The Reason for the Season Has a Name – Purity 1848
Purity 1848 12/24/2025 Purity 1848 Audio Podcast
Purity 1848 on YouTube:
Good morning,
Today’s photo of the setting sun blazing its glory on top of the horizon over the horizon and snow-covered farmlands comes to us from yours truly as I captured this spectacular view while driving to my countryside home back on February 1st, earlier this year.
Well, it is Christmas Eve and while the upstate New York weather forecast doesn’t promise a white Christmas this year, I still plan on Christmas being merry and bright because not only will my six day work weeks as a seasonal delivery driver come to an end at quitting time, I have the day off tomorrow and have plans, Lord willing, to get on a plan to Florida on Friday, to catch a cruise ship on Saturday, and even though there will be a lot of hustle and bustle to get me there, I am looking forward to my Christian Cruise ship vacation and celebrating my fourth wedding anniversary to TammyLyn on the high seas.
If that wasn’t enough circumstantial happiness to give me a thrill, I will also be rejoicing over the celebration of my 15th Christmas as a born-again Christian. I know the reason for the season, and He has a name – the Name of Jesus.
Speaking of the name above all names, the Turning Point with Dr. David Jeremiah devotion for today talks about names and what they mean, and I am sharing it on the blog today to point to the One that deserves all honor, glory, and praise: Jesus Christ. David Jeremiah writes.
“NAMED ON PURPOSE
And [Mary] will bring forth a Son, and you shall call His name Jesus, for He will save His people from their sins. – Matthew 1:21
Abraham means “father of many nations” which reflected God’s purpose for him (Genesis 17:5). Similarly, Jesus’ name reflects God’s purpose for Him. Jesus is the Greek form of the Hebrew name Joshua (Hebrew Yeshua) which means “the Lord [Yahweh] saves.” So, Jesus was given a name which meant “the Lord saves” because it reflected His purpose: “He [would] save His people from their sins.”
This purpose of Jesus was pictured beautifully in Isaiah 53 where the Servant of the Lord (the Messiah) would take upon Himself the sins of Israel and by extension the sins of the Gentile world as well. Jesus took upon Himself the terrible burden of bearing the sins of mankind, being judged in our place so we would not be judged. At the right time God sent forth His Son to redeem those who deserved the judgment the law demanded (Galatians 3:13; 4:4). He came to seek and save all who were lost (Luke 19:10).
God’s purpose for you is to make you like Christ (Romans 8:28-29). Thank God today that Christ fulfilled His purpose so you may fulfill yours.” – David Jeremiah
Salvation, the salvation of man, is the final purpose of the whole Bible. – J. H. Bernard
Amen. The Name of Jesus says it all – The Lord Saves – and we celebrate Christmas because He saved us.
The Christmas story not only reveals the love of God – the He would humble himself to become a man and die for us- but it also defines our purpose as human beings – that we be redeemed and restored to life with our Creator, and then to share this “good news” with others, and to be transformed into the likeness of Christ through God’s love, mercy, and grace.
Our purpose is to live with and for God – to know Him and to make Him known.
Robin Mark’s haunting song, “When it’s All Been Said and Done”, sums up our purpose pretty succinctly. The opening lyrics say:
“When it’s all been said and done.
There is just one thing that matters.
Did I do my best to live for truth?
Did I live my life for You…”
God sent Jesus to save us and since we have received such a great gift, let’s celebrate Christmas by trying to live lives that reflect the light of the world.
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For those who want more evidence for Christianity than my simple encouragements provide, I offer apologist, Frank Turek’s website, https://crossexamined.org/.
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Today’s Bible verse comes to us from “The Quick Scripture Reference for Counseling” By John G. Kruis.
(While Bible verses on various topics of Counseling can be found with a quick Google search, we encourage you to purchase this resource to support the late author’s work. (The Quick Scripture Reference for Counseling By John G. Kruis on Amazon )
This morning’s meditation verse comes from the section on Prayer – Waiting on the Lord.
Isaiah 55:6 (ESV) Seek the LORD while he may be found; call upon him while he is near.
Today’s verse falls under the sixteenth point of our counseling reference guide resource section on Prayer.
16. Seek the Lord while he may be found.
Today’s Bible verse gives us our marching orders for life – Seek the LORD.
For the Christian, the Lord can always be found. The Lord is always near for since putting our faith in Jesus, the Holy Spirit – God Himself – lives in us and if we feel that the Lord is distant or far away, we have to remind ourselves that we are never alone when we are in Christ.
Christmas can be a very depressing time if you don’t have close relationships, are suffering loss, or don’t have the resources to celebrate like you have in the past. But as the Grinch discovered, Christmas isn’t about stuff and as hard to believe as it may be – Christmas is NOT about family – not our traditional biological families anyway – Christmas is about JESUS and God’s plan for us to have peace and a new eternal life with Him.
If we don’t have that “Christmas feeling” this year, we have to remember what the holiday is all about and we should humble ourselves and draw close to the Lord in prayer.
God gives us Jesus, The Holy Spirit, His Word, and the church so we never have to feel alone again. If we are focusing on the negative aspects of our lives and feeling depressed, we have to change our perspective, remember our relationship with God, and “seek the Lord”. In His presence is the fulness of joy, so have yourself a merry little Christmas, and remember to always seek the Lord and His righteousness and all “these things” – peace, joy, goodness, kindness, faithfulness, gentleness, patience, and self-control – will be given to you.
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As always, I invite all to go to mt4christ.com where I always share insights from prominent Christian theologians and counselors to assist my brothers and sisters in Christ with their walk.
Today we continue sharing from “Day by Day Along the Way” By Jay E. Adams.
As always, I share this information for educational purposes and encourage you all to purchase Adams’ books for your own private study and to support the late author’s work. This resource is available online for less than $20 at many sites.
Day 347
Take courage … you must testify also at Rome. – Acts 23:11
Rome! The destination of destinations. There he would testify before the Emperor, Nero Caesar. See Philippians 1:19–21, where Paul is assured that their prayers will enable him to go through the trial successfully; he will be “saved” from misrepresenting His Lord. And he did go through it successfully. Indeed, he was released and possibly went as far as Spain (Romans 15:33). Eventually, he was put to death, also at Rome, probably during the persecution of 67–69ad. At Rome, on this first trip he was able to bear testimony to Christ before the entire praetorian guard (Philippians 1:12)—Rome’s crack troops—and some had believed. The trip to Rome was something that Paul planned, but not in the manner that God had in mind: by an appeal to Caesar he was taken to Rome at Rome’s expense! He would need courage all the way, as, indeed, we all do whenever we set out to serve the Lord. God encouraged him by the revelation that he received. Today, God’s revelation, the Bible, encourages you, too, in difficult times.[1]
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[1] Jay E. Adams, Day by Day along the Way (Cordova, TN: Institute for Nouthetic Studies, 2020), 355.
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