Christmas is Good News!

Christmas is good news!   

It is the best news, because  we are not alone.

The almighty God of Heaven and Earth  came to us!
He is with us!

He has demonstrated His love for us in the most profound way.

God so loved  that He gave…

“We love, because He first loved us.” I John 3:19

He gave  Himself.

He gave His best.

He gave His Son, Jesus, …fully man and fully God.

Jesus was born in the most humble of circumstances so that He, the King of Kings, could instead serve as our Savior.

He has experienced what we experience,

walked where we walk,

and lived in our fallen world.

God has chosen to share His longing for us to know Him and know His great love for us

in the person of

… Jesus, …

His beloved, only Son.

God looked down upon this world, filled with hatred, jealousy, pain, bitterness, anger, loneliness, shame, murder, adultery, thievery, and callous disregard for others…

 

…and His response was… Jesus.

A sacrificial Savior,

a caring Shepherd,

and a forever Friend,

Jesus is the Truth that God loves us more than we can comprehend.

He is the Way that has been provided for us to escape the power and the penalty of all of the sin and wrong in this world.

He is the Life…

… the very life of God…

that can be born within us.

Anyone who understands this amazing truth and responds to God’s gift of Jesus by saying,

“Yes. I receive Him. Thank You for THE Gift.”

… will never be the same.

The Light of the World, the Prince of Peace, the Redeemer and Savior, Jesus, will be a forever friend as well as the Lord of your life.

It is possible to sing, “Joy to the World” in the midst of human suffering (even your own)…

… because our suffering is not the end of the story.

His suffering is.

He suffered death on the cross so that we might live…

       abundantly,

               eternally,

                      and even joyfully.

The message of Christmas is that we need Him, so…

       … He came!

He came because of the darkness and pain of this world

       … and because of the darkness and pain in our own hearts.

He is with us.

       He loves us.

               He lived for us…

 … and He continues to live for us.

(The Bible says that Jesus is praying for us and preparing a place for us, even right now.)

But before He was resurrected and went to Heaven,  Jesus died for us.

He, who had lived a perfect life because of His great love and Divine power…

He, who was and is God.. in human flesh… the living Word of God…

He gave His all to show us  His great love.

 

So, now, the good news of Christ’s coming has become all about  WHY He came.

He came because He loves us and we needed Him.

and now

Death and sorrow

and illness and pain

and loneliness and heartache

are  NOT  the

end

of the story.

Joy to the World!

Luke 2:10-11

English Standard Version (ESV)

¹⁰ And the angel said to them, “Fear not, for behold, I bring you good news of great joy that will be for all the people. ¹¹ For unto you is born this day in the city of David a Savior, who is Christ the Lord.

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This post was written by Cynthia A. Boyd and was inpired by an interesting article about the fact that songs which share the message of the Joy of Christmas may seem incomplete, hollow, and even unfeeling to many people because the messages of “joy to the world” and “peace on earth” and holly jolly holidays may seem to neglect the difficulties and sorrows and tragedies of life. It’s so true that many people are suffering hurt and pain at this time of year and all of the time. We must always be sensitive to the hearts of others and acknowledge their sorrow and loneliness, knowing that devastation in the midst of celebration feels isolating and deeper still.

I must state without reservation that I do agree with the premise of the article I read.  This post is sort of an addendum.  Yes, it is true that we need to be careful to be sensitive to the hurting world around us and and to share the whole truth of the gospel and the fact that Christmas is all about the hurt and pain and God’s desire for us to someday dwell with Him in a holy place where none of the bad things exist.  I agree completely.

Stay with me here.  I wrote this article because the pain in our world doesn’t change the fact that Christmas is still good news since the reason for the good news, for the coming of Christ (and the perfect life He lived, and His death, and His resurrection), is because of our pain and our need for understanding the depth of God’s love and our need for being born into new life.  Not “in spite of”, but rather “because of” our pain, Christmas is good news!

Christmas is still (and always will be) good news!

Note:  Here is a link to the article I had read:  http://www.christianpost.com/news/rethinking-our-holly-jolly-christmas-songs-110783/
and on author Russell Moore’s own blog, where it appeared originally, @  http://www.russellmoore.com/2012/12/18/crucify-your-holly-jolly-christmas/

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Do you know Jesus?

The decision to ask Jesus to come into your heart and life as your Lord and Savior is the best decision you could ever make!  The one true God is ready to give you forgiveness and eternal life as soon as you understand your need for Him and believe on the name of His only Son, Jesus, for your salvation.  Here’s a blog page link to help you find the answers to your questions about Jesus.  http://www.worshipsounds.wordpress.com/do-you-know-jesus/