The Light of Christmas

"Jobless, Inflation, Poverty, Recession”, then “Sirens wail in Tel Aviv, Gaza rockets hit suburbs”. This is what I read at the top of my screen when I went to an Internet news website. I thought to myself, “What is happening?” The headlines communicated the larger story of the dark and perilous times America and the world is facing. Our world needs hope!

Centuries ago, on the eve of history’s first Christmas the world was also in perilous times. Rome was the world’s superpower. They were a dictatorship whose government was immoral and cruel. For over 300 years the Jewish people lay under the foot of Roman rule. Day after day they longed to be free from this heartless empire. They needed hope. On the original Christmas Day the dawn of a new era had finally come. Hope arrived.

A young Jewish couple, Joseph and Mary, gave birth to their newborn son, Jesus. It was foretold this child would become the hope of the world. As the years passed and the boy became a man He lived out His destiny. At age 30 He began a public speaking ministry drawing crowds in the thousands. He coupled that with supernatural works of miraculous healings, displayed power over demons and even tamed the fury of nature. Jesus said of Himself, “I am the light of the world” (John 8:12). Indeed, His powerful light sliced through the curtain of darkness covering the world’s stage bringing hope to many.

However, the public eventually turned against Jesus. Why? His light brought hope, but it also exposed things. It exposed liars, cheats and the immoral lives of all rank and file in society. He lovingly called them to turn from their darkness and follow Him. Instead, they said “Enough!” Jesus once said, “The light has come into the world, and people loved the darkness because their deeds were evil” (John 3:10). And that is what happened. Soon, the hands of the crowds were dripping with Jesus’ blood when they murdered Him. For three days He lay dead. Then on the third day they discovered they could not keep hope in the grave.

Jesus overcame the darkness once and for all being raised from the dead. He was and still is the unquenchable light of the world. This Christmas let us call upon Jesus and let Him save us from the darkness bringing the light of hope within us. May Jesus be your hope this Christmas.

Eternal Value Of Thankfulness

Early in our marriage while we eating a dinner Kathe had prepared I said, “Thanks for dinner, honey” She responded a little surprised so I followed up with, “You have taken the time to put it together and it tasted great so I think you deserve a thanks.”

One of the easiest ways to celebrate Thanksgiving is by sharing a simple “thank you” with someone who has served us. On the public platform our culture seems to do fine with this. It is normal for celebrities and politicians to express thanks while the cameras are rolling and crowds gathered. However, what are we like when our guard is down and have nothing to gain? In those moments how often do we express “thank you” to our parents, children, co-workers, friends or classmates?

Thankfulness is a character issue. It is about humility. When we say “thank you”, we lower our self and elevate another. And when we do that we are giving people a sense of dignity. We are honoring their act of service toward us no matter how insignificant or routine we may consider it to be.

Secondly, it is about awareness. In order to give a “thank you” it requires that we shift the focus from our own world to someone else’s. It is where we hit the pause button in our busyness for a moment and acknowledge what someone has done on our behalf. It is a simple act of courtesy that is polite and the mark of a true gentleman or lady.

The life altering affect of Jesus’ suffering, death, burial and rising again from the dead is dependent on our attitude toward thankfulness. It takes a sense of awareness to realize that Jesus did all this for you and the people of the world. Awareness is required to realize it was done because you are a sinner and need a savior. And after you are aware of this it takes humility to say “thank you” for all He did. And in that moment, life-change happens because you have lowered yourself and exalted Jesus in your heart. The Scripture says, “Oh give thanks to the LORD; call upon his name” (1 Chronicles 16:8).

May God help us to be a thankful people that our souls might be altered forever. May parents, church leaders and employers model humility and awareness that Christ may be our hope for today.

Spells, Magic and The Supernatural

                                                  Image by Pexels from Pixabay 

"Many have travelled the path of paganism seeking rest for their soul through the supernatural only to find emptiness at each turn."

I was visiting with a young woman whom I had lost contact with for several years. As we caught up about her family, work and faith she said, “I’m a pagan.” It surprised me. I never had anyone tell me that before. After our conversation I asked myself, “What does it mean when she calls herself a pagan?”

According to the Pagan Federation it is “a follower of a polytheistic or pantheistic nature-worshipping religion.” In simple terms, it is someone who believes in many gods and goddesses and deification of nature. The religion has a number of distinctions like nature worship, rituals, spells, magic and exploring the supernatural.

In October, pagans celebrate one of their most sacred events – Samhain. When Americans are trick-or-treating on Halloween, pagans world-wide will be honoring their ancestors through various rituals believing the supernatural veil that divides this world and the next can be crossed.

Many experts say paganism has grown from a few thousand to upwards of 1,000,000 since 1990. Books, television shows, movies like Harry Potter, and the Internet have helped expand paganism among women and our youth.

The religion reveals a spiritual searching that has been common to the human race for centuries. Many have travelled the path of paganism seeking rest for their soul through the supernatural only to find emptiness at each turn.

Only Jesus can satisfy the longing of the soul. When He gave His life as a sacrifice on a cross then rose again from the dead a few days later, He ended the need for a man-made system of spiritual rituals.

Once a pagan jailer was in a desperate place when he pleaded, “. . . what must I do to be saved?” which was followed by a simple answer - “Believe in the Lord Jesus, and you will be saved, you and your household” (Acts 16:30-31). No longer do we need to bear the burden of trying to do or say the right thing to find rest for our soul. We just need simple faith combined with surrender wholly to Christ. We need to yield our allegiance to Him, who is Lord of all creation. If you do, His gift of rest for the soul and adjoining mission of service will be yours. 

A prayer for you - "Lord God, I pray you will bring people to turn from the worship of nature, various spirits and using spells and magic to fulfill their desires, and toward you. Let them see that rituals and others forms of spiritual practices, outside of you, will end only in their futility. May they call upon you and receive eternal life through Christ.  Amen."