"I will put enmity between you and the woman, and between your seed and her Seed"
(Genesis 3:15).

Although you may not see it at first glance, Christ is in this verse. He is the ultimate Seed of the Woman who would one day come to crush the serpent's ugly head. In the process his "heel" would be bruised on the cross. In short, this verse predicts that Jesus would win the victory over Satan but would himself be wounded at the same time.

As the centuries rolled on, Satan kept winning victories and God kept raising up men and women who would continue the godly line on the earth. I like to think of this verse as the top of a wide funnel. When the promise was given, no one could have imagined the coming Jesus Christ. The "seed of the woman" simply meant that he must be a member of the human race.

But after the flood the line was narrowed to Noah's descendants, then later to Shem's descendants, and later came to rest on one man - Abraham, the father of the nation Israel. Then to his son Isaac, to Isaac's son Jacob, to Jacob's son Joseph, and then to Joseph's son Judah.

Centuries later the line was narrowed to the house of David. Finally some nine centuries after that, the line came to rest on the firstborn son of a virgin named Mary.

What started with the whole human race has narrowed to just one man - Jesus Christ.

He didn't come in the usual way; he came by means of a virgin birth. No one before or since ever entered the world as he did. Thus he is the ultimate "seed of the woman" since no man was involved in his conception.

• When God wanted to save the world, he didn't send a committee; he sent his Son.
• When God wanted to say, "I love you," he wrapped his love note in swaddling clothes.
• When God wanted to crush Satan, he started in a stable in Bethlehem.

Even in Eden, God was planning for Christmas. He was thinking of you before you were born because he knew that one day you would need a Savior.

Remember that Christ came in fulfillment of a promise made amid the wreckage caused by Adam's sin. Our sin may be great, but as the promise is greater than the transgression, through Christ's great sacrifice we have been set free.

by James MacDonald

In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was in the beginning with God. All things were made through him, and without him was not any thing made that was made. In him was life, and the life was the light of men. The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not overcome it.
- John 1:1-5

Have you ever read a passage in the Bible and thought, Whoa!? This should be one of those passages. It should leave you breathless. Read it again.

See first that Jesus is God (v.1) . He is not "a god" or "one of many gods" but He is God. The little baby in the manger, God. The young man who grew in understanding (Luke 2:52), God. The man who hung upon a cross for our sins (2 Cor. 5:21), God. Jesus is the Messiah, Immanuel, God with us.

Second, Jesus is eternal (v.2). This means that there was never a time when Jesus didn't exist. Think about that for a moment. He has always been. He never wasn't. He is the great I AM.

Third, Jesus is Creator (v.3). He is the one that created everything (See Genesis 1-2). Think of the power that Jesus has. He just spoke everything into existence. Yes, spoke. Have you ever spoken something into existence? I haven't. It just puts everything in perspective, doesn't it?

Lastly, Jesus is life (vv.4-5). Jesus conquered death. It could not hold Him because He is life. Plenty of people live and breathe and do not love Jesus, but they are not living. They are just "dead men walking." When we believe in the Lord Jesus Christ as our Savior, we have life. Eternal life. Jesus says, "I am the way, the truth, and the life, no one comes to the Father except through me" (John 14:6). So I have to ask, Have you bowed the knee to Him and accepted Him as Savior?

It all comes down to this. Jesus is much more than a man. He is God. He is not just a moral teacher. He is God. He is not just a social revolutionary. He is God. He is not someone that you can just take or leave without consequence. He is God. That's why this passage of Scripture is so awesome. It shows who Jesus really is. So, how are you going to respond? Will you be in awe of Him? Will you believe in Him alone for your salvation? Or will you just read this and walk away unchanged?

Jesus Christ is the eternal Creator Word made flesh! Believe this truth today. - Hayden Norris

Journal:

Can I point to a time when I have turned from my sin and trusted Jesus as my Savior?

Prayer:

by Melissa Kruger

It's that time of year again. Decorative signs, advertisements, and commercials encourage us with the familiar messages:

"Just Believe"

"Have Faith"

"A Season of Hope"

At first glance these tidings may warm our hearts as we go about our way, humming Christmas music as we shop. Yet, as I stop to reflect upon these phrases, I wonder, What exactly do they mean? Each of these statements is missing an essential element - the object of one's belief, faith or hope.

