Sharing Life and Christ

In our country, you don’t have to be a Christian to be excited about Christmas. Perhaps you just like presents or cherish the time together with family. Maybe it’s getting to decorate your house with lights or watch A Charlie Brown Christmas . Maybe it’s quoting A Christmas Story with your family or watching NFL football around the big screen. However, while you don’t have to know the salvation made possible through Jesus Christ to enjoy Christmas, you must be born again into the family of God to understand why Christmas is so important. It is not ultimately about us at all. All of the gift giving, cookie eating, tree decorating, and football watching are but shadows of the joy that God wants us to have on Christmas. In fact, apart from the grace of the One who “upholds the universe by the word of His power,” none of us would be able to enjoy Christmas at all! 2011 years ago history records the birth of a Jewish boy in the small town of Bethlehem. ...

Preserve me, O God, for in you I take refuge. Psalm 16:1 During this Advent season, there are many things for which to be grateful. There are the blessings of family, friends, and opportunities to give gifts. We have the privilege of remembering the birth of Jesus Christ and celebrating the light that has come into the world. Could an infant in a manger really save His people from their sins? Could this little baby boy really bring salvation to the world? We can now look back on Jesus’ birth with warm affection because that little baby answered those questions with an emphatic “Yes!” The day had arrived. The King had come! What a gift our God gave to the world on that day when Mary wrapped that babe in swaddling cloths. Recently, God has reminded me that not only did Jesus come into the world to provide salvation, but He came to gather a people to Himself and keep them until He returns. Without the ongoing sustaining power of Jesus Christ,...

He is first by translation of his name, king of righteousness, and then he is also king of Salem, that is, king of peace. He is without father or mother or genealogy, having neither beginning of days nor end of life, but resembling the Son of God he continues a priest forever. Hebrews 7:2b-3 I have been camped out in Hebrews 7 for a little while now trying to wrap my mind around this Melchizedek character. Who is this guy? Why does the writer of Hebrews spend so much time talking about Melchizedek when there are only four verses in the entire Bible dedicated to him ( Genesis 14:18-20 ; Psalm 110:4 )? And why does it matter at all to me who this guy was? Or should I be saying, “who this guy is,” since he has no beginning of days nor end of life? Who is Melchizedek? We see in Genesis 14 that Melchizedek is a king who met Abraham returning from battle after his nephew, Lot, had been seized. He blesses Abraham, and Abraham gives him a tenth of the war...