Christmas Devotional - Day 1: Christmas is About Getting Started

We recently made an epic trip to Maine primarily to see our son, his wife and family (especially the new twins I suppose). However, they had arranged some neat activities for us while there. One of the highlights was going out on a lobster boat. The lobsterman (a very generous Christian man) took us to his home on an island and cooked us fresh lobsters, right from the ocean… Incredible! While I was there I spoke briefly to one of his adult sons who shared with me that he had just run 25-mile marathon two days prior. "Twenty-five miles, how do you get prepared for that?" I asked. Here is how he responded, (you have to imagine this with a heavy Maine accent) "well, you just have to get started I guess."  
 
The Christmas season begins earlier every year, and it looks a bit like a marathon in order to get to the 25th. I saw tee shirts for sale that read, "I'll sleep after Christmas!" How does one begin to prepare for Christmas? As a wise young man once said, "well, you just have to get started I guess." How do we get started on Christmas? First, let's remember what Christmas is all about. Christmas is all about the Gospel. God's word says the Gospel is of first importance (1Co 15:3). What is the Gospel? …that Christ died for our sins in accordance with the Scriptures, ⁴that he was buried, that he was raised on the third day in accordance with the Scriptures… 1Co 15:3–4. Some would say, "it doesn’t sound like much" or "I have heard it a million times." But God's word says, …it is the power of God for salvation to everyone who believes… (Ro 1:16) And what we must understand is that we were already under condemnation because we love sin (Jn 3:19). Now, God could have left us that way. After all, it's our problem, not His. But He didn't leave us condemned. “¹⁶ For God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life. ¹⁷ For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but in order that the world might be saved through him." Jn. 3:16–17. When God sent His messenger to Joseph, he explained: "that which is conceived in her (Mary) is from the Holy Spirit. She will bear a son, and you shall call His name Jesus, for He will save His people from their sins." That is what Christmas is all about, and that is the place to get started.  
 
Have you repented of your sins and believed the Gospel that Jesus died for your sins, just as the scriptures say? That He was buried and rose again, just as the scriptures say? It's time to get started.