{"id":97401,"date":"2022-12-08T16:25:42","date_gmt":"2022-12-08T16:25:42","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/\/uk\/?p=97401"},"modified":"2022-12-08T16:28:25","modified_gmt":"2022-12-08T16:28:25","slug":"christmas-a-time-to-be","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/staging.banneroftruth.org\/uk\/resources\/articles\/2022\/christmas-a-time-to-be\/","title":{"rendered":"Christmas, a Time to Be&#8230;"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><span data-contrast=\"auto\">The story begins like this: on the night that Jesus was born certain shepherds were out in the field, keeping watch over their flock. It was to them first of all that the news of his birth was broken. And by an angel no less! \u201cI bring you good news of great joy that will be for all the people\u201d, he said. \u201cFor unto you is born this day in the city of David a Saviour, who is Christ the Lord\u201d (Luke 2:10-11).\u00a0<\/span><span data-ccp-props=\"{&quot;201341983&quot;:0,&quot;335559739&quot;:160,&quot;335559740&quot;:259}\">\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span data-contrast=\"auto\">It\u2019s easy to feel remote from it all. These shepherds belong to a different age and, for most of us, to a different race. And the message was very much for them too, as Jews. For by \u201call the people\u201d the angel meant all the people of Israel. God had promised them a Saviour. And now, after a long, long wait he had come. You could be forgiven for asking, \u201cWhat is there in this for our largely non-Jewish 21<\/span><span data-contrast=\"auto\">st<\/span><span data-contrast=\"auto\"> century world? What is there in this for me?\u201d<\/span><span data-ccp-props=\"{&quot;201341983&quot;:0,&quot;335559739&quot;:160,&quot;335559740&quot;:259}\">\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span data-contrast=\"auto\">The answer is much! The good news this angel announced is God\u2019s good news for <\/span><i><span data-contrast=\"auto\">us<\/span><\/i><span data-contrast=\"auto\">. For you, for me, for all the world. It\u2019s why Christians make so much of the Christmas story. It\u2019s why we sing about it and talk about it. It\u2019s why this article has been written. It\u2019s why I ask you to take a few moments to read it.\u00a0<\/span><span data-ccp-props=\"{&quot;201341983&quot;:0,&quot;335559739&quot;:160,&quot;335559740&quot;:259}\">\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span data-contrast=\"auto\">The title is deliberately incomplete: <\/span><i><span data-contrast=\"auto\">Christmas, a time to be\u2026<\/span><\/i><span data-contrast=\"auto\"> Let\u2019s fill in the blanks (for there are several!).<\/span><span data-ccp-props=\"{&quot;201341983&quot;:0,&quot;335559739&quot;:160,&quot;335559740&quot;:259}\">\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span data-contrast=\"auto\"><strong>A time to be glad<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n<p><span data-contrast=\"auto\">\u00a0<\/span><span data-contrast=\"auto\">The shepherds were afraid. Terrified in fact. An angel of the Lord was a scary being, especially one who came with such heavenly glory that the darkness was dispelled in an instant. But there was no need to be afraid. This was no avenging angel. He had come with \u201cgood news of great joy\u201d. A <\/span><i><span data-contrast=\"auto\">Saviour<\/span><\/i><span data-contrast=\"auto\"> had been born. It was a time to be glad, not filled with fear.\u00a0<\/span><span data-ccp-props=\"{&quot;201341983&quot;:0,&quot;335559739&quot;:160,&quot;335559740&quot;:259}\">\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span data-contrast=\"auto\">The God who sent him wants us to be glad too. And for the very same reason. A <\/span><i><span data-contrast=\"auto\">Saviour<\/span><\/i><span data-contrast=\"auto\"> has been born.<\/span> <span data-contrast=\"auto\">That was certainly good news for the Jews. It is good news for Jewish people still. But it\u2019s also good news for the rest of us. Why? Because the same Bible that tells us that God sent his Son to be a Saviour to the Jews also tells us that he sent him \u201cto be the Saviour of the <\/span><i><span data-contrast=\"auto\">world<\/span><\/i><span data-contrast=\"auto\">\u201d (1 John 4:14). It was because God so loved the <\/span><i><span data-contrast=\"auto\">world <\/span><\/i><span data-contrast=\"auto\">that he gave his one and only Son (John 3:16). The promise of eternal life is for <\/span><i><span data-contrast=\"auto\">whoever<\/span><\/i><span data-contrast=\"auto\"> believes in him.