Category Archives: General

The apostle Paul provided Christians with a compelling cause that leads to living a life of both freedom and faithfulness to Jesus.

Christ’s love compels us, because we are convinced that one died for all, and therefore all died. And he died for all, that those who live should no longer live for themselves but for him who died for them and was raised again. (2 Corinthians 5:14-15)

The compelling cause for the Christian is Christ’s love. It is the love of Christ that frees us from living a self-centered, self-absorbed, self-focused life. The love of Christ empowers us to trade the love of self for the love of our Savior—the One who died for us, who was raised to life on the third day, and is now sitting at the right hand of the Father in heaven.

Think about what the apostle Paul is really saying in this passage: he is telling us that when the love of Christ rules our hearts, it shapes our lives. Paul was not compelled by the fear of bad consequences when he stepped out of line; he was not compelled by the hope of some reward when he was serving in the center of God’s will for his life. Rather, Paul was compelled to live the life God had called him to live because of the love of Christ—a love that died for Paul so that he might rise above the challenges of daily living.

So . . . what compels you to do what you do? Paul was compelled by the love of Christ in everything he did. Paul’s motivation was not the desire to avoid the pain of consequences or to gain a sweet reward; it was simply the love Christ poured out on him that kept him going moment by moment.

Paul kept both the cross and the empty tomb in view and was compelled daily to live for Someone bigger than himself . . . and His name is Jesus Christ!

Can the same be said about you?

This is the Gospel. This is grace for your race. NEVER FORGET THAT . . . AMEN!

In August I had the privilege of marrying Mark and Kaitlin, the young couple who head up our Young Adults ministry at Cross Community Church. Starting with pre-engagement coaching, we spent a considerable amount of time over the past year talking together about the “stuff” of marriage. I remember discussing the all-too-common prenuptials that many bring into their marriages today, even Christian marriages.

A “prenuptial” is defined as:

A contract entered into prior to marriage which commonly includes provisions for the division of property and spousal support in the event of divorce.

Clearly, heading into a marriage with the end (divorce) in mind is not the way God intended for two people to become one flesh. God hates divorce (Malachi 2:16)!

I’d like to carry this concept of a prenuptial into your personal walk with Christ in order to make one thing perfectly clear: in God’s economy, love needs no legislation. This was the problem the apostle Paul faced in preaching salvation by grace through faith in the Lord Jesus Christ. Many were trying to add a requirement of obedience to Jewish law to the simple message of salvation through faith in our risen Savior.

We must remember that the law of God was never intended to cause us to live an obedient life; it was graciously given to drive us to our knees at the foot of the cross. And if the law cannot save us, it certainly cannot sanctify us and make us more like Christ! It is a growing relationship with Jesus that leads to living a life of obedience, not a growing list of rules. Love needs no legislation.

When you love the Lord Jesus Christ, your heart beats for pleasing Him. As my friend Steve Brown says, “The law will tell you where the land mines are to keep from blowing yourself up, but it won’t lead you to living a life of righteousness. Only Jesus will do that!”

So . . . take some time to prayerfully consider your walk with Christ. Is it characterized by a growing list of rules? Or a growing love relationship? Trying to legislate what love empowers people to do willingly is silly, foolish, and counterproductive. Keeping in view the love that was poured out for you on the cross will keep you moving in the direction of living a life that is pleasing to God and beneficial to all others.

Christ’s love compels us. (2 Corinthians 5:14)

You are no longer what you once were because of what Jesus has done for you. You are a new creation, and that new creation is compelled by the love of Christ . . . not the law of God. Love leads to Christian living and love needs no legislation!

This is the Gospel. This is grace for your race. NEVER FORGET THAT . . . AMEN!

The title for today’s encouragement came from a joke I heard some time ago that went something like this:

Two pastors were exchanging the latest news. One said, “Did you hear about the revival we had at our church?”

“No,” replied the other pastor. “How many new members did you add to your rolls?”

“None,” the first pastor exclaimed, “but we had some very helpful and necessary subtractions!”

Here is a word of encouragement for us all. If we ever find ourselves in the midst of a revival, let’s make sure we are on the side of addition and not subtraction! The book of Acts shows us that the early church was marked by both kinds of “revival,” as the Sovereign Lord both added to and subtracted from the church.

You might remember that 3,000 were added to the church, and then 5,000 more. What a revival that must have been! But we must never overlook the growth of the church that took place by divine subtraction also. In the fifth chapter of Acts, we read about Ananias and Sapphira, who came under the divine discipline of the Almighty and were removed from the church.

