The Good News of Christmas

Billy Graham

Short Description: Billy Graham tells us the good news of Christmas: that God sent His only Son as a sign of His love for us.

Full Text: For many people Christmas is the loneliest time of the year. Many people face personal crises. You may be facing a crisis this Christmas. You may have a problem with your marriage, with your children, or with your job. You may have an addiction to drugs or alcohol. You may be facing illness or the death of a loved one. And many people feel an emptiness inside, a knowledge that something is missing, but they don't know what it is. You too may feel that emptiness.

With all of the problems that we face, we may be asking, "Where is Jesus?" Jesus, whose birth we celebrate during this thrilling season. Jesus, about whom the angel proclaimed, "Do not be afraid. I bring you good news of great joy that will be for all the people. Today in the town of David a Savior has been born to you; he is Christ the Lord" (Luke 2:10-11).This Jesus is alive, and the relevance of His birth is the same today as it was centuries ago. God sent His Son as a sign of His love for each of us. His Son died on the cross as an atonement for our sins. And He rose again! We can have forgiveness. We can have peace. We can know that all of our sins have been forgiven because of what Jesus did on the cross and in the resurrection. And Jesus can be with each one of us personally. The Christmas message tells us that, and it goes straight to our searching hearts and tells us that Christ alone can bring us lasting peace--peace with God, peace among people and nations, peace within our hearts.

The Bible teaches that we are sinners and that the only cure for sin is the blood of Jesus Christ that was shed on the cross. One of the most important aspects of worship in ancient Judaism was the shedding of blood to make atonement for sin. The use of the word blood in the Old and the New Testaments of the Bible means that life has been given. Jesus Christ became the Lamb sacrificed for the sins of mankind.

The cross and the resurrection stand as our only hope. God did for us what we cannot do for ourselves. From these two momentous events God is saying to sinful people, "I love you, and I can forgive you." That is the Good News of Christmas.

To receive God's gift of salvation, you must humble yourself and admit your sin and your moral failure. And then by faith turn to Jesus Christ as Savior and Lord. That is what Jesus meant when he said, "You must be born again" (John 3:7).He said, "Unless you repent, you too will all perish" (Luke 13:3).Only when we truly repent, when we change our way of living and give control of our lives to Christ, will we experience true peace, joy, and happiness.

Invite Christ into your heart right now. He can change your life forever. My prayer is that each one of you will experience God's love and God's peace this Christmas season. God bless you, and Merry Christmas.

© 2002 Good News Publishers. Used by permission.
Translated by permission of Good News Publishers
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