He came to His own, and His own did not receive Him. But as many as received Him, to them He gave power to become children of God. John 1:11-12
A Summary of Jesus’ Life and Ministry: “He came unto His own and His own did not receive Him.”
This theme was true in Bethlehem where He was born. This theme was true in His hometown of Nazareth. It was true in Jerusalem as He was rejected by the religious community. And this theme is true in America today where we continue pulling God out of our culture. The result is this Christmas people are in desperate need for …
· A Sense of Peace “For a child will be born to us, a son will be given to us. And the government will rest on His shoulders; and His name will be called Wonderful, Counselor, Mighty God, Eternal Father, Prince Of Peace.” Isaiah 9:6 In the early part of the20th century, the top 10 killers were all contagious diseases like small pox in contrast to the early part of this century the top 10 killers are all stress related like high blood pressure. People today long for the peace that passes understanding that Paul spoke of in Philippians 4
· A Sense of Forgiveness “Anyone who belongs to Christ is a new person. The past is forgotten, and everything is new. God has done it all. He sent Christ to make peace between Himself and us.” II Corinthians 5:17-18. We can only experience true forgiveness in our lives when we have experienced the forgiveness of God … and we can forgive others who have wronged or sinned against us …and we are able to forgive ourselves for our own failures.
· A Sense of Acceptance and Friendship “Greater love has no one than this, than to lay down one’s life for his friends. You are my friends if you do whatever I command you. No longer do I call you servants, for a servant does not know what his master is doing; but I have called you friends, for all things that I heard from My Father I have made known to you. You did not choose me, but I have chose you … John 15:13-16. Psychologist say that if you ask the average person to write down on a piece of paper all his personality strengths, he will come up with only five or six. Asked to do the same for his weaknesses, the list will be two or three times as long.
The Son of God became The son of man that We, the sons of man could Become the sons of God. My prayer for you during the Christmas season is that you sense the Peace of God, the Forgiveness of God and the Acceptance of God in your ministry work and your families.
David Archer
