Behold His Glory

“The Word was made flesh and dwelt in our midst. We beheld His glory as the only begotten of the Father, full of grace and truth” (Jn. 1:14).

The Word of God is alive. It speaks. When you read it, the Author begins to read you. When God tells us to meditate on His Word, He is inviting us to enter in and discover His glory there. Each word is like a galaxy that you can keep exploring and never come to its end. It is multi-dimensional, and ever-expanding in depth and power. Christmas is the advent of Christ and the unveiling of the most glorious mystery of God’s love for us. As we celebrate this awesome event, we can enter into the depths of this wonderful love.

“For unto us a Child is born, unto us a Son is given; and the government will be upon His shoulders. And His name will be called Wonderful, Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace. Of the increase of His government and peace there will be no end” (Is. 9:6-7).

When the Lord says, “His name shall be called Prince of Peace,” you can enter into that world. A great illustration of this is from C.S. Lewis’ book, The Voyage of the Dawn Treader. In the book, Lewis describes a magical picture that comes alive right before the children’s eyes. The more they focus on the picture, the more alive it becomes, and the next thing they know they step into that living image and find themselves back in the land of Narnia. That’s how the Word of God is. It is living. And when you begin to gaze upon Scripture, you can begin to enter the glory bubble where the sound, the light, and the rainbows of that word come around you, and you can step in. It is like the Lord presents you with a living portrait of His glory and says, “I am the Prince of Peace; enter in.” What do you seek? A loving Father? Counsel? Security? Direction? Peace? You can find it in Jesus, the Word made flesh. Enter into the living vibration of His Word and step into that reality.

In order to enter into God’s living vibration, you need to prepare you heart. How? It is simple. It is having a child-like heart full of faith and expectation. It is not complicated, but is much like children whose eyes light up when you mention Santa Claus. They see the Christmas tree and say, “Ahhh.” They see the lights and their faces brighten in delight. Their hearts are receptive. How much greater then should be our response to the glory of God revealed in Christ, our Savior and Redeemer, born in Bethlehem! Let us never lose our sense of awe and wonder at the wondrous gift and glorious act of God revealed in Christmas.

In this final week of preparation before Christmas day, give yourself a gift. Enter into the glory that shone from heaven over the stable that first Christmas night. Meditate on our awesome Savior, and encounter His glory. Jesus is the reason for the season, and He wants you to step in and experience the fullness of all He is and all He has for you and your household. The following are some of our favorite Scriptures to help prime the pump for your glory encounter this year.

Behold, the virgin shall conceive and bear a Son, and shall call His name Emmanuel.

Emmanuel —God with us. This is the miracle of Christmas: God Himself came to be Incarnate, taking on human form to lay down His life as a sacrifice for eternal salvation for all mankind. He is still God with us, having made propitiation for our sins on the cross, He ascended to Heaven and sent His Spirit to dwell with us and in us. We are never alone, but always surrounded by His presence and glory through His Spirit. He is Emmanuel— God with us.

Now there were in the same country shepherds living out in the fields, keeping watch over the flock by night. And behold, an angel of the Lord stood before them, and the glory of the Lord shone around them, and they were greatly afraid. Then the angel said to them, “Do not be afraid, for behold, I bring you good tidings of great joy which will be to all people. For there is born to you this day in the city of David a Savior, who is Christ the Lord…” 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!” (Lk. 2:9-11,13-14).

The Creator of the Universe was born, and the very heavens were filled with the glory of God. Angels who dwell in the presence of God rejoiced in awe and wonder to announce His birth. Never lose that sense of wonder.

“But when the fullness of time had come, God sent forth His Son, born of a woman, born under the law, to redeem those who were under the law, that we might receive adoption as sons” (Gal. 4:4-5).

