No one, that is, except Jesus Christ. Luke 22:44 says of Him, “And being in anguish, he prayed more earnestly, and his sweat was like drops of blood falling to the ground.” Such was the depth of anguish Jesus felt just before He went to the cross on our behalf.

Isaiah 53:3-6 tells us: “He was despised and rejected by men, a man of sorrows, and familiar with suffering. Like one from whom men hide their faces he was despised, and we esteemed him not. Surely he took up our infirmities and carried our sorrows, yet we considered him stricken by God, smitten by him, and afflicted. But he was pierced for our transgressions, he was crushed for our iniquities; the punishment that brought us peace was upon him, and by his wounds we are healed. We all, like sheep, have gone astray, each of us has turned to his own way; and the LORD has laid on him the iniquity of us all.”

Earlier this week Fox News Online posted a story called “ ‘Crown of Thorns’ Galaxy Photographed in Space”. Check it out for an amazing photo taken by NASA’s Hubble Space Telescope. It is a vivid reminder of one tiny part of the pain that Jesus bore for us — when a crown of thorns was painfully pounded against His skull.  His pain was our gain.

Yet during this week as we celebrate the free gift of salvation, could that image in the Heavens signify something more than our Savior’s death on our behalf?

In Matthew 24, Jesus’ disciples asked Him what would be the indications of His coming again and of “the end of the age”, which today we often call “the End Times.” He replied:

“At that time the sign of the Son of Man will appear in the sky, and all the nations of the earth will mourn. They will see the Son of Man coming on the clouds of the sky, with power and great glory.” (Matthew 24:30, emphasis added)

Could this image captured by the Hubble Telescope be intended to tell us that this is in fact the “end of the age” and that the Lord’s return is indeed drawing near?

Yet, this massive collapse has given our nation a rare chance for a new beginning—one that would have been too hard to bring about ourselves and too hard to accept had it not been “forced” upon us.

There is definitely a spiritual principle here: If we don’t build our lives on the solid ground of Jesus Christ, then our faulty foundations will eventually be exposed and cave in, for all that can be shaken will be shaken. (Matthew 7:24-27; Hebrews 12:26-28)  Sometimes a “building” has to be torn all the way down to make way for a new and better “structure” to be built in place of it.

Likewise, at times it takes a drastic breakdown in our lives to discover “what lies beneath” in us. Once exposed and dealt with, God can bring about within us massive transformation for the better.

The Bible tells us in Romans 10:9 that “if you confess with your mouth, ‘Jesus is Lord,’ and believe in your heart that God raised Him from the dead, you will be saved.” It goes on to say in verse 10, “For it is with your heart that you believe and are justified, and it is with your mouth that you confess and are saved.”

This Christmas, if you want to receive the free gift of salvation from your sins, all you have to do is ask. 

For more info, see http://www.alof.com/god_free_gift_to_you.html

On another note, if you are in need of some ideas for helping your children discover more “Comfort and Joy” this Christmas season, read our December newsletter to moms at http://archive.constantcontact.com/fs002/1101483030006/archive/1102370364283.html.