We took some of the Youth to Christmas Candy lane the other night. Let me tell you it was cold....I mean really cold. Well I can only tell you second hand from what everyone was telling me because I came prepared and was actually quite toasty. But everyone else said it was cold. Especially my buddy Malachi. He didn't come totally prepared. I mean he did dress for cold weather, he wasn't wearing shorts like others we saw. But he didn't bring a heavy coat or hat and gloves, he said we was a man and could stand the cold.
Part way through the night, when Malachi's testosterone started wavering, I offered him my warm hat, which he took. Then one of the girls who came along didn't have any gloves, so I gave her mine. I was fine for the rest of the night till we got back to the car. By that time my ears and hands were a bit chilled. When Malachi gave my hat back someone had said, "Why'd you give him your hat," to which I said, "he was cold!" makes sense right?
I was reflecting on this a bit later and came to some interesting conclusions. If one of those students had not brought a coat, I would have given mine willingly. Why? you may ask. Because I am a servant to these students. It's not my job to parent them or whatever it's my job to serve them.
One of the students who has been coming to youth group recently moved. Before the move it was easy for them because they live right in the Church's backyard but now they have to get a ride to come. Their parents said that if they want to keep coming they have to find a ride because they won't take the 3 minutes out of their not-busy schedule to drive them .2 miles down the road to the Church. So every Wednesday we go and pick them up. Is that wrong? You better believe it. Does it make me angry at the parents for their lack of parenting, of course. But because I am a servant to these kids I put aside my feelings and drive every Wednesday and get them.
Jesus never called us to a lifestyle of comfort and luxury, he called us to a life of service. In Luke he says if anyone will come after him they must deny themselves (what they think or feel) and pick up their cross (make the ultimate sacrifice) and follow him. Paul says to offer your body as a living sacrifice, holy and pleasing to God.
Do you get the picture, I could list more, but for our purposes right here I think that says a lot. We who are followers of Christ are to be servants to other believers and non believers a like. Why do you think Jesus wash the disciples feet? They all wanted to be counted as number 1, be top dog. Jesus says that is not the point of this life. Service the where the heart of God is at. Take this advent season, it's all about God making the sacrifice of sending His son to earth for our benefit.
Day 13-Unfortunately I have come down with a cold...the joys of being a parent and am unable to fast as I would like too. I am still taking the time to pray for the students but had to eat lunch to keep my body strength up. Please pray for me, I need my voice back in full swing by Thursday to sing in the Christmas Eve service on Friday. I know God will heal me completely, I have no doubt whatsoever.
May our LORD be with you
Tuesday, December 21, 2010
Wednesday, December 15, 2010
Fasting Day 7-When a sacrifice become "Legal"
I have a funny story to tell you. Actually it's more of a story showing just how much of an idiot I really am. I am currently filling in down in the lower East Wing of the Capital whilst...that's right whilst the staff of the lower East Wing has there Christmas party.
So I'm sitting here and the Supervisor named Pat Rhoades, who is the sweetest older lady, comes to me and brings me a huge plate of food from the party. When I say huge...I mean HUGE!!!!! Being the good follower of Christ what do I do? Keep in mind that just 15 min earlier I was thanking God for this experience and the awesome prayer times that I've been having when I would normally be eating.
So what do I do? I totally forgot about my fast and started chowing down. I know what you are thinking, what an idiot. I know that because I had the same thought about....oh....3 minutes into eating this plate of wonderful food. By the way if anyone from the lower East Wing staff reads this, the food was good.
BUT!!! right in the middle of my eating I realize I just made a huge mistake. I feel right back into the habit of having lunch. Needless to say I felt like the kid who just got caught with his hand in the cookie jar. I spoke to God and began to tell him how sorry I am and how stupid of me it was, when I was interrupted...by God.
