“And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us, and we beheld His glory, the glory as of the only begotten of the Father, full of grace and truth.” John 1:14

What does this incredible verse mean? This is the meaning of Christmas. In order to understand this, let’s consider for a few moments — Who is Christ?

The Paradoxes of Christ

He was the Light, yet He hung in darkness on the Cross.

He was the Life, yet He poured out His soul unto death.

He was the Rock of Ages, yet His feet sank into the deep waters.

He was the Son of God, yet He died a felon’s death.

He was holy, undefiled, separated from sinners and knew no sin, yet He was “made sin” when

He took the culprit’s place and suffered in his stead.

He bade the weary to come to Him for rest, yet not on earth could He find rest until He said, “It is finished,” and gave up his life to God.

He was the Mighty God, yet He became a man and was crucified through weakness.

He was the Image of the Invisible God, yet His visage was marred more than any man.

All the fullness of the Godhead dwells bodily in Him, yet He took on Him the form of a servant and was made in the likeness of men.

He spake, and it was done;

He commanded, and it stood fast;

yet He humbled Himself and became obedient – even unto death.

He was the Desire of All Nations, yet He was despised and rejected of man.

He is the Fountain of Life, yet upon the Cross He cried, “I thirst.”

Can you understand these mysteries?

These are the things that angels desire to look into.

The heaven cannot contain Him, yet He died for us.

-Faithful Words Uncle Ben’s Quotebook (Baker Book Co. c.1976) p.69

Who is this Babe in a manger? Have you actually considered what God really did? This is the time for us to stop and think about just Who it was that came to Bethlehem’s Manger that day.

Knowing Who He Really Was

by Charlie Grier

In a distant land, on a bygone day,

A little BABE in a manger lay.

But who could tell, as He nestled there,

While Mary and Joseph bowed in prayer,

That here on the hay, with His infant cry,

Lay the Master of ocean, earth, and sky?

And then as He taller and fairer grew –

This lad that all of His neighbors knew

To be pleasant and courteous, brave and strong,

With a cheery smile and a hearty song –

Touched their hearts and troubled their minds,

“Who was this lad so gentle and kind?”

They liked His frank, straightforward ways,

His wisdom and words were beyond His days,

And they paused to watch Him fashion wood

In a manner no other craftsman could –

He impressed them much, as a good boy does

But they never dreamed who He really was!

At last a lock is upon the door –

The Carpenter of Nazareth is no more,

But now, a Man with a “ONE-WAY” sign

Is telling the Truth to all mankind.

He is pointing to that “narrow way”

That leads, at last, to Eternal Day;

And they listen just as they did before

Back in His humble work-shop door,

“Never man spake as he,” they cry –

With new hope gleaming in their eye.

“The strength of Elijah he displays,

But he is unlike him in some ways.

Like Jeremiah, he weeps and warns

While favor from the rich he scorns.

Messiah? — No, he cannot be –

No prophet comes from Galilee!”

And so they turn from Him because

They didn’t know who He really was!

Then He showed His love through mighty deeds:

He healed their sick and supplied their needs.

He cleansed the leper and raised the dead –

The hungry multitudes were fed.

He stilled the storm – the poor He blessed.

He offered pardon, peace, and rest!

His critics cried, “He is too meek –

He tries too hard the lost to seek!

We want a leader strong as steel –

Full of courage, strength, and zeal

To rule the world with an iron rod –

Yet, never once claiming to be God.”

At last united, in Pilate’s Hall

A verdict of “death” was agreed by all.

“Envy” brought charges of trumped-up sin.

“Hatred” shouted, “Away with Him!”

God’s angry earthquake shook the sod!
“Honesty” acknowledged, “This was the Son of God!”

At Christmastide, when men of good will

Seek to worship the Christ child still,

Have you stayed too long in Bethlehem town,

Or, have you followed His steps around

To Jerusalem, and Galilee,

And this angry throng at Calvary?

Have you stood amazed beneath the Cross

And cried, “For ME He suffered loss!

It was for ME He bore disgrace –

Bearing MY sin – taking My place?”

The message of Christmas is more, by far,

Than the angels’ song, or the Wise Men’s star.

Have you stood at the Tomb in ecstasy,

Where nature responded to Deity

And shouted, “Christ is the Victor now

For He conquered DEATH on Calvary’s brow!”

If YOU are not saved, is it not because

You, too, haven’t learned who He really was?

“And Simon Peter answered and said, “Thou art the Christ, the Son on the living God.” Matthew 16:16. Let us gather together and worship Christ, The King, this Christmas morning.

