Merry Christmas everyone! God bless you all and your families dearly.

My joy during this season comes from the real reason that I have joy in every single day: Jesus Christ. For many and many years we’ve been living the season out as a time of snowy days, drinking hot chocolate (or whatever hot beverage you drink), Christmas presents, and delicious food. While none of these things are bad things (because I partake in these things), it is not the only reason that we celebrate it.

 I need to say it; I have to be reminded every day that this time of celebration is not just about all these material things and traditions (and I love some traditions carried in my family). Though this specific day is not the actual day Jesus was born, we celebrate it as a reminder of what actually happened.

The short version is this: Jesus Christ came as a baby, born from a virgin, lived a life that we could never be able to live, die a death we deserved to die since the fall of sin, and was resurrected to give us eternal life when we put our faith in Him.

If you want the longer version of this story, I encourage you to start reading the Gospels and you will see how many things will link back to the Old Testament. This year I committed to reading through the whole Bible in a year and it’s so amazing the number of things we learn about as we go through the Word of God and how Jesus has always been there before, during, and after His life on earth.

And she gave birth to her firstborn son and wrapped him in swaddling cloths and laid him in a manger, because there was no place for them in the inn.

– Luke 2:7 ESV

But I also had to sit back and remember that, in all the rush of presents and preparations, it’s all about priorities. As I was reading through my devotional today (the 25^th), I read about how we prioritize the gifts, the food, the eagerness to have everything perfected for Christmas, but we don’t prioritize our daily time with God. And yeah, it’s true. I’ll be the first to say it: I fail daily.

But here’s a beautiful verse I read in my devotional:

Make my steps steady through your promise;
don’t let any sin dominate me.
– Psalms 119:133 CSB

The NIV version says “direct my footstep according to your word; let no sin rule over me”.

I love this because our priorities lie in the wrong place many times. When we dedicate our lives to Christ, we don’t dedicate just a part of it to Him, but rather our WHOLE lives. And I don’t say this to make you feel bad, but if you do, that’s a conviction right there, because I feel horrible as I remind myself of this. I fail daily. Should I say it a third time? I think you get the point.

So, let this time be a time of (many) reflections we may need as we navigate through this earthly life, but with our minds set on spiritual (heavenly) things.

I pray this time has been of blessing to you, with or without loved ones, but let it be a time of hope because this too shall pass and when we are reunited with Christ, there will be no sufferings, worries, nada.

So, once again, Merry Christmas dear ones. May the Peace, Grace, and Love of Christ be with you always, and may this year be of great blessing, but more so, let Christ be the joy that fills your heart always.

Blessings.

Yours Sincerely,

Clouds.

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