He told me to read Matthew 6:16-18, which is the part in the sermon on the mount where Jesus talks about Fasting. He says that fasting is something between you and God. He says look normal when you fast, don't put on a miserable face to let people know that you are fasting. I realize that what God was saying is that it was okay for me to graciously except the food from Ms. Rhoads because that was an act of kindness that she was doing for me.
Imagine, if she would have come to give me the food and I would have said...No I can't take that because I'm fasting (add in a pious, haughty voice when you read that line). How would that have looked? Now in this situation I know that she knows that I'm a believer. I also know that she is not. So the point is, it would have done more damage for the Kingdom (in terms of her view on Christ and his followers) than good if I would have declined the food.
If I would have said no, that would turn my fast into a legalistic ritual, than a sacrifice to God. I'm still going to have my time of prayer for the students and tomorrow I'm going to pick up right where I left off.
Keep the big picture in mind. The Pharisees made it their job to let people know that they were not as religious as they were (the Pharisees). To shoot down her act of kindness because of religiosity would have been wrong and damaging.
When fasting don't let this beautiful sacrifice to get closer to God and pray for whatever it is you are praying for become a legalistic thing that binds you rather than sets you free. Through this experience I feel closer to Jesus than I have in years. THAT!! my friends is the reward of this, not so others can see and know what you are doing so they could say or think, you are soooooo spiritual. The reason for doing this was not so I wouldn't eat everyday, the point is to take the time I would normally eat and pray and study and get closer to my Savior. The minute my sacrifice become an obligation rather than a willing offering, it become legalistic and wrong. It was worth it to break the fast for this moment so I could show God's love to someone who needs it and learn this really valuable lesson.
If you are joining me or are enjoying reading about this experience I hope that you as well are finding a sweeter walk or in my case a stumbling dance with Jesus.
May our LORD be with you
So I'm sitting here and the Supervisor named Pat Rhoades, who is the sweetest older lady, comes to me and brings me a huge plate of food from the party. When I say huge...I mean HUGE!!!!! Being the good follower of Christ what do I do? Keep in mind that just 15 min earlier I was thanking God for this experience and the awesome prayer times that I've been having when I would normally be eating.
So what do I do? I totally forgot about my fast and started chowing down. I know what you are thinking, what an idiot. I know that because I had the same thought about....oh....3 minutes into eating this plate of wonderful food. By the way if anyone from the lower East Wing staff reads this, the food was good.
BUT!!! right in the middle of my eating I realize I just made a huge mistake. I feel right back into the habit of having lunch. Needless to say I felt like the kid who just got caught with his hand in the cookie jar. I spoke to God and began to tell him how sorry I am and how stupid of me it was, when I was interrupted...by God.
He told me to read Matthew 6:16-18, which is the part in the sermon on the mount where Jesus talks about Fasting. He says that fasting is something between you and God. He says look normal when you fast, don't put on a miserable face to let people know that you are fasting. I realize that what God was saying is that it was okay for me to graciously except the food from Ms. Rhoads because that was an act of kindness that she was doing for me.
Imagine, if she would have come to give me the food and I would have said...No I can't take that because I'm fasting (add in a pious, haughty voice when you read that line). How would that have looked? Now in this situation I know that she knows that I'm a believer. I also know that she is not. So the point is, it would have done more damage for the Kingdom (in terms of her view on Christ and his followers) than good if I would have declined the food.
If I would have said no, that would turn my fast into a legalistic ritual, than a sacrifice to God. I'm still going to have my time of prayer for the students and tomorrow I'm going to pick up right where I left off.
Keep the big picture in mind. The Pharisees made it their job to let people know that they were not as religious as they were (the Pharisees). To shoot down her act of kindness because of religiosity would have been wrong and damaging.
When fasting don't let this beautiful sacrifice to get closer to God and pray for whatever it is you are praying for become a legalistic thing that binds you rather than sets you free. Through this experience I feel closer to Jesus than I have in years. THAT!! my friends is the reward of this, not so others can see and know what you are doing so they could say or think, you are soooooo spiritual. The reason for doing this was not so I wouldn't eat everyday, the point is to take the time I would normally eat and pray and study and get closer to my Savior. The minute my sacrifice become an obligation rather than a willing offering, it become legalistic and wrong. It was worth it to break the fast for this moment so I could show God's love to someone who needs it and learn this really valuable lesson.
