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Praise God for Christmas!
Well, we are coming towards the end of another year – and as I write this article, there are all sorts of alarming headlines regarding the state of our country – from financial crisis, to the brutal murder of children.
Many of the articles in the newspapers talk about people living in fear of the future.
How do we respond to this, especially at this season of Christmas?
Well, we read in the Gospels the story of the shepherds who were suddenly confronted by an angel – and the message they received? “Do not be afraid.” Why? Because God was about to enter their world and change the plight of humanity.
Well – that was then – but what about now?
Well, the same message still comes to us today. God wants us to be in such a relationship with Him, that we cast all our worries and problems at His feet. The message of Christmas is that God entered our world – He knows how we think; He knows what we are afraid of; He knows the kind of lives we live – and YET, He loves us so much. And that love means that He wants to walk with us through life, and be in such a close relationship with us that we lean on Him and learn from Him.
That doesn’t mean we bury our heads in the sand and pretend that there aren’t any problems – because of course there are. But the Bible tells us not to be ‘overly worried’ about what is going on. God doesn’t want us to spend our time fretting and stressing about what may or may not happen. We are to take each day as it comes from Him, and commit our lives to Him.
As you look back over the past year, I challenge you to take time to examine your life and see what God has done in and through you. What differences do you see? Are you closer to God now than you were a year ago? If the answer is ‘no’, then I hope as you approach the New Year, you will spend time with God asking Him what He wants you to do differently in order to ensure your relationship with Him grows.
It’s interesting to read the Shepherds response to hearing the news, and to seeing Jesus – it says ‘they spread the word concerning what had been told them about this child.’ Their response was to reach out to others. To share what they knew. Their lives had been radically transformed.
Christmas time is great for spending time with family and friends (at least most of the time), and it’s a time for giving and receiving. BUT most of all Christmas time is about the wonder of God’s love for you and me. It’s a joyful occasion. That joy should be infectious if we really know God. And my prayer is that as we once again discover the God who came to earth for us, to love us – and to show that love by dying for us – that we in turn will be excited and want to reach out to others with an infectious joy!
Someone once said: If our greatest need had been information, God would have sent us an educator; If our greatest need had been technology, God would have sent us a scientist; If our greatest need had been money, God would have sent us an economist; If our greatest need had been pleasure, God would have sent us an entertainer; But our greatest need was forgiveness, so God sent us a Saviour.
Joseph Bayly wrote this poem:
Praise God for Christmas.
Praise Him for the incarnation,
for the word made flesh.
I will not sing of shepherds
watching flocks on frosty nights,
or angel choristers.
I will not sing of a stable bare in Bethlehem,
or lowing oxen,
wise men trailing star with gold,
frankincense, and myrrh.
Tonight I will sing praise to the Father
who stood on heaven's threshold
and said farewell to his Son
as he stepped across the stars
to Bethlehem and Jerusalem.
And I will sing praise to the infinite, eternal Son,
who became most finite, a baby
who would one day be executed for my crime.
Praise him in the heavens,
Praise him in the stable,
Praise him in my heart.
There is no greater message than this.
So – I hope you will all have a wonderful Christmas – spend time with the family and friends – BUT most of all spend time with God – you’ll love it!
Jim Crockett
Jim’s web site article is taken from the Vine Baptist Church ‘Forward’ Magazine each month. If you would like to receive a copy of the magazine, please contact the Church Office.
Jim’s weekly sermons can be listened to on the Internet. Simply visit our Sermon Archive page.
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