What kind of Christmas do you celebrate?

In most of the world that is industrialized, this time of year is a very hectic time of year. Everyone that has a business is having sales. They are open early and stay open late all for the reason of making the most sales, and the most profit during the Christmas season. But, the question is “What kind of Christmas do you celebrate?” Are you working through it, having to get to work early and stay later to take care of all of those shoppers? Are you working longer hours so you can afford to give your children lots of toys that will be lying around or broken by the end of February?

Or, do you celebrate the birth of Jesus the Christ during this season? Most of us know that He was not born on December 25, the early church used a pagan holiday to try to make some converts and that is why that date was chosen. Nowhere in the Scriptures does it say the exact date, unless there is a record of the census taken under Caesar and that is not likely after two thousand years. Jesus is the true reason for the season but do most people celebrate His birth during this time of year? Unfortunately, many people do not.

They celebrate the holidays by giving gifts and by going to parties. Some give thanks at Thanksgiving, but are they giving thanks for what is or should be important in their lives or are they thankful for things which will not last? Then after Christmas, comes the New Year celebration where people determine that they will do better this next year, they will be a better person or be less of a person by years end (by dieting).

So, with all of these promises and things, what is the important lesson that has been learned by years end? How much stuff still works since last year? How much weight did I lose or gain in the course of the year? All of these things are great, to an extent, but what literal good comes from an Xbox or a PlayStation?

What is the message that your children get from the games that they immerse themselves in? Did the diet really get you back to your jeans from high school? I don’t even have any jeans from that period of my life! If I did, there is no way I could fit in them, with any kind of diet short of a hunger strike!

We have put far too much into the “consumer” part of living, and have left out the most important part…living! Stuff that is bought for Christmas should never replace the One that the season is about in the first place, because He is your Savior and if He is not, then He should be. Take the time to read the book of Luke, chapter 2 verses one through twenty with your family if possible. Pray about the meaning of His birth to you and the world and ask God to show you what you mean to Him, it may surprise you when you find the answer.

A new beginning!

We are coming to the end of one year and the beginning of another, so what do we do with it? Celebrate the fact that the world did not end as the Mayan’s predicted for one thing! We could begin our new year with a passion for living to start the year off right. If you intend to do that, what kind of passion and for whom would you begin with? Many people would like to say that their life and their passion comes first and to many people that is exactly what the New Year is about. There are also many people who are in need of basic necessities for life, what about them? Can we start a new tradition by giving of ourselves and our money to those in need. Not organizations mind you, I am talking about finding people in your community or your state that really need help! You could give of your time to help fix up someone’s home or bring food to someone who may be going through a hard time financially.

There are many ways to help others and you can think of other ways but what about the church? Those who are supposed to be servants of God are supposed to be doing this already, so what is the hold up? There are people in the church and around churches all over this country who really need help. When the church first began to take shape at Pentecost, they were selling what they had and giving to whoever had a need. Now, I am not saying that we should sell what we have in order to give to those who need but we can give what we can. God blesses a cheerful giver and He will bless your gift no matter what the amount or what the gift may be. If it is time, He will bless you with more. If it is money, your finances will be blessed. There are multiple ways that God can and will bless you when you give, but you must give expecting Him to bless and not expecting that the person that you are giving to will give to you. If your heart is right with God and your motives are right then you and the gift that is given will be blessed.

The new year also comes with other beginnings, such as your walk with Jesus and your commitment to Him and His kingdom. Have you committed your life to Him? Many people across the world have decided that they don’t believe in Him which is a sad situation. Even Satan believes in Him because he was created by Him! Belief doesn’t mean that you have to follow Him, but the consequences are not good if you don’t.

Your life here is like a rehearsal for eternity and your performance (belief or non-belief) determines your place in eternity. Your sins that are committed here, big or small, don’t really matter much but your acceptance of Jesus as the Son of God and as your Savior does! What you do with the knowledge that you have gained from attending church services or listening to sermons on radio or television is your choice. No one is going to force you to accept Jesus or even to follow Him once you have accepted Him, but the rewards in eternity are totally different from not accepting Him. Will you give Jesus a chance in your life this year?

The only things that you may lose by accepting Him are: an eternity in hell, habits which may be bad for your health or your marriage or both, so-called friends who may not be your friends when your life changes after accepting Him. These are things which you could do without anyway, but doing without Jesus is not a good decision in light of eternity! You may enjoy temporary joy or other things in this life without Him, but you will not enjoy eternity at all without Him. Think about this decision because it really is one that will affect your life long after your life on earth is over. Remember, this life only the beginning!

Happy New Year!!

When will it end?

The time is not yet for our world to end. The looming date set by the Mayan calendar is going to come and pass but we will have Christmas and New Year‘s day to follow. The ending that I am speaking of is the hatred toward Christians. Every news outlet that I know of, with the exception of one, seems to discount or discredit only one religion and that is Christianity. Every other religion in the world, regardless of how silly it may be, is fine. Why is that?

The only reason that I can think of is because Christianity has a living Savior and the Bible to back up its claims. No other religion does this. The places and people of the Bible can be traced by history and archaeology to the places that are referenced in the Bible. A few other religions have this as well but not to the extent that the Bible does.

Many people have claimed that the Bible is just a made up story, a book full of fairy tales. The historical record of the Israelite people shows that this book is true and that it is linked to them and their history, so why is it so important that the Bible be discredited? I think it is because of fear.

People are afraid that it may be true and if it is, then all of it is true and our world needs the hope that is found in it. If the words and the message of it is true, then there are many people who are needing salvation through Jesus. Why is that such a bad thing? He doesn’t require you to go by the rules of the Old Testament Jewish laws. The only ones that are even mentioned in Jesus’ teachings are the Ten Commandments.

Is it possible that people just don’t want to be responsible for their actions and the things that they say or do? Have we become so callous that we want a society that is that “self driven”? Humanity has always had a tremendous capacity for evil thoughts and actions, regardless of the religion of the time. We have never shown, in any redeemable way, that lack of religion has made things better. In countries where organized religion was outlawed, the people were controlled by fear of the government itself.

That is no way to live. Satan fell from his position because of pride and we are subject to the same thing. Without Christ in your life and sometimes with Him, pride still gets in the way but you can overcome it through Him. Our world is going to end. When will it happen? No one can predict that because God is the only one who knows the day and the time. The surety and the hope that we have through Christ is that His word is true and the prophecies contained in the Word are sure to come to pass because most of the prophecies that are in it have already come to pass.

There is no part of this book that is fiction, nor is it fantasy, it is real and true. You can choose to believe it or not, but that doesn’t change the words or the prophecies contained in it. You can choose to believe or not believe in gravity but that won’t change the fact that it is there either. When the time comes for you to stand in front of God at your own judgement, you will realize too late that the Word and the truth contained in the Bible are true. Although nothing can be done about it then.

We only have the time that is given to us on earth to realize what is true and what is not. The decision is yours to make. So which will it be? Follow Jesus into eternity or spend eternity wishing that you had?