Heaven On Earth Week 4

Heaven on Earth

Matthew 2:13–23 KJV 1900

And when they were departed, behold, the angel of the Lord appeareth to Joseph in a dream, saying, Arise, and take the young child and his mother, and flee into Egypt, and be thou there until I bring thee word: for Herod will seek the young child to destroy him. When he arose, he took the young child and his mother by night, and departed into Egypt: And was there until the death of Herod: that it might be fulfilled which was spoken of the Lord by the prophet, saying, Out of Egypt have I called my son. Then Herod, when he saw that he was mocked of the wise men, was exceeding wroth, and sent forth, and slew all the children that were in Beth-lehem, and in all the coasts thereof, from two years old and under, according to the time which he had diligently inquired of the wise men. Then was fulfilled that which was spoken by Jeremy the prophet, saying, In Rama was there a voice heard, lamentation, and weeping, and great mourning, Rachel weeping for her children, and would not be comforted, because they are not. But when Herod was dead, behold, an angel of the Lord appeareth in a dream to Joseph in Egypt, Saying, Arise, and take the young child and his mother, and go into the land of Israel: for they are dead which sought the young child’s life. And he arose, and took the young child and his mother, and came into the land of Israel. But when he heard that Archelaus did reign in Judaea in the room of his father Herod, he was afraid to go thither: notwithstanding, being warned of God in a dream, he turned aside into the parts of Galilee: And he came and dwelt in a city called Nazareth: that it might be fulfilled which was spoken by the prophets, He shall be called a Nazarene.

No matter how hard he tried, Herod could not halt the plans of God.

Jeremiah 31:15–17 KJV 1900

Thus saith the Lord; A voice was heard in Ramah, Lamentation, and bitter weeping; Rahel weeping for her children Refused to be comforted for her children, because they were not. Thus saith the Lord; Refrain thy voice from weeping, And thine eyes from tears: For thy work shall be rewarded, saith the Lord; And they shall come again from the land of the enemy. And there is hope in thine end, saith the Lord, That thy children shall come again to their own border.

“Our songs of peace and public displays of charity have not erased the headlines of child poverty, gun violence, and even genocide. This is a brutal world.”

God had a plan to bring grace and mercy to humanity through Jesus Christ. Nothing could stop this from happening.

Christmas is a time when we come together with family, release our troubles, and celebrate the holidays.

But what do we do when Christmas isn’t a joyful season? What about when it brings more hurt than it brings happiness?

Evil shines brightly in this passage. Jesus came into a dark world to shine a bright, redeeming light.

Dorothy Sayers wrote, “The incarnation means that for whatever reason God chose to let us fall into a condition of being limited, to suffer, to be subject to sorrows and death—he has nonetheless had the honesty and the courage to take his own medicine...

He himself has gone through the whole of human experience...

He was born in poverty and... suffered infinite pain—all for us—and thought it well worth his while”

Finally, if Jesus is God himself, become human, we live with an irrepressible, infallible hope.

Some day all deformity, decay, sin, disease, imperfection will be wiped away.

Romans 8:18–25 KJV 1900

For I reckon that the sufferings of this present time are not worthy to be compared with the glory which shall be revealed in us. For the earnest expectation of the creature waiteth for the manifestation of the sons of God. For the creature was made subject to vanity, not willingly, but by reason of him who hath subjected the same in hope, Because the creature itself also shall be delivered from the bondage of corruption into the glorious liberty of the children of God. For we know that the whole creation groaneth and travaileth in pain together until now. And not only they, but ourselves also, which have the firstfruits of the Spirit, even we ourselves groan within ourselves, waiting for the adoption, to wit, the redemption of our body. For we are saved by hope: but hope that is seen is not hope: for what a man seeth, why doth he yet hope for? But if we hope for that we see not, then do we with patience wait for it.

Whatever problem we face—whether disease or injustice or some other suffering—eventually God’s power will triumph over it.

Psalm 30:5 KJV 1900

For his anger endureth but a moment; in his favour is life: Weeping may endure for a night, but joy cometh in the morning.

.) Jesus is God— and that means ‘God has landed’! Jesus is man—and that means God cares for us. God has become human; the ideal has penetrated the real and is transforming it into his likeness. The world is destined for joy sooner or later, and so are all those who ‘love and long for his appearing.’

Jesus is God— and that means ‘God has landed’! Jesus is man—and that means God cares for us. God has become human; the ideal has penetrated the real and is transforming it into his likeness. The world is destined for joy sooner or later, and so are all those who ‘love and long for his appearing.’

Despite the difficult circumstances that come your way, know that nothing can separate you from God’s love, forgiveness, and redemption. He is “God with us.”