Christmas Meditation.

The Bible is exceedingly clear about who Jesus is, and if some of the theologians can't get it right ("He's a mythical figure, a popular teacher, a political agitator," etc.), the musicians certainly have done so, and they did it with reference to simple Bible facts, which are themselves quite clear.
The Man who said, "Before Abraham came into existence, I AM!" can no more be categorized as a mere human than a shining star can be classified as a dead asteroid.  Jesus was either telling the truth, and justly classified Himself as the "I AM," or Yahweh, or he was certifiable--and His actions declare that He was not a crazy Man. Is He worth worshipping? Only you can decide, and Jesus Himself said,
"If anyone chooses to do His [God's] will, he will know about the teaching, whether I speak from God or [just] from myself." If you search with all your heart, you WILL find the truth!

Here is a propositional statement about Jesus Christ that describes His Person:

Jesus Christ is God and man. He is completely God, and completely man. Neither the human nature of Jesus, nor His Deity, is reduced in any way, and both exist in perfect harmony in one Person forever.

Here are some popular songs that express Jesus Christ's true nature well.

The Lion and The Lamb
Who is He...The mightiest of all
Who is He...Creation trembles at His call
Who is He...The lowly sacrifice, who paid a victim's price
His name is JESUS
CHORUS:
Jesus...From the Father's own right hand
Jesus...Son of God and Son of Man
Jesus...Who died and rose again
Jesus...He's the Lion and the Lamb
Who is He...With the power none can tame
Who is He...That every foe would fear his name
Who is He...Who was humbly led away, to suffer that dark day
His name is JESUS
CHORUS
BRIDGE:
He's the lamb that was slain
He's the lion that reigns
My savior and King both the same
Who is He...With the eyes that burn like fire
Who is He...Oh the wonder he inspires
Who is He...Who bore the guilt and shame, for those who'd gone astray
His name is JESUS

Mary, Did You Know?
Mary, did you know that your baby boy
Would one day walk on water?
Mary, did you know that your baby boy
Would save our sons and daughters?
Did you know that your baby boy
Has come to make you new?
This child that you deliver will soon deliver you.
Mary, did you know that your baby boy
Would give sight to a blind man?
Mary, did you know that your baby boy
Would calm a storm with his hands?
Did you know that your baby boy
Has walked where angels trod?
And when you kissed your little baby,
You kissed the face of God.
Oh, Mary, did you know?
Mary, did you know?
The blind will see, the deaf will hear,
The dead will live again;
The meek will lead, the dumb will speak
The praises of a man.
Oh, Mary, did you know that your baby boy
Was Lord of all creation?
Mary, did you know that your baby boy
Would one day rule the nations?
Did you know that your baby boy
Was heaven's perfect lamb?
That the sleeping child you're holding
Is the great I Am?

Jesus is declared to be BOTH God and Man in many places in the New Testament.

John 1:1-3, 14, 18.
John 8:58--[Jesus is speaking]: "before Abraham came into existence, I AM."
Philippians 2:5-11  "Let the same attitude that Christ had be yours..."He existed in the form of God, but didn't try to stay in heaven...instead, He humbled Himself, taking on the form of a man, and when he was a man, he submitted to death, even death on the Cross (Paraphrase mine).
I Tim. 3:16 (KJV and NKJV)-- God was manifest in the flesh--The NASB, ESV, NIV and NRSV has "He who was manifest..."
Heb. 1:1-3, 2:14-18.
1 John 3:2 expresses one side of this truth--Jesus Christ has come in the flesh (i. e., He is truly human).
1 John 4:9, 15 express the other side--"confess.. that Jesus is the Son of God... God sent His only begotten Son into the world."
Both of these truths are held in tension. Neither is fully explained (who could do that?), and both are always affirmed to be true, wherever they are considered. Jesus is not "only man," but He is "fully man." He is not "only God," but He is "fully God."
Fortunately for us, God does not attempt an explanation, except to state that it is this way--and indeed, the Scriptures are clear that we cannot fully understand:
Mat 11:27 All things are delivered to me by my Father: and no man knows the Son, except the Father; neither does any man know the Father, except the Son, and he to whom the Son will reveal him.
In other words, knowing the Son is impossible, but you CAN know the Father by revelation. I take this to mean that nobody can understand the Son, because what happened in the Incarnation is unknowable.