Merry Christmas

“A few years ago a striking Christmas card was published, with the title, ‘If Christ had not come.’ It was founded upon our Savior’s words, “If I had not come.” The card represented a clergyman falling into a short sleep in his study on Christmas morning and dreaming of a world into which Jesus had never come.

“In his dream he found himself looking through his home, but there were no little stockings in the chimney corner, no Christmas bells or wreaths of holly, and no Christ to comfort, gladden and save. He walked out on the public street, but there was no church with its spire pointing to Heaven. He came back and sat down in his library, but every book about the Saviour had disappeared.

“A ring at the door-bell, and a messenger asked him to visit a poor dying mother. He hastened with the weeping child and as he reached the home he sat down and said, ‘I have something here that will comfort you.’ He opened his Bible to look for a familiar promise, but it ended at Malachi, and there was no gospel and no promise of hope and salvation, and he could only bow his head and weep with her in bitter despair.

“Two days afterward he stood beside her coffin and conducted the funeral service, but there was no message of consolation, no word of a glorious resurrections, no open Heaven, but only ‘dust to dust, ashes to ashes,’ and one long eternal farewell. He realized at length that ‘He had not come,’ and burst into tears and bitter weeping in his sorrowful dream.

“Suddenly he woke with a start, and a great shout of joy and praise burst from his lips as he heard his choir singing in his church close by:

O come, all ye faithful, joyful and triumphant,

O come ye, O come ye to Bethlehem;

Come and behold Him, born the King of Angels,

O come let us adore Him, Christ, the Lord”.

Streams in the Desert (Oriental Missionary Society c.1925) p370-371

The Strange Season

by Charlie Grier

Christmas is the strangest season

People just forget to reason;

Everyone is buying – spending –

Doing up their gifts and sending

To their friends, both far and wide,

Just because it’s Christmastide.

There is something in the air

Just makes people want to share;

I’ve seen folks accused of hoarding

Buying, giving, and according

To the spirit of the year,

Helping to spread Christmas cheer.

What’s the meaning of this season?

Have men really lost their reason?

Or, is it that on this day

In a manger far away

God’s best GIFT to man was given,

Hope of earth, and joy of Heaven!

“What I am leaving with you is Shalom (Peace) – I am giving you My Shalom. I don’t give the way the world gives. Don’t let yourselves be upset or frightened.” John 14:27 Jewish Bible

Jesus has a gift for us! How wonderful that Christ became a man, lived, died and arose so we could be forgiven. He offers to His children His Peace! In a world gone mad, Christ gives us Shalom. What matters is not WHEN He was born but THAT He was born as a man on this earth! I challenge you all to sing “Happy Birthday” to Jesus this year sometime during your celebration and tell Him you love him! Wouldn’t it be terrible if you had a birthday party and the only one that wasn’t welcome was the Guest of Honor?

Is Christ In Your Christmas?

By Marvine Scott

Let us worship God in this season
As Christ to the world we proclaim.
Jesus came to this earth for one reason
He wanted lost souls to reclaim.

Do we think of the glory and honor He left
To be poor and despised on earth’s sod?
As He hung on the cross, the centurion said
He truly is the Son of God.

What is the reason for our Christmas Joy?
Jesus went to the manger that day,
In order to be born a small baby boy.
A gift, we can never repay.

The decorations, holly and fine Christmas trim,

The gifts and the family fun, too,

Are fine as long as we don’t forget Him

In all that we say or we do.

Christmas is worshiping Jesus each year
As we do throughout each new day.
It is loving our Savior and spreading His cheer
To everyone going our way.

Ramona Olson Waller from Dora Lake, MN, wrote a beautiful poem expressing what she was giving Jesus for Christmas as a very young girl. Somehow it found its way into Grandma Grier’s Scrapbook (Charlie’s mom). Charlie printed this lovely poem with permission from the author in 1973 in his book of poems.

A Christmas Present for Him!

By Ramona Olson Waller

Tonight I am thinking of Jesus

As I look at this beautiful tree,

And wonder just what I can give Him

Who has given so freely to me.

I’m counting my treasures all over,

And wondering what He can use;

In loving a Person so dearly

It is really a problem to choose.

I wonder what really would please Him

And just what should my gift for Him be?

God gave HIM to us –OH– I wonder,

Do you think He would like to have ME?

I’ve hands that will work for Him gladly,

I have feet to run errands of love,

And lips that can tell of a Saviour,

Who came down from His home up above!

My heart — it will love Him forever!

There are souls I can help Him to win!

Tonight I am giving – yes, giving myself

As a Christmas present for Him!

He gives us His Peace. What will we give Him?

