Renew your faith at Christmas

By Rick Warren

But the angel said to them, "... I bring you good news of greatjoy that will be for all the people." Luke 2:10 (NIV)

Knowing that Christmastime is God's chosen time teaches us that Christmas is the time for us to renew our faith.

We need not fear God because of the Good News of Christ's arrival; it is a Good News meant to "bring great joy to all people." (Luke 2:10 NLT)

What is the Good News?

You matter to God: God knows everything about you -- the good, the bad, and the ugly -- and He still loves you. He cares about you. He loves you more than you could ever know. God is for you, not against you.

You are not an accident: Regardless of the circumstances of your birth, you were not the result of an accident. God has a plan and a purpose for your life.  The only way you will find meaning and satisfaction is to discover God's purpose for your life and then to get right into the center of his will.

God sent Jesus so you could know what He's like.  If God wanted to communicate to birds, He would have become a bird.  If God had wanted to communicate to cows, He would have become a cow.  If He wanted to communicate to dogs, He would have become a dog.  But God wanted to relate to you and to me, so He became like us -- a human being.

The thing is this -- I don't have the foggiest idea of what it means to relate to something like 'The Force' -- some impersonal power in the sky.  But when I see Jesus in human form, I can say, "That's what God's like.  I can understand that."

This is why Christmas is not about a religion. You may be Catholic; you may be Jewish; you may be Presbyterian, or Buddhist, or Baptist, or Lutheran; I don't care what your religious background is, Jesus didn't come to give you religion.  He came to give you a relationship.

Christmas is God saying, "I want to relate to you.  I want you to know Me as much as I know you."  That's joyful news. It's good news!