He is Risen! for Christmas?

Imagine if you woke up on Christmas morning and proclaimed "He is Risen!"

Yes, I'm fully aware that it's Christmastime, not Easter. However, while we commemorate and celebrate the birth of our dear Savior Jesus Christ at Christmas -- Remember, He is risen!

We should wake up every day and proclaim with great joy and enthusiasm, "He is Risen!" Because it's as true today as it was 2000 years ago. John Stonestreet likes to say, "There will never be a time in history when "He is risen!" will not be true."

The resurrection of Jesus Christ is the center-point of all creation, reality, and history. We ought to live lives that reflect this reality for the world to see - that it is, in fact, Good News!

The Gospel (Good News) is a proclamation of something truly good. It is an announcement of the in-breaking rule and reign of Jesus Christ as Lord over all. God the Father sent His only Son to die for our sins. That was just the beginning... Jesus Christ rose from the grave and is presently ruling and reigning at the right hand of the Father! He will return once again - setting foot on terra firma earth. We will see the full consummation of His final, eternal, glorious Kingdom.

The Gospel is not just a piece of information or a fact that we believe... It is no less than that. But, it is infinitely more than that. The Gospel is The Story that we inhabit. It is The Story that contains ALL other stories.

I don't 'ask Jesus into my heart'... He invites me and draws me and binds me to His Life - His Story!

Reducing the Gospel of the Kingdom to a pragmatic prescription for private-personal Salvation like some magic salvific pill or 'fire insurance' is not Biblical. Yes, I am saved from Hell but I’m save for much more.

Christianity is not simply a private matter to be kept under a basket - it is a public truth! It is a light that shines everywhere for everyone to see.

The proclamation of the Gospel of the Kingdom should give us great joy. But, it should also put a burden on our hearts for a lost world. Because some people don't know 'He is Risen.'

"But you are a chosen race, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people for his own possession, that you may proclaim the excellencies of him who called you out of darkness into his marvelous light."

- 1 Peter 2:9

We proclaim 'He is Risen!' in the highways and byways of life, in the places and spaces where lost people dwell.

Every day, in every way, and everywhere - every Christians should celebrate!

What God has done...

What God is doing...

and what God will do in our world...

Because of the resurrection.

Imagine if you woke up on Christmas morning and proclaimed "He is Risen!"

What a Christmas gift indeed!