Dear Friends,
Greetings in the name of him “who by one sacrifice hath perfected forever them that are sanctified.” Hebrews 10:14. I have been preaching through the book of Hebrews this year and my mind and heart are overwhelmed by these profound, astonishing, assuring, affirmations of Christ’s work on the cross on our behalf. Beloved, the great transaction is done! There will never be any more work done regarding sacrifice for our sins. Glory, Glory!
As we approach the Christmas season let us not be distracted by the way the culture may or may not respond to Christ’s birth, rather, let us think upon the everlasting covenant between the three persons of Godhead. The Father assigned the Son a body. The Spirit assembled the Son a body and the Son assumed the body.
What we have at Bethlehem is no ordinary event. It’s a “fullness of the times” event. It’s the pre-existing, self-existing, second person of the triune God condescending from heaven’s glory to be made flesh and dwell among us! To dwell among us not to make us feel good or give us a great example to follow. No! He came to be our substitute. To fulfill the demands of the Law and to suffer the curse of the Law on our behalf. Ultimately, He came to satisfy the Legal and Penal consequences of our sins. This He did by His perfect life and propitious death on the cross. Praise the Lord!
The incarnation was necessary because “it was not possible that the blood of bulls and goats could take away sins.” Mere animals do not possess a nature equal to the nature of we, who committed the offense, much less, do they possess a nature equal to the nature of Him who was offended by our sins. No! With these God was not pleased nor had pleasure in them. But, in the incarnate Christ we have the God-Man. Two natures and two wills united in one man. As a man He is equal to us” the offenders” and as God He is equal to the One who is offended by our sins.
Let us celebrate His birth and let us give gifts and enjoy the season but in so doing let us think seriously regarding the reasons for His coming.
News from Mayberry: Glenda and I have had a great year. Nothing out of the ordinary, however. We just kept on serving the Lord. Enjoying our family. Preaching the word across the nation and practicing the grace of gratitude. We have had good health. We have now lived in the same house for 44 years. We celebrated our 49th wedding anniversary on an elk hunting trip in New Mexico. By the way, we harvested a monster bull on our trip. It was awesome! Josh, Bethany, and Malachi are well, busy, and content. Being a fiscal conservative often puts Josh at odds with other Legislators. He presses on nonetheless. Eric and Suzanne love being parents. At least most of the time! Little Willow Mae is now seven months old and coming along well.
Line upon line Ministries has existed for more than 30 years. It has provided me a full time assistant, a part time secretary, a customized motor home and financial stability that has allowed me to travel and preach in all sizes of churches without financial prerequisites. This is simply a miracle! Some of you have contributed from the beginning. Thank you. Please do not stop now. My schedule is full and I am pressing on.
On the Potter’s Wheel,
David Miller
