God looked upon His children, the Israelites, as they wandered in the desert.  He desired to be in their midst.  He wanted them to know that He was right there with them, right beside them, through their struggles and difficulties.  He instructed their leader, Moses, to have them build a sanctuary so that He could live there with them.  Perhaps God would appear to be more real to them.  They could simply look at the sanctuary and know God was with them.  As the tents were the Israelites home in the desert, so the sanctuary served as God's tent pitched along side His children.  He longed to reveal to them His Glory.  He wanted them to get to know His divine character and life.  He reached out to His creation.....would they take His hand?

In the same way Jesus came to dwell among us.  Cloaked in our human form to protect us from the overpowering Glory of God, His human form was His sanctuary.  Did we recognize our King of Majesty?  He came to live beside us and share in our trials and temptations and show us that we can over come if we but rely on the power of God in us to fight on our behalf.  He feels our tears, our sorrows and sadness, our aches and pains as sin takes it's toll on our bodies.

He is our Friend.  He promises that some day soon we will not have to endure life's trials and attacks.  Look around you -- He is here -- now.  Do you see?  "God With Us"

Even before Jesus took on the form of humanity and came to this earth, God revealed Himself shadowed in other forms.  God chose an ordinary bush to reveal Himself to Moses and He chose a cloud to reveal Himself to the children of Isreal.  These were the simple ordinary symbols that revealed the grace and glory of our King of the Universe.
 
In keeping with the humble forms that God used to reveal Himself to us ... Jesus came on the scene.  Plain, ordinary and nothing that others would suspect a Prince had come to reveal His Father, our Creator and King.  Our Hope for eternity.  The One and Only Way to the Father was through Him.  Imagine Jesus taking on the sinful form of man, coming as a helpless baby.  He lived in obscurity, learning from His earthly father to be a carpenter and from His mother to always follow the ways of God.
 
How ironic that Jesus, the One to save humanity, should be taught the love of His Heavenly Father at His mother's knee.  Such a humility we can not fathom.  But thankfully Jesus' love was so great for His Father, which translated into a great and unending love for us too!
 
He risked it all for us ... What are you willing to risk for Him?

Jesus..Son of God..Prince of Peace..the only Begotten of the Father..He sat at the right hand of God..all of heaven and the universe bowed before Him.....  It was Jesus who chose to give up all of this.  What could lead Jesus to give up His place at His Father's side?
 
When we look around us at all of the darkness and sin in this world it is incomprehendable that Jesus would trade His heavenly throne for life on this earth.  He desired to take on our humanity and become one of us.  He knew that when He came He could show us how we could be conquorers over sin; how a sinless life could be possible.  He came to show us the character of His Father, our Creator and King.  How else could we have ever seen a glimpse of God's glory if it wasn't for Jesus taking on our humanity?  Jesus veiled God's glory and divinity in human flesh that we may experience His perfection of character.  Jesus revealed to the universe the mysterious plan of redemption.  It was time.
 
Isn't it time to sit up and take notice?  Was there ever a more perfect plan?  We can never comprehend such depth of love.  But still we have a choice.  What will your choice be?

"...and He saw that it was good."

Imagine creating something only to see it under attack by a bully.  The very thing that you made with loving care, being damaged,  harmed and marred.  What is the first thing that you would do?  Would you have thoughts of wanting to protect it,  hide it,  fix it?

Sin was never something God wanted.  Since before creation He saw that Satan's deception would cause the fall of man,  but God's desire for our companionship was great.  He longed for us even before we came into being.  He saw us individually before we were.  Just as He saw us,  He also saw sin with it's terrible consequence.  But our Creator King had a plan.  He was not ill-prepared.  So great was His love for the world that He promised to give His only Son as the Greatest Sacrifice in order for us to have the chance for life eternal... if only we would believe in Him.

What a contrast... Lucifer,  striving to be exalted above the stars of God, verses the Son of God,  taking on the form of a servant,  becoming the likeness of man.  My life is worth the life of God's only Son?  What kind of love is this?  What have I ever done to deserve this kind of love?

Thank you God that you love us so and that You had and have a plan to redeem us from Satan's grasp of sin.  What Indescribable Love!

Heaven -- a place of peace where love abounds... the place where God abides... streets paved with gold... the lion laying down with the lamb. There are many descriptions we can find in God's Word. Some hymns tell us of Heaven: "When we all get to Heaven, what a day of rejoicing that will be." But is this always how it was in Heaven? Did the Law of Life always abound in Heaven?
 
There was one, a most beautiful one, described as the covering cherub. Becoming very jealous, he was no longer satisfied with his position. He became disgruntled and resentful of the very God who created him. He wished to gain the affections of God's created beings for himself. He wanted to make a point that all should see God in a very negative light. Thus Lucifer began a lineage of sin in Heaven which he then brought to settle upon the earth.
 
Still God is not a God of force. He will not take away our independence to choose right or wrong. He does all in His power to pull us closer to Him. He longs for us to choose to love Him. He shows His love for us all around. The earth is still filled with His glory, even though everything has been tainted by sin. Read God's Word. He speaks of His love for us throughout. Don't doubt, but rather trust His unending love for you. Satan will work hard to draw you into rebellion, right along side with him. But keep your focus on Jesus.
 
As the wise words to this song say: 

"Turn your eyes upon Jesus,
Look full in His wonderful face,
And the things of earth will grow strangely dim,
In the light of His glory and grace."

As we turn our focus once again on Jesus, we see by His life that all He does is motivated by the desire to unite us with our Creator.  Being the ultimate representative of His Father, He demonstrates the Law of Life for the universe as does everything that God created.  Creation takes only in order to give.  God's power and love flow through Jesus to us through His constant and unwavering ministry and love.

A light switch when turned on provides light through the energy that flows from the energy source to the place of darkness in need of light.  But unlike the light, let the flow not stop with us.  By staying connected to God through our focus on Jesus each day, the love that flows into our life can then overflow and touch others, thus fulfilling the Law of Life.

We are but a speck in the universe but how totally amazing that He stops everything just to connect with us!  Let that be what defines us.  So small and insignificant but the ultimate of importance in the sight of God!