DAY #16: December 21, 2010

At the very first Christmas, at the birth of Jesus, an angel announced three things. Luke 2:8-14 (NIV)

“And there were shepherds living out in the fields nearby, keeping watch over their flocks at night. An angel of the Lord appeared to them, and the glory of the Lord shone around them, and they were terrified. But the angel said to them, "Do not be afraid. I bring you good news of great joy that will be for all the people. Today in the town of David a Savior has been born to you; he is Christ the Lord.” This will be a sign to you: You will find a baby wrapped in cloths and lying in a manger." Suddenly a great company of the heavenly host appeared with the angel, praising God and saying, "Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace to men on whom his favor rests."

In this proclamation of the angel, we find the three purposes of Christmas. The first purpose of Christmas is celebration. It’s a party. I bring you good news of great joy. What’s the joy? God loves us. This is what we celebrate. The Bible says – John 3:17 (NLT) says, “God didn’t send His Son into the world to condemn it, but to save it.”

The Bible makes it very, very clear – God loves you. When He sent Jesus Christ to Earth, Jesus later as He grew to a man, stretched His arms out on a cross to die for your sins, and he was saying at that point, “I love you this much. This much! I love you so much it hurts. I love you so much I’d rather die than live without you.”

You will never fully comprehend how much God loves you. It’s like an ant trying to understand the Internet. You don’t have the brain capacity to understand how much God loves you.

How many of you have been abandoned in life? One of the great truths of Christmas is that God will never abandon you. You may not feel it. But that just means you’re not tuned in. You’re not connected. If you’re lonely this Christmas, you need to turn to Jesus Christ, accept His love. You’ll never be lonely again.

We celebrate Christmas because God loves us and God is with us, but also because the Bible says that God is for us. He’s on your side. He wants you to win. He wants you to succeed. Romans 8:31 (NIV) says, "What, then, shall we say in response to this? If God is for us, who can be against us?"

This Christmas, celebrate these things. In the midst of gift giving and receiving, take time to celebrate God's love for us.