Christmas by AJ Tomlinson

 This message by A. J. Tomlinson was printed in the December 20, 1919, edition of the Church of God Evangel.

Many Christmas stories have been told, but there are none so interesting and thrilling as the one told about the birth of Jesus and the circumstances that led up to it. To read the Bible story concerning this wonderful child and the place of His birth is interesting to any­one merely as a story, but to those who have an experience through Christ this story becomes intensely interesting…

 On account of the edict of Augus­tus it became necessary for Joseph and Mary to leave their village home and go on a journey of nearly a hundred miles in order to register in the proper place. They belonged to the ancient and royal town of Bethlehem in the country far to the south of their home. I fancy I see them now as they journeyed along the weary road till at last they reached the ascent that led to the gate of the town. On, on, they went, climb­ing the hill toward the place they had started. No doubt they had some anxi­eties, but thought of the place of rest when they would get to their journey’s end. But, alas, when they reached the inn there was no room for them there. Others who were drawn to Bethlehem on the same errand had preceded them and every available place was occu­pied. The only thing left for them was to repair to the barn in search of shelter if nothing more.

 There in that stable that very night the Saviour was born. It had been fore­told by the prophets that He would be born on this very spot. “But thou, Bethlehem Ephratah, though thou be little among the thousands of Judah, yet out of thee shall he come forth unto me that is to be ruler in Israel.” And that very night the heaven bells began to ring. Glad Christmas bells! Angels sang their wonderful songs. A multi­tude of the heavenly host sang the song that always seems so appropriate at Christmas time, “Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace, good will toward men.”

 If this great event called forth such sweet songs from the angels of heaven, should it be any wonder that a remembrance of this wonderful event should cause us to rejoice and laud and give God the glory? It seems to me that the very deepest sense of joy should be realized on Christmas morning, just to remember Him who was born one Christmas morning.

 I remember Him now. My spirit is softened at the remembrance of that pre­cious night and the little infant that was to be my Saviour—yes my own dear Sav­iour. The greatest personage that ever trod this earth made His entry on the stage of life so strangely, humbly and silently on that memorable night. That babe, oh, that babe, the Babe of Bethlehem!

 He was unnoticed by the kings and great ones of earth. They were fast asleep in their palaces while the trio was unno­ticed in the stable. But while these great ones slept on, the princes of heaven were aroused and broke the joyful news to the shepherds in the field who hastened to the spot to find everything just as the angels had described. Oh, those shepherds! I al­most envy them now they were the first to see. I wonder why it could not have been me! But I leave the honor to them. And what an honor it was! Who can describe! Who would dare try!

Next to the shepherds were Simeon and Anna, two devout and intelligent stu­dents of the Scriptures. They lived close to the Lord and were looking for the Mes­siah. They knew Him as soon as they saw Him. The Spirit of prophecy fell upon them and they uttered wonderful words concerning His mission in the world. The aged Simeon had received a secret prom­ise from the Lord that he should not die till he had seen the Messiah. When he had seen Him he was ready to die.

 The shepherds and Simeon and Anna were only a short distance from Bethle­hem, where the Saviour was born, but the great influence of the advent thrilled souls at a much greater distance. It was prob­ably after Joseph and Mary had returned with the little child to Bethlehem after His presentation in the temple that he was vis­ited by the Wise Men of the East. These men were attracted to the town of Beth­lehem by a certain star that had appeared at the time of His birth. They came a long distance, but they searched till they found Him. They must have been sure of a successful journey because they prepared “Christmas Gifts” for Him and brought them along. So as soon as they found Him they fell down and wor­shipped Him. Then they opened their treasures and gave Him gifts of “gold, and frankincense, and myrrh.”