One could read these messages and easily interpret that we are to "Just believe in Santa" or "Have faith in the goodness of mankind" or this is "A season of hope" because we are looking forward to lovely times with families or gifts around the tree.

Understood in this way, these messages fall flat and bring little encouragement. Believing in Santa can be somewhat unsettling when you consider the songs we sing about him:

He's making a list
And checking it twice
Gonna find out Who's naughty and nice
Santa Claus is coming to town

He sees you when you're sleeping
He knows when you're awake
He knows if you've been bad or good
So be good for goodness sake!

Isn't it rather sobering to consider a large bearded man, dressed all in red velvet and smoking a pipe, keeping watch over us to see whether we've been good enough? Such a Jolly Old Elf's works-based righteousness might be more cause for fear and trembling than happiness and joy.

The same is true as we consider placing our faith in mankind or hoping in family gatherings. As we look around our world, terrorism, racism, greed, discord, and disease dominate the news. We are a human race plagued with many struggles, and often these show up in our own families. And, it's not just the world "out there", but also the person I look at in the mirror that causes me to pause before placing my faith in mankind or hoping in perfect family gatherings.

These phrases are problematic because they are incomplete. It's not enough to simply be a hopeful person or be full of faith. It's essential for us to consider exactly where we are placing our belief, faith, and hope. The object of our faith is the essential substance of it. When we loose sight of the actual meaning of our faith, then we lose the very thing that is able to sustain it.

The joy of the Christmas message is so much richer, deeper, and more beautiful than any other story that has ever been told. Glory was wrapped in flesh and dwelt among us, so that we could be wrapped in righteousness and dwell with God. Jesus lived a perfect life so that He could be the perfect sacrifice for all that is wrong both in our own lives and in the world.

Without Jesus our belief has no merit, our faith has no basis, and hope has no anchor. In Jesus, we find the joy of believing. In Jesus, we find the substance of our faith. In Jesus, we know this to be a season of hope.

As I rush to and fro, I hope to hear songs reminding me of the object of my faith. I want to be humming about Jesus, singing the gospel to myself and others:

God rest ye merry, gentlemen,
Let nothing you dismay.
Remember, Christ our Savior
Was born on Christmas day.

To save us all from Satan's power
When we were gone astray.
O tidings of comfort and joy,
Comfort and joy,
O tidings of Comfort and joy!

These are the true tidings of comfort and joy: Believe in Jesus. Have Faith in Jesus. Hope in Jesus. The object of our faith is the substance of our joy.

About The Author:

by Jill Carattini

A powerful story is told of the bombing raids of World War II where thousands of children were orphaned and left to starve. After experiencing the fright of abandonment, many of these children were rescued and sent to refugee camps where they received food and shelter. Yet even in the presence of good care, they had experienced so much loss that many of them could not sleep at night. They were terrified they would awake to find themselves once again homeless and hungry. Nothing the adults did seemed to reassure them, until someone thought to send a child to bed with a loaf of bread. Holding onto their bread, the children were able to sleep. If they woke up frightened in the night, the bread seemed to remind them, "I ate today and I will eat again tomorrow." (1)

Hours before he was arrested, Jesus spoke to his disciples about the time ahead of them, days they would face without his physical presence. "In a little while," he said, "you will see me no more, and then after a little while you will see me." Reasonably, at his words the disciples were confused. "What does he mean by ‘a little while'? We don't understand what he is saying," they grumbled. Jesus answered with more than reassurance. To their confusion and uncertainty, perhaps also to their fears of the worst and visions of the best, Jesus responded with something they could hold on to. Concluding his last conversation with them before the cross, he said, "I have told you these things, so that in me you may have peace. In this world you will have trouble. But take heart! I have overcome the world."

Like children with bread holding onto what gives us life, Jesus offers peace in uncertainty, mercy in brokenness, something solid when all is lost. He speaks of peace can that transcend understanding when we cling in thanksgiving to the one who gives us life. It is worth noting that his use of the word "peace" here portrays a quiet state of mind, which is infinitely dissimilar to a mind that has been silenced by coercion or despair—emotions some associate with religion. But the gospel is good news. It is as if Jesus says, "These things I have spoken to you, so that in me you might be thoroughly quieted by what gives you life."

