As we gather today to celebrate the birth of our Savior King, I am reminded of all the times throughout Scripture that God gave His people a promise about this very day. What a gift the birth of our Savior is to us! It is a promise fulfilled in an act of love.

As I have been studying God’s Word this past year, several verses that richly describe God’s love have stuck with me. They have also made me ask myself a key question: Does my love reflect His to all those I encounter?

In Exodus 34:6, we see God proclaim to Moses, “‘The Lord, the Lord, the compassionate, gracious God, slow to anger, ABOUNDING IN LOVE and faithfulness.’”

God uses Jeremiah to tell His chosen people, “‘I have loved you with an EVERLASTING LOVE; therefore I have continued my faithfulness to you’” (Jeremiah 31:3).

John 3:16 tells us that “God SO LOVED the world He gave His only begotten son…”

Lastly, John tells us in our verse for today, “Behold what manner of love the Father has given unto us, that we should be called the children of God! Therefore, the world does not know us, because it did not know Him” (1 John 3:1). 

As we walk through our days, I pray that we desire to honor this love that God so willingly gave us by loving others through His example. In times when this calling seems hard, remember that as His children, we are made in His image and “we love because He first loved us” (1 John 4:19).

“But God, being rich in mercy, because of the great love with which he loved us, even when we were dead in our trespasses, made us alive together with Christ—by grace you have been saved” (Ephesians 2:4-5).

“But God...” Those two words changed everything!

Right there in Ephesians 2, Paul drops the most powerful plot twist in human history. You were spiritually flatlined—no pulse, no hope, dead in your rebellion. And that’s when His love moved heaven and earth for you!

God didn’t wait for you to clean yourself up or prove your worth. He chose to love you anyway. Not with a cautious, “let’s wait and see” kind of love. No—with a marvelous and merciful love that pursues you into your darkest places and breathes resurrection life into your lifeless soul. This same love that makes you alive with Christ is the love that sent Christ to you in the first place. The baby in Bethlehem’s manger is God’s love taking on flesh and bone, entering your broken world to rescue you from death.

Grace unearned, undeserved, and unstoppable—that’s the beating heart of Christmas. You can’t place it in a stocking. You can’t buy it in a store. You can’t wrap it up with a bow. You can only receive it with wonder and awe, opening your empty hands to the God who gives life to the dead.

As you celebrate Christmas tomorrow, remember this: every gift under the tree is merely an echo of the ultimate Gift. God’s great love doesn’t just warm your heart; it resurrects your soul! That’s the miracle you celebrate. Those two words (“But God…”) changed everything. How will you live, knowing that you’re loved like this?

“For while we were still weak, at the right time Christ died for the ungodly. For one will scarcely die for a righteous person—though perhaps for a good person one would dare even to die—but God shows his love for us in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us” (Romans 5:6-8).

“Is it Christmas yet?! Do we still have to wait?” My home has been ringing with these phrases for weeks! The tree is up, the stockings hung, the presents not quite wrapped. Christmas is coming! But to my kids, the wait seems endless and frustrating.

If I’m honest, I also ask “yet/still” questions of a different sort. Mine are brought on by the mundane demands of daily life or by trials that overstay their welcome. (“Is it over yet? Are we still in this same place? Is my heart still struggling with this same thing?”) I get frustrated with where I am and lose sight of God’s love for me and others.

Romans 5 sets my thoughts on the right course. My greatest “yet/still” in life was completely transformed by the cross! While I was yet weak, while I was still a sinner, while I could never be a righteous person, that was the moment Christ died for me.

When I feel stuck and begin to doubt the love of my Father, this passage gives me great courage. He did not turn away from me when I was yet weak and still a sinner. Instead, He poured out forgiveness and love. It’s the same love that He pours into my heart daily through His Word, His Spirit, and His people as I walk through the “yet/still” challenges of life. My frustration is transformed into praise because of the love of Jesus!

“In this the love of God was made manifest among us, that God sent his only Son into the world, so that we might live through him. In this is love, not that we have loved God but that he loved us and sent his Son to be the propitiation for our sins” (1 John 4:9-10). 

