Loved by God

HAPPY NEW YEAR 2021

Let us begin the new year by offering praise and thanksgiving to God. In God's plan for His ancient people, He gave the command, “On the first day of the first month shalt thou set up the tabernacle.” May the beginning of this year be a time that shall never be forgotten - a time when Christ shall come in among us, and say, “Peace be unto you.” Nestle in the sheltering arms of Jesus, and do not wrestle yourself out of His arms. Just believe and praise God and go forward. We are almost home. The Lord is coming. Look up and rejoice, for your redemption draweth nigh.

“We live in deeds, not years;

In thoughts, not breaths;

In feelings, not in figures on a dial.

We should count time by heart-throbs.

He most lives who thinks most,

feels the noblest, acts the best.”

God has not placed you in the world to lead an aimless life. The work rests upon us to perfect holiness. When God sees us doing all we can on our part, then He will help us. Angels will aid us, and we shall be strong through Christ strengthening us. Do not neglect secret prayer. Pray for yourself. Grow in grace. Advance. Don't stand still, don't go back. Onward to victory. Courage in the Lord. Press through every obstacle. If the future looks somewhat clouded, hope on, believe on. The clouds will disappear, and light again shine. Praise God, my heart says, praise God for what He has done for you. To all who walk in His ways the new year will be crowded with goodness and blessing.

Begin the new year with more tender regard, with deeper love, for every member of the Lord's family. Let us enter upon the new year with a clean record. Let faults be corrected. Let bitterness and malice be uprooted. Let right triumph over wrong. Let envy and jealousy between brethren be put away. Heartfelt, honest confession will heal grave difficulties. Press together. “United, we stand; divided, we fall.” Take a higher, nobler stand than you ever have before. Let us fill each day with full of loving, helpful work for others. Let us develop all our powers, and make of ourselves all that God designed that we should be. “I wish you, one and all, a Happy New Year.”

The new year is just before us, and plans should be laid for earnest, persevering effort in the Master's service. There is much to be done to advance the work of God. Those who will go forth to the work under God's direction will be wonderfully blessed. Those who in this life do their best will obtain a fitness for the future immortal life.

Jesus is calling for many missionaries, for men and women who will consecrate themselves to God, willing to spend and be spent in His service. Oh, can we not remember that here is a world to labor for? Shall we not move forward step by step, letting God use us as His helping hand? Shall we not place ourselves on the altar of service? Then the love of Christ will touch and transform us, make us willing for His sake to do and dare.

Jesus identifies Himself with His suffering people. It was I who was hungry and thirsty. It was I who was a stranger. It was I who was naked. It was I who was sick. It was I who was in prison. When you were enjoying the food from your bountifully spread tables, I was famishing in the hovel or street not far from you. When you closed your doors against Me, while your well-furnished rooms were unoccupied, I had not where to lay My head. Your wardrobes were filled with an abundant supply of changeable suits of apparel, upon which means had been needlessly squandered, which you might have given to the needy. I was destitute of comfortable apparel.

When you were enjoying health, I was sick. Misfortune cast Me into prison and bound Me with fetters, bowing down My spirit, depriving Me of freedom and hope, while you roamed free. What a oneness Jesus here expresses as existing between Himself and His suffering disciples! He makes their case His own. He identifies Himself as being in person the very sufferer. Mark, selfish Christian: every neglect of the needy poor, the orphan, the fatherless, is a neglect of Jesus in their person.

Our homes will be filled with sunshine and happiness, if we choose to invite the Savior to dwell with us. And to those who make Him their counselor and guide in this life, He has promised a beautiful home in the new earth. "Let not your heart be troubled," He said; "ye believe in God, believe also in Me. In My Father's house are many mansions: if it were not so, I would have told you. I go to prepare a place for you. And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again, and receive you unto Myself; that where I am, there ye may be also." John 14:1-3.

Soon we shall be in our promised home. There Jesus will lead us by the side of the living stream flowing from the throne of God and explain to us the dark providences through which He led us in order to perfect our characters. There we shall see on every hand the beautiful trees of Paradise, including the tree that bears twelve manner of fruit, one kind during each month of the year. There we shall behold with undimmed vision the beauties of Eden restored. There we shall cast at the feet of our Redeemer the crowns that He has placed on our heads, and, touching our golden harps, we shall render praise and thanksgiving to Him that sitteth on the throne.