Revival isn’t a matter of collective church growth only; it begins in the heart of the believer. We can start our own revival by adding something to our personal walk with Christ or by subtracting something. Here are a few examples of some good things to add that can strengthen our walk with Christ:

• Daily devotional time
• Consistent prayer
• Regular church attendance
• Volunteer for a service project
• Join a Bible study
• Regular rest
• Go on a mission trip
• Daily exercise program

Here are a few things that are good to subtract that just might be hindering our walk with Christ:

• Television time
• Internet time
• Burning the candle at both ends
• Spending more than we make

There may be several other things you can identify to add or subtract in your own life. Take some time to consider just how God would have you start your own revival in your life. You can be certain of two things: it will be for your ultimate good and God’s glory.

This is the Gospel. This is grace for your race. NEVER FORGET THAT . . . AMEN!

One of my strong childhood memories is my mom’s frequent use of President Truman’s familiar saying, “If you can’t stand the heat, get out of the kitchen!” I have a word of encouragement for you today about a holy heat that, by God’s grace, we learn how to live in and love over time.

I urge you, brothers, in view of God’s mercy, to offer your bodies as living sacrifices, holy and pleasing to God–this is your spiritual act of worship. Do not conform any longer to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God’s will is–his good, pleasing and perfect will.  (Romans 12:1-2)

You may remember that the Old Testament records several instances when animals without spot or blemish were offered as sacrifices to God for worship or a devotion offering or for forgiveness of sin. These animals were selected by the priests and had no say in the matter. In other words, they didn’t get a vote!

But the death of Christ put an end to the Old Testament sacrificial system, because He is the Lamb of God without spot or blemish. John the Baptist called Him “The Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world” (John 1:29).

The New Testament reveals that, since the finished cross work of Christ, God has instituted a new sacrificial system and it includes us. “In view of His mercy,” we are to become a voluntary “living sacrifice, holy and pleasing to God” as an expression of our thankfulness for all He has done for us.

The problem with being a living sacrifice is the heat in God’s kitchen. We have a tendency to pull back and crawl off the altar of the Almighty when it gets too hot in the kitchen . . . when we think the sacrifice may be too costly or uncomfortable. Only by keeping God’s mercy in plain view can we learn to love the holy heat God sends our way in order to conform us to the likeness of His beloved Son.

So . . . how well are you learning to love being a living sacrifice? Our love will always be in direct proportion to our view of God’s mercy. Everything we have is because of the mercy of our God. Out next breath . . . the next beat of our heart . . . every temporal and every spiritual blessing has been given to us because of the mercy of our Master. The more we keep His mercy in view, the more holy heat we will be able to endure.

We are called to die to sin, to live to Christ, and to offer ourselves as living sacrifices to our merciful Savior. Think back for a moment about the last time the heat was turned up in God’s kitchen. How did you respond? Did you receive it in view of God’s mercy or did you run out of His kitchen? Regardless of our past responses, we can look forward with positive anticipation to the next time God turns up the holy heat; by keeping His mercy in view, we will learn to live in and love His holy heat!

This is the Gospel. This is grace for your race. NEVER FORGET THAT . . . AMEN! 

Before we launch out on yet another New Year, it is important to take some time to reflect on the past year. Have you taken the time to consider all of the many blessings God has given to you, both temporal and spiritual, over the past 365 days? To be sure, each year has both its ups and downs…highs and lows, but through it all we know that our God is good and all things are ultimately working together for our good.

And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose. Romans 8:28

The first thing we need to do before we claim the promise of this verse, is to make sure we understand who this verse is speaking about. It is not speaking about the unbeliever who knows not and loves not the Lord Jesus Christ. It is speaking about those who love God and have been called, raised from death to life, according to His purposes. The promise of this verse is reserved for those who have removed themselves from the throne of their lives and given Jesus His rightful place.

Now it is also important to notice what this verse does not say. It does not say that all things are good. It says that all things work together for our good, but not everything is good. There is a lot of bad out there and some of it happens to all of us each year:

• Career collapse
• Health concerns
• Relationship breakdown
• Family strife
• Prodigal children
• Loss of finances
• Loss of a loved one

The list is endless and all of it is a result of sin. Bad stuff happens in this life because of the first sin of the first people on the face of this earth, Adam and Eve. When Adam and Eve fell, we all fell because they were the representatives of all mankind. Not only did their sin affect us, it affected all of creation. Everything in this world is broken and that includes you and me. Yet, God is working everything together for our good and that is reason enough to pause, reflect, and celebrate the goodness of our Great God regardless of the circumstances of the past year. The fact that you are reading this right now is proof that God is not finished with you yet, so praise Him for the past year in spite of painful providences.

