Show the video “Christmas Connection 2010”
I was reminded this week that Christmas is fast approaching when I got up for work the other morning. The living room was rearranged so that the couches are now facing each other rather than the TV. Every year this is the first step toward preparing the house for the Christmas Tree.
Soon we will dust off the decorations that have been hidden for a year. Heidi, the bird, will have her cage moved to make room for the tree to be near the window. The Panther’s football decorations will soon adorn the branches along with the lights.
The Christmas lists have already appeared on face book. Black Friday, which this year began on Thursday, signals the crazy, frenzied shopping that will take place. Most will overspend their budgets trying to out do last years Christmas.
And in the midst of this we will remind ourselves constantly that “Jesus is the reason for the season” and fail miserably in showing it.
But as the video shows we should focus more on “Jesus is the reason---period.”
Reality is Christmas has become less about the birth of Jesus and more about fellowship, family, giving gifts, and Santa Clause. And God is alright with that because He doesn’t want your worship just one day a year but 365 days a year.
Here is what Paul wrote in Romans. “In the same way, some think one day is more holy than another day, while others think every day is alike. You should each be fully convinced that whichever day you choose is acceptable. Those who worship the Lord on a special day do it to honor him.” (Romans 14:5-6a)
When we first read this we may think that Paul is saying that those who do not see Sunday or Christmas as we do meets God’s approval. But keep in mind that he is writing to the church in Rome. He was pointing out that the Jews considered Saturday as the Sabbath and the Gentiles considered Sunday as the Sabbath.
However, he pointed to a group that considered everyday holy. A group that did celebrate Jesus once a week and would not have celebrated his birth once a year but would have celebrated his birthday everyday.
Today I want you to learn about being that type of Christian. Let’s begin our process.
1) Ask God for a new Christmas tree. Every year we have to bring out those dusty boxes and clean the cobwebs off the tree and decorations. Every day our hearts get dusty and full of cobwebs. Jesus recognized that problem when He said “God blesses those whose hearts are pure, for they will see God.” (Matt 5:8)
When your tree and decorations are dusty, they are not very appealing. And when our hearts get dusty that’s not very appealing to God. We have issues like anger, blame, envy, pride, and insincerity hanging like cobwebs from our heart. We can almost write in the dust that is left behind from our lies, theft, and dishonesty.
We can try to clean our hearts but we just dirty them up again as we go about our daily routines. How do we fix this problem? King Davis had the answer. “Create in me a clean heart, O God.
Renew a loyal spirit within me.” (Psalm 51:10)
We are always asking for Jesus to forgive us of sins that we continue to repeat. Basically we are asking for him to clean up our old tree. But our request should be for a new tree every day.
Some of us buy a real tree every year and throw it away after Christmas. We would buy trees with a ball on them so we could plant them each year as a reminder of a previous Christmas.
That is what Jesus wants, not for you to have an artificial heart, or a throw away heart, but a living vibrant heart that shows his light year round. Man can create a beautiful artificial tree that has no life but it takes God to create a living tree that has life. But man can take that living tree and cut it down, insuring that it will wither and die. We need God to create in us, not just a clean heart, but a loyal spirit that will stay true to him.
2) Ask God to rearrange your living room.
Soon our focus will be on the Christmas tree. After all that is why poor old Heidi will be removed from the living room. The TV should no longer be the point of focus but rather the beauty of a decorated tree. But that will be difficult to accomplish.
Our lives can be like focusing on the TV. We have the beauty of Jesus in our presence every day in the form of the Holy Spirit but our focus is on our problems and our worries. We focus on our circumstances and ourselves. We pray continuously about these burdens that take us away from focusing on the solution.
And that solution is found in Matthew 6:33 “Seek the Kingdom of God above all else, and live righteously, and he will give you everything you need.”
God desires for you to remove yourself from the center of life and allow him to place his Kingdom there. He desires for you to marvel over its beauty. He wants you to search for it in his Word. He has the solutions to all your problems, worries, and circumstances. He wants you to discover something of more value than yourself.
