Growing in Grace

In the temple, priests mediated between God and the Israelites by offering animal sacrifices to atone for the sins of the people. . . In their position as mediator, the priests were the only ones eligible to enter the Holy place, the place where God made His presence known. When Jesus came to us as the Son of God and shed His blood on the cross for our sins, He became our High Priest. He is the Mediator of the New Covenant by means of His death for the redemption of our transgressions, that we might obtain forgiveness and receive the promise of eternal inheritance with God. There is only one way to Him - through the Mediator, Jesus Christ - who has the full nature of God and the full nature of man. -Jack Countryman

The Messiah was to give the Jewish people the Spirit of Life and hope that the Samaritan woman's lips bore. . . May this Christmas bring to light the coming of the Messiah to show each of us the love and sacrifice of Jesus Christ. May we share with Him life eternal and experience, through His love, the joy and peace that comes with knowing Christ our personal Savior. -Jack Countryman

The Jewish prophets proclaimed that a redeemer would come out of Zion to be the Helper the people so desperately needed. Today, we are blessed that our Redeemer Jesus Christ came in the form of a man with one purpose, to redeem us from our sin. -Jack Countryman

Jesus means "Savior" and comes from the Hebrew name Joshua ("Jehovah is salvation"). There were many Jewish boys with the name Joshua (or, in the Greek, Jesus), but Mary's Boy was called "Jesus the Christ." The word Christ means "anointed"; it is the Greek equivalent of Messiah. He is "Jesus the Messiah." Jesus is His human name; Christ is His official title; and Emmanuel describes who He is - "God with us." Jesus Christ is God! -Warren Wiersbe

"Ancient of Days" is a name for God that emphasizes His eternity; He is the God who had existed from eternity past, has planned all things, and is working out his plan. . . He is eternal, holy and sovereign. . . In Revelation 1:12-20, these same characteristics are applied to Jesus Christ, thus proving that He is the eternal Son of God. -Warren Wiersbe

God did not send a soldier or a judge or a reformer; what He did send was a Savior to meet man's greatest need - salvation from sin.

Jesus was righteous in all that He did, and His purpose in coming was to bring salvation to those who would trust Him. . . Jesus rode a lowly donkey and came in humility. . .Jesus could have brought judgment, but instead He brought grace and forgiveness. . . Instead of slaying His enemies, He went to a cross and died for them! -Warren Weirsbe

Jesus the Servant is an example to us as servants, but He is so much more than that. He is our Servant. He serves us; not only in what He did in the past, but also He serves us every day through His constant love, care, guidance, and intercession. Jesus did not stop serving when he went to heaven; He serves all His people more effectively than ever from heaven. -David Guzik

Much as our words reveal to others our hearts and minds, so Jesus Christ is God's "Word" to reveal His heart and mind to us. -Warren Wiersbe

Dayspring means sunrise. The Jewish people were sitting in darkness and death, and distress gripped them when Jesus came; but He brought light, life, and peace. It was the dawn of a new day because of the tender mercies of God. -Warren Wiersbe May you too experience the light, life and peace of Christ.

There is, for our galaxy, only one sun, and it is the center and the source of life. So there is but one God who is the center of all and the source of all life. "God is light", and wherever the light shines, it reveals man's wickedness. . . To follow the Lord Jesus means to believe on Him, to trust Him, and the results are life and light for the believer. -Warren Weirsbe

We must never forget that when we celebrate Christ and His birth, we are celebrating the God of heaven and earth. . . Jesus is Lord and He wants to be Lord of your life. This is the divine structure God has ordained. -Charles F. Stanley

What people believe and say about Jesus Christ is important, for He is the Son of God and the only Savior of sinners. Your confession concerning Jesus Christ is a matter of life or death. . .In His word and works, Jesus gave every evidence to the people that He was the Son of God, the Messiah, and yet they did not get the message. Instead of diligently seeking the truth, the people listened to popular opinion and followed it, as many people do today. . .The word Christ means "the Anointed One, the promised Messiah." (Warren Wiersbe) This is the best gift you can receive this Christmas. . . Who do you say that Jesus is?

Jesus, in His majesty and glory, will come for His church as the "Morning Star".

Jesus did not die as a martyr, killed by men; He died as a substitute, willingly laying down His life for us. -Warren Wiersbe

Jesus is God's Lamb, given by God to men. The Lamb of God shed His blood to take away the sin of the whole world.

God is the first giver; He first selflessly gives Himself to us in the person of His Son, and all true Christian giving is our response of gratitude for this gift that is beyond description.

Jesus Christ was not the first being created, since He Himself is the Creator of all things. He existed prior to all Creation; He is eternal God. In His essence, God is invisible, but Jesus Christ has revealed Him to us. Nature reveals the existence, power, and wisdom of God, but nature cannot reveal the very essence of God to us. It is only in Jesus Christ that the invisible God is revealed perfectly. Since no mere creature can pefectly reveal God, Jesus Christ must be God. -Warren Wiersbe

"When we are inwardly tossed by various tempests, and when Satan attempts to disturb our consciences, let us remember that Christ is The Prince of Peace, and that it is easy for him quickly to allay all our uneasy feelings." (Calvin)

"The Messiah is to be known as the One who is the sovereign Lord over the ever changing years—he produces and directs eternity."

The Messiah is Mighty God: The God of all creation and glory, the Lord who reigns in heaven, the One worthy of our worship and praise. With His divine power, He will execute His wise plans.

If His name is "Wonderful", then there will be nothing dull about His reign! As Counselor, He has the wisdom to rule justly. (Wiersbe) As Wonderful Counselor, the coming Son of David will carry out a royal program that will cause all the world to marvel. (NIV study note)

The title the First and the Last is irrefutable proof that Jesus is Yahweh, the LORD: I, the LORD, am the first; and with the last I am He.'" (Isaiah 41:4). . .These terms together mean that Jesus is the beginning, middle, and end for the Christian (David Guzik).

"The virgin will be pregnant. She will have a son, and they will name him Immanuel," which means "God with us." -Matthew 1:23 The implications of the name Immanuel are both comforting and unsettling. Comforting, because He has come to share the danger as well as the drudgery of our everyday lives. He desires to weep with us and to wipe away our tears. And what seems most bizarre, Jesus Christ, the Son of God, longs to share in and to be the source of the laughter and the joy we all too rarely know. The implications are unsettling. It is one thing to claim that God looks down upon us, from a safe distance, and speaks to us (via long distance, we hope). But to say that He is right here, is to put ourselves and Him in a totally new situation He is no longer the calm and benevolent observer in the sky, the kindly old caricature with the beard. His image becomes that of Jesus, who wept and laughed, who fasted and feasted, and who, above all, was fully present to tho