All i want for christmas

God is always with us. He is the mighty one who saves. He rejoices over us. He quiets us with his love. He exults over us with loud singing. That’s amazing love!

Our Sin-Bearer paid the penalty for every morsel of juicy gossip, every white lie, every murder, and every despicable action of man. And when we trust in Jesus’ death as our own, he throws our sin into the depth of the sea. He puts it behind his back. The God with perfect memory chooses to remember our sin no more. Forgiveness is love in action! 

God’s love is amazing! While we cannot fully grasp its depth, we seek to understand as much as we can. A. W. Tozer explains God’s love in his book The Knowledge of the Holy. I’ll summarize the thoughts of the great theologian in today’s devo. 

Jesus was a great teacher, but education was not the reason for his coming. Jesus was a great leader, but simply learning leadership principles from the life of Jesus misses his primary purpose.

Seven hundred years before Jesus brought eternal joy, the prophet Isaiah told us that the Messiah was on the way. These titles describe the Messiah’s character.

For the joy set before him, Jesus took on the cross for us (Hebrews 12:1-2). Christ the Lord is the One, the only One, who delivers true joy to the deepest part of our hearts. 

Why did God become flesh? Why did God humble himself to become a man? The writer of the Hebrews tells us that it was for the joy of providing man the way to God (Hebrews 12:1-2).

Jesus approached the cross with joy! Think of that! With joy, he took our sins and paid the penalty so we could have eternal life. True joy is ours in Jesus!

In this fallen world, we are either directly or indirectly impacted by the sin of others. But in this under-the-sun life, Jesus brings the joy of an above-the-sun perspective. He is at work! That is the basis for real joy!