Christmas Prayer
31 And behold, you will conceive in your womb and bring forth a Son, and shall call His name Jesus. 32 He will be great, and will be called the Son of the Highest; and the Lord God will give Him the throne of His father David. 33 And He will reign over the house of Jacob forever, and of His kingdom there will be no end.”
37 For with God nothing will be impossible.”
38 Then Mary said, “Behold the maidservant of the Lord! Let it be to me according to your word.” And the angel departed from her.
Luke 1:31-33, 37-38 NKJV.
With the world in turmoil and confusion over the virus and other events, we need some good news. Well there is. The Christmas story takes on a greater significance against the backdrop of the world we live in now.
I never tire of the Christmas story. I never tire of seeing it portrayed in dramas and children’s end-of-year presentations. I never tire of hearing the Christmas story on radio or seeing it on television. I never tire of seeing Nativity scenes depicting the main characters in the story. They all remind me of the wonder of the whole reason for the Christmas story — the love of God, Jesus coming to earth, living an earthly life, leaving us His words of truth, the crucifixion, burial, and his triumphant resurrection. And all of that …, for me!
Simply put, Jesus came for you and me.
One thing is for sure – all around the world Christmas will be celebrated in different ways in different cultures, with different environments and restrictions because of the COVID-19 virus. I thought of the places you might be reading this Brief Word. Around New Zealand, Australia, Asia, Europe, Africa, the Americas, and other countries. May God be glorified!
Note: I will soon be working on the book Brief Word – A collection Volume #2. I’d love to hear from you how Brief Word has been a blessing to you. Feel free to send in a few words. Thank you.
There’s no doubt the COVID-19 virus has impacted life on planet earth like nothing ever has. Death, business failures, anti/pro vaxers, division, and government control; to name a few. World leaders are scrambling for answers, Church leaders are faced with challenges and difficult decisions, families are dealing with opposing but very passionate views and still wanting to do the right thing and exercise love and grace.
David Peters writes the following. [i]
“Giving endless time to conspiracies, no matter how truthful or otherwise they may be, and sending heated messages to pastors who are trying to do their best in the most difficult situations, are distractions. It’s time we got back to prayer, and mission, and robust faith that God is in control and on his throne. This is the Holy Spirit’s wake up call to the sleeping church”.
“The devil will not win. Evil people will not win. In the end everything hidden will come to light and corrupt people will stumble and fall”.
Be patient and wait for the Lord to act; don’t be worried about those who prosper or those who succeed in their evil plans. Psalm 37:7 GNT.
“In other words focus on the Lord and pray for His Kingdom to come to earth. Leave the wicked to Him. Let His light of kindness shine through us and love our enemies by praying for them. Some of them are Saul’s who will become Paul’s, (See Acts 9). And some are evil Herod’s whom God will remove, (See Acts 12:23). Leave it to Him to decide”.
“Do not be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good. Romans 12:21 NKJV”.
In the end it doesn’t matter who is right and who’s wrong, but it does matter that the Gospel goes out. We need to be peacemakers. It’s not our job to convince anyone in this regard, but it is our job to convince people of Jesus.
Another thing is sure in my mind. The pandemic is not of God, it is an evil thing with the Devil’s marks all over it. But don’t fight the darkness, instead turn on the light.
Hey, remember? You’ve read the end of the book? Yes? We win eventually. But we do need to be ready. Remember, Waste Girded — Lamp Burning (See Brief Word #117).
We need to be preparing the church for these incredible end times. It’s a privilege to be alive at this time in history.
So this year we may be celebrating Christmas differently depending on where we live, but the reason is the same. It’s about God loving us, sending Jesus, and giving us the opportunity to be forgiven and live with Him forever.
As I thought of the different cultures and the amazing variety there is in the world and the current pandemic climate, I find myself praying for you. My heart goes out to you, and the Christmas story this year inspired my heart to think of you and pray for you.
This is my Christmas Prayer for you.
I pray that you and I will not become Distracted from our call and purpose, and the priority of Jesus and the Gospel. May our focus remain the Lord, His Word, His people, and loving those around us.
I pray that you and I would not become Divided by the issues. Christ unites not divides. Let’s remember to love one another as the highest value, and do all we can to preserve unity.
I pray that you and I would not become Distressed [ii] at the enormity of it all. It is so easy to be informed, then we become concerned (which is good), but that soon grows into being consumed by all the media reports of doom and gloom, and pretty soon we’re full of fear. Fear is not of God, but love is. Stay close to Jesus and He will replace the fear with His peace.
The Apostle Paul wrote to the Roman Christians (See Romans 13, 14) at a time that was not unlike ours, but we know it was much more violent and brutal. He wasn’t distracted by the issues but kept his focus on Jesus and living a Christ-like life, which is a powerful witness. He wasn’t divided by the issues, but writes with incredible wisdom about how to live in the culture of the day. He also wasn’t distressed even though he knew his life would be taken from him.
So, we also need to be in prayer. Calling out to the Lord of the harvest to save lost souls, to have His way, to protect and empower His people. Let’s pray for us all to stay on mission, to remember our call and our God-given purpose. Let’s also pray that we will remain strong in Christ.
Finally, my brethren, be strong in the Lord and in the power of His might. Ephesians 6:10 NKJV.
May this Christmas remind us all of the wonder of His first coming and everything it means, but also remind us Jesus is coming again! World events are speeding towards that great day. Oh come Lord Jesus!
And behold, you will conceive in your womb and bring forth a Son, and shall call His name Jesus. Luke 1:31 NKJV.
Thank you for being Brief Word reader. May they continue to encourage and inspire you in the Lord. Wendy and I pray that you and your loved ones will have a wonderful Christmas, remembering Jesus.
[i] See https://mailchi.mp/b8ad42b3ec43/news-from-david-greta-11239778?e=1aac88443b0.
[ii] Thanks to Pastor Ken Legg for the Distracted, Divided, Distressed idea. www.kenlegg.com.au
