2018-12 EngDec

CONTENTS
• When The Time
Had Come
• A Father’s Love
THE GOOD NEWS
• Christmas Blessings
To You
D E C E M B E R 2 0 1 8
When The Time Had Come
“But when the fullness of the time
had come, God sent forth His
Son” (Galatians 4:4). How old is the story
of Christmas? While it’s true that the
events of Christmas—the birth of Jesus
Christ—took place 2,000 years ago, the
story of Christmas was being written for
hundreds and even thousands of years
before that blessed day.
The Story Begins—The beginning
of the story of Christmas was told in the
Garden of Eden, the paradise where Adam
and Eve lived in harmony with God
until they disobeyed His command. Because
of Satan’s deceptive actions and
temptation which led Adam and Eve to
sin, God pronounced a judgment against
him. The judgment, in Genesis 3:15, revealed
that the seed of the woman
(Jesus Christ) would bruise the head of
the serpent (Satan). The sins of our first
parents, as well as the sins of every person
who has lived since then, created a
need and a longing for a Redeemer who
could conquer sin and restore mankind’s
relationship with God.
More Details Emerge—More details
of the story of Christmas—God’s
story of redemption—emerge throughout
the centuries. The prophet Isaiah
lived 700 years before Christ was born,
but wrote that “the virgin shall conceive
and bear a Son, and shall call His name
Immanuel” (Isaiah 7:14; compare
Matthew 1:20-23). Micah, another Jewish
prophet, pinpointed the place where
the Saviour would be born: “Bethlehem
…out of you shall come forth to Me the
One to be Ruler in Israel, whose goings
forth are from of old, from everlasting”
(Micah 5:2, compare Luke 2:1-
7).
The Picture Becomes Clearer—
Other prophetic Scriptures reveal more
about who the promised Redeemer
would be. Isaiah wrote: “For unto us a
Child is born, unto us a Son is given; And
the government will be upon His shoulder.
And His name will be called Wonderful,
Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting
Father, Prince of Peace” (Isaiah
9:6). The Saviour was to be none other
than the everlasting Son of God (John
1:1,14; 3:16).

The Saviour Must Suffer—When
Adam and Eve sinned, God killed an animal
and made coats of skin to cover
them (Genesis 3:21). When the children
of Israel sinned, God required that they
bring an animal sacrifice, shedding its
blood at the altar (Leviticus 4). When
God envisioned the ultimate sacrifice—
the full and final payment for sin—it also
involved the shedding of blood. Isaiah
spoke of the suffering Saviour with perfect
clarity: “He was wounded for our
transgressions, He was bruised for our
iniquities…. He poured out His soul unto
death, and He was numbered with the
transgressors, and He bore the sin of
many” (Isaiah 53:5,12). Jesus Christ, the
Son of God, suffered and died as the
Lamb of God, the perfect sacrifice (1 Peter
1:18,19).
The Story Is Not Over—All of the
prophecies concerning the birth of Jesus
Christ and His sacrificial death on Calvary’s
cross came to pass 2,000 years ago.
However, God’s story of redemption is
still being written today. God is still saving
all who come to Him in repentance
and faith, trusting the sacrifice of Jesus
Christ as payment for their sins. “Believe
on the Lord Jesus Christ, and you will be
saved” (Acts 16:31).
Have you become part of the Christmas
story? Have you seen Jesus Christ as
more than a baby in a manger? Have you
seen Him as the Son of God who left
Heaven and became a man so He could
die in your place, bearing your sin? Have
you turned to Him and placed your full
trust in Him as Lord and Saviour? If not, I
urge you to do so today! Then you can
say, as did Simeon when he saw the baby
Jesus, “For my eyes have seen Your salvation
which You have prepared before the
face of all peoples” (Luke 2:30,31).
T H E
G O O D
N E W S
On December 7,
1988, an earthquake
devastated the northwestern
section of Armenia,
killing an estimated
25,000 people.
In one small town,
just after the earthquake,
a father rushed
to his son's school only to find that the
school had been flattened. There was
no sign of life. But he had no thought
of turning back. He had often told his
son, "No matter what, I'll always be
there for you when you need me!"
Though his prospects appeared
hopeless, the father
began feverishly removing
rubble from
where he believed his
son's classroom had
been. Other forlorn parents
only wailed hopelessly…"My
son!" or "My
daughter!" Some told the father to go
home, that there was no chance that
any of the children could be alive. Yet,
he replied: "I made my son a promise
that I'd be there for him anytime he
needed me. I must continue to dig."

