No Not One - A Message For Christmas

2010.12.13 No not one

William Akehurst

HSWC

No not one Romans 3

Vs. 10 No, not one.

Vs. 17 The way of peace

23, all have sinned and come short of the glory of God

24, justified by his grace through the redemption

I love the songs of Christmas, although sometimes I think they come out too early in the shopping stores, starting the day after...Halloween. It used to be thanksgiving, but now it's sooner,

Each year the television hosts an abundance of Christmas shows. From Rudolph to the miracle on 31st street to the classic Charlie Brown Christmas special.

I am most impressed by Charles Shultz who took his renderings of Charlie Brown and spread the real message of Christmas. While we may think and remember Charlie browns Christmas tree, that poor poor tree purchased by a broken little boy, nurtured and cared for and in the end, decorated To become the center of the gangs Christmas celebration. Linus and his blanket,up on stage, tell the entire listening audience about the really good news of a savior.

Luke 2:11-14

11 For unto you is born this day in the city of David a Saviour, which is Christ the Lord. 12 And this shall be a sign unto you; Ye shall find the babe wrapped in swaddling clothes, lying in a manger. 13 And suddenly there was with the angel a multitude of the heavenly host praising God, and saying,

14 Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace, goodwill toward men.

Spirit of Christmas

I was Watching tv christmas story and was stirred in the 'spirit of Christmas'

But then I thought about what I was doing and how I was reacting to these tv shows and movies and realized that this 'spirit of Christmas I was experiencing, which brought all those good feelings of love and friendship and fellowship and the wonder of ... The north pole and Santa clause???? What was I thinking???

I was derailed, I was sidetracked, I wasn't even on the right track.

Sad to say, this is what has happened to the real meaning of

Christmas. It's not the spirit of Christ that people are referring to, it's the spirit of the greenback, money, the spirit of financial gain.

The problem is, we all get sucked into it. This lie about what Christmas is all about. So much so that we have even taken Christ out of Christmas altogether.

Xmas. I saw someone post in a blog with paragraphs of writing ,but couldn't even put Christ in Christmas, rather too Christ right out of Christmas and made it Xmas.

We even have gotten away from Offering the greeting of Merry Christmas. Rather to not offend, we say things like, happy holidays rather than so much as speak the name of Christ.

The trouble is, we need to realize the importance of what it is that we celebrate. We need to stay on track, we need to keep from getting derailed from the things Christ to the things of this world.

But this is exactly what scripture tells us. We are all sheep gone astray.

Paul writes in Romans 3:10-26, There is none righteous, no not one.

None who understand, none that seek God. Deceit is on their lips, words of cursing and bitterness, ready to shed blood and go the way of destruction and misery.

The way of peace, they have not known.

Even the righteous of God by faith of Jesus Christ on all that believe, we are not righteous, there is no difference.

We are all sinners, each and every one of us.

Our justification is not of our own accord, it is given freely by Gods grace and mercy through the redemption that is in Jesus Christ to all who will accept him.

SONG: Living he loved me, dying he saved me, buried he carried my sins far away. Rising he justified freely for ever. One day he's coming, oh glorious day

While Charles Shultz used his characters to tell the whole world watching, As Linus reads

Luke 2:11-14

11 For unto you is born this day in the city of David a Saviour, which is Christ the Lord.

We need a savior. There is anyone righteous, no not one.

And the really good news is that Jesus Christ has come. We have a savior which is Christ the Lord.

God set forth Jesus as the propitiation, He was set forth to gain favor for us, to secure our redemption by giving of himself and his blood as our sacrifice. He took our place upon the cross, to pay for our sin.

By His righteousness And justification, he has justified those who believe in his provided gift of forgiveness.

Enter the straight and narrow. Get on the right track.