A Christmas Invitation

Now the birth of Jesus Christ was on this wise: When as his mother Mary was espoused to Joseph, before they came together, she was found with child of the Holy Ghost. Then Joseph her husband, being a just man, and not willing to make her a public example, was minded to put her away privily. But while he thought on these things, behold, the angel of the Lord appeared unto him in a dream, saying, Joseph, thou son of David, fear not to take unto thee Mary thy wife: for that which is conceived in her is of the Holy Ghost. And she shall bring forth a son, and thou shalt call his name JESUS: for he shall save his people from their sins. (Matthew 1:18-21)

Christmas. It means different things to different people. For me, its significance is that it's a day set aside to remember the time that God entered our world in human form, to live among us, to teach us about Himself, and, ultimately, to die for us. 

You see, we...every single one of us...are sinners. We are unable to live up to God's standard of righteousness. Unable to earn admittance to Heaven. That leads us to two of my favorite words in the Bible: "But God..." 

But God loves us. He put into action a plan to redeem us, to exchange our sinfulness for His righteousness. In the Babe called Jesus, dwelt all the fullness of God. When that Babe grew to manhood, having lived a perfect sinless life, He offered that life in payment for our sins, taking our sin on Himself and offering us His righteousness in exchange.

And then, as evidence of the sufficiency of the sacrifice, God raised Him from the dead.

Through His death and resurrection, we can have eternal life. The only requirement is that we place our entire hope of eternal life in what He has done. We must choose whether we will stand before God on Judgment Day, clothed in our own righteousness (which the Bible describes as "filthy rags") or clothed in the righteousness of Jesus Christ, the perfect Son of God.

God invites us to come to Him on the basis of our faith in His Son. If you have never placed your faith in Jesus, I can't think of a better time to do so than on Christmas Day. He gave His life for you. What better gift could you give Him than the gift of yourself?

Perhaps these words could help you express your heart to the Lord:

Dear God, I know I am a sinner, lost and condemned for hell. But Christ Jesus the Lord died for my sins and rose again. And right now by faith, I receive Jesus Christ into my heart as my Savior, trusting in Him alone for the forgiveness of my sins and eternal life. Thank you for saving me; thank you for making me your child; thank you for giving me a home in heaven. Now help me to live for you from this day forward. Amen.

I wish each of you a most blessed Christmas!