All
the gifts have been unwrapped, the needles are falling off the tree, and the
kids are trying to find someplace to put their newfound wealth.
Out with the old and in with the new.
It must mean that Christmas is over.
Although all of the dinners have been eaten and gifts given, does it
mean that Christmas is over? I
hope it is never over for us. Everyone
seems happier. People are less
obstinate. Folks seem to have an
extra spring in their step. It
must be Christmas! The
celebration of Christmas reminds us as believers that we have been the
recipients of the greatest gift of all. It
is the gift of salvation and His name is Jesus.
He is the reason for the season and for all this joy.
Scripture
Text:
John 3:14 Just as Moses lifted up the snake in the desert, so the Son
of Man must be lifted up, 15 that everyone who believes in him may have
eternal life. 16 "For God so loved the world that he gave his one and
only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life.
17 For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but to
save the world through him. 18 Whoever believes in him is not condemned, but
whoever does not believe stands condemned already because he has not believed
in the name of God's one and only Son.
The
Gifts of Christmas that should keep on giving.
Will they continue into 2005?
1.
The Sacrifice / Salvation of Christmas.
He
was born to die. He came to give
Himself as a sacrifice for us. He
gave His life for us. Will we
receive Him and give ourselves for Him?
Will we give ourselves for others?
This is the sacrifice and salvation of Christmas.
2.
The Possibility / Opportunity of Christmas.
Another day, another dollar, another Christmas, another year, this is
the year of possibility. This is
the time of opportunity. Tomorrow
will never come. Today is the
day. It is time for Christ to
come. He will come, because He
has come. Will we be ready? Look at the pole/Lord and live.
3.
The Love of Christmas. Christ
is the reason for this season of love. He
loves us so much that He gave. We
have received Him and His love. This
is the reason we give of ourselves. God cares about people.
Do we? Come alive in 2005
to others.
4.
The Attitude of Christmas.
What a joy to have Christ in our heart!
He gives us new life and new hope.
Even though the holiday is over, the presence of Christ lives on in us.
Let’s not throw out the baby with the wash and loose the joy of
knowing and serving the Lord. We
must remember that the joy of knowing and serving the Lord is the joy of
knowing and serving others. This
is the way of the Lord and the way that gives to all those who believe and
receive this precious gift of Christmas.
I heard someone say that ministry would be great if it wasn’t for the
people. Isn’t the Lord in the people business? Isn’t the church supposed to be?
Isn’t Christmas about the people?
Do you remember Mary, Joseph, the shepherds, Zachariah, Elizabeth, the
people of Bethlehem, King Herod, and the Wise Men? They were all people just like you and me.
Their lives were interrupted by the birth of a very special child.
Some would welcome this child and some would reject Him.
Although this baby was dependent on them, they would soon discover that
they were dependent on Him. Sure
some of them and some of us are rough around the edges. Some of us require an extra measure of patience, love, and
grace. The extra required is what
the Lord gives. This is the
amazing grace that the Lord wants us to give. This is the amazing grace that
we should give even after the tree is gone.
Since we are the recipients of this grace, mercy, and forgiveness, then
we should have plenty to go around. We
have plenty to go around at Christmas, but I am concerned that there is a
shortage the rest of the year.
5.
The Promise of Christmas.
The
promise of Christmas is the fact that the Lord of Glory cares for you. In the passage we have the story of Moses who lifted up the
snake on a pole in the wilderness. The
people were dying from snakebites. The snake on the pole was the cure.
How could one look at a snake on a pole and be healed.
The Lord promised Moses that if the people would believe and look on
the snake, then they would be healed. The
promise of Christmas is that the Lord cares for all of humanity.
He has sent his Son who was lifted up on a cross to bring life to all
who believe and look to Him for healing.
Have we been healed? Look
to Him today. Believe in Him and
His promise today. Reject Him and
you will reject His love and His gift of life.
6.
The Faith of Christmas.
The
gift of salvation is not a thing. Salvation is a Savior and His name is Jesus.
