Merry Christmas!
Jesus is with us today. He is Immanuel, God with us. Sometimes Christmas comes across as a celebration of an event that happened so far in the past that it feels unreal. It feels, sometimes, that Mary, Joseph, and the manager occurred so long ago that they have little bearing on our lives today. But that word, Immanuel, changes everything. Jesus was, He is, and He always will be. At Christmas we celebrate the event that changes every other event in history, God is with us!
The naughty and nice list is ripped apart because Jesus has taken away our sins and where we have done wrong. In Jesus, we have God with us, with us in our baptism, in the Lord’s Supper, and in the reading of His word. He promises to “be with us always” (Matt. 28:20). Today we celebrate the Lord of Lords who came to earth as a baby so He could be with us at our lowest lows, our most joyful moments, and into everlasting life. | 
