Hope This Christmas

I don’t know about you, but things are not great for me right now. Money is tighter than it has ever been and the economy is not really showing signs of improvement. The world seems to be in a state of chaos. In September my brother went to be with the Lord and I am struggling through my first Christmas without him. No, things are not looking good.

¹ Now gather yourself in troops,
      O daughter of troops;
      He has laid siege against us;
      They will strike the judge of Israel with a rod on the cheek.

    ² “ But you, Bethlehem Ephrathah,
      Though you are little among the thousands of Judah,
      Yet out of you shall come forth to Me
      The One to be Ruler in Israel,
      Whose goings forth are from of old,
      From everlasting.”
       ³ Therefore He shall give them up,
      Until the time that she who is in labor has given birth;
      Then the remnant of His brethren
      Shall return to the children of Israel.
       ⁴ And He shall stand and feed His flock
      In the strength of the LORD,
      In the majesty of the name of the LORD His God;
      And they shall abide,
      For now He shall be great
      To the ends of the earth;
       ⁵ And this One shall be peace.

                Micah 5:1-5a

At the time this was written, things were not looking good either. The nation of Israel had been attacked and abused and more of the same was heading their way. But GOD! I love this so I will repeat it; But GOD sent a message to Micah of a promised deliverer. If you read the New Testament, you will see this prophesy, as well as all the others, fulfilled in none other than Jesus, the Christ (Messiah).  

As we gather to celebrate His birth and we think of Him as a precious baby, let us not forget that He was “before” His birth. He has always been and will always be. He came in human flesh to suffer and die for our sins, in our place, but He came to overcome death and the grave “forever!” He came to stomp on Satan’s head and reign and rule for eternity. 

I love one of the last scenes in the movie The Lion, The Witch, and The Wardrobe, where Lucy is sad as she watches Aslan walking away down the beach. Mr. Tomlis (sp?) tells her he will return and that he is not a tame lion. Jesus will return and He is love, but He is not a tame lion. 

As we prepare to celebrate His birth in a few days, may we find hope and joy as we contemplate that He will return soon. We need not worry about the bad that surrounds us; we have a hope and a future, of this we can be sure.       

May the Lord Jesus Christ give you peace, joy, and hope this Christmas~