He is a present possession and the source of all of our life, liberty,
and happiness. Our culture
promotes meism and self-gratification through getting all that you can get.
Many today are willing to do anything for money.
People are willing to do what ever they can to get what they want.
For example, there are many folks who believe that if you could just
win the lottery then everything would be all right.
The fact is the Lord said it is better to give than receive.
But you say you have nothing to give.
How about giving some service? How
about giving some love? How about
some grace? How about forgiving?
How about giving you. These
items don’t cost much, but it seems that many can’t afford to give them.
What about you? Do you
understand that to be like Jesus is to live and to give like Him?
Are you for giving? Are
you for Jesus? He is for you.
7.
The Joy of Christmas
is knowing that you have a heavenly Father up above who gives gifts to
all. He has given us His one and
only Son. We humbly and gladly
accept Jesus and these gifts as expressions of His love.
He is Emmanuel or God with us. The
Spirit of Christmas is the Spirit of the Christ who gave his life that we may
live. Don’t throw out the
Spirit with the tree. Christmas
should be every day of the year for the believer.
It is the Spirit of Christ that gives us the abundant life that the
Lord spoke of to his disciples. This
is the peace that the angels spoke of to the shepherds. It is the presence of the one true living God living in us.
This Spirit lights up the darkness like the lights on your porch.
He is the light and now we are the light.
Turn Him on! Let Him
shine! People love to look at the
lights. Many are still searching
for the joy they are missing. We
have found it. Give Him to them. Winning the lottery could never take the place of knowing the
Lord. So when you take out the
tree this year don’t take out the Spirit and throw Him away or pack Him up.
Let’s continue to spread Him out for all to see.
Have you taken out the tree?
Residents
of Wauconda, Illinois: They refused to let the plug be pulled on Christmas.
Two water towers have always served
as landmarks for travelers heading for their homes near Wauconda, Illinois.
But especially at the holidays.
More than 40 years ago, John Kuester,
then village police chief, suggested mounting large twin crosses on the towers
to luminously mark the season. Adopted by the village, the display of crosses
became a tradition. Right after Thanksgiving, when Christmas decorations went
up, the crosses also lit the sky from their near-heavenly height.
But five years ago [1989], Robert
Sherman, spokesman for American Atheists, Inc., heard about the crosses. Since
Wauconda's crosses were on government property, Sherman saw an alleged
violation of church and state. He delivered an ultimatum: remove the crosses
from the water towers or meet in court.
Several town hall meetings followed.
Resident Joyce Mitchell, a member of Crossroads Community Church, asked God to
give her the right words and right spirit before each meeting.
"The Christians in the
community were united with the rest of the community--whether they were
churchgoers or not--in refusing to let some outsider tell us how to celebrate
Christmas."
But the decision was forced by
economics. Realizing a similar case had lost in court, the residents of
Wauconda opted not to burden themselves with hundreds of thousands of dollars
in court costs.
Then a grassroots group of residents
had the final say.
"Our business, Wauconda Boat
Company, is located across from the village hall," resident Rosemary
Buschick explains. "The meeting about the crosses was on a Tuesday night,
and when it was over, we knew the crosses would have to come down. Then my
husband, Chuck, went to the back room of the shop and constructed a
window-sized cross with lights to display the next day. Will Shumaker, whose
home appliance store is also on Main Street, also put up a cross. Within
weeks, crosses were appearing on houses everywhere--attached to antennas,
stuck in yards, beaming from trees, shining in windows. It seemed to just
happen."
When Joyce Mitchell drove around the
village with her daughters, who were 6 and 9 at the time, she began to cry.
"The media portrayed us as losing the fight, but we didn't lose. Two
crosses had been replaced with hundreds. God was glorified in the end."
The crosses continue to shine each
year. "No one will tell us to take our cross down," says Rosemary
Mers of Mers Restaurant, which inherited one of the original tower crosses.
"That cross is up there forever."
-- "Ordinary Heroes," Christian Reader.
See:
Job 17:9; Mt 10:22; 1 Co 15:58