I believe most of us know the story of the first Christmas.  We just need to cut through all the mythical additions that have been attached over the centuries.  The Angel’s message to the Shepherds still holds the core message.    
Luke 2:10 - Do not be afraid, for behold, I bring you good tidings of great joy which will be to all people.

The Joy the angel announced that night was about more than the birth of this child. It was ultimately for what He would accomplish. For this baby was the promised Messiah, the Savior who would bring about reconciliation to God. His birth was just the first step on the road to Calvary.  The joy which would reach to all people was the magnificent future Jesus Christ purchased for us. But it started with the one born that day in Bethlehem

Luke 2:11-14 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!”

Sticking to the text of what Luke wrote we can dispose of some myths that have been tacked onto the Christmas story.  Myths that actually diminish the wonder of that night.  Mary and Joseph were not alone in a stable somewhere on the outskirts of Bethlehem.  They were likely staying at someone’s home, possibly in an attached shelter.  The stone manger (not wood) was a convenient crib.  The Shepherds were able to find them because the town’s people knew where they were staying.  It is highly improbable that the women of Bethlehem would stand by and let a pregnant stranger give birth alone in a cow pen.  Luke lets us know there were other people in attendance.       

Luke 2:17-20 Now when they had seen Him, they made widely known the saying which was told them concerning this Child. 18 And all those who heard it marveled at those things which were told them by the shepherds. 19 But Mary kept all these things and pondered them in her heart. 20 Then the shepherds returned, glorifying and praising God for all the things that they had heard and seen, as it was told them.

The shepherds told the people who had gather what the Angels had announced – this Baby Boy was the promised savior, the Messiah.  The people did not discount what the shepherds said but wondered if it could be true.  And what would this mean for them.  Luke used the same word to describe the reaction Joseph and Mary had to Simeon’s words a month later in at the Temple.    

Lord, now You are letting Your servant depart in peace, according to Your word; For my eyes have seen Your salvation which You have prepared before the face of all peoples, A light to bring revelation to the Gentiles, and the glory of Your people Israel.” Luke 2:29-33

And Joseph and His mother marveled at those things which were spoken of Him. Simeon had more to say to Mary “Then Simeon blessed them, and said to Mary His mother, “Behold, this Child is destined for the fall and rising of many in Israel, and for a sign which will be spoken against 35 (yes, a sword will pierce through your own soul also), that the thoughts of many hearts may be revealed.” Luke 2:34-35

The joy of her Baby’s birth would become a cause of division in Israel as well as the world.  She would live to see the ministry of Jesus Christ bring the blessing of everlasting life to many, but also the fall of those who would speak against Him.  Mary would herself suffer pain because she would see the true mindset of the Jewish leaders.  

But in the end God’s Mercy does triumph over judgement.  Jesus Christ is the resurrection and the life. He who believes in Him, though he may die, he shall live. 26 And whoever lives and believes in Him shall never die. Do you believe this?”  John 11:25-26

​As the story goes, Bertrand Russell is reported to have said something along the lines of "God, you gave us insufficient evidence," or "Not enough evidence, God, not enough evidence" as his defense if he ever did meet God.  I’m sure there are other atheists who might say that is a reasonable position to take.  But, after creating the entire universe what more would He need to do to convince them?  You really only have 3 options for explaining our existence.  1) We live within the improbability of an infinite regression.  2) There was nothing and then universe sprang into existence.  Or there's #3) the universe was created by an all-powerful omniscient God. 
 
I suppose you could modify the 3rd option to be a pre-existent impersonal force that is not subject to time, doesn’t occupy space and is information based and orderly.  But then you still have to determine from where a decision to create came.  So, we’re back to the need for a decision maker and a personal God fits the bill.  I lean in the direction that most people do believe there has always been something that in turn created the reality in which we live, the uncaused cause.  If Mr. Russell did say the above quotation he basically admitted to his own suspicions of that truth.  You can’t have a conversation with an impersonal force.
 
The Bible says in Romans 1:19 & 20 because what may be known of God is manifest in them, for God has shown it to them. 20 For since the creation of the world His invisible attributes are clearly seen, being understood by the things that are made, even His eternal power and Godhead, so that they are without excuse.  The universe is a strong argument favoring God. 
 
