Christmas

We are in the countdown stages as we approach Christmas Day on Monday. There will be a tremendous amount of "moving around" over the next few days as people position themselves to celebrate Christmas. I am convinced that we need to do more than celebrate Christmas. We need to celebrate Jesus Christ, our Lord and Savior. Will we take the time to position ourselves to worship our Lord and Savior?

These words are not intended to "rain on" your Christmas plans. These words are simply meant as an encouraging reminder to each of us that Jesus came to this world to redeem us from our sins. Jesus came to deliver us from the power of spiritual darkness. Spiritual darkness will certainly lead us away from God rather than leading us to God!! 

Each of us face the daunting task of keeping the celebration of Jesus Christ in the forefront of our minds and hearts. This is not only true for the season of Christmas but it is also true each and every day of our life. I encourage each of us to take the time somewhere during the "process of Christmas" to meditate on the goodness of God and His provision of Salvation. Our Salvation is provided through the willing sacrifice of Jesus Christ on the cross of Calvary. The birth of Jesus and ultimately His death may be the FIRST "GIFT CARD" THAT WAS GIVEN TO SOMEONE!!

I would to share a prayer with you. These words spoke to my heart a few days ago. I pray that you will be blessed as well as reminded of our Savior, Jesus Christ.

Lord, I thank You for coming to earth so You could redeem me. When I think of the extent to which You were willing to go in order to save me, it makes me want to shout, to celebrate, and to cry with thankfulness. You love me so much, and I am so grateful for that love. Without You, I would still be lost and in sin. But because of everything You have done for me, today I am free; my life is blessed; Jesus is my Lord; Heaven is my home; and Satan has no right to control me. I will be eternally thankful to You for everything You did to save me! I pray this in Jesus' name!  (Rick Renner)

The "STAR" of Christmas

I would like to share a portion of the letter that I sent to our church family on Wednesday. I truly believe that God is calling us to revisit the message of Christmas revealed in the Bible. It is so easy to become captured by certain elements of the story or even the characters of the story. But God was sharing with us more than a story. He was revealing the message of LIFE to each of us and this message would be housed in the earthly and heavenly life of Jesus Christ. It is no wonder that the heavens were filled with the glory of God at the time of the birth of Jesus!!

Matthew 2:9-11, “When they heard the king, they departed; and behold, the star which they had seen in the East went before them, till it came and stood over where the young Child was. ¹⁰ When they saw the star, they rejoiced with exceedingly great joy. ¹¹ And when they had come into the house, they saw the young Child with Mary His mother, and fell down and worshiped Him. And when they had opened their treasures, they presented gifts to Him: gold, frankincense, and myrrh.” (NKJV) (Emphasis Added)

The ability as well as desire to "rejoice" began to resonate in my heart as I thought about the Greatness and Goodness of God. It is not always easy to rejoice as we travel the road of life. Each of us have faced or we are facing difficulties in our lives. We go through various "up and down" moments which can turn our "rejoicing into mourning" very quickly. But when we choose to focus on the "star" of God's goodness we can begin to reverse the process of our thinking. The Spirit of God can turn our "mourning into rejoicing."

The men in the passage of Matthew are often referred to as "wise men." Many Bible scholars believe that these travelers were astrologers from the East who saw the star which led them on their journey of discovery. Their journey of following the star led them to the house where Jesus was located. The Bible references Jesus as the "bright and morning star." The impact of the presence of Jesus even as a "baby" led them to fall down and worship the Savior of the world.

Let us choose to worship as we identify the "star" of God's Goodness in our lives. I would like to encourage each of us to take a moment and look around at the "star" of God's Goodness in our lives. Let me share a few things that I have pondered this morning. "How many times will I breathe today? How many times will my heart beat today? How many times will I get up and walk across the floor today? How many times will I drink clean and fresh water today? How many meals or snacks will I eat today? How many people has God placed in my life that love and care about me?" I encourage you to make you own list as you take time to notice the "star" of God's Goodness.

EACH OF YOU ARE AN IMPORTANT PART OF THE "STAR" OF GOD'S GOODNESS IN THE LIVES OF MANY PEOPLE!!!  YOUR LIFE IS MAKING A DIFFERENCE IN THIS WORLD!!!

What Will We Celebrate on Christmas Day?

Luke 2:13-15, “And suddenly there was with the angel a multitude of the heavenly host praising God and saying: ¹⁴ “Glory to God in the highest, And on earth peace, goodwill toward men!” ¹⁵ So it was, when the angels had gone away from them into heaven, that the shepherds said to one another, “Let us now go to Bethlehem and see this thing that has come to pass, which the Lord has made known to us.” (NKJV)

It seems to me that people are always looking for a reason to celebrate or throw a party. Even birthday parties for children are becoming an extravagant affair (Disclaimer: I am not against this by any means.). The celebration of Holy Matrimony has almost been overshadowed by the approach that some couples take for the celebration of their wedding vows (Disclaimer: I am not against this is you can afford the celebration.). People are all ready planning their New Years Eve parties even down to making sure that they are dressed in the "right outfit." There will be Super Bowl parties in a few weeks. I can go on with other examples but I will stop at this point.

