A Christmas Thought

"After Jesus was born in Bethlehem in Judea, during the time of King Herod, Magi from the east came to Jerusalem and asked, "Where is the one who has been born king of the Jews? We saw his star in the east and have come to worship him."  Matthew 2:1-2


       I am sitting in my comfortable chair beholding the beauty of my first Christmas tree in over twenty years.  A white tree with white lights.  Just awesome.  I am reminded of that first Christmas when the three wise men followed the star to find the baby Jesus.  And as I reflect on my thoughts and feelings in regards to Christmas I realize that I have been wrong for years.  


      I have always maintained that Christmas is NOT about the gifts.  But this year I have come to realize that I have been wrong.  My Pastor said it best... he said that Christmas IS really all about the gift... let's take a look.  


       Christmas is the celebration of the birth of our Lord Jesus Christ who came to Earth to give us life.  He was a "gift" to us from God.  Jesus' entire life and death was a gift.   His birth meant that He was here.  His death on the cross was so that we would not have to die for own sins.  His life was full of teachings on, and examples of how God wants for us to live our lives. Each of these teachings and life examples was in itself a "gift".  


       I have been given the gift this year of being able to celebrate my love for God and my appreciation of the Gifts that God has given to me.  It is truly not lost on me.  I heard a song on the radio the other day... "Go tell it on the mountain, Over the hills and everywhere, Go tell it on the mountain, our Jesus Christ is born..."  That was one of the first songs I remember learning as a child... I learned it at a church next door to where I lived when I was about five years old... I used to sneak over and go to Sunday school with the other kids in the neighborhood.  And now that song has come to life with new meaning for me... I want to go tell it everywhere.... That Jesus Christ was born, lived, and died for you, for me, for everyone...


       God's gifts. That is what Christmas is all about.   God loved us so much that he has given us a gift so special that we really truly don't deserve.  But He want's us to have it anyway... We give gifts to family and friends at Christmas as a representation of the gifts that God has given us... It doesn't matter what we give each other... It is the joy one gets from giving something to someone they care about.  It's not about that gift, it's about what is behind the gift.  It's about love.  We love others as God has first loved us.  We give gifts representative of the gifts of love that God has given us... Our gifts can in no way compare to the gifts that God has given us... but let us be reminded this year with each gift we open, of the  Real Christmas Gift.  The Gift of Life as given to us when God sent His Son to take away our sins and give us everlasting life.


       Have a Merry Christmas folks, and be safe.  I am thankful for each and every one of you.  Each of you has been a gift from God in my life at some time throughout the year. 


       Dear Lord, please bless my friends and the others who might stumble upon this blog.  Please show them, as You have shown me, that You are there, that You are working in their lives, even when they don't think You're there.  And that You love them so much that You were willing to give up so much just to make them one of Yours.  And please help us to keep Christ in Christmas, as a reminder of Your awesome love for us.  Thank You.  You Rock!!!!!

God and Football?

"...I consider everything a loss compared to the surpassing greatness of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord, for whose sake I have lost all things. I consider them rubbish, that I may gain Christ."   Phil. 3:8


     Don't you just love the Steelers? Or the Buckeyes? Or whatever team plays for the city in which you live or the college you went to?  Do you wear your teams colors proudly on game days.  Does you car bear a window sticker or bumper sticker that tells the world how proud you are to be a fan of your favorite team?  Have you ever made a road trip to see them play? Do you plan your Sunday afternoons and Monday evenings around what time the game is on, and whether or not your team is playing?


     Now let me ask you another question.  Do you love God MORE THAN you love your favorite football team.  Do you even love God AS MUCH AS you love your favorite football team? Do you really?  Are you ready to proudly announce to the world that you love God more than you love your favorite team.  That you put Him first before everything else in your life?  Our love for God should be stronger than our love for anything else in life.  If it is not, then we have our priorities wrong. If I loved the Steelers (for example) more than I loved God then it would be as if I had made the Steelers my God rather than God.  We should be more excited at the opportunity to spend time with God than we would be to spend time with someone like Ben Roethlisburger or Troy Polamalu.  


      I do love my Steelers.  But I love my God more.  I wear the black and gold proudly on game days.  But I wear the armour of God daily.  I talk to the Steelers once a week (they can't really hear me as I am actually only shouting at the TV during the game) but I talk to God several times a day. Every Day. What do you do?  Who do you love more?  It's got to make you wonder...


Dear Lord, please help me and my friends to keep our priorities right and to keep You first in our lives.  Sometimes it can be very hard to do and we can't do it without Your help.  Please remind us each time we watch our favorite teams play, that as much as we love them, we should love You even more.  And please help us to do just that.

