Preparing for Christmas

We’ve reached that time of year where “preparation” is on everyone’s minds.  Of course, it means different things to different people.  For some who are preparing for Christmas guests, it’s about getting all the decorating, shopping, wrapping, and baking done.  It’s about planning the meals and making sure everything is ready for the guests.  For those who are traveling this Christmas, it’s about getting the laundry done, packing, and preparing the house for a time of absence.  For those who have neither to look forward to, it’s about preparing their minds for another lonely day and hoping it passes quickly.

Music has always been an important part of my life, and preparing for Christmas is no different.  I love listening to my myriad of Christmas recordings – some that date back to my childhood, and usually at least one new one each year.  I seem to start my listening earlier every year, and the joy of music helps prepare me for the Christmas season – whether I’m staying home or traveling. 

As I was thinking about the idea of preparation, several songs came into my mind.  The ones I thought of reminded me that true preparation has nothing to do with the external trappings of Christmas (even though I LOVE that part).  True preparation has to do with making sure my heart has room for Jesus; and this shouldn’t just happen at Christmas, but rather year-round.

Yes, Jesus already came as a human baby - Emmanuel, “God With Us” – a very long time ago.  So why do I need to prepare for him today?  The songs from my childhood that talk about Christmas preparation have to do with opening my heart to Christ’s invitation and receiving his salvation – which is something I did a long time ago as a little girl.  Here’s an example:

“Thou didst leave thy throne and thy kingly crown,
when thou camest to earth for me;
but in Bethlehem's home was there found no room
for thy holy nativity.
 
O come to my heart, Lord Jesus,
there is room in my heart for thee.”

But there is more to preparing our hearts for Christ than just a one-time decision.  That is just the beginning of what God intended when he sent his Son.  Another song from the past, even though mostly focused on salvation, gives us a hint:

“Room for pleasure, room for business,
But for Christ, the crucified;
Not a place that he can enter,
In the heart for which he died!”

God wants a place in our hearts for relationship with him, but often the rest of life easily crowds him out.  Preparing my heart for Christ involves a daily focus on him – intentional actions and thoughts that keep relationship with him at the forefront and set up a pattern that doesn’t allow other things to push their way ahead of him.  Some days this is much harder work than others; and the Christmas season seems to be a time when it is harder to keep the right focus.  There are just too many distractions.

But I want every day to be more about God than anything else . . . even in the Christmas season.  And I hope you will join me in striving to prepare room in your heart for God every single day between now and Christmas.  Repetition forms habit, and by Christmas Day we should all have a habit formed that won’t be easily broken in the New Year!  Here’s one of my favorite newer songs to help us (bold emphasis mine):

“Who is man that You would care for us,

You clothed Yourself in flesh to draw us near;

In sinful man, You’ve made our hearts Your home,

To make Your glory known, Your redemption clear.

No greater love has anyone than this,

To sacrifice the gift of Your only Son;

So we lay aside all the earthly things,

And all that comes between this great divide.

Let every heart prepare Him room,

For nothing else compares with You,

Restore the joy of our salvation, Lord,

Prepare our hearts for more of You.”

(Rita Baloche; 2013 Sardache Songs/ASCAP)

 

Having a Grateful Heart

Thanksgiving is on most people’s minds this week.  I’ve seen a lot of posts on social media with lists in various forms of things that people are thankful for.  It’s good to see that focus, even if only for one day, in a society that has transformed this holiday into a day that is more about eating, shopping, and watching football than being thankful for our blessings.

But truly being grateful isn’t just about listing the things that we’re thankful for.  Gratefulness comes from the heart and is an attitude that permeates all that we do.  Thankfulness is often related to specific things we have experienced; but a grateful heart is not affected by our circumstances.  Beneath it lies an understanding that God is sovereign; and, as sinful humans, we do not deserve any of the blessings we receive from his hand.  It is only his gracious love for us that causes him to give us good gifts for which we can be thankful.