When the Apostle Paul wrote down the now oft-quoted instruction "Do not worry about anything," he had every reason to be anxious about everything. Thanksgiving could quite easily have been far from him. In prison and facing days unquestionably out of his control, Paul was undeniably holding on to something solid. "The Lord is near," he wrote from a jail cell. "Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus."(2)

Paul does not promise that followers of Jesus will not see darkness or sorrow anymore than he himself was avoiding it or Jesus himself escaped it. But he does promise, as clearly as Jesus promised the disciples, that there is a reason for thanksgiving in the best and worst of times. The Lord who is near has overcome the world in which we will continue to find trouble. The mystery of Christ is that somehow even in the midst of trouble he can answer the cries of our hearts with more than reassurance.

To be found in Christ means to be thoroughly stilled by who Christ is. His victory gives life, and the surety of that gift gives peace that transcends everything else. Like children pacified by the assurance of bread, we are invited to hold the very bread of life, a hope more solid than fear.

References:

(1) Story told in Dennis Linn's Sleeping with Bread, (New York: Paulist, 1995), 1.
(2) Philippians 4:5b-7.

About The Author:

by Amy Carroll

"You will keep in perfect peace those whose minds are steadfast, because they trust in you." Isaiah 26:3 (NIV)

Peace is a word that gets thrown around a lot at Christmas. It's on cards, decorations and sometimes even lit up in bright lights.

It's a word that seems to stir a longing in all of us, yet it also seems hard to come by - especially at Christmas. I mean, seriously … there's a house to decorate, gifts to buy, meals to cook, relatives to connect with and loads of events to attend. How on earth are we expected to find peace in the midst of the extreme hubbub?

There was one Christmas in particular when I had to reevaluate and seek God for a change in my heart to establish peace in my heart and home.

We all started well - my hubs, our two boys and me - peaceful and focused as we decorated early in December. Christmas music played in the background. We sipped egg nog from the red glass teacups I snagged at a tag sale and boxes of decorations from the attic lined the walls.

But it started to go downhill over Christmas tree lights.

A squabble erupted over a tangled string of bulbs. Then someone turned on the football game, and the sound of the TV clashed with the music from the stereo. Instead of sharing lovely stories of the ornaments' histories as we hung each one, my boys began to make fun of the 70s-style bobbles from my childhood.

Our peaceful tradition of tree-trimming fell apart faster than you could say, "Mama's in a snit."

Maybe they just got distracted or maybe it was the maternal growls and snarls that drove them away, but suddenly I found myself sitting alone on the floor in front of the tree.

I furiously gave the tree a yank to position it for another ornament, and … TIMBER! The tree fell on me and drove a metal rod from one of the artificial branches into my arm.

That's when it happened. Out of my mouth popped some of the overflow of a peace-deprived heart - a big fat four-letter word … which brought my family back into the room.

To this day, there is one favorite Christmas story at my house. It's not The Gift of the Magi or The Polar Express. Not even How the Grinch Stole Christmas makes the cut. Our family's favorite story is titled, The Day Mom Cussed When the Christmas Tree Fell on Her.

I'm not proud of this story. As Scripture says, "For the mouth speaks what the heart is full of" (Luke 6:45b, NIV). My outburst revealed what was in my heart - overload, frustration and anger. I'd love to blame the stressful circumstances, but the truth is there was something missing inside of me.

Consider this: The circumstances of the first Christmas were very stressful, too. There was an unmarried, pregnant teenager. There was a scared but faithful fiancé. There was no room in the inn. There were smelly animals and scratchy straw. There was an unidentified star in the sky.

Yet God gave the gift of prevailing peace in that story in the same way He longs to give our hearts the gift of peace. How did Mary and Joseph overcome the chaos of their circumstances and embrace peace instead? They implemented the truth in today's key verse. Their trust in God made them steadfast.

Just listen to how they responded when they were first given the startling and stressful news of being parents to the Messiah:

Mary said, "My soul glorifies the Lord and my spirit rejoices in God my Savior," (Luke 1:46-47, NIV).

