Skip to main content

Christmas Message

Let’s think about the meaning of Christmas. What does it mean in the countdown to Christmas Day? What will it mean for us when we’re in the middle of January? What will it mean six months from now? Christmas is coming. Jesus is coming. Christmas comes. Christmas goes. Jesus comes. Jesus stays. When Christmas comes to an end, Jesus doesn’t leave us. When Boxing Day begins, Jesus is still with us.

Christmas is about Jesus. Jesus is more than Christmas. If Christmas was all that we had, would we really be saying, “I wish it could be Christmas every day”? Wouldn’t we be asking, “When does everything get back to normal”? Normal? What is normal? Normal seems so unexciting. Normal is this – Jesus is with us. He’s with us every day. Our ordinary days are very different from Christmas Day. Can we ever say, “This is just an ordinary day” – when Jesus is with us every day?

Soon, Christmas 2018 will be behind us. The old year will come to an end. We’ll be into the New Year. The years come. The years go. Jesus remains the same. He’s our ‘Forever Friend’ – our faithful Saviour. He’s “the same yesterday and today and forever” (Hebrews 13:8). When Christmas 2018 has been forgotten, Jesus will still remember us. When New Year Resolutions have been abandoned, He will still be our Friend and our Saviour. We forget. Jesus remembers. There’s never any problem with His memory. There is, however, one thing that He does forget. He forgets our sins! - “I will remember their sins no more” (Hebrews 10:17).

How does Jesus forget our sins? - He could remember them. There’s no problem with His memory. He chooses to forget them. There’s no problem with His love! “I will remember their sins no more.” – That’s not a bad memory. That’s love. It’s great love. It’s the greatest love of all. It’s the love of Jesus - our great Saviour.

When Christmas comes, let Jesus come to you. He won’t come and go. He comes to stay. Here’s a prayer you can pray. It’s not just a prayer for Christmas Day. It’s a prayer you can pray right now. “Come into my heart, Lord Jesus. Come in today. Come in to stay. Come into my heart, Lord Jesus.” This is the true meaning of Christmas. It’s more than that. It’s what life is all about. “If you want joy, real joy, wonderful joy, let Jesus come into your heart.”

We wish you happiness - at Christmas and in the New Year. We wish you more than that. We wish you a happy life. “Happiness is to know the Saviour, Living a life within His favour, Having a change in my behaviour, Happiness is the Lord.” When Christmas is over and the New Year has begun, may each of us join, with Paul, in saying, “It is no longer I who live, but Christ who lives in me” (Galatians 2:20). 

May God bless each of you – at Christmas, in the New Year and every day: “May God’s blessing surround you each day, as you trust Him and walk in His way. May His presence within guard and keep you from sin, go in peace, go in joy, go in love.”                                                                                                                          

Comments

Popular posts from this blog

Conversion

" ... Will you ... come and stand before Me in this house, which bears My Name, and say, We are safe" - safe to do all these detestable things? Has this house, which bears My Name become a den of robbers to you? But I have been watching! declares the Lord" (Jeremiah 7:8-11). “God demands a conversion of the mind and heart as the basis of peace and security (cf. Is 26:3), not the superstitious veneration of a stone building or a traditionally sacred site” ( R K Harrison , Jeremiah ).

Lord, we worship You in the place of worship ...

Psalm 48:1-14 Lord, we worship You in the place of worship – “Within Your Temple, we meditate on Your unfailing love.” Help us to go out from there, and play our part in seeing that Your praise “reaches to the ends of the earth” (Psalm 48:: 9-11). How will other people know of Your love, if we don’t tell them? How will they find their way to Your House, if we don’t invite them? When we share Your Word with others, help us to remember Your promise: “My Word … will not return to Me empty, but will … achieve the purpose for which I sent it” (Isaiah 55:11).

God Doesn't Keep His Distance - And He Doesn't Keep His Silence.

The Lord, our God, is “King of the whole earth. He rules the nations” (Psalm 46:10; Psalm 47:7-9). The Lord is great. He is “the great King” (Psalm 48:14). The Lord does not remain detached from us in isolated heavenly glory. He comes to us as the God of our salvation - “God will buy me back from the power of hell” (Psalm 49:15). By His Word, spoken to us and acted out on our behalf, God involves Himself with us as our Saviour. He is not a God who keeps His distance from us - “Our God will come.” He is not a God who keeps His silence - “and will not be silent” (Psalm 50:3). This God comes to us with His promise of salvation - “Call on Me in times of trouble. I will rescue you, and you will honour Me” (Psalm 50:15). Along with this promise of salvation comes God’s call to live in faith and obedience: “Bring your thanks to God as a sacrifice, and keep your vows to the Most High” (Psalm 50:15). To those who walk in His way, the Lord promises His blessing: “Whoever offers thanks as a sacr...