Fundamental to all Christian ministry is the need to help people face reality: the reality of God, the reality of ourselves, the reality of life in a fallen world. Aspects of this reality are painful, even beyond our comprehension. But they are nevertheless aspects of reality. The cost of failing to face reality is serious:... Continue Reading

May King Jesus rule in your heart and grant you God’s peace.  Romans 5:1 Merry Christmas from The Aquila Report Staff

Let your soul lose itself in wonder, for wonder, dear friends, is in this way a very practical emotion. Holy wonder will lead you to grateful worship; being astonished at what God has done, you will pour out your soul with astonishment at the foot of the golden throne with the song, “Blessing, and honor,... Continue Reading

There is only one God-made-flesh, and we have the joy of celebrating him this Christmas. Because he put on flesh, we can be transformed by him. Because the light shines in the darkness, our dark hearts can be illuminated. He is “the way, the truth, and the life” (John 14:6). He and no other. And we... Continue Reading

Because the Advent season is upon us, it is particularly fitting to focus on the fact that the Holy Spirit glorified Christ by bringing to completion the miracle of the incarnation. When the angel Gabriel announces to Mary that she is going to conceive in her womb and bear the promised Messiah, she wonders how... Continue Reading

Jesus shares the very nature and being of God, sharing the same divine essence. Thus, we are not surprised to read in his citation of Hebrews 1:8 that Jesus is identified as God, and since he is God the angels worship him (Heb. 1:6). We know that only God is to be worshiped (Rev. 19:10; 22:9), and... Continue Reading

The confidence in facing death comes from our union with Christ in his life, death, and resurrection. As the God-man, Christ’s victories become our victories through faith. When the shepherds bowed before the babe lying in a manger, they weren’t bowing to a mere earthly king who would scourge their physical enemies. Even though they... Continue Reading

Mary accepted her role in this event with a particular grace and humility. Her expression of worship is amplified by her example of radical self-sacrifice. Not only did she consent to the shame of an unexpected pregnancy or the challenge of an unexpected baby, the prophet Simeon told her that “a sword will pierce through your... Continue Reading

Another expression of the Immanuel Principle is our hope of our eternal residence with God in heaven; God himself is our eternal dwelling. Between Eden and the Incarnation, the Immanuel Principle was God’s intent, as evidenced in his appearances to man through OT theophanies. Through these appearances we see Christ Himself, manifested through revelations and... Continue Reading

This spiritual stagnation causes Christmas to pass us by without spending time with our Savior, neglecting the very one we are celebrating. Many of us will enjoy the warmth and merriment of the holiday, yet even for us believers, our celebration will lack its spiritual significance because the joy of our salvation has grown dim. Perhaps... Continue Reading