If you are joining me or are enjoying reading about this experience I hope that you as well are finding a sweeter walk or in my case a stumbling dance with Jesus.
May our LORD be with you
Friday, December 10, 2010
Fasting Day 2
On Wednesday my buddy Malachai poked fun at me for this, calling me a Pharisee. I know he was joking but he actually really hit on a topic concerning fasting. The Pharisees used to stand in the middle of the street and pray outloud about the pains they felt in their stomachs because they were fasting. they felt they were so much better than everyone else because they would publicly be followers of God.
While fasting we really aren't suppose to make a big deal about it because then the reward for this discipline become the recognition we recieve rather than the spiritual benefits we gain from taking the time out to pray and seek the LORD's face.
I have been reminded of a truth that I forgot but should have seen coming. when you make a declaration that you are doing something to grow coloser to God the enemy really hits you hard trying to knock you down. I have really felt the the attacks of the enemy during even the first two days of this. I am glad I made this know to people so I can be held accountable.
Something to keep in mind though when fasting is your motives. What are you really doing this for, when you start make that clear to yourself and the LORD.
I am really expecting the LORD to do some amazing things in the lives of these students.
May our LORD be with you
While fasting we really aren't suppose to make a big deal about it because then the reward for this discipline become the recognition we recieve rather than the spiritual benefits we gain from taking the time out to pray and seek the LORD's face.
I have been reminded of a truth that I forgot but should have seen coming. when you make a declaration that you are doing something to grow coloser to God the enemy really hits you hard trying to knock you down. I have really felt the the attacks of the enemy during even the first two days of this. I am glad I made this know to people so I can be held accountable.
Something to keep in mind though when fasting is your motives. What are you really doing this for, when you start make that clear to yourself and the LORD.
I am really expecting the LORD to do some amazing things in the lives of these students.
May our LORD be with you
Wednesday, December 8, 2010
The times they are a-changing
It is hard to think about, but this January will be the start of my fifth year at Eberly’s Mill as the Youth Pastor. It makes me chuckle to think of all that we have experienced at the Youth Group. There have been times of 3 student every Wednesday and now up to 15 or more. It’s been a roller coaster ride for me and I can’t speak for them but I’m sure Abby, Dan, Dana and Katie would say the same. We’ve seen good time and not so good times.
Right now we face a bit of a challenge; I’m really not sure how we are going to turn out on the other side of this but I know I’m not going to sit on the side lines in the middle of what I am faithfully praying will be a wicked awesome harvest.
As of last Wednesday we had 16 students, can you guess how many of them come from a home that is not broken. One. 1/16 student’s parents are still together. Out of those 15 some of them are working on 2nd or 3rd marriages. Now this statistic may not strike a chord with you but to think about this brings tears to my eyes.
These students are broken. They face some of the most challenging situations a human could ever come up against. I won’t give you specific names because some of them read this blog, so I don’t want to embarrass them but I will give you situations as examples.
A student’s parents are splitting up because from what I can tell they just can’t get over themselves and won’t work on their problems so they are taking the easy way out. What I don’t think they realize is that their selfishness is crushing their children’s thought of what a proper home should be.
Another student gets blamed for everything, always being told they are no good and a liar. The mother doesn’t show them any love and the situation at home is so confusing with such conflicting messages they can’t tell right from wrong.
Another student’s parents, who are split up, can’t agree on anything. One is trying to do the right thing and actually being a parent, disciplining their children while the other just let’s them run ramped. The second parent blames everything on the first not taking any responsibility so the student is being blinded not seeing what is best for them, only what seems easy.
Yet another longs for their father’s love and wants so desperately for him to stop using.
