John 1:14 The Word became flesh and made his dwelling among us. We have seen his glory, the glory of the One and Only, who came from the Father, full of grace and truth.
Luke 2:6-7 While they were there, the time came for the baby to be born, and she gave birth to her firstborn, a son. She wrapped him in cloths and placed him in a manger, because there was no room for them in the inn.
In the original Christmas story, the whole world was too busy to have room for the one person it needed the most – Jesus! Today what we still need most is Jesus! He is the only one who can bring “peace to all men” (Luke 2:14) and to our lives.
John 1:14 tells us that anytime we need Him, we can open our Bibles and He will be with us and speak to us through the Holy Spirit. Jesus is “the word made flesh” and so everything He wants to say to us is in the Bible. All of us can hear from God everyday by His Spirit and through His Word. But just like the Christmas story, everything in this world crowds Him out. All that is going on in our lives crowds out time to read His Word and let Him speak to us.
Christmas is a wonderful season to make time for our family and friends that we often don’t see or focus on because of the demands of work and life. As we do that, let’s make sure Jesus still stays the center of the season by making room for His Word in our daily lives.
Here is a simple way to experience Jesus and His love every day through His Word:
- Talk to God: Invite Jesus to be with you today. Praise Him for who He is and tell Him how you are feeling and what your needs are.
- Hear from God: Choose a passage to read and let Him speak to you. You could read all of Luke 2 today and see what God highlights to you as you read the Christmas story.
- Give to God: As God highlights certain verses to you, let the Holy Spirit show you what God wants you to give Him and let Him completely control and care for.
- Be filled with God: As you give to God, He will always give back to you. Worship, pray and invite Him to fill and overflow you so that all you face today is done in His power.
- Finish in Unity: Finish your time with God praying for others and not just yourself. Pray for the needs and victories in others so that the world may see how God and loving He is.
As we make room for Him by making time to read the Bible every day, three blessings will happen during this Christmas season. First, God will speak to us about what is most important each day and we won’t be so frantic to get everything done. Second, people won’t be able to take away our peace because our focus will be the Prince of Peace (Isaiah 9:6). Third, we will love and enjoy people better instead of needing to be validated or approved by them.
Merry Jesus-centered Christmas!
Pastor Shawn