They drew near to the gates of death, then they cried out to the LORD in their trouble, He saved them out of their distresses, He sent His Word and healed them, and delivered them from their destructions. Psalm 107:19-20.
Today your LORD (יהוה) God (אלהים) says:
Christmas. It is celebrated in countries all over the world, even places where there is only a very small percentage of those who believe in Me and the One whom I sent, Jesus your Messiah. Yet somehow people know that it is a time of celebration, parties, gatherings, the giving of gifts, and decorations that are full of glitter and shining with Christmas lights. It is a holiday filled with light.
But generally there is no mention of Me or My Son in any of these sparkling displays in public places, shopping malls, workplaces, businesses, apartment house lobbies, schools, and even homes. But somehow everyone knows it has to do with love shown in the giving of gifts, in music that is special for the season filled with joy and uplifting verses, and in the “magic of Christmas” when impossible things happen, stingy people become generous moved by the “spirit of Christmas,” and families that were divided are reunited.
It is all because something so special happened that first Christmas that it split the dividing line of the ages to before and after that day. There was more than a cosmic shift and a huge guiding star, there was a whole new life, eternal life, restored to humanity. The world had been plunged into darkness by sin, but on Christmas the light of the world came back in. “Light be!” took a whole new dimension for the Light came into the world in a manger in Bethlehem and that light was the life of mankind.
Because of the tender mercy of our God, with which the Sunrise from on high will visit us, to shine upon those who sit in darkness and the shadow of death, to guide our feet into the way of peace.” Luke 1:78-79.
Heaven opened and lit the skies that night with glory—talk about light and glitter shows, there has never been a worldly one that even comes close in comparison!
In the same region there were some shepherds staying out in the fields and keeping watch over their flock by night. And an angel of the Lord suddenly stood before them, and the glory of the Lord shone around them; and they were terribly frightened. But the angel said to them, “Do not be afraid; for behold, I bring you good news of great joy which will be for all the people; for today in the city of David there has been born for you a Savior, who is Christ the Lord. This will be a sign for you: you will find a baby wrapped in cloths and lying in a manger.” And suddenly there appeared with the angel a multitude of the heavenly host praising God and saying, “Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace, good will towards men.” Luke 2:8-14.
And no Christmas display, palace, or glitter dome has ever even come close the My Kingdom lit with My glory and filled with the brilliance of precious gems, streets of spun gold, and gates of pearls.
And he carried me away in the Spirit to a great and high mountain, and showed me the holy city, Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God, having the glory of God. Her brilliance was like a very costly stone, as a stone of crystal-clear jasper . . . The material of the wall was jasper; and the city was pure gold, like clear glass. The foundation stones of the city wall were adorned with every kind of precious stone. The first foundation stone was jasper; the second, sapphire; the third, chalcedony; the fourth, emerald; the fifth, sardonyx; the sixth, sardius; the seventh, chrysolite; the eighth, beryl; the ninth, topaz; the tenth, chrysoprase; the eleventh, jacinth; the twelfth, amethyst. And the twelve gates were twelve pearls; each one of the gates was a single pearl. And the street of the city was pure gold, like transparent glass. Revelation 21:10-11; 18-21.
And talk about perfect Christmas gifts that each person is trying to choose for the one they love, there is only one perfect gift of love, true love, eternal love, and it comes down from Me, the Father of lights.
Do not be deceived, my beloved brethren. Every good thing given and every perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of lights, with whom there is no variation or shifting shadow. James 1:16-17.
A people living in darkness have seen a great light, on those in a land of gloom, light has shone. And He is the Light of the world and no follower of His will ever walk in darkness for anyone who follows Him will have the light of life.
The people who walk in darkness have seen a great light; those who live in a land of gloom, the light has shone on them. You shall multiply the nation, You shall increase their gladness. They will be glad in Your presence as with the gladness of harvest, as men rejoice when they divide the spoil. Isaiah 9:2-3.
For a child is born to us, a Son is given to us; and the government rests on His shoulders; and His name will be called Wonderful, Counselor, God Hero, Eternal Father, Prince of Peace. Isaiah 9:5-6.
It is time I took you on the Christmas journey of remembrance so that the true light of Christmas can shine in you and on you forever.
For God, who said, “Light shall shine out of darkness,” is the One who has shone in our hearts to give the Light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Christ. 2 Corinthians 4:6.
There are now many Christmas lights hung in the malls and in homes for the joyful season that are taken down and packed away in darkness until the holidays come again, but there is only one true Light that will save you and bring you into the Kingdom of Light forever.
Then Jesus again spoke to them, saying, “I am the Light of the world; he who follows Me will not walk in the darkness, but will have the Light of life.” John 8:12.
Giving thanks to the Father, who has qualified us to share in the inheritance of the saints in Light. For He rescued us from the domain of darkness, and transferred us to the kingdom of His beloved Son, in whom we have redemption, the forgiveness of sins. Colossians 1:12-14.
