The problem with an often-told story is trying to hear it the way it originally unfolded and affected people. The Christmas story is a prime example…familiar and predictable. But the events surrounding the birth of Jesus were anything but expected! So much so that most of the Jewish people who were eagerly waiting for their Messiah totally missed His arrival!
Insight for Living offers a number of helpful resources that can help you see the Christmas story from a fresh, new angle. See this wondrous event through the eyes of the ordinary, everyday people whom God chose to involve. You’ll come away with a better understanding of the original meaning behind it all and with a heart bursting with gratitude for the incarnation of the Son of God.
We simply cannot find a substitute for the family. God planned it that way. Nothing on earth comes close to the benefits derived from relationships revolving around our roots. Nothing.
Sometimes cast aside as a minor player in the retelling of the Christmas story, Joseph’s story mirrored that of his wife in many ways. He sat with her marvelling at this baby. He wondered about the baby’s origin. And yet, Joseph was forced to make a choice that not even Mary had to make. Where Mary carried the baby within her, Joseph had to choose to stay, to involve himself in the baby’s life.
My advice this Christmas? Allow the traditions of the season to stir you up by way of reminder. Allow the things familiar to point you to things essential.
Where can you find truth this Christmas? Certainly not in the fairy-tale hype of the season. Only in the baby in the manger, who grew up to become the greatest of all teachers, can you find truth to nourish your soul.
God’s gift of salvation through Jesus Christ is indeed a gift too wonderful for words. And it’s the best gift you’ll ever receive.
Through the months leading to Christmas we are busily about our stuff—doing business, travelling, and engaged in the give and take of life. And then Christmas hits and the zoom lenses of our minds focus on the outstretched arms of the One who saved us.
This Christmas season, let’s keep our heart and eyes on our Lord and Saviour by remembering His first coming on that Holy Night, and be encouraged that His second coming is imminent.
Somehow the joy of the season remains that one gift we don’t open. Why? We usually blame our condition on the commercialism or on those overcrowded shopping malls. But the real reason our joy stays wrapped up? Our selfishness.
Do you want to give memorable Christmas gifts this year? Chuck Swindoll tells you how to give the best gifts, and it has nothing to do with cost or artistic packaging.
Pastor Chuck Swindoll revisits the Saviour’s quiet entry into the world in Luke 2:1–20. You’ll be challenged to open God’s gracious present to you anew and to marvel at the humble beginnings of God’s most wonderful gift.
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Insight for Living is committed to excellence in communicating the truths of Scripture and the Person of Jesus Christ in an accurate, clear, and practical manner so that people will come to an understanding of God’s plan for their lives, as well as their significant role as authentic Christians in a needy, hostile, and desperate world.
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