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Let Them Know It’s Christmas

41 He first found his own brother Simon and said to him, “We have found the Messiah” (which means Christ). ~ John 1:41

Do They Know It’s Christmas?, performed by some of the biggest stars at the time, was and still is an anthem of compassion. While the lyrics definitely mischaracterize an entire continent, the words do hit a soft spot in our hearts with lines like:

And in our world of plenty
We can spread a smile of joy
Throw your arms around the world
At Christmas time

And another:

And the Christmas bells that ring there
Are the clanging chimes of doom
Well, tonight, thank God it’s them
Instead of you

Do they know it’s Christmas time at all? is specifically a line we should all ask ourselves. What do I mean by that? Do they know Jesus, the Messiah, has finally come? No matter how hard the world tries, they can’t separate Christ from Christmas. Christmas will forever be a symbol of hope because it singlehandedly marks the birth of the Messiah—the birth of the Light of the World.

So, this Christmas, ask yourself, “Do my children, family, friends, coworkers, neighbors know it’s Christmas time at all?” Do they know the Messiah, Jesus? Or are they still looking for something? A Messiah? Peace? Freedom? Joy? Hope? Something to fill the emptiness inside? This Christmas, don’t wait to share Jesus with others. Don’t hesitate, be afraid, or intimidated to share Christ with anyone and everyone willing to listen because without Christ, they have no hope.

Peace. Love. Go Forth and Let Them Know It’s Christmas.

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A Time of Rededication

22 At that time the Feast of Dedication took place at Jerusalem. It was winter, 23 and Jesus was walking in the temple, in the colonnade of Solomon. ~ John 10:22-23

During the Christmas season, another Jewish holiday takes place as well, Hanukkah. Hanukkah is the celebration or remembrance of the rededication of the Temple and the miracle that took place. See, the Greeks, specifically the Seleucid Empire, looted the Temple, massacred the Jews, and put a stop to Jewish religious practices. They didn’t stop there; the king of the Seleucid Empire, Antiochus IV, ordered a statue of Zeus and an altar to Zeus to be erected in the Temple. He defiled the Temple of the LORD, not just with an altar to Zeus being built in the Temple of the LORD, but he had pigs sacrificed to Zeus on the altar he had built.

An unclean animal sacrificed to a pagan god on a pagan altar in the Holy Temple. Antiochus IV had successfully defiled the Temple of the LORD. The statue of Zeus, the altar of Zeus, and the unclean sacrifice to Zeus stirred the anger and increased the courage of the Jews. A man named Matthias, along with his five sons, launched a revolt. Though he didn’t see his efforts rewarded in his lifetime, his son, Judah (later known as Judah Maccabee), took over as leader and led them to victory. They reclaimed Jerusalem and the Temple of the LORD.

Now, they had to purify and rededicate the Temple of the LORD that had been defiled by the Greeks. They had to light the lamp (the Menorah) in the Temple with pure oil, but they could only find one sealed jar of consecrated pure olive oil, enough for one night. They, just being in battle, were unclean and couldn’t make more, and it would take seven days to purify them selves. So, in faith, they lit the lamp in the Temple and thereby rededicated the Temple to the LORD. The miracle that happened?

Instead of the oil lasting one night, the oil lasted for eight nights, allowing the men to purify themselves to make more oil in order to keep the statute of the LORD given to Moses so many years before.

Almost 200 years later, Jesus is walking in the Temple (in the colonnades of Solomon) during Hanukkah, and the Jews come up to Him and ask Him out right, “How long will you keep us in suspense? If you are the Christ, tell us plainly.” Jesus holds nothing back and tells them that “I told you, and you do not believe.” It’s in this same conversation that Jesus publicly declares to be one with the Father (John 10:30).

It’s during the Feast of Dedication that remembers Judah Maccabee rededicating the Temple to the LORD that Jesus publicly declared to be the Christ and to be one with the Father. Judah Maccabee rededicated the physical Temple to the LORD, but Jesus, the Lion of the Tribe of Judah, came to rededicate us, the spiritual eternal temple of the LORD.