But now it is time to look ahead and move forward into another year of possibility if God is so pleased to give to us the next 12 months. A great question to ask and answer before we launch out on another year of life is this:

Regardless of what life throws our way, how different do we want to be at the end of this year?

You see, we simply cannot control what happens around us. But we sure can, to an altogether unsuspecting extent, control what is going on inside of us. What we think is a product of what we believe and if we believe all things are working together for our good, we will find the good in all things. Like Joseph who found the good in all the bad his brothers had done to him, we too can do the same if we keep our eyes on God and off of our circumstances. In the circumstances of life we want to be continually asking God, “What do you want me to learn?” and “What do you want me to do with what I learn?” regarding the stuff of life that is coming our way. Knowing that nothing happens to us without first passing through nail-scarred hands is to know that God is seeking our ultimate good regardless of the storm winds that are blowing. And that is to be a source of great comfort throughout this New Year as God is making a New You.

I will give you a new heart and put a new spirit in you; I will remove from you your heart of stone and give you a heart of flesh. And I will put my Spirit in you and move you to follow my decrees and be careful to keep my laws. Ezekiel 36:26-27

Because God has given you a new heart and put a new spirit in you, He is making a new you. He is conforming you into the image of His beloved Son, and He is doing it by any means necessary. And He will not stop short of completing what He started. I pray that the start of another New Year would fill you with a new excitement about the “new things” God has promised to do. New opportunities. New possibilities. New challenges. New mercies each day. And most importantly, He has promised a NEW YOU, one that will reflect more and more of the character of Christ, which will be for God’s glory and the good of others…all others…including you!

HAPPY NEW YEAR! HAPPY NEW YOU!

This is the Gospel. This is grace for your race. NEVER FORGET THAT . . . AMEN!

People often approach me before or after a service at Cross Community Church and ask, “What do I need to do to experience more of God’s love in my life?” To which I respond, “Nothing! It’s not what you must do; it’s a matter of what you must believe.” What you believe in your heart about God’s love for you and the unchanging status He has granted you as a member of His royal family will determine, to an altogether unimaginable extent, the amount of love and grace you experience in your daily life!

Bryan Chapell puts it this way:

Many people feel that the means of grace (prayer, Bible study, church attendance, etc.) are the instruments by which we secure God’s love on a daily basis. In our humanity it is natural to think in terms of such a barter system of love, but such thinking creates the impression that these Christian disciplines are not means of grace but means to grace. We reason, as a consequence, that practicing more of the means of grace will cause God to love us more and, thus, the more we do them the more of his love we will get. Conversely we reason that we will have less love by not adequately pursuing these practices. We damage ourselves and our spiritual walk with God by reasoning that practices even as noble as the means of grace will gain us more of God’s affection. We will inevitably be forced to ask, “How much more must I do to earn his love?” And of course, the answer will not be pleasant.

You and I must constantly remind ourselves that God has given us His means of grace, not as a way of gaining His love and approval, but simply as a way of experiencing the love and approval we already have in Christ. There is no need to strive for God’s affection because we already have all of God’s affection, thanks to our relationship with His beloved Son—a relationship that is established wholly by God’s grace and apprehended solely through faith.

The way we experience more of God’s love is by keeping in view the love we have already received, which was purchased for us on the cross . . . paid for in full by the blood of the Lamb of God. From the moment we put our trust in Jesus’ sacrificial death on our behalf, God loved us completely. To be completely accurate, God bestowed His love on us before the creation of the world (Ephesians 1:4). He cannot love us any more than He has from all eternity, and He will not love us any less. We are completely and unconditionally loved. The more we marinate in this truth . . . the more we meditate on this truth . . . the more we will experience the love of God that is ours in Christ Jesus our Lord (Romans 8:39).

God’s love for you is as unconditional as it is undeserved. In your disobedience you are loved. In your weakness you are loved. In your self-centeredness you are loved. In your unbelief you are loved. In every moment that you are unlovable you are still unconditionally loved. If you’re a regular attender at the Cross, you’ve probably heard me exclaim, “If that doesn’t light your fire, your wood’s wet!”

