Psalm 78 (part 6)

"Yet He, being compassionate, atoned for their iniquity and did not destroy them; He restrained His anger often and did not stir up all His wrath. He remembered that they were but flesh, a wind that passes and comes not again. How often they rebelled against Him in the wilderness and grieved Him in the desert! They tested God again and again and provoked the Holy One of Israel." - Psalm 78:38-41

I think that a lot of the time, we don't realize that God's power is so much greater than what He shows us. Our sin really does grieve Him, and though He promised never to flood the earth again to get rid of us, we are going to have to face His judgment one day and give an account of everything we've done on earth. Could you imagine? It's not going to be fun, guys. And yes, God is merciful and His love for us knows no bounds. But having to tell the God of the universe everything you've done - good and bad - is not going to be fun.

An even cooler part of this is that He gave His Only Son to atone for our sins. He did nothing wrong, but He was crucified for our sins. I know that Christmastime is when we celebrate Jesus' birth, but the whole reason He came was to die in our place. Not even a quiet death. A humiliating death on a cross. Do you realize that that should've been our death? We should've been beaten and ridiculed and spit upon. That should've been us. But it wasn't. Because God is merciful. God loves us. He allowed His son to die for us. And to think we have the audacity to take forgiveness for granted and sin over and over again. It's our nature, but because we have the Holy Spirit, it's become our choice. And we choose sin. That's not cool.

God knows that we're human. God knows how fragile we are. How insignificant and utterly worthless we are without Him. Even before salvation He views us as significant and special and He loves us. He wants us to love Him too. I don't think that's too much to ask. It's easier said than done...but what would happen if all of us started loving God with our entire beings? How would Jacksonville be different? How would our schools be different? How would First Baptist Church be different? How would our Sunday School classes be different?

Think about that this Christmas season. Yes, it's a time of Jesus birth. But celebrate that He loved us so much (and still does now) that He sent His Only Son as a sacrifice for us. That's what Christmas is about.