Why is Christmas such a big deal? What difference does it make?
#1. BECAUSE JESUS CHRIST CAME AT CHRISTMAS, MY PAST CAN BE FORGIVEN.
Romans 3:23-24 (LB)says, "All of us have sinned yet now God declares us `not guilty' of offending him if we trust in Christ who freely takes away our sin." That's good news. The fact is none of us are perfect. I don't measure up to my own standard, much less God's. We all have regrets.
I love reading in the newspaper the letters to Santa Claus. One little kid wrote, "Dear Santa, There are three little boys who live at our house. There's Jeffrey. He is two. There's David. He is four. There's Norman. He is seven. Jeffrey is good some of the time. David is good some of the time. Norman is good all of the time. I am Norman." The problem is -- none of us are Norman's. None of us are good all of the time.
We all have regrets and guilt has a devastating effect on our lives. It robs us of happiness. It causes depression. It can make you sick. Guilt does all kinds of things to us because we don't know how to get rid of it. People will do anything to relieve guilt. They'll take drugs or get drunk or try therapy or go to Disneyland. Thrills, travel, become workaholics. Anything to cover up the things I wish hadn't happened in my life.
But there's only one solution. And that's forgiveness. The good news is God wants to forgive you. He wants to clear your conscious. When God forgives you there's several things about it that you need to know.
- It's instant. He doesn't make you wait to forgive you. You don't have to wait through a long period of time before you're forgiven. It's instant.
- It's undeserved. You'll never earn it. You can't work for it. You can't beg God for it. You can't bribe God for it. It's undeserved.
- It's complete. The Bible says, When we confess our sins to God we give them to Christ, God says, "Their sins will I remember no more." That's one of the most amazing verses in the Bible, that God can forget. The God who made the whole world, chooses to forget your sin once it's forgiven. Isn't that a mind blower? If you come and say, "Christ please forgive me. I accept You as my Savior." And you died tonight and go to heaven and said, "God, about that divorce..." He'd say, "What divorce?" "God, about that dishonesty..." "What dishonesty?" "God about that remark..." What remark? It's forgiven.
What God forgets, you can forget too. That's good news. Most of us, even if we believe God forgives us, don't forgive ourselves. We hold onto guilt over the years. Somebody said, When God forgives us, He takes our sin and throws them in the deepest part of the ocean and then He puts up a "No fishing" sign. Don't drag them out again. Satan wants to keep you under guilt, but God says it's forgiven.
My past can be forgiven. Even if there were no such thing as heaven, and there is, but even if there weren't, it would be worth it just to have a clear conscious.
Have you ever been halfway through painting a room and wish you could start over? Have you ever been halfway through a meal and wish you could start over? Halfway through some project? Halfway through life and wish you could start over?
2 Corinthians 5:17 says, "If anyone is in Christ, he becomes a new person altogether The past is finished and gone. Everything becomes fresh and new." God wants you to not just turn over a new leaf, God wants to give you a new life. It's like starting again, being born all over. Jesus said, I didn't come to rub it in, I came to rub it out. If there is anything that's good news it's that God says my past can be forgiven. Regardless of who you are or what you've done or what you think you've done, you matter to God and He cares about you. He wants to forgive you.
I love you guys. Stay faithful. Stay the course. ENDURE!
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