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Friday, December 10, 2021

Chistmas cheer

 What a beautiful time of year! The beautiful lights twinkling around a bushy pine, fires crackling in the fireplace, eggnog and cocoa steaming out of our cups, a soft white blanket of snow covering the ground so fresh the only prints are that of a young rabbit. The air is filled with the smell of Christmas, the pine tree brings the outdoors inside, the char of the fire, treats coming out of the oven and the sounds of Christmas carols fill the background in a room filled with family and conversation. Sounds to good to be true, probably because it is. We love this time of year as we celebrate the birth of Jesus, but many of these wonderful things can lead you into distraction. 

For instance, who handles the decorating in your house? Is it really possible to decorate without at least a few barbs against each other? Who picks up all the Christmas gifts and cooks the meals, cleans up the spilt eggnog and pays the credit card bill? These are all consequences of the above sensational state of mind.

Anytime we fix our attention on the physical we will be truly disappointed. After all none of these things are truly representative of what Christmas is all about. Sure I have heard the stories of what the candy cane stands for, who st. Nick really was, and all the other things that are supposed to point to Christ, but why don't we just point to Christ? Persecution or not, He is the reason for the season, He is the face of Christmas. I have used candy canes and decorations to teach the gospel to kids but what do we do when its January, April or June?

So here is my thought for the day. Don't accept the deceit! Reject everything that pushes Jesus out of Christmas and embrace everything that draws us closer. The funny thing is this isn't even a Christmas thing, its a Christian thing. 24/7/365. 

I really do love Christmas. People are nicer in general, things are prettier, people begin to make spending time together more of a priority and we have Christmas services where little girls wear thier pretty little dresses and the little boys thier little suits or sweaters. There is definately a lot of emotion that goes with Christmas, but our faith must not be an emotion. Enjoy the season, and proclaim the name of Jesus to everyone you encounter, give thanks before you eat that bountiful meal, and join in with the multitude worshipping. You'll be glad you did.

Oh yeah, one final thing. It's not xmas, it is CHRISTmas, so say it with emphasis on the Christ.

Till next time

P.M.