December 25

“Every good and perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of the heavenly lights, who does not change like shifting shadows.” 
James 1:17

 

The day is here! Today the children will rise, many from a sleepless night of anticipation, and the celebration will begin. It may be a chaotic scene filled with noise, joy, and laughter. For some, with no small children to interject the unadulterated joy of the morning, there may not be as much noise or laughter, but there is still the warmth and the encouragement of thoughtful gifts given and gratefully received. The day will follow on with a late, and special breakfast. Our big meal is a late lunch. It will be spent with family and sometimes friends. As the day progresses, we have no further formal meals. We have leftovers whenever we want to get them for ourselves. It is a grand day. The gifts, the music in the background, the meals, the fellowship, even the travel to be with those we love for part of the day, are all reminders of the One who traveled into time and across space to be with us — the ones He loves. He made the trip to do more than give us a present, He came to be the Gift.

As I write these words on July 30, 2019, for you on December 25, I have a dear friend struggling to regain health following a stroke. He has spent 60 years in the entertainment and music business. Since I have known him, at least 20 years, his gifts have been dedicated to the glory of God without reservation. In May of 2017 he recorded a song called, In Touch with God. In the bridge he sings these words:

In the beginning was the Word, the word was God, Jesus is the Word.
Within his light, when darkness falls, in him his light, his light is light for all.

The chorus is:
In touch with God. In touch with God.
I live in love and peace, In touch with God.
In touch with God. In touch with God.
I live in love and peace, in touch with God.
24

Those words could not be written or sung with integrity without the birth of Jesus. Had he not come to us as a vulnerable baby, we could not know Him in the way we do. He would not be our personal God and friend or Savior. He would not be present as He is. The most profound truth about God is that His name is Immanuel. Jesus is God with us, both now and for eternity. It is the most beautiful name. Start this Christmas morning in touch with God and stay in touch.

Merry Christmas! Immanuel has come! 



December 4

“And God said…”
Genesis 1:3, 6, 9, 14, 20, & 24
“So God created man in his own image, in the image of God
he created him; male and female he created them.”
Genesis 1:27

 

God spoke. Out of nothing came light, sun, moon, sea, land, fish, birds, plants, animals, man. That’s power; to make something out of nothing with just a word. Man can’t make something out of nothing, period. Theologians use the word omnipotent to describe this characteristic of God. We translate that as “all-powerful.” How do we see this power unfold?

Over the previous three days we’ve looked at creation and the best response to it — wonder. His power is not limited to creative power, although it is limited in a manner. In the book, The Case for Faith, author Lee Strobel quotes Peter John Kreeft asserting that “Precisely, because he is all powerful, he can’t do some things. He can’t make mistakes.”6 So, it was no mistake when God made man, gave him dominion over the earth and provided for him from every seed-bearing plant of the earth. God uses His power to bring benefit, and He intends for us to use the power delegated to us in the same way. This is the central assertion of Andy Crouch in his book Playing God: Redeeming the Gift of Power. Power is given to benefit those under the influence or responsibility of the one with the power.

This understanding and use of power is largely lost in our world today. Power is used for personal agendas and personal benefit at the expense of those who do not have such influence. This turn of events has not surprised God, and before the beginning of time He had a plan and the power to see that plan come to fruition. His answer to the problem is what we celebrate this December. The God who created a universe we can’t even really comprehend, who is so big He stands outside of this vast, inconceivably large and variable expanse, is the God who knows you and is attentive to you, and has the power to insert Himself into His creation as a baby. He utilized this capacity to step down from His glory and into our experience. He is neither unaware of nor indifferent to our pain, challenges, disappointments, limitations, joys, or triumphs.

Today, stop for a moment and consider the size and power of God, and then remember that He cares so much for you that He became like you so you could know Him. Today, let the thought that God would and could become a baby help you keep a right focus on all the circumstances December brings. They are just that—circumstances—and the omnipotent God is interested and involved in your day. That’s how He uses power.

 

Jay W. Hill