Did you enjoy Christmas with family and friends? During this wonderful season, we often like to read great literature, watch a great movie, or hear a great story—and be deeply moved.  Yet what moves us?

Among other things, point of view strongly affects how we’re moved. To the very finite, limited extent that a story’s point of view reflects God’s point of view, we can be moved to a new spiritual appreciation of Jesus Christ’s unlimited point of view.

In a story, point of view can be omniscient or all-knowing. It doesn’t mean the narrator tells us everything he or she knows. During His public ministry, Jesus certainly didn’t say everything He knew. He did that on purpose!

Point of view can be omnipotent or all-powerful. Since the days of Jesus and the apostles, the Lord doesn’t directly speak to individuals, let alone heal the sick and otherwise bend the laws of nature. Or, does He?

Again, any story’s point of view is only a small inkling of Jesus’ unlimited point of view. So, don’t get too carried away! Still, try seeing the world as Jesus does the next time you sit down to enjoy a great story.

This is Luis Palau.

God loves shepherds. Think of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. Think of Moses. Think of David. All mighty heroes of the faith!

No one had such hopes, however, for the shepherds in Luke chapter 2. After all, much more important people—namely, King David’s royal descendants—filled the rooms of Bethlehem’s inns. Yet it was not to any of these VIPs that God sent His angel to announce the birth of the Savior. Instead, God displayed His extraordinary concert and light show to a group of humble shepherds—and invited them to see the Messiah so many had been waiting for.

The shepherds immediately ran to see the Christ child in Bethlehem of Judea. He would fulfill every godly Israelite’s greatest hopes...and answer every God-fearing Gentile’s deepest longings.

Of course, the shepherds couldn’t stick around all night. As they headed back to the neighboring hills, Luke tells us they told the miraculous news to everyone they met. Those earthy, lowly shepherds knew that God’s Good News is worth telling. That’s still true today. And you and I are His voice to everyone in our world.

This is Luis Palau.

After the birth of Jesus, the angels couldn’t keep quiet. “Don’t be afraid!” an angel told the shepherds. “I bring you good news that will bring great joy to all people.” [Luke 2:10) This news was so great that Luke, a Gentile, would be asked by God to write the longest and most detailed of the four Gospel accounts. And what was the great news? That on the first Christmas, 2,000 years ago, God became one of us – but without sin.

Of course, that’s only part of the greatest story ever told. By itself, Christmas is astounding, almost unbelievable. But it’s not miraculous enough. In Scripture, the “good news that will bring great joy to all people” is never understood in terms of Christmas alone. The angel of the Lord immediately goes on to say, “The Savior—yes, the Messiah, the Lord—has been born today in Bethlehem, the city of David.” [Luke 2:11]

God’s greatest gift wasn’t simply sending His Son, Jesus, but sending Him to live among us, die for us, and rise again. He did this in order to offer us redemption, forgiveness of sins, and adoption into His family forever.

May we never grow too old to contemplate such glad tidings of great joy, or to spread the word of God’s wonderful gift.

This is Luis Palau.

Unlike the original cast of characters in the Holy Land 2,000 years ago, we know "the greatest story ever told" doesn’t begin, let alone end, with Christmas. Three months from now, we will celebrate the focal point of Jesus’ earthly life during Passion, Good Friday, and Easter Resurrection Sunday.

So, how do we best celebrate the Lord today and every day? Hebrews 13:15-16 urges us to “continually offer the sacrifice of praise to God, that is, the fruit of our lips that confess His name. But do not forget to do good and to share, for with such sacrifices God is well pleased.” 

How do we celebrate, then? We do so by praising and thanking God the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy Spirit. We also do so by doing good and sharing with others. In practical terms, you and I make the Trinity happy when we decorate our homes, make delicious foods, assemble gifts, offer hospitality, and then thank Jesus before one and all. And plainly confess His Name to non-believers. That is worship too – did you know?

The bottom line is this: Celebrating is important! So, let’s never apologize for doing so. Instead, let’s do it all the better.

This is Luis Palau.

Every Christmas, my kids rush to unpack all the decorations. And while their primary focus is decorating the tree, I carefully unwrap the Nativity scene and put it in its spot right on the mantel.

Did you know that you have a nativity too? Nativity simply means the time and place of one’s birth and as a Christian, you have both a place where you were born physically and a place where you were reborn into the family of God. In John chapter 3, Jesus tells Nicodemus “Truly, truly, I say to you, unless one is born again he cannot see the kingdom of God.”

Jesus goes on to say “For God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life.” Isn’t that good news? Through Jesus, we get to start fresh. We walk away from old habits, sadness, broken hearts, hopelessness, and we can accept new hope and life through Jesus.  

In this holiday season, let every carol, every manger scene, every Christmas card, and every time we hear someone say “Merry Christmas” be a constant reminder of the new life Christ has given us through His life, death and resurrection. Be sure to share this joy and hope with others in your world who need to hear the Good News.

This is Andrew Palau.

How many of you parents have said to your kids, “Christmas isn’t about receiving, it’s about giving?” It can be hard, though, when everything on TV and the internet says, ask for more, more, more! Even adults get into this mindset. Christmas is all about us. We want to have the perfect storybook Christmas, where we make all of the cookies we love and do all of the events we want to do.

