WRITTEN BY CHERYL WELLS
Glory to God in the highest heaven, and on earth peace to those on whom his favor rests.
Luke 2:14
The word glory in this verse means to give exaltation to and praise to our God with this event in mind! These are angels heralding this most important event of ALL times! What was happening? Jesus had just been born in Bethlehem to Mary and Joseph, and Jesus had been laid in swaddling cloths and was in a manger. In the region there were shepherds keeping watch over their flocks and an angel of the Lord appeared to them and the glory of the Lord shone around them! The angel said, “do not be afraid, for behold, I bring you good news of great joy which will be for all the people. For this day in the city of David there has been born for you a Savior, who is Christ the Lord.” (Luke 2:10,11)
This whole month let’s do what they were told to do – Give praise to God for this amazing news for us all, even and especially today! An angelic army was declaring this event and thanking God. In verse 20 it says, the shepherds returned, glorifying and praising God for all that they had seen and heard, just as it had been told them. Also remember that the angel said that this was good news of great joy for all the people! Our Savior’s birth is that good news of great joy!
This is the most joyous time of the year for people. Don’t let the enemy steal your joy away and don’t let it become about anything else. What might get in the way? Could it be that the gift-giving might, or the gift receiving? Could it be the family drama? Could it be something about covid or the hatred in our country? Could it be any of the circumstances of our lives?
- I want to encourage you to purposefully focus on the real joy of the season. Focus on joy and the reason for the joy. Focus on Jesus and the fact that He came to be your Savior. Is He your Savior? Have you transferred your trust to Jesus? We might trust in something or someone other than Jesus. Where have you placed your trust? I ask this question of people often – if you were to die today and you stood before God and He asked you why He should let you into His heaven. What would you say??
– Don’t read on until you answer the question. –
- It’s not our good works, it’s not going to church. It’s not if your good deeds outnumbered your bad. It’s not that you hope He will. It’s not any of those things. We can KNOW that we are saved and that we have eternal life, now.
“And this is the way to have eternal life, to know You, the only true God, and Jesus Christ, the one You sent to earth.”
John 17:3
- Here are Jesus own words, “I am the way, and the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through Me.” John 14:6 Jesus said He is the way to the Father and to eternal life.
- So it isn’t about us or what we do, right? Jesus is our answer! Why should God let us into His heaven? Jesus. Placing your trust, transferring your trust from what you do or don’t do, to only Jesus and what He has done for you. Only Jesus could do it and that is why God sent Him to earth and that is why the angels were rejoicing and declaring this glory to God! Jesus is our answer when we are asked for our reason. He is our testimony. Only and always Jesus. He paid the price for us to have eternal life. On our own we can’t because of our sinfulness, no matter how hard we might try to be good enough. God is holy and we are not on our own. But in trusting Jesus, we take on the rightness of Jesus and our sins are removed and we are white as snow, the Bible says.
“God made Him who had no sin to be sin for us, so that in Him we might become the righteousness of God”
2 Corinthians 5:21
“Christ redeemed us from the curse of the Law by becoming a curse for us. For it is written: ‘Cursed is everyone hung on a tree.”
Galatians 3:13
- Turn to God and ask Him by faith, to forgive you for your sins and thank Him for Jesus, your Savior. Tell Him you want to transfer your trust from yourself, to trusting in Jesus Christ alone; who died for your sins and rose from the grave to give you Life eternal. Surrender yourself to Him and ask Him to take over and lead your life. He is Lord! That means following Him and doing as He says in His Word.
“Therefore, having been justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ,”
Romans 5:1
“These things I have written to you who believe in the name of the Son of God, so that you may know that you have eternal life.”
1 John 5:13
“For God so loved the world, that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him shall not perish, but have eternal life.”
John 3:16
“Therefore if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creature; the old things passed away; behold, new things have come.”
2 Corinthians 5:17
- GLORY to GOD, new things have come through Jesus! Trust Him, no matter what. Let me know if you want to start reading the Word of God and grow in your life with Him. That would be His will and to His glory. Get ready for the New Year! God is faithful always.
