The Christmas Message - John 1

Quick update before I proceed to a Christmas passage. Not much happened today on the job or home front. In some ways I feel like I am living the movie Groundhog Day. Until I finally land the job every day is very similar. Again today I put in more applications online and searched for leads and made a few telephone contacts. Again today nothing solid materialized. I'm not too worried about it right now because the next couple of weeks are sort of dry anyway because of Christmas and New Years. So until then I'll just lather, rinse, repeat (being a bald guy, that metaphor always bothers me a bit).

I'm now exploring housing possibilities because we will need a place to stay very soon. I've focused most of my efforts on one neighborhood because our friends live there and it has a great community center (complete with treadmills!). There is one house for rent available there and a couple of inventory homes available. The inventory homes would be great because you can get a pretty good deal at this time of the year. However, there's that job thing that continues to be a sticking point. I talked to a mortgage broker today to see what our options are, and I'll continue to look tomorrow before Cheryl and the kiddos come down for the Christmas trip to DC and the 'burgh.

Now for a quick Christmas passage. I've been mulling over the importance of Christmas lately, especially since I've been listening to John MacArthur's sermon series during my morning runs (as in exercise, not...well, you know). I found a good familiar passage in John that wraps up the message of Christmas, even though it does not specifically spell out the Christmas story.

John 1:9-18 (ESV), "9 The true light, which enlightens everyone, was coming into the world. 10He was in the world, and the world was made through him, yet the world did not know him. 11He came to his own, and his own people did not receive him. 12But to all who did receive him, who believed in his name, he gave the right to become children of God, 13who were born, not of blood nor of the will of the flesh nor of the will of man, but of God.
14And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us, and we have seen his glory, glory as of the only Son from the Father, full of grace and truth. 15 (John bore witness about him, and cried out, "This was he of whom I said, 'He who comes after me ranks before me, because he was before me.'") 16And from his fullness we have all received, grace upon grace. 17For the law was given through Moses; grace and truth came through Jesus Christ. 18 No one has ever seen God; the only God, who is at the Father’s side, he has made him known."

That's it for now. Maybe over the next couple of blogs I'll expound. But for now, I'll just let it stand on its own.

Soli Deo Gloria!