1 John 4:9-10 God's love was revealed among us in this way: God sent His One and Only Son into the world so that we might live through Him. 10 Love consists in this: not that we loved God, but that He loved us and sent His Son to be the[ propitiation for our sins. Holman Christian Standard Bible (HCSB)
Today is Christmas Eve and we are preparing to celebrate the giving of the greatest gift of all time in the birth of Jesus Christ. It is the greatest outpouring of love and it is the basis of John 3:16, it is the basis of the Bible and of creation.
These verses also show, make manifest, and remind us that receiving that gift and believing in Him leads to true living, leads to our second birth. We need to consider the removal of the guilt of sin and the removal of the barrier to a right relationship with God.
The love is also the kind of love that leads us to love each other. This is part of the reason why we exchange gifts, it is to be an expression of love towards one another. Not earned, not owed but given in love.
Read the passage from The Message below. It is not a fairy tale, a "once upon a time" love, but it is a love that has existed before creation and will endure through eternity. This is the kind of love, the kind of life that we are to be celebrating and sharing. Born to raise us from the earth, born to give them us second birth".
Hark! the herald angels sing, "Glory to the new born King, peace on earth, and mercy mild, God and sinners reconciled!" Joyful, all ye nations rise, join the triumph of the skies; with th' angelic host proclaim, "Christ is born in Bethlehem!" Hark! the herald angels sing, "Glory to the new born King!"
Hail the heaven-born Prince of Peace! Hail the Sun of Righteousness! Light and life to all he brings, risen with healing in his wings. Mild he lays his glory by, born that we no more may die, born to raise us from the earth, born to give us second birth. Hark! the herald angels sing, "Glory to the new born King!"
In Christ,
Mike
Follow the Verse of the Day blog at http://mikesvotd.blogspot.com
Eph 1:7 In him we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of sins, in accordance with the riches of God's grace NIV
Eph 1:7 In him we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of sins, in accordance with the riches of God's grace NIV
1 John 4:9-10
The Message (MSG)
God Is Love
7-10 My beloved friends, let us continue to love each other since love comes from God. Everyone who loves is born of God and experiences a relationship with God. The person who refuses to love doesn't know the first thing about God, because God is love—so you can't know him if you don't love. This is how God showed his love for us: God sent his only Son into the world so we might live through him. This is the kind of love we are talking about—not that we once upon a time loved God, but that he loved us and sent his Son as a sacrifice to clear away our sins and the damage they've done to our relationship with God.
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