God’s love for us is not based on our performance, but rather on our position in His beloved Son. And that position, dear reader, never changes, for “He who is the Glory of Israel does not lie or change his mind; for he is not a man, that he should change his mind” (1 Samuel 15:29). Let that truth increase your experience of God’s love today and every day—until that day when you are received into your eternal glory.

This is the Gospel. This is grace for your race. NEVER FORGET THAT . . . AMEN!

We are entering into our second Christmas season as a church plant family, and I have to tell you that there is nothing like it in the world! As much as we looked forward to Christmas during the years before God called us to plant Cross Community Church in Deerfield Beach, those years were nothing compared to the sense of joy and anticipation that we feel as part of a growing church family.

We start gearing up for Christmas in November and focus the whole month of December on the One named Immanuel: God with us. And this year our observances built to a Christmas Eve where we held three candlelight services.

It is my desire this Christmas day to share a word of encouragement that I pray will stay with you, not just throughout the remainder of this Christmas season, but throughout the rest of your days until you are received into your eternal rest.

For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life. (John 3:16)

In one of the most familiar verses in all of sacred Scripture, we see that Christmas has its promises to keep for those who believe in the Son of God as the Savior of the world. Let’s take a look at three of them.

PROMISE #1 – God gave His one and only Son

The first promise that Christmas keeps is the promise God made all the way back in the Garden of Eden to send a Savior (Genesis 3:15). Adam and Eve had committed their grotesque act of cosmic treason and were hiding from God. Yet God, in His infinite grace and mercy, gently called Adam to Himself. Instead of simply wiping Adam and Eve off the face of this earth and hitting the reset button with some different dirt, God promised to provide the solution to their sin problem; God promised a Savior, and His name is Jesus Christ.

PROMISE #2 – Whoever believes in Him shall not perish

The second promise that Christmas keeps is the promise that all who believe in the accomplishment of the first promise shall not perish. Let me be blunt: as children of Adam, we are all under a death sentence. We are perishing as sinners, both by nature and by habit, and we should expect nothing but the condemnation and wrath of Almighty God. But to those who believe that the Babe wrapped in swaddling clothes and lying in a manger is the Savior of the world, that death sentence has been erased.

Jesus grew up and lived a sinless life, died a sacrificial death, and was raised from the dead on the third day. Because Jesus took the full punishment and made the full payment for sin, those who believe in Him shall not perish.

PROMISE #3 – Whoever believes in Him shall have eternal life

The third promise is found in the already and not yet context. We already have eternal life in Christ, by grace through faith, but we will not fully possess it until we get to the other side of the grave. We have been given the Comforter—the Holy Spirit—and we possess all of the promises that are in Christ, but we are still clothed in our sinful flesh and cannot yet fully experience that eternal life. When we are received into glory, we will know a life of everlasting, unimaginable joy and pleasure, free from the pain, sorrow, tears, sickness, and death because the old will be passed away and the new will have come.

With all of the excitement and great joy surrounding the Nativity story at Christmas, we can easily miss the great comfort found in a promise-keeping God. When God makes a promise, you can count on it! God promised to send His Son as the Savior of the world, and He kept His promise on that first Christmas morning. The shepherds saw this promise kept and believed. The Wise Men saw this promise kept and believed. How about you?

I pray that this Christmas day you will be reminded of these three Christmas promises kept. If you believe, you shall not perish, but have eternal life. You have God’s Word on it.

This is the Gospel. This is grace for your race. NEVER FORGET THAT . . . AMEN!

Merry Christmas to you and yours!

Today is the final message in our Advent Devotional Series. We have worked through the What, the Why, and the How of Advent. We will close our series with the most important question in all of life, one that every man, woman, and child needs to ask and answer. Let’s dive in!

1. Who Does God The Father Say He Is?

After Adam and Eve sinned in the Garden of Eden, plunging all of humanity and creation into ruin, God did not abandon them. He did not leave them there, shivering in their fear and sin; He chased down those two rebels on the run. And in their presence, He made this promise to the serpent who had deceived them:

I will put enmity between you and the woman, and between your offspring and hers; he will crush your head, and you will strike his heel. (Genesis 3:15)

God promised Adam and Eve that He would send a Savior who would redeem His children from both the penalty of sin and the power of sin. And at the end of the third chapter of Matthew’s Gospel, God the Father announced that this promised was fulfilled in His Son, Jesus, in whom He is well pleased.