Merry Christmas to all. Let us thank God for his priceless gift!

In the Child of Bethlehem was veiled the glory before which angels bow. This unconscious babe was the promised seed, to whom the first altar at the gate of Eden pointed. This was Shiloh, the peace giver. It was He who declared Himself to Moses as the I AM. It was He who in the pillar of cloud and of fire had been the guide of Israel. This was He whom seers had long foretold.

He was the Desire of all nations, the Root and the Offspring of David, and the Bright and Morning Star. The name of that helpless little babe, inscribed in the roll of Israel, declaring Him our brother, was the hope of fallen humanity. The child for whom the redemption money had been paid was He who was to pay the ransom for the sins of the whole world. He was the true "high priest over the house of God," the head of "an unchangeable priesthood," the intercessor at "the right hand of the Majesty on high." Jesus is our only Savior.

At the birth of Christ, Satan saw the plains of Bethlehem illuminated with the brilliant glory of a multitude of heavenly angels. He heard their song, "Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace, good will toward men." The prince of darkness saw the amazed shepherds filled with fear as they beheld the illuminated plains. They trembled before the exhibitions of bewildering glory which seemed to entrance their senses.

The rebel chief himself trembled at the proclamation of the angel to the shepherds, "Fear not: for behold, I bring you good tidings of great joy, which shall be to all people. For unto you is born this day in the city of David a Savior, which is Christ the Lord." He had met with good success in devising a plan to ruin men, and he had become bold and powerful. He had controlled the minds and bodies of men from Adam down to the first appearing of Christ. But now Satan was troubled and alarmed for his kingdom and his life.

It is the heart service that makes the gift valuable. When the Majesty of heaven became a babe, and was entrusted to Mary, she did not have much to offer for the precious gift. She brought to the altar only two turtledoves, the offering appointed for the poor; but they were an acceptable sacrifice to the Lord.

She could not present rare treasures such as the wise men of the East came to Bethlehem to lay before the Son of God; yet the mother of Jesus was not rejected because of the smallness of her gift. It was the willingness of her heart that the Lord looked upon, and her love made the offering sweet. So God will accept our gift, however small, if it is the best we have, and is offered from love to Him.

Satan was bent on shutting out the divine light from the world, and he used his utmost cunning to destroy the Savior. But He who never slumbers nor sleeps was watching over His beloved Son. He who had rained manna from heaven for Israel and had fed Elijah in the time of famine provided in a heathen land a refuge for Mary and the child Jesus. And through the gifts of the magi from a heathen country, the Lord supplied the means for the journey into Egypt and the sojourn in a land of strangers.

The magi had been among the first to welcome the Redeemer. Their gift was the first that was laid at His feet. And through that gift, what privilege of ministry was theirs! The offering from the heart that loves, God delights to honor, giving it highest efficiency in service for Him. If we have given our hearts to Jesus, we also shall bring our gifts to Him. Our gold and silver, our most precious earthly possessions, our highest mental and spiritual endowments, will be freely devoted to Him who loved us, and gave Himself for us.

The story of Bethlehem is an exhaustless theme. In it is hidden "the depth of the riches both of the wisdom and knowledge of God." Romans 11:33. We marvel at the Savior's sacrifice in exchanging the throne of heaven for the manger, and the companionship of adoring angels for the beasts of the stall. Human pride and self-sufficiency stand rebuked in His presence. Yet this was but the beginning of His wonderful condescension.

It would have been an almost infinite humiliation for the Son of God to take man's nature, even when Adam stood in his innocence in Eden. But Jesus accepted humanity when the race had been weakened by four thousand years of sin. Like every child of Adam He accepted the results of the working of the great law of heredity. What these results were is shown in the history of His earthly ancestors. He came with such a heredity to share our sorrows and temptations, and to give us the example of a sinless life.

In the fields where the boy David had led his flock, shepherds were still keeping watch by night. Through the silent hours they talked together of the promised Savior, and prayed for the coming of the King to David's throne. "And, lo, the angel of the Lord came upon them, and the glory of the Lord shone round about them: and they were sore afraid. And the angel said unto them, Fear not: for, behold, I bring you good tidings of great joy, which shall be to all people. For unto you is born this day in the city of David a Savior, which is Christ the Lord."