At a particular time and place in history, a time God calls, “the fullness of time,” God, because He loves you, came down. He who lives in glory, a glory that is so awesome that we do not even have human words to describe it, took on human flesh. He came in not just any human flesh, but that of a Babe whose destiny was to redeem mankind through His life, death and resurrection. Because all humankind “have sinned and fallen short of the glory of God” (Rom. 3:23), we needed a kinsmen Redeemer who would not be under the dominion of death and sin. So God brought forth from divine origin a Seed put into a woman, Mary, and born in Bethlehem to redeem us from the wages of our sin. That’s the Incarnation—His deity united with humanity in Jesus Christ.

“Behold! The Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world!” (Jn. 1:29).

Perfect Man and perfect God born out of love for us. He came in order to shed His blood, taking on the penalty of our sin at Calvary. The Blood of Jesus, the Incarnate Lamb of God, has been shed for you. He totally fulfills any claim against us. We never have to fear death because we are covered with the blood of Jesus. This is the amazing Glory of God. God from all eternity came through the womb of a virgin, took a body with blood to shed for sinners, and by the Spirit He rose bodily. Jesus came that all who believe on Him might be saved. He came for you. He came for your family. He is God with us. That’s the gospel of the Lord Jesus Christ. It is good news and tidings of great joy! This is the Christmas message.

“And this will be the sign to you: You will find a Babe wrapped in swaddling cloths, lying in a manger” (Lk. 2:12).

This Babe was fully God. His birth was proclaimed by the stars in the heavens. Angels and shepherds worshiped Him. Wise men came from afar to worship and give gifts to this King. He is the Alpha and the Omega. He is Emmanuel. He is God with us. He is the One of whom John writes, “In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was in the beginning with God…And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us, and we beheld His glory...” He is the eternal God come down to us as an infant born in Bethlehem: “But you, Bethlehem Ephrathah, though you are little among the thousands of Judah, yet out of you shall come forth to Me the One to be Ruler in Israel, whose goings forth are from of old, from everlasting…He shall be great to the ends of the earth; and this One shall be peace” (Micah 5:2-5). The unfolding of this mystery, prophesied through the ages, is the joy of Christmas. The God of our peace came down to bring each of us salvation and eternal life.

“Christ Jesus made Himself of no reputation, taking the form of a bondservant, and coming in the likeness of men...He humbled Himself and became obedient to the point of death, even death of the cross. Therefore God has highly exalted Him and given Him the name which is above every name, that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, of those in heaven, and of those on earth, and of those under the earth, and that every tongue should confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father” (Phil. 2:7-11).

Christmas begins in our hearts. Without a personal revelation of Jesus in our lives, it makes no difference whether we celebrate Jesus’ birth as an historical event or even scriptural truth. Christmas is rejoicing again in the experiential joy and wonder of our salvation. We must receive Christ in our hearts. We must each have a living revelation and ongoing experience of Jesus. He is our Savior. He is our Redeemer. He is our Healer. He is our Deliverer. Receive this revelation today. As we celebrate Christmas, we receive the Incarnation, and we are humbled by this example of God with us who limited Himself to human form, shedding His blood for us that we might be saved and dwell eternally with Him.

“God, who at various times and in various ways spoke in time past to the fathers by the prophets, has in these last days spoken to us by His Son, whom He has appointed heir of all things, through whom also He made the worlds; who being the brightness of His glory and the express image of His person, and upholding all things by the word of His power, when He had by Himself purged our sins, sat down at the right hand of the Majesty on high” (Heb. 1:1-3).

He is the express image of God’s glory! He holds together the worlds with His Word. He is God in flesh, who came down to intervene in the affairs of men to bring us to Himself. He is the King of Glory. He is the same yesterday, today, and forever. He is living light, heir of all things, our Savior and Redeemer. He is the lover of our soul. How awesome is our God. How awesome is His Presence. How awesome is the precious Gift He gave when He sent His Son Jesus from the glory and majesty of heaven to be born in a stable as a little baby in Bethlehem!

MERRY CHRISTMAS! And may you encounter the glory of His Living Presence in this awesome season of celebration.

Mahesh and Bonnie Chavda, 12/15/2011