Let's Start Before the Beginning
Keep this familiar story from losing its wonder by pondering the incredulity of the God of the universe arriving on earth as a newborn infant. Oh, what a glorious night!
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.
Keep this familiar story from losing its wonder by pondering the incredulity of the God of the universe arriving on earth as a newborn infant. Oh, what a glorious night!
How automatic is prayer in your life? Chuck Swindoll gives a shining example of someone whose life was immersed in prayer, day and night.
Two millennia ago, God answered the anguished cry of humanity by making “the problem of evil” His own. God Almighty became Immanuel, “God with us.” He lived as we live, suffered as we suffer, died as we die, yet without sin.
We never seem to tire of the Christmas story. It’s always fresh, always inspiring, and always life-changing.
Merry Christmas from Chuck Swindoll and Insight for Living. This is the final of four seasonal devotionals from Chuck Swindoll to you.
In this message, Chuck Swindoll reminds us that God sovereignly gets His way, even through the most unexpected circumstances. The magnetism of God’s plan that led Mary and Joseph to Bethlehem and that drew the shepherds and summoned the wise men to worship the baby Jesus still draws us together at Christmas to worship our Saviour and Lord.
The Christmas story is all about redemption. Just like the life-saving gift in this story, God’s gift of salvation saves us from death and gives us a fresh start.
The whole idea of Christmas revolves around the idea of a gift, appropriately enough. Giving and receiving gifts at Christmas is often a touching and sometimes surprising experience.
Most of us have this idealistic idea about Christmas, but it will never be perfect. And you know what? The first Christmas wasn’t perfect either. It was beyond messy. So why worry when things go wrong this year?
As Chuck Swindoll assures us in this message, God continues to walk into our lives when we least expect Him, and His surprises still bring relief. When we say yes to God’s will for our lives, God floods our hearts with relief. And, oh, the joy that God’s peace brings to our hearts!