to you to accept it or reject it. To those who accept Jesus Christ, you will join the countless millions who throughout the ages have testified, “Unto you therefore which believe he is precious … ” (1 Peter 2:7). May this be the happiest Christmas as you accept this ” … unspeakable gift.”