 All these gathered around the pre­cious young child—the shepherds with their simple wonder, Simeon and Anna with a holy reverence enriched by the treasured wisdom and piety of the centuries, and the Wise Men, with their gifts. But who will gather around Him this Christmas? His name will be remembered and spoken by millions… who know the full story…

 The worshippers then were few— probably the number could be counted on the fingers of your two hands, but now there are a multitude of earth’s in­habitants that reverence His name on Christmas day. The thought of Christ­mas gives joy and happiness every­where. Who does not rejoice over a Sav­iour that was born? Who would be so dull that they would not want to join in the chorus of the song of the angels and say, “Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace, good will toward men.” Let the children be gleeful and happy during Christmas time. Let the men and women rejoice and rise above sadness and gloom because a Savior is born. An incident that would call the hosts of heaven down to earth to sing and rejoice surely ought to arouse the inhabitants of earth. He did not come to redeem angels but they sang and rejoiced at His birth. But He came to redeem fallen man and surely man should rejoice at the remem­brance of His birth.

 Yes, Jesus came to save! Let the voices of the millions of earth be heard on Christmas morning saying, “Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace, good will toward men.” Would to God I could make this Christmas a merry Christmas for all…

Until You’ve Known the Love of God

Until You’ve Known the Love of God

  By Stephen E. Smith, General Overseer of The Church of God

 The title to this message is the title of a beautiful Christian song that has my heart rejoicing as I write. The chorus to the song says:

Until you’ve known the loving hand that reaches down to a fallen man
And lifts him up from out of sin where he has trod;
Until you’ve known just how it feels to know that God is really real;
Then you’ve known nothing until you’ve known the love of God.

The verses of the song say that if you could own all the world and its money, build castles tall enough to reach the sky; if you could in your life­time know everyone and call them all by name—if you’ve not come face to face with Jesus and His saving grace, then you’ve known nothing until you’ve known the love of God.

The love of God is supreme, far above the greatest love exhibited by mortal man, and this love is seen throughout the Bible, page after page from cover to cover. We find its greatest expression in the New Testa­ment, as Emmanuel (God with us) is manifested in the flesh through Jesus Christ. He came to teach the pure doctrine of God, set His Church in order, and die on the cross as “the Lamb slain from the foundation of the world” that our sins could be forgiven and our hearts could be delivered from the sinful nature that we were all born with. God’s love changes our eternal destiny from torment in the flames of hell to that happy and holy place called heaven. How thankful we should be for the loving hand “that reaches down to fallen man and lifts him up from out of sin where he has trod.”

The commonly called “Easter” sea­son reminds us of the awful sufferings of our Savior on the Cross, and of His ultimate triumph over the grave. We know Christ’s sufferings brought about our salvation and for this we are thankful beyond words. Still it is heart­breaking to imagine the cross, and see the Lamb of God there in anguish of soul and body, with his blood pouring forth from many wounds. What an enormous price was paid for our sins that day! We prefer to quickly move on to the empty grave and rejoice in knowing that because He lives, we who trust in Him shall also live forevermore.

 Christmas thoughts are much dif­ferent. They are the tender thoughts of the Christ-child lying in a manger; sweet thoughts of divine love and quiet peace. The proclamation of the angel of the Lord and the heavenly host on that sacred night still brings rejoicing to our hearts, “For unto you is born this day in the city of David a Saviour, which is Christ the Lord. And this shall be a sign unto you; Ye shall find the babe wrapped in swaddling clothes, 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, good will toward men” (Luke 2:11-14).

 How joyful we should be when we contemplate the birth of the Savior of the World! We are told that “All things were made by him; and without him was not any thing made that was made” (John 1:3). The whole universe was created by Jesus Christ, and miraculously “in six days the LORD made heaven and earth, the sea, and all that in them is...” (Ex. 20:11). In spite of His almighty power and maj­esty, on that first Christmas morning He did not come with pomp and pag­eantry. There in a manger (a feeding trough for animals), somewhere in the small town of Bethlehem in that tiny nation of Israel, on a star-filled night lay the King of kings and Lord of lords, wrapped in swaddling clothes.

 

Those who looked on that scene and knew who Jesus was must have been overwhelmed. This was the Son of God. Simeon, that devout man who looked for the consolation of Israel, would proclaim a few days later, “For mine eyes have seen thy salvation, Which thou hast prepared before the face of all people; A light to lighten the Gentiles, and the glory of thy people Israel” (Luke 2:30-32). The greatest gift ever given was given to all mankind on the day Jesus was born.

