Title Feast of Blessings / Luke 2:8-14
season of content
Luke 2:8-14
Christmas is just a few days away. At Christmas, there is no need to explain the meaning or explanation of Christmas. It is simply because the story of Christmas is the Word and grace. Today I would like to tell you again the beautiful and gracious story of Christmas.
It was said that Caesar Augustus sent down his spirit and told him to register all under the heavens. Augustus was the emperor who ruled the Roman Empire for 41 years, from 27 B.C. to 14 A.D. Because this emperor ordered them to register for the census, they all went to their hometowns. Mary and Joseph, who were already betrothed, went to their hometown, Bethlehem. Mary was already full term, and so the baby Jesus was finally born in Bethlehem. Because every house was full of people, he stayed for a day in the stable, and Jesus came to the manger. It seemed to have happened in a corner of such a small town, but it was the biggest event in human history.
Meanwhile, in the nearby fields, shepherds were watching their flocks all night long. Then suddenly a bright light shone, and an angel appeared and said to the shepherds.
I bring you good news of great joy that will come to all the people.
Today in the city of David a Savior has been born to you, who is Christ the Lord.
This will be a sign for you, and you will find a baby wrapped in cloths and lying in a manger.
Immediately a loud chorus of angels was heard from heaven.
Glory to God in the highest
On earth peace is among those with whom God is pleased.
The shepherds, on the one hand, were amazed and on the other, thrilled, and ran to the stable and worshiped the baby Jesus. There they see the stars in the sky and also see the worship of wise men from the East. Thus, a meeting of the stables took place. Beyond the walls of the rich and the poor and the ignorant, beyond the walls of man and beast, the history of becoming one with the baby Jesus came to be revealed.
The heavenly host of angels praised, saying, Glory to God in the highest. The birth of Jesus is a glory to God. How does it glorify God?
God's earnest desire is for your most precious creation, man, to return fully into your arms. The greatest hope of God is to restore the human beings who were created by God, but who forsook God and run only astray, who do not glorify or fear God, to their original form, and to cast off vain desires and sins and be saved. , your most earnest wish. Because Jesus came into the world to solve this problem, the birth of Jesus is the joy of God and the glory of God.
God wants people to be people. Nevertheless, when a person wants to become like a god, he falls into sin. It was that the words of temptation could become like God when Satan tricked Eve into eating the forbidden fruit. So Adam and Eve wanted to become like God, so they ate of the forbidden fruit. But, far from becoming like God, because of sin, he could not be with God, and he was expelled from the Garden of Eternal Peace. He tried to become like God, but he became a being that could not be with God.
Also, when a person ceases to be a human being and falls into eating, drinking, and enjoying like animals, he becomes a sinner. Humans are spiritual beings. Therefore, we must not only eat and drink, but fill our souls with the Word of God.
Man does not live by bread alone
By every word that proceeds from the mouth of God Matthew 4:4
That is why Jesus Christ, God Himself, came into the world in the form of the flesh to show the true man. In the end, Jesus, who came into the world to bear the sins of mankind and become the Lamb, the lamb for atonement. This kind of Jesus is to give glory to God because it is to fulfill God's will, and to bring out the glory of God. is.
And the angels praised, 'Peace on earth among men with whom God is pleased.' said he did The Lord is the Lord of peace. The will of the Lord in coming into the world was to solve the problem that human beings built a wall with God because of sin and lived a life of discord. So, he gave up his body and opened the way for God and man to be reconciled. So, when the Lord died on the cross, the veil of the temple was torn from top to bottom. It means breaking down barriers with God. It means that the wall of sin between God and man has been broken down. It means that the way for human beings who could not go to God has now been opened to boldly go to God through the grace of the cross.
The angels' praise proclaimed what the Lord was going to do in the world. This is what the Lord will do in the world to solve human sins and break down barriers with God, and because the Lord has come for this purpose, the angels praised, saying, 'Peace among those with whom God is pleased.'
When Jesus was born, a mysterious star appeared in the sky. And the star was moving towards somewhere. Doctors studying astronomy from the East followed the strange and mysterious star to Jerusalem. The wise men of the East saw this mysterious luminous star and believed that this must be a sign that a great king was born into the world. So they wanted to meet this great baby who would rule the world.
However, these wise men did not keep their first faith to the end. Because they followed the stars, the signs of heaven, and followed their knowledge. The king had the humanistic idea that he would be born in the royal palace. Such humanistic thinking has brought great misery to the world. Herod gave a terrible command to kill all babies under the age of two in Bethlehem. In the end, due to the human judgment of the doctors, they forgot the stars and only brought commotion into the world, resulting in the suffering of many innocent babies.
On the last pilgrimage to the Holy Land, I climbed Mt. Sinai at 2 am. It was a two-hour hike up on a camel, and the sky was full of stars. I felt like a magi. I saw so many stars in the night sky. There were literally no voids anywhere and the stars were densely packed. And it sparkled like it was about to pour out at any moment. I thought while looking at these stars. Ah! There were so many stars in the sky. You are living with so many stars lost! Yeah don't lose the stars! The star of my soul, the star of my faith, the star of my innocence, the star of my clear heart, don't lose them! Lord, please guide my faith, my ministry, and my life like the stars that guided the wise men of the East. As I prayed, I looked up at the stars in the air.
The wise men did not get lost while looking at the stars. While seeing the light, their path was not crooked. But when I saw the world, I lost the sky. When I saw the ground, I lost the stars. When you see people, you have lost God.
Faith is following the Lord who is light. Those who look to the Lord as light will not lose their way in life. Those who discern the world according to the word of the Lord, who is light, will not wander. When you look at this light even when you are lonely, you can gain courage. When you look at this light even in difficult times, you gain strength. When we look at this light even when we are weak, we receive the grace of restoration. When you do not know where you are going, you can be guided by this light. The Lord came as a light of hope, a light of grace, and a light of healing. So the birth of the Lord is "good tidings of great joy to all the people."
Christmas is the season of blessing that delivers the news of joy. May you have a season of more blessings. May it be a season of more hugs. May it be a season of more forgiveness. May it be a season of sharing more. I pray that God's peace overflows to you and your family during this gracious season.
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