During holiday seasons, sometimes we can feel alone and without a loving presence in our lives. This passage should always remind us that we are never alone, and we are never without the presence of love in our lives.

John writes that in Jesus’ birth, the presence of God was manifested (revealed) among us. No longer would there be a barrier or distance between God’s presence and humanity, but God would take on flesh to intimately be present among us and show us His great love. And beyond that, He would go further still: while we were still in our sins and were not showing love to Him, the Father would send His Son to die on the cross. Jesus, who knew no sin, would willingly become a sacrifice for our sins on the cross, becoming that great gift of love and sacrifice.

What a great blessing to have a God who would sacrifice His most precious Son to reconcile us with Himself. And what a great blessing to have our great Lord, Christ, willingly lay down His life for us as our propitiation (sacrifice). Let us cherish this great gift of the love and presence of God manifested among us, for us, and give Him great praise and gratitude for this rich, kingly gift!

“When they saw the star, they were overjoyed” (Matthew 2:10).

When I think of something that brings me joy, it doesn’t usually include months of walking on a cross-country journey. With that being said, it is estimated that the wise men walked anywhere from 500-900 miles over the course of multiple months as they sought to meet the newborn king (Matthew 2). This trek seems even more daunting considering the weather and conditions they would have faced on a journey of that magnitude, yet the wise men weren’t fazed. They were not basing their joy on current circumstances; rather, they were basing their joy on Christ and encountering Him.

Too often in the business of life, especially during the holiday seasons, we allow our circumstances to dictate our emotions. When we fall into this trap, the season can become like a roller coaster of emotions, taking us all over the place. One minute, life is fantastic as you’re enjoying Christmas rituals like driving around and seeing Christmas lights. Then the next moment, you are in dismay as you realize that money is going to be tight and you try to figure out gifts for your kids.

The reality is that the only true joy we can find in this life is through a relationship with Jesus Christ. As we enter into the Christmas season, we should take a lesson from the wise men: let Christ be the decider of our joy, not the circumstances we are currently walking though.

In Psalm 126, the Psalmist is remembering back to a time when God delivered His people from captivity. He remembers the weeping and grief that the people of Israel (Zion) experienced. It was a time where they were not living in their homes, a time when family was separated, a time when security was gone.

And yet, in remembering, he is not reflecting on the hardship that he endured, but on the joy of the gift of deliverance that God gave to Israel. The joy that filled their hearts resulted in laughter and joyful shouting, like children on Christmas morning who get the very gift they want and let out a loud shout of joy!

At the time of this Psalm, the joyful restoration is just a memory. In verse 4, the Psalmist calls on the Lord to bring a new deliverance into their lives. While there are good memories of great rejoicing, a sad reality is also present. He feels grief, but he has great expectations of future joy.

For those who belong to the Lord, no period of grief compares to the great final deliverance that we have in Christ. For those, like the Psalmist, who belong to God, we can weep and grieve in this world, yet we have great expectation of endless joy because of Christ. Take time to recount a time that the Lord has given you great joy. This is but a glimmer of the joy that we have and will have in Christ forever!

“Though you have not seen him, you love him; and even though you do not see him now, you believe in him and are filled with an inexpressible and glorious joy” (1 Peter 1:8).

Joy is talked about all the time during the Christmas season, but in this verse, we see a picture of joy that is rooted in something deeper. It is a joy that is not dependent on our earthly circumstances. It is an unchanging reality. It is inexpressible and surpasses all understanding. So where does this type of joy come from?

Peter shows us that it comes from one simple thing: faith in Jesus. Even though we have not seen Jesus with our eyes, we love Him and believe in Him. Faith is choosing to believe in the unseen. Romans 5:1 reminds us, “Since we have been justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ.” That peace blossoms into a joy rooted not in this world, but in the glory of God Himself. Through belief in the unseen Savior, our hearts are filled with an eternal joy that can coexist with trials and struggles—a joy that radiates the glory of our incredible God to the world around us.

