Matthew 1:20-21 - "But as [Joseph] considered these things, behold, an angel of the Lord appeared to him in a dream, saying, 'Joseph, son of David, do not fear to take Mary as your wife, for that which is conceived in her is from the Holy Spirit. She will bear a son, and you shall call his name Jesus, for he will save his people from their sins.'"
For yesterday's 5th Day of Christmas -
So y'all don't laugh! At least not too hard. :-) I was putting my socks on the other day. Ya know, one foot on the floor, and one foot lifted up. Like a flamingo. That lost its balance. And fell over. It hurt. But not too much because, on the way down, I was laughing because I knew I'd tell y'all.
But no puttin'-on-your-socks fall could ever hurt as much as Joseph and Mary knowing from Day One that they were giving birth to a child who had a lot of pain coming his way so he could "save his people from their sins." And it all would culminate with five wounds on the cross, which we remember on the fifth Day of Christmas.
The only way a parent could endure such sorrow is by ultimately remembering that every child 1) comes from God, 2) belongs to God, 3) is meant to personally know God, and 4) finds peace in every sorrow through a relationship with God.
Hey, Gang, the sooner we help children know God personally through Jesus, (and they can know him well before Kindergarten), then the easier it is on everybody.
For today's 6th Day of Christmas -
In Proverbs 6:16, we hear that "there are six things that the Lord hates." You can look them up in the verses after sixteen. I'm pretty sure we've all done at least one of the six. And in light of that reality, let's use the 6th Day of Christmas as another day to thank God for sending Jesus to "save his people from their sins." And, if we remember what we just said with the 5th Day of Christmas about every child belonging to God, then we all can be thankful that we're "his people" whom he saves.
So, ok y'all, have a great day! And be careful puttin' your socks on. :-)
Praise God!
Pastor Chris
"The gospel is the story of Jesus [what God's only Son has done for us that we can't do for ourselves], spoken as a promise." - Robert Jenson
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