At these words, visions of glory fill the minds of the listening shepherds. The Deliverer has come to Israel! Power, exaltation, triumph, are associated with His coming. But the angel must prepare them to recognize their Savior in poverty and humiliation. "This shall be a sign unto you," he says; "Ye shall find the babe wrapped in swaddling clothes, lying in a manger."

"Where is He that is born King of the Jews? for we have seen His star in the east, and are come to worship Him." The wise men from the East belonged to a class that comprised wealth and learning. Among these were upright men who studied the indications of Providence in nature and were honored for their integrity and wisdom. Of this character were the wise men who came to Jesus.

As these magi studied the starry heavens, they beheld the glory of the Creator. Seeking clearer knowledge, they turned to the Hebrew Scriptures. In their own land were prophetic writings that predicted the coming of a divine teacher. Balaam's prophecies had been handed down by tradition from century to century. But in the Old Testament the magi learned with joy that the Saviour's coming was near. The whole world was to be filled with a knowledge of the glory of the Lord.

"Behold," Simeon had said, "this child is set for the fall and rising again of many in Israel." They must fall who would rise again. We must fall upon the Rock and be broken before we can be uplifted in Christ. Self must be dethroned. The Jews would not accept the honor that is reached through humiliation. Therefore they would not receive their Redeemer.

"That the thoughts of many hearts may be revealed." In the light of the Savior's life, the hearts of all, from the Creator to the prince of darkness, are revealed. Satan has represented God as selfish. But the gift of Christ testifies that while God's hatred of sin is as strong as death, His love for the sinner is stronger than death. Having undertaken our redemption, God will spare nothing necessary to the completion of His work. Having collected the riches of the universe, He gives them all into the hands of Christ, and says, Use these gifts to convince man that there is no love greater than Mine. His greatest happiness will be found in loving Me.

Satan hated Christ. He hated Him who pledged Himself to redeem sinners. Yet into the world where Satan claimed dominion, God permitted His Son to come, a helpless babe, subject to the weakness of humanity, to meet life's peril in common with every soul, to fight the battle as every child of humanity must fight it — at the risk of failure and eternal loss.

The heart of the human father looks into the face of his little child and trembles at the thought of life's peril. He longs to shield him from temptation and conflict. To meet a bitterer conflict and more fearful risk, God gave His only-begotten Son. "Herein is love." Wonder, O heavens! and be astonished, O earth!

Joseph and Mary were poor, and the priest saw only a Galilean man and woman, dressed in the humblest garments. The priest took the child in his arms and held it up before the altar. After handing it back to its mother, he inscribed the name "Jesus" on the roll. Little did he think, as the babe lay in his arms, that he was enrolling the name of the Majesty of heaven, the King of glory, the One who was the foundation of the Jewish economy.

This babe was He who declared Himself to Moses as the I AM, He who in the pillar of cloud and of fire had been the guide of Israel. He was the Desire of all nations, the Root and Offspring of David, the Bright and Morning Star. That helpless babe was the hope of fallen humanity. He was to pay the ransom for the sins of the whole world.

Angels attended Joseph and Mary as they journeyed from Nazareth to the city of David. The decree of Rome for enrollment of the peoples of her vast domain had extended to the hills of Galilee. Caesar Augustus became God's agent in bringing the mother of Jesus to Bethlehem. She was of the lineage of David, and the Son of David must be born in David's city. "Out of thee Bethlehem," said the prophet, "shall He come forth ... that is to be ruler in Israel; whose goings forth have been from of old, from the days of eternity." Micah 5:2,

But in the city of this royal line, Joseph and Mary were unrecognized, unhonored. Weary and homeless, they traversed the narrow street to the eastern extremity of town, vainly seeking a resting place for the night. There was no room at the crowded inn. In a rude building where beasts were sheltered, they at last found refuge, and here the Redeemer was born.

The tidings filled heaven with rejoicing. Holy beings from the world of light were drawn to earth. Above the hills of Bethlehem a throng of angels waited the signal to declare the glad news to the world. The leaders in Israel might have shared the joy of heralding the birth of Jesus. But they were passed by. To those who seek light and accept it with gladness, the bright rays from the throne of God will shine.