Earlier this week we witnessed a beautiful part of the Christmas story. In the midst of confusion and shock the angel comforts Joseph regarding the baby that Mary was going to have (Matt 1:21). A baby that is not his but that he is supposed to love and raise as his own. He also gives Joseph the name that they are to call this child.
Jesus!
It’s a beautiful name because it reveals what this child would one day do. He would save His people from their sins.
Beautiful! But it also requires of us that we never study the Christmas account without also looking at the cross. The birth of Jesus would mean nothing if He hadn’t died. Jesus did not grow up and later in life decide that He would suffer and lose his life on a cross like a hated criminal. This was the plan from the VERY beginning (Gen 3, Isa. 53, Acts 2:23).
In our verse for today we see the radical love of God. He held nothing back – not even His only beloved son.
Salvation is not an idea, a mindset, or a way of life. It is not a work or even religious activities. Salvation is a person.
Jesus was born to save but salvation carried with it a massive price tag. He loved, healed and taught in order to show those around Him, and us now, that HE is that salvation.
He was born for you! He let Himself be hung on the cross for you!
God the father gave His only beloved son, and the son willingly gave Himself for us. I’m not sure we will ever truly understand the heinousness of what we once were, and the overwhelming affection of God who loved us anyway.
Christmas is a time of celebration. We celebrate the birth of a child. In our home we decorate as for a King. We sing and worship the greatness of God who took on flesh. We exchange gifts as a small reminder of the generosity that God has poured out on us.
In the midst of our Christmas celebrations we must also keep an eye on the cross. It is our sin that required us to need a savior, and it was the Father’s love that sent His son to be that savior for us.
For God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life. John 3:16
Our celebrations must include joy that Jesus was born, sadness that our sin had such a great price, and joy again because God became man and took upon Himself a name that would mean pain, suffering and a grueling death.
Jesus is the overcomer, the redeemer, and the savior of His people. How wonderful that we get to take time every year to remember this beautiful truth that Jesus was born to save His people from their sins!
For this reason also, God highly exalted Him, and bestowed on Him the name which is above every name, so that at the name of Jesus EVERY KNEE WILL BOW, of those who are in heaven and on earth and under the earth, and that every tongue will confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father. Phil 2:9-11
Wishing you a very Merry Christmas,
Friends, we are SO EXCITED about our next study – Growing Through Prayer beginning January 11!! Please share this image on social media so we can reach as many women as possible! Watch our blog and social media for additional details leading up to the study launch — we can’t wait to start 2016 with you!!

Merry Christmas to each of you beautiful ladies at Love God Greatly!
Thank you for this Names of God study! I have really enjoyed learning and studying with so many beautiful women who encourage, pray, and just show the love of Jesus!
Thank you for all the time and effort you put in to making these studies possible. I love the beautiful study guides that you create. I am looking forward to the Growing Through Prayer study beginning in January.
I hope you have a Very Merry Christmas, and A Blessed New Year! 🙂 ❤
Merry Christmas my sisters in Christ!
Wishing you good health, much warmth and love!
Tammy
I have so enjoyed this study. I so enjoy this quiet time in the morning and starting my day with God. Thank you so much for all you do to help my day start with God in a great place. I look forward to January. Thank you and God’s Blessings on your day and Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!
Merry Christmas! I’m wishing everyone a blessed Christmas season.
Merry christmas to all you wonderful ladies and may the Lord continue to bless you each and everyday.
I have enjoyed this study so very much! Thank you ladies at Love God Greatly for the time and work you put into making these great studies! I look forward to my soap verse every morning. It brings me peace for the rest of my day. My life has truly been transformed by partaking in these studies. I anxiously await the next!! Merry Christmas to all!
Merry Christmas to you all!! its been wonderful to study with you. Thank you to the beautiful ladies who put together this study and made it possible for many of us to study with you..
GOD BLESS YOU ALWAYS
Blessings to all…those who prepared this amazing study for us and all who benefited so greatly from your obedience to bring us closer to Him. I, too, have thoroughly loved going deeper in Who He is. The timing is perfect! Merry Christmas to all my ‘sisters’ and a Most Blessed New Year!
Amen, Jen! And thank you and all the leaders at LGG for your faithful service in the wonderful Name of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ! Merry Christmas to all!
Awesomely written! Powerful!
I’m doing this study alongside studies with my church …. So I am just finishing up this one. Thanks Whitney for your encouraging word in your recap. I was blessed to stop my special education teaching job to stay home with my two kids- Scott was in K and Jenn was almost four. In that next year, I learned about Moms in Prayer ( formerly Moms in Touch) where I was able to pray weekly for my kids, their school, a teacher and a friend. We always started with Praise , then silent Confession , then Thanksgiving for answered prayers. During the Praise time, we read about and praised God for one of His names, attributes or characteristics. It was amazing to learn so much about God this way! It just expanded my view of who God was- as this study has done. Please visit and shAre with others the site momsprayer.org where if you go rob resources and partially filled in prayer sheets you can see lists and verses about so many names of God! Thanks so much for this ministry ! I look forward to the next study on prayer .