Last year, my mom gave me a beautiful nativity set. It was the one I helped her put up in our home for many years, so I was very happy to have it for my house now. My children were so excited to help me get out all the pieces and set it up in our home and my toddler son’s favorite part was baby Jesus in the manger. He would carry it around with him and play with it. At night, he asked my husband and me if he could take baby Jesus to his room because he wanted to sleep with him.

​After the Christmas season was over, we packed up the nativity set, including the baby Jesus figurine. Different times throughout this past year, my son would see the nativity box in our garage and ask if we could get it out so he could play with baby Jesus.

As I was thinking about my son’s love for the baby Jesus figurine in the nativity set, it reminded me of how thankful I am for God’s constant presence! What a blessing it is that we don’t have to wait each year to get out the nativity set for Jesus to be with us. In Matthew 1:23 it says, “See, the virgin will become pregnant and give birth to a son, and they will name Him Immanuel, which is translated ‘God is with us.’“ For the people in that day, this was a foreign concept to them. Only certain high priests were allowed into the “Holy of Holies” to be in God’s presence. However, because of Jesus’s birth all those years ago, we now have constant access to Him because of the salvation offered to us through His death and resurrection. He became our “great high priest” (Hebrews 4:14).

When we confess our sins and believe that Jesus died on the cross and was raised from the dead three days later in total victory over our sin, we become children of God and then have the Holy Spirit in dwelling within us. We have the power and presence of God always with us. May we never take this for granted. Because of Jesus coming as a baby and ultimately shedding His blood for our sins, we can now, “Approach the throne of grace with boldness” (Hebrews 4:16a), as children of God. This Christmas season, may the celebration of Jesus’s birth be a reminder to us of His love and salvation, that allows us to always be in His presence, not just at Christmastime.

Silent Night, Away in a Manger, Joy to the World, Oh Come All Ye Faithful...all songs that cause our hearts to swell, to be still. Songs that allow us for a moment to forget about what is going on around us. Songs that cause us to actually sing along...sometimes louder and more off key than we realize (ha!). But have you ever wondered why this is?
 
Why do smiles sneak onto our faces and lyrics escape from our lips when we hear these Christmas songs? Could it be the memories we have attached to these songs...possibly? I would wager a guess that it has to do with something else...someone else.  The reason that these songs stir in the very core of our being, our souls, is because the one who came to rescue our very souls is who these songs are all about. 
 
Lately, I have been focused on the Christmas Carol, Oh Come All Ye Faithful.  This song reminds me of the shepherds’ encounter with the angels in Luke 2.  This is when the first invitation to come was given.  Come and see the Savior of the world.  Check out this incredible encounter found in Luke 2:8-20:
8 And there were shepherds living out in the fields nearby, keeping watch over their flocks at night. 9 An angel of the Lord appeared to them, and the glory of the Lord shone around them, and they were terrified. 10 But the angel said to them, “Do not be afraid. I bring you good news that will cause great joy for all the people. 11 Today in the town of David a Savior has been born to you; he is the Messiah, the Lord. 12 This will be a sign to you: You will find a baby wrapped in cloths and lying in a manger.”
13 Suddenly a great company of the heavenly host appeared with the angel, praising God and saying,
14 “Glory to God in the highest heaven,
    and on earth peace to those on whom his favor rests.”
15 When the angels had left them and gone into heaven, the shepherds said to one another, “Let’s go to Bethlehem and see this thing that has happened, which the Lord has told us about.”
16 So they hurried off and found Mary and Joseph, and the baby, who was lying in the manger. 17 When they had seen him, they spread the word concerning what had been told them about this child, 18 and all who heard it were amazed at what the shepherds said to them. 19 But Mary treasured up all these things and pondered them in her heart. 20 The shepherds returned, glorifying and praising God for all the things they had heard and seen, which were just as they had been told.

You see, these particular shepherds actually had a really important job. Alfred Edersheim in his book, The Life and Times of Jesus the Messiah, puts it this way:

“Somewhere deep in Jewish tradition (revealed in writings called the Mishnah), a belief had arisen that the Messiah would be revealed from the Migdal Eder ("the tower of the flock"). This tower stood close to Bethlehem on the road to Jerusalem, and the sheep that pastured there were not the type used for ordinary purposes. The shepherds working there, in fact, took care of the temple-flocks, the sheep meant for sacrifice.

We can trust that God had a specific purpose for this shepherd audience, and the work they performed suggests the reason. These men who watched the sheep meant for the slaughter received a divine message about the ultimate Lamb who would take away the sins of the world through His death and resurrection. (Adapted from The Life and Times of Jesus the Messiah by Alfred Edersheim (Book II, Chapter VI)).”
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Is it any wonder that God would send the host of angels to tell them the good news first? It was as God was saying, “You have done a great job taking care of the sacrificial lambs. Now come and behold THE Sacrificial Lamb. The Savior of the world. The one who will redeem you. The one who will reconcile you back to the Father.
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God’s call to come echoes even today.  The Bible is filled with invitations for us to come:

• “Come to Me, all of you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest.” – Matthew 11:28
• “Everyone the Father gives Me will come to Me, and the one who comes to Me I will never cast out.” – John 6:37
• “For everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved.” – Romans 10:13
• “Keep asking, and it will be given to you. Keep searching, and you will find. Keep knocking, and the door will be opened to you.” – Matthew 7:7

 
“Oh come all ye faithful joyful and triumphant
Come and behold Him, born the king of angels
Oh come let us adore Him.”
 
