PERECT

Happy Sunday!

I knew a woman who would become depressed around the Christmas Holiday if there was no snow!  She lived in an area of the country where snow was not common in December.  Movies, books, and traditions had convinced her that a perfect Christmas had to have certain specific details!  Now that I've lived in numerous states with varied climates, I wish I could have encouraged her to move to a place like Minnesota, Indiana, or Iowa where snow at Christmas is almost guaranteed! 

The story of the birth of Jesus Christ was perfect, even though the circumstances were not!  Don't miss this!  The ruler decided to tax the people, and it required Joseph and Mary to travel to Bethlehem!  Traveling so close to her delivery date couldn't have been easy, and they were traveling on foot or by donkey.  Then they arrived and the Inn was full!  No Internet or phones to call ahead and get a reservation!  Then the baby arrived and Mary used what was available!  She swaddled her baby in strips of cloth and place him in a manger! (Luke 2).  

How was this perfect?  I'm so glad you asked!  The Prophet Micah gave this prophecy hundreds of years before Jesus was born, "But you, O Bethlehem Ephrathah, are only a small village among all the people of Judah. Yet a ruler of Israel, whose origins are in the distant past, will come FROM you on my behalf."(Micah 5:2 NLT).  God used Caesar Augustus to get them to Bethlehem at the perfect time to fulfil the prophecy.  God himself prophesied to Satan in Genesis about Jesus Christ, "From now on you and the woman will be enemies, as will your offspring and hers. You will strike his heel, but HE will crush your head.” (Genesis 3:15 TLB).  1 John 3:8 says, "He that committeth sin is of the devil; for the devil sinneth from the beginning. For THIS PURPOSE, the Son of God was manifested, that he might DESTROY the works of the devil."(KJV). 

Jesus came to save us and to destroy the works of the Devil!  Jesus came to give us a Hope and a Future! (Jeremiah 29:11).  He came to fix the mess that Adam got us into, and He's still interested in, "Seeking and Saving the lost!"(Luke 19:10).  Psalm 138:8 says, "The Lord will PERFECT that which concerns me; Your mercy and loving-kindness, O Lord, endure forever—forsake not the works of Your own hands."(AMPC).  

Merry Christmas!

Love and prayers, Cynthia