CHRISTMAS DEVOTIONAL

CHRISTMAS DEVOTIONAL December 21, 2008 Given by: Pastor Rich Bersett [Index of Past Messages] Introduction In Mark Twain's The Prince and the Pauper, we are introduced to Prince Edward and a poor boy named Tom Canty. In the opening pages, they meet each other and discover they look identical. Since each one is dissatisfied with his social situation, they decide to swap places and see what life's like from the other side. Tom takes on the life of Prince Edward, and Prince Edward adopts the life of the pauper Tom. During the course of the novel, King Henry dies, at which point Prince Edward becomes King of England. For the rest of the story, Edward has to convince others that he is the legitimate king. All they see, of course, is a poor boy in rags. Though there were many prophecies and signs that preceded and accompanied his birth, the birth of Jesus itself surprisingly quiet and inauspicious. The humblest peasant parents, in an unimportant town, and in a rough, primitive stable. None of the earmarks of royalty, pomp or celebrity. In His short life, He made a career of rejecting the marks of status or privilege: He loved lepers, washed the feet of his disciples, befriended little children, encouraged women to join his entourage, and, finally, submitted to crucifixion by a foreign power. Former Archbishop of Canterbury, Lord Coggan: "When God intends to make some-thing wonderful he begins with a difficulty. When he intends to make something very wonderful, he begins with an impossibility." The birth of Jesus was not just a difficulty, it was an impossibility. Mary was a virgin. Only God could breathe life into her womb. And just as God caused her to conceive the perfect sinless Savior - fully God, fully human - He can accomplish through you, those things that seem impossible in your life. "Now to him who is able to do immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine, according to his power that is at work within us, to him be glory in the church and in Christ Jesus throughout all generations, for ever and ever! Amen." But what are we to do with this unlikely king who arrived on our planet, died on our behalf and then rose from death to confirm He was who He said He was? May I suggest – do just what He invited us to do? Trust Him. Give our lives to him in faith. Receive the gift He offers. And live for Him. Speak with a Christian you trust—find out how to unwrap salvation for yourself today. 2009 – the year you begin to live for God.        [Back to Top]