Luke 2 verse 11 Today in the town of David a Saviour has been born to you, he is the Messiah, the Lord.
When did you see the first TV advert for Christmas? Most of the time, I “zone out” when adverts are on but a few days ago I was aware of seeing one though I cannot recall what was being advertised – a disaster for the designers and store!
It reminded me of a Christian friend who strongly objected to the use of Xmas because, in her words, “X is an unknown factor and that is not true of Christ at Christmas”.
Many dispute the accuracy of celebrating Christmas when we do, but whether it is based on fact or convenience it is a lovely time to celebrate Christ’s birth though Christians are able to do that at any time of the year. It does, however, remind me of the time I visited an elderly relative as she was listening to her radio and a Christmas service from Cambridge – though not the famous one.
The speaker spoke of his love of the phrase born to you and this prompted further memories of another speaker who referred to John 3 verse 16 that uses the word whosoever instead of a person’s name e.g. Joe Doe. He explained John Doe might assume it didn’t refer to him because there were probably many called John Doe in the world. But using the word whosoever means the provision is available to anyone and everyone.
Christians don’t need Christmas to remind us, but it is a great time to celebrate the Saviour’s birth. Hearing and/or seeing Christmas advertisements (much too early for some) may be a lovely encouragement to appreciate this every day.
Thank you, Lord, for saving my soul. Thank you, Lord, for making me whole.
Thank you, Lord, for giving to me, your great salvation so full and free.