Most Christmas messages don't start in the Garden of Eden with the fall of man. And this is not a message about whether or not Christmas trees are pagan and carnal. It is a message about a loving and merciful God sending His Son to a manger as our Savior — rescuing man from his fall "down" into sin and his fall "up" into trying to be like God.

In the Gospel of Luke, Mary is troubled when the angel of the Lord tells her that she has found favor with God. Like Mary, many of us have a hard time receiving God's favor. We feel unworthy or undeserving, but this is just the type of person God wants to pour His favor upon — the unexpecting, humble and lowly. Favor is often misunderstood to mean an easy comfortable life free of troubles, but God's favor is sometimes accompanied by difficulties. Just look at Abel, Noah, Lot and Joseph. Despite the possible difficulties, the favor of God will always bring about a "from now on" life changing and defining moment. Beloved, through Christ we're already favored. We just need to position our hearts and lives to receive it.

We cannot achieve righteousness through our own efforts but only through faith in Christ. Many people mistakenly believe that while we are justified by grace, we must sanctify ourselves through zealous pursuit of the law. However, this self-righteous striving only leads to anger, pride, judgmentalism and jealousy. True righteousness and sanctification come from continually depending on God's mercy and grace through the gospel, not through human will or exertion. Christ is the end of the law and puts an end to our fleshly striving, setting us free to walk in His power and glory.

God's old covenant with the people of Israel was a temporal one based on the works of man. The New Covenant through Christ is a much more excellent covenant. It is an everlasting covenant based on the finished work of Christ on the Cross. It is not something we do or follow, but changes who we are. Christ's single sacrifice cleanses us for all time from past, present and future sin. Don't fall back into an old covenant way of thinking where you try to earn your holiness and God's acceptance through works.

In Nehemiah we see a picture of a people that were rebuilding with one hand but tearing down with the other. God had brought them out of captivity but they were returning to the sin of their fathers. God wants us to be completely free from sin, yet we sometimes find ourselves coming back to it. Freedom isn't going to come through our own strength and willpower. It can only come — and be maintained — by Christ Himself. Draw close to Jesus and trust that He is working on your behalf.

Astronomers tell us that we can see some 2,000 stars on any given night, but there are more than 100 billion stars in the universe. We see just a small fraction of what is actually out there. This is a picture of what happens when we get consumed by daily offenses in our lives. God has so much more in store for us, but we get intoxicated by petty grievances. We get caught up in the 2,000 star circumstances when God had a 100 billion star destiny waiting for us.

In 1 Corinthians 16, Paul sees the church through the lens of Christ, not focusing on their failures or shortcomings. He writes that the church is generous to the needy — giving of their finances and belongings to help those that are less fortunate. The church is loving and involved in each other's lives. We're not only ministered to, but God also uses all of us to minister to others. Finally, we're to be devoted to the service of the Lord, helping in ministries that serve the church. The wellbeing of the church hinges on the members of the body being actively involved in giving, loving and serving, not just attending as spectators.

In the fifteenth chapter of 1 Corinthians Paul shows us three truths we must lay hold of in order to overcome in this life. The first is the theology of the Gospel, which tells us that man is totally depraved and in need of a Savior. The "good news" of the Gospel is that, like Christ, we must die. Our old way of life must be crucified. The theology of Resurrection is the belief that Christ was raised from the dead — without it our religion is in vain. Like Christ, we are resurrected as new creations with the power of the Holy Spirit working in and through us. Lastly is the theology of the Second Coming of Christ. One day Jesus is coming back and we will have our final resurrection into new bodies. The hope of His return gives us eternal perspective, which helps us to persevere — knowing that our faith is not in vain.

Many of us won't pursue something unless we know we have the ability or resources to see it through, but God often calls us to step out in faith and trust Him to bring the victory. If we think we can do it in our own strength, it robs God of the glory. When victory comes in such a way that only God could have done it, our hearts turn to worship and praise. Limited resources never limit God. Our trust is to be in the power and provision of God, not in our resources, finances or abilities.