Some of you reading may think, “What’s the big deal? Jesus was a baby that was born years ago, and He grew up to be 30-some years old and died, and now it’s just a story that lives on.”
But no! It’s SO much more than that.
He not only came as a virgin birth, but He was born, lived, died, and that is not the end of the story. He rose again, He conquered sin and death - there is more to it, folks!
Jesus is alive and well within us. If we accept Him, He will live inside of us with His spirit.
We talk about the spirit of Christmas but have you ever really thought about that?
The spirit that is being referred to is not just a feeling. It’s the Holy Spirit that can live inside of you. It’s the Spirit that Jesus said, “When I go and ascend to heaven, I will leave for you a helper, my Holy Spirit, to lead you, to guide you, and to direct you.”
I recently read a book by Robert Morris. It’s called “The God I Never Knew.” It rocked my world. It puts the Holy Spirit into an easy perspective to understand, and I would highly recommend you grab that book and read it and understand the Spirit of God that you can walk with and talk with and have a life inside of you as a helper. It will change your life! It will make you think about things differently.
I’m thinking about the phrase “A thrill of hope, the weary world rejoices” from the iconic song, O Holy Night.
"A light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not overcome it."
John 1:5
Let’s face it. We are living in a weary world, friends. We are discouraged, downtrodden, exhausted, and afraid. We wonder what the future may hold. Our world seems to be crumbling around us, and we are weary.
The Christmas season doesn’t always bring phrases like “Merry and Bright” and “Joyful Joyful.” For some, it’s a very weary, sad time of focusing on the woes of what we do not have.
Let me bring you some hope! Allow me to give you something that is the greatest gift ever - something you can hold onto and that you CAN have.
The thrill of hope in advent is that our God has drawn near to us in the person of Christ. At Christmas, we celebrate the first advent, the first coming of Jesus into our world as a light shining in the darkness.
Our God chooses to enter into our weary state, in order that a new and glorious morn might dawn.
But today, we also live between advents, between comings. Jesus has come and ascended, but He promises He will return.
And this is the thrill of hope we MUST cling to today - that our God has entered into our darkness once to redeem us, but He will do it again to bring us, once and for all, into his glorious light.
That the light shines in the darkness, and no matter how bad things can be, the darkness will not overcome it. His light will shine greater!
The Bible tells us in 1 John 4:4, “You, dear children, are from God and have overcome them because the one who is in you is greater than the one who is in the world.”
YES!!!! We rejoice in this when we find ourselves weary—that our God has promised to come again and make all things right, and He is faithful.
Have you placed your hope in things other than Jesus?
Do you have Jesus? Is He living inside of you? Is His Holy Spirit a part of your everyday life, not just Christmas?
If you have never accepted Jesus into your heart, I want to give you the opportunity to embrace Him and do that today. There is more to life. He’s promised that He gives us life abundant - fuller life. We don’t have to walk in darkness, but we can walk in the light of who He is.
I love you, and I’m praying for you, walking with you, and cheering you on in this life!
God bless you, and merry, merry Christmas!
Love, Heidi
Comments