Earlier today on Bellshill Salvation Army Band’s Facebook page I shared a short thought for Christmas Day. I’d like to share that with you tonight.
In the busyness of the Christmas period, we can be guilty of not focusing on Jesus, and instead we focus on things that at the time, seem more important to us. We can get disctracted by the glitter and sparkle of the decorations, presents, and the fun of Christmas.
We are told in 𝐈𝐬𝐚𝐢𝐚𝐡 𝟗:𝟕 of the significance of Jesus’ birth – It describes Jesus as the Saviour, Immanuel (God with us), the Word made flesh, the Messiah and Prince of Peace. It reminds us to centre our thoughts and celebrations around Jesus’ coming into the world.
In 𝐉𝐨𝐡𝐧 𝟑:𝟏𝟔-𝟏𝟕 (Good News) we find these well-known words:
𝐹𝑜𝑟 𝐺𝑜𝑑 𝑙𝑜𝑣𝑒𝑑 𝑡ℎ𝑒 𝑤𝑜𝑟𝑙𝑑 𝑠𝑜 𝑚𝑢𝑐ℎ 𝑡ℎ𝑎𝑡 ℎ𝑒 𝑔𝑎𝑣𝑒 ℎ𝑖𝑠 𝑜𝑛𝑙𝑦 𝑆𝑜𝑛, 𝑠𝑜 𝑡ℎ𝑎𝑡 𝑒𝑣𝑒𝑟𝑦𝑜𝑛𝑒 𝑤ℎ𝑜 𝑏𝑒𝑙𝑖𝑒𝑣𝑒𝑠 𝑖𝑛 ℎ𝑖𝑚 𝑚𝑎𝑦 𝑛𝑜𝑡 𝑑𝑖𝑒 𝑏𝑢𝑡 ℎ𝑎𝑣𝑒 𝑒𝑡𝑒𝑟𝑛𝑎𝑙 𝑙𝑖𝑓𝑒. 𝐹𝑜𝑟 𝐺𝑜𝑑 𝑑𝑖𝑑 𝑛𝑜𝑡 𝑠𝑒𝑛𝑑 ℎ𝑖𝑠 𝑆𝑜𝑛 𝑖𝑛𝑡𝑜 𝑡ℎ𝑒 𝑤𝑜𝑟𝑙𝑑 𝑡𝑜 𝑏𝑒 𝑖𝑡𝑠 𝑗𝑢𝑑𝑔𝑒, 𝑏𝑢𝑡 𝑡𝑜 𝑏𝑒 𝑖𝑡𝑠 𝑠𝑎𝑣𝑖𝑜𝑢𝑟.
𝐉𝐨𝐡𝐧 𝟑:𝟏𝟔-𝟏𝟕 (Good News)
What an incredible gift of love God sent to earth, when he sent Jesus to live as one of us. In return for this gift, God wants us to love Him with all our hearts, and to put Him at the centre of our lives. He wants us to remember that baby Jesus, born in stable, grew up to be the man who died on the cross for us, and then rose again, so we could have eternal life.
I encourage you, as you listen to this recording of the band playing ‘Who Is He?’, that you remember the significance of God’s gift to us, of Jesus.
We pray that today you as you celebrate Christmas, you take time to remember the reason God sent Jesus to earth all those years ago, as his gift to us.
Who is he in yonder stall at whose feet the shepherds fall?
'Tis the Lord, O wondrous story!
'Tis the Lord, the King of glory;
at his feet, we humbly fall,
crown him, crown him Lord of all!
The Distinct Dot 