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The birth of Jesus was the earthly beginning of our acquittal. Not guilty. But it happened. Not guilty. But You saw it. Not guilty. But I did it. Not guilty. But I owe for it. Not guilty. When we repent and believe the gospel, God applies the perfect life of Jesus and the atoning death of Jesus to our record and justifies us. It’s just as if we never sinned and just as if we always obeyed. We who really are guilty of sin are set free. Free from shame. Free from judgement. Free from punishment. Instead, we get every blessing found in knowing God. Rejoice today, for Jesus has the final word for those who are trusting in Him: Not guilty.

Jesus willingly exchanged all the wealth of His deity for the poverty of His humanity when He came to dwell on earth. Why? For. Our. Sake. We couldn’t live up to God’s standards, so Jesus lived perfectly for us. We couldn’t break free from sin, so He set us free. We couldn’t atone for our transgressions, so He died in our place. We couldn’t defeat death, so He conquered the grave so we too will rise. We couldn’t earn an eternal retirement, so He paid for our inheritance. We have become rich through the finished work of Jesus. And long before it was finished at Calvary, it was started in Bethlehem. For our sake.

When was the last time you thought about eternity and what it would be like to perish forever? When was the last time you rejoiced that you have a completely different eternity awaiting because God gave His Son? When was the last time you considered the implications of receiving this gift? Everything bad is turned around and traded in for good when we trust in Jesus! In Jesus we are given a countless list of blessings with each entry having sub-lists of countless more benefits that we enjoy now in part and will enjoy fully throughout eternity. Rejoice today in God’s Son. He’s the Christmas Gift that keeps on giving.

The bad news that is plastered all over social media and news media stories will leave us disturbed and discouraged if we don’t remind ourselves of the good news of the Greatest Story Ever Told. Every day we must remember Who Jesus is to us and what He does for us. The more we trust in the angel’s message that a Savior and Lord has arrived to rescue us from bad and rule over us for good, the more we will experience real joy in our hearts. Today, don’t fill your mind with the garbage of this world, but rather fix your mind on the glorious good news of Jesus. This leads to great rejoicing for all people who believe.

Advent is a time of hopeful waiting. The question is: what are we waiting for? Life will frequently leave us disappointed and dissatisfied if we are waiting for the right time when the right things have come and made us feel the right way. So… We wait. And we wait. And we wait our lives away. We will never find lasting satisfaction in the people, pleasures and possessions of earth. We weren’t mean to. As we wait for the second coming of Jesus, let us look to Him to be for us and give to us what this world never can: the gift of real contentedness. It’s not about what we have in our lives; it’s about Who we have in our hearts.

The sights, sounds and smells of Christmastime should cause us to pause and celebrate Christ. As we see the glow of lights, let our own hearts be merry and bright because the Light of the world has come. As we hear holiday music, let us smile because Jesus has put a new song in our hearts. As we walk past the Salvation Army worker, let us remember Jesus came to work for our salvation. It’s all there: the CHORUS of praise, the WRAPPING of swaddling clothes, the TREE made into a cross, the GIFT of eternal life. May every fleck of tinsel, note of a carol and morsel of a cookie remind us: Jesus is the reason for the season.

Our sin prevents nearness to God because it separates us from Him with no possible way from our side to get to Him. Christmas reminds us Jesus came to live, die and rise so you and I can draw near to God. All who trust in Jesus for forgiveness and freedom from sin are no longer distant from real peace, real hope, real joy, real comfort, real security, real wisdom, and real love because we are no longer distant from God where these things are found. Our Immanuel made a way for us to get forgiven, get real life, get to heaven and get to God. Rejoice today over this truth: When we could not get to Him, Jesus came to us.

Our thoughts have the power to shape us, for better or for worse, so we must let our minds land most often on Jesus. His Good News message is full of life-changing truths and promises that will guide us into a right perspective on every life issue. It changes how we see our past so we can know real freedom from guilt and shame. It changes how we see our present so we can know real purpose and peace in the midst of busyness. It changes how we see our future so we can know real hope as we joyfully anticipate what lies ahead. The more we think about Jesus, the more it will rewire how we think about everything else.

Even as Christians, one of the human weaknesses that we must continue to seek divine strength to overcome is our bent to be selfish. We need the mind and heart of Christ: a mind that regularly thinks of others rather than just ourselves, and a heart that is compassionate enough to serve and support others even at our own expense. It should be the golden rule, not the exception, to give up what we want so others can get what they need. That is when we are like Jesus. Today, go out of your way to do for others, joyfully remembering this: Jesus went out of His way from heaven to earth to the cross to do for you.

There may be empty seats at the table this year. Whether it’s because loved ones are far from home, or have gone home to be with Jesus, we will miss them as we gather to give thanks. Yet, we will give thanks. For God has been good to us, so very good to us, all the days of our lives. And part of our thanks this year will be for the ways God has blessed us through the ones who are not with us. The love we have shared. The memories we have made. The joy we have experienced together. Let us remember those who aren’t at their place at the table, and let us remember to give thanks to God for their place in our hearts.