DESPITE OUR EFFORTS to keep Him out, God intrudes. The life of Jesus is bracketed by two =
impossibilities: a virgin’s womb and an empty tomb. Jesus entered our =
world through a door marked "No Entrance" and left through a =
door marked "No Exit."
Peter =
Larson
CHRISTMAS has really become a hopeless muddle of confusion. The humility and =
the poverty of the stable are somehow confused with the wealth and =
indulgence and selfishness of gift giving. The quietness of Bethlehem is =
mingled with the din of shopping malls and freeway traffic. The =
soberness of the Incarnation is somehow mixed with the drunkenness of =
this season. Blinking colored lights somehow have some connection to the =
star of Bethlehem.
John F. MacArthur Jr., "The Incarnation =
of the Triune God"
WHEN Jesus was born, the voice of God became flesh and dwelt among us. And =
what the voice said was, "Console, console my people." The =
consolation that God’s anger is past; the consolation that our heavenly =
Father has a tender affection for us in our weakness; the consolation =
that our sins are pardoned and "cast into the depths of the =
sea" (Micah 7:19).
John Piper, "Looking for the =
Consolation of Israel"
REJOICE, you who feel that you are lost; your Savior comes to seek and save =
you. Be of good cheer, you who are in prison, for he comes to set you =
free. You who are famished and ready to die, rejoice that He has =
consecrated for you a Bethlehem, a house of bread, and He has come to be =
the Bread of Life to your souls. Rejoice, O sinners everywhere, for the =
restorer of the castaways, the Savior of the fallen, is born. =
Charles Haddon Spurgeon, "Joy Born at =
Bethlehem"
WHAT you do not understand, treat with reverence and be patient, and what =
you do understand, cherish and keep.
St. Augustine of =
Hippo, Sermons for Christmas
~~
Dr Bob Griffin =
[email protected] =
www.grif.net
"Jesus =
Knows Me, This I Love!"