Celebrate Like Never Before

As a kid, Christmas was always an exciting time. I remember, as child, being excited on Christmas Eve night that I could barely go to sleep. And when I did finally crash, I didn't stay down long. By 3 or 4 a.m. I laid in bed, wide awake, giddy with anticipation of seeing the tree filled with presents for me.

As soon as any sliver of daylight cracked through the window, I was up, trying to rouse my parents so we could go to the tree and unwrap all the great gifts under there for me.

Once I grew older, Christmas started to lose that excitement. Soon the presents under the tree were more practical things than toys. Then there were less of them. As I had kids, I began to realize how much work Christmas was. You worked a lot to afford presents for your kids. You also worked hard and wrapping them and placing them under the tree.

Between office parties, gift exchanges, credit card bills, and the hassle of seeing all your family, Christmas lost a little bit of its luster. It just wasn't as exciting as it used to be.

That's where the Israelites find themselves in Nehemiah 8. The worship of the holy days had been lacking. They had been going through the motions. Finally, after exile, things felt empty and hollow. They had not celebrated their holy days as worship in a long time.

In Nehemiah 8, Ezra reads portions of the Bible. The Levites assist him by rereading these sections and explaining the scriptures to the gathered Hebrew people. It is such an emotional and spiritual experience, that many of the Hebrew people began to weep over their sin and the hurt they had caused God.

This led to repentance. Repentance led to worship. Nehemiah says their celebration was the best it had been since Joshua crossed over with them to enter the Promised Land. The reading of scripture and the conviction of sin led to a glorious worship experience. The people were blown away by the Word of God.

Are we blown away by the story of Christmas? Has the story of Joseph and Mary and baby Jesus grown cold in our hearts and souls. We hear the story every year. It's easy for it to become background noise in our celebration of Christmas.

But the story of Jesus's birth should blow you away. He was born of a virgin. A star appeared. An angelic army proclaimed his birth. Those are extraordinary, amazing things. They should lead us to worship.

Reread the story of Jesus's birth this Christmas. Take it into your soul. Let God speak to you and let Jesus change your heart. Then respond by celebrating Christmas in a way that you haven't done since you were a kid. 

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