The Blessed Event

      There are no Christian holidays. There are two days we as Christians should celebrate: the day we are born-again into the kingdom of God and the day we die. Both are celebrations of Life Eternal, a truly blessed event. 

     That being said, tradition has ingrained in me the desire to celebrate stolen holidays, like Christmas and Easter, though I no longer call it Easter (to me and many like me Easter is now Resurrection Sunday). And while our children are grown and our nest is empty, Christmas is the one holiday I do really get into. I love finding just the right gift for a person. I love the way faces light up, if I get to see them open their presents. I love the, "Wow! Thanks" I get when an unexpected guest or two show up and are handed a gift. I love giving, for that is how I express my love for my family and my friends at Christmastime.

     Christmas is a shortened word meaning "Christ's Mass" the term a Catholic priest gave it when the church was empty during the winter solstice. (see Britannica: Christmas origins for more).

     I made the mistake with my first born son of leading him to believe Santa was a real person, because that's how I grew up. Big Mistake. Because when he was old enough to go school he was informed Santa was not real. And I had to explain the symbolism behind it. I did not make that mistake with the next two. I raised them on practicality and Jesus' birth. 

     But if you look at the setting of the story of the nativity, the Word was not born in the wintertime. It rains in Israel during the winter months, most of the time. Mary being nine months pregnant would not have ridden any animal on the journey. I imagine Joseph being a carpenter would have handy a small cart of some type and size. There Mary would be able to travel better. 

     On the night of Christ's birth, it wasn't raining. We know this because a star like no other shone in the night sky, big and bright and unusual enough to draw people to the stable, a dark cave-like place where the animals were penned in. 

     Angels suddenly appeared in a clear night sky where shepherds were out in the fields guarding their sheep. In the wintertime these same shepherds would have been closer to home and the sheep would have wintered safely in stables or larger buildings. But on this night they were out in the fields. 

     We don't need to know the date of Christ's birth. It is enough that we know He died on the cross, that His blood washes away our sins when we repent, that God forgives us when we seek His forgiveness, that Jesus rose from the dead and walked out of the grave into eternity. It is enough to know that Jesus Christ stands at the right hand of His Father interceding on our behalf. It is enough that the precious gift of God, the Holy Spirit, fills us with power to preach the gospel of salvation through Jesus Christ. It is enough that this same Holy Spirit leads us and guides us through a life lived according to God's Word. 

     That's my Christmas. That's my Jesus. That's what I celebrate. Every day of my life. 

     Do I wish you a Merry Christmas? Do I say Happy Holidays? How am I to greet people now? What should I say? 

Happy Joy of The Lord to you. And what response might expect? The same back to me with joyful exultation. Happy Joy of the Lord to you!!

Luke 15:10

Ecclesiastes 7:1

Luke 2:1-20

Matthew 1:18-25, 2:1-11

John 3:16-17

Acts 2:1-41

Galatians 5

A Christian Nation

     If we truly were a Christian nation, then people from other countries and cultures, who flee their nation's governments and sanctions, would embrace Christianity as a way of life. But America is not a Christian nation.

And it never will be.

     Though the early settlers from England fled to this country to escape religious persecution in the hopes of having religious freedom, their desire to be self-governing outweighed it. Man is essentially fluid by nature. He changes sides as often as he changes clothes. His viewpoint on what is allowed and what is not seldom lines up with God's viewpoint on the same subject.



     How many of us can truthfully say that we are submissive to our government?, as stated in 1 Peter2:13-16 - "Submit yourselves to every ordinance of man for the Lord's sake: whether it be to the king, as supreme; Or unto governors, as unto them that are sent by him for the punishment of evildoers, and for the praise of them that do well. For so is the will of God, that with well doing you may put to silence the ignorance of foolish men: As free, and not using your liberty for a cloak of maliciousness, but as the servants of God."
      And, yet, here we are, rising up against our President because we disagree with his policies. This is an election year: if you don't want him in office, vote him out. But while he is still in office, we are to pray for him. This may sound silly to most of you, but it is true. How often are you praying for God's direction in your President's decisions? I must admit, that I for one, have fallen short of this word from God. 1 Timothy 2:1,2 - "I exhort therefore, that, first of all, supplications, prayers, intercessions, and giving of thanks, be made for all men; for kings, and for all that are in authority; that we may lead a quiet and peaceable life in all godliness and honesty." Sounds radical, does it not?



           Deuteronomy 28 still stands. The Word of God is for everyone; not only are the blessings of God available to those who believe and obey, but the curses of God are available for those who do not believe and who refuse to obey. It is this disobedience to God's Word and God's Will that brings the curse of God into nations and onto people. Hearing the Word of God and obeying the Word of God are two different tasks set before us. To obtain the blessings of God, a person must do both. Do you want God's will for your life? Do you want God's will for your country? Your nation?
Now is the time to get down on our knees and repent of our willfulness and selfish desires. Now is the time to seek God's face and receive God's forgiveness for the wickedness of our hearts and the blood on our hands. Today is the day of salvation and deliverance. Now is the time to pray for our leaders. The clock ticks, time passes, it is another day. O Lord, forgive us for disobeying Your Word and refusing to walk in Your Will.
      Deuteronomy 28:1,2 "And it shall come to pass, if you will listen diligently unto the voice of the Lord thy God, to observe and to do all His commandments which I command you this day, that the Lord thy God will set you on high above all nations of the earth: And all these blessings shall come on you, and overtake you, if you will hear the voice of the Lord thy God." These words were spoken by Moses to the Israelites, just before Moses' death. But, remember, God's Word is still alive and vibrant. Though Israel will always be God's first love, because the Jews rejected Jesus as the Messiah, Christ's followers (disciples) were able to spread the Gospel of salvation first to the Jewish nation, then to the outlying countries. God's people are the people who hear God's Word and obey God's Word and walk in God's laws, God's will.
     The holy nation of which God speaks does not as yet have a solid place of ground on which to build. That time is not yet. Real Christians, people who follow Christ's example and walk in God's laws, people who hear God's Word and obey God's commandments, these people make up the Christian nation, the holy nation of whom God speaks of in 1 Peter 2:9,10 "But you are a chosen generation, a royal priesthood, a holy nation,a peculiar people; that you would show forth the praises of Him who has called you out of darkness into His marvelous light: Which in time past were not a people, but are now the people of God: which had not obtained mercy, but now have obtained mercy."

      I want God's blessing on my life. Do you? Let us pray.