Christmas is an annual reminder that the Creator God cares about His creation.  The birth of Jesus Christ set in motion the final steps of God’s redemptive plan.  It was the gateway to Easter.  I’ll yield to the words of Charles Westley: 
Hark! The Herald Angels Sing - Glory to the newborn King!   Christ, by highest heaven adored, Christ, the everlasting Lord!  Mild He lays His glory by. Born that we no more may die. Born to raise the sons of earth. Born to give them second birth!
 
Jesus Christ offers the gift of everlasting life to all who will believe in Him for that life.  

 John 3:16 For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life.  Probably the best-known verse in the Bible.  Do you know what it means?  Let’s look at in the context in which Jesus Christ said it. 

John 3:1 There was a man of the Pharisees named Nicodemus, a ruler of the Jews. 2 This man came to Jesus by night and said to Him, “Rabbi, we know that You are a teacher come from God; for no one can do these signs that You do unless God is with him.”

3 Jesus answered and said to him, “Most assuredly, I say to you, unless one is born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God.”   Nicodemus started by admitting he believed Jesus Christ was sent by God. The Lord apparently knew his real concern was about his own destiny.  Would he make it into heaven, the Kingdom of God. 

Jesus told him you have to be born anew (lit.) or you will never enter the Kingdom of God.  In V.4 Nicodemus asked how can one be born when he is old?   And Jesus replied “Most assuredly, I say to you, unless one is born of water and the Spirit, he cannot enter the kingdom of God. 6 That which is born of the flesh is flesh, and that which is born of the Spirit is spirit. 7 Do not marvel that I said to you, ‘You must be born again.”

Physical birth comes first.  But is not enough to get you into the Eternal Kingdom of God.  Nicodemus’ next question in V. 9 “How can these things be?”  Jesus reminded Nicodemus he had already concluded that Jesus had come from God.  Therefore, what Jesus said about the Kingdom of God was something He knew was true.  (READ John 3:9-13) The Lord then drew an analogy from something that happened during Israel’s wandering in the wilderness before entering the promised land. 

You can read it in Number 21:4-9.  Nicodemus knew the story so Jesus only had to cover the key points.  John 3:14 & 15 And as Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, even so must the Son of Man be lifted up, 15 that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have eternal life.  Poisonous snakes were in the camp because of the people’s rebellious and accusatory complaints about God and Moses.  That got their attention and they repented, asked God to remove the snakes.  Instead of removing the snakes God gave them a lesson in faith.  He told them for this time only the cure for snake bite was to look at a snake Moses had hung on a pole.  Believe God and look at the snake and you lived.  Don’t look, you died. Look and live was the point.  In John 3:16 says believe and live forever.  Believe who? Jesus Christ.

Nicodemus needed everlasting life to enter the Kingdom of God.  His options?  Believe in Jesus Christ for everlasting life or don’t.  Believe and live, don’t believe Him about everlasting life and die.  John 3:16 extends that offer to everyone.  You want to live forever in Heaven with God, believe in Jesus Christ for everlasting life.  Life that never ends in a kingdom that lasts forever.    Jesus Christ is God incarnate.  He is infinite in all His attributes and therefore His death in our place has infinite value.  He is the one who can give everlasting life and has said He will give it to everyone who will take His word for it.     

Picking up from the previous post, the one variable John Lennon left out in his imagined utopia was human nature.  We all have egos which are driven by self-interest.  Those things are not necessarily bad.  Our self-interest is what leads us to prepare for the future, take care of our health and where we can, avoid dangerous situations.  But it is also the source of envy, greed, jealousy and selfishness.  Those are part of the mental makeup imprinted in our DNA.  It is not the environment. We’re born this way.  It’s something every parent observes in their children.  Babies exhibit those behaviors right from birth.  Thankfully they are cute and lack the language skills that would otherwise make them unbearable. 
 
