Christmas Eve

JESUS CHRIST IS BORN!

I want to thank all the volunteers at New Hope Community Church who made the Christmas Eve service so special. Both services went well and I believe many lives were touched by what was communicated with the help of the Holy Spirit; that if we believe in Christ, He will be born in our very messy, chaotic lives and He will remain with us always. As people were leaving many told me how moved they were by the music, the dramas, the readings, the message, and the lighting of the candles out in the courtyard, which symbolized the followers of Christ taking His light out into a dark world who desperately needs the grace of God.

I was deeply moved when a women came up at the end service to shake my hand and thank me for the service. She said that she had invited a neighbor who was touched by the service. During the message I had said, "

No one need ever say, 'I am not good enough for Christ to live in me!'" Earlier that night the man had said that he couldn't ever imagine that he was good enough for God to except him.

The truth is that none of us are good enough on our own for God to accept. Romans 3:23 says, "For all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God." None of us are accepted on our own merit; for it is only by the grace of God through Jesus Christ that we are saved. The woman told me that she believed that her friend got the message that he is accepted by God and that the only requirement that God makes from us is faith. Micah 6:8 says, "And what does the LORD require of you? To act justly and to love mercy and to walk humbly with your God."

Merry Christmas to you all!