SHALOM – THE WHOLESOME PEACE
December 25, 2024WITH GOD…NOTHING IS IMPOSSIBLE
December 27, 2024We see everyone “celebrating” Christmas. Shops are decorated; streets are lit up; Christmas trees are set up in homes; some may even throw Christmas parties; we can also hear people wishing “Happy Christmas.” This we can gather from the newspapers and the news channels. One need not take offense at all this, as a disciple of the LORD Jesus. However, Christmas is not just the birth of the Holy Child, in a crib; rather, it is the cross, for which the Saviour is born. If this element is missing from our celebrations, then it is a mere celebration, and nothing more than that, however good our intentions may be.
Secondly, celebrating the birth of the Saviour, and not receiving Him into our hearts, is the darkest of all Christmases. It is a meaningless celebration of the birth of the Saviour. Also, a life without peace, joy and hope.
– “You can never truly enjoy Christmas until you can look up into the Father’s face and tell him you have received his Christmas gift.” – John R. Rice
The Saviour was born in a crib, but His purpose, and His destination is the cross of Calvary. He came to die for you and me. He came to die for the sins of the world. By His birth, life and death on the cross, He purchased our redemption. This redemption gives us…
– PEACE with God;
– JOY because of the peace that has come into our lives;
– HOPE because our sins are forgiven, and are awaiting the eternal life, where there would be no sin, no tears, no pain, no suffering and death.
“Jesus was born into a feeding trough that nourished the bodies of animals so that He could feed the souls of men.” – Craig D. Lounsbrough
May the God, who chose to be born in a crib, wanting to seek and save us, by dying in the cross, be truly celebrated, and meaningfully worshipped, in our hearts. Let us not be led astray by all the glitz surrounding Christmas. May our hearts be truly, and purposefully, focused on Christ our Redeemer, so that, the LOVE, PEACE, JOY and HOPE of Christmas, be ours this season, and all through our lives. Even so the LORD help us.
