As Christmas draws near…

I really appreciated Pastor Bill’s sermon this morning. “The Fear and The Blood”. At first glance it seems so unrelated to Christmas. I was really encouraged with another answer to my Christmas question: What is the true meaning of Christmas? We ask this question all the time, and often we come to some sort of cliché answer. I was really challenged by the message this morning: Christmas is nice when we look at it from the perspective of Joseph and Mary, the wise men and the shepherds. But the true meaning of Christmas is only understood when we look at it from God’s perspective. Pastor Bill was right: we need to lock ourselves into God’s view of Christmas.

What are we celebrating?

I asked one of my friends at Bible College what her favorite Christmas movie was. It got me thinking. If I could watch one movie with family and friends at Christmas time which one would I choose and how would it help us to remember the true meaning of Christmas? My mind first raced to the classic “It’s a Wonderful Life”. I love that movie! I thought of the many different movies out there…and then I became intrigued. What about the “Passion of the Christ”? Oops, wrong holiday, I thought, at first. And then I thought again…

Why does “The Passion” seem a sensible choice for Christmas celebration? Is that even celebrating anymore? Does it fit the true meaning of Christmas? To my surprise, I’ve been on a little journey to realize that there could hardly be a more fitting story to watch on video this Christmas.

So often we get the mindset that we are going to celebrate the birth of Jesus, but we stop there…We should also be celebrating the reason He came not just the fact that He did! Christmas is a time to celebrate God’s purpose for sending His Son. To celebrate in this way is to see Christmas through God’s eyes.

Why did God send His Son?

To understand the true meaning of Christmas, we need to see Jesus’ purpose for coming. Ultimately, Jesus came to go to the cross. He came to die. The angel spoke to Joseph saying, “[Mary] will give birth to a son and you are to give Him the name Jesus because He will save His people from their sins” (Mt. 1:21 emphasis mine). He came to save us from our sins, an act that was completed at the cross. In fact, the gospels are full of references to Jesus’ purpose: to go to the cross that we might be freed from the slavery of sin and the hold of death unto eternal life with Him. In reference to His death, Jesus said, “Now my heart is troubled, and what shall I say? ‘Father, save me from this hour’? No, it was for this very reason I came…” (Jn. 12:27). Jesus makes it pretty clear that the whole reason that He came was to go to the cross.

My mind wanders further. What is the heart of God behind sending His Son? We all know that Jesus’ death has saved us from our sins and given us eternal life. But do we know why Jesus wanted to give that to us?

Jesus said, “Greater love has no one than this, that he lay down his life for his friends. You are my friends…” (Jn. 15:13-14). In other words, Jesus is saying, “I died on the cross because I love you.” “For God so loved the world that He gave His one and only son…” (Jn. 3:16). Jesus came to earth, a little baby boy, to die on the cross for my sins, because he loves me! And what’s more, He came to have a relationship with me! In Jesus’ high priestly prayer he prays, “Father, I want those you have given me to be with me where I am…” (Jn.17:24). This is why Jesus died on the cross! He wants you. He wants to bless you and give His depthless gifts of love, mercy, grace, peace, joy, and hope to you in a personal, intimate, dynamic, vibrant, and wonder-full relationship with Him! Jesus came simply to love, serve and give to us.

What does this mean for Christmas 2006?

As I said near the beginning, we need to seek God’s perspective of Christmas to understand the true meaning of the celebration. This year as we celebrate, we should be celebrating the full Gospel message and good news. Christmas is more than just a commemoration of the birth of someone we love. It should also be a time to respond to God’s heart for us. Ponder the cradle and the cross. Seek to discover the way that Jesus feels about you in light of the Christmas story and the crucifixion. How can we respond to His heart this Christmas? How can we worship Him and celebrate Him for what He has done for us? How can we understand Jesus better through our Christmas celebration?

As you (the reader) reflect on some of these questions, post some of your answers in a comment. What will you do, in light of Jesus’ heart for you, this Christmas?

Journal Entry: December 5th, 2006

Today in discipleship I was really challenged about my attitude towards Christmas. I had wanted it to be special, especially for me. God spoke to me very clearly through His Word.

"Love is...not self-seeking..." (1 Cor. 13:5).

"Do nothing out of selfish ambition or vain conceit, but in humility consider others better than yourselves. Each of you should look not only to your own interests, but also to the interests of others. Your attitude should be the same as that of Christ Jesus" (Phil. 2:3-5).

Two thousand years ago on Christmas day, Jesus did not have a warm and fuzzy, wonderful and special celebration. Jesus was born in a stinky dark cave and lay in a feeding tough. God was restricted and confined to the body of a baby, helpless, weak, and quite limited. But Jesus did not come to have a "good" Christmas. He came to serve us and show the full extent of His love to us.

What should my attitude be this Christmas?

Selfless love and service of others. I want to identify with Jesus on Christmas day. I want to make others' celebrations special this year with a gift of love.

Father in heaven, use me to pour out your love on people this Christmas. Show me what Christmas was like for you.

The Mountain Path

So long ago,
The day I first began to climb.

Why?

It seemed like the right path to choose.
Now...I am certain.
Beyond the shadow of a doubt,
That this road was made for me,
And I for Thee.

But what of the beginning?
From where have I come?
How could I ever forget,
What the LORD has done?

I remember the agony of those days,
The whip across my back,
Enslaved, in chains
To the Pharaoh of this land.

You rescued me God by your strong and mighty hand,
You revealed your infinite power,
Bringing me up,
Out of his land.

And when I thought I was free,
Truly you did guide me:
To none other than a dead end,
With all this Bible knowledge in my head.

A wall of mountain on the left and on the right,
A sea of despair before me,
And my enemy near in hindsight.

My God, why have you led me here,
With only a hope of dying or drowning in my fear...
Surely, I was better off enslaved in Egypt...
In chains to my sin,
Than to die a freed man in the desert.
Buried in sand.

Y o u B r e a t h e G r a c e t o M e

I cry out to You, God,
Deliver my soul!
I lift my eyes to heaven
In sweet complete surrender!

With the rush of a gale force wind,
the waters are divided.

Despair Anxiety Oppression Addiction Bondage

Darkness Blindness Confusion Pain Suffering

"The Lord is my strength and my
song;
he has become my salvation.
He is my God, and I will praise
Him,
My father's God, and I will exalt
Him" (Ex. 15:2).

Y o u B r e a t h e P u r p o s e t o M e

Suddenly,
Surrounded,
Thousands of people...like me...but different.
The old
Young
Big
Small...

Like a bullet to the brain
Your words sink deep,
Penetrating my soul.
A shepherd's staff begins to form in
My
Hand.

Lead these people?
Lead them where?
For what purpose?

And the Lord speaks:

Show them my ways,
My glory...
This path.
Though the people complain,
and disobey.
Though they quarrel and
Indulge in their selfish ways
When they fight against me,
And cry out for Egypt,
Remember,
You were the same.

I'm still climbing...
Over rocks,
Under tree branches...
I still slip and fall.
I might spend days pressed up against the rock,
Shimmying along a narrow shelf,
With wind blasting in my face�

But nothing will stop me from reaching the summit.
I will always press on
Through hardship and struggle,
Dead ends and impossible conundrums,
I must reach the top...

Where I will meet my God and my Savior,
And speak with Him face to face,
As man with his friend.
Where I will share in unfathomable depths of intimacy,
As a beautiful bride.

The journey to get there is my
Mountain path.