Monthly Archives: December 2021

Light beyond Christmas!

Inspiration December 24, 2021 Leave a comment

“The incandescent Christmas lights will soon go out… Jesus, the Light of the world, will never be extinguished.”

Cecy Yépez

There is almost no place in the world, in which during this time the cities are lit and illuminated. And in the largest metropolises, this is tremendously evident. Intense and colorful lights adorn parks, shopping malls, large buildings, and certainly residential neighborhoods. Throughout the month of December, this is the most common experience around the world.

And yes, this custom probably brings joy, enthusiasm and lifts the spirits of many; forgetting for a moment the tremendous challenges, difficulties and obstacles faced throughout the year. But how long will your enthusiasm last? The lights will eventually go out probably at the start of the new year.

However, there is a light that will never go out – Christ Jesus, the real reason for Christmas who did not come to illuminate a certain time of the year. More than 2000 years ago, Jesus, God Himself, came to this world with a special purpose, to give His life as a ransom for many, for you and for me; so, that recognizing that we are sinners, that we are not righteous in ourselves, we would realize the great need for a Savior. Let us then recognize the great need to be brought out of the darkness into His marvelous light.

Don’t we live in a world awash in darkness? A world full of evil – violence and abuse in all forms, corruption on a grand scale, deception on all levels, depression, and self-destruction; and this just to name a few elements of this vast world of evil.

TE-Christmas-2021The incandescent Christmas lights will soon go out and just hold out for a few more weeks. Jesus, the Light of the world, will never be extinguished. He desires with all His heart to come and dwell in your life and illuminate it from today and forever. He longs to bring you from death to life, from darkness to His marvelous light.

Please, decide today to leave behind the world of darkness that has surrounded you until now; and open your heart to Jesus Christ, who tells you: “I am the Light of the world; the one who follows Me will not walk in the darkness, but will have the Light of life.” (John 8:12)

If you do so, you can genuinely celebrate your first and true Christmas!

The Creator Prepares Home for His Masterpiece – The Human Being

Articles December 4, 2021 Leave a comment

“God created all things in order to prepare a house and an inn … then after everything that belongs to the essence of a house is ready, man is brought …”

[The Works of Luther]

Creation certainly reveals its Creator. His power, majesty, wisdom, wit, and care.

The Creator puts together a beautiful and incomparable composition with an extraordinary and endless range of elements: Visible light in the splendor of the day and dense darkness in the calm of the night. The sky with its stars, the immensity of the waters and the deep seas, the land of beautiful landscapes. Birds that incredibly fly high in the sky against the wind; sea ​​monsters and an infinity of creatures that dwell at the bottom of the sea; beasts and animals galloping in the field. Dense and exuberant vegetation, infinity of fruit trees.

A world full of color and delicacy. Harmonically designed, whose sounds surpass the most brilliant symphony: from the delicate chirping of the birds to the imposing roar of the lion. From the soft and imperceptible sea breeze to the crash and roar of its majestic waves. From refreshing rain to intimidating thunder.

And this wonderful symphony reaches its climax with even more spectacular, sublime, and peaceful sound; the sweet and loving words of the Creator God towards the highest of His creation, Adam and Eve; who certainly enjoyed splendid intimacy with their Creator, in the delight of the Garden of Eden.

“And God saw that it was good,” “and behold, it was very good.” God saw that His creation was very good! Through His creation, we touch the immensity of God’s love for the masterpiece of His creation – humanity. So great is the love of God, that step by step, detail by detail, precision after precision, He was designing and creating home for humanity.

a-laughing-baby-sitting-in-a-crib-and-playing-with-2021-11-15-17-02-01-utcThis leads us to compare in some way with millions of episodes in the world, when married couples prepare to receive their little baby. How much joy, how much delight, how much expectation! Nine months of so much love, great enthusiasm and of course, a lot of work to properly prepare the baby’s room, its trousseau, colorful and warm clothes, his / her first toys, even specialized preparation to know how to breastfeed him / her, how to prepare baby food as he grows, how to clean and bathe him, how to protect him from diseases, how to interact day by day with the little one so that the environment in which he develops is safe, pleasant, healthy and full of life.

In the same way, the Creator of the universe, took the necessary time to design with splendid precision each part of the magnificent home that He gave to the human being to grow healthy, safe and full of life. God saw that the created home was indeed good and very good!

As Mark DeVine says in his book, “Shalom Yesterday, Today and Forever: Embracing All Three Dimensions of Creation and Redemption”:

“To God be the glory for the things He has done. And what has He done. He has made heaven and earth as the proper home for human creatures made in His image. ” (DeVine 2019)

Likewise, Luther recognizes in his book “Luther’s Works” that the Creator is truly the provider, sustainer and caretaker of humanity:

TE-Luther-eng“God created all things to prepare a house and an inn, as it were, for the future man … then after everything that belongs to the essence of a house is ready, man is brought, as it were, into his possession that we may learn that the divine providence for us is greater than all our anxiety and care. ” (DeVine 2019)

Thus, and according to the biblical account in Genesis, on the sixth day, God concluded His creative activity, and concluded it essentially with the creation of His masterpiece – the human being; and on the seventh day He rested and sanctified this day.

“And so the heavens and the earth were completed, and all their heavenly lights. By the seventh day God completed His work which He had done, and He rested on the seventh day from all His work which He had done. Then God blessed the seventh day and sanctified it, because on it He rested from all His work which God had created and made. (Genesis 2: 1-3 – NASB)

It is clear then that the pronouncement of God after the creation of humanity speaks eloquently of the unique meaning of humanity compared to the rest of creation; Devine points out. And he adds that only with the creation of humanity and its inclusion within the created order, can the creation as a whole extract the superlative “very good” from the Creator. In truth, this speaks of humanity’s uniqueness within the created order, a uniqueness that includes a position of superiority and distinctive worth within the universe. And DeVine emphasizes that no other imago dei creature is created. No other creature exercises dominion over the lower forms of creation.[1]

[1] Mark DeVine, Shalom Yesterday, Today and Forever: Embracing All Three Dimensions of Creation and Redemption (Eugene, OR: Wipf and Stock, 2019), 709.