Father, thank you for the privilege of communion and fellowship with You. You are the eternal, living, almighty, triune God. You - Father, Son, Holy Spirit have existed for all of eternity in perfect happiness, joy, bliss – needing nothing, nothing could be added to you. You were never lonely or bored. Yet in eternity past You decided to create the earth and the universe in all of its glory and splendor; You decided to create the angels; and You decided to create humanity - knowing full well the evil and wickedness and destruction that Satan and his demons and all of us who participated with them would bring about on the earth.
We praise You that from the very beginning You determined that you would solve our problem. We praise you that from the very beginning You knew Your lovingkindness, grace, mercy and healing presence would prove to be far greater than the greatest lie and lure Satan, and this evil world system he devised and rules, and our own sin nature might tempt us with. We praise You that from the very beginning You determined that You would at the right time in human history come Yourself and suffer and die Yourself that we might have a never ending supply of cleansing saving blood for all of our sin and corruption.
We praise You Jesus that You were willing to leave Your high place with Father and Holy Spirit and be sent to earth – conceived in Mary’s womb by the Holy Spirit – developing therein for nine months. We praise You that You were willing to be naturally birthed through her and utterly dependent upon her for Your sustenance and care. We praise You that You were willing to be raised by two people born in sin; one who was not Your father. We praise You that You were willing to be the first born with all the responsibilities that came with that for the family business and for helping to care for at least seven younger siblings that would eventually join your human family.
We praise You Jesus that even though You were tempted even as we are from day one, that You resisted every temptation, choosing instead to enjoy fellowship with Father and Holy Spirit. We praise You for how hard You worked even as a young person and certainly once Your earthly ministry began. We praise You for how You loved Your Father’s house or the place of worship for Your people even as a child; and for how throughout Your earthly life You loved righteousness and hated lawlessness; and for how You hid Your Father’s every word in Your heart. We praise You for how most likely as a boy and young man You missed out on opportunities for fun and leisure and to be with the other boys so You could give attention to Your calling and purpose, and to fulfilling the Father’s will. We praise You for how even though You never had a selfish moment in all those years growing up, You still endured Your siblings’ misunderstanding, criticism and unrighteous judgment all the way to Your death.
We praise You for all the hours of sleep and for all the meals You missed to commune with Father and Holy Spirit and to intercede for those You were ministering to then and for us today. We praise You that You never once gave into self pity or entitlement. We praise You that You never took short cuts. You never settled for band-aiding our severe wounds. We praise You that You never called down Your angel armies to destroy Your enemies. We praise You that You never threw in the towel or walked away in disgust with the ongoing failures of Your disciples or with ours.
We praise You Father and Holy Spirit for Your divine restraint as You had to watch every evil deed done against Your Son and listen to every evil word said to Him or against or about Him.
We praise You living God that You determined from the very beginning that You would do what no other being could or would do to save our souls, heal our wounds, heal our bodies, deliver us from bondage to sin and Satan, etc.
We praise You Jesus for enduring the arrogant vows of Your disciples and then their betrayal, denials, and scattering when You were arrested. We praise You for enduring the mob arrest as if You were some dangerous criminal, the unjust trials, the false accusations, the unrestrained anger and hatred, the spitting, hitting, crown of thorns, scourging and the horrible crucifixion. We praise You for enduring all of the scoffing and scorn by those You created for Your praise and worship.
We praise You Jesus that for the joy set before You which included seeing billions of people like us saved, healed and delivered by Your precious blood – You endured so much shame, pain, grief and trauma.
We praise You living God that You finished the work You set out to do when You sent Jesus to this sin plagued earth.
Receive our praise today Emmanuel for You are indeed with us and for that we are eternally grateful!! Merry Christmas Lamb of God for You have indeed taken away the sins of the world as no one else ever could or would. Glory to Your name today and throughout eternity!
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