The World...Without Christ
Ivor Powell
John 15:22
Mrs. Charles E. Cowman mentioned in her book Streams in the Desert a Christmas card that depicted a clergyman who fell asleep on Christmas Eve and dreamed of a world without Jesus. There were no stockings waiting to be filled, no churches anywhere, and nothing could be found that related to the birth of the Savior. During his dream the pastor was asked to visit a dying woman, but when he opened the Bible he was horrified to discover it ended with the book of Malachi-there was no New Testament. Suddenly, he awakened to hear the choir singing in the church and realized the awful things seen in his sleep were illusions, but he was left to consider what the world would be like if the Son of God had not come to Bethlehem. Christmas carols would not be heard, Sunday schools would be nonexistent, and for the most part people would be as the heathen without hope when they died.
If Christ Had Not Come . . . we would not know the Father
It is sometimes easy to forget that without Christ, Jehovah would be, for many people, an inscrutable, faraway, mysterious Being. Even today in some countries, countless thousands and even millions of people worship images of wood or stone, hoping to appease a detached deity. For them, the idols represent gods who are harsh, condemning, and difficult to please.
The ancient Hebrews received from God a system of law that could be misunderstood by those who fail to comprehend the father love of Jehovah. Many Israelites failed to see the true intent of the Law and its purpose as a standard of righteousness. For them, it became the restrictive rules of a God who lashed out in anger at those who failed to obey the Law. They feared God for what He might do, but they failed to appreciate Him for who He truly was.
When Jesus of Nazareth began His ministry, He described God as a heavenly Father who cared for the most undeserving of His children. The Savior portrayed Jehovah as a parent ...
Ivor Powell
John 15:22
Mrs. Charles E. Cowman mentioned in her book Streams in the Desert a Christmas card that depicted a clergyman who fell asleep on Christmas Eve and dreamed of a world without Jesus. There were no stockings waiting to be filled, no churches anywhere, and nothing could be found that related to the birth of the Savior. During his dream the pastor was asked to visit a dying woman, but when he opened the Bible he was horrified to discover it ended with the book of Malachi-there was no New Testament. Suddenly, he awakened to hear the choir singing in the church and realized the awful things seen in his sleep were illusions, but he was left to consider what the world would be like if the Son of God had not come to Bethlehem. Christmas carols would not be heard, Sunday schools would be nonexistent, and for the most part people would be as the heathen without hope when they died.
If Christ Had Not Come . . . we would not know the Father
It is sometimes easy to forget that without Christ, Jehovah would be, for many people, an inscrutable, faraway, mysterious Being. Even today in some countries, countless thousands and even millions of people worship images of wood or stone, hoping to appease a detached deity. For them, the idols represent gods who are harsh, condemning, and difficult to please.
The ancient Hebrews received from God a system of law that could be misunderstood by those who fail to comprehend the father love of Jehovah. Many Israelites failed to see the true intent of the Law and its purpose as a standard of righteousness. For them, it became the restrictive rules of a God who lashed out in anger at those who failed to obey the Law. They feared God for what He might do, but they failed to appreciate Him for who He truly was.
When Jesus of Nazareth began His ministry, He described God as a heavenly Father who cared for the most undeserving of His children. The Savior portrayed Jehovah as a parent ...
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