God with Us

“God’s in His heaven, all’s right with the world” is beautiful poetry written by Robert Browning. However, if God had remained in heaven, “all” could have never been right with the world. The story of Christmas is that God did not remain in heaven, but descended to earth in the person of a boy-child, arriving in a manger, on a silent night. The message is that He who dwelt in heaven without a heavenly mother, arrived on earth without an earthly father. He became “Emmanuel” (Isaiah 7:14) – God with us. The theological term is “incarnation” – which literally means embodied in flesh. It was the greatest and most stunning miracle that had ever been. It is the answer to the question: “Who is Jesus Christ?” The answer revealed by the incarnation is: Jesus Christ is fully God and fully man in one person. In other words, He is God with us. The better news is that Jesus not only existed prior to Bethlehem’s manger, but that He continues to exist after the Garden’s tomb. He is with us! That makes all the difference in the world at Christmas time – for those who worship Him. He is with us as we hang Christmas decorations, shop for gifts, send and receive Christmas cards, look at Christmas lights, wrap packages, open presents, eat delicious meals, sing carols, and enjoy the presence of family and friends. He is with us!

Join me this week in remembering the following global concerns:
• Pray for missionaries who host Christmas parties for their non-Christian friends in order to share the real meaning of Christmas.
• Pray for believers in Vancouver and Whistler, British Columbia as they pray and prepare for the Winter Olympic ministry in 2010.
• Pray for missionaries who minister in the midst of riots and unrest in Athens and Thessaloniki, Greece.