Christmas becomes about us doing what we want, instead of remembering that Christ has always asked us to “take up our crosses and follow Him.” While that verse reminds us of Easter, not Christmas, the life of a Christian always has both in mind: the cradle and the cross. So, even at Christmas, we can be looking for ways to give of ourselves and our time – because that is what Jesus would have us do. He did that Himself, didn’t He?

Remembering the cross at Christmas might mean, for some of us, spending Christmas day at a local soup kitchen or with elderly people who no longer have families. It might mean setting up the chairs for Christmas Eve service, and staying long after to clean up. It might mean inviting someone who is alone this Christmas to dinner. And here’s the best part: we will be blessed as we bless others. As we share the light of Christ with them, we will feel the light of Christ become brighter and stronger in our own hearts! What world-changing work Jesus has called us to do!

This is Luis Palau.

Christmas often means inviting people to your home, whether its family, neighbors, or co-workers. We often work hard to create the perfect holiday, making sure everyone is comfortable and welcome. But sometimes, sharing the true meaning of Christmas requires going outside of our comfy, warm houses and meeting people where they are. Sometimes we have to go to them.

It can be so easy to sit in our own little bubble, assuming we are doing Christmas in the right way because we are showing people the love of Christ. Suddenly we look around and realize that everyone in our bubble already KNOWS the love of Christ. To spread the good news of Christ’s birth to those who need Him most, we need to leave our bubbles and go out to where others are, bringing Christ to them.

This could look like any number of things. It could mean throwing a Christmas party for the community youth center, but first asking the kids what THEY want. Or not just donating money to a local homeless center, but asking what they need and then bringing it to them.

Jesus says Christians are to “go into ALL the world and proclaim the Good News to everyone.” Sometimes that might mean China, and sometimes that might mean the company Christmas party. Let’s get out of our comfort zones this Christmas, and share the light of Christ.

This is Luis Palau.

Where I live in Oregon doesn’t get much snow at Christmas time. It’s often gray and rainy. But I love looking at those beautiful images on Christmas cards, pictures of cozy houses with thatched roofs nestled in banks of white snow. The reason they look so inviting is that every window is bursting with light. You can just tell that the inside is warm and bright, even while the outside is cold and dark. The home just can’t contain its welcome. It shines out!

Christmas is so much about hospitality, inviting other people in. I think partially it is because the blessed virgin Mary and Joseph didn’t find any “room at the inn,” and so were forced to entertain shepherds in a barn. But they still invited in the poor shepherds because the welcome of Jesus cannot be contained, no matter where He is. Wherever Jesus is, there is hope, and joy, and warmth: in barns and in homes, in cold and in clouds. We are welcome into God’s family, thanks to Jesus our Lord.

Is the welcome of Jesus felt in your home this holiday season? Is your home bursting with light and warmth? Do people feel welcome in your home; not just because you have Christmas cookies and hot chocolate, but because they can sense that Jesus is there? This Christmas season, let Jesus spill out of your windows, lighting the whole street with His joy. You don’t know who needs to come in out of the cold, and into God’s loving, eternal family.

This is Luis Palau.

I am always at home over Christmas, celebrating at the Palau Association Christmas party, attending events at my church, and enjoying my family. But it’s amazing how quickly “staying home for the holidays” can turn into “I’m never home during the holidays.” Christmas parties and church events start to multiply, as do Christmas programs, concerts, and open houses. Add to those wonderful things the baking, shopping, and planning holidays always seem to require, and “the most wonderful time of the year” quickly becomes “the busiest time of the year.”

Christmas brings all sorts of wonderful opportunities to reconnect and enjoy our communities, but we can so easily get too busy celebrating Christmas that we forget the Christ we are celebrating. We get so busy planning the perfect Christmas that we neglect to read the Bible and learn more about the reason for the season. We get so busy running from here to there that we start missing church.

Christmas is a beautiful time of the year, but we cannot neglect to remember the real reason for the season. We celebrate Christmas because “unto us a child was born, unto us a son was given.” Imagine! The Son of God chose to become a man so He could rescue us all if only we believe in Him and repent of our sins. What a blessing! What a joy! What a message that needs to be spread far and wide to everyone we know!

This is Luis Palau.

Growing up, I loved decorating the Christmas tree with candy canes.  The more the better – that way I knew there would be enough to sneak off the tree for me to eat.  I was always careful, trying to sneak them when my mom wasn’t looking. I would move the rest of the ornaments around, hoping the empty space on the tree wouldn’t be noticeable.  The funny thing is that I’m sure Mom always knew.

The candy cane came into existence in Germany in the late 18th century.  From there the tradition spread throughout Europe and reached America in the early 1800s.  It acquired its distinctive red stripe about a hundred years later.

Although not originally created as a Christian symbol, many have begun to use the candy cane as a way to share about the life of Jesus Christ.  The shape, depending on the way you hold it, could be a J for Jesus, or a shepherd’s crook reminding us that Jesus is the Good Shepherd.  The hard candy represents Jesus as the Rock of Salvation.  The white color represents Jesus’ pure, sinless nature – the perfect Savior of the world.  And the red stripe reminds us of the blood Jesus shed on the cross when He died for us.

This simple Christmas candy can be used as an object lesson when we share the true story of Christmas with people in our world.                 

This is Andrew Palau.