What a day Jesus experienced! First his cousin, John the Baptist, is beheaded! It is difficult to face the death of a loved one, but to have him beheaded? How awful! Jesus was God but He was also man with our human emotions. The Bible says, “He was a man of sorrows and acquainted with grief.” Can you imagine grief of this magnitude?

Well, when the disciples brought the news to Jesus, He basically said “Let’s go get alone for a while and rest” because not only had they not had time to rest, they really didn’t even have time to eat. Don’t you think Jesus needed some R & R about that time? So they went into the wilderness for a little down time. What happened? The same thing that always happened. The crowd followed Him.

Now do you suppose the crowd followed Him to express their sympathy for His loss? NO! They came because they had needs they wanted Him to fix. They had problems they wanted Him to help with. Jesus was bone weary, hungry and filled with sorrow. What did He do? Did He say, “You know, guys, I’m beat! Could you please come to my office tomorrow at 8:30.” No. Listen to what He did!

“Jesus, when He came out, saw a great multitude and was moved with compassion for them,…So He began to teach them many things.” Mark 6:34NKJV.

Isn’t that amazing? Jesus did not allow Himself to be moved by His own needs but instead was ‘moved with compassion for them‘ and began to meet the needs of the crowd! Wow! What a Savior! Going on with the story, Jesus taught them all day. The disciples were tired. Jesus was tired. The disciples came to Jesus and said, “You know, Master, it is supper time. Why don’t you send them home so they can eat.” Now isn’t that logical? What a considerate way out of their stress problems!

What was His response? “No. You feed them.” You know the story. They found some bread and fish and Jesus multiplied them to feed this huge crowd.

How can we be like Christ? How can we have the courage to help the weary and burdened lay their load at the foot of the cross? When we focus on Jesus, He helps us.

The Name of Jesus

By A. B. Simpson, D.D.

GLORY to the Name of Jesus!

Once it stood for sin and shame;

Now the songs of earth and Heaven

Join to bless that glorious Name.

PARDON through the Name of Jesus!

Free from guilt, and fault, and blame,

We may stand beloved, accepted

As we come in Jesus Name.

VICTORY through the Name of Jesus!

Once for us He overcame,

And we conquer sin and Satan

Only in our Captain’s Name.

POWER through the Name of Jesus!

All His power our faith may claim,

God will work His wonders through us

When we use that mighty Name.

HEALING in the Name of Jesus!

How it thrills our suffering frame

When we learn to take from Jesus

Life and healing in His Name.

TELL abroad the Name of Jesus;

‘Round the world His love proclaimed

Till earth’s saved and ransomed millions

Join to praise the Savior’s Name.

GLORY to the Name of Jesus!

Once it stood for sin and shame.

Now let all the earth and Heaven

Join to bless His glorious Name!

CAN YOU SLEEP WHEN THE WIND BLOWS?

“Years ago, a farmer owned land along the Atlantic seacoast. He constantly advertised for hired hands. Most people were reluctant to work on farms along the Atlantic. They dreaded the awful

storms that raged across the Atlantic, wreaking havoc on the buildings and crops. As the farmer interviewed applicants for the job, he received a steady stream of refusals.

“Finally, a short, thin man, well past middle age, approached the farmer. ‘Are you a good farm hand?’ the farmer asked him. “Well, I can sleep when the wind blows,” answered the little man.

“Although puzzled by this answer, the farmer, desperate for help, hired him. The little man worked well around the farm, busy from dawn to dusk, and the farmer felt satisfied with the man’s

work.  Then one night the wind howled loudly in from offshore. Jumping out of bed, the farmer grabbed a lantern and rushed next door to the hired hand’s sleeping quarters. He shook the little man

and  yelled, ‘Get up! A storm is coming! Tie things down before they blow away!’

“The little man rolled over in bed and said firmly, ‘No sir. I told you, I can sleep when the wind blows.’

“Enraged by the response, the farmer was tempted to fire him on the spot. Instead, he hurried outside to prepare for the storm. To his amazement, he discovered that all of the haystacks had been covered with tarpaulins. The cows were in the barn, the chickens were in the coops, and the doors were barred. The shutters were tightly secured. Everything was tied down.

“Nothing could blow away. The farmer then understood what his hired hand meant, so he returned to his bed to also sleep while the wind blew.

MORAL OF THIS STORY

“When you’re prepared, spiritually, mentally, and physically, you have nothing to fear. Can you sleep when the wind blows through your life? The hired hand in the story was able to sleep because

he had secured the farm against the storm. We secure ourselves against the storms of life by grounding ourselves in the Word of God. We don’t need to understand, we just need to hold His hand

to have peace in the middle of storms.”

Author Unknown, Uncle Arthur’s On Line

Let’s concentrate on letting Jesus use us to help others

this Christmas Season!