Because the Son is who He is, God delights in presenting Him as a series of contrasts:
1. He is the King who enters Jerusalem, not at the head of an army, but with a bunch of palm-wielding peasants. Matthew 21.
2. He is the despised Servant who died, but is the King of Kings, who will receive homage from all other kings. Is. 52:14-53:12.
3. He is the Savior who will save all who come to Him, yet He is the Judge, who will judge all men. John 5.
4. He is the mighty Lion of the Tribe of Judah, but "the Lamb who was slain," Revelation 5.
5. He is the Almighty God, but also a man born of a woman, subject to every human problem and stress, apart from sin (Phil. 2:5-11, Heb. 4:15, Luke 2).
6. He's the "Master and Lord," but the One who humbles Himself to wash our feet, John 13.
7. He is the Eternal God (Micah, 5:2, John 1:1-3), but also a man who could die, John 19:30.
God, in this way, says to us, "This Person is unique--do not try to categorize Him."

He is the "Only Begotten Son," "who is in the bosom of the Father," who "became flesh, and dwelt among us."
He Heals lepers, forgives sins, raises the dead, and death cannot hold Him, but He falls asleep with exhaustion, becomes weary with a journey, weeps at the death of a friend, and loves his mother, even in death.
Truly, "Great is the mystery of godliness..."
God did all this because He loves us with an everlasting love, which no man can measure or comprehend (John 3:16, Rev. 1:5, Eph. 3:16-21, Romans 8:31-39 ): Why He loves us, we do not know. But thank God that He does.

Love was When
Love was when God became a man,
Locked in time and space, without rank or place;
Love was God born of Jewish kin;
Just a carpenter with some fishermen;

Love was when Jesus walked in history,
Lovingly He brought a new life that's free,
Love was God nailed to bleed and die
To reach and love one such as I.

Love was when God became a man,
Down where I could see love that reached to me;
Love was God dying for my sin
And so trapped was I my whole world caved in.

Love was when Jesus met me, now it's real;
Lovingly He came, I can feel He's real!
Love was God, only He would try
To reach and love one such as I.

Holy, righteous, clothed in His shining light, Yahweh, I am, for us was crucified,
This chosen one (this chosen one) is the King of Kings, This spotless lamb (this spotless lamb) is the Lord of Lords!

Thus do the songwriters tell us things that the theologians cannot express...

Strength and Refuge in God.

Psalm 59:16
But as for me, I will sing about your power. Each morning I will sing with joy about your unfailing love. For you have been my refuge, a place of safety when I am in distress.

We sing of His power because he lavishes it on us.  Why? The only answer is His lovingkindness. How does His strength come to us?
1. We have to "attend to Him." What I mean by this is, He needs to become your focus. Somehow, you have to turn your eyes from the present, from the situation, to HIM.  That's when His strength can fill you.  It's difficult. Our problems call to us, and we cannot turn our eyes from them. But we must.  We must look to His power and grace. That is the essence of faith.  Look to Him, believe in Him, and don't focus on the situation.
2. It's good to tell Him your situation while doing this, but it's also good to remind yourself of Him when you do it.  Many of the Psalms of affliction begin in a similar way:
1O LORD, I have so many enemies;
so many are against me.
2So many are saying,
“God will never rescue him!”

But they end like this:

5I lay down and slept,
yet I woke up in safety,
for the LORD was watching over me.

6I am not afraid of ten thousand enemies
who surround me on every side...

8Victory comes from you, O LORD.

3. In the middle, before any response from God, is always prayer. It may be a prayer of distress, of confidence, of pain, of depression, of sorrow, of lost hope. Normally the prayers move from distress to faith, to praise for God's help:

1My God, my God, why have you abandoned me?
Why are you so far away when I groan for help?
2Every day I call to you, my God, but you do not answer.
Every night you hear my voice, but I find no relief.
AND THEN!:
23Praise the LORD, all you who fear him!
Honor him, all you descendants of Jacob!
Show him reverence, all you descendants of Israel!
24For he has not ignored or belittled the suffering of the needy.
He has not turned his back on them,
but has listened to their cries for help.

This is a nearly constant pattern in the Psalms that deal with this subject: Pain, suffering, etc. held up to God--then His mighty power understood, and finally His power and grace revealed, and applied to you.

4. This does not mean everything always "works out well." It would be foolish to say this. People die. disasters strike. Men lose their jobs.  Women lose their children to sickness. And so on.  There are enough tears in this world to fill an ocean.  However, things DO work out well, if you look at the promises of God. He never leaves you. He carries you when it's hard.  He loves you. When you pass from this earth, it's to the "better land," as the Christians of another century called it, and there no more sorrow will ever exist.

5. As for you, you must look to Him. Let His presence fill your mind and heart.  Allow Him to speak to you about the future.  He holds your life in His hands; it's not in the hands of your enemies, your circumstances, your finances, your ability to find work, your diseases, anything but Him.  TRUST HIM.