<\/span><span data-ccp-props=\"{&quot;201341983&quot;:0,&quot;335559739&quot;:160,&quot;335559740&quot;:259}\">\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span data-contrast=\"auto\">But we need to back up a little. I may be in serious need of medical attention. But unless I <\/span><i><span data-contrast=\"auto\">know <\/span><\/i><span data-contrast=\"auto\">that I am I\u2019m not going to seek it out. So with Jesus. Why is it that the sending of a Saviour from heaven is a matter of sheer indifference to people? It\u2019s because they have no sense of <\/span><i><span data-contrast=\"auto\">need <\/span><\/i><span data-contrast=\"auto\">for a Saviour. They are getting on perfectly fine without one. But the need is real! One day we are going to stand before our Maker, the God who has cared for us, provided for us, helped us, loved us; the God to whom we owe every breath and who is rightfully our lord. And we are going to have to answer for the way in which we have lived our lives in relation to him. For how we have pushed him to the margins of our lives \u2013 and beyond. For how we have refused him our service, our love, our worship, our obedience. For all the myriad of ways in which we have wronged both him and our fellow humans. How can we escape his condemnation? Impossible without a Saviour!<\/span><span data-ccp-props=\"{&quot;201341983&quot;:0,&quot;335559739&quot;:160,&quot;335559740&quot;:259}\">\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span data-contrast=\"auto\">Which is why Christmas is a time to be glad. For in Jesus the God against whom we have sinned has lovingly given us the very thing that we need \u2013 a Saviour.<\/span><span data-ccp-props=\"{&quot;201341983&quot;:0,&quot;335559739&quot;:160,&quot;335559740&quot;:259}\">\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><strong>A time to be confident<\/strong><\/p>\n<p><span data-contrast=\"auto\">We live in a world of under-performing products; of things (and people) that promise but can\u2019t deliver. Can we have confidence in Jesus? Is he up to the task? Part of the answer lies in the title that the angel gave to him, <\/span><i><span data-contrast=\"auto\">Christ<\/span><\/i><span data-contrast=\"auto\">.\u00a0<\/span><span data-ccp-props=\"{&quot;201341983&quot;:0,&quot;335559739&quot;:160,&quot;335559740&quot;:259}\">\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span data-contrast=\"auto\">Think about the shepherds. The identifying of this baby as <\/span><i><span data-contrast=\"auto\">Christ<\/span><\/i><span data-contrast=\"auto\"> was music to their ears. We can be sure of that. For it was the <\/span><i><span data-contrast=\"auto\">Christ <\/span><\/i><span data-contrast=\"auto\">for whom they had long been waiting; it was the <\/span><i><span data-contrast=\"auto\">Christ <\/span><\/i><span data-contrast=\"auto\">whom God had promised to send. That was how people referred to him; that was what they called him. And now here was an angel from heaven announcing his arrival.<\/span><span data-ccp-props=\"{&quot;201341983&quot;:0,&quot;335559739&quot;:160,&quot;335559740&quot;:259}\">\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span data-contrast=\"auto\">We can be confident, then, of his identity. But so too of his ability. \u2018Christ\u2019 means \u2018anointed one\u2019. For the great task that was ahead of him \u2013 to save his people from their sins \u2013 Jesus was going to be anointed or empowered by the Holy Spirit. God had promised it beforehand. And as we follow the course of Jesus\u2019 life we see how faithfully God kept his word. It was by the help of Holy Spirit that he taught God\u2019s word. It was by the help of Holy Spirit that he performed his miraculous works. And it was by the by the help of the Holy Spirit that he died for us on the cross of Calvary.<\/span><span data-ccp-props=\"{&quot;201341983&quot;:0,&quot;335559739&quot;:160,&quot;335559740&quot;:259}\">\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span data-contrast=\"auto\">History is littered with false saviours.\u00a0 People who have turned out to be frauds and failures. Not Jesus! When he was here he was given all the resources he needed to begin, carry on, and successfully complete the work he had been given to do. And by afterwards raising him from the dead and by using him since to transform millions of lives God has put that beyond all doubt.<\/span><span data-ccp-props=\"{&quot;201341983&quot;:0,&quot;335559739&quot;:160,&quot;335559740&quot;:259}\">\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span data-contrast=\"auto\">So Christmas is a time to be confident. The Saviour we need is the very Saviour whom God has given to us in Jesus.<\/span><span data-ccp-props=\"{&quot;201341983&quot;:0,&quot;335559739&quot;:160,&quot;335559740&quot;:259}\">\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><strong>A time to be amazed<\/strong><\/p>\n<p><span data-contrast=\"auto\">Here\u2019s a big international company. It\u2019s having to deal with a problem. Who do you think sets-to to sort it out? The CEO himself! That tells you how major a problem it is. And so with regard to our sin. How big a problem is our sin? The answer lies in the one whom God sends to deal with it. Let\u2019s listen again to the angel: \u201cUnto you is born this day in the city of David a Saviour, who is Christ <\/span><i><span data-contrast=\"auto\">the Lord<\/span><\/i><span data-contrast=\"auto\">\u201d. This baby was no mere human, though to look at him that\u2019s what you would suppose. This was the Lord himself, come from heaven to earth, because no one less than he was capable of sorting out the problem created by our sin.