Rachel was a preschooler and she had a problem with waking up in the middle of the night and growing frightened. The only thing that could calm her fears was running down the hall and crawling into bed with her parents. Hoping to fix this, Rachel’s Dad tucked her into the lower bunk on her bed one night and said, “Go to sleep, honey. I will be back later and will sleep in the top bunk.” She thought it was a great idea and she fell asleep immediately. A few hours later, when her father came to the room, she was still sleeping. He quietly crawled into the top bunk and stayed there the rest of the night. The next morning, he congratulated his daughter on sleeping the full night in her own bed. She said, “It was because you were in the room with me, Dad.” "But, how did you know I was there?" he asked. "You were asleep when I came in and you never woke up the whole night." Rachel answered, “Because you said you would be there.”
To Rachel, that was all she needed - a promise! That was enough. A promise can see you through the night. Our heavenly father promised to come to us. In the dark of the night, while Bethlehem suffered under the combined oppression of King Herod and the Roman Empire, He came softly as a baby to Bethlehem. When the angel appeared and declared “I bring you good tidings of great joy” there was a ray of light that split the darkness. Jesus came without the lavish life that he should have been afforded, but His coming was like a “light shining in the darkness”.
Max Lucado wrote:
If our greatest need had been information, God would have sent us an educator.
If our greatest need had been technology, God would have sent us a scientist.
If our greatest need had been money, God would have sent us an economist.
If our greatest need had been pleasure, God would have sent us an entertainer.
But our greatest need was forgiveness, so God sent us a Savior.
In the nativity we are blessed to see a God that cared so much that he robed himself in the flesh of mankind and came to live a life as an example unto us. We do not witness a God who sent someone else to save us. He did not and could not simply make a new commandment. The only way to save His finest creation was to come in the imperfectness of flesh to show us the way home. He came to bring hope to a world that has no hope! He came to dispel fear in a world that is full of panic and dread! He is the one that Isaiah gave many titles to, who has only one name:
He is Wonderful.
He is Counselor.
He is the Mighty God.
He is the Everlasting Father.
He is the Prince of Peace.
Bethlehem’s Child is the man with many titles, but He has only one name! Matthew 1:21 reads "And she shall bring forth a son, and thou shalt call his name JESUS : for he shall save his people from their sins." That’s the promise we really need. Not just that Jesus is going to be there to see us through the night, through the trial, through the season, or even through the uncertainty of our life, but that he can save us from the sin that seeks to destroy us. If you haven’t availed yourself of this most perfect promise, seek the Savior today, for He is calling you.
Thank God for the promise,
Pastor Hoffman
To Rachel, that was all she needed - a promise! That was enough. A promise can see you through the night. Our heavenly father promised to come to us. In the dark of the night, while Bethlehem suffered under the combined oppression of King Herod and the Roman Empire, He came softly as a baby to Bethlehem. When the angel appeared and declared “I bring you good tidings of great joy” there was a ray of light that split the darkness. Jesus came without the lavish life that he should have been afforded, but His coming was like a “light shining in the darkness”.
Max Lucado wrote:
If our greatest need had been information, God would have sent us an educator.
If our greatest need had been technology, God would have sent us a scientist.
If our greatest need had been money, God would have sent us an economist.
If our greatest need had been pleasure, God would have sent us an entertainer.
But our greatest need was forgiveness, so God sent us a Savior.
In the nativity we are blessed to see a God that cared so much that he robed himself in the flesh of mankind and came to live a life as an example unto us. We do not witness a God who sent someone else to save us. He did not and could not simply make a new commandment. The only way to save His finest creation was to come in the imperfectness of flesh to show us the way home. He came to bring hope to a world that has no hope! He came to dispel fear in a world that is full of panic and dread! He is the one that Isaiah gave many titles to, who has only one name:
He is Wonderful.
He is Counselor.
He is the Mighty God.
He is the Everlasting Father.
He is the Prince of Peace.
Bethlehem’s Child is the man with many titles, but He has only one name! Matthew 1:21 reads "And she shall bring forth a son, and thou shalt call his name JESUS : for he shall save his people from their sins." That’s the promise we really need. Not just that Jesus is going to be there to see us through the night, through the trial, through the season, or even through the uncertainty of our life, but that he can save us from the sin that seeks to destroy us. If you haven’t availed yourself of this most perfect promise, seek the Savior today, for He is calling you.
Thank God for the promise,
Pastor Hoffman
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