The Gift of Christmas

Wherever you are this Christmas;
however you celebrate and
with whomever you spend the day:
surrounded by family,
working hard,
in a hospital,
far away from home and loved ones,
grieving,
volunteering,
or in solitude;
may the Lord make you especially aware of His presence and activity in your life today
and grant you joy.

Family and friends, gift exchanges, special foods, twinkle lights and decorations are all special, enjoyable parts of a Christmas celebration.  Not even the best of them, however, is essential to the day.  One precept the Lord seems to have been drumming into me this year is that none of these pleasures are my entitlement or to be taken for granted. At the same time, though, real joy in Christ is available even when they are pruned away.

No matter our circumstances this Christmas, Jesus has still come.  The eternal Word made flesh has invaded our humanity and redeemed it for His kingdom.  That is the true gift of Christmas and all we need for a celebration.

Let us worship and adore Him today!  May the Lord bless you this Christmas and always.

In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was fully God. The Word was with God in the beginning.  All things were created by him, and apart from him not one thing was created that has been created. In him was life, and the life was the light of mankind.  And the light shines on in the darkness, but the darkness has not mastered it.

A man came, sent from God, whose name was John. He came as a witness to testify about the light, so that everyone might believe through him. He himself was not the light, but he came to testify about the light. The true light, who gives light to everyone, was coming into the world. He was in the world, and the world was created by him, but the world did not recognize him.  He came to what was his own, but his own people did not receive him.  But to all who have received him – those who believe in his name – he has given the right to become God’s children  – children not born by human parents or by human desire or a husband’s decision, but by God.

Now the Word became flesh and took up residence among us. We saw his glory – the glory of the one and only, full of grace and truth, who came from the Father.

John 1:1-14, NET