Bright blue sky in crisp fall air awaited us this morning.  Snow is on the mountains – we are doing better in our neck of the woods.

Does anyone have any ideas for Carla on Christmas?  She doesn’t wear jewelry or perfume.  It is better for her to order the kinds of flowers she wants – and those ain’t cut – so she gets what she wants.  We don’t need things and we don’t go out much, she would rather have a good dinner at home.  ??

She doesn’t know what she ‘wants’ and I am out of ideas.  Appreciate any thoughts.

Mathew 2:4-7 And when he had gathered all the chief priests and scribes of the people together, he demanded of them where Christ should be born.

⁵ And they said unto him, In Bethlehem of Judaea: for thus it is written by the prophet,

⁶ And thou Bethlehem, in the land of Juda, art not the least among the princes of Juda: for out of thee shall come a Governor, that shall rule my people Israel.

⁷ Then Herod, when he had privily called the wise men, enquired of them diligently what time the star appeared.

It was clearly written where Christ was to be born, it was something that was easily discerned by the advisers to Herod.

So, why did Christ have to say this?

John 5:38-40 And ye have not his word abiding in you: for whom he hath sent, him ye believe not.

³⁹ Search the scriptures; for in them ye think ye have eternal life: and they are they which testify of me.

⁴⁰ And ye will not come to me, that ye might have life.

He reminded them, He told them to search the scriptures and they would realize He is the Christ.  Yet, few did so, and fewer accepted Him; Christ’s foretelling was available and accessible to the leaders of the Jewish people; and they rejected Him.

They, of course, are not alone.  It wasn’t just the Jewish leaders that caused Him to die on the cross; it was everyone, every sinner. 

In order for Jews to be cleansed of sin there had to be a blood sacrifice.  In order for us to be cleansed from sin there has to be a blood sacrifice.

God knew what was going to happen when He sent Christ down to earth – that doesn’t mean He set the leaders up, they made their own choices and decisions. 

He gave them every advantage to do the right thing, He had been telling them the miracles He was performing was because of God the Father; He had told them to search the scriptures; He had reaffirmed He was there to fulfill the scriptures – but they were more interested in their positions of importance and less interested in actually examining Him in a manner that would help them garner the truth.

Paul made it clear that the scriptures provided the information necessary to serve God in Christ:

2 Timothy 3:16-17  And that from a child thou hast known the holy scriptures, which are able to make thee wise unto salvation through faith which is in Christ Jesus.

¹⁶ All scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness:

In today’s world where the majority of people believe that all paths lead to heaven, they don’t have follow Christ – because since He came to earth to save mankind, He wouldn’t leave any behind – and many others lies satan has put out there; it is imperative that we, as Christians live our life so others want to know about our Christ.

It is important that we can share with others Christ and allow the Holy Spirit to work within them, carefully maintaining God’s truth and guiding them to God’s Word.

As we know Christians, worldwide, are under fire for proclaiming that Christ and Christ only can save; we are called intolerant and hateful because we do not accept the world’s view of what a god is – we were warned that would happen and we were told, no matter what, to continue preaching the Word of God.

Mathew 24:9-11 Then shall they deliver you up to be afflicted, and shall kill you: and ye shall be hated of all nations for my name's sake.

¹⁰ And then shall many be offended, and shall betray one another, and shall hate one another.

¹¹ And many false prophets shall rise, and shall deceive many.

God will eventually send Jesus back to bring us home.  But in the meantime there are so many souls out there that can be saved if they hear our testimony.  The Holy Spirit will tug at their hearts while Jesus knocks on the door to their heart.

But these people need us to proclaim His Word that they might accept it.  It is not easy, but we are mandated by His commands and our love for His Word and for those we have contact with through Christ.

Later, Art :-)

From the ColumbiaRiverGorgeous
May Our Good Lord Bless and Keep YOU....’til we meet again