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After this his wife Elizabeth became pregnant and for five months remained in seclusion.
"The Lord has done this for me", she said. "In these days he has shown his favor and taken away my disgrace among the people."
Luke 1:24-25 NIV
Here at the beginning of the Christmas story we have one of the great hidden themes of the Bible.
Something we all share with Elizabeth.
Shame.
Here's the first inkling of what God is up to. He's stepping into the story in the most unexpected way, making Himself small, powerless, so that He can take our shame.
Take our disgrace.
And overwhelm it with His Grace.
The world would have us think that some tinsel & fairy lights will fix everything.
They're nice, but they won't.
Liz knew that God was at work to remove her shame.
He took ours as He was nailed to the Cross.
Yes the tinsel is nice.
But the real Christmas story has a much bigger purpose, to open the way for a Saviour, a Rescuer, a Redeemer.
#christmas
#christmas2018
#grace
#overwhelminggrace

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