<\/span><span data-ccp-props=\"{&quot;201341983&quot;:0,&quot;335559739&quot;:160,&quot;335559740&quot;:259}\">\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><i><span data-contrast=\"auto\">\u201c<\/span><\/i><span data-contrast=\"auto\">Christ<\/span><i><span data-contrast=\"auto\"> the Lord\u201d<\/span><\/i><span data-contrast=\"auto\">,<\/span> <span data-contrast=\"auto\">says the angel. The Jesus of Bethlehem was a <\/span><i><span data-contrast=\"auto\">divine<\/span><\/i><span data-contrast=\"auto\"> person; God the Son sent by God the Father. What an astonishing thing that <\/span><i><span data-contrast=\"auto\">he<\/span><\/i><span data-contrast=\"auto\"> should come! And in the way that he did \u2013 clothing himself with our nature. And with a work ahead of him that would take him eventually to the suffering and death of the cross. Christmas is a time to be amazed. Amazed at the love of God. Amazed that he should so want to forgive us the wrongs we have done him that he was prepared to do <\/span><i><span data-contrast=\"auto\">this<\/span><\/i><span data-contrast=\"auto\"> for us.<\/span><span data-ccp-props=\"{&quot;201341983&quot;:0,&quot;335559739&quot;:160,&quot;335559740&quot;:259}\">\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><strong>A time to be saved<\/strong><\/p>\n<p><span data-contrast=\"auto\">All around the world, this Christmas season, Christians are doing what I have been doing in this article \u2013 telling people the \u201cgood news of great joy\u201d that a Saviour has been born. You can guess why. We want people to be saved! It\u2019s what I want for any reader who is not yet right with God. I want you to be freed from your guilt. I want you to be delivered from the wrath to come. I want you to be able to live the life your Creator created you to live. I want you to have the joy of knowing God, the pleasure of his eternal friendship.\u00a0<\/span><span data-ccp-props=\"{&quot;201341983&quot;:0,&quot;335559739&quot;:160,&quot;335559740&quot;:259}\">\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span data-contrast=\"auto\">It is through Jesus and Jesus alone that these blessings are to be had. It is to him, therefore, that you must turn. Give up all hope of saving yourself. Confess to Jesus your sin and ask him to be your Saviour<\/span><span data-contrast=\"auto\">. <\/span><span data-contrast=\"auto\">Welcome him, in the greatness of your need, into your heart and life.\u00a0 Give yourself unreservedly to him and live under his lordship from this day forward.\u00a0<\/span><span data-ccp-props=\"{&quot;201341983&quot;:0,&quot;335559739&quot;:160,&quot;335559740&quot;:259}\">\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span data-contrast=\"auto\">Let me appeal to you too to do it without delay. Don\u2019t allow all the other things that are happening at this busy time to crowd it out. It is too important. Two thousand years ago a Saviour was born, Christ the Lord. Let this Christmas be the time when he becomes a Saviour to <\/span><i><span data-contrast=\"auto\">you<\/span><\/i><span data-contrast=\"auto\">.<\/span><span data-ccp-props=\"{&quot;201341983&quot;:0,&quot;335559739&quot;:160,&quot;335559740&quot;:259}\">\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p><strong>David Campbell is a minister at North Preston Evangelical Church, and a trustee of the Banner of Truth Trust.\u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>Photo by <a href=\"https:\/\/unsplash.com\/es\/@jorgefdezsalas?utm_source=unsplash&amp;utm_medium=referral&amp;utm_content=creditCopyText\">Jorge Fern\u00e1ndez Salas<\/a> on <a href=\"https:\/\/unsplash.com\/s\/photos\/Bethlehem?utm_source=unsplash&amp;utm_medium=referral&amp;utm_content=creditCopyText\">Unsplash<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>The story begins like this: on the night that Jesus was born certain shepherds were out in the field, keeping watch over their flock. It was to them first of all that the news of his birth was broken. And by an angel no less! \u201cI bring you good news of great joy that will [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":11,"featured_media":97403,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[15],"tags":[],"resource-author":[20141],"topic":[5958],"class_list":["post-97401","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-articles","resource-author-david-campbell","topic-salvation"],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO Premium plugin v27.3 (Yoast SEO v27.3) - https:\/\/yoast.com\/product\/yoast-seo-premium-wordpress\/ -->\n<title>Christmas, a Time to Be... - Banner of Truth UK<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"noindex, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_GB\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Christmas, a Time to Be...\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"The story begins like this: on the night that Jesus was born certain shepherds were out in the field, keeping watch over their flock. 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