Dec 11 2013

Many Winters Ago, A White Christmas


Royce's avatarGrace Digest

We sat in a semicircle around the trusty Duotherm oil heater, the only warm place in our house, as the wind whistled through the limbs of the apple trees outside the windows. Nearby an Admiral radio emitted the wail of a country song by means of WSM in Nashville and the Grand Ole Opry.

Momma had made popcorn and she and Daddy and I enjoyed the salty treat interrupted only by an occasional sip of hot chocolate. This night could have been almost any winter Saturday night but I believe this one was probably 1951, the year I entered the 1st grade.

In the mountains of the Blue Ridge, a few miles east of the Smokey’s, snow in the winter was almost as common as the sun. But this year was different. We had several days of temperatures in the low 20’s and teens and freezing rain and sleet. The…

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Nov 25 2013

O Come Emmanuel!


man in praise

…the Lord himself will give you a sign. Behold, the virgin shall conceive and bear a son, and shall call his name Emmanuel.
(Isaiah 7:17)

This ancient promise was fulfilled over 2,000 years ago when a virgin girl named Mary gave birth to a child with no human father. He is truly the Son of God.

His coming was and is “God with us”!

His passion was “God for us”!

The announcement of His birth included this bit of information.

…he will save his people from their sins. (Matthew 1:21b)

And so it is, this one of lowly birth and social status is the only Savior. The Holy Scriptures are explicit. Jesus, who is the Christ, is the only one who can save from sins and death.

 And there is salvation in no one else, for there is no other name under heaven given among men by which we must be saved (Acts 4:12)

Not any depth of personal morality, not any acts of kindness, not ten thousand rites and rituals can set ungodly men and women right with God. It is Christ Jesus alone who fulfilled the Father’s requirement for righteousness. It was the God-man who took upon himself the sins of the whole of humanity and offered his holy life in a cruel execution so that God can now declare those who trust him to be righteous and His own dear children.

Every promise of good from God to sinful humans is centered in the person and work of Jesus Christ our Lord.

All the promises of God find their Yes in him. That is why it is through him that we utter our Amen to God for his glory. (2 Corinthians 1:20)

How can we not be thankful for this unspeakable gift? Emmanuel has come!

Royce Ogle
Monroe, LA