Christmas Story Archives - Seeking God with Jaime Wiebel

It’s the Most Wonderful Time of the Year! & Sitting Among Friends #56

Jaime Wiebel — Wed, 21 Dec 2016 06:50:00 +0000

It’s the Most Wonderful Time of the Year!

I just can’t get this picture out of my head. Jesus. Standing up from His throne. Laying aside His crown. Removing His outer robes, only fit for a king, and looking His Father in the eye to say goodbye.

Leaving comfort. Leaving honor. Leaving privilege.

To take on flesh. To walk and live among us.

An actual account of Christ leaving heaven is not given to us. We know from John 1 He became flesh and made dwelling among us. I can’t say I know of someone leaving such a privilege to privilege others.

But the greatest news doesn’t just end there. If I met you I may say it is a privilege to meet you. But this is beyond that kind of privilege.

Romans 5:1-2 says, Therefore, since we have been made right in God’s sight by faith, we have peace with God because of what Jesus Christ our Lord has done for us. Because of our faith, Christ has brought us into this place of undeserved privilege where we now stand, and we confidently and joyfully look forward to sharing God’s glory.

Jesus didn’t just lay His privilege aside for us to have the honor to meet with Him. He poured His grace out on top of that.

Jesus chose to dwell among us so He could fulfill His Father’s will. Hebrews 4:3 tells us His works have been finished since the creation of the world. The plan now fulfilled through Christ Jesus.

As I sit before God on this matter, I am completely humbled.

Not only did Christ lay His privilege aside but He poured it out on those who believe.

What are those who choose to believe and put their trust and faith in Christ privileged to?

Here is a small sampling.

Romans 5: 1-2 says we are made right in God’s sight by our faith. Our relationship is no longer that of someone in rebellion to God. We can live in peace with God and we will share in His glory.

1 Peter 4:16 says we are privileged to be called by His name.

Revelation 2:7 says we will be granted the right to eat from the Tree of Life.

Romans 8:17 says to the children of God, you shall be the heirs of God. And co-heirs with Christ.

Ephesians 3:7 By God’s grace and mighty power, I have been given the privilege of serving him by spreading this Good News. NLT

Galatians 5:1 says, it is for freedom that Christ has set us free. Stand firm, then, and do not let yourselves be burdened again by a yoke of slavery. NIV

Co-heir to the King of Kings. Life Everlasting in His Glorious Presence. Peace. To be called His children. Servanthood. Freedom. Privilege.

If this time of the year is not feeling quite so wonderful to you or you are feeling the pressures of all the hustle and bustle.

Take a step back. We are celebrating the coming of a King! That is wonderful!

Take a moment to re-read just a small part of what you are and what you have in Christ. Rest in Him this holiday season.

Co-heir to the King of Kings. Life Everlasting in His Glorious Presence. Peace. To be called His children. Servanthood. Freedom. Privilege.

This cannot be taken from us. This does not depend on our circumstances or how we are feeling at this moment. This is based on Christ and His faithfulness to us.

If you are not at a place where you think that you have taken that step to give your faith and trust to Christ, be assured that what you can have with Him is real. It is everlasting. It is binding.

If you would like to talk further about what it means to put your faith and trust in Jesus leave me a message below or email me at youresewtrendy@gmail.com

Let us know in the comments below what is something that you rest in knowing that you have or are in Christ.

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This week’s featured friend is Mary Zatkalik from Piles of Smiles. Mary writes about hope and loves encouraging others with her stories of faith. I am so glad you are here this week Mary. I hope you have a wonderful Christmas and many blessings in the New Year!

Thanks for joining us and Sitting Among Friends

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The post It’s the Most Wonderful Time of the Year! & Sitting Among Friends #56 appeared first on Seeking God with Jaime Wiebel.

He Became Flesh and Sitting Among Friends #55

Jaime Wiebel — Wed, 14 Dec 2016 08:30:00 +0000

He Became Flesh

The Word. Jesus. Left His heavenly home to make His dwelling among us. He became flesh so that He might walk with us and experience life with us.

The Word became flesh and made his dwelling among us. We have seen his glory, the glory of the one and only Son, who came from the Father, full of grace and truth. John 1:14

This is one of my favorite verses (I know, I say that about most of them.)

I can soak in this verse because we are not talking about a God that was untouchable or unreachable.

We are talking about a God that knew, for us to be like Him, He needed to become like us, in the flesh.

He had to be made like them

For this reason, he had to be made like them, fully human in every way, in order that he might become a merciful and faithful high priest in service to God, and that he might make atonement for the sins of the people. Hebrews 2:17

This is the part that pulls so deeply at my heart about this verse. He left His Heavenly home. The Throne. His robes. His crown. All His privileges. He laid them aside to be like us.

I can barely wrap my head around those facts. The love that exudes from that kind of sacrifice.

