Daily Bible Verses for 12/27/2016

Daily Verse(s)
“For there is born to you this day in the city of David a Savior, who is Christ the Lord. And this will be the sign to you: You will find a Babe wrapped in swaddling cloths, lying in a manger.” And suddenly there was with the angel a multitude of the heavenly host praising God and saying: “Glory to God in the highest, And on earth peace, goodwill toward men!”

Reading Notes
God’s gift of salvation shows His love for us. How? Because God gave Himself for us! Jesus who was with God the Father, Jesus who is God, gave His life for us! His love for us is so great that He put Himself through the torture and pain of the cross in order that we could spend eternity with Him. Imagine if you will how the living God of Heaven, the person whom the Bible tells us is the author of all creation, stepped out of eternity and took on humanity for one reason. And that reason was to die for us, that we may live eternally with Him. Jesus who is fully God, proclaimed and worshipped by angels who were created by Him, left the perfect environment of Heaven where He enjoyed perfect communion with God the Father and stepped into a broken, fallen humanity. Moreover, Jesus took on humanity in the most modest and humble of means. Though Jesus added humanity to His divinity, He did not come as He truly is, and that is King of kings and Lord of lords.

Rather, He came humbly, He never had anything and He never owned anything. And He did so knowing His only reason for coming was to experience humanity so that He could identify with us and take our place at the Cross of Calvary. Why? Because only a sinless humanity can take the place of sinful humanity. There is no amount of good deeds or animal sacrifices that can erase human sin. Only another person who is sinless can be a substitute for us. The Bible tells us that Jesus was slain from the foundation of the world. We were in His thoughts long before mankind came into being. Jesus before the universe ever existed knew us and planned to leave Heaven and give His life for us. That through our faith in Him we could spend eternity in His presence. God’s plan of redemption was in place from the very beginning. And His free gift of salvation was always His plan of redemption, through which He has shown us the overwhelming love He has for us, especially at this time of the year.