However there is a requirement to this arrangement and that is righteous living. That is not perfect living but it is discovering the standards that Jesus set for us to live by and meeting those standards. And when God rearranges our living room placing his Kingdom in front of ourselves and we learn to live in it, we have the promise of all of our needs being met.
3) Ask God to decorate your tree.
Now we have the living room arranged just right and the Christmas tree up, it’s time to decorate. At our house, we have a football theme. A lot of our ornaments feature the Carolina Panthers. (And no, the ornaments do not disappoint us every Sunday.) We have blue and white lights strung through the tree. It’s actually attractive. But we have had these same ornaments for several years now and we are beginning to grow weary of them. If not for the expenses I think we would create an entirely new look.
That is God’s desire for your heart. Read Ezekiel 36:26 “And I will give you a new heart, and I will put a new spirit in you. I will take out your stony, stubborn heart and give you a tender, responsive heart.”
God wants to redecorate your heart. Over time we allow ourselves to become indifferent and unresponsive toward God. We go through our everyday routines without much thought of Jesus and his calling on our lives. But his desire is to hand new ornaments upon a heart that He has made tender and responsive.
What do these ornaments look like? It’s a peace of mind that when experienced goes beyond our understanding. It’s a peace that will guard our hearts and minds from the influence of the world. (Philippians 4:7) They are bulbs of compassionate love, unspeakable joy, and enduring patience. It’s a string of lights that shows the kindness, goodness, and faithfulness of our Savior. (Galatians 5:22)
There is an expense for these beautiful trimmings but we don’t have to pay for them. Jesus has already paid the price. He did so on the cross.
4) Ask God to check out your Face Book page. It seems like everyday I see an icon that informs me I have a message on my Face Book page. When I click on it I discover another family member has added another gift idea to their list. So far I have counted an estimated 75 gifts listed. And I haven’t even listed anything yet.
It’s this drive to attempt to achieve the desire to make those we love happy by purchasing them these items that makes Black Friday such a success. People will camp out all night in front of a store or a display in a store to insure the happiness of a loved one. Sometimes they even come to fisticuffs.
However I do wonder what God thinks about our hunger for all these fabulous gifts on what is celebrated as his Son’s birthday. Is there something else that God wishes He would see on our Christmas List on Face Book?
How about “God, this year let me be one of your children.”
John 1:12 “But to all who believed him and accepted him, he gave the right to become children of God.”
Now there is a gift that keeps on giving. You believe in Jesus. You accept him as your Savior. You have the right to become a Prince or a Princess. When someone gives you a gift they can’t make you use it. You choose what you want to do with that gift. Jesus gives us the right but we can shelve or discard it. But if we use it, then it will supply our needs far beyond Christmas Day.
5) Ask God to show you his list. God’s list is really short. He has no need of material things. After all He already owns everything. There is only one thing He wants. And He wants it so much that He was willing to give his Son, Jesus, for it. But as much as He wants it, He will not take it. We must give it to him. What is it? Let’s read Proverbs 23:26. “O my son, give me your heart. May your eyes take delight in following my ways.”
He wants our hearts, our lives. That dusty, cobwebbed thing that He cleaned up and made pure. That stony, stubborn thing that He decorated and made alive. He asks that this Christmas we give it to him.
When the Christmas season ends we will take down our tree with its decorations. Everything will be put back in storage or thrown away. The living room will be arranged to the way it was previously. Some gifts will be returned, some set aside for re-gifting next year. Others will be used briefly then set aside. And we will have memories of this Christmas and anticipation of next year’s.
But God’s desire is that we keep Christmas alive year round, every day of our life. He wants us to enjoy our new heart, decorated with all the promises found in his Word. He wants us to live a life rearranged to glorify his Son. He wants us to accept his offer to be Prince and Princesses in his Kingdom and all the rights that the children of the King has.
This year Christmas can be just another holiday with a warm, fuzzy feeling that will pass come January the first. Or it can last all year. This year it’s your choice, Christmas for a month or a life time.
