Wow December is here and what a year it has been. I love December for a few reasons.
It’s summer time, time to enjoy the outdoors and a braai, but it is also the work up towards Christmas.
Many people get their annual bonus and there is excessive spending on things that are perceived as “fun.” It is the busiest time of the year for the retail industry.
It is the time of the year when we should be acknowledging the birth of Jesus.
Just over 2 000 years ago, one night in Betlehem, Israel, there was a birth that took place ina very humble beginning . It was a moment in time that would change the course of history in many ways. It was also a moment in time where God did something amazing because all of humanity needed it. our saviour, Jesus, was born.
He is the saviour because he has given us a way out of living in the guilt and shame of our sin.
Sin is disobedience towards God’s desire for us to live life in true freedom.
Sin causes us to be weakened in our will because the human body craves to be satisfied by its own desires. These desires lead us into a life of doing things that bring guilt and shame upon us. Eventually, our hearts become hard and we accept our sinful life as being immutable unchangeable.
But there is hope.
This hope is found only in a relationship with Jesus.
Jesus is the key to us as humans living a life where we can experience true freedom. This freedom can only be experienced in your heart and mind.
It is a freedom that is better than any freedom the world offers.
It is earned by actually being in right standing with God and not living in the guilt and shame our sin brings upon us.
That why Jesus was born!
It is accepting Jesus as your saviour, by believing that God exists and what he desires for us is true. That is where faith comes into action.
So, during this December maybe we should really contemplate life and how God has made a way for us to truly live in freedom. That is the reason Jesus was born and the true meaning of Christmas – the gift of Jesus, the gift of freedom. – Pastor Graeme Willows, Life Church
