Now that Christmas is Over...

I don't know about you, but I spend a lot of timing thinking/planning/anticipating Christmas in the month(s) leading up to it.  I put in lots of effort picking out or making presents I hope people will love.  I put up decorations and bake up a storm throughout the month of December.  I come up with a game plan for having all my ducks in a row for Christmas Eve, Christmas Day and Boxing Day - which presents come to which family gathering, what food prep needs to be done on what day - etc.

And then we get to December 27th and it's all over.  The presents have been opened, the food has been eaten, and you feel like you need a day to recover from the holiday!  What comes of all the planning?

(photo credit)

This year I memorized Zechariah's prophecy from Luke 1:68-79, which reads:

“Blessed be the Lord God of Israel,
 for he has visited and redeemed his people
and has raised up a horn of salvation for us
 in the house of his servant David,
as he spoke by the mouth of his holy prophets from of old,
that we should be saved from our enemies
 and from the hand of all who hate us;
to show the mercy promised to our fathers
 and to remember his holy covenant,
the oath that he swore to our father Abraham, to grant us
 that we, being delivered from the hand of our enemies,
might serve him without fear,
 in holiness and righteousness before him all our days.
And you, child, will be called the prophet of the Most High;
 for you will go before the Lord to prepare his ways,
to give knowledge of salvation to his people
 in the forgiveness of their sins,
because of the tender mercy of our God,
 whereby the sunrise shall visit us from on high
to give light to those who sit in darkness and in the shadow of death,
 to guide our feet into the way of peace.”

The truths that come as a result of Christ's birth don't just apply in the month of December , they last all year long.  
All year long, Christ redeems His people.
All year long, we are to serve Him with holiness and righteousness.
All year long, when we fall terribly short of what he desires, he forgives us because of His tender mercy.
All year long he gives light to our paths and guides our feet in the ways of peace.

If Christmas for you seems to simply end in December, remember these truths.  Pick up a Bible and read the Gospel of Luke with new eyes.  Pray to the God who created you to show you what He has done for you in sending His son to live on this earth as a man.  Put your trust in Jesus Christ, who through his death and resurrection broke the bonds of sin and death and can give even you new life.

Merry Christmas!