Take a Moment on Christmas to Reflect

As Christmas 2018 is coming soon I wanted everyone to reflect on the magnitude of Gods’ love. It seems an obvious thing to do on Christmas Day, yet I fear so many will be enjoying their kids, relatives and loved ones that Jesus can actually fade into the background. Now I don’t consider myself a religious person but I do consider myself a spiritual person. I tend to look at life through the lens of spiritual meaning and that always leads back to Jesus and the Father’s great love for us as stated in the book of John.

John 3:16-17                                                                                                                                                                                     God loved the world so much that he gave his one and only Son so that whoever believes in him may not be lost, but have eternal life. ¹⁷God did not send his Son into the world to judge the world guilty, but to save the world through him.

It is so easy to be excited about God’s generosity that we focus almost exclusively on the “Gift” rather than the “Giver”. Now keep in mind that God loves it when we love others and are generous but he also delights in our being focused on Him so that he can enjoy our undivided attention. This is something Sunday worship is meant to do for us, but so often our services are so packed with great music and great preaching that, again, Jesus starts to fade into the background.

When you read the book of Revelation one thing becomes very clear, Jesus will become the center of attention for everyone, both believers and unbelievers at the end of the age.

Revelation 22:12-13.                                                                                                                                                                    “See, I am coming soon, and my reward is with me, to repay all according to their deeds.                                                        I am the Alpha and the Omega, the First and the Last, the Beginning and the End.”

Revelation 22:16-17.                                                                                                                                                                         “I, Jesus, have sent my angel to give you this message for the churches. I am both the source of David and the heir to his throne. I am the bright morning star.”The Spirit and the bride say, “Come.” Let each one who hears them say, “Come.” Let the thirsty ones come—anyone who wants to. Let them come and drink the water of life without charge.

When I reflect on the Christmas season, I think about God’s plan to send his Son Jesus to earth in such a way that we would not be afraid. Sending Jesus to be cared for as a child by poor parents living in poor and oppressed land reveals so much of the Father’s plan to gain our trust to repair our broken lives. Funny. So many people try to act like they aren’t broken and end up staying broken because they refuse to stop pretending.

Take the shepherd for instance; They were so broken with regards to how the culture viewed them they couldn’t give testimony in a court of law because they were considered too broken to be honest. Yet God visits them and gives them the task of proclaiming God’s love for broken people to people who normally would believe them! Amazing!

I do believe we get so many things wrong when it comes to living. We pass on from one generation the same misconceptions of what’s important in life that we end up rejecting the love of God and His healing power. During my formative years in the 50s & 60s there was such upheaval in our culture. The Vietnam War was in full swing and hound men and women were dying as fast as we could send them overseas. My generation rebelled against everything our parents put stock in. When I think back on that time, we really were rebelling against a life with no real meaning. We wanted stability in our souls and were willing to turn to anything and anyone to gain what seemed to be elusive.

And just in the midst of rebellion and cause God shows up in the “Jesus Movement” to counter balance the evil destruction. When I found Christ, it was during this time only 50 miles from Haight-Ashburyn San Francisco. The contrast of the two driving force seemed impossible. The hippy movement seemed so much stronger than the Jesus movement and yet God was moving in simple young people to turn the tide of evil in the land. Once I got saved I traveled and ministered a long the west coast with a singing group of young people proclaiming the love of God. At times it seemed foolish, yet somehow God kept us focused and moving forward to proclaim God’s love in Jesus Christ to any who would listen.

During this time in the early 70s I would testify to God’s saving grace along with this rag-tag group anywhere we could get an audience. I would testify beside a good friend who also got saved during that same time. She found Christ while working for anti-government groups like the “Sabine’s Liberation Army” that kidnapped Patty Hearst. Here we were, two of the most unlikely converts from worlds apart, sharing side by side about the power of Jesus Christ. When Christ changes your heart we are all now related in the family of God.

So here are shepherds, who most people don’t trust, given the task of sharing the good news of God’s love to a lost and broken world. Pretty impossible right?

Luke 2:16-18                                                                                                                                                                                The Shepherds ran to the village and found Mary and Joseph. And there was the baby, lying in the manger. ¹⁷Then the shepherds told everyone what had happened and what the angel had said to them about this child. ¹⁸All who heard the shepherds’ story were astonished.

So here is my main point. If we, having been forgiven of our many sins, who deserve being separated from a loving God forever, and now find ourselves being benefactors of His gracious love, shouldn’t we take time at the end of this year to refresh our memories of such amazing forgiveness and fan the aflame of our own love for Him? Jesus needed to speak to a Pharisee about his lack of gratitude for God’s love when this man was looking down his noise at a woman anointing Jesus feet.  Jesus spoke about being forgiven much and the problem of those that don’t sense a need to love much. To the degree we realize our forgiveness is to that degree we act with gratitude.

Luke 7:47                                                                                                                                                                                                I tell you, her sins—and they are many—have been forgiven, so she has shown me much love.                                                  But a person who is forgiven little shows only little love.”

Let me encourage all of us to take a few minutes to get alone this Christmas and consider our own forgiveness. If we have allowed any new sin to enter our lives and not confessed them we should, in a simple act of surrender, confess, apologize and repent. If we have sinned against another person we should visit them, call them, or write and email to them admitting our sin and asking forgiveness. If we are current and up to date in our walk with God, we should ask the Holy Spirit to refresh our sense of being blessed this year; blessed for being forgiven and adopted as child of God. Our soul should speak a simple prayer of thanksgiving and adoration.

When you rise from your prayer, trust the Holy Spirit to use you just like the shepherds in 2019.

Questions:

1) Is the Holy Spirit speaking to you right now? Respond however he speaks and love God deeply.

2) Have you allowed your witness to expand in 2018? Seek the Holy Spirit’s anointing for great things in 2019.

Closing this year with a heart-felt desire to serve the purposes of God in my generation in 2019.

Pastor Dale