Immanuel

Luke 2:^10-11 “but the angel reassured them. “Don’t be afraid!” he said. “I bring you good news that will bring great joy to all people. The Savior—yes, the Messiah, the Lord—has been born today in Bethlehem, the city of David!”

To be positioned for blessings this season, we have to be like the shepherds and celebrate that God is with us. Joseph cooperated; the shepherds celebrated. Luke 2:^16&20 “They hurried to the village and found Mary and Joseph. And there was the baby, lying in the manger… The shepherds went back to their flocks, glorifying and praising God for all they had heard and seen. It was just as the angel had told them.” (emphasis added). Christmas is a festival; Christmas is not a funeral. Christmas is a party, and this is why we say, ‘Merry Christmas!’ Merry means happy, happy Christmas. This Christmas, I want you to make up your mind to be happy regardless because God wants you to celebrate. Whether you have little to eat or much, God wants you to eat it with excitement because God expects us to celebrate, no matter what.

Luke 2:²⁰ “The shepherds went back, singing praises to God for all they had heard and seen; it had been just as the angel had told them.” (GNT, emphasis added). To be positioned for heaven to breathe upon you this Christmas, you have to celebrate as the shepherds celebrated. If you want to be blessed like the shepherds, celebrate that God is here with us, celebrate Emmanuel! Celebrate that you are a child of God and be excited about the fact that God is with you. If God be for us… [Rom. 8:31]. Some would claim that the shepherds celebrated after they had seen Jesus. Joseph cooperated before while the shepherds celebrated after. The truth is, just like God said concerning Abraham, “I know he will command his household after Me” and because of that, God took certain decisions even before Abraham had a family to command after God.

God expects us to celebrate because the celebration is contagious. It is big with God that we are joyful people because when people see you, a child of God that is joyful, they get interested in your God. If people see you are always under the weather and cranky, they would not want to have anything to do with you. God wants us to celebrate with thanksgiving. Luke 2:²⁰ “The shepherds went back to their sheep, praising God and thanking him for everything they had seen and heard. It was just as the angel had told them.” (ERV, emphasis added). Our celebration is based on what God has said and what God will do. Our celebration is a witness.

You need to, through the glow of your life, make a huge statement to people around you that, ‘My past is forgiven. I have a purpose for living. I have a home in heaven. Jesus is Lord!’ We celebrate because our past is forgiven, we have a purpose for living, we have a home in heaven, and Jesus is Lord. When people see you, do they see past forgiven, a purpose for living, home in heaven, Jesus is Lord? From today, when people see you, that is what they will see, and God will be glorified. The shepherds started to gossip about the gospel. They gossiped about the Good News. We have the best news on earth; we must not be quiet about it.

Prayer: Father, I choose to celebrate Jesus and all You have done for me, in Jesus Name. Amen!