Right at the foundation of Christmas is the amazing love of God. This message and Jesus, the gift that God gave, is making inroads in many levels of society, for instance in the lives of hardened criminals in jail and many, many, people in the entertainment industry who have become powerfully converted and saved. There are three main foundational aspect of Christmas, and those are righteousness, peace and joy. Righteousness is that through the birth of Christ God initiated his plan to make us right with him. By us simply believing in the perfect sacrifice of Jesus, it opened up the only way for us to get in right standing with God. That rightness with God produces something that everybody desperately seeks for, but hardly ever find, and that is peace. True peace can only come from knowing God and understanding that we are right with him. This peace is both internal and external, it is not only peace with God, but also the peace of God which fills our hearts. It is a peace which is not temperamental or conditional and a peace that surpasses understanding. It is not based on circumstances. The fruit of righteousness and peace is joy. The tidings brought to the shepherds by the angels said that it was an occurrence of great joy. This is a joy that comes from knowing that we are loved, redeemed and secure in Christ. It is the spiritual and emotional fulfilment that comes from living in alignment with God’s will, experiencing peace with God, others and oneself and reaping the blessings of righteousness. This sequence, righteousness, peace and joy is consistently found throughout the Bible. These three things, righteousness, peace and joy, are also part of the fruit of the Holy Spirit within us. It is the true foundation of Christmas.
