Christ Came Into the World so that We Could All Return to Him

by John Goyette

I swung my feet out of the red Mustang and walked to the deep sugar-white sand of the beach. Bare toes sank luxuriantly into the softly yielding substance as I strolled slowly to the water's edge. Memories and emotions lapped at my consciousness like the gentle waves that rolled onto the beach. It had been forty-nine years since I had played on this beach as a boy.

The nostalgic excursion to the beach at Carpinteria, California came about as part of a trip to assist my son, daughter-in-law, and grandson in their recent move to San Diego. After helping them get settled, my wife, Linda, and I rented the car, put the top down and set off to see the town where I was raised. Since we are from Vermont where the traffic is considered heavy if we have to wait for a traffic light to cycle twice, the Ventura Freeway, bumper-to-bumper at eighty miles an hour, is an experience we will not soon forget. But the five hour drive from San Diego to Carpinteria was well worth it the moment I stepped on that sandy strand.

The return to the beach near my boyhood home was something I had long thought about but Carpinteria was far away. It would have been nice if the beautiful strip of beach were to suddenly have appeared in the Green Mountain State. But alas, it has been unwilling to move nearer my home (the San Andreas Fault notwithstanding).

Getting to the beach required some time, effort, and expense but brought me considerable joy. Returning to God has brought me "joy inexpressible" 1 Peter 1:8. Foundational to our return to Him is the fact that He came to us - it is the cardinal truth of Christmas. God incarnate came here! This is rather like the Pacific coast suddenly showing up in Vermont. This amazing truth is part of the wonder that people feel as they look on Bethlehem's cradle - Jesus left his home in heaven and came to us! It is, of course, why we call Him Immanuel - "God with us." He came to us that we might return to Him who is our creator, and the shepherd of our souls.

You were continually straying like sheep, but now you have returned to the Shepherd and Guardian of your souls. 1 Peter 2:25

Jesus' arrival in Bethlehem shouts to us that God wants us back and that we can get back to Him. He came to make a way for us to return. The beach couldn't and wouldn't come to me. I had to go to it. In contrast, mankind couldn't and wouldn't come to God but He has come to us that we could return to Him.

"Return to Me." It is God's heart-cry. It is strong and emphatic. It is repeated and consistent. Whenever God's people wandered from Him this clarion call, "Return to Me" was heard. It is both a command and a pleading request - one filled with promise and a proffered invitation to sweet reconciliation. It is an open door to a renewed relationship - all will be forgiven, just come back. Sometimes it is so couched in the terms of a father's heartache that God's longing for His people is almost palpable. He commands a return. He pleads. He cajoles, and is sometimes amazed that His people do not come back to Him. (Excerpt from The Power of Return, John Goyette, 2010, Destiny Image)

Continuing in Christ's Ministry

by Mickey Robinson

One could surely say with total confidence, that it is beyond the realm of human imagination to know what the glory of God was like before Jesus came to the earth.

The glory that Jesus refers to in His high priestly prayer of Apostolic intercession as recorded in John 17:5 is the purest, holiest, heavenly fellowship transcendent of any earthly comparison.

In our journey of knowing God we should consider how He came to the earth, why He came to the earth, and what He set in motion and fulfilling His earthly ministry

The writer of Hebrews states in chapter 2, verse 14: "In as much then as the children have partaken of flesh and blood, He Himself likewise shared in the same, that through death he might destroy him in power of death, that is, the devil."

In the pre-determined plan of intervention, our Lord left His heavenly glorious home to become the incarnate Word; that is, the Word became flesh. In order to fulfill all the requirements of the law and to fulfill all that was spoken by the prophets, the most powerful, purest, and completely perfect Being became as one of us. He who is Glory, left His glorious abode, and became the Child of ultimate promise. Is this not the height of humility?

• His earthly ministry could only be defined as Supernaturally Radical.
• He came to seek and save the lost.
• He came as true light into the dark world.
• He came to heal and deliver all those who were oppressed.
• He came to establish His kingdom which shall endure forever.
• He came to establish a new agreement between man and God, The New Covenant.
• He came to become a Sacrificial Lamb, although He was a mighty Lion, He lay down His life as a ransom for ours.
• He came and put all things in subjection under His feet.
• He has the Most Exalted Name.
• He dwells in the highest place, and He's coming again.
  

Jesus, the Messiah, lived the life of flawless obedience to His father. He always did that which was pleasing to His Father, obedient even to the point of death on a cross. Yet death could not hold Him and rose from the dead in resurrection power having put to shame the prince of darkness.

He came to reconcile mankind to God, to those who call upon Him receive transforming power of being sons and daughters of the King.

He came to give us life, and this life is more abundant than any conceivable life.

Through Him we have become partakers Of His Divine Nature, new creatures in Christ, called to good works which He planned for us before the foundation of the world.

Beginning with the outpouring of the Holy Spirit at Pentecost, authentic believers became The Tabernacle, the dwelling place, the resting place for almighty God. When Jesus told his disciples "as the Father has sent me, so send I you," the sending came with the same executive power, legal authority, and with the same explosive power, dunamis supernatural ability. We are His disciples, sent to fulfill His ministry.

Peter writes we have been granted everything we need for life and godliness (2 Peter 1:3). There's been a great emphasis of intimacy with God, returning to our first love, and responding to the invitation to enter into His Presence. Paul who boasted that knowing the Lord was superior to all his own talents and abilities, says "forgetting those things which are behind and reaching forward to those things which are ahead, I press toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus (Philippians 3: 13-14).

We are living in a time of special opportunity to be a light in a dark and threatening world, a beacon of hope to those who are seeking refuge, and ambassadors of love who were loved while yet sinners.

Be an opportunist, speak life, release power, tell of His goodness and love, Really love at all times.

To whom much has been given much is required. When we see Him we shall see Him as he really is, and we shall be like Him.

All honor, all glory, all power belong to Him!

- Covered in grace, Mickey Robinson

After surviving a "death's door" experience and spiritual rebirth, for the past 30 years MICKEY ROBINSON has had a public speaking ministry releasing hope, encouragement and prophetic gifts. Mickey also serves as a director of Prophetic Destiny International, president of the Lazarus Foundation (a care and discipleship center for the physically challenged), and Seagate Ministries. Mickey and his wife, Barbara, four children and four grandchildren live in Franklin, Tennessee.