Make Christmas Special
Wednesday, December 23rd, 2009Maybe you’ve have some Christmases past that weren’t really all that special. Someone you loved died around Christmas time. There was tension in your family one Christmas and that memory is etched in your mind and you don’t want to experience that again.
Here’s the truth about this Christmas and any Christmas. Christmas in and of itself is special and if we find it’s not special to us then we’re not looking for it in the right way. God became a part of the human family so that we could become a part of His heavenly family. God became a part of my family so that I could become a part of His family.
What do you want out of Christmas? What would make it wonderful? Snow? Family together & happy? Holiday Spirit? Finding the perfect present for someone else? Getting the perfect gift for yourself?
Sometimes you just don’t feel like you get what you asked for. We’ve all been disappointed by Christmas because it didn’t deliver what we were looking for. Christmas wasn’t the problem. It’s our expectations. We look for the wrong things when we should be looking for God's promises.
Simeon sought the promise of God. When the Holy Spirit prompted him to move, he didn’t sit still.
Just look at our times:
* God's influence is systematically being removed from the public square
* God's standards are being replaced with public opinion polls
* Confidence in God has given way to confidence in man's cleverness
* Seeking God in the Bible has given way to seeking Him in books authored by human beings. And while the bible was written by many authors over several time periods, we who are believers say that God uniquely inspired those authors to write the exact words they did so that every word is without error or mistake.
* Prayer has given way to self-help programs
One of the messages the Child at Christmas speaks to us today is this: God Keeps His Promises!
Look From God's Perspective This Christmas. Simeon was nearly eighty years old and had waited a long time to see the Savior.
Have you waited a long time for something recently? Have you waited for a job? Have you waited for a husband or a wife? Have you waited for healing? How long have you waited? Have you waited a month? A year? Have you waited 80 years?!
From God's perspective, a day is like a thousand years and a thousand years like a day. Look for His promises from His perspective this Christmas.
Do not get weary thinking that you need to run ahead of God and do things in your own strength, wisdom or abilities. Wait on the Lord and be of good courage and He will strengthen your hearts. But that's hard isn't it? It's hard to be patient.
Many would stumble and fall over Him. They would not notice, look, study, prefer, choose, believe, or trust Him and the salvation He was to bring. They would simply choose another way other than God. Therefore, they would stumble and fall over Him just as they would stumble over a stone lying in their path. People will stumble over Jesus.
Therefore, to you who believe, He is precious; but to those who are disobedient, "The stone which the builders rejected has become the chief cornerstone, and a stone of stumbling and a rock of offense." They stumble, being disobedient to the word, to which they also were appointed. 1 Peter 2:7-8
Think about this verse for a moment.
I don't want to stumble this Christmas, do you? If you do not want to fall this Christmas, then don't fall into the trap of letting Christmas pass you by without worshipping Jesus.
If God planned what your Christmas would look like this year here's what I think He would say to you:
- Spend personal time with Him and worshiping Him at church
- Focus on those who are in need
The holidays don’t have to be the most stressful time of the year when, like Simeon, we only focus on what is needed.