22/12/2021
Tidings of Great Joy
Luke 2:10,11:-And the angel said unto them;Fear not for behold,I bring you good tidings of great joy which shall be to all peoplle (11)For unto you is born this day in the city of David a saviour which is Christ the Lord
Many people spend the month of December preparing for Christmas-shopping,redecorating their homes,buying new cars etc
Do we stop for a moment to think of the reason for the celebration
-The angel said ......I bring you good tidings of great joy
-This joy is for all people because a saviour is born today in the city of David
-We celebrate because a saviour is born just to save us-me and you He was born to suffer and die to redeem us
Rom 5:7,8:-For scarcely for a righteous man will one die:yet peradventure for a good man some would even dare to die
But God commendeth his love toward us in that while we were yet sinners Chist died for us
-John15:13:-Greater love hath no man than this that a man lay down his life for his friend
We rejoice because of the love of the father toward us
How do you feel when you remember that someone loves you unconditionally?Just the way you are It brings great joy to our heart
The peole of Isreal waited for their king for hundreds of years to be born in a palace with all the affulence
But Gods approach took the world by surprise and continues to amaze us thousands of years later
The king Jesus Christ was born in a stable,on a bed of straw,wrapped in a swaddìng cloth,laying in a manger(Luke 2:12)
-This king would be humble,a king for the high and lowly alike
-This king will earn the right to rule by the virtues of His life not by demanding submission
-This king would live the same human life as the people He came to rule and save
-This king's glory would be shown not in the trappings of the world but by the purity of His life
-God's decorations in Bethlehem are the decorations of the heart manifesting in the fruit of the Spirit
Gal 5:22,23:-But the fruit of the Spirit is love,joy,peace,longsuffering,gentleness,
faith,meekness,temperance against such there is no law
-It is said that the fruit of the Spirit is God's "gracelet" in our lives-small occational reflections of the presence of the Spirit of God in us as we manifest the hands of Our Lord Jesus Christ to the world:love here,service there,peace here,compassion there and kindness
-In planned and unplanned ways,we have the opportunity to tell the world about Jesus by the way we allow the Spirit of God to decorate our lives this Christmas and always
May this be your most beautiful Christmas May the decorations in your home be overshodowed by only one thing,the decoration of your heart-Merry Christmas