Saturday, December 24, 2022

Signs & Wonders of Christ's Arrival - - Swaddled & Clothed

 

Luke 2:7
And she gave birth to her firstborn, a Son. She wrapped Him in swaddling cloths and laid Him in a manger, because there was no room for them in the inn.

#Strong's Ex. Conc. No. 4683
Swaddling Cloths: strips of cloth for wrapping newborns
From the Greek word 'sparganoó' (pronounced spar-gan-o'-o). 
Looking it up in my Illustrated Dictionary, it tells us that this is (1) the most loving thing a mother would do for her infant child. (2) 'it is a reminder to us of Christ's humility in becoming a human being for our sakes'. 

    Having left heaven and all His glory behind, He now finds Himself clothed in strips of cloth. His first bed is a borrowed manger in a dimly lit stable behind a busy inn that had no room for Him. 
    The first time He is visited by others, He is wrapped in these cloths and lying in a feeding trough. In a barn. In what could have been the smelliest place, the aroma of heaven now fills the stable. For the Messiah has arrived. 
    But not with pomp and circumstance, not with bells and whistles; not as a conquering king, nor a triumphant entrance. No, this Christ has arrived as a mere babe and is found by many, though not received by many. After all, there was no room in the inn, was there? 
NO ROOM by Todd Agnew

    However, now the opportunity to receive Christ has come to you and to your household. His purpose in coming to earth was fulfilled 33 years after His birth. While not many received Him in His lifetime, untold numbers of people have sought Him, found Him and received Him into their hearts. And you know what? There's always room for more. Jesus never turns any seeker of Truth away.
    John 1:11, 12
11. He came to His own, and His own did not receive Him.
12. But to all who did receive Him, to those who believed in His name, He gave the right to become children of God.
    Galatians 4:4-6
4. But when the fulness of the time was come, God sent forth his Son, made of a woman, made under the law,
5. to redeem those under the law, that we might receive our adoption as sons.
6. And because you are sons, God sent the Spirit of His Son into our hearts, crying out, “Abba, Father!
    No longer wrapped in swaddling cloths, no longer an infant unable to care for Himself, Jesus now is wrapped in light and life (John 1:4). For He is Light and Life to all who find Him. He is Truth. And He now lives in the hearts of those who have received Him upon believing in His name: that He Is Jesus Christ, Messiah, the only begotten Son of the Most High God. 
    In infancy He was wrapped in swaddling cloths for His protection and growth. In the grave He was again wrapped up in cloth but for an honorable burial (John 19:40, 41). 
    Now, in heaven and in our hearts, He is clothed once more with glory, with honor, with praises (Revelations 5:12, 13). We who believe are His temple (1 Corinthians 6:19) not made with hands (Mark 14:58). We who believe are honored and awed that Jesus would make His home in us. 
    No longer does darkness reign in our hearts and lives: for the Christ now sits on the throne of our hearts, directing us in what is right and will fulfill God's purpose and plan (Proverbs 3:6). 
    John 12:46
I have come into the world as a light, so that no one who believes in Me should remain in darkness.
John 14:6
Jesus answered, "I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through Me."

Have you seen the Light? Do you find yourselves being drawn to the Light? For this Light scatters the darkness and all its inhabitants away into the shadows. This Light illuminates and reveals what is hid and can be found. This Light shines in the hearts of every believer, revealing and making possible the uprooting of all evil in the heart. 
    Psalm 139:24, 25
24. Search me, O God, and know my heart; test me and know my concerns. 
25. See if there is any offensive way in me; lead me in the way everlasting.

    Can you hear the Father's cry? He's calling you to come into the Light and let the Light come into you.  

SOFTLY AND TENDERLY by Alan Jackson

GOD WITH US by All Sons & Daughters

 KEEP THE LIGHT ON by Christy Nockels

NO ROOM
--An Original Song by Me-- 

No room, no room, no room for Jesus
No way, no how, not here at this time, not now.

Can you imagine telling God 
you have no time for Him?
There isn’t any place today for Him to enter in.
To enter in with joy delight,
Communion sweet to share
No room for Jesus, No room anywhere.

No room, no room, no room for Jesus
No way, no how, not here at this time, not now.

The temples are empty, no life exists here.
No joyful days, no redeemed souls, 
The faces of the people are shut, blank and cold.
I see forlorn temples, I hear lonely sounds
Heartbeats, no heartbeats, no love of God abounds.

No room, no room, no room for Jesus
No way, no how, not here at this time, not now.

No merry hearts, no shining lights
The doors to the temple are shut, slammed in tight
Listening, not hearing; Hearing, not caring.
Heartbeats, no heartbeats, no love of God lives here.
No room, no room, no room for Jesus
No way, no how, not here at this time, not now.

Now, when the feastday of the Bride
Arrives and you are there,
Will you hear Jesus say to you,
“You have no place set here.
There is no room for you today,
You’ll have to go, you cannot stay:
I do not know your name you see, 
It isn’t written here.”

No room, no room, no room for you.
No way, no how, not here at this time,
Not now.