I'm annoyed. I'll come back to that. Caution! Don't let the stores fool you. Don't let the commercials and ads fool you. Don't let the voices of secularism and political correctness fool you. It's Christmastime. Jesus is the reason. Period.
I am annoyed. Hey... I'm honest. Annoyed, not because of Christmas. But because of all the voices trying to fool people. My six year old son had a lesson in school this week on the holidays. (Mind you this is public school.) They taught about Hanukkah. Great! The taught about other beliefs' and faiths' holidays. Great! I have no problem with that. But then they taught about Christmas. Not great. Now I have a problem.
"What?" I can hear people's questions now... "You have a problem they taught about Christmas?"
Yes. I most certainly do. Read on...
They taught that Christmas was about family and gifts and loving each other. That's it. Move on. Next religion. Well, if that's all that Christmas is about then forget Christmas! What was described to my son (who by the way knows what Christmas is about) is supposed to be more than one day. It's supposed to be every day! Those things are not Christmas. I am glad that Christmas includes those things. But Christmas... the REAL Christmas... is only about ONE thing: JESUS.
End of story.
Do not be fooled. Most of our country and a good deal of people around the world celebrate Christmas, but it is not the real Christmas. It is gifts. It is trees. It is lights. It is family. It is songs. It is a fat man in a red suit. It is happiness. But it is NOT enough. If that is all they celebrate, it is for naught.
Let me be clear... If the "holiday" is all you celebrate then you have missed the mark. You have completely missed the point of Christmas. There is a reason why it is called "CHRIST"mas. You can not deny that. It's in the name. And it is the CHIRST. And yet people do deny it.
Let God's word to enlighten you...
Joseph went up from Galilee, from the town of Nazareth, to Judea, to the city of David, to be registered with the virgin Mary, his fiance, who was with child. And while they were there, the time came for her to give birth. And she gave birth to her firstborn son and wrapped him in swaddling clothes and laid him in a manger. And out in the fields angels appeared to shepherds and declared "Today to you a baby is born who is Christ the Lord." That baby is Jesus. (Luke 2; Matthew 1)
It is CHRISTmas time. The "Christ" is Jesus. The "mas" is mass, a service of worship held in honor of someone and that someone is the Christ. That someone is my Lord Jesus. Do not be fooled.
And don't rob me of what Christmas really is. If you want to give gifts and love the reindeer and whatever else Christmas is to you, then call it something else. Don't call it Christmas. Call it Giftday or Jollytime. But don't fool yourself. It's not Christmas.
So, what will you choose? Will you choose to wake up on Christmas and dive into your day with things and people and parties? Or will you first open your bible and remember the Christ of Christmas and thank him for giving you life? Will you worship Jesus?
It's Christmastime. In other words... It's Jesustime.
worship Him 24/7...
scott
If you don't know Jesus as your Savior. Let me give you a brief synopsis:
We all have made mistakes. God is perfect. Otherwise he wouldn't be God. Heaven is perfect, otherwise it wouldn't be heaven. Since all of us have made mistakes, none of us can go to heaven. Unless we pay the price. But that price is death. Sin equals death. And death removes us completely from God. And God loves us very very much. So he sent himself in the form of Jesus, his only son, to live a perfect life and die on a cross. And in that death take on every sin that has ever been committed. His death and then resurrection on Easter provides all of us an opportunity to be made perfect in God's sight, so we can go to heaven. But it is only in surrendering you life to Jesus as Christ adn as Lord. It's believing in Jesus, in his death for you, and committing to follow him. It doesn't mean you'll never make a mistake again, but that you will strive to live as he did. And when you do mess up, God will only see Jesus when he looks at you.
The alternative to Jesus and heaven is hell. Eternal separation from God. You will not know when the end of your life will come. Don't say you'll wait until later to decide. No decision is a decision not to follow. Choose him. Follow him. You will celebrate your very first Christmas.
For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only son so that you should not die but have eternal life. John 3:16.
I am annoyed. Hey... I'm honest. Annoyed, not because of Christmas. But because of all the voices trying to fool people. My six year old son had a lesson in school this week on the holidays. (Mind you this is public school.) They taught about Hanukkah. Great! The taught about other beliefs' and faiths' holidays. Great! I have no problem with that. But then they taught about Christmas. Not great. Now I have a problem.
"What?" I can hear people's questions now... "You have a problem they taught about Christmas?"
Yes. I most certainly do. Read on...
They taught that Christmas was about family and gifts and loving each other. That's it. Move on. Next religion. Well, if that's all that Christmas is about then forget Christmas! What was described to my son (who by the way knows what Christmas is about) is supposed to be more than one day. It's supposed to be every day! Those things are not Christmas. I am glad that Christmas includes those things. But Christmas... the REAL Christmas... is only about ONE thing: JESUS.
End of story.
Do not be fooled. Most of our country and a good deal of people around the world celebrate Christmas, but it is not the real Christmas. It is gifts. It is trees. It is lights. It is family. It is songs. It is a fat man in a red suit. It is happiness. But it is NOT enough. If that is all they celebrate, it is for naught.
Let me be clear... If the "holiday" is all you celebrate then you have missed the mark. You have completely missed the point of Christmas. There is a reason why it is called "CHRIST"mas. You can not deny that. It's in the name. And it is the CHIRST. And yet people do deny it.
Let God's word to enlighten you...
Joseph went up from Galilee, from the town of Nazareth, to Judea, to the city of David, to be registered with the virgin Mary, his fiance, who was with child. And while they were there, the time came for her to give birth. And she gave birth to her firstborn son and wrapped him in swaddling clothes and laid him in a manger. And out in the fields angels appeared to shepherds and declared "Today to you a baby is born who is Christ the Lord." That baby is Jesus. (Luke 2; Matthew 1)
It is CHRISTmas time. The "Christ" is Jesus. The "mas" is mass, a service of worship held in honor of someone and that someone is the Christ. That someone is my Lord Jesus. Do not be fooled.
And don't rob me of what Christmas really is. If you want to give gifts and love the reindeer and whatever else Christmas is to you, then call it something else. Don't call it Christmas. Call it Giftday or Jollytime. But don't fool yourself. It's not Christmas.
So, what will you choose? Will you choose to wake up on Christmas and dive into your day with things and people and parties? Or will you first open your bible and remember the Christ of Christmas and thank him for giving you life? Will you worship Jesus?
It's Christmastime. In other words... It's Jesustime.
worship Him 24/7...
scott
If you don't know Jesus as your Savior. Let me give you a brief synopsis:
We all have made mistakes. God is perfect. Otherwise he wouldn't be God. Heaven is perfect, otherwise it wouldn't be heaven. Since all of us have made mistakes, none of us can go to heaven. Unless we pay the price. But that price is death. Sin equals death. And death removes us completely from God. And God loves us very very much. So he sent himself in the form of Jesus, his only son, to live a perfect life and die on a cross. And in that death take on every sin that has ever been committed. His death and then resurrection on Easter provides all of us an opportunity to be made perfect in God's sight, so we can go to heaven. But it is only in surrendering you life to Jesus as Christ adn as Lord. It's believing in Jesus, in his death for you, and committing to follow him. It doesn't mean you'll never make a mistake again, but that you will strive to live as he did. And when you do mess up, God will only see Jesus when he looks at you.
The alternative to Jesus and heaven is hell. Eternal separation from God. You will not know when the end of your life will come. Don't say you'll wait until later to decide. No decision is a decision not to follow. Choose him. Follow him. You will celebrate your very first Christmas.
For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only son so that you should not die but have eternal life. John 3:16.