It is crazy how when all of the traditions of Christmas time brings, a Christmas tree, gifts, and family, even classic holiday foods like mashed potatoes and turkey, heck even a table were stripped from me and all that I had surrounding me were are a few other believers that I realized what I should have been celebrating and focused on all day was the birth of my savior, Jesus Christ.
(This is the message that I shared on Christmas but I think really it is a message for us all)
Isaiah9:7 For unto us a child is born unto us a son is given. And the government shall be upon his shoulders, and his name shall be called wonderful counselor, mighty god, everlasting father, prince of peace
From the sound of that people thought this savior would come down from heaven riding in a chariot surrounded by a cloud of fire. Or with his angel armies by his side flaunting all of his power to make us fear him. But instead he did just the opposite. Instead he came as a helpless baby not even born to rich people of high status. But to a humble family whom God had found favor with.
He was born in a small town named Bethlehem, in a smelly, dirty stable surrounded by animals and his parents.
And he was named Jesus, Immanuel meaning God with us, and this little baby would be the light of the world.
God’s plan of sending Jesus being fully God and fully human was that he would be an example to us of how we should live our lives. Jesus was born, lived, and died to show us how to live our lives focused on God, and loving others.
Jesus’ life was filled with him performing many miraculous miracles, healing the sick, turning water to wine, feeding 5,000 people from a few loaves of bread and a few fish, calming storms by the sound of his voice and even raising the dead back to life. God sent Jesus, his one and only son that we would believe in him, ask him to forgive our sins and then live forever with him in Heaven.
John 3:16 says it perfectly: for God so LOVED the world that he sent his one and only son that WHOEVER believes in him willl have eternal life.
Whoever, meaning the drunkard, the punk, your neighbor, the beggars, and the disabled, the rich and the poor. The big business owner and the trash collector. Whoever believes that God loves them and focus their life on Jesus, who commits to living the way that he did will be saved from Hell and have eternal life with the most loving father in Heaven. That truly is the best gift I could every receive. And it is just that, a gift from our father in heaven given freely to us, to whoever chooses to believe. It is a free gift to us because He gave the ultimate sacrifice. Because you are worth it, because I am worth it. You are worth Jesus to God!
This Christmas are you celebrating your Christmas season traditions, your food and gifts, or are you spending your day totally in thanksgiving and praise to God for sending his son as the greatest gift imaginable? In all honesty, it took me spending Christmas in Gorka, Nepal aka the jungle, where all of my traditions were stripped from me to realize I had never spent a Christmas truly celebrating the birth of my savior. I encourage to really look back on this past Christmas, and other Christmases too, what did you truly celebrate those Christmases? Your tree, gifts, food, family, or the true reason for the season, the birth of our savior?
