Wednesday December 21, 2011

Read Luke 1:1-38

 

This is no detective novel. It is not a mystery ‘Who dunnit?’ Luke was a historian and probably a doctor who did much research and interviews with contemporaries of Jesus before he wrote his gospel. He tells us outright about this child being born in Bethlehem on the very first Christmas.

 

He is to be called Jesus - which means God saves. But what does He save us from? Obviously the rebellion of Genesis 3 that we read about yesterday but also from the rebellion that we’ve all committed in our hearts. We’ve all done what our first parents did - turned our back on God and went our own way instead of His. Jesus - whose name means ‘God saves’ - has come to rescue us from rejecting God.

 

But we’re also told that He will rule on the throne of David and that His kingdom will never end. So? Jesus was born to take up an eternal kingship. He will rule over a kingdom that will span literally “forever”:  Jesus’ mission was to tell people about that kingdom and to invite us all into that kingdom.

 

When God created the world He meant for humans to live for eternity. Death came into the world because of our rebellion against God (Genesis 3). But, as we’ve seen already, God didn’t abandon us. He sent His Son Jesus into the world to set up an eternal kingdom  - one that will never end. And here’s the juicy bit. Jesus is inviting you and I into the kingdom. He’s opened it for us.

 

But how do I get into that Kingdom? What must I do? To understand we need to flick forward to end of Jesus’ earthly life. God Himself tells us:

That if you confess with your mouth, "Jesus is Lord," and believe in your heart that God raised Him from the dead, you will be saved. Romans 10:9

 

Have you given your heart to Jesus? Have you said ’Yes’ to His offer of an eternal kingdom? Have you cried out ’Jesus is Lord’ with your mouth and believed in your heart that He was raised from the dead ? If not, do it now. If yes, share that wonderful news with someone else.

 

Try to capture the real meaning of Christmas this week by sharing your faith in Jesus with at least one other person.

 

Prayer:

¨ Give thanks to God for the important ministry of reconciliation that is taking place in Israel.

¨ The power of the Gospel is bringing the ministry of reconciliation in the very place where Jesus reconciled the world to Himself on the cross.