Many of us have wondered or asked: “Who is God?” or “What is God like?” A one-word description that perfectly describes God is holy. From its original Hebrew translation, holiness is “apartness” or “sacredness”—something set apart, different from anything else. In Scripture, we can see two aspects of God’s holiness: His goodness and His greatness. The holiness of God means that there is no one or nothing that can compare to Him. God is perfect in every way. A misunderstanding of God’s holiness can make us run from God like so many in the world do.However, a proper view of God’s holiness should cause us to run to God. We do this through praise and worship. Only our holy God is worthy of the attention of our hearts and our adoration.

As we enter into the new year, it is important to take a moment to pause and reflect on this past year and also to prepare and plan for the upcoming year. Although God loves us the same yesterday, today, and tomorrow, His desire is for us to progress and mature in our walk with Him. We can recognize and align ourselves with His plan for our lives as we enter into 2024 together. This often includes reprioritizing the focus of our hearts.

The story of Christmas reveals God's heart to bring hope, peace, and joy to the world. The Magi, or “wise men” from the East, were astrologers who studied the stars looking for signs of a coming savior. They saw a sign in the stars that got their attention and went to the king’s palace in Jerusalem in search. God then sent a star to guide them to the exact place where Jesus was–not to a palace but to a humble home where Jesus was born in a stable and placed in a manger.

The story of Christmas reveals God's heart to bring hope, peace, and joy to the world. The Magi, or “wise men” from the East, were astrologers who studied the stars looking for signs of a coming savior. They saw a sign in the stars that got their attention and went to the king’s palace in Jerusalem in search. God then sent a star to guide them to the exact place where Jesus was–not to a palace but to a humble home where Jesus was born in a stable and placed in a manger.

The story of Christmas reveals God's heart to bring hope, peace, and joy to the world. The Magi, or “wise men” from the East, were astrologers who studied the stars looking for signs of a coming savior. They saw a sign in the stars that got their attention and went to the king’s palace in Jerusalem in search. God then sent a star to guide them to the exact place where Jesus was–not to a palace but to a humble home where Jesus was born in a stable and placed in a manger.

God’s promise of hope is for the whole world–not just for a select group of people. This promise was fulfilled when Jesus came to save the entire world from the curse of sin and death. Through him, we can find joy amid this broken world. The joy we as Christians find in Christ is meant to be shared with the entire world. Although our schedules may be full of events during the holiday season, it’s still our responsibility to make room and be intentional in sharing the joy of Christ with those around us. Many family members, friends, loved ones, and coworkers face hard times this time of the year, but we also know Christmas is a time when people are open to the Gospel.

God’s promise of hope is for the whole world–not just for a select group of people. This promise was fulfilled when Jesus came to save the entire world from the curse of sin and death. Through him, we can find joy amid this broken world. The joy we as Christians find in Christ is meant to be shared with the entire world. Although our schedules may be full of events during the holiday season, it’s still our responsibility to make room and be intentional in sharing the joy of Christ with those around us. Many family members, friends, loved ones, and coworkers face hard times this time of the year, but we also know Christmas is a time when people are open to the Gospel.

Jesus came to bring us peace. We experience this peace when we choose to follow and trust Him. Christmas can conjure up images of a peaceful nativity scene with Mary, Joseph, and Jesus in a manger. However, Mary and Joseph had to endure a tremendous ordeal to get to this moment to fulfill God’s plan to bring peace to Earth. They had to travel almost 10 days and 100 miles from Nazareth to Bethlehem to register in a census enduring difficulty and dangers since Mary was about to give birth. Mary then had to give birth to Jesus in a less-than-sanitary condition in an animal stable. However, we see that this was all a part of God’s plan because Jesus’ place of birth was prophesied to be the town of Bethlehem over 700 years before His arrival. From this, we can have peace amid the journeys of our lives when we know that God is in control and has a plan that He will fulfill as we trust in Him.

Jesus came to bring us peace. We experience this peace when we choose to follow and trust Him. Christmas can conjure up images of a peaceful nativity scene with Mary, Joseph, and Jesus in a manger. However, Mary and Joseph had to endure a tremendous ordeal to get to this moment to fulfill God’s plan to bring peace to Earth. They had to travel almost 10 days and 100 miles from Nazareth to Bethlehem to register in a census enduring difficulty and dangers since Mary was about to give birth. Mary then had to give birth to Jesus in a less-than-sanitary condition in an animal stable. However, we see that this was all a part of God’s plan because Jesus’ place of birth was prophesied to be the town of Bethlehem over 700 years before His arrival. From this, we can have peace amid the journeys of our lives when we know that God is in control and has a plan that He will fulfill as we trust in Him.

God is a promise keeper. Over 700 years before the birth of Christ. God spoke to the numerous prophets like Moses, Jeremiah, Micah, and Isaiah that He was going to deliver humanity from the oppression of sin by sending Jesus the Messiah or Savior to the earth. Christ's arrival, which we celebrate at Christmas, fulfilled this promise and proved that God is a promise keeper.