TODAY’S SIGNATURE VERSE ••• But God demonstrates His own love toward us, in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us. (Romans 5:8 NKJV)
PRAISE & PRAYER PROMPT ••• Happy Christmas Eve! Are you ready for Christmas? I am looking forward to it… All the gifts are wrapped… the Honey Baked Ham is in the refrigerator… and yesterday, I picked up groceries for the rest of our meal. It’s always a small event at our house. Our Family Twig is made up of three consecutive generations of only children. So it’s me, my husband, my mom, my son, and this year — my son’s new girlfriend. (Yes, I like her. She’s spunky and has gumption — I like that.)
Hopefully, our family Christmas will be less confusing than my Bible study Christmas…
I sent all my Bible study ladies Christmas gifts, and it’s required a lot of explanation. Every lady got a Bible verse magnet, a bag of homemade hot chocolate, and a small piece of iron ore to represent Proverbs 27:17. But in my rush, I didn’t include any cards or notes of explanations as to what the hot chocolate was, or more importantly, what the small black rock in the organza bag was… to add to the confusion, the bag with iron was also filled with lavender so, in hindsight, I can appreciate that some may have wondered if it was a kind of tea…
In my defense, I had 12 packages to mail, and the padded envelopes were full. And sending Christmas cards is something I love the idea of doing but never actually do. Plus, the fact that these even got mailed before Christmas was a feat I was proud of (going to the post office is something I tend to drag my feet on even when there isn’t the craziness of Christmas to deal with).
Needless to say, I’m grateful these women love me. They didn’t witness the most organized version of me. We’ve had some laughs over it, but I have got to remember to include cards next year — especially if I come up with a creative gift that will need some explanation.
I admit my embarrassing gift fiasco to say… when it comes to Christmas, just because we sing Christmas carols and put out nativity sets, we can’t assume that people know the real meaning of Christmas… We can’t assume that everyone understands it’s about Jesus. Especially when Jesus’ birthday is muddied up with images of Santas, Elves on the Shelves, and the focus on shopping takes away from the focus on the Savior.
As you gather tomorrow, take a pause from everything. Put all the traditions on hold. Set the gifts aside. Turn off the TV, stop talking, and simply reflect.
“And she will bring forth a Son, and you shall call His name Jesus, for He will save His people from their sins.” (Matthew 1:21)
“And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us, and we beheld His glory, the glory as of the only begotten of the Father, full of grace and truth.” (John 1:14)
“But when the fullness of the time had come, God sent forth His Son, born of a woman, born under the law, to redeem those who were under the law, that we might receive the adoption as sons.” (Galatians 4:4-5)
“This is a faithful saying and worthy of all acceptance, that Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners, of whom I am chief.” (1 Timothy 1:15)
And the whole purpose of Jesus’ birth comes down to this: “But God demonstrates His own love toward us, in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us” (Romans 5:8).
Did you catch all that? Re-read and look for the action words and phrases…. He WILL SAVE people from sin… He DWELT among us… That we might RECEIVE adoption… to SAVE sinners… and HE DIED FOR US, even as we’ve wallowed into our sins…
We can’t reflect on Jesus’ birth without recognizing why He was born. Our world puts a disconnect between Christmas and Easter. As Christians, we can’t expect or assume that everyone understands that… especially when Easter is equally mixed up with Easter bunnies and Cadbury eggs. We have to remember that Christmas isn’t just a day that a baby was born… it’s the day that the ultimate Sacrifice was born. It was a birth with a destination — Calvary.
As you celebrate Christmas, remember that not only was Christ born, He was born to die so that we can live in the freedom of forgiveness and the grace of God.
Today, as you pray, thank Jesus for the purpose of His birth. Ask the Holy Spirit to open doors for you to share the true meaning of Christmas with your family — Jesus was born to be your Savior and theirs.
And from my family to yours, Merry Christmas. ❤️
SHARING ••• My Grace-Full Life is written by Denise Heidel. You are welcome to share anything I write, but please credit my writing and graphics accordingly. Visit www.MyGraceFullLife.com to read past blogs. Subscribe through my website to have My Grace-Full Life delivered to your email. You can unsubscribe at any time. Unless otherwise noted, all Scripture references are from the NKJV translation.
