The Gift

The Gospel of John, Chapter One

In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was in the beginning with God. All things were made through Him, and without Him nothing was made that was made. In Him was life, and the life was the light of men. And the light shines in the darkness, and the darkness did not comprehend it. . .He was in the world, and the world was made through Him, and the world did not know Him. He came to His own, and His own did not receive Him. But as many as received Him, to them He gave the right to become children of God, to those who believe in His name: who were born, not of blood, nor of the will of the flesh, nor of the will of man, but of God.

And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us, and we beheld His glory, the glory as of the only begotten of the Father, full of grace and truth.

 

The empty tomb, Jerusalem, Israel

 

Why a photograph of a tomb instead of a baby in a manger? Because, although Christmas was the beginning, this tomb -- this empty tomb -- was always the destination, the validation of Jesus' life and sacrifice.

 First Corinthians, Chapter Fifteen

Moreover, brethren, I declare to you the gospel which I preached to you, which also you received and in which you stand, by which also you are saved, if you hold fast that word which I preached to you—unless you believed in vain.

For I delivered to you first of all that which I also received: that Christ died for our sins according to the Scriptures, and that He was buried, and that He rose again the third day according to the Scriptures, and that He was seen by Cephas, then by the twelve. After that He was seen by over five hundred brethren at once.

The gift of God is eternal life, available to all and received by simple faith in Jesus Christ, who died to bear the penalty for all my sins and all of yours, was buried, and rose victorious over death and the grave. 

As we see this world in increasing turmoil, as the Bible foretold centuries ago, Louise and I are thankful we can look forward to an eternal home in a better world. But meanwhile, we pray for the peace of Jerusalem. We believe God is in charge and that he is watching over his people. We are continually amazed that God would send his only begotten son to die in our place and for our sins, so that we might be with him for all eternity. Thank you for reading my blog. We pray that the Father will bless you wonderfully in the coming year.

Blog Note: I post Monday, Wednesday, and Friday mornings at alifeinphotography.blogspot.com. I'm trying to build up my readership, so if you're reading this on Facebook and like what I write, would you please consider sharing my posts?

(Photograph copyright David B. Jenkins 2020)

Soli Gloria Deo

To the glory of God alone