A Thrill of Hope - Week 4: Day 3
The Joy was Jesus Brought
As the Christmas season is now in full swing, we start seeing countless commercials for things we “must” buy or best deals ever... The implied promise is that if you give this or if you receive that, then you will be happy.
Of course, there’s a bit of excitement in receiving that special gift. But I’ll bet that you can’t even remember what you got for Christmas last year as it lost is glamour. It was so important then, but now it has faded from your memory.
I think Christmas, materialistically at least, cannot live up to the promise. It can’t live up to the standards we have set in our minds, because Christmas is, at best, a promise of greater things to come.
If your hope is in the commercial side of Christmas, then you will be disappointed—especially when the bills come due. You open your presents on Christmas morning, and then on December 26, the bills begin to come in.
It is not Christmas that will bring you joy. It’s only Christ. He will give you life, and that more abundantly. Jesus said, “I have come that they may have life, and that they may have it more abundantly” (John 10:10 NKJV). That is the hope of Christmas through Christ. That is the gift that God wants all of us to have every day.
In reality, I have found that the greatest moments of Christmas are not the ones we often get pumped up about. Rather, the greatest moments of Christmas are those in-between moments, like when you’re having a meal together with family or looking at Christmas lights on display. Or the moments when you’re wrapping a gift, not giving it. This is Christmas like none other as we continue to fight COVID-19 and all of its restrictions. But there are the moments that we must remember in the past and invite into our homes and that is when you’re with the family of God, those moments of worship.
So, this Christmas, slow down.
Relax a little bit.
Enjoy it and take it in.
Because Jesus was born in Bethlehem to bring us life—and all its fullness with Him.
Enjoy your family and remember the JOY that only God brings us all each and every day.
How will you stop and reflect on this Christmas season with your family to remember the JOY that HE brings every day, not just in one season?
~ Pastor Matthew
“The thief does not come except to steal, and to kill, and to destroy. I have come that they may have life, and that they may have it more abundantly.” - John 10:10
As the Christmas season is now in full swing, we start seeing countless commercials for things we “must” buy or best deals ever... The implied promise is that if you give this or if you receive that, then you will be happy.
Of course, there’s a bit of excitement in receiving that special gift. But I’ll bet that you can’t even remember what you got for Christmas last year as it lost is glamour. It was so important then, but now it has faded from your memory.
I think Christmas, materialistically at least, cannot live up to the promise. It can’t live up to the standards we have set in our minds, because Christmas is, at best, a promise of greater things to come.
If your hope is in the commercial side of Christmas, then you will be disappointed—especially when the bills come due. You open your presents on Christmas morning, and then on December 26, the bills begin to come in.
It is not Christmas that will bring you joy. It’s only Christ. He will give you life, and that more abundantly. Jesus said, “I have come that they may have life, and that they may have it more abundantly” (John 10:10 NKJV). That is the hope of Christmas through Christ. That is the gift that God wants all of us to have every day.
In reality, I have found that the greatest moments of Christmas are not the ones we often get pumped up about. Rather, the greatest moments of Christmas are those in-between moments, like when you’re having a meal together with family or looking at Christmas lights on display. Or the moments when you’re wrapping a gift, not giving it. This is Christmas like none other as we continue to fight COVID-19 and all of its restrictions. But there are the moments that we must remember in the past and invite into our homes and that is when you’re with the family of God, those moments of worship.
So, this Christmas, slow down.
Relax a little bit.
Enjoy it and take it in.
Because Jesus was born in Bethlehem to bring us life—and all its fullness with Him.
Enjoy your family and remember the JOY that only God brings us all each and every day.
How will you stop and reflect on this Christmas season with your family to remember the JOY that HE brings every day, not just in one season?
~ Pastor Matthew
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