A Few Thoughts for Christmas!!!

Since it is the Christmas holiday season I thought it would be good to maybe give you a few thoughts that might help you have a better holiday this year.

1. Enjoy the moment!
There were two buddies who decided to go sailing the week before Christmas. Suddenly they were caught up in a big storm and their boat was blown onto a sand bar. These two guys found themselves standing in waist deep, freezing water with sleet falling all around them and the wind howling out of the north. One guy looked at the other and said, "Boy this is sure is a big mess we've gotten ourselves into. Even if we are rescued we will probably have pneumonia for Christmas." His friend replied, "Yep! We are in a big mess...but it sure beats Christmas shopping with our wives!" 

It is easy to get overwhelmed by the Christmas shopping, the gifts, the lights, the parties, and all of the activities of Christmas to the point that we forget to enjoy the moment. We sing "Silent night" but there is never any silence in our lives at Christmas. There is only noise and chaos. Why not slow down or just stop right now...relax...quit hurrying...cease activities and just enjoy the moments of Christmas. This time we have at Christmas to celebrate with family members (yes even the ones you don't like) and friends will never come again. Why rush through it? Choose to enjoy it. 

2. Don't complicate Christmas!
Jesus was born to simple parents in a simple place and was visited by simple, uncomplicated shepherds. What we have done is take "the most wonderful time of the year" and we have complicated it with so many things that have nothing to do with Christmas. Stop trying to have a Normal Rockwell Christmas. Stop trying to turn your Christmas and family into a Hallmark Channel Christmas movie. Do you really need to make all those cookies for everyone? Does every present have to be wrapped like the women who posted on Pinterest?  Do you have to go to every party? You do not have to complicate the holidays. The messenger of God brought to our lives that first Christmas "Good news of great joy" and not bad news, chaos, or complications.

3. Focus on Jesus!
It is really easy to get all caught up in all that the world tells you will make you happy at Christmas while forgetting all about Jesus! Christmas is about Jesus. It is about His love for us. It is about how God gave US the greatest gift of all in sending His one and only Son into the world (John 3:16). Christmas is about Jesus coming into the world as "Emmanuel" which means "God with us" so He can identify with our lives, struggles, challenges, hurts, temptations, and pain. Christmas is about the one who received the name "Jesus" because "He will save His people from their sin." 

Refamiliarize yourself and your family with the Christmas story. Attend Christmas Eve service at FBC at 5 pm or a Christmas eve / Christmas day service at your church or a church near you. Pray and thank God for all of His many gifts and blessings in your life. Give a gift of yourself, your time, and your resources back to God this year. Financially give money over and above your tithe to the Lottie Moon Christmas offering for International missions. Help another family in need. Make this Christmas about Jesus!

4. Come out of Christmas Changed! 
If you go through the entire Christmas celebration and you come out on the other side of it the same person you are right now and not more committed to Christ then you've missed the entire point of the holiday. When Jesus came into the world that first Christmas, everything and everyone who came in contact with Jesus was changed forever. The Shepherds, for example, went away rejoicing, praising God, and telling others about all they had seen and experienced. I pray this will be what happens in our lives this year as well!

Merry Christmas and may your holiday be filled with the love of Jesus!!!

Popular posts from this blog

COVID-19 HAS REVEALED THE TRUTH ABOUT CHURCH!

Image
 Another month of the Covid-19 pandemic! Another month of trying to decide what we can do or not do at the church. Another month of second guessing decisions, wondering about the outcomes of those decisions, and trying to navigate an unknown future. Another month of trying to hit a moving target. Ugh! As I try and lead my church into another month, there are a lot of things that I do not know. However, there are several things that a Pastor like me has learned during the pandemic of 2020.  As I am rambling out loud about these things, let me mention a sampling of things that pastors and church leaders have learned: 1. We have learned who our real leaders are in the church!     I have always known that there was a MAJOR difference between a real leader and someone who holds a position of leadership. Often times, we get these confused in a church. There are always those who hold positions of leadership and who are recognized by others as "a leader", but in reality, they are no
Read more

Lessons I am Learning...and other Random Thoughts!

Image
It seems that the world as we have known it has turned upside down in recent weeks. Suddenly and without much warning, COVID-19 has become all the talk. It has been dramatized, politicized, publicized, criticized, subsidized, and immortalized in the world, nation, and in our state. This has quickly become serious business. We had a huge Revival at FBC Lexington, TN at the end of February 2020, and I never would have thought that within a month we would be doing online worship only services. Wow! Everyone and everything all around us is shutting down, closed, or following very strict guidelines and new policies. Yes...we are living in a different world. With that in mind, I have learned or been reminded of several things, and I have a few important questions that are plaguing my thoughts. First, let me tell you a few things I have learned or I have been reminded of over the past few weeks: 1. GOD IS STILL IN CONTROL! When I say that, I can hear the collective yawn of the masses. Ye
Read more