Anne Neilson's Christmas Angels: A 5-Day Plan to Focus Your Heart for ChristmasSample

Good News of Great Joy

Splendor and majesty are before him;

strength and joy are in his place.

1 Chronicles 16:27 esv

I think often about the shepherds in the quiet of that night, stars shining so bright overhead and only the bleating of the lambs to be heard. These weren’t your typical shepherds out in the fields tending to regular sheep. These were rabbinical shepherds tending to special sheep—sheep that, when born, were wrapped in a special cloth to prevent them from getting any blemishes.3 These sheep would one day be sacrificed for the sins of the people according to rabbinical law. Are you seeing the symbolism here?

The angels appeared to the shepherds and spoke of a baby being born and, like their sheep, wrapped in a similar cloth. This baby would one day be sacrificed for our sins, removing our debt once and for all. This is why we can rejoice with the shepherds when the angels say, “I bring you good news that will cause great joy for all the people” (Luke 2:10).

Sometimes I can’t even get my head around this powerful news—that Jesus came to save us once and for all. There is no need to sacrifice animals for our sins because of a baby who was born that night.

As we approach Christmas Day, I pray that you would focus on the true meaning of Christmas. This holy day is not about presents, family gatherings, or yummy food, as wonderful as those things are. It is about God’s perfect plan for an imperfect world, about a baby, the Messiah, who came to take away the sin and pain of the world. I don’t know what’s on your to-do list today, but consider spending some time in prayer and reflecting on the joy Jesus brings to your life.

Dear precious Lord,

Fill me up with Your perfect joy today. Empty anything that is not pure joy from my life—like bitterness, anger, and unforgiveness. Help me to pour out anything that is not of You so that I am overflowing with joy. I cling to Your promises, and I am grateful for Your goodness and the joy that fills my life.

In the name of Jesus,

Amen.