Your sun shall no more go down, nor your moon withdraw itself; for the Lord will be your everlasting light, and your days of mourning shall be ended. – Isaiah 60:19

Christmas is a broken string of lights for many of us.   It’s there, but it doesn’t seem to do what it’s supposed to do.  It’s bleak, not bright.  It’s melancholy, not merry.  This time of year is disappointing, discouraging and depressing for a lot of people for a lot of reasons.  We’re a broken people in a broken world where there is much that is not as it ought to be.  But there is hope for us, because Jesus came for the very reason so many struggle in this season … to fix what has been fractured in us and our world, in part now and in fullness when He comes again.   As we await the future and full restoration of all things, let us turn to Him in our present darkness and ask Him to shine His everlasting light in our hearts.

Now after Jesus was born in Bethlehem of Judea in the days of Herod the king, behold, wise men from the east came to Jerusalem, saying, “Where is he who has been born king of the Jews? For we saw his star when it rose and have come to worship him.” – Matthew 2:1-2

This time of year is not about me.  And it’s not about you.  Yet, it’s easy to make it about us, isn’t it?  We can get caught up in what we enjoy about, what we receive because of, and what we get to do during Christmastime and spend very little time getting caught up with Christ.  It’s the most wonderful time of the year not because of the festive music, favorite movies, familiar decorations or family traditions that can rightly be a part of our holiday experience; it’s a time of celebration and jubilation and exaltation of Jesus.  This year, may everything that is wonderful about Christmas make us full of wonder about Christ.

May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace in believing, so that by the power of the Holy Spirit you may abound in hope. – Romans 15:13

It is easy to lose hope when we lose a loved one, lose a job, lose a battle, lose control, lose our health or lose our way, but there is a sure and steadfast hope that is ours when we need it most if we believe. This hope isn’t some self-created positive attitude that things will turn out the way you envision in your head; it is a Spirit-produced confidence in the faithfulness of Jesus to keep His promises that is settled in your heart.  He has been with you all along.  He is with you even now.  He will be with you always.  Your hope isn’t in your ability to figure out how to make it work out; your hope is confidence that He already has. And though things aren’t yet perfect, the day is coming when they will be.

We know that a person is not justified by works of the law but through faith in Jesus Christ … if righteousness were through the law, then Christ died for no purpose. – Galatians 2:16a, 21b

God demands that we be perfect in order to go to heaven, declares that none of us are perfect and therefore are condemned to hell, and then delivers us by sending Jesus to take our imperfections and be our perfection so we can have everlasting life.  Here’s what won’t get you into heaven: your effort at trying to be good enough.  Here’s what will get you into heaven: Jesus. God didn’t lower His standards for us; He lowered His Son for us.   And that changes everything for those who are trusting in Him!  We were… Lost, but now found.  Bankrupt, but now rich.  Condemned, but now pardoned.  Enslaved, but now free.  Dead, but now alive.   Our salvation and everything it includes comes not from the sweat of our brows, but because of the thorns on His.

For you know the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, that though he was rich, yet for your sake he became poor, so that you by his poverty might become rich. – 2 Corinthians 8:9

It is a riches to rags story.  Jesus willingly exchanged all the wealth of His deity for the poverty of His humanity when He took on flesh and came to dwell on earth.  Why?  For. Your. Sake. You couldn’t live up to God’s standards, so Jesus lived perfectly for you.  You couldn’t break free from sin, so He set you free.  You couldn’t atone for your transgressions, so Jesus died in your place.  You couldn’t defeat death, so He conquered the grave so you too will rise. You couldn’t earn an eternal retirement, so He paid for your inheritance.  You have become rich in blessings and benefits through the finished work of Jesus.  And long before it was finished at Calvary, it was started in Bethlehem.  For your sake.

For God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish, but have eternal life. – John 3:16

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 contemplated the implications of receiving this gift? Everything bad is turned around and traded in for good when we trust in Jesus!  Because 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 Gift that keeps on giving.

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. For unto you is born this day in the city of David a Savior, who is Christ the Lord. – Luke 2:10-11

The bad news that is plastered all over the 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 message of joy 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 will lead to great rejoicing for those who believe.

And coming up at that very hour she (Anna) began to give thanks to God and to speak of him to all who were waiting for the redemption of Jerusalem. – Luke 2:38

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. The reason we can’t find our lasting satisfaction in the people, pleasures and possessions of earth is because we were never meant 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.

Thanks be to God for His indescribable gift! – 2 Corinthians 9:15

The sights and 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 that Jesus came to work for our salvation.  It’s all there: the WRAPPING of swaddling clothes, the TREE made into a cross, the GIFT of eternal life, the CHORUS of praise. Over and over, may every fleck of tinsel and every note of a carol and every morsel of a cookie direct our attention to the stunning wonder of it all:  Jesus is the reason for the season.

All this took place to fulfill what the Lord had spoken by the prophet: “Behold, the virgin shall conceive and bear a son, and they shall call his name Immanuel” (which means, God with us).  – Matthew 1:22-23

Our sin prevents nearness to God because it separates us from Him with no possible way from our side to get to Him.  This is why Jesus came to live, die and rise…  So you and I can draw near to God.  We who are trusting in Jesus for forgiveness of and freedom from sin need no longer be 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 Whose presence and provision give us these things. Let us look to Him for all of this, knowing this:  Our Immanuel made a way for us to get forgiven, get real life, get to heaven and get to God. When we could not get to Him, He came to us.