The Word Became Flesh To Reveal the Father

John 1:14
The Word became flesh and made His dwelling among us.  We have seen His Glory, the Glory of the One and Only, who came from the Father, full of Grace and Truth.

This season of Christmas is often called the silly season.  Society takes on a whole new cultural look.  People are tense, stressed, short-tempered and not many are very jolly.  Offices close down and those that just want to get on with work find themselves frustrated.  It can be a strange time.

But amidst the marketing geniuses' cries to buy more and the hustle and bustle of last minute organising, we must never forget that this time is marked to celebrate one of the greatest moments in history.  We hear it from so many corners so often: "don't forget the reason for the season!"  And most of us don't.  And I don't mean to come across cliched in this post, but I do want to remind us all to celebrate this time.

Take some time to pray with the family, during the worship service on Sunday, wherever you can, celebrate in your heart the greatness that Christmas stands for.  (It may not be the exact historical date of Christ's birth, but it is the date we set aside to celebrate it!  And I am sure He doesn't mind!)

And Christmas stands for is something hugely significant.  For so many reasons.  But one in particular I want to look at today is this:  At the birth of Christ, the invisible God became visible.

Jesus came to reveal the Father and what God was like.  This is significant in so many ways!  No longer was God a mystery!  No longer was His Nature and what He was thinking an encrypted mystery to be unlocked by the great thinkers of history.  It has been revealed in the person of Jesus.

Jesus is the exact representation of the Nature and Being of God.  (Hebrews 1:3)  Jesus said if you have seen Him you have seen the Father.  (John 14:9)  Jesus revealed to mankind what God was like.  And to our surprise, He is much more kinder, loving, gracious and good than we thought!  And surprisingly less angry!

How many sick people did Jesus turn away?  None!  How many sinners did Jesus turn away?  None!  How many sinners did Jesus dine with?  Many!  How many religious dictators did Jesus get angry with for holding back the Love of God from His people?  Many!

Friends!  God will never turn you away.  No matter who you are or what you have done.  No matter what your cry.  God hears you.  He Loves you as His very own!  Don't be discouraged by the enemy's lies.  The Truth of the life of Jesus has revealed what God is like once and for all.  And He is a good and loving Father beyond what we could ever imagine!

Rest in His Love today.  Celebrate His Love this Christmas.  Receive His Love this Christmas.  And thank Him that He has been eternally revealed ever since becoming a man on Christmas.

May you know His Love and the blessings It brings this Christmas.

Sorrow Is Temporary, Joy Is Eternal

Psalm 30:4 - 5
Sing to the Lord, you saints of His;
praise His Holy Name.
For His anger lasts only a moment, but His favour lasts a lifetime;
weeping may remain for a night, but rejoicing comes in the morning.

Many of us know this verse, especially the last part.  But it is a pity that "familiarity breeds contempt".  We become so accustomed to a saying or verse, that it can lose its power.  As Christians, we need to be so careful of this unfortunate reality.  Take John 3:16 for example, it is one of the most powerful verses in all of Scripture, yet because we know it so well, the power in its truth seems to have less of an impact on us.  We need fresh revelation to regain the power in these verses.  I believe this is what the Grace Revolution is all about.  But that's for another day and another article.

The point is, don't let the power of this verse here be watered down by familiarity.  It is a powerful truth!  Let's have a look at it...

God's anger only lasts for a moment, but His Favour lasts for a lifetime!  Isn't that stunning?  Now, put this into the context of God's plan, and we see that this is a clear picture of the Cross.  God's anger is not as infinite and eternal as His Love, Grace or Favour.  God is by very Nature Loving, Good and Kind.

Now, that is not to water down the danger or severity of sin.  But we need to recognise that God's anger and punishment was dealt with because He Himself absorbed all sin and death into the body of His own Son Jesus.  (In fact, He absorbed it Himself because He was in Christ at the time of the Crucifixion! 2 Cor. 5:19)   Friends, God's anger toward sin has been appeased!  He took it upon Himself and dealt with it!  Now what remains are eternal days of Favour!

But you may not be living in days of Favour.  Well, this is why the next verse is so important; "sorrow lasts for a night, but joy comes in the morning."  Friends, sorrow is temporal!  We must understand that we will go through trials in this life.  It won't be easy.  There will be times when life is tough.  But the good news is that there will be breakthrough!  Joy will come!  No matter what we are facing, we can be confident that eternal days of Joy and Favour will come to us!  Whether it is in this life or the next, either way, we will enjoy eternal days of Joy!  This is what Heaven is all about; JOY!

Friends, with such a hope, it is so much easier to face this life.  No matter what we are going through we can face it with an expectant hope that God promises us days of Favour and Joy.  This brings such hope to any situation.

I know that many of us face trials over this Christmas holiday period.  But be encouraged that God cares for you more than you know.  And He wants you to know that any stress or difficulty you may be facing is only temporal, and there is a joy that you can even tap into right now that lasts for eternity!

The Power of Knowing Your True Identity

1 Corinthians 13:12
Now we see but a poor reflection as in a mirror; then we shall see face to face.  Now I know in part; then I shall know fully, even as I am fully known.

As you can see by the red text, I would like to draw your attention to the final phrase in this verse...  "even as I am fully known."  This gives us a great indication as to what Paul was referring to when he said "now I know in part, then I shall know fully."  He was talking about his very own identity.  Not who God is, not what God is like (which we will eternally see more and more) but Paul was referring to his very own identity, who HE is.

God knows exactly who you are.  But not in the way you think.  God sees you as who you truly are, in the spirit.  He sees your true value.  Remember, He paid the highest possible price for you (1 Cor. 6:20), He gave up everything He had to buy you back (Matt 13:44), that's how valuable you are.  You are more valuable than you could ever imagine.  You may not yet know it, but God knows exactly how valuable you are.  You are more precious and valuable than all of the world's minerals and resources combined!

Paul is saying that even he hasn't clearly seen his true identity.  He has an idea of it, he sees a reflection, but he hasn't seen it in its entirety.  And there will come a day when he, like us, will see who we truly are.  After all, it has been said so often that we are like Jesus even in this world!  (1 John 4:17)  (Now, let me say, it doesn't necessarily say that we will only experience this revelation after this life - something to ponder!)

Friends, the more we come to understand (by revelation) how valuable we are in the eyes of the Creator of the Universe and the more we come to understand who we truly are and who He created us to be, we will live remarkable lives!  We will live lives of unconditional Love toward one another, we will live with a strange positivity as we are unaffected by the negative circumstances that surround us, we will live powerfully and with authority.

I pray that today, we would come into a further revelation of our true value, our true identity, and so be further transformed outwardly into the likeness of the Image of Jesus, our Big Brother.  (2 Cor. 3:18)