Merry Christmas -- His Birth and Our New Birth

Merry Christmas -- His Birth and Our New Birth

"Behold, the virgin shall be with child, and bear a Son, and they shall call His name Immanuel,' which is translated, 'God with us.'" -- Matthew 1:23

Good morning, my brothers. Merry Christmas. On behalf of the Board and staff of America's KESWICK and the team of Freedom Fighter writers, we pray that your day will be blessed as you celebrate the birth of our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ.

Today's devotional comes from the pen of my favorite devotional author, Oswald Chambers, and is the December 25th reading from My Utmost for His Highest:

His Birth in History. ". . . that Holy One who is to be born will be called the Son of God ( Luke 1:35 ). Jesus Christ was born into this world, not from it. He did not emerge out of history; He came into history from the outside. Jesus Christ is not the best human being the human race can boast of— He is a Being for whom the human race can take no credit at all. He is not man becoming God, but God Incarnate— God coming into human flesh from outside it. His life is the highest and the holiest entering through the most humble of doors. Our Lord’s birth was an advent— the appearance of God in human form.

His Birth in Me. "My little children, for whom I labor in birth again until Christ is formed in you . . ." (Galatians 4:19 ). Just as our Lord came into human history from outside it, He must also come into me from outside. Have I allowed my personal human life to become a "Bethlehem" for the Son of God? I cannot enter the realm of the kingdom of God unless I am born again from above by a birth totally unlike physical birth. "You must be born again" ( John 3:7 ). This is not a command, but a fact based on the authority of God. The evidence of the new birth is that I yield myself so completely to God that "Christ is formed" in me. And once "Christ is formed" in me, His nature immediately begins to work through me.

God Evident in the Flesh. This is what is made so profoundly possible for you and for me through the redemption of man by Jesus Christ.

Rejoice, my brothers -- the Lord has come! Let earth receive her King! May God bless you! -- Bill Welte is President and CEO of America's KESWICK

DIGGING DEEPER: Proverbs 25; Zephaniah; Revelation 16

Great Quote: For the Christ-child who comes is the Master of all; No palace too great, no cottage too small. Phillips Brooks

Did you download your free A DAILY BIBLE READING PLAN -- Daily Proverbs, Old and New Testament? Use this link to get your copy today and join us on the DIGGING DEEPER adventure: http://www.americaskeswick.org/BibleReading