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CURRENT RADIO SERIES Why Believe: Home for the Holidays   CURRENT TV SERIES Songs for the Savior

When the angels went away from them into heaven, the shepherds said to one another, “Let us go over to Bethlehem and see this thing that has happened, which the Lord has made known to us.” And they went with haste and found Mary and Joseph, and the baby lying in a manger. And when they saw it, they made known the saying that had been told them concerning this child. Luke 2:15-17           I don’t know about you, but it’s through the simple things in life that God speaks to me … in the beauty of a sunset, or the smile on a child’s face. It’s in those times that we can realize that heaven’s message is close by.           Just like those shepherds near Bethlehem so long ago, you and I can hear clearly from God in the midst of our ordinary lives. We’ll be going about our day when, all of a sudden, something ordinary reminds us of God’s love and grace. We just have to pay attention.           The Scripture tells us that God has chosen the foolish things of the world to confound the wise. And if He can use humble shepherds to take His truth to the world, then He can very easily use you and me to do the same.           Don’t ever think you’re not qualified to take God’s message of grace to others. God can use you in a powerful way to show His love to the world. Open yourself to being used for God’s purposes and watch as He uses you to further His kingdom!

Light Has Come into the World

by Dr. Paul Chappell

“He that believeth on him is not condemned: but he that believeth not is condemned already, because he hath not believed in the name of the only begotten Son of God. And this is the condemnation, that light is come into the world, and men loved darkness rather than light, because their deeds were evil. For every one that doeth evil hateth the light, neither cometh to the light, lest his deeds should be reproved.”
John 3:18–20

One of the best known classic Christmas movies is It’s a Wonderful Life. It tells the story of a man named George Bailey who reaches the point where he wishes he had never been born. An angel named Clarence (second class—no wings) shows him what the world would be like without his influence. George comes to realize the impact his life has had on so many others, and finally tells Clarence, “I want to live!” In the end, the townspeople George has helped so much come to his aid and everyone gets a happy ending, even Clarence who finally gets wings. Of course that’s fiction, and things don’t work like that in the real world.
But Christmas is a powerful reminder of the impact Jesus Christ made when He was born in Bethlehem so long ago. Every part of human life, even down to our calendar, is touched by His arrival to bring light into a world of darkness. This is just as true for those who do not believe in Jesus as it is for those of us who are saved. The darkness may hate the light, but it cannot defeat it. “And the light shineth in darkness; and the darkness comprehended it not” (John 1:5), Those of us who have come to His light have a great responsibility to be faithful reflectors of the light to those around us. This is the way to truly celebrate the birth of Christ.
 

Today’s Growth Principle: 

Christmas is a celebration of the light of God’s love that has come into the darkness of a world filled with sin.