I could keep going but I think you get the picture. We face a rough time and I for one am going to take action right now and I ask that you join me.
For the next 40 days I am going to fast during the day. From sun up to sun down I will not eat but pray for these students, that God would radically change their lives.
Now I know that Jesus says in the Word that we should not make a public spectacle of our fasting like the Pharisees did. So I want you to understand I am not making this public to be a spectacle but to ask you to join me in this and for all of you to help keep me accountable. Fasting is a hard discipline of the faith but one that yield tremendous results.
Consequently my blogs for the next 40 days will reflect this activity, perhaps giving updates, talking about proper fasting methods. There is a good way to do this that honors God and then there is a way of doing this that doesn’t honor God.
I truly hope that you will join me in praying for these students over the next 40 days, I am excited to see what God does in their lives.
May our LORD be with you
Right now we face a bit of a challenge; I’m really not sure how we are going to turn out on the other side of this but I know I’m not going to sit on the side lines in the middle of what I am faithfully praying will be a wicked awesome harvest.
As of last Wednesday we had 16 students, can you guess how many of them come from a home that is not broken. One. 1/16 student’s parents are still together. Out of those 15 some of them are working on 2nd or 3rd marriages. Now this statistic may not strike a chord with you but to think about this brings tears to my eyes.
These students are broken. They face some of the most challenging situations a human could ever come up against. I won’t give you specific names because some of them read this blog, so I don’t want to embarrass them but I will give you situations as examples.
A student’s parents are splitting up because from what I can tell they just can’t get over themselves and won’t work on their problems so they are taking the easy way out. What I don’t think they realize is that their selfishness is crushing their children’s thought of what a proper home should be.
Another student gets blamed for everything, always being told they are no good and a liar. The mother doesn’t show them any love and the situation at home is so confusing with such conflicting messages they can’t tell right from wrong.
Another student’s parents, who are split up, can’t agree on anything. One is trying to do the right thing and actually being a parent, disciplining their children while the other just let’s them run ramped. The second parent blames everything on the first not taking any responsibility so the student is being blinded not seeing what is best for them, only what seems easy.
Yet another longs for their father’s love and wants so desperately for him to stop using.
I could keep going but I think you get the picture. We face a rough time and I for one am going to take action right now and I ask that you join me.
For the next 40 days I am going to fast during the day. From sun up to sun down I will not eat but pray for these students, that God would radically change their lives.
Now I know that Jesus says in the Word that we should not make a public spectacle of our fasting like the Pharisees did. So I want you to understand I am not making this public to be a spectacle but to ask you to join me in this and for all of you to help keep me accountable. Fasting is a hard discipline of the faith but one that yield tremendous results.
Consequently my blogs for the next 40 days will reflect this activity, perhaps giving updates, talking about proper fasting methods. There is a good way to do this that honors God and then there is a way of doing this that doesn’t honor God.
I truly hope that you will join me in praying for these students over the next 40 days, I am excited to see what God does in their lives.
May our LORD be with you
Tuesday, December 7, 2010
Living a life of Sacrifice
This past weekend Abby and I went up to the Poconos for our anniversary. We had a very lovely time but something totally out of place happened that I will never forget. You would think that being our anniversary weekend we would not watch TV at all. Well in most cases that is probably true but you see with Zion we don’t get to just sit together and relax a whole lot. Plus, we don’t have cable so being able to have more than 4 channels as an option was really exciting for us.
Anyway one of the channels we could watch was a Christian station and on Saturday night they had a broadcast of Billy Graham preaching from back in the 1960’s. We could tell because it was in black and white. He was doing his thing, telling the gospel like it is but he said something that even though it was 1960 when he said it, it is still a problem today. He said if church going Christians were really followers of Jesus, crime would cease to exist, divorce in America would be a distant memory and the race problem would be no more.
You know I have to agree with him. I look at the church worldwide today and I have to say to myself, is this really what God intended for His people to be like. We have become so complacent in our comfortable little churches. We dare not go out into the world and mix it up with “those people” for fear something awful will happen.