As soon as Jesus was baptized, he went up out of the water. At that moment heaven opened, and he saw the Spirit of God descending like a dove and alighting on him. And a voice from heaven said, “This is my Son, whom I love; with him I am well pleased.” (Matthew 3:16-17)

2. Who Does Jesus Say He Is?

The woman said to Him, “I know that Messiah is coming (He who is called Christ), when that One comes, He will declare all things to us.” Jesus said to her, “I who speak to you am He.” (John 4:25-26)

When this woman used the term “Messiah,” she was speaking about the expected King of the Jewish people who had been promised by God and anticipated by the nation of Israel for hundreds of years. There are many Old Testament prophecies of a promised descendant of David who would come down from heaven and save His people. Those promises are fulfilled in Jesus Christ.

He was saying to them, “You are from below, I am from above, you are of this world, I am not of this world.” (John 8:23)

Jesus said to them, “Truly, truly, I say to you, before Abraham was born, I am.” (John 8:58)

Notice that Jesus did not say, “Before Abraham was born, I was born.” Instead He said “I am,” which means He is eternally existent and immediately calls to mind the words spoken by God to Moses at the burning bush: “I AM WHO I AM!” (Exodus 3:14.) But just in case any of us failed to make that connection, Jesus clearly claimed equality with God the Father. He told the Jews, “I and the Father are one” (John 10:30).

Jesus told His disciples, “I am the way, and the truth, and the life, no one comes to the Father but through Me.” (John 14:6.) Jesus made it clear, in no uncertain terms, that He is the ONLY WAY to God . . . the ONLY TRUTH of God . . . and the ONLY LIFE through God.

3. Who Do You Say He Is?

When Jesus came to the region of Caesarea Philippi, he asked his disciples, “Who do people say the Son of Man is?” They replied, “Some say John the Baptist; others say Elijah; and still others, Jeremiah or one of the prophets.” “But what about you?” he asked. “Who do you say I am?” Simon Peter answered, “You are the Christ, the Son of the living God.” Jesus replied, “Blessed are you, Simon son of Jonah, for this was not revealed to you by man, but by my Father in heaven.” (Matthew 16:13-17)

Jesus made it clear that only God can open the “eyes of our hearts” to know Jesus. This knowledge does not come through human reason; it does not come through the witness of miracles; it will not come through a burning bush or Damascus Road experience. It will only come through the revelation of God, which makes the blind see, the deaf hear, and the dead rise to new life.

So . . . what will you do with this Jesus, who is called Christ? Who do you say this Jesus is? This is the most important question you will ever answer.

This is the Gospel. This is grace for your race. NEVER FORGET THAT . . . AMEN!

This third installment in our Advent Devotional Series will take a brief look at the How Of Advent.

For to us a child is born, to us a son is given, and the government will be on his shoulders. And he will be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace.  (Isaiah 9:6)

At first glance, this verse might seem to contain needless repetition of the same idea. “A child is born . . . a son is given.” But make no mistake, there is an incredible distinction to be made between “a child born” and “a son given.” Let’s take a look.

1. A Child Is Born!

God promised back in the Garden of Eden that a child would be born as a descendent of the woman Eve.

I will put enmity between you and the woman, and between your offspring and hers.  (Genesis 3:15)

In spite of Adam and Eve’s act of cosmic treason in the Garden, God was gracious to chase after those rebels on the run. He promised to send the solution to their sin problem: a Savior, which is Christ the Lord.

When the time had fully come, God sent his Son, born of a woman, born under law.  (Galatians 4:4)

Just as any child was born of a woman, Jesus was born of a woman too. However, there is one critical difference. The “seed” of every child born of woman belongs to a man, but the “seed” of Mary belonged to God the Holy Spirit and did not originate from a human man. It was a virgin birth, but a birth nonetheless; and in His humanity Jesus was a child born.

2. A Son Is Given!

There were shepherds living out in the fields nearby, keeping watch over their flocks at night. An angel of the Lord appeared to them, and the glory of the Lord shone around them, and they were terrified. But the angel said to them, “Do not be afraid. I bring you good news of great joy that will be for all the people. Today in the town of David a Savior has been born to you; he is Christ the Lord. This will be a sign to you: You will find a baby wrapped in cloths and lying in a manger.”  (Luke 2:8-12)

In His humanity, Jesus Christ was a child born. But as God’s only Son, He is not born, but given as the Savior of the world, begotten of His Father from eternity past.

I will proclaim the decree of the LORD: He said to me, “You are my Son; today I have become your Father.  (Psalm 2:7)

A voice from heaven said, “This is my Son, whom I love; with him I am well pleased.”  (Matthew 3:17)

Who can fully comprehend this incredible truth? The prince of preachers, Charles Spurgeon profoundly put it this way.

