The Reason for the Season

Jesus is the reason for the season!  I’m sure you’ve all heard that phrase, but have you ever asked yourself why this statement would be true?  Why do we celebrate Christmas?  Why did Jesus come to the earth in the first place?

I’m sure that if we were looking for the origin of Christmas to answer these questions, most of us would turn to the Christmas story in Luke 2, but the story actually begins long before this.  To find the real reason for Christmas we need to go back all the way to the very first book in the Bible.  We have to go to Genesis 1-3.

In Genesis 1 we read that God created the universe, the earth and everything on it in six literal days- it didn’t take millions of years.  On the sixth day He created man (Adam and Eve) in His own image and gave him dominion over all the earth (Gen. 1:26-28).  In other words, He put man in charge of the earth to rule over it and take care of it.  He also gave man (and animals) all the herbs, plants and fruit for food to eat (Gen. 1:29-30- everyone and everything was vegetarian).  However, God did place one restriction on Adam.  He told him that he was not to eat from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil which was in the middle of the garden of Eden.  He could eat from any of the other trees; he just could not eat from this one tree for if he did HE WOULD DIE (Gen. 2:15-17). 

Satan, speaking through a serpent, caused Adam and Eve to doubt God’s Word and to disobey Him.  This disobedience brought death, disease, and decay to the earth, and Adam turned his authority over the earth to Satan (Gen. 3:1-6; Luke 4:5-6 Satan tells Jesus that the authority and glory of the kingdoms of the earth have been given to him).  The judgment of death that came was not only physical death, but spiritual and eternal death (separation from God) as well, which was also passed on to all Adam’s descendants (Rom. 5:12).  Therefore, all of us are sinners (Rom. 3:23); all of us are enemies of God (Rom. 8:7; Eph. 2:1-3); all of us face eternal death and judgment (John 3:36; Rom. 2:1-11).

God, however, out of His love for man provided a solution to rescue man from this judgment.  He slaughtered an animal (the first instance of death) to provide skins for them to wear (Gen. 3:21).  Here is an example of the death of one (the animal) as a substitute for the other (Adam and Eve).  Blood was spilled in order to cover their sin and disobedience, and I believe that every day Adam and Eve wore those skins they were reminded of the awfulness of their disobedience, and the price that was paid for it.  This is the first picture of blood atonement for sin. 

The next time we see this picture of atonement is in Exodus 11 when Israel (God’s people) are slaves in Egypt.  God sent Moses to deliver Israel out of Egypt but the Pharaoh had hardened his heart against God’s Word.  Therefore, God sent 10 plagues against Egypt to show that He is the One True God (Ex. 7:5).  The last plague was to bring death upon the firstborn of every family throughout Egypt (Ex. 11:4-6).  God had given instructions to Israel on how to avoid this plague.  He told them to kill a lamb on the night the death angel was to come to destroy the firstborn, and to sprinkle the blood on the doorpost and lintel of their home (Ex. 12:21-23).  When the death angel saw the blood, he would pass over that home and spare the firstborn (Ex. 12:12-13).  Once again, they were saved from judgment by the death of another.

When Israel was delivered from Egypt, Moses led them to Mt. Sinai as God had instructed him.  It was there on that mountain that God revealed Himself to Israel and gave them the Law.  Within this Law was a formalized means of offering sacrifices to atone for their sins.  There were various offerings and sacrifices the people had to make whenever they sinned, each one involving the death of an animal (Lev. 4:1-35).  And, once a year the high priest offered the blood of a sin offering for atonement for the sins of the entire nation (Ex. 30:10; Lev. 16:1-34).  If you have ever been involved in or seen the slaughtering of an animal, you would know that it is not a pleasant thing.  The sight, sound and smell of each sacrifice would remind the people of the awfulness of their sin and the tremendous price that had to be paid so they might live.

All of these instances, though, were only pictures pointing to the ultimate sacrifice that was to come- Jesus Christ.  For, these sacrifices could only cover sin which is why they had to be repeated.  Only the blood of Jesus Christ can remove sin once and for all (Heb. 9:11-14; 10:1-13; I John 1:9).  So, Jesus Christ came to earth to offer Himself up as a Sacrifice for our sins; to pay the price for our disobedience; and to suffer punishment and judgment on our behalf so that we might live (Read Isa. 53:1-12; John 10:9-10).  And, it is only when we apply the blood of Jesus Christ to our heart through faith (as the Israelites did on the doorposts in Egypt), and receive Him as our Lord and Savior (John 1:12), can we escape eternal death and judgment (John 3:16-18; 5:24; Eph. 2:8-9; Rom. 10:9-10). 

Throughout the Christmas season we hear a lot of talk about things that make us feel good- the love of Jesus, good tidings of great joy, peace on earth and good will to men, etc., etc.  But, keep in mind that also connected to the story of Christmas is disobedience, sin, judgment, death, blood, sacrifice and atonement.  Don’t forget, as you look at baby Jesus, about the awfulness of your sin, the judgment of death that you deserve, and the tremendous price that had to be paid for your salvation.  Remember that that sweet little baby in the manger was born to die for you so you can live.

Home for Christmas

T

This time of year it is hard to be away from home.  But, when a person has two homes far away from each other, no matter where they are, one of the homes will be missed.  We are very blessed this year to be able to spend Christmas in the US with some of our family. We will enjoy every minute of it.  At the same time, we will be missing our home in Hungary.  We will miss all of our wonderful friends and church family, the beautiful square in the city center all lit up for Christmas, and that indescribable peace that descends over the city during the two-day Christmas holiday.  Thank you, Father God, for allowing us to be with our family this year for Christmas.  Please be with our Hungarian friends. Amen.

Taking the Long Way Back

The last week in October, we raced from Rapid City, South Dakota, to Hialeah, Florida, driving four long days to get there.  We were happy to do it, since we enjoyed such great services and fellowship in both churches and wouldn't have wanted to miss either one.  However, we decided that, since we have the time, we would take the long, slow way back to Iowa.  The Friday after Thanksgiving we said goodbye to Karl and Dyrie Francis in southern Florida and drove to Valdosta, Georgia.  The next day, we drove the rest of the way to Atlanta to be able to visit our friends' church there.

Steve & Penny Everett

We met Steve and Penny Everett in Debrecen, Hungary, when they moved there to pastor the International Church (now The House).  We enjoyed having them close by and built a friendship with them and their three teenage children.  Too soon, however, they moved back to the US and planted a church outside of Atlanta.  What a joy it was to see them again, to worship together, and to catch up over lunch!

On Monday, on our way to Tennessee, we made a quick stop at the Chickamauga Chattanooga National Park where one of the most important battles of the Civil War took place.  It was fascinating.  I especially was interested how the Spencer repeating rifle gave the Union an edge over the South.

Chickamauga battlefield

 We drove on to Kingston, Tennessee, to take advantage of an invitation we received from the owner of a retreat center here. The invitation to spend a couple of days free of charge came when we attended a missionary retreat last year in Croatia. This morning we once again met the owner and he welcomed us warmly, pleased that we had been at the retreat in Croatia.  The weather has been foggy, cloudy and misty, but the beauty of Whitestone Country Inn still comes through.  Thank you, Paul and Jean Cowell, for your generous southern hospitality!

The main house at Whitestone Country Inn