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A Walk through Advent (part 3)
And she gave birth to her firstborn son
and wrapped him in swaddling cloths
and laid him in a manger,
because there was no place for them in the inn.
And in the same region there were shepherds out in the field,
keeping watch over their flock by night.
And an angel of the Lord appeared to them,
and the glory of the Lord shone around them,
and they were filled with great fear.
And the angel said to them,
“Fear not, for behold, I bring you good news of great joy
that will be for all the people.
For unto you is born this day in the city of David a Savior,
who is Christ the Lord.
(Luke 2:7-10 ESV)
Get full access to On walking the Way at tompossin.substack.com/subscribe
In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was in the beginning with God. All things were made through him, and without him was not any thing made that was made. In him was life, and the life was the light of men. The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not overcome it. (John 1:1-5 ESV)
And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us, and we have seen his glory, glory as of the only Son from the Father, full of grace and truth. (John 1:14 ESV)
Have this mind among yourselves, which is yours in Christ Jesus, who, though he was in the form of God, did not count equality with God a thing to be grasped, but emptied himself, by taking the form of a servant, being born in the likeness of men. And being found in human form, he humbled himself by becoming obedient to the point of death, even death on a cross. Therefore God has highly exalted him and bestowed on him the name that is above every name, so that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth, and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father. (Philippians 2:6:11 ESV)
Here we see Luke, John, and Paul all describing the birth of Jesus. Each one focuses on a different aspect of this little baby’s arrival. Luke tells us He was born in an insignificant place, in an insignificant town, in an insignificant country, to an insignificant young girl. This earth shattering event was announced to nameless, almost certainly illiterate, shepherds who could not even record this event for posterity. And yet…
This child was born to be the savior of the world!
This is truly great news of joy for the whole world!
But there’s more - this tiny child is the Word of God according to John’s gospel. He was with God in the beginning and He was God. All things were made through Him, and life was in Him. And this life was the light of men, this light shines in darkness and the darkness did not overcome it!
The word became flesh and dwelt among us
John concludes this portion of his gospel with this statement. This tiny insignificant baby was God, He was the creator, He was life itself laying helpless in a manger. God had become one of us, God has joined in our struggles and our lives by becoming one of us and living and dying with us, but much more importantly - living and dying for us.
A word from Paul
Paul gives us a glimpse of what this looked like from the perspective of the eternal Son of God. Though he was in the form of God he did not cling to this equality with God but humbled himself by taking on the form of Man and not just a man a servant. But he did not stop there, he served us to the point of death. And because of that humility and sacrifice and love for others, God has highly exalted Him and given Him a name above all names. Jesus is Lord of all!
And this king before whom every person shall bow is the same child we find in the manger in Luke’s account.
Walking this way
As we reflect on the lengths that the God has gone to save us from our sin and give us new life. And as we consider the selfless, humble, love the eternal Son demonstrated in taking on a human form in Jesus. How are we to reflect this life to the world - today?
The life that the eternal Son of God took on was no life of luxury or glory or fame. It was the life of a nobody in the middle east 2000 years ago. A boy that I am sure grew up with whispers about his parentage in the tiny town of Nazareth. He knew political oppression, poverty, and endless hard work. This boy grew into a man that served everyone he met, and ultimately gave his life for the whole world.
As we consider our own life, how do we reflect the value that Jesus has put on us as we interact with the people we meet? Will we follow the way of Jesus in setting aside our benefit for the benefit of others today? Will we share the gift of God in Jesus to the world He was sent to save? To have a true and living faith is to act in harmony with our belief. True faith can’t be passive. Our belief in this gift, which is given to us in Jesus, will not allow it. Because to truly believe in a gift this great changes everything. God has become one of us in Jesus. He gave himself so we may live with him forever! This is Christmas! And this story is now our story!
And this is the testimony, that God gave us eternal life, and this life is in his Son. Whoever has the Son has life; whoever does not have the Son of God does not have life. I write these things to you who believe in the name of the Son of God that you may know that you have eternal life. (1 John 5:11-13)
Have a very Joy filled Christmas wherever you are! Remembering that 2000 years ago in a humble manger a child was born. He was born to be one of us, born to suffer, born to die, born to be raised again, born to give us life eternal, and born to rule forever!
Amen!
And may we all live worthy of this gift as we celebrate this blessed season and await the return of the King of Kings!
Have a great week!
