Jesus is the Reason

The holiday season has started unusually for me this year.  This is my favorite time of year, but I’ve had trouble getting fully focused.  For health reasons, for the first time in my life Thanksgiving came and went without me eating a bite.  Fortunately, my son was already working that day, and our celebration was already planned for the following Sunday.  But it didn’t exactly feel like Thanksgiving! 

Recovering from a surgery that was postponed by the doctor for two weeks also hasn’t helped me to focus solely on the holidays.  I’m still doing exercises and icing when I’d rather be up decorating until I drop.  Being restricted in my activity and out of control of my own schedule isn’t exactly my strong suit!

But I have had more time to think about what should really matter about the holidays – and that is always a good thing.  I’m afraid that what we tend to make Christmas about has very little to do with what God intended us to be celebrating each year.  I’m aware of this every year, and I’ve written about it before.  In fact, I’m not sure I have anything new to add – just things that I need to be reminded of. 

So here is an excerpt from a previous blogpost that still rings true for me, and I hope it also will ring true for you today.  Consider it a free preview of my soon-to-be-published new book that is a collection of several years’ posts!

“Christmas is a busy time of year; but that busyness can have purpose if we allow it to.  Here are some suggestions:

Jesus said, “I am the light of the world.  Whoever follows me will never walk in darkness, but will have the light of life” (John 8:12).  Each time we look at the beautiful Christmas lights, we can remind ourselves about the true light and the difference his light makes in the world.

As we decorate our homes with beautiful Christmas things, we can remember the importance of decorating our own lives on a daily basis with the things that God considers beautiful:  

“Therefore, as God’s chosen people, holy and dearly loved, clothe yourselves with compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness, and patience.  Bear with each other and forgive whatever grievances you may have against one another.  Forgive as the Lord forgave you.  And over all these virtues put on love, which binds them all together in perfect unity.”  (Colossians 3:12-14)

And the Christmas tree should remind us of another tree – the one God willingly created and nourished in order to provide a means for the sacrifice of his own Son for our redemption.  Imagine how our focus would change if we saw the cross every time we looked at our Christmas trees!

What about the special foods and the baking?  My ability to enjoy these once-a-year delicacies should lead me to praise God, “who richly provides us with everything for our enjoyment” (1 Timothy 6:17), for his constant provision for me.  Too often we overlook God’s role in providing for all of our needs, but Christmas can be a time to shift our focus in this area.

Since my children have not always lived in close proximity to me, spending time with family is an especially important part of this time of the year for me.  But I don’t want to glorify my earthly family over my heavenly Father.  We can choose to enjoy our families in the way God intended – by remembering that they are an earthly picture of the heavenly principle of God’s church and the broader family of believers that we belong to.

It is easy for gift-giving to get out of hand and fail to be God-honoring.  There are probably many different practical approaches to avoiding this (limiting our spending, choosing gifts that are edifying, focusing on giving rather than receiving, etc.).  But the most important thing we can do is to use the giving and receiving of presents as a tool to remember God’s lavish giving of blessings to us – and to cultivate hearts that are truly thankful beyond this season.

I enjoy receiving Christmas cards and letters from those I don’t otherwise see or hear from often.  This year, as the cards arrive, I want to try and focus on the gift of God’s constant messages to me – through his Word as well as the Spirit’s promptings in my life.  Whether we keep in touch with those we know here on earth, our God is always “keeping in touch” with us if we will just listen.

In 1 Thessalonians 5:19, we are told not to “put out the Spirit’s fire”.  Every time we light a fire in the fireplace this Christmas season, we can remind ourselves of the gift of the Holy Spirit and the flames that he fans in our lives to do what he calls us to do for the kingdom of God.  I am so thankful for his work in my life as comforter, counselor, and guide (see John 16); and I want to remember that when I’m enjoying a fire in my fireplace.

When I think about the warm, cozy feeling I get this time of year, it reminds me of an Old Testament verse that Handel celebrated in his work, The Messiah.  Isaiah 40:11 tells us that God “gathers the lambs in his arms and carries them close to his heart”.  What could be more warm and cozy than having the ability, whenever we choose, to climb up into God Almighty’s lap because he is our “Abba”, our Father (Galatians 4:6-7)?”

