"In the sixth month of Elizabeth’s pregnancy, God sent the angel Gabriel to Nazareth, a village of Gallilee, to a virgin named Mary. She was engaged to be married to a man named Joseph, a descendant of King David. Gabriel appeared to her and said, “Greetings, favored woman! The Lord is with you!”

Confused and disturbed, Mary tried to think what the angel could mean. “Don’t be frightened, Mary,” the angel told her, “for God has decided to bless you! You will become pregnant and have a son, and you are to name him Jesus. He will be very great and will be called the Son of the Most High. And the Lord God will give him the throne of his ancestor David. And he will reign over Israel forever; His kingdom will never end!”

Mary asked the angel, “But how can I have a baby? I am a virgin?”

The angel replied, “The Holy Spirit will come upon you, and the power of the Most High will overshadow you. So the baby born to you will be holy, and he will be called the Son of God. What’s more, your relative Elizabeth has become pregnant in her old age! People used to say she was barren, but she is already in her sixth month. For nothing is impossible with God.”

Mary responded, “I am the Lord’s servant, and I am willing to accept whatever he wants. May everything you have said come true.” And then the angel left."
Luke 1:26-38 NLT


"For nothing is impossible with God." Those are some of the most inspiring words in the Bible. I wanted to choose a Bible passage that was apropriate for Christmas, and then write a Christmas message. This is probably one of the more recognisable passages in the Bible, but the sentence that stood out for me was this one. I believe it is a message that is for anyone and can give anyone great hope. And what would be more apropriate than great hope from the Christmas story?

How many times have new people come into our forum and given us a first post filled with sadness, fear, and self-loathing? I don't know, maybe countless. It seems to be a common thread among us and it dosen't go away very quickly. We may have all experienced these feelings quite often in our lives which has lead us to depression and the feeling that life is hopeless and we are beyond help. But our Christian faith tells us that Jesus came so that we may be saved. Saved from hopeless, helpless lives filled with fear and sadness and all of that. He came into our sin-filled, hopeless world to give us all the greatest Christmas present of all: salvation and eternal life. And he did it haralded by the words "For nothing is impossible with God."

We may sometimes believe we are un-loved and unlovable, but nothing is impossible with God. He has always loved us, and always will. We may feel that our situations are impossible and that we can never please God; but the truth is that God is pleased at any little thing we do for him, and that we may be on the very brink of something great on any given day, hour or minute. Nothing is impossible for God. We may be feeling left out or put out of a world that dosen't understand us and rarely ever tries; but God fully understands us and always tries to be our friend and show us His great love. He always accepts us just the way we are...because nothing is impossible for God. And maybe this Christmas season some of us are feeling a little bit worse than we normally do, because that is one of the unfortunate effects that the holidays can have on people. My message and my prayer in this pre-Christmas devotional is that there is hope for you. Hope that comes in the person of a little baby boy who was born so many years ago. Born in the worst kind of poverty, in the worst of conditions, to be the King of all there is. To be your king and Savior too. Because nothing is impossible with God!


Prayer:
Dear Jesus, words cannot express how grateful I am that you came to our world to do the things you did, and be the person you were...and are. From your humble birth, and the words of the angel, Gabriel, I know that I have hope for my life, and that you love me dearly! I love you too, with all my heart. Please be my King and Savior forever.
Amen!