It all began with the Word. All was created by the Word, all is sustained, maintained, and renewed by the Word, and it is by the Word you are saved. What Word? The Word of life that is your Light. My Word. I not only speak My Word, I AM My Word. My Word generates deep within Me as My very nature and proceeds from Me as breathed forth by My Spirit into manifestation.
In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was with God in the beginning. Through Him all things were made; without Him nothing was made that has been made. In Him was life, and that life was the light of all mankind. The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness cannot overcome it. John 1:1-5.
There is tremendous power in My Word. By My Word, I formed the universe that you cannot even see the limits of or count the stars, but I have counted them all and call each by name.
By the word of the LORD the heavens were made, and by the breath of His mouth all their host. Psalm 33:6.
Lift up your eyes on high and see who has created these stars, The One who leads forth their host by number, He calls them all by name; because of the greatness of His might and the strength of His power, not one of them is missing. Isaiah 40:26.
My Word made the spiritual and the physical realms and all the beings therein. I have no beginning and no end. My Word is forever. I AM, I was, and I always will be. A continuum of life. Everything has its source in Me but every created being as his own free will to stay close to Me in light or go to the outer darkness of the continuum and all areas in between. The closer you stay to the center, and Jesus is in the center of My throne and in My very bosom, the more like Me you are, the more light and love you emanate in your life and being. Draw close to Me and I draw close to you. Walk in the light.
And I know each one of you very well, inside and out, and made you in My image and likeness. I look like you, though I am spirit, and you look like Me in your spirit and your flesh, for My Word became flesh and dwelt among you, but He was with Me from everlasting.
It all began with a Word spoken forth by Me: “Light be!”
In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth. The earth was formless and void, and darkness was over the surface of the deep, and the Spirit of God was hovering over the surface of the waters. Then God said, “Light be”; and there was light. God saw that the light was good; and God separated the light from the darkness. Genesis 1:1-4.
And that was not the creation of the sun and stars, it was before, it was the light of life.
“Behold, God does all these oftentimes with men, to bring back his soul from the pit, that he may be enlightened with the light of life.” Job 33:29-30.
I am the source and sustainer of all life. All life exists because of Me and from Me. It is a continuum of which I am the center and I also encompass it in all fullness. And I am light. I am love. My nature, My essence, My being, is light and love in One you can know, see, and touch once you too are born of the Spirit as Adam was first created and not limited to the flesh alone, but he fell to that lower level of existence through the defilement of sin and his submission to lies over the truth. Lies are perishable, truth is imperishable.
The world I created was filled with light and the fruit of light consists in all goodness and righteousness and truth, Ephesians 5:9. The first man and women were clothed with glory and majesty, Psalm 8:5, surrounded with light as with a cloak, just as I am, for I formed them in My image and according to My likeness. Psalm 104:2; Genesis 1:26-28. I formed man in the image of My Son. Luke 3:38; Genesis 5:1. And My Son is My Word made flesh.
And I am My Word, so you were formed in the likeness of My Word. I created you of imperishable seed, the truth of My Word of life. Your life in the flesh was imperishable and you were made never to die but live forever, as I do, for I am My Word. But the first man and woman rejected My Word of truth and submitted to the lie of a created spirit and were born again of the perishable seed of lies. And thus everyone born of Adam’s line became perishable.
Death entered the world through the sin of Adam and so, by his corrupted seed, all who were born would die.
When Adam had lived one hundred and thirty years, he became the father of a son in his own likeness, according to his image, and named him Seth. Then the days of Adam after he became the father of Seth were eight hundred years, and he had other sons and daughters. So all the days that Adam lived were nine hundred and thirty years, and he died. Genesis 5:3-5.
And as you read down the genealogy of Adam in the fifth chapter of Genesis, you read that each of his descendants, his seed, died. And each generation became farther and farther from the truth of My Word until they were not like Me at all in thought, word, or the desires of their hearts. They became evil like the one who begot them. They pulled out of the center to the very edges of the outer darkness. For they did not just die in the flesh, their spirits also became dead to Me and alive to sin. Alive to lies. The worldly live a lie and think their humanistic philosophies of life and death hold the truth. But they do not. There is a way that seems right in the mind of a man but, without Me, it ends in death.
You go with the master you serve, and Adam had put all into the dominion of the realm of darkness, that is the realm of the devil and the demons who had severed themselves from the angelic host and led man into the same deception of mastery through disassociation with the source of their life, breath, and being.
Lucifer was in Eden as the covering cherub, the guardian of the first man and woman, sent to serve them, but instead he deceived them into renouncing My Lordship and serving him. Unrighteousness was found in him, which became violence, and finally sin, which is lawlessness.
“You had the seal of perfection, full of wisdom and perfect in beauty. You were in Eden, the garden of God; every precious stone was your covering: The ruby, the topaz and the diamond; the beryl, the onyx and the jasper; the lapis lazuli, the turquoise and the emerald; and the gold, the workmanship of your tambourines and flutes, was in you. On the day that you were created they were prepared. You were the anointed cherub who guards, and I placed you there. You were on the holy mountain of God; you walked in the midst of the stones of fire. You were blameless in your ways from the day you were created until unrighteousness was found in you. By the abundance of your trade you were internally filled with violence, and you sinned; therefore I have cast you as profane from the mountain of God. And I have destroyed you, O guardian cherub, from the midst of the stones of fire. Your heart was lifted up because of your beauty; you corrupted your wisdom by reason of your splendor. I cast you to the ground.” Ezekiel 28:12-17.