But I have written these previous words so that I can write these next words. Has the celebrations of the culture overtaken and in some cases even replaced the daily celebrations that ought to take place in our lives? Christmas allows us and even encourages us to look in the Bible and see what God set in motion for the people of this world to receive. The gift of Jesus Christ to this world opened the door for the plan of Salvation to be revealed to humanity. We who were far away from God would now be called to draw near through the ultimate sacrifice of Jesus Christ on the cross. The birth, death, and resurrection of Jesus Christ ushered in an opportunity for mankind to showcase their praise and honor to God. We would be given the opportunity to celebrate our "spiritual freedoms" which would begin with the birth of a child in a manger in Bethlehem. "Oh, what a message to share and Oh, what a song to sing!!!"

We are in great need for God to help us focus on the good news that has caused great joy for people around the world and across the ages of time. Our true HOPE is found in the Truth that Jesus came to this world to save sinners and each of us were in need of a Savior to say the least.

We are in awe that the coming of the Lord Jesus has shaped the history of the world and has changed untold millions of lives. We need this gospel in troubled times lest we become fearful and overwhelmed by the challenges of daily life. The Word of  God will strengthen our faith during these challenging times.

We rejoice in the proclamation of Immanuel, God with us. As Isaiah said, “to us a child is born, to us a son is given, and the government will be on his shoulders. And he will be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace.”

Silent Night!! Will WE Remain Silent?

This anonymous devotion spoke to my heart as I read the words. I even took the time to read the words again. I wanted to soak in the truth that was being shared as well as examine my need to apply this truth to my life. Will I (you) continue to sing and worship even during the difficult and challenging times? Will I choose to allow the "noise" around me drown out my praises to God? I (you) may be called on to make the difficult choices in life when it comes to standing strong in my faith in the Lord Jesus Christ!!

Musicians' Daily Devotion:  "Adolf Hitler rose to power in Germany determined to take over the German church and dictate the nation's religion.  He falsely accused many of the clergymen of treason, theft, or immoral practices; thus priests, nuns, and church leaders were arrested on trumped-up charges.  Religious publications were suspended.  Hitler encouraged couples to be married by state officials rather than by priests and pastors.  In 1935 he outlawed prayer in the schools and he did all he could to replace Bible-reading with Nazi propaganda.  

     

He had greater difficulty with the holidays because Germans had faithfully observed Easter and Christmas for centuries.  Carols and nativity plays were banned from the schools in 1938, and even the name Christmas was changed to Yuletide.  Holy days became holidays and the sacred was secularized.  

     

Sound familiar?  Today we're amazed to observe the same thing happening in America as social libertarians, seemingly aided by the media and the courts, trying to rob Christmas of its true meaning.  I implore you, along with me, to do whatever it takes to help others stay focused on Him during the season - to proclaim His birth, His life, His death and resurrection...how He was sent to earth to redeem mankind on that silent, starry night of long ago.  

     

Be determined as the Christians in Nazi Germany who still stood and sang in church the beautiful carols of Christ's birth.  One of those songs we all know from memory is "Silent Night."  I particularly love to sing it in German (it originally was written in German and accompanied by guitar) for, in some way, it seems to help me negate the attempt by Hitler to stamp out Jesus Christ:

                                               

               Stille Nacht

      Stille Nacht, heilige Nacht,

      Alles schlaft; einsam wacht

      Nur das traute hochheilige Paar.

      Holder Knabe im lockigen Haar,

      Schlaf in himmlischer Ruh!

      Schlaf in himmlischer Ruh!     (Anonymous)

Christmas story or Christmas MESSAGE

A few weeks ago in Bible Study; one of the participants made a statement that continues to resonate in my heart on a daily basis. I am paraphrasing her words but this is the essence of what she said.   “We have taken the story of Christmas and treated it as a “story” rather than remembering and realizing that the celebration of Christmas is more than just the rehashing of an “old story.” The birth of Christ is one of the many “messages” that God has declared through the ages. These messages were intended, designed, planned and even orchestrated by our Heavenly Father as a means of providing fallen mankind with an opportunity to have a relationship as well as fellowship with the Lord God Almighty!! 

I have come to declare today that my previous statement is more than just a story but it is a DIRECT MESSAGE FROM HEAVEN TO THE PEOPLE ON PLANET EARTH. God fulfilled His plan to offer redemption, rescue, as well as Salvation to “whosoever would believe on the name of the Lord.” The Holy Spirit is challenging me and now I am going to challenge you today. We need to upgrade the birth of Christ from more just a “story” to the GREATEST MESSAGE THAT HAS EVER BEEN DECLARED ON PLANET EARTH!!! Is it possible that Christianity in general has “drifted away” from the powerful Message that is brought to this earth through the incarnation of Jesus, the Son of God? We are being called to celebrate that message as well as share that message with this world!!!

Isaiah 7:14, “Therefore the Lord Himself will give you a sign: Behold, the virgin shall conceive and bear a Son, and shall call His name Immanuel (God with us). (NKJV)

Hebrews 6:17-19, “Because God wanted to make the unchanging nature of his purpose very clear to the heirs of what was promised, he confirmed it with an oath. ¹⁸ God did this so that, by two unchangeable things in which it is impossible for God to lie, we who have fled to take hold of the hope set before us may be greatly encouraged. ¹⁹ We have this hope as an anchor for the soul, firm and secure. It enters the inner sanctuary behind the curtain,” (NIV)