Christmas Greetings from Scottish Bible Society - 2025

All of us at the Scottish Bible Society wish you a very happy Christmas. Whatever you are doing and whoever you may be with, our prayer is that you experience God’s presence in a special way this Christmastime. We are celebrating the coming of Jesus into the world and the Bible assures us he is ‘Immanuel – God with us’.   

Thank you for the many ways you have partnered with us this last year as we all seek to share the Bible. It is crucial that our work is undergirded by prayer, as without Jesus we can do nothing. Thank you for praying, giving and being active in sharing the Bible. We thank God for you. 

This Advent I have been pondering how open I am to miracles. What about you – are you open to miracles? I guess we cannot truly celebrate Christmas without being open to God acting in ways that can only be described as miraculous. I find it interesting that Luke begins his account of the life, death and resurrection of Jesus by assuring his friend Theophilus that what he has written is an accurate account based on eye-witness testimony. He then immediately launches into describing angels appearing with messages about God’s activity! 

After 400 years of apparent inactivity, God now intervenes and interrupts the lives of Zechariah and Elizabeth by promising them a son in their old age. Mary, a virgin, conceives by the Holy Spirit and gives birth to Jesus, God’s Son. No wonder Luke had to reassure his friend that this is all true and attested.  

These two miracles were quite different: one was the reversal of the normal process of human ageing and began to build confidence that life could be brought from death. The second miracle was very different: God becoming human, putting on flesh so that he himself could bring about the redemption that would reconcile humanity with the living God. 

The birth of Jesus was a miracle - as were his death and resurrection. These are never to be repeated miracles. But God is still at work, and perhaps we need to be increasingly open to see his activity in terms of miracles. Let us be expectant and excited to see God at work. 

Zechariah was not expecting God’s direct intervention at his work (despite being a priest!). Elizabeth and Mary seemed to show a greater openness and acceptance of what God was doing. Through the Patmos Research, there is increasing evidence around Scotland, the UK and northern Europe, that God is working in surprising ways, particularly amongst younger people. You may have seen this in your own community and church. Are we alert to what he is doing and ready to serve him in whatever way he leads us?  

In our world of uncertainty, conflict, darkness and pain, let us rejoice that God is at work. And let us keep sharing the Bible so that more and more people will encounter Jesus and follow him as Saviour and Lord. It is a miracle every time it happens. 

May you know God’s presence and experience his love, hope and joy as you worship Father, Son and Holy Spirit this Christmas.