The doctrine of the eternal affiliation of Christ is to be received as an undoubted truth of our holy religion. But as to any explanation of it, no man should venture thereon, for it remaineth among the deep things of God—one of those solemn mysteries indeed, into which the angels dare not look nor do they desire to pry into it—a mystery which we must not attempt to fathom, for it is utterly beyond the grasp of any finite being.

As well might a gnat seek to drink in the ocean, as a finite creature to comprehend the Eternal God. A God whom we could understand would be no God. If we could grasp him he could not be infinite, if we could understand him, then were he not divine. Jesus Christ then, I say, as a Son, is not born to us, but given. He was not born in this world as God’s Son, but he was sent, or given, so that you clearly perceive that the distinction is a suggestive one, and conveys much good truth to us. “Unto us a child is born, unto us a Son is given.”

Knowing that the “secret things belong to the Lord our God, but the things that are revealed belong to us and to our children forever” (Deuteronomy 29:29), we can receive this truth of the How Of Advent: that a child was truly born . . . and a Son was given for you and me. And if we have received this truth by grace through faith, then we can be certain that it has been done “unto us” and that, dear reader, is the good news of great joy!

This is the Gospel. This is grace for your race. NEVER FORGET THAT . . . AMEN!

Today I have a word of encouragement for you that just might surprise you! We will take a brief look at what “The Why of Advent” was not . . . and then what it was.

1. What It Was Not

It was not SIN!

As a pastor who labors to point people to Jesus each week, I stress the point that we are sinners in need of a Savior.

When the woman saw that the tree was good for food, and that it was a delight to the eyes, and that the tree was to be desired to make one wise, she took of its fruit and ate, and she also gave some to her husband who was with her, and he ate. (Genesis 3:6)

Adam and Eve were the federal heads of our humanity, perfectly created by God for this privilege. When they fell, we fell, making all of humanity sinners in desperate need of a Savior. But sin could not have been the primary “Why” of Advent, because sin was already in the world.

In Isaiah’s and Ezekiel’s references to the kings of Babylon and Tyre, we see the fall symbolically described . . . and we also see references to the spiritual power behind those kings: Satan.

How you have fallen from heaven, O morning star, son of the dawn! You have been cast down to the earth, you who once laid low the nations! You said in your heart, “I will ascend to heaven; I will raise my throne above the stars of God; I will sit enthroned on the mount of assembly, on the utmost heights of the sacred mountain. I will ascend above the tops of the clouds; I will make myself like the Most High.” (Isaiah 14:12-14)

You were blameless in your ways from the day you were created till wickedness was found in you. Through your widespread trade you were filled with violence, and you sinned. So I drove you in disgrace from the mount of God, and I expelled you, O guardian cherub, from among the fiery stones. Your heart became proud on account of your beauty, and you corrupted your wisdom because of your splendor. So I threw you to the earth; I made a spectacle of you before kings. (Ezekiel 28:15-17)

Here we are given a glimpse behind the veil of heaven, where we see the fall of Lucifer and the sin that was in this world before the first sin of man. Jesus confirmed this in Luke 10:18, when He said, “I saw Satan fall like lightning from heaven.”

If sin was “The Why Of Advent,” God would have sent Jesus to redeem the fallen angels. But that was not the purpose for His coming, as the writer of Hebrews confirms.

Surely it is not angels he helps, but Abraham’s descendants. For this reason he had to be made like his brothers in every way, in order that he might become a merciful and faithful high priest in service to God, and that he might make atonement for the sins of the people. Because he himself suffered when he was tempted, he is able to help those who are being tempted. (Hebrews 2:16-18)

So, if sin is not “The Why Of Advent,” what was it?

2. What It Was

LOVE!

God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life. (John 3:16)

God came after fallen and sinful man, and the reason is located in the heart of God and His love for man: a special love . . . a redeeming love . . . a love purchased by His beloved Son on a cross so that we could be the spouse of the Son—the bride of the Bridegroom.

And that is why everything works toward your salvation. God so loved you that, if you have trusted in Christ’s redeeming work on your behalf, God is working every circumstance of life (the good, the bad, and the ugly) for your eternal good (Romans 8:28).

May this truth of God’s amazing love for you bring you glad tidings of great joy this Christmas season and all the days God gives to you!

This is the Gospel. This is grace for your race. NEVER FORGET THAT . . . AMEN!