It's Christmas Day at last! Hurray! Hallelujah! Not like we've ever experienced before and probably most of us aren't able to have a gathering of wider family, but it is Christmas Day and we can celebrate the birth of Jesus, which is what it's all about after all. Jesus was born over 2000 years ago and still most of the world are celebrating his birthday. So he must be pretty special. But who Jesus is can all be a bit confusing. Isn't this all just about the birthday of a famous baby?
Well, to start with, there was a big build up. As we have seen in previous weeks, there were many prophecies about where the Messiah would be born, how that would happen, what he would do, what he would be like, how he would behave, how he would die, that he would rise from the dead, be a saviour for mankind, and be the undisputed ruler of the world when he returns at the end of the time. When he was born, there was a lot of spiritual activity, with angels announcing his birth, people being sent from foreign countries to visit him, prophets declaring who he was and what he would do. Then of course, there was the attempt on his life by King Herod, to stop his mission from be accomplished at all. Finally, John the Baptist ushered in Jesus as this Messiah who would fulfil the prophecies.
Jesus lived an amazing supernatural life as an inspired teacher, anointed prophet, powerful miracle worker and compassionate pastor. He surpassed what anyone else has ever done or been, because he was not just a man but also God, although he was completely a man; he was also completely God, who is pure spirit, while still being fully human with a physical body. And He died and rose again from the dead, so that we can all be forgiven everything that we have ever done wrong - and then live with him in Heaven for ever, if we are willing to believe in him as the Son of God and commit our lives to him. The world has been turned upside down by his message of love and grace, and billions of lives have been transformed from living their own way to becoming children of God with all the freedom that comes with that. So Jesus' birth is definitely worth making a fuss about.
If you haven't yet experienced the overwhelming love and forgiveness of God, and the release and power of living with his Holy Spirit, then you could let Jesus give you the best Christmas present ever by surrendering your life to him today. If you want to know how to do that, then visit our page on knowing God.
This year's full Advent Adventure can be found here. And remember, to be notified of new posts throughout the rest of the year, rather than waiting for next Advent, you can click on the free 'subscribe' button at the top of our Home page. Have a great Christmas!
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