I have "one piece" nativities in every room in my house, and I leave them there all year long because they remind me of the miracle Jesus did for me and for everyone who chooses to believe in His salvation through His crucifixion and resurrection (John 3:16-18). These nativities are all unique and very special to me because they were gifts or gems found during thrift store “treasure hunts”.
God’s Word declares that Jesus was "despised and rejected even by his own family, as well as living as a man of sorrow and acquainted with grief" (Isaiah 53:3). I feel so much remorse for my sins that caused Him to have to live like this, and I can never thank Him enough for paying my sin debt.
Sin is a universal problem of which we all deal daily. It is a deliberate rebellion against the Trinity of God. It dictates our thoughts, words, and actions, and it dwells in our soul - enslaving us to satanic control until we turn away from sin and believe in Jesus’ saving grace.
The only reason Jesus came to earth was to pay our sin-debt for us, and to give us His righteousness in exchange, so we can dwell with Him for eternity. Even as Born Again Believers, if we choose to walk in continual sin, we separate our self from God and hinder our spiritual growth in so many ways, as well as blocking the continual blessings of God from our life.
The preacher, Charles Haddon Spurgeon, had much to say about Jesus’ sorrow and grief during His brief life on this earth. His summary of this topic is that although it makes us sad that our behavior and attitude forced Jesus to come to earth as our Redeemer, He is now seated with God in Heavenly places.
He triumphed over sin and death, and now all authority in Heaven and over the earth is given to Him by our Father God. He will rule for eternity over all the nations of the universe as King of kings and Lord of lords (1 Timothy 6:15: Revelation 19:16).
Satan bruised the heel of Jesus, but the Lord will crush Satan’s head and cast him and his demons into the deepest hell for eternity (Genesis 3:15; Mathew 25:41; Revelation 20:10). Every tongue will eventually worship Him in spirit and in truth; so surrender your life to Him now, and receive His blessings.
There is no grater solace in our grief in this valley of the shadow of death (Psalm 23:4) than as we realize that He suffered just as we do, and He really understands what we are experiencing in our life. While we endure each trial, we share in the sufferings He experienced, but we have hope and joy due to Christ’s triumph over them (1 Peter 4:13; 1 Corinthians 15:55; Colossians 2:15).
Our Savior also took upon Himself a life of no notoriety, a servant in every aspect, with human senses and needs and experiences (Philippians 2:7-14). In doing this, He redeemed everyone who lays down their pride and rebellion in slavery to sin, and eternal damnation (Genesis 3:13-23).
Jesus was God in the flesh and dwelt among us as the only begotten Son (John 1:1,14). As both God and man (John 14:9), He will return to earth in the Father’s timing (Matthew 24:36-44) and in a position of grandeur and majesty rather than an existence of human limitations (Romans 14:1; Philippians 2:10-11; John 4:23-24).
Jesus willingly yielded His life to death to pay for the sins of the entire world – past, present, and future. When it seems impossible for us to resist sin’s temptation, we can stand firm on the fact that Jesus never sinned (2 Corinthians 5:21), because God dwelled within Him (John 10:30-33). We can also resist the temptation to sin (1 Corinthians 10:13-33), because by His Spirit, the Trinity of God abides in us as well.
Prayer:
Father God, thank You for coming into our human family and for identifying with humanity in every way. Thank You for redeeming us by the blood of Jesus (Ephesians 1:7; Colossians 1:14; Ephesians 1:7), for adopting us into Your family (Ephesians 1:5), and for making us joint heirs with our brother Jesus of Your entire Kingdom (Romans 8:17). Thank You for having pity on our sinful plight and giving us the means to escape the bonds of sin and to enjoy the freedom that only Christ can provide (John 8:36).
Help us to see that our bondage to Satan and sin is our choice; however, You also give us the choice to receive Your free gift of eternal life through Jesus Christ, our Lord and King (Romans 6:36; Romans 13:14; Ephesians 1:17-19). We rely on Him as our mediator that earned us the privilege of entering Your throne room at any time of need. When we pray to You, we take Jesus’ yoke on our shoulders, and He helps us to bear our heavy load of sorrow and grief in this life (Matthew 11:29-30).
Thoughts for the Day:
Before we trust in Jesus to free us from the bondage to sin, it blindsides us with uncontrollable desires, irrational thoughts, and the unpredictable impulses of our flesh. Our only hope of salvation from this predilection, is to repent of our sins, trust in Jesus’ saving work on Calvary’s cross, and submit to Him in every area of our life – even with those “locked closets” within us that are filled with secrets that we keep hidden from the world.
- Proverbs 14:34; Galatians 5:15-25; Acts 2:38; 2 Chronicles 7:14; Proverbs 3:5-6; James 4:7-10
