Ready to celebrate?
Getting ready for the party Christmas is a month away, a season of hope and happiness when we celebrate the Lord Jesus ’s birth and gather in families. Does love and the anticipation of a happy occasion fuel your preparation, or do you grit your teeth, hoping you’ll survive the chaos? S pecial occasions need careful preparation. Gifts are purchased for Christmas, a bride shops for the perfect dress, an expectant mother buys a crib for her baby, or a family member prepares a relative’s funeral in their honor and to deal with their grief. We’re more likely to succeed when we prepare, avoiding disappointment, heartache, and last-minute stress. When God sent Jesus into the world, he made extensive preparations. Adam and Eve had sinned, destroying the close relationship they’d enjoyed with him, but God is merciful. He did not respond to their disobedience by wiping them off the planet. He planned a momentous event: he would live as a man among men an...