“Rejoice in the Lord always; again I will say, rejoice” (Philippians 4:4).

“Rejoice” is a word we don’t often use in everyday life, yet in Philippians 4:4, Paul tells us not once but twice to rejoice. To rejoice means to display great joy and delight, but the kind of joy Paul speaks of goes much deeper than simple happiness.

As we enter the Christmas season, there are many favorite Christmas traditions that bring joy—a meal with friends or family, a treat that you only get during this season, watching Christmas movies, or a favorite holiday tradition, like looking at lights or putting up a Christmas tree. These are moments filled with happiness, but when Paul commands us to rejoice, he invites us to look not at something but at someone. He points us to the greatest joy–Christ Himself!

Paul’s words on rejoicing come just after his reminder about our citizenship in heaven and the hope we have of a returning Savior (Philippians 3:20). That is the foundation for our joy: it is not found in the passing moments of a season, but rather in the eternal person of Jesus Christ.

At Christmas, our joy looks back on a sacred holy night when God took on flesh–Emmanuel, God with Us! But as believers, we also look forward to a day when Christ will return, which gives us joy in the moment and hope for what tomorrow brings. 

This Christmas, may our hearts find joy in the Christmas season and worship for the everlasting One. We know that Christ came and that He will come again!

“Yet I will rejoice in the Lord; I will take joy in the God of my salvation” (Habakkuk 3:18).

Joy—an emotion we all crave—can often feel elusive. C.S. Lewis described joy as something glimpsed in one’s peripheral vision, suggesting it cannot be grasped by effort alone.

In Habakkuk 3:18, the prophet proclaims his joy in the Lord because he knows that God is the one who saves. While this truth seems obvious to believers—God saves through the birth, death, and resurrection of His Son, Jesus—many still struggle to find joy, even in light of the Good News. Habakkuk’s story offers guidance for those seasons. 

As a prophet, Habakkuk lived in a time when those seeking to honor God were persecuted by the wicked in Judah. He cried out to the Lord for help, but God’s reply was startling: He would use the wicked nation of Babylonia to punish Judah’s unfaithfulness. Habakkuk was confused. Why would God use a nation more corrupt than Judah to bring justice? God’s answer left him with a choice: trust in God’s wisdom or rely on his own understanding.

Habakkuk chose trust. In doing so, he found joy. Even while the prophet admitted his fear and dread about what lay ahead, even amid his turmoil, he rejoiced in the salvation that he knew God would bring.

During Advent, when challenges or sorrow may cloud our hearts, Habakkuk’s response reminds us that joy is not the absence of fear, but the presence of trust. As C.S. Lewis observed, we may be “surprised by joy”—finding it not by striving, but by choosing to trust God’s saving grace.

In the middle of a month supposedly overflowing with celebrations and festivities, joy often seems elusive. We know Jesus brings joy, but holding onto truth, and discerning how to hold that joy, feels as slippery as ice in December.

Hours before He went to the cross, Jesus said to His disciples, “These things I have spoken to you, that My joy may be in you and that your joy may be full.” (John 15:11) In exploring the context of this scene between Jesus and His disciples from John 13-17, we find Jesus teaching us how to have and hold His joy! The entry point to Joy is faith shaped by truth and evidence. Jesus invited His disciples to “Believe in God, believe also in Me.” (John 14:1)

Genuine faith in God brings closeness; “…whoever would draw near to God must believe…”. (Hebrews 11:6) This nearness to God results in a life that looks more like Jesus’. “Whoever believes in Me will also do the works that I do.” (John 14:12) In this space of relational nearness and growth, Jesus promises peace, “Peace I leave with you. My peace I give to you.” (John 14:27)

Finally, Jesus shares the joy factor by emphasizing His pathway again, “If you keep My commandments, you will abide in My love, […] These things I have spoken to you, that My Joy may be in you, and that your joy may be full.” (John 15:10-11)

When we come to Jesus in faith we are pulled close to His side, taught to live a life of love, and gifted peace only Jesus can give. This, brothers and sisters, is where joy’s effervescence thrives!