Because God is real, your life has meaning.

Read Luke 1:26-38

People need purpose. In the absence of purpose, we’re left to drift through this life filling our time, heart and minds with activities, fleeting pleasures and anything else that we can find to fight off the sadness that comes with emptiness. We need to live for something more. We need to know that our lives, our thoughts, our interests, our passions and our abilities can make a difference beyond ourselves.

The good news is that God has purpose for your life. Ephesians 2:10 tells us that we are created for good works. God has designed and created us to do good things. Good things are helpful. Good things bring joy to others. Good things move our society forward.

You are created for good things!

Mary was told what her purpose was. This teenage girl had a miraculous visit from an angel and was told that she found favor with God. The word “favor” simply means “grace.” Mary did nothing to earn or deserve the role she was about to play in God’s redemptive story. But God’s grace found her and gave her clear purpose for the rest of her life.

God’s grace has found you, too.

This Christmas season, thank God for the grace He has shown you. Write down all the ways you see evidence of God’s grace in your life. Ask Him how you can use your time, abilities, interests and passions to do some “good things” for others. Fueled by God’s grace, you can easily send a note of encouragement to someone or volunteer somewhere.

God showed Mary just how real He was and gave her great purpose through a great gift of grace.

God has given you great grace, too. Allow His grace to help you find your purpose and experience His reality in your life this Christmas.

Reflection: How have I experienced God’s grace? What are my passions, interests and abilities?

Action: What “good thing” will I do this Christmas that will be a blessing to someone else?

Because God is real, you matter to God.

Matthew 1:18-25

Have you ever felt invisible or overlooked? Have you ever experienced that the looks, success, personality, or position of other people outshone who you are, and you’re left sitting off to the side by yourself and forgotten? Those are painful moments, and when they happen even just a few times, you begin to believe a lie: that you just don’t matter.

Consider Joseph in the nativity story. We get a few verses about him, but he’s overshadowed by Jesus (obviously), Mary, and even the shepherds. Just think about the Christmas songs we love to sing and listen to. Mary has a popular modern song (Mary, did you know?). The shepherds share the spotlight with the angels in “Go Tell It on the Mountain.” The Magi have “We Three Kings,” and even some fictional drummer boy has a song (who bangs a drum in front of a newborn and his exhausted mom!). But anything about Joseph? Nope.

But Joseph is important. He does matter. He was seen and chosen by God to play an integral part of the Christmas story. Joseph was of the tribe of Judah, the tribe prophesied that the Messiah would also be a part of. Joseph was described as a “just man” - one who had high character and integrity. Joseph was a carpenter; he had a good sense of the value of hard work and creating things of quality. The passage also tells us that once Joseph awoke from his dream in which the angel spoke to him, that he “did as the angel of the Lord commanded him.” Joseph possessed dedication, perseverance and trust in God.

Just like Joseph, you also matter to God. God sees you. He doesn’t just look past you to find someone else who is more interesting. He knows each hair on your head. He knows every beat of your heart. He knows your name and just like Joseph, he calls you by name to take part of His great story of redemption.

God became very real to Joseph that night, and Joseph realized that he mattered to God.

As you grasp the reality of God this Christmas, realize that you matter to God, too.

Reflection: The bible talks a lot about God knowing your name, knowing how many hairs are on your head and even collecting your tears. What does it mean to you that the God of all creation knows you so personally?

Action: Who is someone in your life (coworker, neighbor, family member, etc.) that seems to get overlooked and deemed unimportant? Make a point to have a conversation with them to get to know them and hear their story.

Because God is real, you have peace in the face of fear.

Luke 2:8-20

Public speaking. Heights. The dentist. Snakes. Flying. These are the top five fears that people have. Can you imagine having to fly by helicopter to land on a skyscraper to speak to a room full of dentists who all have a pet snake with them? That’s stuff nightmares are made of!

But what are the deep fears that we have that rob our lives of peace? These types of fears have names like rejection, being alone, unrealized purpose, being a disappointment, and hopelessness.

