If you want to have a great year, focus on these five things: contentment, trust in God, self-acceptance, forgiveness, and setting realistic goals.

Everything we have is a gift from God and once you learn to appreciate what you’ve been given, giving back is a natural response. Generosity increases contentment and instead of striving for more, you enjoy what you have.

Boredom is the real danger we face when we approach the Christmas story. It’s so familiar, our minds just hit the highlights, because we think we’ve already plumbed the depths of every detail. But if we could approach the nativity as if we’ve never read it before, we’d discover something new and exciting—we’d discover the birth of Jesus is a gift too wonderful for words.

If we lived in that first century and met someone like Jesus, it would take our breath away. As Christmas arrives, we think of the great blessing that is ours because of Jesus. This charming grace.

In this world of habitual lying, false stories, and deceitful people, there is nothing that will give you the security you need like God’s Word and the Son of God Himself. Stay committed to the Bible and by doing so, you learn more and more what’s true.

Jesus was referred to by the prophet as the “hope of Israel.” Hope always is looking ahead and those many righteous Jews down through the centuries living on tiptoe, anticipating Messiah’s coming, fulfilling the promise that He would arrive.

In this message, Chuck Swindoll reminds us that no halo graced the head of Jesus when He was born. Nothing in His physical appearance set Him apart. And yet, this baby was God in the flesh, the eternal Son of God who came to save us from our sins.