Millions of us around the world are now celebrating the gift-giving season. We watch all the commercials on our televisions proclaiming to us to buy this product or by that product. Thousands of us have decorated up our yards and homes to celebrate Santa Claus or Frosty the Snowman. Thousands of us will sit around and have conversations with our spouses and other family members about what bills we should not pay this month in order to run out and by our teenager a droid cell phone, which in my opinion, no teenager needs. We will spend hundreds upon hundreds of dollars, that many of us do not have, to buy gifts that will end up sitting around forgotten or broke in a few weeks. And all of this in the name of Christmas. If any of us would care to check our history books we would discover that the Christmas season started out as a pagan holiday full of idol worship, sacrifice, sexual immorality and the like. Then those of the church stepped in and decided that to counter the idolatrous worship polluting hundreds of people, they would set this as a day to honor the birth of our Lord Jesus Christ. I light of these circumstances, I find it fitting to help all of us believers to remember that we do not have to run out and spend excessive amounts of money out of guilt or other feelings we may have about Christmas.
"Praise the Lord, O my soul; all my inmost being, praise His holy name. Praise the Lord, O my soul, and forget not all His benefits---who forgives all you sins and heals all your diseases, who redeems your life from the pit and crowns you with love and compassion, who satisfies your desires with good things so that your youth is renewed like the eagle's." Psalm 103:1-5.
One may wonder why it is that we place so much on giving things on one day out of the whole year. We could liken that to going and giving God praise and glory one day of the week. I believe that in our society today, things have gotten so far out of focus that many of us decide that it would just be best to go with the flow instead of rocking the boat. I had a very interesting conversation today that has kept my mind swirling with the thoughts of what was said. We were discussing this very issue and the statement was made that for centuries, giving God praise and glory for what He has done for us has really been cast aside in the name of possessions and stuff!
We should be quick to remember, on a daily basis, on an hourly basis, what Christ our Lord really did for all of humanity that receive Him. Our today's passage states, look at all He has given us. Some would argue this is the reason we give gifts, to remind us of what Jesus gave us. I would agree, but also have to argue that we spend too much time worshiping things during this time of year that we really should not worship. Take Santa Claus for example: A fictional being that has become the focus of Christmas. We do not think that it wrong or inappropriate for our children to believe in such a being, but let them go around society today and proclaim their love for Jesus. They will be branded as crazy or worse, ridiculed and rejected from their schools, friends, and other activities. What is wrong with this picture?
Our homes and other places are littered with images of Santa Claus. Many businesses make fortunes off of this fantasy character. Hundreds praise this likeness for bringing joy and love to millions. I say, what about a real, living, loving God? His Word given to any and all that ask and receive! Eternal life, freedom from sins and diseases! Love unconditional! Jesus is the one we should be praising for bringing love and joy and life to millions. Not some fantasy character!
Some of you who read this will say that I am being harsh. That I am taking away from the children. But, am I? Let us consider: We teach them to believe in a fictitious character and say that nothing is wrong, be good and he will bring you presents, he is watching you at all times and making a list and so on. Then, the child gets older and realizes that this person they came to love and trust is only imagination. Now what? How hard do we think it will be for anyone to convince them that God is real after they already found out that someone they cannot see is only make believe? What if we spent as much time teaching them about a real Jesus? A Jesus that will love and care for them at all times! A Jesus that will never leave them, even when they grow up! A real Jesus that did heal us and save us and bring us joy and happiness and compassion and forgiveness and mercy!
