Christmas In April

“Therefore the Lord Himself will give you a sign: Behold, the virgin shall conceive and bear a Son, and shall call His name Immanuel.”

Isaiah 7:14

If you have been out at night at all you may have noticed that people have been putting up Christmas lights in the middle of April. Christmas in April you might be thinking? Absolutely, and for good reason. If you have felt at all like you have been living in darkness this last month as you have been sheltering in place anxiously awaiting for the news and hoping against hope that there is light at the end of the tunnel with regard to the coronavirus, you are not alone. Try if you can to imagine how it must have been for those living in the world during those four hundred years of silence from the time of Malachi, the last book in the Old Testament, to Matthew’s Gospel, the first book in the New Testament.

For over four hundred years God spoke not a word and then suddenly seemingly out of nowhere, out of the darkness came a great light and the heavenly host of angels rejoiced as they proclaimed, ‘Immanuel’, which is to say, ‘God with us’ when Jesus Christ was born into this world. For many putting up Christmas lights the message is, “God is with us” in the midst of the Coronavirus. For others it’s a subtle Christmas message of hope. The reason we celebrate Christmas to begin with is to remember unto us a Savior was born! Still, for others its a sign of solidarity, and that together we can beat this virus.

In the midst of the coronavirus people are asking, “where is God?”. The answer is where He has always been. Right smack dab in the middle of it all, closer than you can imagine. You see, loved one, Jesus Christ is the center of world history, the separation of time as we know the B.C. from the A.D. The birth of Jesus Christ changed the world and the course of human history at His first coming and when Jesus Christ comes again in His glory, He will change the world again for a second time by establishing His reign which makes for peace. The presence of God makes all the difference in the world as His presence is the greatest gift the world has ever known, and the good news of the gospel is we don’t have to wait until the Lord comes a second time to enjoy Him here and now. After all it was Jesus Himself who said, “Nevertheless I tell you the truth. It is to your advantage that I go away; for if I do not go away, the Helper will not come to you; but if I depart, I will send Him to you.”  

The gift of God’s presence is available to every believer here and now, who opens their heart to Him and receives the forgiveness He offers us when we receive His Son, Jesus Christ as Lord. For many during this coronavirus pandemic it has become like Christmas in April as hundreds of thousands of people around the world, if not millions are in the midst of this global darkness seeing the great light of salvation and for the very first time in their lives they are experiencing ‘Immanuel’ for themselves.

No one need wait any longer to know the gift of God. No one need walk in the darkness any longer now that the light has come. No one need go through this life alone, afraid of the darkness as God is with us today, loved one, right here beside us, walking with us, offering us comfort and peace and hope in this or in any other trial we face. Open your heart to Jesus and God will open the gift of His Spirit to you! Yes, loved one, because of Jesus it’s like Christmas in April. Draw near to God today knowing He promised He will draw near to you!

"So I say to you, ask, and it will be given to you; seek, and you will find; knock, and it will be opened to you. For everyone who asks receives, and he who seeks finds, and to him who knocks it will be opened. If a son asks for bread from any father among you, will he give him a stone? Or if he asks for a fish, will he give him a serpent instead of a fish? Or if he asks for an egg, will he offer him a scorpion? If you then, being evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your heavenly Father give the Holy Spirit to those who ask Him!"

Luke 11:9-13


I LOVE YOU!

Michael Osthimer

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