2002-12-26 - The Plan

Luke 2:10-12 And the angel said to them, "Do not be afraid; for behold, I bring you good news of a great joy which shall be for all the people; 11for today in the city of David there has been born for you a Savior, who is Christ the Lord. 12"And this will be a sign for you: you will find a baby wrapped in cloths, and lying in a manger." (NAS)

On June 6, 1944 the Allied armies launched the greatest naval invasion in history. More than eighty percent of the men who landed in the first wave never made it to the beach. The landing areas and some of the territory just behind the beaches had been softened by a steady barrage from the deck guns of large ships in the hours prior to the landing. The cancer that was the Hitler's Nazi beliefs had covered Europe and reached into Scandinavia. It had been stopped in Russia at a hideous cost. Now the beaches of Normandy would be the silent witness to the bloody task of cutting out the tumor that was poisoning a continent. The mission was to save Europe and end Hitler's regime. The freedom of the world depended on the goal.

On that first Christmas night when Jesus Christ was born a much quieter invasion was happening. The only trumpets were the angels singing with joy. The witnesses were shepherds. There were no guns or ships. The landing craft was the form of a small boy. God himself had sheathed His limitless power in human flesh. Jesus was born to a virgin mother who had been made to conceive by the power of the Holy Spirit. His adoptive father Joseph cared for Mary and Jesus as best he could that night. The Romans had build roads which would later serve as the invasion paths. The time was right. Quietly a far more important invasion had begun.

Sin was the cancer that had to be cut out. The message that told mankind about the love of God for His creation had been buried in rules and rituals. In the process the message of the coming Savior was almost lost. Many no longer believed that the Messiah would come. The invaders were not dying this time. There were dying men and women all around, dying spiritually. Jesus' cousin had been born just ahead of Him. The invasion was underway. The souls of all mankind would depend on the victory.

The Messiah has come. The power of sin and death to hold mankind has been broken. All you have to do is join the invasion. The message is that God loves you and has opened the path to Heaven again. The invasion was a success. That was step one of the plan that ended at Calvary and the tomb three days after the cross. There is a place held just for you.

Grace & Peace,
Mike

mhoskins@cfdevotionals.org
http://www.cfdevotionals.org