I hope these suggestions help you to be more purposeful during this holiday season, and I hope your Christmas is Christ-centered and joy-filled – even as you enjoy the trappings and traditions of Christmas that don’t necessarily represent our Lord.  Let’s not forget that He alone is worthy of our praise!

Redeeming the Time

Over the weekend, most of us living in the United States gained an extra hour to use as we like.  Some remembered and chose how to use the extra time on Saturday night; others forgot and got their extra hour on Sunday morning instead.  But everyone had the opportunity to choose what to do with the additional time on their hands.  One of my friends suggested on social media that this was a good opportunity to spend more time thanking God for all of the blessings we have.

As I’ve said before, I am hopelessly purpose-driven and also a night owl.  So this day of turning back my clocks is a favorite of mine – because I get an extra hour to get something else done before going to bed on my usually earliest night of the week.  But I have to admit that one of my least favorite days of the year is the opposite day in the spring when clocks are set ahead – because I have one less hour to accomplish what I need to and have to try to go to bed earlier than usual!

I bought a new alarm clock a few years ago that made this dreaded spring day even worse.  Not realizing that it had an automatic Daylight Savings Time setting, I moved my clock ahead before going to bed – only to discover when I got up the next morning that the clock had moved itself ahead as well in the middle of the night, and I was now running an hour behind in my attempt to get to church on time!

I’m currently in the middle of three different “waiting-room” experiences that God is walking me through, and I have to admit that I get impatient when other people control the timeframe of my life.  All of these thoughts have me thinking today about my relationship with time and how I choose to spend my time every day.  How much time do I actually waste?  I’m not talking about success at finishing a project I’m working on or accomplishing a list I’ve made.  I’m pretty good at those things.  But no human has ever been as purpose-driven as Jesus was (he only had 3 years to fulfill God’s purpose for him on earth and had to wait 30 years before starting that purpose); yet he took the time to be distracted by people who followed him and stopped along the way to smell the roses. 

What about me?  Does my time allocation reflect my love for God and include regular activities that build his Kingdom instead of just accomplishing my own purposes?  When I have extra time on my hands (and we all do), how am I choosing to spend it?  When I think about Jesus’ example, I know that he never sinned – so he spent every minute of every day of his life perfectly attending to his Father’s will.  We all have a long way to go, but this is a good time of year to start thinking about how to improve our use of time in the future.  Holidays often bring out the best in us; but God wants us to redeem the time he’s given us every single day (Ephesians 5:16).

Responding to Change

Some people thrive on change – at least change that they can control.  The owner of the beauty salon I go to is constantly rearranging the furniture and décor of the salon, and I know other people who often change things around in their homes.  However, I am not those people!  Change has always been something I would rather avoid, and in many ways I live by the motto “if it ain’t broke, don’t fix it”.

But change is inevitable in this world – especially in the technology-driven 21^st century.  People change their houses, cars, wardrobes, spouses, and many other aspects of their lives with lightning regularity.  These are changes that are brought about by choice.  But there are other changes that happen to us that are not our choice or not solely our choice – things like job changes and the death of a loved one, among other things.

Currently, a friend from church is walking through the unknown changes brought about by her husband’s sudden and untimely passing.  In an instant, nearly everything that she considered “normal” changed.  Two other friends have recently moved long distances and are learning to adjust to new surroundings.  And I am facing the changes to my routine resulting from a temporary change in my husband’s job description and his working hours. 

It’s usually the changes that we can’t control that challenge us the most.  We have to try to maintain proper attitudes and not allow the changes to unnerve us.  I don’t always succeed at this.  But I am more likely to respond the way I should when I focus my mind and attention on what hasn’t changed – and this always causes me to look toward God.

Regardless of anything else, “Jesus Christ is the same yesterday and today and forever” (Hebrews 13:8).  God is always sovereign, loving, merciful, forgiving, all-powerful, all-knowing, just, gracious, trustworthy, and many other things.  His character is unchanging and can be counted on regardless of any changes I am experiencing.  He is also always with us – Immanuel – walking beside us through every change.  What else could we ever need?

Sometimes I need to be reminded of this truth and choose to focus on God instead of whatever changes I am going through.  I suspect my friends mentioned above know what I’m talking about.  Thankfully, every new day is a new opportunity to choose the right focus and right attitude – and to rely on God’s strength to help me make the right choices.  We are never alone, and that is the greatest news we could ever receive.  Thanking God today for his presence in my life and his strength for each day . . .