December 25, 2010
Titus 2:11-14
It is Christmas morning, Jan and I have the house to
ourselves and we decided to sleep in and just enjoy the day. I’ve been told we are going to have
waffles with blueberries for breakfast, looking forward to that event. Byron and Nat and the boys were with us
earlier, and we did the big Christmas dinner and exchanging of gifts, so today
will be somewhat quieter, not the norm of excitement that comes from looking at
the gifts under the tree, and wondering if someone kept up the tradition of
giving me the chocolate covered cherries that I never ate. Often I’ve wondered, have we lost the most
important part of Christmas? Is it
really centered in eating more than we should, or is it about buying gifts and
spending time with our family? For
many it can be the worst time of their year, for various reasons like loneliness,
pain, hurt, or separation. This
morning, I read Titus 2:11-14, and once more knew that Christmas is only Xmas,
if we are not looking to the Gift of God, our Blessed Hope.
“For the grace of God has
appeared, bringing salvation for all people, training us to renounce
ungodliness and worldly passions, and to live self-controlled, upright, and
godly lives in the present age, waiting for our blessed hope, the appearing of the glory of our great God and Savior
Jesus Christ, who gave himself for us to redeem us from all lawlessness and to
purify for himself a people for his own possession who are zealous for good
works.”
If some how you have gotten caught up in the Xmas of the
year and left out Christ, it is not too late, it’s just one of those worldly passions
Paul is talking about in these verses.
Hundreds of years before the coming of Christ in the form of a baby, the
prophet Isaiah was told by the Holy Spirit to write these words; “Therefore the Lord himself will give you a sign. Behold, the virgin shall conceive and
bear a son, and shall call his name Immanuel.” (Isaiah 7:14) I have come to believe that when
it comes to God, His ways are beyond my understanding and so I have a choice,
to believe the Scriptures or to place my faith in some person, someone like
myself, I’ve chosen by faith to put my hope in God, in His written word, and in
His promises.
As I stated above it is beyond my understanding how a virgin
could have a child, it only works if God Himself got involved in the
process. But stop and put yourself
in the place of a young girl who is waiting to be married, and the angel
Gabriel who was sent from God tells her she will be the mother of the Son of
God. Picking up the story in Luke
1:34, “And Mary said to the angel, “How will this
be, since I am a virgin?” And the
angel answered her, “The Holy Spirit will come upon you, and the power of the
Most High will overshadow you; therefore the child to be born will be called
holy – the Son of God.”
I’ve now experienced the blueberry waffles, and they far
exceeded my expectations, they were warm and Jan had fresh lemon curd with
fresh blueberries, I no longer have to hope for them I’ve experienced the
fullness of those waffles. If you
have not experienced the fullness of the Son of God, today would be a great day
to invite Him into your life, and to do as many of us are; waiting for our blessed hope, you see He keeps His promises and He is
coming back, it may be today, I do not know, but this I know it will be soon,
very soon.
From the Back Porch,
Bob Rice
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