We had an amazing time at Sunshine Acres yesterday morning with our choir, A Glimpse of Heaven, from Living Word Bible Church in Mesa, AZ! I asked God if He had a word for our choir before we sang and after leading me to Psalm 139:19, I asked, “What does this have to do with Christmas, Father?”
The passage reads:
19) Surely thou wilt slay the wicked, O God: depart from me therefore, ye bloody men. 20) For they speak against thee wickedly, and thine enemies take thy name in vain. 21) Do not I hate them, O LORD, that hate thee? and am not I grieved with those that rise up against thee? 22) I hate them with perfect hatred: I count them mine enemies.
I resonated with David briefly, feeling a momentary righteous anger until I almost felt God’s Spirit grieving inside me. Then I heard, “But I sent My Son to die for these people…!” I sat there and cried, feeling His heart and asking His forgiveness for my self-righteous, judgemental attitude.
You see, David didn’t have the perspective that we have today. Before that first Christmas, David was standing on the side of God against those who hated Him. But since David’s time, Jesus has already lived, died, been raised from the dead and sits next to His Father in Heaven. Jesus has already fulfilled His reason for coming to Earth on that first Christmas night! The opportunity to be free of the sin that leads us to hate God was given through that sacrifice. We can now become part of God’s family by Jesus’ Gift of redemption. Jesus has always been the very best Christmas Gift that was ever offered and we only have to receive the salvation He purchased with His very life.
Anyway, I shared the passage and the message with the choir. After we sang, we were blessed to hear great preaching by Steven Zachary who spoke about loving our enemies! Amazing? Not really, because when we are listening to the Holy Spirit, we’ll be hearing the heart of God….
The most important question I could ask anyone reading this post is, “Have you received the best Christmas present ever?” If the answer is, “No,” then my next question is, “What are you waiting for?” God loved you enough to release His only Son into this world for you and me… knowing what Jesus’ end would be.
Still think God doesn’t care about you? Think again!!!