This Christmas season and eight nights of Hanukkah, ask yourself, am I dedicated to the LORD? Have I allowed anything to defile me? Have I allowed anything to stifle the light in my lamp? Has the love you had at first grown cold, and your lampstand at risk of being taken from you (Revelation 2:4-5)? Christmas, Hanukkah, this season is a time of rededication, purification, and returning to the LORD. Don’t let the year end without relighting your lampstand.

Peace. Love. Go Forth and Embrace The Time of Rededication.

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The Ultimate Christmas Gift

16 For God so loved the world, that He gave His only Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have eternal life. ~ John 3:16

John 3:16 isn’t usually thought of or seen as a Christmas verse, but when you think about it, this is a perfect Christmas verse. It’s literally Jesus proclaiming that because the Father loves us, He gave us His one and only Son (Jesus), fulfilling His promise from so many years ago. It’s Jesus literally saying all of those promises from Abraham, Moses, David, Isaiah, etc. have finally been fulfilled. “Here I am, the perfect gift. The ultimate Christmas Gift.”

This Christmas, as you finish your Christmas shopping, take a moment to think about the ultimate gift. Does your family have the gift? Do they know Jesus? Do they believe in Him and follow Him? Most importantly, does He know them?

Christmas is a time of family, friends, goodwill towards men, charity, gift giving, and hope, but without Christ, we have nothing. No hope. No purpose. Nothing. So, this Christmas, take the time to share the ultimate gift with others.

Peace. Love. Go Forth and Embrace The Ultimate Gift.

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Keep An Eye On The Star

10 When they saw the star, they rejoiced exceedingly with great joy. 11 And going into the house, they saw the child with Mary his mother, and they fell down and worshiped him. Then, opening their treasures, they offered him gifts, gold and frankincense and myrrh. ~ Matthew 2:10-11

The wise men had been following the star that led them westward for weeks, maybe months. But somehow, over Jerusalem, they got separated from the star and seem to have lost their way.

It would stand to reason that they did not know exactly where they were headed, only that they were on their way to Israel. So, they closely followed the star, but when they got to Jerusalem, they thought surely this is the place. They began asking around, “Where is He who is born king of the Jews?” But no one seemed to know.

Then the King, Herod, called them and told them the Messiah would be born somewhere in Bethlehem. And when they got back on the right track, they saw the star again and rejoiced greatly.

It’s the same with us. We believe we know exactly what we’re doing, and we don’t have to depend on our guiding light, Jesus, anymore, and we lose our way.

Isn’t that how it is with us? When we’re down and out with no hope and no way out, we lean on the everlasting arm of God, and as soon as He delivers us out of our mess and we begin to see the light at the end of our tunnel, we stop leaning on that strong and mighty arm. We don’t pray as hard as we did, and consequently, we stop hearing the voice of God.

But we get into another situation, and we are forced to return to seeking, and we begin to hear the voice of God again, and we rejoice greatly, just like the wise men did. This Christmas, let us not stop following the direction of the star and start relying on our own understanding.

Father, thank You for the gift of fellowship so that we can have close communication with You. In Jesus’ Name, amen.

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Christmas Favor

49 And He said to them, “Why were you looking for Me? Did you not know that I must be in My Father’s house?” 50 And they did not understand the saying that He spoke to them. 51 And He went down with them and came to Nazareth and was submissive to them. And His mother treasured up all these things in her heart. 52 And Jesus increased in wisdom and in stature and in favor with God and man. ~ Luke 2:48-52

This is a part of the Christmas story that we don’t usually associate with Christmas. At the tender age of 12, Jesus was fully aware of His responsibilities and His calling. But it was not just downloaded to Him; He had to seek, He had to ask, and He had to study for Himself.

On this occasion, Jesus and His family had gone down to Jerusalem to celebrate the Feast of Passover. After the feast was over, His parents and the rest of the family packed up and headed back home, but Jesus stayed behind and went to the temple to find the most knowledgeable teachers of the Scriptures. For three days, He sat with them, listening, asking questions, and learning. Jesus was listening, learning, and developing His faith. The learned men were amazed at His understanding of Scripture and His answers to their questions.

