Christmas is upon us once again. While it is an annual event, it shouldn’t be in your heart. Jesus came to do business. His business is the condition of your heart. His goal is to convince you that He is worth following. His aim is to show you that you need Him. Why? Because this world is going down the tubes, fast and furious, and there isn’t much time.
Sin has made a mockery out of people. Thankfully, God has a plan. The nativity was the beginning of His redemptive plan to save people from their sins. While viewing the meager manger, you must see a rugged, blood-stained cross; Jesus’ blood that was slain to put an end to the power of sin.
For this story to matter to you, you must contend with your heart and ask God to change it from unbelief to belief, from trusting yourself to trusting Christ, from listening to your voice to obeying the Holy Spirit’s voice. In essence, you surrender yourself into the Lord’s hands and allow Him to lead you from this moment forward. If you have been rebellious up to now, I have great news! If you are willing to follow Christ and obey His Word, He will take you from sin-stained to clean-as-a-whistle in the very presence of God!
This quote will happen if you do not contend with your heart. It is by Jen Wilkin, “We will not wake up ten years from now and find that we have passively taken on the character of God.”
The mockery from the evil one is something fierce. Satan is out to kill and destroy any and all things that are from God. You see it firsthand in society. Evil has always existed, yet it was hidden. God kept boundaries around his domain. While God still has authority over the devil and his work, He is allowing the boundaries to be exposed and evil to run amok more openly. People are following blindly, even Christians.
May this Christmas not be this way. No matter what your heart looks like, Jesus can come and wake you up to the glorious reality of His presence! Sin and rebellion do not thwart His love for you! He came to live among sinful people to become the Savior of the world, for every generation.
God’s love is very real. It is truth, and it is for you. It is for me. Make this Christmas be the one where your heart grows like the Grinch’s after he experienced the love and forgiveness of those he wronged. Have a Merry Christmas!
(I am taking the rest of the year off to enjoy my family and for a little break from writing. See you in 2024.)
Carol J German 