WE ARE THE REASON

A few weeks ago I was having a conversation with one of my church leaders and he led with something similar (I don’t have a photographic memory) to this;

“Have you noticed how all the lights in the houses have Santa, Snoopy, Mickey, Snowmen and reindeer? Nowhere do you find a nativity scene. It seems to me that Christmas is more about us that God. Why do we celebrate it at all?”

It really made me think.

During the Christmas season we hear about gifts, receiving and giving them. Yet have we stopped to think that Christmas is about the greatest gift of them all.

“For God loved the world so much that he gave his one and only Son, so that everyone who believes in him will not perish but have eternal life.” John 3:16 (NLT)

How do we share this story? How do we get the word out about the meaning of this celebration?

We could use social media. We could decorate our home in nativity scenes. Invite people to our church for their Christmas program. We could do outreach. We could, to put it simply, share Christ, not just with our words but with actions and our lives.

This story could be told one hundred different ways but the reason for this story is only one. The angels made a huge announcement to the shepherds on the hillside of Bethlehem. “A savior is born!”

Can you imagine the excitement?

Today, Christmas could not be announced in any bigger way yet it seems that we still miss the point of it all. There are sales, concerts, events, food and drink in order to celebrate this event but it misses the point.

We forget that Christmas starts with Christ!

Christ came to this world as a baby.

Christ was born in a manger.

Christ’s first visitors were shepherds and animals.

Christ’s earthly father was a carpenter.

Christ’s earthly mother was a teenager.

Christ fulfilled prophecies given thousands of years before his birth, given all the way from Genesis.

Christ left the glory of heaven.

Christ came to suffer.

Christ came to die.

CHRIST CAME FOR YOU!

Yes we celebrate Christ’s birth this season. Yes we are reminded of His gift of life. Yes our focus during this season is Jesus.

But His focus, with His incarnation, with His birth, His constant thoughts were directed to you and me.

We were on His mind as He became man. We were on His mind as He was born. We were on His mind and He lived out the fathers plan for His life.

We are the reason he came to this world.

WE ARE THE REASON.

“For God loved the world so much that he gave his one and only Son, so that everyone who believes in him will not perish but have eternal life.”

John 3:16 (NLT)

Of Thanksgiving

So, Thanksgiving Day has come and gone hopefully with not many pounds gained. Yet, there is this lingering sense that we ran right over it and didn’t take the chance to appreciate it. You may not agree with me but it seems that Halloween has taken precedence over Thanksgiving.

Even before Halloween was over the Christmas decorations and promotions were already out. The only thing we heard about Thanksgiving day were the Black Friday specials and wether or not it was worth it to cut dinner in order to get those “awesome” deals”. In a world where consumerism and self-gratification is king, it seems that we would at least take one day to give thanks for all that we have; for friends, family, the big and not so big blessings.

We should be humble enough to recognize God’s gifts and blessings. Nothing in this world that we own or acquire is ours. We have been blessed with the things we have, and wether you believe in God or not, it is important to be thankful because the little that you have is more than others have.

When we recognize God’s blessing we in turn are blessed. Think about it. If you add up everything that you have, the fact that you are alive (and reading this right now) You truly are blessed.

Share your blessings. If you have a box of donuts (I like donuts) and it’s full, can you put more donuts in it? No. You have to share those donuts in order to be able to get more. That’s exactly how blessings work too! You cannot get more blessings if you are already full. If you keep them all to yourself you will only enjoy them for a bit but then that temporary happiness will be over. True joy comes by sharing those blessings with others and seeing them gain happiness because of you.

I guess in the end it is simple. Thanksgiving is about recognizing what you have, where they come from, and sharing them.

O Lord that lends me life,
Lend me a heart replete with thankfulness.
-William Shakespeare

tickle your thinker

For long I have fought with the idea of writing a blog. I have stopped short many times for various reasons; time, lack of ideas, too many ideas, not being able to condense them all, not being a good enough writer. Yet, this nagging voice keeps telling me that writing is probably going to be the best way to organize my thoughts.

Now allow me to make a disclaimer. I, in no way presume to be an authority or an expert in any of the areas in which I elaborate on the brain farts that enter my mind and escape unto this blog. Many of the thoughts are personal opinions; advice and opinions given with the best intentions to start conversation. Criticism and exchange of ideas is invited in a respectful and professional manner.

So... seeing that this is merely an introduction to what my blog will be (although not a lot of detail has been presented) I will say this. I speak from a Christian perspective. I am conservative in many areas of life, and liberal in many other. It may seem contradicting at times but if you know me, you know it all makes sense. My beliefs dictate how I relate to everyone and everything. Always give the benefit of the doubt and you will be surprised.

I will leave you with this...

"Respect for other's rights is peace." Benito Juarez