Day after Christmas

Wow, I can't believe that Christmas is over already, it feels again like this season has went by so fast.

And so now we return back to work and back to our usual daily chores whatever they may be. January is a dual month, nobody ever does a whole lot cause they are all broke from Christmas and its the time of year you find a lot of people simply down and out.

It's like the season of Joy and anticipation just melted away like the delicate slipper in Cinderella when the clock struck twelve.

I have asked myself this question for years, does it have to be this way? Why... does it have to be this way? And what can I do, to stop that "day after Christmas" dullness?

This was inspired by a song I heard for the first time a few years ago and have listened to it a few times since.

"Happy the day after Christmas, Merry the rest of the year, Even when Christmas is over, the LIGHT OF THE WORLD is still here."

We so quickly go into our dreary minds after Christmas, and in doing so we forget even after Christmas, the true meaning of it all. Why can't we continue our happiness and show the world that Christmas actually means something to us?

Jesus wasn't born on Christmas Day and then disappeared at midnight. He is here. He is here with us and therefore I choose to be "merry the rest of the year" because the LIGHT OF THE WORLD, the SON OF GOD, the KING OF KINGS, and PRINCE OF PEACE is still here, and can be in each one of our hearts today if we ask Him.

Christmas isn't over, because Jesus didn't stay in the manger. He grew to be a man and then fulfilled God's Master plan for Him coming when He chose to die on the cross for you and I.

Giving a greater and bigger meaning to the Christmas message of joy, and hope, and salvation.

And so today, the "day after Christmas" don't allow the dullness to affect you, but rather take this opportunity to show the Gospel Christmas message all through the year.

God Bless,

That First Christmas Night

You ever wonder what the first Christmas must have been like?

The music of that night as the angles burst through heavens gates and into the sky, surprising the shepherds singing joyful and announcing tones of joy beyond measure... "A Saviour has come to earth to save that which was lost..."

Sing Gloria.... Sing Gloria....

As they hurried into town to spread the news to only later congregate at the birth place of the Saviour. It must have been simply breathtaking.

The Wisemen, well they had been traveling for years, searching for a meaning for the signs in the sky. And even after years of searching they still searched.... knowing that there was more... And so they went on a journey to Bethlehem to follow that Star. The Star that gave them hope, hope that they would someday find a Saviour.

You know I wonder what could the Wisemen tell us today... What signs in the sky could they see of not Christ's first coming but of His Second Coming. The Second Coming that will divide right from wrong, truth from lies, love and peace from hatred and crime and make all men bow their knee before a Holy God.

And still today although we may not have Wiseman in name, we still have people that search for a Saviour... A Saviour from their pain, a Saviour from their guilt, from their heartache, from the lies, the crime, the hatred, and discouragement.

And Oh poor King Herod, the man who was so filled with finding earthly fulfillment that he missed the coming of a Greater Man who could have filled and over stuffed that void he was so desperately trying to fill with earthly things.

You know how often are we King Herod's we need to fill a void in our lives so we run after kingship, authority, and lordship and when finally someone comes along and says, "Yeah, we are looking for a man to do just that" ... Instead of getting in our chariot and joining their search for the Greater Man we tell them keep searching and when you find Him, come tell me cause I want to kill off every hope of someone else taking what "fulfillment" I have already tried obtain through my earthly measures...

"And he sent them to Bethlehem and said, "Go and search carefully for the young Child, and when you have found Him. bring back word to me. that I may come and worship Him also." Matthew 2:8

Then my thoughts turn to Mary... the thoughts and the emotions that must have run through her mind and soul as she could feel that child leap within her womb and then that perfect night holding that sweet child in her arms as wrapped Him in swaddling clothes.

No wonder Mary kept all the things that had happened and pondered them in her heart! She must have had so much to consider, so much to pray about and so much to rejoice about! Her spirit inside must have been so full and simply leaped for joy!

"But Mary kept all thse things and pondered them in her heart." Luke 2:19

We could continue on discussing each aspect and each character that made up that First and Greatest Christmas, but we won't.

We could likely find somebody for each of us that we could identify within the Christmas story. Each had their own experiences, life problems, and scenarios. And each person in their own way brought a gift that night, but received a much bigger gift in return. 

An amazing gift that only God could have given. And that gift is the gift of salvation. The gift that was given to all of us, that is there for each one of us to grab hold of and then in turn be able to share that gift with others.

This Christmas share that gift let others know what God has truely done in your life!!!

Forgotten Christmas

It's exactly 2 days away..... until Christmas tonight!

It's a wonderful time of year, the busyness of this season makes it almost impossible for me to sit down and actually type...

Snow is falling from the sky... (at least in some part of the world) and all I can think of is I love Christmas. 

I love everything about it. 

The music, the lights, the snow(even if I hate the cold), the warmth of a good cup of coffee in my hands as I relax in front of the toasty fire, the cookies, the togetherness that Christmas brings.

I just simply love it all.

But as I sit here and consider Christmas I can't help but think of the true meaning of Christmas. In today's world we have so forgotten the true meaning of it all...

We busily prepare for our festivities and, set up the decorations, set up for and plan events every night between now and New Years with never a dull moment and in it all this we have a "Forgotten Christmas"

I apologize because that title is not original with me, but rather an inspiration from somebody else that I find very inspiring...