Jesus said we are the salt of the earth but I fear that we have lost our saltiness; we are not very effective anymore. He also said that if we are neither hot nor cold; lukewarm he will vomit us out of his mouth. We need to break out of this comfortable mold we are in and start getting out hands dirty reaching the lost. We can turn things around and be the light of the world that God has called us to be.
God never called us to a life of comfort; He called us to a life of sacrifice. Romans 12:1 says to offer our bodies as a living sacrifice. That doesn’t sound like a life of comfort to me. Abby and I are on a campaign right now to simplify our lives. We have really come to a place where we just don’t feel right have so much excess when people in our very state, let alone the world don’t have anything. So we have tried to downsize and live with what we need instead of what we want. We got rid of all the clothes we don’t need or wear, changed our phones to have only what we need instead of a big fancy phone we really don’t use, and we are trying to give more monetarily to organizations, like Bethesda Mission, that help the poor and homeless. Now I’m not saying this to brag, in fact we tried to keep it pretty secret but I’m saying this now because in the midst of sacrificing all this stuff sometimes we hit...we’ll say roadblocks. But every time we get frustrated with our cheaper phones or we feel a financial pinch we’ve started saying to ourselves and each other, “It’s not a sacrifice if it doesn’t hurt.”
When we live a life of sacrifice other’s benefit and through that we bring people to a saving knowledge of Jesus Christ. What Billy Graham said is true, if we, who claim to follow Jesus, would start living as though we are followers of Jesus things will change drastically.
If you don’t believe me listen to this story from the second century. The Gospel exploded around the Mediterranean Sea because of a plague that hit the area. People were throwing family members out into the street if they were affected by the plague, in order to save themselves. Can you believe it throwing your own brother out into the street to die, just to save yourself from this disease? But just as fast as these affected people were tossed out, the Christians in the town would come and collect them, bring them into their own homes and care for them. A lot of the time curing the affected person, just to get the disease themselves.
People saw the love of Jesus come alive through his followers, embracing death and disease with open arms just to show a person how much God loves them and to share Jesus with them.
Now we might not have a plague per say but we have plenty hurting people to reach with the love of Christ. If you don’t believe me come spend a Wednesday night at my Youth Group. We have kids who come from broken homes, with parents being totally selfish and self absorbed; they face a lot of mature things for such a young age. They are hurting and need God’s love and that is just one example.
What crazy thing is God calling you to do, or to give up. Don’t be afraid to live a life of sacrifice, you may suffer here on earth but remember this is not our permanent home.
Anyway one of the channels we could watch was a Christian station and on Saturday night they had a broadcast of Billy Graham preaching from back in the 1960’s. We could tell because it was in black and white. He was doing his thing, telling the gospel like it is but he said something that even though it was 1960 when he said it, it is still a problem today. He said if church going Christians were really followers of Jesus, crime would cease to exist, divorce in America would be a distant memory and the race problem would be no more.
You know I have to agree with him. I look at the church worldwide today and I have to say to myself, is this really what God intended for His people to be like. We have become so complacent in our comfortable little churches. We dare not go out into the world and mix it up with “those people” for fear something awful will happen.
Jesus said we are the salt of the earth but I fear that we have lost our saltiness; we are not very effective anymore. He also said that if we are neither hot nor cold; lukewarm he will vomit us out of his mouth. We need to break out of this comfortable mold we are in and start getting out hands dirty reaching the lost. We can turn things around and be the light of the world that God has called us to be.