Before you take offense at that know that I am a parent & grandparent who loves his sons and grandchildren.  I also know they inherited those less desirable character traits from me and their grandmother.  Which is why I pray for them and have told them about Jesus Christ.  God’s intention from the beginning was to create a world that would exceed all that John Lennon had imagined.  He laid out that plan in Genesis 1:26-28.  He will achieve that goal in the New Heaven and Earth mentioned in Isaiah 65:17 ff and Revelation 21 & 22.  Everyone who has the everlasting life Jesus Christ died to provide for us will enter that world.
 
The reason Jesus Christ had to do that is because God created the Human race with the freedom to make choices, a free will.  He knew the risks but realized the benefits were far better than the negatives.  Still, He took responsibility for allowing us to make bad choices by sending His Son, Jesus Christ, to die for our wrong choices.  What the Bible calls sin.  From the very beginning He promised a redeemer who would make things right again.  He also warned of the consequences of refusing His offer of everlasting life.  Anyone reading this blog has no excuse for missing out on being in the new world that’s coming. 
 
Here is what Jesus Christ promised in John 11:25 & 26 “I am the resurrection and the life. He who believes in Me, though he may die, he shall live. 26 And whoever lives and believes in Me shall never die. Do you believe this?”
 
He is the resurrection!  People do die physically but those who have believed in Jesus Christ for everlasting life will experience resurrection and live in a new body.  He is the everlasting life so the one who has believed Him never actually ceases to exist.  They will live on fully aware of who and where they are.  It really is in your best interest to check this out.  You can read the Bible for yourself.  I suggest starting with the Gospel of John.  And you can talk to someone like me who has already believed and received everlasting life.  
 
Eternity lasts forever.  Where do you want to spend it? 

In 1971 John Lennon released his greatest hit single Imagine.  The song proposes a world free of religion, nationalism and materialism would usher in a secular Utopia.   A world free of greed and hunger in which the brotherhood of man would all share.  People loved the song.  However, we really don’t need to imagine such a world as it has already been tried.  God gave us such a world in the beginning.  It is described in the Biblical book of Genesis. 
 
Chapters 3-6 of Genesis give us an overview of what it was like back then.  Adam and Eve lived in a world that actually fits what Lennon described.  They lived in a perfect environment of plenty.  They could do almost anything they wished as there was only one restriction, one rule they needed to obey.  They were to never eat the fruit of a single particular tree.  Understand, they had free access to everything and anything else on this planet.  Wrap your Imagination around that!  And even after they blew it and ate the fruit, we could count the restrictions placed on them by God with the fingers of one hand.  They lived truly free.
 
There was only one belief system.  It only governed their enter actions with the creator, so religions weren’t a problem.  No national boundaries to restrict their movement or to compete against.  The world was still a wonder land of plenty that fit Lennon’s imagined Utopia.  So how did that work out?  See Genesis 6:5 Then the Lord saw that the wickedness of man was great in the earth, and that every intent of the thoughts of his heart was only evil continually.
 
You see the real source of our trouble is not the environment it is found within us.  We are driven by self-interest.  We want what we want and only two things restrain us from complete loss of control.  One of them is the very things Lennon wanted to wish away.  The other is the Creator. 
 
History shows that God has intervened in the affairs of mankind from time to time.  The Genesis flood being the first time.   He has also provided redemption and restoration to us as individuals.  The gift of everlasting life purchased by Jesus Christ which is available to every human being opens the way to a future in Heaven.  A true Utopia that will be free of the self-interest that corrupts everything we touch today. 

​John 3:16 For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life. John 5:24 Most assuredly, I say to you, he who hears My word and believes in Him who sent Me has everlasting life, and shall not come into judgment, but has passed from death into life.
 
Jesus Christ is the giver of everlasting life and will give it to everyone who believes Him.  As He said in John 5:24 this everlasting life is given when a person first believes.  They immediately pass from death into life.  When their physical body dies, they will live on in a new one.  And with the new life God offers a renewed mindset through the study of His revealed truth.  John 8:31-32 Then Jesus said to those Jews who believed Him, “If you abide in My word, you are My disciples indeed. 32 And you shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free.”  
 
That is what we are pursuing at Trego Community Church.  The knowledge of God’s truth that frees us to face a promising future in God’s eternal Kingdom.