Get full access to On walking the Way at tompossin.substack.com/subscribe
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By Tom PossinAnd she gave birth to her firstborn son
and wrapped him in swaddling cloths
and laid him in a manger,
because there was no place for them in the inn.
And in the same region there were shepherds out in the field,
keeping watch over their flock by night.
And an angel of the Lord appeared to them,
and the glory of the Lord shone around them,
and they were filled with great fear.
And the angel said to them,
“Fear not, for behold, I bring you good news of great joy
that will be for all the people.
For unto you is born this day in the city of David a Savior,
who is Christ the Lord.
(Luke 2:7-10 ESV)
Get full access to On walking the Way at tompossin.substack.com/subscribe
In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was in the beginning with God. All things were made through him, and without him was not any thing made that was made. In him was life, and the life was the light of men. The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not overcome it. (John 1:1-5 ESV)
And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us, and we have seen his glory, glory as of the only Son from the Father, full of grace and truth. (John 1:14 ESV)
Have this mind among yourselves, which is yours in Christ Jesus, who, though he was in the form of God, did not count equality with God a thing to be grasped, but emptied himself, by taking the form of a servant, being born in the likeness of men. And being found in human form, he humbled himself by becoming obedient to the point of death, even death on a cross. Therefore God has highly exalted him and bestowed on him the name that is above every name, so that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth, and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father. (Philippians 2:6:11 ESV)
Here we see Luke, John, and Paul all describing the birth of Jesus. Each one focuses on a different aspect of this little baby’s arrival. Luke tells us He was born in an insignificant place, in an insignificant town, in an insignificant country, to an insignificant young girl. This earth shattering event was announced to nameless, almost certainly illiterate, shepherds who could not even record this event for posterity. And yet…
This child was born to be the savior of the world!
This is truly great news of joy for the whole world!
But there’s more - this tiny child is the Word of God according to John’s gospel. He was with God in the beginning and He was God. All things were made through Him, and life was in Him. And this life was the light of men, this light shines in darkness and the darkness did not overcome it!
The word became flesh and dwelt among us
John concludes this portion of his gospel with this statement. This tiny insignificant baby was God, He was the creator, He was life itself laying helpless in a manger. God had become one of us, God has joined in our struggles and our lives by becoming one of us and living and dying with us, but much more importantly - living and dying for us.
A word from Paul
Paul gives us a glimpse of what this looked like from the perspective of the eternal Son of God. Though he was in the form of God he did not cling to this equality with God but humbled himself by taking on the form of Man and not just a man a servant. But he did not stop there, he served us to the point of death. And because of that humility and sacrifice and love for others, God has highly exalted Him and given Him a name above all names. Jesus is Lord of all!
And this king before whom every person shall bow is the same child we find in the manger in Luke’s account.
Walking this way
As we reflect on the lengths that the God has gone to save us from our sin and give us new life. And as we consider the selfless, humble, love the eternal Son demonstrated in taking on a human form in Jesus. How are we to reflect this life to the world - today?
The life that the eternal Son of God took on was no life of luxury or glory or fame. It was the life of a nobody in the middle east 2000 years ago. A boy that I am sure grew up with whispers about his parentage in the tiny town of Nazareth. He knew political oppression, poverty, and endless hard work. This boy grew into a man that served everyone he met, and ultimately gave his life for the whole world.
As we consider our own life, how do we reflect the value that Jesus has put on us as we interact with the people we meet? Will we follow the way of Jesus in setting aside our benefit for the benefit of others today? Will we share the gift of God in Jesus to the world He was sent to save? To have a true and living faith is to act in harmony with our belief. True faith can’t be passive. Our belief in this gift, which is given to us in Jesus, will not allow it. Because to truly believe in a gift this great changes everything. God has become one of us in Jesus. He gave himself so we may live with him forever! This is Christmas! And this story is now our story!
And this is the testimony, that God gave us eternal life, and this life is in his Son. Whoever has the Son has life; whoever does not have the Son of God does not have life. I write these things to you who believe in the name of the Son of God that you may know that you have eternal life. (1 John 5:11-13)
Have a very Joy filled Christmas wherever you are! Remembering that 2000 years ago in a humble manger a child was born. He was born to be one of us, born to suffer, born to die, born to be raised again, born to give us life eternal, and born to rule forever!
Amen!
And may we all live worthy of this gift as we celebrate this blessed season and await the return of the King of Kings!
Have a great week!
Get full access to On walking the Way at tompossin.substack.com/subscribe