God never called us to a life of comfort; He called us to a life of sacrifice. Romans 12:1 says to offer our bodies as a living sacrifice. That doesn’t sound like a life of comfort to me. Abby and I are on a campaign right now to simplify our lives. We have really come to a place where we just don’t feel right have so much excess when people in our very state, let alone the world don’t have anything. So we have tried to downsize and live with what we need instead of what we want. We got rid of all the clothes we don’t need or wear, changed our phones to have only what we need instead of a big fancy phone we really don’t use, and we are trying to give more monetarily to organizations, like Bethesda Mission, that help the poor and homeless. Now I’m not saying this to brag, in fact we tried to keep it pretty secret but I’m saying this now because in the midst of sacrificing all this stuff sometimes we hit...we’ll say roadblocks. But every time we get frustrated with our cheaper phones or we feel a financial pinch we’ve started saying to ourselves and each other, “It’s not a sacrifice if it doesn’t hurt.”
When we live a life of sacrifice other’s benefit and through that we bring people to a saving knowledge of Jesus Christ. What Billy Graham said is true, if we, who claim to follow Jesus, would start living as though we are followers of Jesus things will change drastically.
If you don’t believe me listen to this story from the second century. The Gospel exploded around the Mediterranean Sea because of a plague that hit the area. People were throwing family members out into the street if they were affected by the plague, in order to save themselves. Can you believe it throwing your own brother out into the street to die, just to save yourself from this disease? But just as fast as these affected people were tossed out, the Christians in the town would come and collect them, bring them into their own homes and care for them. A lot of the time curing the affected person, just to get the disease themselves.
People saw the love of Jesus come alive through his followers, embracing death and disease with open arms just to show a person how much God loves them and to share Jesus with them.
Now we might not have a plague per say but we have plenty hurting people to reach with the love of Christ. If you don’t believe me come spend a Wednesday night at my Youth Group. We have kids who come from broken homes, with parents being totally selfish and self absorbed; they face a lot of mature things for such a young age. They are hurting and need God’s love and that is just one example.
What crazy thing is God calling you to do, or to give up. Don’t be afraid to live a life of sacrifice, you may suffer here on earth but remember this is not our permanent home.
Monday, December 6, 2010
Peace on Earth
Can I be honest with you? I really used to hate the Christmas Season. This time of year make people go a little crazy and it is all in the name of buying their kid something they can’t really even afford. It really grinds my gears. Forget about driving between the dates of November 26 and December 28. If you even wait a second after the light turns green people will honk at you and give you that gesture that tells you that you are number 1 in their book. You might be laughing right now but only because you know I’m right.
Mostly what bothered me about this season was the music. This is a problem because I work in a church and one of the special things about the advent season is the music. But I would grimace at the thought of singing and playing those carols with the band. I put a smile on my face and lead the people in those songs but inside I scowled.
Call me Scrooge if you want because that is really what I was. I did not enjoy anything about the Christmas season. The sad part was I couldn’t figure out why. It could have been that the music was boring or the people bowing down to the “mighty consumer dollar.” But I think it went deeper than that.
Then a few years ago I heard a song that changed my whole perspective on the Christmas season. You probably know what I’m going to say because every Christmas season I blog about this at least once. But the story is just so amazing that I feel the need for the repetition.
My parents had bought concert tickets for me and Abby to go see Casting Crowns on their Christmas tour. Of course my reaction was blasé. I didn’t like Christmas or the music so I was not excited about this event. But during the concert they played one of the songs off their album, “I heard the bells” by the poet Henry Longfellow. Before the song the Lead singer told the story behind the song.
Henry Longfellow wrote the poem “Christmas Bells” on Christmas Day during the Civil War after he heard the news about his son being mortally wounded in the Battle of New Hope Church in Virginia. Two years before that his wife had died in an accidental fire that was collateral damage of the Civil War. So on Christmas Day he hears these church bells ringing the tune, Peace on Earth, Good Will to Men. At this point after all that has happened he is a little bitter. He thought to himself, there is no peace on earth. Hate is running ramped and mocks this thought that peace can live on the earth.
That is exactly what I was feeling. In a season that is all about giving to other people, in a time of year where we are suppose to consider others and live in peace, all anyone can do is gesture inappropriately when I don’t step on the gas at the exact moment they want me to so I can get out of their way, in order for them to go spend more money they don’t have. Christmas had totally lost its meaning for me. I looked around at the world surrounding me and all I could see was what this season had turned into not what it really was.
