As we come to God in brokenness and meekness, we hunger and thirst for righteousness. It’s in righteousness, then, that we are truly able to be merciful. It is a result of righteousness.

We need to get to the place of mourning over our sinfulness to find true happiness in the Lord. In our mourning, we then come to the Lord in meekness, realizing the holiness of God, to seek righteousness.

Jesus wants us to experience true, long-lasting happiness, which only comes through realizing we are spiritually empty. It’s only in Jesus that we can be truly happy.

Matthew summarizes Jesus’s plan to reach the people of the area and beyond by what he spoke and the miracles he performed – both pointing to his messiahship and kingship.

As we look to the new year, what would God have us do? The author of Hebrews gives us five New Year’s resolutions, beginning with, “Let us draw near to God.”

(Hebrews 10:19-25)

The angel announced to the shepherds that a Savior had been born, He is the Christ and He is Lord. What was/is the significance of those titles to them and to us?

In God’s meticulous timing, the Light of Jesus Christ not only dawned at the right time, but also in the right place – the darkest area that needed the greatest light.

In God’s meticulous timing, the Light of Jesus Christ not only dawned at the right time, but also in the right place – the darkest area that needed the greatest light.

(Matthew 4:12-17)

In God’s timetable and preciseness, the “dawning of the Light” – the beginning of Jesus’ ministry – happened at just the right point in time as God’s Light begins to pierce the darkness of the world.