People today have difficulty believing in miracles. While books like Harry Potter always top the sales charts, the Bible’s emphasis upon the supernatural is dismissed as impossible. The miraculous and supernatural are all right in stories, but we can’t be expected to take them seriously.

We think that if we can’t do miracles, then neither can God. We impose our human limitations upon God. But God isn’t like us, and nowhere is this seen more clearly than in the Christmas story.

This is the greatest miracle of all, and if we can believe this, then every other miracle becomes inevitable.

The first century world into which Jesus was born was no different, morally and spiritually, from our twenty first century. It was in a mess. Who can deny the mess of our day? Terrorism, rampant crime, greed in business, broken families … the list is endless. Every copy of a newspaper and every TV news programme emphasises the mess we’re in.

Why is this? It’s not because of economic, social or political reasons—the problem is spiritual. Rich and poor, we’re all in the same spiritual and moral mess, and no one has an answer.

No one, that is, except God. God has the answer. Mankind is in need of a miracle so that our natures can be changed to want what is good and hate what is evil. But where will such a miracle come from?

Our problem is our sin, all the wrong things we do. God sent his Son Jesus into the world to deal with this sin. Jesus had to bear the guilt and punishment our sin deserved, and in order to do this Jesus had to become a man. He had to have a human nature as well as a divine nature. His birth as a tiny baby at Bethlehem showed that this was the case.

Jesus then became our representative and took full responsibility for our sin. On the cross, he died as our sin-bearer, as our substitute. He took our punishment and purchased for us a full and free pardon. That’s the miracle of the grace of God in the Lord Jesus Christ.

Born that man no more may die,

Born to raise the sons of earth,

Born to give them second birth.

This isn’t a fairy story. It is very, very real. There is, even for us today, the possibility of salvation. Salvation means being saved from the consequences of our sin. It means being acceptable to God, and only Jesus can make this possible for us.

Jesus is the only Saviour because

It may be that up until now Christmas has meant nothing more to you than excessive drinking and eating. You have never understood the miracle of Christmas because you’ve never seen your need of a saviour. But listen, Christmas is not about food and drink, it’s about sin—our sin; and it’s about God’s love and mercy in dealing with that sin.

If you’ve read this far, it may be because you are tired of the materialism in the world and are looking for an answer.

The answer is Jesus. You need Jesus.

The way to find Jesus as your Saviour is…

Now, finally, listen to the promise of God …