On a clear and starry night, over 2000 years ago, God showed what great love He had for us all, His created children. Although we were fallen and full of sin, He gave us the greatest gift of all; Himself made flesh, born unto the world, a Savior, Jesus Christ. Son of God and Son of Man. As we enter the upcoming holiday season, Christmas time, let us be ever mindful in what the season is all about. It’s about Him. It’s about love.

Heaven knew what a wonderful and powerful event that had taken place. A heavenly host sang praise to God that glorious night, for they knew that mankind had been given a Savior. They saw the love of God firsthand in the undeserving grace that had been given to the world, by a loving God filled with mercy. The reconciliation of man to God, made possible by the free gift to the world, Jesus, the Christ, born into this world to save man from himself.

The goal of God’s love for us is and was and always will be, to have us with Him throughout eternity. He made possible the accomplishment of this goal when He presented us with the birth of His Son, Jesus Christ, and ultimately, His sacrifice for us on the Cross.

God’s love is self-starting, indestructible, undeserved, compassionate, and constant. His love is immeasurable, voluntary, a free gift and perfect. He did not begin loving at the Cross, nor will He love us more tomorrow than He does today. There is nothing we can say, do or think that will ever change the way God loves us, because there are no surprises for God-He knows us totally and completely and loves us anyway.

The Greek word for Godly love is "Agape". Agape love is selfless and it is active. We all have our own examples of Agape love, but it is a love that is real and heart-felt, and genuine. This is how God feels about you and I and every one of His children. We are all His children, and He formed us all uniquely in the womb and He desires to have a loving relationship with us, just as we have our own loving relationships with our children, our parents, our wives, husbands, brother’s and sister’s. He is the Originator, the source of any love we feel because He gave us these feelings. Without Him, there would be no love, for He is love.

Tonight when you lay your head down upon your pillow to go to sleep, know that God will be smiling down on you His child, with love in His heart as He looks down on you, in peaceful slumber. The same way you look upon your own children. You are His child and He loves you.

I want to express to you what an incredibly great love God has for us in order to give so gracefully this precious gift of Himself to us, when we are so undeserving of any of His favor.

There is nothing we could do on our own to present ourselves Holy before Him, the Holy God. We were born into sin because of Adam who passed dominion of this world over to satan and we are subject to the wickedness of this world by the very flesh we are born into. We all begin to die from the second we are born because of satan and the act of rebellion that took place in Eden by the first man Adam and Eve.

Yet, God, full of grace, had mercy on us. He loves us dearly, He created us to be with Him. He, the triumphant Lord, made a way for us to have fellowship and live eternally with Him forever. It is what we were created for! He gave us Himself, the Christ, Jesus, His Word, who came to earth, born as a Man, the Lamb Of God, to be a final blood sacrifice for all of our sins, so that we wouldn’t have to die and He wouldn’t have to live without us!

This is why the angels sang, "Glory to God in the highest, And on earth peace, goodwill toward men!" This is why we should all sing praise to our glorious God in heaven, we have an eternity of joy to look forward to in His wonderful presence! All because of His grace!

Webster’s dictionary describes "grace" as:

1. Favor; good will; kindness; disposition to oblige another; as a grant made as an act of grace.

2. Appropriately, the free unmerited love and favor of God, the spring and source of all the benefits men receive from him.

"Unmerited". The "unmerited" love and favor of God. This means we don’t deserve God’s favor. It means we have rebelled as mankind, sinned against Him and gave our rightful dominion over this world (which God originally gave us) to satan, a fallen angel, choosing death over life eternal. It was our choice and we chose to disobey. We deserve the death that we chose.

But God loves us too much to just let us be and die. He loved us so much, He gave us His Son, that we might live. The choice again is ours. He doesn’t bully Himself on us, He gives us a choice. He is a loving God full of grace and mercy. He wants us to be with Him, our Father in heaven, forever. We just need to choose the Lord, Jesus, as our Savior. Our Redeemer.

God poured out His loving grace on all mankind when Christ was born into the world. The greatest gift of all, the first Christmas gift! Christ Himself! We will never know the true earth-shaking power that took place to achieve this.

If we are to sing Hallelujah, praises to our God in heaven, it should be to this! For God the Son chose to move from commanding armies of angels and sustaining galaxies in the heavens, to becoming human flesh. He walked, talked and breathed amongst us, the same way we walk, talk, and breathe.

He became a Man, subject to the same weaknesses, frailties and afflictions that we are subject to, yet remained perfect and sinless in this fallen world. He was presented with every temptation that we are presented with, yet remained sinless. He felt what we feel at these times. He was attacked by the enemy and stood strong. Because of His faith, belief and trust in our Father in heaven, He was able to stand firm. He withstood the same attacks that we undergo, not to out-do us, or make us feel inadequate, but to bond Himself to us as a comrade and friend.

To know what we have to go through each and every day, to show us, with the strength of our Father God, we too can triumph, in Him! So that He could relate to our suffering as He intercedes for us as our advocate in heaven at the Fathers right hand. So that we could lean on Him and use His strength and power to accomplish our goals. So that we could receive all that we have as children of God, by our inheritance in Christ Jesus. We have been lifted up with Him as members of the family of God!

This Christmas, give praise to our God in heaven, Father, Son and Holy Spirit!

The Christmas story is so much more than the birth of Christ. The birth of our Lord to the world was only the beginning of our salvation. He is The Lamb of God. He grew and traveled and taught the world how God wanted us, His children, to live. He performed many miracles to show a doubting world He is the Son of God. He showed the world how to love one another. He sacrificed Himself out of love for us, and died in our place so that we wouldn’t have to suffer and die.

We were guilty, He was not. Yet, the sinless God/Man chose to sacrifice Himself so that we could be with Him forever. He died and rose again, giving us eternal life in Him. He fulfilled the ancient prophesies, every single one! He is the Christ, Our Lord!

Let us always remember the whole story. At Christmas, let us look up at the Cross. At Easter, let us praise and give glory to the Birth! And always let us give thanks for this miraculously wonderful series of cataclysmic events that changed the world forever over 2000 years ago and effect all eternity. An eternity for those who believe, in the Son and His sacrifice on the Cross. Rejoice in the mystery. Rejoice in the grace, love and power of our Holy and loving, Sovereign God.

May you all be richly blessed this Christmas season!

Love in Christ, Rev. Michael <:)))><

Copyright©2007 Michael Sparr