Nearly everywhere we look this week, we’ll find proof that Christmas is coming. Cities, schools, and shopping malls are filled with flashing lights, blow-up snowmen, wreathes, pictures of Santa, etc. We can SEE that Christmas is almost here.

The Bible refers to God as the One we “have not seen” (1 John 4:20 NIV). Sometimes it’s easier to see the world’s version of Christmas than it is to see Jesus, who is beyond the workings of our natural eyes.

This week at BTO, we’re praying that this Christmas is better and sweeter than what you’re expecting. May your heart find its rest in God, and may your eyes move beyond the natural realm to focus on a far better reality.

Here are three Bible-based statements that hopefully will help you see Jesus more clearly this December:

1. This Christmas season, I declare the love of God over my life! I welcome His love into every part of who I am and allow Him to chase away all my fears. The Lord’s heart for me is peace and goodwill. He gave of Himself so I could be with Him.

Glory to God in the highest,
And on earth peace, goodwill toward men! (Luke 2:14 NJKV)

Sit down with God, and meditate on what Luke 2:14 means. Ask Him the following questions:

1. What does Your “goodwill” mean for me? What does it mean for my family?

2. What does it mean to give You the highest glory?

3. How can I start to experience Your love for me at a deeper level?

2. This Christmas season, I acknowledge that God accepts me, just as I am. I don’t have to work to win His attention. I welcome a deeper understanding of His acceptance into my heart and mind.

For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life. (John 3:16 NIV)

John 3:16 is kind of an unlikely Christmas verse. Many of us memorized it as kids and, now that we’re adults, have a tendency to overlook it.

Yet this little verse is the key reason Christmas exists—because God loved us and longed for us, so He made a way for us to be a part of His family.

Do you feel like God loves you and wants you? Does John 3:16 ring loudly in your heart? Sit down with Jesus, and record in your journal everything He tells you about this verse.

3. I can trust Jesus to help me and be wise on my behalf. He is the Wonderful Counselor, so He guides me. He is the Prince of Peace, so I get to experience His peace as I look at Him. This Christmas, I welcome His peace and wisdom into every part of who I am.

For to us a child is born,
to us a son is given,
and the government will be on his shoulders.
And he will be called
Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God,
Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace. (Isa. 9:6 NIV)

God is the reason good exists on the earth (Ps. 16:2). He is everything we need, and when we trust Him, we start seeing the world the way He does. He fills us with His peace.

If you need peace or wisdom in your life this Christmas, ask Him to help you and then expect He will. We honor Him when we trust He’ll do what He said He would do and be who He said He would be—our Wonderful Counselor and Prince of Peace.

Here’s our prayer for you this week:

Father God,

Thank You for sending Your Son to make a way for us to be with You. This Christmas, we ask that You would open our readers’ hearts to Your massive love for them. May they be able to see You clearly, in a way they never have before.

Where they need wisdom, please meet them there. Where they need peace, please help them hear Your voice and focus on Your truth. You have good plans for them—a story worth telling.

— The BTO Staff

Before you go!

Bill and Sue Frisbie, leaders at the Northwest Gathering Center, talk about intimacy with Jesus sometimes being “quiet.” Quiet with Jesus might be exactly what we need around Christmastime:

Relationships go through cycles. When you’re getting to know someone new, there’s constant conversation and sharing back and forth. It’s very exciting, meaningful, and affirming.

But as time goes on, the relationship changes, and a certain calm assurance is found in just sitting quietly together, without having to say anything to communicate well-being. This kind of quietness comes with maturity.

So we might be in a season with the Lord where He’s trying to help us mature, grow, and be peaceful just being with Him. He’s quiet not because there’s distance but because there’s proximity. He’s teaching us at a deeper level what it can mean to be near Him and find our contentment in Him. The quiet can actually be a beautiful thing.

Find your peace in God’s heart! Fill yourself with the truths contained in His Word, and find your rest in Him this Christmas.

Interested in more? Check out some of our other declarations:

• Connecting with God When You’re in Pain

• December Devotions: Seeing God's Face at Christmastime

• Declarations for When You’ve Been Waiting a Long Time

• Declarations for Renewing Your Mind

• Declarations for When You’re Dealing with Disappointment

For more information on sex, marriage, and finding the person who is right for you, get a copy of Becoming the One by Salomé Roat. Click here to learn more.

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