“Now it is evident that no one is justified before God by the law; for “The one who is righteous will live by faith.” But the law does not rest on faith; on the contrary, “Whoever does the works of the law will live by them.” Christ redeemed us from the curse of the law by becoming a curse for us—for it is written, “Cursed is everyone who hangs on a tree”— in order that in Christ Jesus the blessing of Abraham might come to the Gentiles, so that we might receive the promise of the Spirit through faith.” Galatians 3:11-14

We are on our countdown to Christmas — and so these devotions will be a source of blessing and comfort in the hectic day-to-day grind until Jesus comes. Hang in there — Jesus is almost here.

I believe trees are one of G-d’s greatest gifts; they give us so much! They give us oxygen to breathe, fruit to eat, shade to cool, wood to build, and so on. But no tree can compare to the one used for the cross of Christ. When we see Christmas trees we usually notice the cost, first, and then the lights and ornaments, once they are decorated. But on this Christmas, could the tree remind us of so much more. Is it possible, on this Christmas, we could remember the sacrifice Jesus made giving His life as He was nailed to a tree – the cross. No, His life was not taken from Him; it was freely given because of His love for us. (John 10:18)

If you are feeling unloved this Christmas, may every Christmas tree remind you of the Cross of Christ and the price He paid because of His love for you. And I ask you to consider the lights you place on the tree — let them remind you that the Light of the World came to show us the way back to the Father. May the round ornaments remind us of His never ending love for us. Let this Christmas devotion focused on a tree remind us that the Christ Child did not remain a baby, but grew into the Son of G-d dwelling in flesh and taking the wrath and punishment for our sins. He surrendered His life, so that we can find new life in him.

On this day, with just nine of the ten days remaining before Christmas, may we remember that the Cross was the first real Christmas tree…bearing God’s greatest Gift – Jesus!

Pastor Dave