12/19/13

Joy of Christmas: Day Nineteen

Christmas is so much more than presents, trees, lights, and childhood.

We would all agree that Christmas is about Christ. Yet, we only focus our study on a small part of who Christ is during this Christmas season. We only talk about mangers, starts, angels, and a baby. He is so much more than that! We sing about and talk about the joy that comes with the Christmas story. But why is it so joyful that Christ was born?

Inspired by the Jesse Tree Advent book**, I am going to do a 25-Day series focusing on

finding joy in Christ!

Joy of Christmas: Day Nineteen

Bethlehem

Such a tiny town!  When I think of Bethlehem, I think of my little town I grew up in.  Although it wasn't rural, like a lot of West Virginian towns, it was small.  My dad and mom both grew up there.  They were now living there and raising their family.  A lot of friends they went to High School with were still around.  It seemed, growing up, that everyone knew my parents  Everyone knew my grandparents.  Our name was known.  But our town wasn't important.  We lived near a big city.  That city was bigger and more important than our tiny town.  Most people not from our area did not even consider us a town.  We were just a subdivision of the larger city.

Before Christ was born, maybe that was how Bethlehem was. Small. Unimportant - but special.  It was special to the people that lived there.  It might have seemed unimportant, but it was THE most important town in the area to the people that lived there!  It did have a lot of good history, and I'm sure that they were proud of that history.

Ruth and Noami moved back from Moab to Bethlehem.  King David grew up in Bethlehem.  And the promised Messiah was said to one day be born in that tiny city!  The city might have been small, but God uses the small things to make gloriously known His strength.

Do you feel small this Christmas? Unimportant? Insignificant? Rejoice: the joy of Christmas is found in the truth that God can use you! He can use you no matter who you are or where you are.
Yes, you mother of three who barely gets a shower during the day and dinner on the table - God is using you!
Yes, you worker number 15, sitting at your lonely desk, being ignored by the office staff. - God is using you!
Yes, you teacher, overwhelmed with responsibility and duties. - God is using you!
Yes, you father, trying to provide for your family but struggling to do so. - God is using you!

God uses those that are weak to confuse the strong.  He uses us when we are weak because it shows the world (and us) how strong HE really is!


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