Here's the last Gone Fishin' Newsletter for 2018.
Enjoy!
Gone Fishin’ Monthly Newsletter – December 2018
“In this the love of God was manifested toward us, that God has sent His only begotten Son into the world, that we might live through Him. In this is love, not that we loved God, but that He loved us and sent His Son to be the propitiation for our sins.” (1 John 4:9-10).
Hi Everyone
This month we celebrate the day hope finally came to this world!
The world despised God, but He sent His Son anyway.
Not because we deserved His kindness, or His gratitude. Not because we are anything special. Not because we did anything special to warrant such compassion.
No, God sent His Son because of one reason: He loved us.
There was nothing for Him to love. We took every chance we could to convince Him otherwise. Our hearts were wicked and deceitful. At every opportunity, we rebelled against Him.
But He came anyway.
He laid aside His royal crown. He left the protection of His Fathers’ side, and made Himself even lower than the angels that served Him. He traded the glories of His heavenly realm to set foot on the world He created.
He became one of us.
How could the Saviour of the world - our last hope for salvation – do something so foolish? He was supposed to break us out of this mess, not jump right in boots and all!
Yet, the King of the Universe breathed the same air we breathed. He ate the same food we ate. He walked the same dusty paths we walked, and when He was tired, He slept alongside us.
He was one of us, yet He was still completely God. And this meant He could make the perfect sacrifice for us; for when God needed payment for our sins, He took receipt of this payment from a perfect man:
“For He made Him who knew no sin to be sin for us, that we might become the righteousness of God in Him.” (2 Cor 5:21).
So, this month we worship God for His great gesture of becoming one of us – via repenting and yielding to Him, via faith in Him, and the sacrifice He made on our behalf. “For unto us a Child is born, unto us a Son is given; and the government will be upon His shoulder. And His name will be called Wonderful, Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace. Of the increase of His government and peace there will be no end, upon the throne of David and over His kingdom, to order it and establish it with judgment and justice from that time forward, even forever. The zeal of the LORD of hosts will perform this.” (Isaiah 9:6-7)
This is one more reason to tell others about our Lord.
So many people see and portray God as a big cosmic meanie, who sits on his heavenly throne looking down at us, waiting to smash us every time we do bad things.
The reality could not be further from the truth.
He entered our world in a weak and lowly manner; a human child, immaculately conceived from a virgin.
He felt the same feelings we felt – hunger, tiredness, sadness, rejection, and ultimately, pain. But not just any pain.
His pain brought about our freedom. He felt the nails in his hands and feet the same we would should it have happened to us. He bled from a crown of thorns on his head.
But the most painful of all, he bore the pain of God’s wrath of sin that He never committed. He did it because He loved us.
He asked God to forgive us, for we did not know what we were doing. We were killing the King of Kings, the Lord of Lords, and yet He was still pleading for our pardon. What a merciful God!
His last words were “It is finished”. The price was paid. Then He gave up His spirit.
The King was dead. The only hope we had was dashed. What was God thinking?
But He wasn’t finished yet.
Three days later, He defeated death by walking out of the tomb. We should have expected nothing less from an all-powerful God, who created us from nothing. This is why we worship Him.
Well, that’s the best I’ve got. If that doesn’t motivate you to go and share the Good News, then I have failed miserably.
I’ll see you at my place this Saturday at 10am before venturing out to spread the Good News!
Otherwise, have a blessed break, and remember to celebrate the real reason for our hope!
Blessings
Craig.
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