Anticipating Christmas

Christmas Eve.  Sigh.  The presents are wrapped and most are under the tree.  In just hours most of them will be ripped open with smiles (I hope) and squeals of delight.  Christmas will reveal the true value of every gift in the eyes of each receiver. But we are fickle.  In a few weeks or months, what once was considered a treasured gift might be tossed aside as our affections are stolen away by something bigger or better. 

When my Heather was a little girl, she had one "bratty" Christmas that sticks in my mind and we still joke about today.  She had already opened an abundance of gifts at our home before arriving at her aunt and uncles.  They always lavished my kids with surprises (thanks to Aunt Connie) and both of my children looked forward to arriving for their 2nd round of gift receiving.  After opening the first gift, like it was nothing special, Heather spoke up "next!" As in next gift.  Total parental embarrassment.  And she didn't stop there.  "Next, next!"  She was underwhelmed by her gifts. Not because they weren't great.  She just wasn't satisfied.  To this day I have no idea what she was expecting!

Let's change scenes to Mary and Joseph. I wonder what their thoughts were as the time grew near for Christ's birth? Were they eagerly anticipating what was to come? Did they understand the magnitude of the gift that was about to enter into the world?  I think the answer would be all of the above - as much as their minds could hold of each emotion and with their human understanding of this miraculous event. They may have been "bratty" about many things before this but this night they were completely humbled.  Humbled to be a part of this part of God's plan...humbled to be chosen and entrusted with such a valuable treasure.  And I wonder if they would approve of how we celebrate Christmas?  Would they be disappointed? Would they see a humble people bowed on their knees in adoration?   As they held, cherished and cuddled Christ on that very first Christmas day, with full hearts, as well as full hopes and fears, with angels singing, shepherds worshiping, they knew no greater gift was coming, EVER.  And the world would never be he same. 

Christmas today looks more like hustle and bustle than the peaceful scene that is described in the book of Luke. Mega advertising for the latest and greatest begins as early as October! We over shop, overeat,  and deplete our bank accounts.  We are encouraged to say "Happy Holidays" instead of Merry Christmas for fear of not being politically correct or offending someone.  I dare say a Christmas in most of our homes could easily be called something else.  I dare say neither Mary or Joseph would want the name of Christ tagged to our celebrations in an after thought.

Christmas.  CHRISTmas.  Christ.  The reason we celebrate...or is it?  Are we, like Mary and Joseph, greatly anticipating the celebration of the King of all Kings?  If we are followers of Christ, we should be.  Or, is our true treasure wrapped in brightly colored paper, tagged and tucked under the tree?  Are we truly satisfied with the gift of Jesus Christ? Or are we continuing to look for something better? 

There is a gift that is better than any under your tree.  You only have to "open" it once.  There is nothing coming that will top it.  It is a gift that truly satisfies.  It will bring you immediate as well as continued satisfaction.  The gift is Jesus.  If you are reading this tonight, I pray you know Him.  I pray you are able to celebrate His birth in full knowledge the joy of belonging to Christ. If not, this precious gift is available to you right now! The gift of Christ has a "whoever" name tag.  Receive it with joy.

Luke 2

John 3

Acts 2:37-38

 

Are You Spiritually Savvy?

Have you ever heard the old saying you can't teach an old dog new tricks?  Well, I would like to say you can teach an old dog new tricks...it just may take him a little longer to get it right. And if we are honest, sometimes he just plain old refuses to be taught. I am that old dog much of the time. 

Us old dogs don't seem to fit in with today's tech savvy society. The times "they are a changing!" rings true for the 60's generation.  We grew up in much simpler times.  The most technology we had at one time in our home was the TV in the family room and one of us kids served as the remote control :)!  If someone wanted to contact you, they did so on their rotary dial phone and that was your only contact outside of making personal visits.  When you sat down to dinner, you talked, ate and you WERE NOT allowed to answer a phone call if it happened to ring at dinner.  Now a days, we have to be skilled at computers to just simply send and read an email, be smarter than our Smart Phone, and know how to function through social media!  This old dog is learning but I surely haven't perfected my skills in this world of technology we reside in. 

We need to be savvy about spiritual things too.  Sometimes I look as if I am a real dunce.  I need a 101 class or a Spiritual Disciplines for Dummies or something.  I have the basic idea, but I forget how to operate day in and day out much of the time.   And I don't brush up on the "manual" enough to make sure I am doing it right or refer to it before attempting to just do it on my own.

With all of that said, I can do better. Not on my own mind you, but by relying on the Holy Spirit as my guide and God's Word as my manual.  If I am investing the time to learn properly in the first place, I am certainly going to catch on quicker as I am passionate about my desire to learn.  Sometimes these new truths are painful and we just want to run, hide, or pretend we are too dense to catch on.  Just as we must learn how to be tech savvy in order to communicate, work, play and live in today's world, we need to be even more devoted to the things of Christ Jesus.

I pray God never stops teaching me new things.  I pray that I will always be willing to listen when He speaks.  I pray I am not a resistant learner.  And when I realize what God is saying to me, that I will be so excited to receive what is revealed and more than eager to flesh it out in daily life. 

Today was a painful day of learning - learning what it means to communicate, to not make assumptions, to love, forgive, and to take the time to look at things through the eyes of Jesus.

I am on a journey to be more savvy in my walk with Jesus.  And, I am so thankful.

The Winner of the 12 Days of Christmas Bid-A-Way for Adoption is:

Brad Ryan!

Special thanks to each of you who entered the contest and for all of the merchant's who donated such fabulous gifts! 

Tina

The Ultimate Gift

The Ultimate Gift 

Little baby, born a king

Holy infant of whom the angels sing.

No crown to wear, or kingly robe,

A bed of hay and swaddling clothes.

 

Great news you shepherds,

A story of old,

Long awaited coming,

Of prophets foretold.

 

Born to a virgin

First in line

A miracle of God

At just the right time.

 

God and man,

Prince of Peace,

Born to die

for even the least. 

Oh little baby

Nailed to a cross,

King of the Jews

They felt no loss. 

 

Wonderful counselor

Bread of Life

Do they know who you are?

Do they know for who you died? 

The Great I Am

Unmerited Grace

No ordinary baby

You took this sinner’s place!