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Pastor Dave Peterson "Beyond Brokenness"

Good Morning. As I am typing this, it is Christmas morning, so let me say Merry Christmas, Happy Holiday’s and even Merry Xmas to you. Yes I said Xmas. If you are feeling triggered by that might I suggest you go look up the letter X in Greek and then reference the early church. What you will see is that you can try to take Christ out of Christmas but you won’t succeed.

So now that I got that out of the way, let’s jump into what I really want to share with you today.

What is Christmas? You will find many answers to that question. I want to share an answer that you may not think about much. However, just might be the most powerful one and the one you just might need the most.

In or around the year 525 something happened. At that time all of our calendars were remade to reflect a single event in time. Dates in time would now be noted as either occurring BC or AD. This one event was deemed to be so important that even time was split because of it. We know it as Before Christ or as Anno Domini (Year of our Lord). In short God set into motion a singular event that would split history from destiny. An event that would separate our past from our future.

Today the modern secularists and the academic elites use BCE (before the common era) and CE (common era) as their way to mark time on a calendar. Yet even with this change in terminology the singular event marking the end of before and the beginning of the current is still the same. That event, CHRISTMAS.

Christmas is a day like no other. The events of that first Christmas changed not just our lives but even how we view days and years on a calendar. The one birthday that shook the foundations of the world. Why? How? In the first chapter of the Gospel of John it is written: “the Word became flesh and dwelt among us.” In Greek the word “word” means Logos, a complete or total concept. In simple terms the completeness of God became human and walked with us. I would say that qualifies as a time splitting event.

You see BC (BCE) and AD (CE) are more that just descriptors on a timeline of history; they signify a profound change. Not just a baby born in a manger but God stepping out of Heaven and stepping into Humanity. God Himself was saying that He was separating our past from our future.

In the Old Testament book of Isaiah we find one of the most referenced prophecy or announcement of the coming birthday of Jesus. Isaiah 9:6 says, “For unto us a Child is born, Unto us a Son is given; And the government will be upon His shoulder. And His name will be called Wonderful, Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace.” (NKJV) Isaiah was writing in history but his words spoke of our destiny.

If I can be so bold can I speak this to you?

If today you woke up and you looked and your history does not look wonderful, God came so your destiny could be. If you woke up today and your history is full of more questions than answers, God came so you can have a Counselor for your future. If you look back and all you see is weakness and struggles, God came with something Mighty to strengthen your future. If your history is full of broken promises and relationships, God came to bring you an Everlasting relationship. Finally, if all you see is turmoil, strife, depression or anxiety; the God of the universe stepped out of history to bring you a destiny of Peace.

So what is Christmas? Christmas is and can be a day that changes everything.

My gift to you is the knowledge that your past does not have to be your future. This could be the Christmas where God steps in and YOUR timeline is forever changed. This Christmas 2019 AD allow the completeness of God to close the door on your past and to introduce you to your destiny.

Hey, as always thank you for letting me share my thoughts with you. If you have further questions, comments or just need someone to talk to; I am an easy guy to find. Just send a message to this newspaper and they will make sure it gets to me. Merry Christmas and Happy New Destiny to you and yours.

 

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