A Smile and a Good Word...

"A cheerful look brings joy to the heart, and good news gives health to the bones."    Proverbs 15:30


     It all starts with a smile.   I stop at McDonalds every morning on the way to work and pick up an unsweetened iced tea to get me through the day.  There are 3 paths I can take to work, but I usually stick to one because I like that McDonalds best of all.  The reason that I enjoy going there is that the people who work the drive through are so nice.  They smile, and are cheerful as they say "good morning".  I like them.  When I see them I can't help but think to myself "I want to get me some of that..."   It lifts my heart to see happy people so early in the day.  I am not much of a people person, and I am definitely not an early morning person. Sometimes (quite often actually) I don't even think about smiling or saying "good morning" to people because I am just so wrapped up in what i am doing. I'm not much of a smiler.  But this morning it hit me.  I realized that I become more cheerful because someone else took the time to smile at me.  It really made me wonder.   if God wants us to love others then shouldn't we be sharing that love?  Doesn't a smile express a kind and caring heart?  Does it hurt to smile? No.  Does it take some thought? For some of us, yes it does.  Would it be a good thing to try? Yeah, I guess it would.  


     If we are supposed to let our light shine instead of hiding it under a bushel, then being bright and cheerful must be a good thing.  People are into feelings.  Everyone wants to feel wanted.  If smiling at someone and saying a cheerful "good morning" is all it takes to brighten up someone's morning then wouldn't that be a nice thing to do?  And if they get used to seeing you like that wouldn't they be more likely to get into a conversation with you?  And wouldn't that be a great opportunity to share with them about Jesus being the real light?  And if they see that Jesus is the reason for your light shining, wouldn't they just naturally "want some of that"?  So it really does all start with a smile.  It's got to make you wonder...


Dear Lord,  Please help me and my friends to be more people friendly.  Help us to remember to smile more and to offer up a cheerful "good morning" to folks we run into.  Let Jesus' light shine brighter through our lives and how we treat others.  And may God use us to make others say to themselves... "I want to get me some of that"...

The real meaning of Christmas

"The virgin will be with child and will give birth to a son, and they will call him Immanuel" which means, "God with us." Luke 1:23
Christmas is special. It is also a very difficult time for many people. In the past I too have struggled mightily at Christmas time even though I really appreciate the holiday season.
I was not raised within the church. As a child I can remember baking cookies with my mom, and singing a few simple Christmas Carols. Going out and picking a tree and making the decorations from whatever was available in the house. By the time I was 6 or 7 my dad had endured as much of Christmas as he could take and from that point on there was no more Christmas in our house.
I don't know most of the Christmas Carols that people grew up singing. I don't have any Holiday traditions. I don't even have a traditional Christmas dinner story to share with friends. But I do have a lot to celebrate at Christmas. Especially this year. I am celebrating that I CAN celebrate the birth of my Lord. Something I have missed for the past 20 years or so... and it means so much more this year than ever before. God is with us. He sent His son to live the life of a man so that we could have a human example of how we too should live. He suffered for our sake. He died for our sins. He rose to be with the father and to wait for us to join Him. How much more can we want than that.
This Christmas Eve I intend to read the story of Jesus' birth. And then to reflect on what it means to me. Christmas is personal. A time of remembrance, reflection and celebration. I will celebrate my life. My life in Christ. For without His sacrifice there can be no life. This Christmas there will be no sneaking out to go to Church. There will be no hiding in my room to read the Bible. There will be songs of joy playing on the ipod. I will sit before the lit tree and read of Jesus' birth. What a joy. What an honor to be able to celebrate the birth of our Lord Jesus without having to be afraid of someone seeing you celebrate it.
Christmas is not about presents and big fancy dinners and dressing up. It is about remembering that all we have is ours because God gave us His Son. Because God loved us so much that He was willing to give up so much. We give gifts to our friends and family as a reminder of the gift that God gave us. We sing songs of joy that Jesus was born to save all of us.
I am reminded that there are many others out there who want to be able to celebrate the birth of our Lord, but for whatever reason can not celebrate it in public. I will be praying for them. And celebrating their love for God. Thankful that they know in their hearts that Jesus is the reason for the season.... It's got to make you wonder....
Dear Lord, please help my friends and I to be thankful for what we have, and to realize that all that we have is Your gift to us. Please help us to remember those who love you and can not openly express that love for You. Please help those who don't know You to see how You have worked in our lives and help them to "want some of that". Please help us to not conform to the ideas of the world as we enter this holiday season, but rather help us to remember that Jesus is the reason for the season...