5 Miracles of Christmas: It is for Miracles

by David Chadwick Christmas is a beautiful time of year to reflect on the birth of Jesus and the historic moment that marked eternity! The first miracle of Christmas: it is a rescue mission. God sent his son to save us from our sins and to rescue us from the effects of sin. Second, Christmas is good news! The goodness of God’s love has chased us down and re-established a connection between us and the Father. And today…Christmas is for miracles! The entire Christmas narrative revolves around one major miracle. A baby, the perfect God/man named Jesus, is supernaturally conceived by the Holy Spirit in a virgin teen named Mary. But there are other miracles in this biblical story as well. Gabriel, an archangel, appears out of nowhere to give Mary this news of Jesus’s coming birth. Shepherds miraculously show up because angels tell them to go and visit Jesus. Wise men from the east show up following a miraculous sign from heaven, seen in a bright star, that led them to Bethlehem to meet the Savior of the world. Perhaps the greatest miracle in the entire Christmas story is you and me who believe. That God would take our dead spirits (Ephesians 2:2) and miraculously make them alive in Jesus. “Born again” out of death and into marvelous light (1 Peter 2:9). The many miracles found in the Christmas story show us that miracles are a part of how God displays his power, his might, and reveals his kingdom to his people. And miracles still happen today. Maybe there is a Christmas miracle around the corner for you? Something you have longed for, waited for, believed for? My dear friends, please remember that all it takes is for God to speak a word for something to be done! Don’t give up. Keep believing! Hope begets hope! May we thank God for the true meaning of Christmas!

5 Miracles of Christmas: It is Good News

by David Chadwick You don’t have to look far to find a headline blasting bad news. Bad news is everywhere. Wars and rumors of wars. Creation gone awry and groaning (Romans 8:22). Earthquakes, tornadoes, hurricanes everywhere. Disease. Unabated anger in the streets. Division, disruption, and chaos seem to be the norm. Yesterday, we learned that the first miracle of Christmas was that it was a rescue mission. A valiant quest to rescue the crown of God’s creation, you and me, from the influence and power of the evil one. The Christmas season highlights this rescue mission. Today, we see that Christmas really is the opposite of bad news. It’s good news! From the earliest pages of the Old Testament, God promises a good and everlasting kingdom (Daniel 7). The First Coming of Jesus was to forgive us from our sins and to set the stage for good news to prevail for those who follow him. His Second Coming will be to establish a perfect world here. Upon salvation, we are grafted into a kingdom that brings hope and light in the midst of brokenness. We are also given the assurance of a Second Coming where a new heaven and new earth will be established and none of this bad news exists (Revelation 21:1). Heaven will be our eternal home. This is our HOPE and expectation. One day, the earth will be rid of all bad news. It will happen. Jesus said so. This is the very hope, and the second miracle that tells us the true meaning of Christmas! We are forever forgiven. Fully loved. God’s goodness in and through us. What good news!

5 Miracles of Christmas: It is a Rescue Mission

by David Chadwick Christmas is a rescue mission. A mission to rescue mankind, the crown of God’s creation, from the influence and power of the evil one. To set us free from the curse of sin and death. Before Jesus came as a baby in a manger, we were all dead in our sins and trespasses with no hope of living forever with our eternal Father (Ephesians 2:1-2). The wages of our sin is death. Separation from our heavenly Father forever. A fragmented life bound by the kingdom of darkness. After 400 long years of waiting and longing for a Savior, a Deliverer, and a Rescuer (from Malachi to Matthew), the Father said to the Son, “Will you go? And rescue my children from their sins?” The Son, named Jesus (which means “Savior”), said “Yes” to his Father’s request. Jesus put on human flesh, took on the form of a servant, and went to the cross to rescue us from our sin. He then rose from the dead to show us that his resurrection is now our resurrection, for those of us who believe (Philippians 2:5-11). We now sit with Jesus in the heavenlies, ruling over all (Ephesians 2:6). A mysterious reality of grace that Jesus made possible. Amidst the pain, turmoil, stress, and problems of this broken world, we have this hope as an anchor for our soul. We have been forgiven of our sins and rescued from the kingdom of darkness and placed into our Father’s glorious kingdom of light. Ruling and reigning with him forever. This is the true miracle of Christmas. A rescue mission that secures our eternal hope. And gives us new citizenship in an everlasting kingdom.