But most importantly, we wait with joyful anticipation to celebrate the coming of our Lord…first in the manger in Bethlehem...and also to come in His triumphant Second Coming. His Second Coming is as certain as His first and is stated many times in the Bible, including by Jesus Himself...
“For the Lord Himself will come down from heaven,
with a loud command, with the voice of the archangel
and with the trumpet call of God, and…[we]
will be caught up together with them in the clouds
to meet the Lord in the air.
And so we will BE WITH THE LORD FOREVER.”
--1 Thessalonians 4:16-17
"When everything is ready, I WILL COME AND GET YOU,
so that you will always be with me where I am."
--Jesus in John 4:3-4
Jesus states in Revelation 3:11, 22:12, and 22:20 the exact same phrase...
“I AM COMING SOON”
Jesus is coming. He has promised and He is ALWAYS true to His Word.
It makes me think of the Island of Misfit Toys in Rudolph (which I watched yesterday!). Some days I feel like a brand-new, sparkly and lovable toy, but that’s rare. Many days start out like that but have little bumps here and little tweaks there, and before I know it, I’m dragging home feeling like a “Charlie in the Box” or a caboose with square wheels. But the really cool thing is that just as Santa came to take all those toys, quirks and all, to their home, Jesus is coming someday to take us, quirks and all, to our Heavenly Home. We even get to ride through the air. (See Thessalonians above) :0)
And here's the immeasurably amazing part of it all. Whereas I LOVE the big red guy and have always been one of his BIGGEST fans, I found an article last year that pointed out that even though he is super jolly and giving and wonderful, Santa can’t even BEGIN to compare to how wonderful JESUS is!!! Read below…
It seems odd that Santa, a legalistic, works-oriented, earn-your-keep type of guy, is able to steal the spotlight from a Savior who offers full and free forgiveness to all sinners, not just the boys and girls. “Our children are really trying to be good,” says Hoh. “And if they feel they are failing, they either become guilt-ridden or they act up even more.”...Remember the true meaning of Christmas: “For God so loved the world in this way: He gave His One and Only Son, so that everyone who believes in Him will not perish but have eternal life” (John 3:16). The core of the Christmas message is that you received what you could never earn and what you did not deserve. “For by grace you are saved through faith, and this is not from yourselves; it is God’s gift” (Ephesians 2:8). It is the best gift of Christmas.
Written by Rebecca Powell
This article provided courtesy of ParentLife.
http://www.lifeway.com/article/?id=164392
I love, love, love this message. Santa is cheerful and jolly and has a generous spirit…but only in a "what you deserve" type of way. PRAISE BE TO GOD that this is NOT how HE works!!!
We sin. He forgives.
We worry. He comforts.
We fail. He gives us strength.
We cry. He gives us comfort.
We turn away. He calls us back.
We “all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God”. Yet He “justified freely by His grace through the redemption that came by Christ Jesus…as a sacrifice of atonement through faith in His blood” (Romans 3:23-24).
Jesus' sacrifice…we did not earn. God’s salvation…we did not deserve.
We are all sinners. We have good hearts…but also sinful hearts. Even the best of us…“ALL have sinned”(Romans 3:23)…are sinners. That is why God’s gift is SO AMAZING!!!
Santa asks, “What do you WANT for Christmas?”
GOD gives us what we NEED for life.
Santa asks, “How you been a good boy or girl this year?”
GOD simply asks, “Do you BELIEVE in ME?”
“Whoever BELIEVES in Him shall not perish
but have eternal life.”
--John 3:16
“The GIFT of God is ETERNAL LIFE”
--Romans 6:23
Come Lord Jesus!
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