"Love all, Spend less, Give more"

It is the time of year again. December has come and with all the joys of Christmas. But what is the real meaning of Christmas? Is it the gifts under the tree, the lights in the windows, the cards in the mail, ham dinner with family and friends, stocking in the living room and shouting of " Merry Christmas" to those who pass us in the streets? Is this really Christmas?

For many people, Christmas is a time of sorrow. They don't have the extra money to buy presents for their children, family and friends. Many are saddened at Christmas when they think of their loved ones who will not be able to come home for various reasons. Yet, Christmas can be a reason of great joy. It is a time of God showing His great love for us. It can be a time of healing and renewed strength. You see, Christmas is when we celebrate the birth of the Christ Child. God sent His son, Jesus into the world to be born. His birth brought great joy to the world. Shepherds, wise men and angels all shared in the excitement of knowing about this great event. They knew this was no ordinary day. The prophets had told of His coming hundreds of years before. The star stopped over Bethlehem just to mark the way for those who were looking for this special child.

Why did He come? Why did God send His son to this cruel and hard world? He sent Jesus to us so that one day, He would grow up to become a very important part of history. His story is one of truth, love and hope. It brought salvation to all of us. Without Jesus, we would all die in our sins. Jesus was born so one day the price could be paid for things we have done that are wrong. The bible says that all have sinned. We are all born with a sin nature. We do things that do not please God. Through the sins of Adam and Eve, we have all inherited that sin nature. We need to have that removed. The only way is through Jesus. Jesus came so he could die on the cross for all of our sins. If we believe that Jesus died for our sins, we can ask him to come into our hearts and forgive us. Then, we are clean and made whole. We can know that heaven is a place where we can go to when this life is over.

We can truly be happy at Christmas. No matter what may be happening, we can know that we are His children. We then become sons and daughters of God. Heaven will be can home one day. Look at Christmas in a new way this year. This is the year to invite Jesus into your heart. You will then have a  "Merry Christmas". The joy and peace you will receive will last all year as you look to God for all your needs to be met.

Jesus is the Reason For the Season! Rejoice.