In one way or another, this Christmas is going to look different for each of us. Because of that, we wanted this post to look a bit different, too. Each and every one of you have been on our hearts during this holiday season and we as a team have so much we would love to say to you. But more than what we want to say, we were burdened more by the idea of, “what do they actually need to hear?”
So we decided to make a team post with each of us answering the question: What is the ONE thing we want our sisters and friends to know this Christmas?
We hope this lifts your spirit this Christmas, friend! Let’s dive in 🙂
Sadie:
If I would want you to know anything this Christmas it would be what an angel of the Lord said thousands of years ago around this time. He said in Luke 2:10, “Do not be afraid. I bring you good news that will cause great joy for all people.”
This year has been filled with fear and with bad news. Maybe you can relate? Maybe you have had Covid or a family member has and you’ve experienced great fear, sickness, or loss. Not to mention it is not like our problems before this pandemic are not still a thing, too. You may have fears that you have dealt with for years or sadness you still hold from news you’ve once received.
I want to remind you of what that angel said right after DO NOT FEAR. His good news was this, “Today in the town of David a SAVIOR has been born to you: he is the Messiah, the Lord.” (v. 11)
No matter what you have faced this year, the hard news you have received, or the fears that you have had piling up, there is a Savior with the power to heal all things, forgive all things, and give us hope beyond this life.
That is the BEST news.
Court:
Tis the season where everything looks different.
Friends, I thought by now we would be gathering everywhere, filled with the joy of Christmas, sharing all the hugs, peppermint hot chocolate, travels, and so much more. And yet, for most of us, everything is different about our Christmas season this year.
This idea that Christmas would be our saving joy, our saving grace, our something to look forward to.
Here’s the thing: Christmas is not our savior. Jesus is.
Christmas may look different, but Jesus remains the same. And with the daily changes, it can be challenging to rest in His peace and His presence.
How can we position ourselves to experience God’s peace this Christmas?
Psalm 27 encourages us to look upon the goodness of the Lord and Wait for the Lord; be strong, and let your heart take courage. The waiting is a beautiful space for us to trust in God.
He promises us his peace. “Peace I leave with you; my peace I give to you. I do not give to you as the world gives. Do not let your hearts be troubled and do not be afraid.” John 14:27
As we step into the final days of 2020, we encourage you to reclaim the peace that Jesus offers at Christmas and every day.
As God’s children, we can live with peace, hope and surety of what’s to come. God prepared a place for Jesus to come into this world. Surely He is preparing your place too.
No change of plans on earth can change the truth of His Word. Christmas may be chaos, Jesus is our peace. He is with us now and He has prepared a place for us. We pray that you rest in His peace today because that is unchanging.
“Born – that man may no more die” – Hark the Harold Angels SingI never thought the age old Christmas carol, ‘Hark, the Harold Angles Sing’ would be something God would use to shape my heart in a powerful way (after all, my greatest memories of that song are me singing it with a gold, pipe cleaner hallo on my head for the Christmas pageant in 2nd grade) – yet a few years ago that song truly changed how I see Christmas.
In 2014 my Grandfather passed away on Christmas. I still remember sitting on his bedside that night, saying goodbye — it wasn’t the merriest of Christmas’ to say the least. As we left the hospital that night there was person playing Christmas carols in hospital lobby. Something about the tune caught my ear and that night as I crawled in bed the melody was stuck in my head.
Playing the song through my mind, I was stuck that night on the lyrics “Born – that man may no more die”. To be honest, I didn’t even realize I KNEW that was in the song. So many of those classic Christmas carols are ingrained in my mind but rarely have I ever stopped to really ponder them.
The reality is, that Jesus came to us on Christmas — with a story that included death, so that we might have life. He conquered the sting of death because He came to us that night on Christmas with a plan that was greater than any heart could comprehend. Christmas is about Jesus’ birth but it is also about His plan to die.
2020 has been a year of loss and I know so many of us might not be feeling very merry today. You may have lost a loved one this year or have someone near and dear to you wrestling with illness. To my sister who is walking into this Christmas with a heavy heart or the burden of grief heavy on you – I pray you find comfort in Jesus’ birth this Christmas as He was “born – that man may no more die”.
Morgan:
I once asked a mentor of mine to describe Jesus in one word. I was expecting the standard, “loving”, “patient”,
“gracious”, or even “all-powerful”, in which all would have been accurate and true, and words I would have been completely satisfied with.
But the word she used I had never heard used to sum up Jesus and I haven’t really heard it since. A word I had forgotten through the years, until recently when I personally, and I’m guessing you, too, need Jesus to be this now more than ever.
It’s the word “With.”
Some synonyms for the word with include: among, beside, amidst, and near.
This is Jesus.
He is among us.
He is beside us.
He is in our midst.
He is oh, so near.
He is with us.
His “with-ness” is actually WHO He is.
“Behold, the virgin shall conceive and bear a son, and they shall call his name Immanuel. (Which means, God with us.)” Matthew 1:23 (ESV)
2,000+ years ago, Jesus, the “visible image of the invisible God” (Col. 1:15), came to earth, put on flesh, and made his dwelling among, ‘with’ us. (John 1:14)
…Why?
To empathize with us. To feel our pain. And then, out of an abundance of the Father’s love, to nail it to the cross and cancel our debt once and for all through His power. To bring us back to “with-ness” in Him.
You see, I’m broken, and I need a Savior this Christmas. One that knows me, sees me, empathizes with me, and is with me.
Some of you might be “without” a lot this year.
Without a family member.
Without the ability to buy your loved ones the gifts you wish you could.
Without the peace that you thought 2020 would hold.
It’s okay to acknowledge what you’re without this year. But friend, please remember what you do have that no one can take away from you.
Immanuel – God with us.
_______
There you have it, friends! Praying that each and every one of you experience His presence this Christmas ❤️??
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