“I bring you good news that will bring great joy to all people. The Saviour—yes, the Messiah, the Lord—has been born today in Bethlehem, the city of David” Luke 2:10-11 NLT
For hundreds of years the people of Israel had been waiting and expecting a Messiah through very difficult circumstances, and even on that very night it wasn’t all sweetness and light, it was a time filled with uncertainty, and yet the news of Jesus’ birth brought hope! The Good News that would bring great joy to all people though wasn’t just about Jesus arriving, it was about how He would save them; that He would ultimately go through the worst of deaths, a crucifixion, to pay the price for the sin of the world, so that we might be forgiven and reconciled to a relationship with God. It’s sobering and sorrowful when we realise what Jesus chose to go through for us. There’s a right sense of remorse and mourning over the consequences of sin that lead to death, and yet the resurrection of Jesus changes everything; it brings great joy
when we understand that we can be born again, and raised to new life too. In the words of a very famous carol, ‘Hail the heaven born Prince of Peace, hail the Sun of righteousness,
light and life to all He brings, risen with healing in His wings. Mild He lays His glory by, born that man no more shall die. Born to raise the sons of earth, born to give them second birth. Hark the herald angels sing, glory to the new born King.’ Hark… I’m praying that we all listen and see something of His glory over this next week and experience the joy that only comes from knowing Him! I’ll be texting next on New Year’s Day – Happy Christmas! 👆🏼🙌🏼❤️