Joseph put aside his plans to divorce Mary quietly, and per God's instructions, took her as his wife.

Perfect peace isn't dependent on circumstances. It comes from a steadfast, trusting heart. Let's start the Christmas season by intentionally growing our steadfastness by focusing our trust on God who is faithful. The resulting peace will point to the Savior we're celebrating!

Lord, I set my heart on You. You are trustworthy, faithful and the Giver of the gift of peace. Please fill me this Christmas season. As others see Your peace in me, let them recognize You as Savior. In Jesus' Name, Amen.

TRUTH FOR TODAY:

John 14:27, "Peace I leave with you; my peace I give you. I do not give to you as the world gives. Do not let your hearts be troubled and do not be afraid." (NIV)

REFLECT AND RESPOND:

Do your verbal responses and actions reflect the peace or the chaos in your heart?

by Alex Crain

"For here we have no lasting city, but we seek the city that is to come."
Hebrews 13:14

Recently, I got my parent's old Christmas records out of storage and began making mp3 files of them so that we could play them again around the Christmas holidays. Bing Crosby's classic rendition of "I'll Be Home for Christmas" came on. Its melancholy sound filled the air.

I pictured the war-weary allied troops hearing this song the year it was recorded in 1943, listening to it on their radios at night, spellbound by the sound; longing to be back at home with their loved ones.

I'll be home for Christmas, you can plan on me.
Please have snow and mistletoe, and presents on the tree.
Christmas Eve will find me, where the love light gleams.
I'll be home for Christmas… if only in my dreams.

Does any other version of the song capture the sense of sadness to the same degree that he did?

Believers in Christ are soldiers engaged in war (Ephesians 6:10). And deep within us there is a longing that nothing can suppress. We want to be home. It's great to know that we are on the winning side, but we often get weary of the fight.

Hebrews 13:14 encourages us to remember and find strength in the fact that "we seek the city that is to come." It's a losing battle to pursue lasting satisfaction in this life. The words "Here we have no lasting city" drive us to only source of contentment: the promise that Christ is always with me (Matthew 28:20) and that He's bringing me home to a place where love, joy, and satisfaction never end.

Intersecting Faith and Life:

By Dr. Ray Pritchard

Rembrandt, Adoration of the Shepherds, 1646

"Again Jesus spoke to them, saying, 'I am the light of the world. Whoever follows me will not walk in darkness, but will have the light of life.'" (John 8:12).

In 1646 the Dutch artist Rembrandt created a painting called "The Adoration of the Shepherds." It depicts his vision of what it was like for the shepherds to see the baby Jesus. The painting is dark because it is a night scene inside a barn. The dark tones force the viewer to study the images carefully. In the center is the Babe in the feeding trough. Mary is by his side, Joseph not far away. The shepherds are gathered around, intently studying the baby whose birth was announced by the angelic choir. If you look into the gloom, you can see outlines of the sheep. The shepherds couldn't leave their sheep outside so they brought them into the barn with them. To the right a rickety ladder leans on a crossbeam. Next to the ladder is a rooster.

Soon it hits you that the ladder and crossbeam make the dim outline of a cross. The rooster is a symbol of betrayal in the distant future. Even in this joyous moment, the cross looms over the baby Jesus. But the most significant feature is the light. Unlike other Renaissance artists, Rembrandt didn't paint Jesus as an angel with a halo. He is a very normal, very human baby. All is dark in the painting except for the baby in the manger. The light isn't shining on the baby; it's shining out from him. This was Rembrandt's way of saying that all hope and light shines from the manger - lighting up a darkened world. This beloved Christmas carol says it well:

Silent night, holy night,
Son of God, love's pure light
Radiant beams from Thy holy face,
With the dawn of redeeming grace,
Jesus, Lord, at Thy birth,
Jesus, Lord, at Thy birth.

Is there hope in the world? Yes! Hope invaded the world 2000 years ago at Bethlehem. If we want that hope to invade our lives, we must do what the shepherds did so long ago. We must come to Bethlehem and bow before the newborn King. Hope is available but only to those who will humble themselves and bow in faith before the Lord Jesus Christ.

Will you bow before him and crown him as your King?