Luke 2:10-11
....."I bring you good tidings of great joy which will be to ALL people"....
....."For there is born to you this day in the city of David a SAVIOR"....
I had to make a run to the local Wally-Mart on Saturday, and as I exited my car and headed toward the entrance, I heard some very loud voices....
Two women were arguing....
One woman was in her late 20's...
The other much older...
The way the conversation was going, I deduced that they were mother and daughter..
As they made their way to the entrance, three youngsters in tow, the exchange between the two grew more heated.
Whatever had happened between the two, each one blamed the other.
Finally the argument was punctuated with one last jab....
"I hate you," was fired back and forth between the two.
Then came the icing on the cake....
The younger one (with kids still following close) finished her rant by saying, "I hate Christmas! It's a stupid holiday and I don't know why we even have to fool with it!"
My heart went out to her..
My heart broke for those young kids that had to hear this...
I though to myself, "She doesn't understand why we celebrate Christmas".
Like I've always thought, there are two types of Christmas that are celebrated each year.
One is the true recognition of the ultimate good news coming down to a dark world that was lost in sin. The ultimate Good News that was found in the person of a baby born to a young Jewish couple. The birth of the Christ Child.
The other Christmas that is celebrated is one that was created by the devil himself, feeding on the selfish desires and dark hearts of those who do not know this Jesus.
He doesn't mind that we think about Jesus' birth...
He doesn't mind that we put up our trees and decorate them...
He doesn't even mind if we sing a carol or two....
He just doesn't want us to embrace and live the life that Christ introduced when He walked this earth....
The devil is all about shepherds and sheep....
Stables and babies.....
Stars and wise men.....
As long as he can keep Jesus in that manger as a new born babe....then we can celebrate all we want.
It's when the babe grows to manhood and is put on a cross....
It's when blood is poured out as a sin offering for all mankind...
That is what the devil does not want us to understand with our hearts.
That a Savior was born....
One who would break the power of sin....
One who would destroy the presence of sin...
And One who would tear down the penalty of sin...
Jesus the Christ!
When a person comes to the truth of their own spiritual state outside of Christ, then the real Christmas begins to take form in their hearts....
When they realize the truth of their own need for the Savior...
When sin is confessed....
Repentance made...
Forgiveness received....
An invasion of God's Holy Spirit comes to this life and Christmas becomes more real that ever before....
My prayer on this Monday morning is that these two women would have an encounter with the real reason for Christmas....
That they received the best-est gift a body could ever have....
Salvation and relationship with the One True Living God.
Merry Christmas from the "B's" in Attalla...
God on you...
mbb
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