THE HEART OF CHRISTMAS - All Our Daily Bread Daily Devotionals for 2026

Our Daily Bread - Sunday, December 19, 2016
by RBC Ministries

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THE HEART OF CHRISTMAS

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And the grace of our Lord was exceeding abundant with faith and love which is in Christ Jesus.
-1 Timothy 1:14

THE BIBLE IN ONE YEAR:
Jonah 1-4
Revelation 10

Charles Dickens' novel A Christmas Carol was released on December 19, 1843, and has never been out of print. It tells the story of Ebenezer Scrooge, a wealthy, sour, stingy man who says, "Every idiot who goes about with â€˜Merry Christmas,' on his lips, should be boiled with his own pudding!" Yet, one Christmas Eve, Scrooge is radically changed into a generous and happy man. With great humour and insight, Dickens' book captures the universal longing for inner peace.
As a young man, the apostle Paul opposed Jesus and His followers with a vengeful spirit. He "made havoc of the church, entering every house, and dragging off men and women, committing them to prison" (Acts 8:3). But one day he encountered the risen Christ, and his life became a different story (9:1-16).
In a letter to Timothy, his son in the faith, Paul described that life-changing event by saying, even though he was "a blasphemer, a persecutor, and an insolent manthe grace of our Lord was exceedingly abundant, with faith and love which are in Christ Jesus" (1 Timothy 1:13-14).
Jesus was born into our world and gave His life so that we can be forgiven and transformed through faith in Him. This is the heart of Christmas! - David McCasland
Then let us all with one accord
Sing praises to our heavenly Lord,
That hath made heaven and earth of naught,
And with His blood mankind hath bought. - English carol

A change in behavior begins with Jesus changing our heart.

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