This Christmas you may have many visitors, or none. You may be surrounded by family and friends, or you may be having to isolate, or be separated from those you love by circumstances, difficulties or practicalities. You may be in good health or poor. You may be rich or poor, surrounded by gifts, or there may be no great or grand presents. There may be great quantities of delicious food on your table, or meager rations.
Whatever your circumstances, I believe the Lord wants you to know that today – in Jesus – you have the most incredible present anyone could ever have, and that you are very, very rich. The Lord of Heaven and earth, with all that He is, and all that He can do, wants to be your ‘Emmanuel’ today. To each of us the richest measure of the divine presence is available. Remember those words from that wonderful carol ‘O little Town of Bethlehem’ – ‘Where meek souls will receive Him, still the dear Christ enters in’.
Today, I simply want to pray great blessing over you as, in whatever way is available to you, you celebrate the birth of our wonderful King of Kings.
I pray that, in the words of Paul, ….
“He may grant you, out of the rich treasury of His glory to be strengthened with mighty power in the inner man by the Holy Spirit (Himself dwelling in your innermost being.) May Christ through your faith dwell, (make His permanent home) in your heart! May you be rooted deep in love and founded securely on love. That you may have the power and be strong to apprehend and grasp with all the saints (the experience of that love) what is the breadth and length and height and depth (of it).
That you may really come to know the love of Christ, which far surpasses mere knowledge (without experience); that you may be filled (through all your being) unto all the fullness of God (may have the richest measure of the divine presence, and become a body wholly filled and flooded with God Himself)! Ephesians 3:16-19 (AMP).
Whether it’s busy or quiet where you are today, take some time to thank Him for coming and welcome Him afresh into your life.
Make your thanksgiving heartfelt, not just words, (we don’t want it to become formulaic), let your thanks be given – in the words of another song, “from my heart to the heavens , Jesus be the centre. It’s all about you. It’s all about you.”
And today may you have the gifts of great joy and great peace that His presence brings.
