Our holiday how-to is found in the pages of Scripture, which connect Jesus to the entirety of the Bible, not just the New Testament. We can learn from the reality of His birth on earth, how to walk out God’s will for our lives.
“The LORD directs the steps of the godly.
He delights in every area of their lives.Though they stumble, they will never fall,
For the LORD holds them by the hand.”
(Psalm 37:23-24).
A holiday tradition in our family occurs in the days following Christmas, when the projects are constructed. Novel-thick instruction book in hand and numbered bags lined up neatly, the construction projects ensue. Breakfast comes and goes, lunch is cleaned up and dinner has long since passed – finally, she emerges from her labor of love with the finished project.
Whether a replica castle from her favorite book series, or a scene out of her favorite movies, my daughter annually camps out with a table full of Lego bricks each Christmas break. Page by page, hour after hour, she patiently constructs these prized projects. Over the years, I have not only learned to admire her ability to follow directions as she builds, but her dedication to stick it through to completion – especially, when a mistake causes her to take a piece of the project apart, go back, and read the directions more carefully.
If only the rest of the holiday season came with such a specific instruction book. And if only we could take apart our mistakes, erase misunderstandings, and ensure peace during the holiday season.
The verses above talk about directions. Directions are defined as instructions for doing something or reaching a place. Jesus came to earth on what we now celebrate as Christmas Day, to provide exactly that – directions. Our holiday how-to is found in the pages of Scripture, which connect Jesus to the entirety of the Bible, not just the New Testament. We can learn from the reality of His birth on earth, how to walk out God’s will for our lives.
The instruction book on humanity is novel-sized, too, and it contains much more than the story of the scene of Christ’s birth on earth. The Bible is the main channel of communication between God and us. It’s the way He directs our steps most commonly. In those anciently written pages are relevant and timely instructions for our everyday lives. When we first start to study the Bible, it’s overwhelming. It seems like too much information to process, and an endless amount of knowledge to learn. Each year at Christmas is a good time to reset and remember what we are all here on earth to do. Our purpose is found in these pages. Holiday how-to is about keeping Him at the center of the season, and our lives.
Day by day, as we follow Christ Jesus, we seek Him in those pages. The babe born under the stars to the tune of angels becomes our kindred friend. The sun rises and sets. The seasons continue to come and go. The prized project is the reader. It’s us. We are created in the image of God. For the entirety of our lives, we read the instructions in the pages of Scripture to become more like Christ Jesus. We grow up as human beings like He did, and experience all of the emotions and realities that come alongside donning human skin. Christmas is the time to remember who He is, and Whose we are.
From the moment we open the proverbial box of our salvation, the pages of Scripture come alive in a supernatural way, applicable to our everyday lives. It’s no coincidence. Every word of Scripture is God-breathed. He knows who we are and what we need as the sun rises and sets on each day of our lives. He knows we need Christmas! The annual reminder of Who it’s all about. Let the season be as long as it has to be. Start decorating early, and take it all down as late as possible. Stretch out the season which celebrates the Living Word of God’s arrival on earth!
He is faithful to meet us in the pages of Scripture to direct our steps. The godly, as the verses above proclaim. Those who revere Him and seek Him. Each element of the Christmas season, biblically, reminds us Jesus was sent to earth to save us. As He was sent, so are we, to tell of Him!
God delights in every area of our lives, the psalmist wrote. He knows every hair on our heads, the gospel of Matthew records. He knit us in our mother’s womb. We are not an accident, but a planned and purposed creation of the Almighty God. Christmas reminds us of the purposeful nature of God. Jesus’ birth fulfilled many prophecies in the Old Testament! From the way Mary conceived Him to the star the magi followed to visit Him. Christmas is a reminder that God is just as purposeful with our lives.
God loved us so much, He sent Jesus to earth. He didn’t have to do that. He wanted to. He delights in us. When He looks at us, He doesn’t see the flaws and sins, He sees us for who we really are - His children, even when we have to take pieces apart and reconstruct an area of our lives which is causing us to stumble.
God will surely discipline us, as any good Father would, but He is also encouraging and equipping. His love is unfailing. Great is His faithfulness. Though we stumble, we will never fall, for the Lord holds us by the hand. I believe He holds our hand through Christ Jesus, the Living Word of God.
Christ willingly gave up His rights as the Son of God and came to earth as a baby born in Bethlehem to Mary and Joseph. He grew up in a family and had friends. He had a trade and calling on His life. All similar to our lives. Though we cannot live the sinless life He did on this earth, but we can follow in the footsteps He left, as recorded in Scripture. He is the fulfillment of all the Old Testament looks to, and the reality of what we face together in the New Testament. His life directs our steps daily.
The season of Advent is an opportune time for us to prepare our hearts for the arrival of Christ Jesus on Christmas Day. He is alive, sitting at the right hand of the Father in Heaven, interceding for us. Through the power of the Holy Spirit living in us, He is always with us. The holidays are lonely for some of us, but we are never alone. Even when we feel isolated and unknown in a crowded room, He is always there. He understands, and lends compassion to us. The Word of God is our instruction manual, and He is the Living Word of God. This holiday seasons, go to the Word for all of the how-to’s.
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