As Christmas 2024 is coming soon I want suggest that we reflect on the magnitude of God’s love before we get lost in the buying frenzy heading towards Christmas. It seems obvious to celebrate Jesus during the Christmas season, yet I fear so many of us will enjoy our kids, grand kids and relatives while we let Jesus fade into the background. Being purposeful about focusing on Jesus during this time of year can make all the difference in our lives as we prepare for a new year.

Receiving Jesus into our lives is meant to be a transformative experience, not a transitory experience, nor a one-time experience. It was meant to be from now through eternity, but sadly it is often a short-lived experience, just like the many broken marriages of today.  

The new movie entitled “The Jesus Revolution” about how God moved in the late 1960s and early 1970s  seems to be making a positive impact on people. I, for one, was moved by watching it with my wife Susan as we both got saved when this powerful movement was happening. The question will be will this film inspire people to seek a “Jesus Revolution” in their own lives?

The first Christmas story was sharing scripture or preaching a sermon that revolved around real life and participating in the divine moment God was unfolding. When people think about sharing their faith in God or witnessing for Jesus during the both of December they often get intimidated by all the complexity of the story rather than keeping things simple and to the point. Jesus made it simple for all of us when he said:

John 13:34                                                                                                                                                                                                                       A new commandment I give to you, that you love one another; as I have loved you, that you also love one another. 

You would think sharing the love of God with others and telling how God sent his only Son into the world as a baby would be an easy thing to do, yet many believers never share Christ, even during the Christmas Season. I want to look at just a few of the reasons why so many Christians struggle with expressing their love for God even when the Holy Spirit sets the stage for communicating our own salvation experience.

Today I will discuss a subject in which most believers fail to engage: “Spiritual Warfare.” When I say “Spiritual Warfare” I mean taking a consistent stand against evil. I’m not talking about acting like some demon hunter or lunatic that causes other Christians to cringe just being around them, but real Christians acting like real lovers of God. If you haven’t read the first six articles you need to do so before reading on as these articles are linked in a special way and sequence.

I witness to many Christians trying to live a life of faith in a lopsided way by just learning more and more information about God without actually changing how they live. When I became a true believer I knew I had to change not just my thinking but the way I was living my life. Now, 45+ years later, I am still in the same place…..learning and engaging in the changes that Christ compels me to.

Everyone loves to hear a good story. The problem is we don’t think our stories are that good. I have talked to people all around the world and found that we all have the same problem. Unless you’re an extrovert, people struggle with sharing Christ! The truth is, even extroverts struggle with sharing their faith. Why? Because deep down we all know we are flawed. We have problems in life. We don’t have it all together and never will and this intimidates us.

The Thanksgiving holiday has come and gone and I hope it brought joy to your family.  I wonder, though, if we are more full of turkey or more full of realizing how blessed we are to know God as our Heavenly Father and Jesus our Savior? The freedoms we enjoy living with in America are amazing but our consumer culture always seems to leave us wanting more.  If we are more thankful, shouldn’t we consider reaching out to people with the love of God these next few weeks before Christmas? If God loves the whole world as the book of John 3:16 states, shouldn’t we have a deep concern for the world that Christ died for?