But you might think, well, this isn’t about Christmas at all. Oh, but it is. What we must take away from this is, Jesus, the Son of God, the Word made flesh, had to learn Scripture, had to ask questions, and to seek God, and develop His faith. How much more do we? Jesus never stopped being God; He merely set aside His divine prerogative and emptied Himself so that He might fill Himself again, as we must do.

The beauty of this is, the LORD Jesus came as a human baby 2,000 years ago, born in the manger because there was no room for them in the inn, born an ordinary child so that we too can seek God for ourselves. That is the Christmas story: A Savior who is Christ the LORD has been born in Bethlehem to reconcile man back to our Heavenly Father.

Now we have the privilege, the authority, and the power to seek an all-loving, Almighty God. For without Jesus’ birth as a mere human on that first Christmas morning, we would be lost forever, and unable to find God. But Jesus, our Savior, did come and did show us the way to the Father, because He is the Way, the Truth, and the Life, and no one comes to the Father except through Him. Now, because of Jesus, we can increase in wisdom and in favor with our Heavenly Father.

Father, thank You for the gift of life through Your Son Jesus Christ. Thank You for salvation and for loving me, and thank You for the privilege to know You as Father, in Jesus’ Name, amen.

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Embrace Your Christmas

14 “Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace among those with whom he is pleased!” ~ Luke 2:14

We just finished watching one of our yearly Christmas movies, “Snowglobe,” where a young woman feels unsatisfied with her Christmas and yearns for the complete opposite. Once she gets the Christmas she has been dreaming and fantasizing about, she basically ditches her life for the other. It takes her a little while, but she eventually realizes what she was missing in her life was gratitude.

When we constantly look at the grass on the other side and never appreciate the grass on our side, we will never be satisfied. Constant comparisons are not good for anyone. It breeds envy and covetousness, which lead to unsatisfying feelings, discontentment, and, eventually, hatred, and sometimes, even murder. When we only pay attention to what we’re missing and don’t have, then we’ll never be thankful or grateful for what we do have. We are all given a hand to play in this game called life. It’s not always the easiest hand to play, but because Christ has come, we have hope regardless of our hand. He works all things out for our good. So, regardless of your hand, make the most of the life God has given you.

Peace. Love. Go Forth and Embrace Your Christmas.

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Listen To The Bells Ring

17 This was to fulfill what was spoken by the prophet Isaiah: 18 “Behold, my servant whom I have chosen, my beloved with whom my soul is well pleased. I will put my Spirit upon Him, and He will proclaim justice to the Gentiles. 19 He will not quarrel or cry aloud, nor will anyone hear His voice in the streets; 20 a bruised reed He will not break, and a smoldering wick He will not quench, until He brings justice to victory; 21 and in His name the Gentiles will hope.” ~ Matthew 12:17-21

The Christmas song I find myself playing on repeat this year is I Heard The Bells On Christmas Day. It truly grasps the overwhelming feeling that can sneak up on you this time of year and then builds to the solution “Christ.” The song goes as follows:

And in despair I bowed my head
There is no peace on Earth I said
For hate is strong and mocks the song
Of peace on Earth, good will to men

But the bells are ringing (Peace on Earth)
Like a choir singing (Peace on Earth)
Does anybody hear them?
Peace on Earth, good will to men

Then rang the bells more loud and deep
God is not dead, nor doth He sleep (Peace on Earth, peace on Earth)
The wrong shall fail, the right prevail
With peace on Earth, good will to men

Sometimes the darkness feels too dark. It feels too much to overcome. Too much to even handle, but there’s the subtle whisper of the Holy Spirit reminding you of the hope of Christ coming into the world and bringing salvation to all people.

Yes, the world is dark and getting darker, but we have the Light of Christ dwelling in us and through us. So, no matter how dark the world may seem, the darkness can never overcome the Light.

