Christmas is upon us once again. This is a most exciting and wonderful time of year. I find it fascinating that right in the middle of the most commercially charged time of year, where consumption reigns as king, God has placed a loud and clear reminder of what Christmas is all about: the coming of Jesus! At what other time of year will you hear people singing about the birth of the Messiah? When will our neighbors be more open to us sharing the gospel?

We have all sorts of Christmas pointers that surround us during the next four weeks…

·      Music

·      Decorations

·      Special Church Services

·      Movies

·      Parades

A concentrated focus on Christ during this time is not automatic, we must prepare ourselves personally, our family, and our community to sit up and take notice of the God-intended meaning of Christmas. Just how do we prepare? We need to begin through spending intimate time with God in the Bible and in prayer. Luke 2, Matthew 1-2, Isaiah 9 and Jeremiah 23 are good places to mediate on the birth of Jesus. After you’ve gotten yourself there, get your family to these Scriptures. Read them together, talk about them, and pray.

These are also great passages to memorize so we can pull them up at any time. With that in mind I am issuing another memory challenge: memorize the following verses during the Christmas season…

The people who walked in darkness have seen a great light; those who dwelt in a land of deep darkness, on them has light shone. (Isaiah 9:2)

⁴In him (Jesus) was life, and the life was the light of men. ⁵The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not overcome it.

⁸The true light, which gives light to everyone, was coming into the world.

¹²…To all who receive him, who believed in his name, he gave the right to become children of God. (John 1:4-5, 8, 12)

Begin today and memorize one each week. By the time Christmas rolls around we will have them hidden in our lives and maybe God will open up a door for us to share the true meaning of Christmas through these simple but profound verses.

Every year we have a golden opportunity from God to point others to the Savior. It is during this time of year when people are more open to the gospel than any other, and point we must.

Grace & Peace,