Wednesday, December 14, 2016

Put The Christ Back Into Christmas For More Joy

"And the angel said unto them, Fear not: for, behold, I bring you good tidings of great joy, which shall be to all people. For unto you is born this day in the city of David a Savior, which is Christ the Lord."  ~Luke 2:10-11

Many people when they think of Christmas, think of decorations, family gatherings, gifts and festivities. The Christmas departments in stores go up quite early in most places, and these elements of Christmas are overemphasized. So Christmas can become quite depressing for many folks who don't have money to buy gifts, have no family to see,  or who are too ill to keep up with decorating, cooking and festivities etc. Loss can be felt in many ways during the holidays, especially when we think of the holidays in traditional terms.

This isn't how we are supposed to think of the holidays. Two thousand sixteen years ago, in a little village in a town called Bethlehem, in a country named Israel, an infant was born in a manger. This baby was the savior of man. He was the "Christ" child who was sent to us by God himself to save us from our own sins. Christmas is supposed to be about Christ Jesus. Some people follow the traditions of Advent, which is supposed to prepare us for Christmas, and go to candlelight services on Christmas eve, but how many have their hearts in it? Many churches don't even have Christmas services anymore, so that families can attend to their "festivities."

The angel brought "good tidings of great joy" on that dark night when Christ was born. That is what Christmas is about. Regardless of what our circumstances are at the time, we have one true great hope that is tied into Christmas, the symbolic day of Jesus' birth. Despite what any of us may be going through, it is a good day to think about the incredible gift that God gave us; one that we can never lose; from a love that is everlasting and faithful. We have been redeemed and set free because of a little baby born to a teenage virgin. He lived his short 33 years to teach and perform miracles while on earth and then take all of our sin upon himself and die a torturous death for us. And, he left the Holy Spirit behind to help us whenever we need.

Each one of us is so loved, we are cherished and treasured. None of us will ever be alone. He always hears us and He has a perfect plan for each of us. I can't wait to see what His plan is for me!

If you have not yet accepted Christ as your savior, these are the things you will gain, for eternity. You will not die, but move on to a perfect life, void of pain or problems, in a new perfect body. All you need to do is pray and ask him into your life, and accept him as your savior- that's it.

I pray that you find the true meaning of this holiday this Christmas, and that your heart is filled with Joy, with good tidings of great joy, for the savior that was born unto us and set us free.





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