Wednesday, December 26, 2012

THE BIRTH OF CHRIST--CHARLES WOODRUFF


(We often think that the birth of Christ is only told about in the New Testament., but actually it is told about in the Old Testament very often. This is why the Jews were looking for the Messiah to come to this earth. I want to briefly show you places where it is mentioned, beginning in Isaiah. There are several other references we can look at. The devout Jews knew He was coming. Let's reflect on this.)






Then in Isaiah 7:14 we have this famous prophecy “Therefore the Lord himself shall give you a sign; 
Behold, a virgin shall conceive, and bear a son, and shall call his name Immanuel.” These
verses unmistakably explain the miracle of the virgin birth. This miracle was one of many concerning 
the birth of Christ. No other person was ever born like this (of a virgin). The most majestic person ever 
born, was born for His people, and died for them on the cross.





There are many more Messianic passages, but one more I wish to mention for you is this one,“Yet have 
I set my king upon my holy hill of Zion. I will declare the decree: the LORD hath said unto me, 
Thou art my Son; this day have I begotten thee.” (Psalm 2:6,7) I hope you have met Jesus, God’s 
king on His holy hill. I hope you and your family will worship Him during this time. What a joy to know 
Him, to love Him, and to be loved by Him. There is no other in which you may trust. Only Jesus 
Christ. Do you know Him? Has He saved you?

Reader, there are so many more verses, but reflect on these three to feel what this time of year is supposed to represent. It is not presents, nor Christmas trees, nor dinners, nor gatherings; but Christ alone. He alone 
is the Savior. He alone can change your heart.He alone can fight, and win your battles.He is ready to save you now and come and bring you peace.Won’t you trust Him now? “Whosoever shall call on the name of the Lord shall be saved.” (Acts 2:21)
Published by Charles Woodruff- email: oursong2000@yahoo.com


Saturday, December 15, 2012

THOUGHTS TO CONSIDER




 Dear readers: This is  a selection of three articles I thought you might enjoy. Especially with Christmas so near I wanted to feature W.F. Bell's fine little article. I trust you will be safe and trusting God this season. Amen! (Cw)

                                 DIVIDED BY CHRIST---W.F. BELL
"So there was a DIVISION among the people because of HIM" (John 7:43).  Christ is the great "divider" of sinners among men and nations.  He always has been, and always will be.  He explicitly said, "I came not to send peace, but a sword" (Matthew 10:34).  What a forgotten word is that!  The Christ we speak of is not the same as "baby Jesus in a manger," or "Christ on a crucifix," or "Jesus portrayed" in a painting.  We refer here only to the eternal Son of God, the living Lord Jesus Christ, who said: "I am the First and the Last.  I am He who lives, and was dead, and behold, I am alive forevermore.  Amen.  And I have the keys of Hades and of Death" (Revelation 1:17-18).  He came from heaven to die at Calvary in order to "save His people from their sins" (Matthew 1:21).  He was raised from the dead, and now lives to die no more!  He is Lord of all, Conqueror and King, and will never relinquish His authority to any man.

But men were not sure who He was when He was here!  Some said, "This is surely that Prophet foretold by Moses."  Others said, "He is Elijah, Jeremiah, John the Baptist."  Still others, "He has a devil and is born of fornication."  Some said, "If He is truly the Messiah, will the Messiah come from Galilee?"  See how confused the people were in Christ's day!  And nothing has changed.  We are still awfully confused over Christ and the gospel.  Many things divide our nation at present, including politics, health reform, and even Christmas.  Anyone who has listened to the song, Say Merry Christmas, then reads the hundreds of comments about the song, is immediately informed as to how divided we really are.  The comments are indeed eye-opening!  Here's a few: "Jesus is really the reason for the season, so let's boycott all stores not saying Merry Christmas."  "If it's all about His birth, why shop anyway?"  "It's all pagan, so let's stop being hypocritical."  "Let everyone believe what they want to."  "What's wrong with celebrating a non-Christian holiday; why does it have to be Christian?"  Etc.  Note here how we are divided over Christ, over Christian teachings and traditions, over Bible interpretation, and over "tolerating" the views of others.

Rather than being opinionated about this Christmas controversy, let's just all remember that no one is right on everything!  So we all must admit that neither me nor you are right, neither the ACLU nor the ACLJ, neither the Democrats nor the Republicans, neither the Catholics nor the Baptists, neither those who say "Merry Christmas" nor those who say "Happy Holidays."  The point is we should stop making such a fuss over a season or a holiday, because that is not the main thing.  The main message we must proclaim is that the Lord Jesus Christ is the triumphant Lord of glory, and is "KING OF KINGS AND LORD OF LORDS" (Revelation 19:16).  So what if men don't believe it?  That's nothing new (Acts 28:24).  I can guarantee you that God is not frustrated about it, and neither should we be.  Leave sinners to their gods and pleasures.  Some day, without question, Every knee shall bow to King Jesus!  It's just a matter of time when the sheep are divided from the goats.

                                               CALVARY WAS A VICTORY
This world sees Christ as a fool, the Bible as a lie and God as a myth. None of this surprises us. Most in Hollywood see Christ as either unimportant or as a fool. The politicians see Him as a fool, because practically all of them are “Christians” when it comes time to run for office, no matter what positions inconsistent with the Christian faith they may take, or how grossly sinful their lives have been. Yet, our generation was not the first to see Calvary as a defeat. Which none of the princes of this world knew: for had they known it they would not have crucified the Lord of glory” (I Corinthians 2:8). Satan didn’t know (not being omniscient as God is), or he would have opposed the crucifixion. The prophecies were there telling of Christ’s death, burial and resurrection, but I doubt that Satan understood them. Calvary was a defeat for Satan, and the resurrection sealed it forever!

It was not a defeat for Christ. He conquered death, hell and the grave! In Him we conquer all that too, yes we are more than conquerors through Him that loved us” (Romans 8:37). And He loved us before the foundation of the world! Yes on that hill outside Jerusalem called Golgotha (place of the skull), death came to Christ but could not hold Him. But, the death blow was given to Christ’s enemies, and God will manifest that as it pleases Him.

For us it is our victory over death (I Corinthians 15:1-7).
For us it is our victory over the world (Galatians 6:14).
For us it is our victory over self (Galatians 2:20).
For us it our victory over the flesh (Galatians 5:24).
For us it is our victory over the devil (Colossians 2:15; cp with Ephesians 6:12). (Cw)

                                         THE WORD, NECESSARY FOOD
"Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every Word that proceedeth out of the mouth of God"   (Matthew 4:4).
“If God so willed it we could live without bread, even as Jesus did for forty days; but we could not live without His Word. By that Word we were created, and by it alone can we be kept in being, for he sustaineth all things by the Word of His power. Bread is a second cause; the LORD Himself is the first source of our sustenance. He can work without the second cause as well as with it; and we must not tie Him down to one mode of operation. Let us not be too eager after the visible, but let us look to the invisible God. We have heard believers say that in deep poverty, when bread ran short, their appetites became short, too; and to others, when common supplies failed, the LORD has sent in unexpected help. But we must have the Word of the LORD. With this alone we can withstand the devil. Take this from us, and our enemy will have us in his power, for we shall soon faint. Our souls need food, and there is none for them outside of the Word of the LORD. All the books and all the preachers in the world cannot furnish us a single meal: it is only the Word from the mouth of God that can fill the mouth of a believer. LORD, evermore give us this bread. We prize it above royal dainties.” Charles Spurgeon, Faith’s Checkbook for July 4th. Emphasis mine-Cw

Published by Charles Woodruff- email: oursong2000@yahoo.com