What a great time of year Christmas is. It's the greatest time of all to win souls and put love into action.

During those few days every year, people are tenderhearted. They're more open to giving and receiving than they are at any other time. That opens them up spiritually and puts them in a position to receive testimonies and ministry from you and me.

As you reach out to them in the days ahead, remember: Love and faith are the keys. When you're ministering the love of God with faith, the Word will not return void: You'll be irresistible to those with needs.

In light of that, I want to share something with you that will be a special blessing during the Christmas season—not only to you, but also to all the people around you. It will be a blessing to people you'll be sharing with who don't know Jesus as personally as you do.

You'll find it in Luke 2:13-14. There the Word of God says, "And suddenly there was with the angel a multitude of the heavenly host praising God, and saying, Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace, good will toward men."

Notice these angels were praising God for a particular reason. They were praising Him because peace was being declared between God and man, between heaven and earth. But wait a minute!

They were making the declaration at Bethlehem. Jesus was only a newborn baby at that time. How could peace be declared between God and man before Jesus had faced one test, before He had gone through even one temptation, before any battles for men had been fought, before one person was ever healed under His ministry?

How could God send the angels to say such things when the battle for man's redemption was still 33 years away?

Peace was declared by faith, that's how!

As Romans 4:17 tells us, God calls things that be not as though they were. He had already set his faith on man's redemption. So, as far as He was concerned, it was done. He began treating them like they'd never sinned. He reached out to them in His great love. He totally offered Himself to man as though Jesus had already gone to the cross.

Because of God's faith and love, everything turned out perfectly. Jesus won every battle and took man away from Satan's authority and dominion.

Now, keeping all that in mind, I want you to think about something. If God acted as though the work of the cross was already completed before Jesus ever went to the cross, how do you think He is acting now?

Living As If We're There Already
He is acting as though we were already in Glory. He is saying that we've been raised up together and made to sit together in heavenly places in Christ Jesus. As far as our heavenly Father is concerned, you and I are already there!

We need to start living that way! Where our needs are concerned and where our relationship with God is concerned, we need to live as though we're already seated with our Lord in Glory.

Let's begin to look at one another in Christ Jesus and treat one another like we were already in heaven. If we will, heaven will come down among us! After all, we all look a whole lot better in Jesus than any other way.

This can be the greatest Christmas any of us have ever had, if we'll really make it great for someone else instead of waiting for everyone to do something great for us. After all, we're celebrating Jesus' birth and not our own. So get that celebration off to a powerful start.

First, read the Christmas story in the Word again very carefully. Let it come alive and be real in your heart, and not just a fable. Second, make giving your priority. You need to give, give, give. And don't just give things that can be bought—give joy, peace, and love. If things have gone wrong between you and someone else, take this opportunity to make them right.

Finally, take on the spirit of joy! The Word says joy to the world. Take on that joyous spirit. Spread it around everywhere you go. As you do these things, you'll begin to realize that your needs are being met even though that's not your primary goal.

That's when it will dawn on you that this is not just a Christmas attitude, it's Jesus' attitude. It's an attitude you and I can have 12 months out of the year!