My prayer for you is that your prayer is ‘Be near me Lord Jesus.’

“For the zeal of thine house hath eaten me up,” Psalm 69:9

Zeal is passion, enthusiasm, a great desire. We see this great and wonderful desire in Christ to do His Father’s will. “And the Word was made flesh, and dwelt among us, and we beheld his glory, the glory as of the only begotten of the Father, full of grace and truth,” John 1:14

God became flesh. He lived among us. He was sent as a babe, not as an adult. “For the zeal of thine house hath eaten me up,” Psalm 69:9. The zeal of thine house was in Israel, the temple. We are the temple of the Holy Spirit if we know the Lord Jesus Christ as our Saviour. He had a great desire, even at birth. The Father sent the Son, conceived by the Holy Spirit. The Word became flesh. Mary, about 15 or 16 years old, went to visit her cousin Elizabeth. She was barren yet God put in her John the Baptist. When Mary came visited Elizabeth the babe in Elizabeth’s womb leapt. That is the Spirit of God. Even in the womb of Mary, His mother, He was desirous to do the will of His Father.

When Jesus was twelve and in the temple, the zeal of the Lord had eaten Him up and He was teaching. As a young man He was passionate to please His Father. From a baby, God manifest in flesh, placed in the womb of Mary, my Saviour, the one who made you and me. As He grew “He is despised and rejected of men; a man of sorrows, and acquainted with grief: and we hid as it were our faces from him; he was despised, and we esteemed him not,” (Isaiah 53:3). He was desirous to do God’s will (John 4:34). He asked us to follow Him. The zeal of the Lord had eaten Him up even in His mother’s womb. You are not too young or too old to live for Him.

He hath put a new song in my mouth. If you know that, He has put that song in your heart to praise God. Is it yours? Is He yours? The Lord Jesus Christ is not for Christmas but for life. If we are really honest, how much have we thought of the Lord Jesus Christ in the past week, leading up to Christmas?

I love singing carols; they are all of Christ. Quite often when we think of Christmas we think of commercialism, not of Christ. Christmas begins with Christ. Mass is a celebration. We celebrate Christ. Stop. Think. Are we doing that? Will we celebrate Christ on 25^th December? The Lord Jesus Christ is not only for Christmas but for life. Do you celebrate Christ 365 days a year? So often, we split the Bible up and only speak of His birth at Christmas time and speak of His death at Easter. How sad! This same Jesus, sent to be Saviour, to save us, from our sins. If we knew this we should be celebrating this 365 days a year.

When we get to glory we will sing His glory and praise, not differentiating His birth and death. We cannot speak of His birth without speaking of His death, “Now is my soul troubled; and what shall I say? Father, save me from this hour: but for this cause came I unto this hour,” (John 12:27).

Anyone who receives Him are His people. Do you know the Lord Jesus Christ as your Saviour? Our sins, which were many, the Lord hath laid on Him the iniquity of us all. He has saved us to live, not to die.

The Lord may come at any time, none of us know where we will be next Christmas. But Jesus came to save us, for us to live, not to die. Are you living for Him? The alternative is death. Moses, at the end of his life, spoke to the leaders of Israel, “I call heaven and earth to record this day against you, that I have set before you life and death, blessing and cursing: therefore choose life, that both thou and thy seed may live,” (Deuteronomy 30:19).

How often do we talk to our friends about the Lord Jesus Christ? We have gone so far away from Christ many don’t want to recognise Him. God sent His only Son, His indescribable gift. Let us give thanks for Him. The gift of eternal life is through Jesus Christ our Lord. If you know the Lord Jesus Christ, celebrate Him. Will you put Christ back into your Christmas?

‘Twas the night before Christmas, and all through the earth,
Every creature was stirring, awaiting a birth.
The time for Messiah was certainly near,
The prophets foretold it; the Bible was clear.
From the book of beginnings, the very first sin,
God’s word made it clear how His grace entered in.
Born of a virgin, He’d come as a man.
The Creator among us, the time was at hand.
The stars were arranged to show marvellous things,
Setting Wise Men to journey and find the true King.
Shepherds in Bethlehem gazed on the sky,
Longing to see him, their Lord the Most High.
How could they know that the very next night
An angel of God would speak words of delight?
How the Saviour was born, it was news of great joy.
In a cloth and a manger they’d find the dear boy.
And a heavenly host would soon join to sing
Of the glory of God and of wonderful things.
He entered creation, set position aside
To show us how deeply his love did abide.
Sin sent us away from our almighty Lord.
He became one of us that we might be restored.
He’s the Prince of our Peace; He’s the one who makes whole.
He is Wisdom Incarnate, a Shepherd of Souls.
He’s the Author of Life; He’s the Ruler of All.
He can offer salvation, on His name we call.
The shepherds and Wise Men would bow to adore
Holy God among men, our greatest reward.
All glory and honour is due to this King.
Let all join in worship; let every tongue sing.
Jesus is Lord, all creation proclaims.
He’s the first and last, He is always the same.
History turned on the first Christmas day,
When God became man in a humble display.
As we think of the manger in which He was laid,
Let our hearts welcome Him to the world He made!

Poet unknown