The holiday season
Romans 12:2
2And be not conformed to this world: but be ye transformed by the renewing of your mind, that ye may prove what is that good, and acceptable, and perfect, will of God.
One of the biggest obstacles faced by the Christian today is the constant pulling and nudging from the rest of the world to do things like the world.
To join the world in greed, lust, revelry, excess and moral impurity.
Romans 12 warn us not to allow the world to mold us into it’s image. But to be transform by renewing your mind through God.
It seem that everyone loves to talk about Christ this time of year, I am all for that. But it seem to me that that many of the people who celebrate the “birth of Christ” do so while not really keeping Christ in mind, going to all kinds of extremes and excesses.
We see people spending far above what they can afford.
We see people indulging in excess of food and drink and this whole time of year that many people tote as very religious, very Christian, is expressed in a very un-Christian way.
There is nothing Godly or Christian in going into credit card debt so bad that it takes half the year to pay off and in many cases it takes people all year to pay off what they spend on Christmas.
Romans 13:8 says
8Owe no man any thing, but to love one another: for he that loveth another hath fulfilled the law.
Giving people gifts is fun and it is nice but not if you have to go into debt.
God instructs His children throughout scripture to rid themselves of debt.
We see people acting out gluttony in many ways and in fact the majority of people put on so much weight this time of year that they never do take it off.
Now it is not my intention to go over all the sin associated with the season but I do want to encourage you to experience purity in your worship and relationship with God.
I want to encourage you to not let all the paid advertisement all the commercialization influence how you worship and serve God.
John 4
23But the hour cometh, and now is, when the true worshippers shall worship the Father in spirit and in truth: for the Father seeketh such to worship him.
24God is a Spirit: and they that worship him must worship him in spirit and in truth.
So I encourage you this holiday season to examine you behavior and ask does this glorify God, and if so how?
Are you living this season with a conscience toward God? Is God and the worship of God really your main concern or are you caught up in the world systems and the traditions of men? Maybe even using your freedom in Christ as a cloak of maliciousness, or and excuse to do what is wrong.
1st Peter 2
15For so is the will of God, that with well doing ye may put to silence the ignorance of foolish men:
16As free, and not using your liberty for a cloke of maliciousness, but as the servants of God.
Celebrate Christ all year, don’t wait for a particular season and then become suddenly religious. But if you will remember the birth of Christ the let it not be with a fascination and mythical romance of the manger scene, but stop and realize that this was the giving of Gods own Son being sent as a sacrifice to die for your sin.
That God so loved the world that he gave his only begotten son, that whosoever believe in him would not perish but have everlasting life.
God loves you so much that he would not stand to see you lost with out the hope of redemption.
If you want to think about the manger scene then please recognize it for what it was.
A manger is a stable where animals are kept. Where the smell of animal feces and urine is so strong it is enough to gag you. They are dirty and filthy and smelly in fact this is one of the last places you would want to have a child. It was here in these very bad, unclean conditions that the messiah was born.
Think if you will of Joseph; How would he feel, Unable to provide his young wife with a clean comfortable place to give birth to her first child?
Or Mary, hardly more then a child herself turned away at the inn sent to the barn to give birth the Son of God. I am sure she was a little confused.
He was born in a very ordinary way, to very ordinary parents for a very special purpose. With nether privilege or pretence. He was born for the purpose of dying; He was born to be a sacrifice to set us free from sin and death. If you will celebrate this season for Christ, then let it not be the warm fuzziness “this is all about family attitude”. But let true gratitude be manifested in you life. Please think of the biblical presentation of the birth of Christ. The messiah has been born! Not in an opulent palace, not in a house by the sea but in a stable.
Born in a manger to die on a wooden cross fastened to that cross by roman nails driven through his hands and feet, a payment for our sin.
The perfect sinless life of Jesus for our wretched sinful selfish lives. It doesn’t seem like a fair trade but our messiah our Jesus made that trade willingly so that we could inherit the kingdom of God with him.
I encourage you to take a deeper look at what you do and how you do it. What are the reasons behind your calibration? Is it that you really just like the lights, the gifts, the songs, and the shopping or is it something deeper? And if so… if it is something different what is it?
Why do you celebrate like you do? Is it tradition or did you learn it from your bible? God is not the least bit interested in people who are religious once our twice a year but he is seeking true worshipers who will bow down and worship their creator all year long.
Celebration is good when Christ is truly the center of it. When we understand what we do and why we do it.
If you celebrate Christ then ask yourself “ how does this glorify Him?”
What can I do to truly glorify the one who was sent a sacrifice, the one who chose to willingly die for me so that my sin could be forgiven?
I see that everyone is so preoccupied with the birth of Christ and the celebration I would ask you this question. Are you saved? Are you born again? For that is the purpose that the Christ was born. So that you could enter the kingdom of God.
Maybe your answer is “I don’t know” if so why do think so much about the season?
If you are not born again then you waist the life of the one who died for you.
Because Christ did not come to make you feel warm and fuzzy with manger scenes but he was born for the purpose of ransoming your soul.
1 Timothy 2
3For this is good and acceptable in the sight of God our Saviour;
4Who will have all men to be saved, and to come unto the knowledge of the truth.
5For there is one God, and one mediator between God and men, the man Christ Jesus;
6Who gave himself a ransom for all, to be testified in due time.
Isaiah 9:6
For unto us a child is born, unto us a son is given: and the government shall be upon his shoulder: and his name shall be called Wonderful, Counsellor, The mighty God, The everlasting Father, The Prince of Peace.
I want you to notice the second statement in that line, It says unto us a son is given.
Christ was given to us for the purpose of taking away our sin, our unrighteousness through his sacrificial death. Your salvation was made as easy as your trusting and believing Jesus as messiah.
If you celebrate Christ this season please stop to think about what God must feel as he sends his only begotten son to be a ransom for your life.
If you where God how would you respond to those who celebrate, good cheer, family, food and gifts and never once stop to think about the awesome sacrificed, the ransom paid for their sin.
Please take some time to examine what you do this year and why you do it. Ask yourself questions like:
1) What does this mean?
2) Why do I do it?
3) Is it biblical?
4) Is Christ the center of it? And how so?
5) Is this really all about me or about Him?
Make Christ the center of your life. The bible says:
Proverbs 3:5
5Trust in the LORD with all thine heart; and lean not unto thine own understanding.
Check out what the bible says about your life.
You want to celebrate the birth of Christ this year then why not give him the presents, give your life to Christ and you will have a reason to celebrate 365 days a year.