I recently finished a women’s Bible study by Priscilla Shirer on the armor of God.  I was reminded of the truth found in Philippians 4:6-7: the peace of God guards our hearts and minds when we choose to be thankful.  In other words, a grateful heart activates God’s peace in our lives.  And how can we have a grateful heart?  Because our trust is properly placed in a trustworthy God.  Faith is not about us, but about God.  Because he is faithful, we can have faith.  Trusting God fuels thanksgiving, and thanksgiving activates peace.

Most of us want to have peace, and most of us can think of things to be thankful for.  But we all need to go a step further and seek to be truly grateful for who God is ALL of the time – not just one day a year.  Then we will have a grateful heart that is focused on God’s character and not our circumstances – and peace will be the natural result.  As we celebrate Thanksgiving and move into a Christmas season where peace is often talked about, let’s remember to be grateful deep inside so that God’s peace will reign within us as well.  Have a wonderful Thanksgiving!  

  

Shining Light Into Darkness

Lately I’ve been reading through different Old Testament books – no particular order, just looking at them with new eyes.  And on this day that during my lifetime has become less and less about good clean fun and more and more about the work of Satan, I wanted to share what this fresh look at really old stories has been teaching me.

My approach to the Old Testament this time around has been to skim the details (instead of getting bogged down in them) and look for the hand of God throughout the history, the laws, the wisdom, and the prophecies of this part of the Bible.  I have been underlining every instance where God speaks and every time that the events of life are attributed to God’s work.  Even though I am a seasoned Christian and Bible student, this approach has opened my eyes to new truth.

Admittedly, the Old Testament narratives were written by people who were biased: they believed in God’s sovereignty and wrote their stories in an effort to proclaim that to others.  I happen to believe their stories to be true; but, even if they’re not, the way they are told reveals something important about the people who wrote them.

Time and time again I have underlined actions of God and words of God: God redeemed (Deuteronomy 24:18); the Lord heard (Numbers 12:2); the Lord spoke (too many references to cite!); the Lord gave (Judges 1:4); the Lord God of Israel fought (Joshua 10:42); God sent (Genesis 45:7); the Lord saved (Exodus 14:30); the glory of the Lord appeared (Leviticus 9:23); God keeps covenant and steadfast love (Nehemiah 9:32); the Lord established (2 Samuel 5:12); the Lord had visited his people (Ruth 1:6); God makes everything (Ecclesiastes 11:5); the Most High rules (Daniel 4:32); the Lord answered (Job 38:1); God searches (1 Chronicles 28:9); the Lord listened (1 Kings 17:22).  There are so many more!

As these underlined words now leap off of the page, I am struck over and over with the reality of God’s sovereignty as well as other more personal traits.  I might not always understand how he chooses to work, but there can be no question that he does work in our world as well as the ancient world.   Most of all I recognize his faithfulness and example as a true promise-keeper.  And while not everyone (in either the ancient world or our world today) chooses to recognize and acknowledge God’s sovereignty and follow his leading, the writers of the Old Testament books chose to record their stories in light of the greatness of their God.  There was never any question regarding God’s sovereignty, even in a book like Job.  There is a lesson in that for all of us.

Does everyone I come in contact with see the God who rules my heart?  Do all the stories I tell about my own experiences clearly point to the One who directs my path?  Do I set an example in my daily life that shows others how much I love my Lord?  Is God’s sovereignty unquestionably accepted in my life, and is this what I model – even when life’s circumstances are hard?  Only through Christ’s work on the cross and through the process of daily sanctification can we answer these questions the right way, because even the desire to do what is right is initiated by God (Philippians 2:13).  But, thanks to his power, we have everything we need to live godly lives (2 Peter 1:3-4); and we can trust his promises because he always keeps them.  So go tell your story – with God as the main character – and boldly shine his light in a world of the enemy’s darkness!