“The Lord swore an oath to David
with a promise He will never take back:
“I will place one of your descendants
on your throne.
If your descendants obey the terms of My covenant
and the laws that I teach them,
then your royal line
will continue forever and ever.”
For the Lord has chosen Jerusalem;
He has desired it for His home.
“This is My resting place forever,” he said.
“I will live here, for this is the home I desired.
I will bless this city and make it prosperous;
I will satisfy its poor with food.
I will clothe its priests with godliness;
its faithful servants will sing for joy.
Here I will increase the power of David;
My Anointed One will be a light for My people.””
Psalm 132:11-17 NLT
It’s Christmas Day, Folks. And believe it or not, there were prophetic verses in the Psalms that pointed forward to the coming Messiah. Part of the prophesy in these verses has been realised. For example, David was an ancestor of Jesus and His genealogy can be seen in Mathew 1. But other verses are yet to come to fruition – puzzling until we realise that Jesus is going to come again. And in this context we see that He will make His home in Jerusalem. It will be a prosperous city, spiritually rich with Godly priests, full of joy and singing and Jesus will be the Light for all.
But today we celebrate the first coming of Jesus. That amazing event when God Himself, through the Person of His Son, came to this earth, taking on a human body, starting His life as a baby, living a life like us. All because we were a lost people, part of the human race, heading through a sin-filled life into a lost eternity. He came first to His own people, but taught that God loved everyone and wanted none to perish and come to a dark and dismal end.
Sadly, today, this day of remembrance has turned into a materialistic cacophony of tinsel and turkey, crackers and crackling, drinking and dozing, giblets and gadgets, where even the “Happy Christmas” has been replaced by “Happy Holiday”. The spirit of the world doesn’t want the challenge of having to face into the reality that Jesus, God’s Son, was born as a human being with one mission – to reconcile them to God Himself – if they would only accept His invitation. So today, as we enjoy a meal together with our loved ones, perhaps we should remember that Jesus is the Light, sent to guide us on our pilgrimage through life to a time when we can join Him. He was the first born of many brothers and sisters – He has gone before us to prepare a place where “His faithful servants will sing for joy“. Don’t forget that there will be others around us who perhaps are on their own this Christmas, and who would like the Light of the World, Jesus, to illuminate their lives too. If you are one of them, remember that you are not alone – there are three other People with you – Jesus, Father God and the Holy Spirit. Oh – thinking about Jesus being the Light of the World – are we not His torch bearers?
Being a Pilgrim 