As Longfellow stood listening to those bells chime he realized their message was not affected by the world around him. All the evil he was surrounded by did not negate the simple message the bells were ringing out. That God has brought peace to the earth in the form of his gift, the baby Jesus Christ.
I realized that what this season had turned into was not the same thing as what God meant it for and furthermore that had not changed at all. Christmas is not about the traffic or the shopping or even the music. Christmas is about God bringing peace to mankind through Jesus Christ his son. We can shop till we drop dead, or gesture to everyone on the road but The MESSAGE DOES NOT CHANGE!!!
Mostly what bothered me about this season was the music. This is a problem because I work in a church and one of the special things about the advent season is the music. But I would grimace at the thought of singing and playing those carols with the band. I put a smile on my face and lead the people in those songs but inside I scowled.
Call me Scrooge if you want because that is really what I was. I did not enjoy anything about the Christmas season. The sad part was I couldn’t figure out why. It could have been that the music was boring or the people bowing down to the “mighty consumer dollar.” But I think it went deeper than that.
Then a few years ago I heard a song that changed my whole perspective on the Christmas season. You probably know what I’m going to say because every Christmas season I blog about this at least once. But the story is just so amazing that I feel the need for the repetition.
My parents had bought concert tickets for me and Abby to go see Casting Crowns on their Christmas tour. Of course my reaction was blasé. I didn’t like Christmas or the music so I was not excited about this event. But during the concert they played one of the songs off their album, “I heard the bells” by the poet Henry Longfellow. Before the song the Lead singer told the story behind the song.
Henry Longfellow wrote the poem “Christmas Bells” on Christmas Day during the Civil War after he heard the news about his son being mortally wounded in the Battle of New Hope Church in Virginia. Two years before that his wife had died in an accidental fire that was collateral damage of the Civil War. So on Christmas Day he hears these church bells ringing the tune, Peace on Earth, Good Will to Men. At this point after all that has happened he is a little bitter. He thought to himself, there is no peace on earth. Hate is running ramped and mocks this thought that peace can live on the earth.
That is exactly what I was feeling. In a season that is all about giving to other people, in a time of year where we are suppose to consider others and live in peace, all anyone can do is gesture inappropriately when I don’t step on the gas at the exact moment they want me to so I can get out of their way, in order for them to go spend more money they don’t have. Christmas had totally lost its meaning for me. I looked around at the world surrounding me and all I could see was what this season had turned into not what it really was.
As Longfellow stood listening to those bells chime he realized their message was not affected by the world around him. All the evil he was surrounded by did not negate the simple message the bells were ringing out. That God has brought peace to the earth in the form of his gift, the baby Jesus Christ.
I realized that what this season had turned into was not the same thing as what God meant it for and furthermore that had not changed at all. Christmas is not about the traffic or the shopping or even the music. Christmas is about God bringing peace to mankind through Jesus Christ his son. We can shop till we drop dead, or gesture to everyone on the road but The MESSAGE DOES NOT CHANGE!!!
Then rang the bells more loud and deep
GOD IS NOT DEAD, NOR DOES HE SLEEP
The wrong shall fail, the right prevail
With Peace on Earth, Good Will to Men
I love this time of year now.... the music....everything. Because I realize that my attitude toward the season was just buying into what people are making Christmas out to be. But as a follower of Jesus, this time of year is to celebrate God gift. He totally changed my perspective about this holiday and if you feel the same way i felt, I encourage you to come to the same realization. I know beyond a shadow of a doubt that no matter what happens now, God’s Peace reigns through Jesus Christ. So I can forgive the person who yells at me or is rude because I want them to see through my lifestyle and my attitude what Christmas was really meant to be.
Let’s celebrate the birth of our Savior and the gift of Peace God gave us
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