Like the shepherds, won't you come?  Come lay yourself before the throne of the one who came to love you, to rescue you. He is calling you, His beloved, to come and worship Him:  to come into His presence and adore Him

Several years ago, a friend taught me a children’s song. The tune is more like a chant than a song and it has been going through my mind for the last several weeks. There are only three lines, so you can repeat it as many times as you want. I wish we could sing it together - here it is:
J is for Jesus
O is for Others
Yi Yi Yi Yi is for you! You! YOU!!!

The song is very fun and simple, yet it has a deep truth. We will have JOY when JESUS is first and the highest priority in our lives, followed by OTHERS such as family, friends and possibly strangers and then, lastly, YOU, or self. Doesn't that seem so simple and clear? Jesus. Others. You (Self). Whenever I’m feeling discouraged or irritable, I go back to this little chant and always discover that I have put the needs of others OR my self interests first. Everything is out of order when Jesus is not first. OYJ or YOJ certainly does not produce J O Y!

Another song about joy is one of the most famous Christmas carols - Joy to the World. This popular song, written by Isaac Watts in 1719, was not written as a song celebrating the birth of our Savior but rather a poem based on Psalm 98. “Shout for joy to the Lord, all the earth, burst into jubilant song with music” (Psalm 98:4, NIV). The original theme of the poem was actually referring to when Jesus returns - Joy to the world, the Lord is come, Let earth receive her King - the second coming of the Lord.

We may not always be in the middle of happy situations during Christmas but we may still choose JOY. As I am finishing this devotion, we are traveling to Georgia to participate in my dad’s celebration of life. He passed rather unexpectedly and this is a very hard time for our family. As I cry out to the Lord, I am holding on to the fact that “…the joy of the LORD is my strength” (Nehemiah 8:10, NIV). This Christmas season, regardless of what we are facing-we can choose to remember why we celebrate. We celebrate Jesus, Savior of the world -  He came as a baby, was a perfect man who bridged the gap between a holy God and sinful man, He is preparing a place for us in heaven and He is coming back again, and when He returns, even the rocks will sing! His return is the ultimate JOY TO THE WORLD!

​Next time you sing Joy to the World, the Lord is come, Let earth receive her King, remember joy comes when we put Jesus first and also that no matter what we are facing today, even if this holiday season is not filled with everything happy and easy, we can definitely rejoice in the fact that one day He is returning! He came for you and for me. He came because He loves you and me so very much.

​Have you noticed the unique way people are anticipating Christmas this year? There is an “unwritten rule” saying you are not to decorate for Christmas until after Thanksgiving. However, this year all across the country outside Christmas decorations began showing up in early November. Companies that specialize in Christmas displays have seen a 15% to 20% increase in business. 
 
So why is this happening? As Donna shared last week “2020 has been a crazy year”, as we seem to face one hardship after another. Many are simply worn out by the constant bombardment of the next crisis and people are turning to Christmas decorations to try to brighten their lives. Kristen Carpenter, chief psychologist at Ohio State University Wexner Medical Center said “There are health benefits to putting up lights early. Holiday lights and decorations can help bolster people’s moods and fend off seasonal depression.” But as followers of Christ, Christmas cheer does not come in decorating with lights; it comes from our hope in the “Light of the World.” 
 
There are two kinds of hope. One is a desire for something good to happen in the future, and many are looking to a change of scenery to change their darkened thoughts about the future. And then there is Biblical hope, this is the confident expectation that God will fulfill all of His promise for our future, and this hope will cause our hearts to rejoice even when there is trouble all around. 
 
At Christmas we celebrate the birth of a baby who fulfilled the promise God made in Genesis 3 when He promised that He would provide a Savior who would defeat Satan, and rescue us from sin and death. Isaiah prophesied of this hope saying, “For a child is born to us, a son is given to us. The government will rest on his shoulders. And he will be called: Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace. His government and its peace will never end. He will rule with fairness and justice from the throne of his ancestor David for all eternity.” (Isaiah 9:6-7 NLT)
 
Yes, Christmas lights are beautiful, and they do give me a good feeling when I decorate my house with them, and yes I even decorated much earlier this year, but my hope that brings true joy lies elsewhere. It is found on the dark night when God himself lit up the sky with the most incredible Christmas display, as the angel of the Lord appeared to the shepherds declaring the birth of The Hope for all mankind. Then the sky was filled with a host of angels saying, “Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace, good will toward men.” (Luke 2:14 KJV)