 We are now about two thousand years beyond that first Christmas day, yet the event often feels close at hand. We sometimes see paintings or living manger scenes depicting the shepherds and Joseph with his wife Mary as she holds her newborn child (or perhaps with Jesus lying in a manger)—all in a serine nighttime setting. We can almost feel like we are there with them beholding the Christ-child. A wonderful sense of love and peace prevails in that scene. Simeon said he saw the salvation of God, but we who are born again by the Spirit have actually experienced the salvation of God and we under­stand “just how it feels to know that God is really real.”

 In a world so full of violence, hatred, murder, and wars that bring sorrow upon sorrow to mankind, the message of this God-child in a manger is needed as much as it was on that day Christ was born. All who have repented of their sins and placed their faith in Jesus have experienced the salvation of the Lord, Who is that glorious light sent to lighten the Gentiles; and it is our privi­lege and joy to share the message with all the world.

Last year American Atheists placed their “Christmas” message on a bill­board in New York’s Times Square. It said, “Keep the Merry (with a picture of Santa Claus) and dump the myth (with a picture of a statue depicting Jesus).” Unbelievers have no reserva­tions about mocking Christ and Chris­tianity. Another billboard showed the manger scene and said, “You KNOW it’s a Myth. This Season, Celebrate Reason.” We pray that God will some­how reach many of these deceived peo­ple and awaken them to the fact that there is a God and that He did indeed send His Son into the world on a mis­sion to save their souls.

In the face of such bold attacks on the biblical message of Christmas, it behooves us to stand strong for the truth. It begins by making our own salvation sure, and then displaying the love of God to all men. Our verbal testimony is of no value without godly lives to support it. We have a great advantage in the battle against athe­ism. We have the truth of God’s Word and we have the Spirit of God working with us. He convicts sinners, even athe­ists, working in the inner man of the heart to convince them that “God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have ever­lasting life” (John 3:16).

 During the American Civil War, Henry W. Longfellow wrote the lyrics of “I heard the Bells on Christmas Day.” With heartfelt frankness he wrote,

For hate is strong and mocks the song,
of peace on earth,
good will to men.

Yet Jesus proclaimed to those who believe in Him, “Peace I leave with you, my peace I give unto you...” (John 14:27). Jesus is the Prince of Peace and gives a deep settled peace to those who love and serve Him.

One hundred fifty years have passed since Longfellow wrote the lyrics to his now famous song, and the truth of its lyrics still moves our hearts today. Longfellow wrote his poem during the American Civil War and his words mani­fest the sense of despair he felt as he witnessed the horrors of that war. Yet it seems that an unseen hand nudged him into another realm, the realm of God’s peace, and he wrote:

Then pealed the bells

more loud and deep:

God is not dead,

nor doth he sleep;

The wrong shall fail,

the right prevail,

With peace on earth, good will to men.”

The message in Longfellow’s song stands true today. Tragedies constantly bombard our doorsteps, yet there is an echo ringing through the air. Can you hear it, dear saint? It comes forth as strong today as it did when the holy angels proclaimed it on the night of Christ’s birth. The wrong shall fail, the right prevail, for the God we serve can­not be overthrown—not by the unbe­lief of the strongest atheists, not by the mightiest armies of the world, not by the rulers of the darkness of this world. No, when the dust has settled after the final hour of this last great conflict, that child born in the manger will rule the world in a 1,000 year reign of peace and love. We will then experience the fullness of “peace on earth, good will toward men.”

Since the day of Christ’s birth the love of God has been spreading to the ends of the earth, embracing many souls and guiding them from earth to heaven. Had not the love of God come into the world through His Son, the world would no doubt have self-destructed long ago. It is His love that stays the hand of evil and keeps it from unleashing its full destructive powers upon mankind. As Christmas approaches this year, the ungodly will continue to reject and mock both the holiday and the holy child we glorify and worship. To them we can only pro­claim, “You’ve known nothing until you’ve known the love of God.”

Message Thanksgiving on to God by Hannah Solis

VLB Service at TCOG Oxnard, CA 11/15/2013

Bishop Herman Ard at The Church of God in Oxnard

Greetings from the Bishops and Ministers TCOG Oxnard

La Iglesia de Dios en Oxnard