Courageously, he worked alone; no
one volunteered to help him. He simply had
to know for himself: "Is my boy alive or is he
dead?" Finding strength and endurance beyond
himself, the faithful, loving father continued
to dig for 8 hours, 12, 24, 36 hours.
Then in the 38th hour, as he heaved away a
heavy piece of rubble, he heard voices.
"Armand!" he screamed.
A child's voice responded: "Dad! It's
me...Armand!" Then, "I told the other kids
not to worry. I told them that if you were
alive, you'd save me, and when you saved
me, they'd be saved. You promised you
would always be there for me! You did it,
Dad!"
Moments later, the dad was helping his
son Armand and 13 more frightened, hungry,
and thirsty boys and girls climb out of
the debris. Free at last! When the building
collapsed, these children had been spared in
a tent-like pocket.
When the townspeople praised Armand's
dad, his explanation was, "I promised
my son, 'No matter what, I'll be there
for you!'"
The Greatest Rescue—Do you realize
that God, the Heavenly Father, is in the rescue
business? He has made the greatest
effort possible to rescue us from a terrible
plight. But unless we have a personal relationship
with God through His Son, Jesus
Christ, we have no hope of experiencing the
benefit of His rescue— spending eternity
with Him in heaven! According to the Bible,
our sin separates us from God: "For all have
sinned and fall short of the glory of
God" (Romans 3:23), and “the wages of sin
is death" (Romans 6:23). This means separation
from God forever.
But the Bible tells us that “God so
loved the world that He gave His only begotten
Son, that whoever believes in Him
should not perish but have everlasting
life" (John 3:16). He offers you the free gift
of "eternal life in Christ Jesus our
Lord" (Romans 6:23). You cannot be saved
through your own effort: "For by grace you
have been saved through faith, and that not
of yourselves; it is the gift of God, not of
works" (Ephesians 2:8-9).
God has already reached out in love to
rescue you. Much like the father who rescued
his son after the earthquake, God went
to the limit to make a way out of the lost situation
we all were in—“while we were still
sinners, Christ died for us” (Romans 5:8).
God’s sinless Son died on the cross and took
the punishment our sins deserved! “Christ
also suffered once for sins, the just for the
unjust, that He might bring us to God” (1 Peter
3:18).
To be saved from the condemnation
our sin has placed us all in, you must agree
with God that you have sinned and that
your only hope for rescue is through Jesus
Christ’s death…in your place! The Bible says
“nor is there salvation in any other, for
there is no other name under Heaven given
among men by which we must be
saved” (Acts 4:12). Now, because of a Father’s
love you can experience the ultimate
salvation from an otherwise hopeless situation.
Receiving Jesus by faith as your substitute
places you into a loving, forgiven relationship
with God as your Father, and with
eternal life as your welcome gift into His
family!

Christmas Blessings To You
There is a special blessing in the
Christmas message which is frequently
missed by many. The birth of Jesus is not
simply an interesting fact of history wholly
unrelated to your present life, but rather it
has a direct bearing upon it.
When the angel announced the birth
of Jesus to the shepherds, the personal importance
of His coming was emphasized.
He said, “Do not be afraid, for behold, I
bring you good tidings of great joy, which
will be to all people. For there is born to
you this day in the city of David a Saviour,
who is Christ the Lord” (Luke 2:10-11).
Have you ever thought that it was for
you the Saviour was born? Do you realize
that when God sent His Son into the world,
He sent Him to become your Saviour? Listen
to the word of the angel, “I bring you
good tidings of great joy...for there is born
to you...a Saviour.” Yes...it was for you that
Jesus came, for we are all sinners in need
of one who can save us from the consequences
of our own sins.
He did not come to be the inspiration
of sacred art, nor to be the theme of
Christmas carols, much less to be merely a
good man and a great teacher. No, Jesus
came to be the Saviour, and as such he was
born to you.
Bound inseparably together are the
Saviour’s birth and His death. He came to
save, and to save He must die...die in the
sinner’s place, bearing the full penalty of
God’s punishment of mankind’s sins. This
too was personal—it was for you…“who
Himself bore our sins in His own body on
the tree….the just for the unjust, that He
might bring us to God” (1 Peter 2:24, 3:18).
And such a very personal message of
God’s love and grace demands a personal
response. The Saviour who was born was
God’s gift to you. And He wants you to receive
that gift; “For God so loved the world
that He gave His only begotten Son, that
whoever believes in Him should not perish
but have everlasting life" (John 3:16).
To receive the gift of God by faith you
must believe that Christ actually was born
to be your Saviour and that He died for
your sins. Because He arose victorious over
death, He offers you abundant, everlasting
life.
Won’t you receive the gift of God this
Christmas? It can be your best Christmas
yet!
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