When fear has a grip on our lives, peace is nowhere to be found. Instead, we become consumed with anxiety, riddled with anger, and chronically restless. Fear can be suffocating and overwhelming. How can we be freed from the grip of fear?

We need something bigger than our fear. We need someone strong enough to loosen fear’s grip. We need a real promise of hope that can bring peace to our lives.

When the angels appeared before the shepherds the night that Christ was born, it says that they were “filled with great fear.” This is a common response when angels appear to humans in the Bible. The majesty of an angel causes people to fear for their lives because their smallness and powerlessness are suddenly made very known. And after the angel makes his appearance, the first words spoken are typically “Fear not.”

If you are suffering from fear, especially a deep fear, this is the message for you this Christmas. We are called not to fear because the Savior has been born. The only one truly strong enough to defeat all of our fears and give us peace that only the Prince of Peace can give. Jesus is good news. Jesus gives great joy. Jesus is for all the people…even the fearful.

The shepherds went and saw the Christ-child. They saw Him in flesh and blood, right before their very eyes. The Prince of Peace lying in a manger. They made the reality of the Messiah known to all who would listen. The fear that overwhelmed them and turned into glory and praise.

You can have freedom from your fears this Christmas because the Prince of Peace has come.

Reflection: What is a common fear you have? What deep fear has had a grip on you that only Jesus can free you from? Ask Jesus to deliver you from your fears that you may have His peace.

Action: Like the shepherds, go tell (“make known”) someone who struggles with fear about how Jesus, the Prince of Peace, can give them peace this Christmas.

Because God is real, you have hope for the future.

Luke 2:22-38

Have you ever been made a promise from someone you trust that you had to wait a long time for it to be fulfilled? Maybe it was something like getting a special trip, gift, or experience when you turned a certain age. How did you feel? Anxious (in a good way)? Excited? Eager? How about hopeful?

Hope is a powerful feeling. Hope helps us endure a period of waiting with a positive attitude. Hope gives us durability when we experience difficulty or struggle during our time of waiting.

The Jewish people, the Israelites, were given the first promise of the Messiah - the one who would make right all that sin made wrong - all the way back in Genesis when God said that the seed of the woman would crush the head of the serpent. The Israelites have literally waited and hoped for the Messiah for thousands of years and had recently endured 400 years of no prophetic voice. They had been given a vision for the future and were waiting in hopeful anticipation for the fulfillment of that promise.

Simeon was a priest in the temple. The Lord had spoken personally to Simeon that he would indeed see the Messiah before he died. Simeon was waiting for the “consolation of Israel” - that is, the hope that God would come to rescue and comfort his people from the oppression of sin. When Joseph and Mary brought Jesus to the temple to be dedicated, the Holy Spirit revealed to Simeon that his hope was now fulfilled, and he had seen the Messiah!

Anna, a prophetess, was also there at the temple. She was a person of deep faith and dedicated her life to worship the Lord through prayer and fasting. At the very hour that Jesus was presented and Simeon burst into praise, she burst into thanksgiving to God. She had been waiting for the “redemption of Jerusalem” - this is, the hope that God would redeem - literally “buy back” - His people from the enslavement of sin.

Perhaps you have been waiting for comfort and redemption. Perhaps you have been enduring difficulties, struggles, and the reality of sin in your life and relationships. No matter your situation, God has made a promise for a hopeful future. When Jesus was born, God fulfilled his biggest promise: that sin doesn’t have the final word and that everything sad will be made untrue. This real hope in Jesus will help you to patiently and positively endure all that this life throws at you because Jesus is with you when you put your trust in Him. He promises you that your future is good and bright and secure and will be eternally with Him.

Reflection: Where are you needing comfort and redemption? Pray and thank God for sending Jesus to be our Redeemer and for giving us the Holy Spirit to be our Comforter.

 Action: Tell someone about how Jesus has given you hope and how they can have hope too.