Good Tuesday morning! I'm sorry, but our lunar eclipse was cancelled due to cloud cover last night. Europe is being buried in snow and we don't have any. Merry Christmas to all and to all a good night! That state with all the drought problems is now under water. The truth may or may not be in the news depending upon whom you ask. And another explosive device has been found... this time in Rome. Looking at the news headlines first thing in the morning can leave a person feeling lost and hopeless. Who is in charge of this mess? The Bible tells us that God is sovereign, but the news may have it right: things are going to get worse before they get better. We want Christmas to be a time of peace and joy, but much of the world does not believe in Christ or celebrate his birth. The Christmas celebration by some can make those left out feel more lonely than ever. Should we all just give up? Live life with an, "Oh well, God is going to blow up the world at any moment. I think I'll just go have a Popsicle."?
We know better. God is in charge and the world will get worse as the end approaches. But the end for the world as we know it is but the start of the great things to come! Jesus is coming soon, and this time He will come in His glory. The Christmas we celebrate is just a tiny taste of the great celebration Jesus will hold soon. We may not find much peace and joy in the news reports, but Jesus gives us His peace and puts joy in our hearts with His Spirit. Do you think the world looked perfect when Mary was told of her special honor in bearing the Lord's Christ? Did she get up the next morning ready to spread the good news to her mother and father? We don't know from the Bible accounts, but that must have been one interesting announcement. Judea had been conquered and now existed as a territory of Rome. A man who it is likely few had met in Judea had just uprooted everyone not living in their ancestral homes. Joseph had to pack up and go to Bethlehem. Who gives a person this kind of power over people far away? God does. Caesar Augustus would have held no power had not God raised up Rome as an empire. Secular historians would argue with me on this.
Joseph and Mary probably didn't look forward to making a lengthy journey - and you just know it wasn't at the comfortable weather time of the year - to a little town that may not have counted for much in the society of the time. The first Christmas may have been a real pain for those few who knew what was arriving in the shape of this little child. Praise God for the strength He gave those people at that time. That strength that God gives is available to all who believe in His Son, even now when the world may seem to be completely out of control. Trust in God and remember the promise He made with this little child whose birth we celebrate to this day.
Have a great and happy Christmas,
Bucky
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