Well, it’s definitely that time of year…honestly one of my most favorite and yet most disheartened times of the year. I have been trying to get gifts, make extra money for gifts, put on a community Christmas Production, eat right, pray every morning, exercise, as well as manage the other daily interruptions that spring up. Even though this is supposed to be a season about Jesus, somehow it gets mixed up in the hustle and bustle with each year getting busier and busier. It never fails that no matter how good I go into this season with my life routines; they ALWAYS get off course! And not even with just the eating of lots of great food..but even the daily prayer time…sometimes I truly believe the intentions of this season were meant for good, but somehow it has become more of a distraction and a season of selfishness. I was shocked when I went shopping on the Friday after Thanksgiving…yes I did get up at 4 a.m….and every time I do this I ask myself, “Why are you here?” Nevertheless, I went. I was amazed at how rude people were, even in a small Alabama town, the gleam in their eyes when they got the last product marked down 1/2 off and literally guarded it with their whole LIFE getting it to the cash register. How we, the people, would push other people out of the way to get a piece of merchandise….What in the world? This is ridiculous! People literally losing their lives over stuff that will rot and be destroyed during a celebrated season about a man who DID give His life for us! Please. What a mockery! And you do know that after that man (I think he was a Wal-mart worker trying to protect a pregnant lady) died in Wal-Mart, WE, the People, said it was the store’s fault for having such good sales. NO WAY! We chose to trample over a man because WE ARE A SELFISH PEOPLE! Let’s just admit it and fix it! I know that some of you are thinking, “I agree..I would never do that!” But wait just a minute. Let’s look at our own lives. Can you honestly say that in the midst of that tragedy you would have been the ONLY one to go against the crowd? I can’t honestly say yes, can you? I would like to think I would have done the right thing, but honestly I might not have stepped on the guy and just seen what was going on and thought well someone else will stop this rather than me. Or let’s talk about our own checking accounts during this season…TOUCHY subject…..but a Jesus subject nevertheless. How many of you give a generous offering that is equal to what you spend on the entire Christmas season….gifts, decorations, ornaments, food, etc. to the church? Did you know that December is the worst financial month for most all churches? Less money is given during this “Giving season” than any other time of the year! Don’t you think that if you were celebrating someone, you would give to the place that not only He commands us to give, but also chooses to bless us if we do give. (Mal. 3:10) It seems to me that it is true that the Wise Men brought gifts to a King, not gifts for each other…or at least that’s how I thought the story went. Look, I am not trying to put a damper on the Christmas season, I get very excited about this time of year, and I love to give gifts! But I am simply stating this to help change our perspective, including mine, on some things. I know some of you may be offended, but please let offense make you search the things out in your own heart, don’t just give up. I just find it so sad that we, the people, the church, have the wrong God-perspective. I mean think about this story of the Wise Men, they got one nice gift that probably cost them almost all of their money, followed a star for miles, maybe even hundreds of miles, to give it to a baby, that they didn’t even really know for sure if He was King Jesus or not, but did all this just because they believed! Wow, where are we church? We wouldn’t travel a hundred miles to even tell someone about Jesus, much less, spend our life savings and follow a star based on an assumption! What has happened to us? We have made God to be like us! Well guess what, He is not like us, He is HOLY, which means “different”. This God that we serve sits on the Throne of Heaven, has hair white as snow, eyes of bright flames of fire, and brass feet refined in a furnace. He holds 7 stars in His right hand, and a sharp two-edged sword comes from his mouth, and His face is as bright as the sun in ALL its glory! (Rev.1) This God we serve cannot be comprehended…..He is outside the realms of our thinking, outside the realms of time. No wonder Heaven is constantly telling him He is Holy, Holy, Holy! Don’t think this is a boring Holy chant either, Heaven is saying this with great excitement because everytime they say it….This Holy God reveals something different about himself. Please don’t put God on our level…His ways and thoughts are much greater than ours! Don’t be the typical “Christian” this season…be bold and ask God what He would have you do! Put Him first in your life, so that whatever He asks you to do, you do with no hesitation. And know that during this season of celebrating Him that you have pleased Him with your WHOLE life…not just the leftover pieces. Think about when you have to stand before Him and have to give an account for this day, this time, this season in 2008. And don’t think He’s gonna say, “It’s ok honey, I know you were just doing the best you could.” No, He is going to judge us by our fruit, period. So, think about sharing your testimony, or looking at your own life and asking Jesus to be the true reason for living. If He is who He says He is in the Bible, then we are expected to do that. Just a few thoughts for you to ponder.