Peace. Love. Go Forth and Listen To The Bells Ring.

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Embrace Our Christian Religion

One of the most well-known Christmas songs of all time is Have Yourself A Merry Little Christmas. Every time I hear it, one line really sticks out to me:

Through the years we all will be together
If the fates allow

The original version of this song, according to songwriter Hugh Martin, was actually “If the Lord allows,” but he later changed it to “If the fates allow.” Take a guess why. To remove the religious reference. Apparently, this change was reportedly made to align with the secular tone of the song’s release, although Martin claimed in a 2002 interview that the original version included the religious line and that it was purged for commercial reasons. I really want you to think about this for a second, people are offended by “if the LORD allows” but are perfectly fine with “if the fates allow.” The fates mentioned in these lyrics are the Fates of the ancient Greeks.

So, they have no desire to have religion pushed down their throat while wholeheartedly embracing a religion. See, the Fates of ancient Greece were three sister goddesses (Clotho, Lachesis, and Atropos) who literally personified destiny and control the lives of mortals. They were believed to spin, measure, and cut the thread of every mortal’s life thus determining their fate from birth to death.

So, in reality, people have no problem with religion, they have a problem with Jesus. Therefore, they have a problem with Christianity, just as Jesus warned the world would. Christmas is a celebration of the birth of Christ. Without Christ there would be no Christmas, so don’t give into the false statements that religion is offensive. The world doesn’t have a problem with religion. It has a problem with Light because it wants to dwell in darkness. This Christmas embrace the origin of Christmas, the birth of Christ. The birth of our LORD and Savior who came to redeem the whole world.

Peace. Love. Go Forth and Embrace Our Christian Religion.

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Give Yourself

4 But God, being rich in mercy, because of the great love with which he loved us, 5 even when we were dead in our trespasses, made us alive together with Christ—by grace you have been saved— 6 and raised us up with him and seated us with him in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus, 7 so that in the coming ages he might show the immeasurable riches of his grace in kindness toward us in Christ Jesus. ~ Ephesians 2:4-7

I have no gift to bring
That’s fit to give The King
…
I played my drum for Him
I played my best for Him

Little Drummer Boy is one of my favorite Christmas songs of all time. Every time I sing these lines tears fill my eyes. We have nothing fit to give the King of kings and LORD of lords. No gift worthy of Him, yet all He asks for is for us to give our best. To give Him us as He first gave Himself.

This Christmas, as you celebrate with you family and friends, remember the very first Christmas Gift. Remember that Christ came to save us. He left the splendor of all of Heaven for us. And in return all He asks is for us to give ourselves back to Him. Just as a bride will give herself to her groom, we are to give ourselves to Christ.

Peace. Love. Go Forth and Give Yourself.

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Let Pain Go

Luke 2:10-11

[10] And the angel said to them, “Fear not, for behold, I bring you good news of great joy that will be for all the people. [11] For unto you is born this day in the city of David a Savior, who is Christ the Lord.”

Every year we watch “How The Grinch Stole Christmas” but my nieces prefer the newer animated Grinch, so that has been added to our yearly watch list. One thing I’ve noticed in the movie is a recurring theme, “rejection will consume and destroy you, if you let it.”

See, from childhood the Grinch was rejected and because of that he rejected others first in order to never be rejected again. And because he lived right outside of Whoville, he hated Christmas the most because that is when the whiskey came together as one people and celebrated what he never had, family and loved ones. The community coming together as one brought back all the pain from childhood, because he never let the wound heal.

If we allow pain to consume us, we will remain lonely and in pain. That will be our oppressor. A hard slave master. Christmas should be a time of joy, thanksgiving, and celebration. A time we forgive and let go the pain of the past, be thankful for the present, and look forward to the future.

Don’t be like the Grinch bottling up all the pain and closing yourself off to the world. Instead, open yourself up to hope. The hope of salvation that isn’t possible without the birth of Christ, the reason for the season.

Peace. Love. Go Forth and Let Pain Go.

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