Good Things to Come: The Plans and Purposes of God

Good things to come should be the attitude of Christians throughout the year. Our Christmas celebrations should remind us of the gospel message Jesus came to bring–the good news that we have a Savior who offers hope, both while we live on earth and after we die, in heaven. The day after Christmas we should begin to live the coming year remembering that the Babe of Bethlehem brought us salvation and eternal life.

2MefromHim Devotionals

Good Things to Come

He who was seated on the throne said, “I am making everything new!” Revelation 21:5

Waking up on Christmas morning with my children in the house makes me feel as if all is right with the world. The wonder, joy, laughter, the promise of love and good things to come is a precious feeling. But the next day life resumes and things are back to the way they were.

I wonder what it was like that first Christmas morning. #Christmas #Jesus

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I wonder what it was like that first Christmas morning. Though they were in a stable, the trials of Mary and Joseph’s long journey by donkey, the trouble of finding a place for the child to be born, and the travail of Mary’s labor were behind them. The child they were to call Jesus lay sleeping in a manger and the wonder of the shepherd’s worship must have seemed like a dream. What seemed certain disaster the night before had shown that God had things in hand and would provide for their every need. Can you imagine their elation?

But where were they to go from there? What did the future hold for them and the child entrusted to them? They must have knelt and prayed with the sense of God going before and protecting, even if it nothing was what they expected.

The world was good and new on that long-ago morning, though even Mary and Joseph little realized to what extent. The child nursing at Mary’s breast would live out the meaning of his name. He would save his people from their sins. Whether or not they felt it, in the busyness of caring for a newborn, this child was Immanuel, God with us—the God of the universe, clothed in human flesh.

This child was Immanuel–God with us #Christmas #God

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There is a sense of peace when the shopping and baking are done and our families gather to pray and celebrate. Even in a world rocked by terrorist attacks and hate speech against Christians, Christmas is a joyous and peaceful time, a time of good cheer.

Jesus will someday put an end to hate and violence. In Revelation 21:6, he says, “I am the Alpha and Omega, the First and the Last, the Beginning and the End.” He came to bear man’s sin on the Cross, to bring hope and salvation to individuals and nations alike. The child worshiped by shepherds was the perfect Lamb of God, the sacrifice for the sins of every man, woman, and child who ever lived. Jesus is God’s good gift, His best gift to mankind.

John wrote in 1 John 2:2, “He is the atoning sacrifice for our sins, and not only for ours but also for the sins of the whole world.” The sense of newness and peace that comes on Christmas morning can last all year with the knowledge that Jesus, the Babe of Bethlehem is also the salvation that brings us close to God and reconciles us with Him. “Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, the new creation has come: The old has gone, the new is here! All this is from God, who reconciled us to himself through Christ and gave us the ministry of reconciliation:that God was reconciling the world to himself in Christ, not counting people’s sins against them.” (2 Corinthians 5:17)

Christmas is the time to start afresh #MerryChristmas #life

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The New Year officially begins next week, but Christmas is the time to start afresh, to put the old aside and begin a new life with Jesus, knowing that God goes before and provides all we need in every circumstance. When we draw near to Jesus, the feeling of good things to come lasts a lifetime rather than a day.

About the author:

Norma Gail is the author of the contemporary Christian romance, Land of My Dreams, winner of the 2016 Bookvana Religious Fiction Award. A women’s Bible study leader for over 21 years, her devotionals and poetry have appeared at ChristianDevotions.us, the Stitches Thru Time blog, and in “The Secret Place.” She is a member of American Christian Fiction Writers and Romance Writers of America. Norma is a former RN who lives in the mountains of New Mexico with her husband of 40 years. They have two adult children.

Connect with Norma:

Website: www.normagail.org

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