To make His way to earth. The lowliest and humbling of all places. To become a babe wrapped in flesh, swaddled in cloth and laid in the cattle’s trough.

Born to a young betrothed girl. Fathered by a man who was quite removed from his royal lineage serving as a carpenter. As they traveled back to their hometown of Bethlehem only to discover there was no place for them to start their new life.

As I think of that sweet baby’s face, so innocent and fragile, yet, at the same time, the only begotten Son of God.

For what? For a time. To make His dwelling among us. The undeserving but deeply loved.

He wanted to take up residence right in our midst so that we could know Him. So that we would have the opportunity to come back to Him. So we could be free from the bondage of sin and death that reigned in our hearts and we were so desperately destined to face.

His way made complete

This is the God that would not leave His people no matter how often they rejected Him. So many times they rebelled and turned to their own ways. So often He provided them the opportunity to repent and turn back to Him.

His way made complete in the beginning, allows us to not only have peace and hope of a future but rest and assurance in the now. We don’t have to wonder if what He did what enough because we can be confident that what He did, when He made His dwelling among us, was sufficient for all.

You and I, if we choose Him and if you choose to trust Him, can look at the babe in the manger and know that He is the king that gave it all up for a time, for us. He chose us so we could choose Him.

We no longer must look at the sweet babe in the manger and picture Jesus in that way. Although it is great to reflect on the sacrifice that He made for us there His work and His humbling beginning was only part of the story.

Jesus now sits on the throne. One day, we are told in Philippians 2:9-10 Therefore God exalted him to the highest place and gave him the name that is above every name, that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth, and every tongue acknowledge that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.

Every Knee Will Bow

One of my favorite pastor friends would often remind us of this day. The day that every knee will bow and every tongue will confess that Jesus Christ is Lord.

The question is not whether we will bend a knee the real questions is when. Will we choose to bend it now and have eternal life through Him or will we have to be eternally separated from Him and still bend our knee to Him?

Friends, He came, He lived and made His dwelling among us to conquer what we could never do on our own. He conquered sin and death and because of that, we can have life in Him.

John the Baptist was sent to lead the way. He was sent to be the light of His coming. Someday, He will return and until then we are to reflect His light so that others may see Him. May we be the light that points to Jesus this Christmas.

If you have not yet made the decision to bend your knee to God or you are uncertain, you can be sure today by praying to God.

Admit to Him you are a sinner and you know that your wrongdoings separate you and Him.

Believe that when Christ came to make His dwelling among us He did it for you. Believe that He died on the cross and rose from the dead so that you could live with Him forever as King over your life.

Ask Him to turn your heart from your own ways to be more like Him and tell someone. Send me an email or tell someone you know that can help get you on the right track to take your next steps.

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This week’s featured friend is Horace Williams Jr. author and blogger at Pleasing to the Potter. Horace is also the author of the new book Unleash the Power of Prayer in Your Life: A power that Transforms Lives. Horace has a beautiful and amazing story of a transformed life and is sharing here at Seeking God. You can find his guest post here. I am glad you are here and sharing you heart with us here, Horace.

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Where Jesus Slept by Norma Lewis Review

Jaime Wiebel — Tue, 22 Nov 2016 20:38:00 +0000

One of my favorite types of books to read my children are cumulative tales. These are books that build on the story as the pages progress. Each page repeats the previous page and then a new thought or sentence adds to the story.

I love these types of stories because they promote confident readers. Even if a child cannot “read” the page they feel as if they can. These stories are also a great way for children to see the whole picture come together at the end of the story.

I couldn’t have been more delighted to read the new book by author Norma Davis called Where Jesus Slept. While teaching the story of our king’s arrival we slowly gather around the manger scene.

We see all the pieces of the blessed night when Jesus was born from the angels singing in the fields to Jesus’ humble beginnings the night he was born.

Illustrator Katy Hudson has captured our hearts in the faces and scenery she has so beautifully drawn on every page.

I enjoyed this book. I would recommend this book to anyone small children. What a great way to tell them the story of when Jesus was born. This book would make a fun way to add a family tradition of reading the Christmas story. With the repetition, your kiddos will be telling you the story in no time!

John 3:16 For God so loved the world that He sent His One and only Son that whoever believes in Him will not perish but have eternal life.

Reading Age 4-7

About the Author:

Norma Lewis is the author of 10 books. She lives in Grand Rapids, Michigan, with a marmalade cat named Scalawag.When Scalawag isn’t busy living up to his name, they both love spending time with her six grandchildren.

Disclosure (in accordance with the FTC’s 16 CFR, Part 255: “Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising”): Many thanks to Propeller Consulting, LLC for providing this prize for the giveaway. Choice of winners and opinions are 100% my own and NOT influenced by monetary compensation. I did receive a sample of the product in exchange for this review and post.

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