Unspeakable Joy!

I attended the Christmas concert at Grace Baptist this evening and it was truly a blessing. The music, the singers, the message, it was all grand and beautiful. My daughter was feeling under the weather, so she stayed home and I provided some respite for her and took all three grandsons with. We joined family for a quick dinner and then headed to church to join more family and enjoy the evening. And enjoyable it was.  

We listened to wonderful renditions of classics and joined in the carol sing-along. I loved being with family and celebrating the reason for the season. Thank you, Grace Baptist, for providing this beautiful opportunity.

The devotional for today was also reason for joy. The title was "Why Jesus Came" and the message was that Jesus, the eternal Son of God, became human in order to die for our sins.  

"He was born to die.  Good Friday is the reason for Christmas."

And in that dying, he provided the means by which we were freed from the fear of death.

So we are free from the fear of death. God has justified us. Satan cannot overturn that decree. And God means for our ultimate safety to have an immediate effect on our lives. He means for the happy ending to take away the slavery and fear of the now.

If we do not need to fear our last and greatest enemy, death, then we do not need to fear anything. We can be free: free for joy, free for others.

What a great Christmas present from God to us! And from us to the world!

Unspeakable joy!