Friends, if we are going to celebrate a being, shouldn't it be our Lord and not something that is not real? If we are true to our Lord and our faith, we will not make excuses to continue to celebrate something that all of us know is not real. If we want Christ to remain in Christmas, then why don't we put Christ in Christmas? Why don't we celebrate the way we say that Christmas should be celebrated? I don't believe that giving gifts is wrong, the Bible teaches us that God loves a cheerful giver. However, what kind of gifts should we be giving? Should we really be giving cell phones and i-pods and xboxes and the like? Why not give the gifts that God gave to us? How about the means to help someone rid themselves of disease and sickness? How about forgiving someone we might be holding a grudge against? How about helping out a family member, a friend, or total stranger with a financial situation rather than giving them things? We should look at what God gave to us, He did not give us stuff, He gave us Himself and a way to live free from the burdens of wickedness. Christians, let us really remember the reason---everyday of our life and not just on one!
May God Richly Bless You Today!! H Trent!
"Praise the Lord, O my soul; all my inmost being, praise His holy name. Praise the Lord, O my soul, and forget not all His benefits---who forgives all you sins and heals all your diseases, who redeems your life from the pit and crowns you with love and compassion, who satisfies your desires with good things so that your youth is renewed like the eagle's." Psalm 103:1-5.
One may wonder why it is that we place so much on giving things on one day out of the whole year. We could liken that to going and giving God praise and glory one day of the week. I believe that in our society today, things have gotten so far out of focus that many of us decide that it would just be best to go with the flow instead of rocking the boat. I had a very interesting conversation today that has kept my mind swirling with the thoughts of what was said. We were discussing this very issue and the statement was made that for centuries, giving God praise and glory for what He has done for us has really been cast aside in the name of possessions and stuff!
We should be quick to remember, on a daily basis, on an hourly basis, what Christ our Lord really did for all of humanity that receive Him. Our today's passage states, look at all He has given us. Some would argue this is the reason we give gifts, to remind us of what Jesus gave us. I would agree, but also have to argue that we spend too much time worshiping things during this time of year that we really should not worship. Take Santa Claus for example: A fictional being that has become the focus of Christmas. We do not think that it wrong or inappropriate for our children to believe in such a being, but let them go around society today and proclaim their love for Jesus. They will be branded as crazy or worse, ridiculed and rejected from their schools, friends, and other activities. What is wrong with this picture?
Our homes and other places are littered with images of Santa Claus. Many businesses make fortunes off of this fantasy character. Hundreds praise this likeness for bringing joy and love to millions. I say, what about a real, living, loving God? His Word given to any and all that ask and receive! Eternal life, freedom from sins and diseases! Love unconditional! Jesus is the one we should be praising for bringing love and joy and life to millions. Not some fantasy character!
Some of you who read this will say that I am being harsh. That I am taking away from the children. But, am I? Let us consider: We teach them to believe in a fictitious character and say that nothing is wrong, be good and he will bring you presents, he is watching you at all times and making a list and so on. Then, the child gets older and realizes that this person they came to love and trust is only imagination. Now what? How hard do we think it will be for anyone to convince them that God is real after they already found out that someone they cannot see is only make believe? What if we spent as much time teaching them about a real Jesus? A Jesus that will love and care for them at all times! A Jesus that will never leave them, even when they grow up! A real Jesus that did heal us and save us and bring us joy and happiness and compassion and forgiveness and mercy!
Friends, if we are going to celebrate a being, shouldn't it be our Lord and not something that is not real? If we are true to our Lord and our faith, we will not make excuses to continue to celebrate something that all of us know is not real. If we want Christ to remain in Christmas, then why don't we put Christ in Christmas? Why don't we celebrate the way we say that Christmas should be celebrated? I don't believe that giving gifts is wrong, the Bible teaches us that God loves a cheerful giver. However, what kind of gifts should we be giving? Should we really be giving cell phones and i-pods and xboxes and the like? Why not give the gifts that God gave to us? How about the means to help someone rid themselves of disease and sickness? How about forgiving someone we might be holding a grudge against? How about helping out a family member, a friend, or total stranger with a financial situation rather than giving them things? We should look at what God gave to us, He did not give us stuff, He gave us Himself and a way to live free from the burdens of wickedness. Christians, let us really remember the reason---everyday of our life and not just on one!
May God Richly Bless You Today!! H Trent!
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