Inspiring... not in the fact that I want to just skip Christmas and everything with it or simply forget the real meaning of Christmas but INSPIRING in the fact that as you think about the perfect gift God gave to us you are inspired to walk closer with Jesus Christ and learn to know more and more that True Gift from God....

Quiet My Heart Lord
And show me a Christmas
As Peaceful and Calm as
An old Cattle Shed... 

Slow down my pace, Lord
And  help me seek Jesus,
The Son of Your Love,
In a humble Straw bed... 

Steady my spirit, Lord
Call me from Chaos
In Simple Surrender
To pray and rejoice... 

Breakthrough the busy,
Too-bright celebration,
And whisper Your message,
"Be still... hear my voice..."

So this Christmas even with everything else that we love to do, take time to stop and remember what the Birth of Jesus Christ really means to you.

What difference did His birth make?

More to come......

Of Red Cups, Mexico, and the True Meaning of Christmas

I could cry but instead I will pound my keyboard with my fingers (as my family would say). I flip onto my social media and this is what I see. I just might cry, my poor Mexican friend will finely understand when he or she buys their Starbucks Coffee that it’s a red cup representing Christmas all over the place instead of just representing what Christmas must be like in just my enclosed little bubble of Northern North America where the snow flies and we go skating on Christmas Eve.

Is everybody serious we are being offended over Red Holiday Starbucks Cups. First of all they are cups, second of all they are only “Holiday” cups, third of all since when was Starbucks a “Christian” company, fourthly have you bothered to look at how much you just spent buying that holiday cup and its contents(sorry to all you Starbucks lovers), fifthly did you think of the little kid that just died this morning because his or her parents couldn’t scrap together a dollar for this months allotment of rice to feed the family, sixthly... did you think of the man in Asia who just had his head cut off because he wouldn’t blaspheme the Name of Jesus, and seventhly... did you think of the One who came to earth giving up Heaven to only die so that you and I would have the opportunity to have our sins forgiven and to someday experience Heaven forever. Is that not what Christmas is really about? Oh, I get excited!!!

My heart goes to the persecuted, the ones who are standing everyday for their faith, and well we in North America argue over red coffee cups. May I ask you a question? Would you seriously die over a coffee cup? If you wouldn’t, what’s your point for arguing?

I love what this one lady said, “The viral video that is making its rounds does not represent me! It actually irritates the snot outta me. We have bigger fish to fry, people! And persecution? Please! Take a little trip to Syria. I think you might change your definition. It’s a red cup, folks…. And for the love of Christmas, can we please conduct ourselves in a way that INVITES people to Christ, instead of repelling them?...”

I know even the non-christians are telling us Christians how to act... Now isn't this sad?

This is a prime example of the verse from my previous blog post and its becoming literal. “But if you bite and devour one another, beware lest you be consumed by one another.” Galatians 5:15NKJV

Yeah, we are getting consumed alright and we are working on dessert and enjoying or coffee with it! Oh people, it makes me want to scream. Why?

Do we have nothing better to do? Dare I say this, but it would be good of us all to take a trip to Syria, and experience the hardships of living your life as if you didn't know if you were going to live another hour, another minute, another day, or another week.

On maybe a different note…

One person said, “The absence of snowflakes on the cups denies the hope of Jesus” and another said “My Christmas mentality: If a store won’t promote Christmas re Starbucks, I’m not spending my hard earned money there.”

This starts to open a lengthy discussion I realize this, but the point I want to make is. If you want to make Christmas all about the snow, the snowmen, the sleighs, and the skates go live in Mexico where you never experience snow for Christmas because you have already missed the point here.

And well you are there please discover the hard way, that Christmas and snow don’t have to go together and so that you have the opportunity to read the first four books of the New Testament and study them hard because there you will find the purpose and the plan for Jesus coming to earth in the first place which we choose to celebrate on December 25 every year and furthermore could be celebrated in July so that we all could experience no snow on Christmas.

If you want to make snowflakes, sleighs, skates, etc! apart of Christmas let me ask you this… Why do we expect a worldly company to uphold our Christian faith and decorate their advertising materials, when they don’t believe it themselves?

I love what this person said and he is so right, “If you need a coffee chain to be your ambassador of Christ you need to re-examine your relationship with God.”

Oh people, my heart cries for your souls, because in our materialistic society we simply operate by what we see, feel, and touch and we have lost the portion of our brains to think to a higher level, where God calls us to think.

I challenge you this Christmas. Instead of looking at Christmas in the worlds view look at it as an opportunity that the world has given us as Christians to celebrate Christmas and provide a much easier, and an amazing opportunity to spread the Word of Jesus Christ in word, in deeds, in gifts, in our actions, on our social media pages, on our church websites, in and around our homes, our local communities and everywhere.

Use Christmas as an opportunity to share Jesus and the real meaning of why He came to earth, instead of arguing with people over decorations on a coffee cup. The world has given us this opportunity, lets use it well we still can because someday that door may close and then you and I will stand before a Holy God and will have to justify our reason for not sharing Jesus with a stranger, when we could have to an All Knowing God. Believe me, you and I don’t want to have to try and justify ourselves?

Hey even use the plain red coffee cup as an opportunity to write your own message on it and share a cup of coffee and a Word for Jesus with the homeless man, or the struggling young mother, etc! Starbucks just gave Christians a clean red board to write a Gospel message to a stranger and they don’t even now it…

Now go make good use out of that plain red “holiday” cup that Starbucks just gave you!!!

Share a message for Jesus this Christmas!!!

God Bless,