Glad tidings of great joy (Dec 25)

“And in the same region there were shepherds out in the field, keeping watch over their flock by night.  And an angel of the Lord appeared to them, and the glory of the Lord shone around them, and they were filled with fear. And the angel said to them, “Fear not, for behold, I bring you good news of great joy that will be for all the people. For unto you is born this day in the city of David a Saviour, who is Christ the Lord. And this will be a sign for you: you will find a baby wrapped in swaddling cloths and lying in a manger.”  And suddenly there was with the angel a multitude of the heavenly host praising God and saying,

When the angels went away from them into heaven, the shepherds said to one another, “Let us go over to Bethlehem and see this thing that has happened, which the Lord has made known to us.” And they went with haste and found Mary and Joseph, and the baby lying in a manger. And when they saw it, they made known the saying that had been told them concerning this child. And all who heard it wondered at what the shepherds told them.” Luke 2:8-18
The greatest moment in history. The moment that split everything into two. the birth of Jesus, the Prince of Peace who had come to die in our place and solve the problem created by our sin once and for all. A moment that was celebrated by a chorus of angels. A moment that means we can have hope in the darkness for our God is with us. A moment that is good new of great joy for all people for the manger shows us how much God loves us. He so loves the world that He sent His only Son to be born as a man, the Word to take on flesh, to take the nails, to die in our place, to show us amazing grace, that whosoever believes in His name shall not perish but have everlasting life. That is a message of incredible grace, of radical love, of unearned favour. That is a message that is good news of great joy for all people.
This is a gift given for all. Jesus died for you and for me and for all mankind. For young, old, rich, poor, for locals and for refugees, male, female, slave, free, smart, dumb, black, white, mixed race, Asian, Caucasian, African, American, African-American, Indian, Israeli, Palestinian and all other nationalities, for working class, for middle class, for upper class, for royalty and homeless men, for religious saint and lowest sinner, for straight, for gay, for bi, for trans, for gambler, for alcoholic, for swindler, for prostitute, for abuser, for abused, for rejects, for outcasts, for those struggling, for those who have it all together, for the sick, for the handicapped, for the lame, for the blind, for those with baggage, for those in need of help, for the addicted, for the weary, for the forgotten, for the hurting, for the whole world.
There is good news of great joy for all people for our Saviour, Jesus was born on Christmas morning. There is good news of great joy for all people for He died on the cross as a perfect sacrifice to cover the debt of all our sins so that all who call upon the name of the Lord and repent may be forgiven and clothed in righteousness that we do not deserve. There is no sin that can exclude us from this gift of grace. There is no nationality that can exclude us. It is not just for followers of a certain denomination or observers of the right tradition. This is good news of great for all people for the gift of Christmas is forgiveness of sins, reconciliation with our loving Father and life everlasting for all who call on the name of the Lord. May you come and receive that gift today if you have not yet done so. May you know you are included even if religious people try to say you are too far gone or that you aren’t welcome. May we let the good news ring out to all people – not just those who look like us and act nice, but to all people. There is good news, not just for us but for all man. There is great joy available to all – come and join the Christmas celebration because of what Jesus has done for us!

Merry Christmas from All4God