For as long as I can remember I cannot sleep on Christmas Eve. Growing up (until I was married) Santa Claus came and I LOVE presents. I also love giving presents. I usually buy year round - if I see something that makes me think of someone I get it. Then I am excited for them to open it. Once I had kids I was beyond excited for Christmas morning. Dad and I were always the first ones up. In all of our Christmas morning pictures Dad and I look great because we had been up for hours, had our showers and gotten dressed. We would be quiet as long as we could and then start making noise in hopes of waking the others. I was so excited to see how my kids received my gifts. Each gift was especially picked with that person in mind!
Imagine how excited our Heavenly Father is to see us accept His gifts. The greatest gift our Heavenly Father gives us is His only begotten Son, Jesus who died on the cross to save us. He is our Savior, Redeemer and Counselor. I believe God gave us family units so that we would understand our role as his children. When we accept that we are the children and our Father knows best we will have peace and confidence. We can always, always trust God to answer our requests wisely.
God came to our world on the first Christmas. He came for shepherds, wise men, worshipers, and sinners. We couldn’t reach Him, so God came to us. That is good news for everyone. Luke recorded the message that changed the world in Luke 2: 10-11, "But the angel said to the, 'Do not be afraid. I bring you good news that will cause great joy for all the people. Today in the town of David a Savior has been born to you; he is the Messiah, the Lord.'"
What better way to announce Jesus' birth than, "Good news of great joy … for all the people.”
It is great news on so many levels! This news is life altering! It was history changing! The greatest gift of all time is the gift of salvation. If we accept that gift then we will spend all eternity with God! And before that... we have God in our hearts as the Holy Spirit! We are never alone and never without God! Even in our times of feeling helpless, broken, hopeless God is with us.
The other good news is that we have joy when Christ lives in us. No matter our circumstances we will know that we are going to be alright in Christ. We know Who and Whose we are. We live in joy in that all knowing that God is with us. We have faith that keeps us from falling, we have prayer, we have God's love and we have Jesus' mercy!
Let these gifts penetrate your heart. Let these gifts heal your hurts and fears. In Jesus we are new creations, the old is gone. 2 Corinthians 5: 17, " Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, the new creation has come: The old has gone, the new is here!" Our future is secure because of the gift of the Christ child! Thanks be to God!
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