| “Now when Jesus was born in Bethlehem of Judaea in the days of Herod, the king, behold, there came wise men from the east to Jerusalem” (Matthew 2:1).
Head knowledge is useful, but unless it is sanctified by the Holy Spirit it can be the most dangerous thing in the world. It will rob you of right thinking and give you nothing but wrong living. Gipsy Smith, when asked how he kept fresh in soul well into the eighties, replied, “I have never lost the wonder.” God never intended His Word to remain indoors. It was designed for the outdoors! It was made to be communicated to the world by means of our own walk and our talk. The gospel is for lifeboats, not showboats, and a man must make up his mind which boat he is going to operate. God left heaven to communicate to us…God! He has shown to us and is revealing to us Who He is and who we are. God meant that we adjust to the Gospel–not that we fit the Gospel to us. When the Gospel hurts the devil’s business, trouble begins. God came to destroy Satan’s work. The story of Christmas is about this great enterprise of our great God and Savior. Christmas lights are seen from the road as we travel by. People light up their homes so that the joy of Christmas, the hope of a better time, is revealed in us and to us. The lights are not shut up and closed down, but opened up to be seen by others. When the gospel is fully given in its most powerful manner, then the Light of the World is seen. The church is not a gloried glee club staging holy hootenannies and the Gospel was never meant for entertainment. Nor is the gospel meant to be hoarded but a story to be heralded. Too many of us, too many Christians are stuffing themselves with Gospel blessings, while millions have never had a taste or a look. There is so much more than what the eyes see. The heart feels it and desires it, so God gives us Himself, the Light of the World. The grace of our God transcends all our feeble efforts to describe it. God’s amazing Christmas grace cannot be poured into any of our mental receptacles without running over. May our hearts enlarge and our eyes behold Jesus this Christmas season so that our cups runneth over. |