“How you have fallen from heaven, O shining one (Helel, Lucifer), son of the dawn! You have been cut down to the earth, you who have weakened the nations! But you said in your heart, ‘I will ascend to heaven; I will raise my throne above the stars of God, and I will sit on the mount of assembly in the recesses of the north. I will ascend above the heights of the clouds; I will make myself like the Most High.’
Nevertheless you will be thrust down to Sheol, to the recesses of the pit.” Isaiah 14:12-15.
The LORD God said to the serpent, “Because you have done this, cursed are you more than all cattle, and more than every beast of the field; on your belly you will go, and dust you will eat all the days of your life. And I will put enmity between you and the woman, and between your seed and her seed; He shall crush your head, and you shall bruise him on the heel.” Genesis 3:14-15.
And the great dragon was thrown down, the serpent of old who is called the devil and Satan, who deceives the whole world; he was thrown down to the earth, and his angels were thrown down with him. Then I heard a loud voice in heaven, saying, “Now the salvation, and the power, and the kingdom of our God and the authority of His Christ have come, for the accuser of our brethren has been thrown down, he who accuses them before our God day and night. And they overcame him because of the blood of the Lamb and because of the word of their testimony, and they did not love their life even when faced with death. For this reason, rejoice, O heavens and you who dwell in them. Woe to the earth and the sea, because the devil has come down to you, having great wrath, knowing that he has only a short time.” Revelation 12:9-12.
And thus the law of sin and death was put in place. No law was needed when Adam walked in the fruit of the spirit, but now his spirit became dead to Me and alive to sin. He lost, that is, he murdered, the eternal life in himself and all his descendants, i.e., his seed, after him. And that is where you are all born.
But I had a plan, the Lamb slain since before the foundation of the world who would come as the second Adam, formed in the virgin’s womb of the imperishable seed of My Word, that would restore to man, as one like you in all things but sin, what man had lost in the first Adam. He would accept all your sins into His eternal flesh, for sin resides in the flesh, and then offer His eternal life for the life you lost. An eternal life for an eternal life. And thus by His eternal blood pay the debt that no man born of Adam’s seed could pay. Redemption was impossible for man, but not for Me, I came down Myself in Christ and did it for you. For not even the most righteous of the Old Covenant could pay for the eternal life that was murdered in and by Adam because they did not have an eternal life to give.
When the disciples heard this, they were very astonished and said, “Then who can be saved?” And looking at them Jesus said to them, “With people this is impossible, but with God all things are possible.” Matthew 19:25-26.
What you could not give, I gave. I so loved the world that I had made, that I gave My only begotten Son that all who believe in Him shall never perish but have eternal life! John 3:16.
The devil tries to shroud creation in a mystery by theories of evolution, primordial soup, big bang, and survival of the fittest. He even presents the lie of “intelligent design” as another form of evolution that appeases some who say they believe in Me. But these are all lies intended to blind your minds to the truth so that he holds you captive to do his will as he seeks to destroy each one of you and the earth by your own volition in receiving his lies.
And even if our gospel is veiled, it is veiled to those who are perishing, in whose case the god of this world has blinded the minds of the unbelieving so that they might not see the light of the gospel of the glory of Christ, who is the image of God. 2 Corinthians 4:3-4.
To again have life you must come back to My Word and submit to the truth and then you are born again of imperishable seed so that your spirit is alive to Me and dead to sin. Your flesh must still die and decay because that is the course it is on in this world as Adam plunged all creation below the light line into darkness, but I have solved that for those who believe. When they pass from this life to the life that is eternal, their spirit and soul will be clothed again in majesty and glory, imperishable and perfect as I made you to be. But not of earthly flesh but of heavenly substance, spun in glory of your DNA and My breath, light, and love. I make all things new. And how do I do that? By My Word spoken in faith. I call those things that be not as though they be and they become just that.
We will continue the Christmas journey of remembrance in our next Life Lesson. You do not want to miss it. It is time for you to know more about what Christmas is all about.
But as for you, Bethlehem Ephrathah, too little to be among the clans of Judah, from you One will go forth for Me to be ruler in Israel. His goings forth are from long ago, from the days of eternity.” Therefore He will give them up until the time when she who is in labor has borne a child. Then the remainder of His brethren will return to the sons of Israel. And He will arise and shepherd His flock in the strength of the LORD, in the majesty of the name of the LORD His God. And they will remain, because at that time He will be great to the ends of the earth. This One will be our peace. Micah 5:2-5.
I love you. And that is what Christmas is all about.
Who has ascended into heaven and descended? Who has gathered the wind in His fists? Who has wrapped the waters in His garment? Who has established all the ends of the earth? What is His name or His Son’s name? Surely you know! Proverbs 30:4.