I've
posted messages to my blog before that I knew might be a little uncomfortable
for some, but not with self intention other than to be obedient to whatever
issues the Lord impressed on my heart to relate. But for over a week now, I've
been uncomfortable with the message that I posted last. I don't have any concern
with the truthfulness in the content of the post, but there was more that I
should have said. My heart was burdened beyond what I wrote, but my body and
mind were weary and I failed to be still long enough to write it out completely
and I cut it short. Consequently it was blunt and lacking much. I apologize for
this and ask your forgiveness. If you will, please allow me an opportunity now
to add what needs to be added...
The
underlying disturbance in my heart that led me to the posting of the previous
writing is an urgency to to separate myself from the spirit, the thinking and
habits of this world that I inhabit for now and a call to my family in Christ to
do the same.
From
the time that I was old enough to understand what we as believers in Christ
celebrate in Christmas, it's always arrived for me with a renewal of deep awe
and reverence. At times, it's been with greater measure than at other times and
I came to realize that the difference between the hollow disappointment that
I've thankfully experienced only a couple of Christmases and the full and
overwhelming deep satisfaction and joy that I've been blessed to experience
normally … is my focus. It has nothing to do with what the world may choose to
incorporate or celebrate in the “holiday”. For me it's a sacred event, a holy
and intimate celebration and worship of my Savior's birth.
When
my focus is truly on the reason that I claim to celebrate in the birth of our
divine Savior in the complete humility that He as God chose to present Himself,
His spirit has met me in the honest offering of my gratitude and worship. Once
experienced, the celebration is never complete without it. It wouldn't and
doesn't matter if I chose to celebrate it in July or any other day one could
choose. What matters is the honest and true focus of my heart, the true reason
that I'm celebrating. I believe with solid conviction that when my worship and
celebration are in spirit and truth that He meets me to inhabit the offering and
the experience of intimacy with Him cannot be matched by anything the world
around us has to offer.
We rightly hold high His sacrifice to save
us by offering His own life in our place to pay for the price of our failure. He
determined to be born to die in our place and we celebrate the occasion of His
arrival to save us in the celebration of Christmas. If we’re really focused on
Him, we celebrate this ... and more - remembering all that His birth brought to
us. From the moment He made the decision to leave His rightful place in the
highest places of heavenly glory, His life among men was a gift in itself. From
the perfect example for us to follow that He lived out among the lowly place of
men, to the Godly living wisdom He shared, the blessings of His life among us
have given life and understanding to a countless number of souls. His wisdom
continues to be recounted to us more than 2000 years later in the record of His
Word and through it, we have all been blessed beyond our
worthiness.
Moment by moment He sacrificed Himself as
He lived among us in the flesh of man. Moment by moment He had to choose to deny
Himself His own rightful place of glory as God and suffer to live among us in
the form of man. He felt the weaknesses of our flesh and experienced the pains
and temptations of it to lead us by example - showing us that it is possible to
live a Godly life even as a man. This by itself was and continues to be a
priceless gift to us.
From living words that continue to bring
life to those who truly believe ,to the examples of grace, forgiveness,
humility, selflessness and all that He demonstrated - those who follow them with
sincere hearts have prospered. But the worth of these things, this true
prosperity to eternal beings, doesn’t fade and can’t lose value like the
prosperity of the world. It’s priceless and it bears reward not only in heaven,
but even here while we wait to be rescued from the decay of this
world.
But there’s a counter culture that works
against every Godly thing that exists. It seeks to diminish the value of these
things in the eyes of our flesh. It works against us to promote and purvey the
perishable to the eternal. It tries to present the truth as foolishness and
fashions lies as believable truth. It works to promote the endless satisfaction
of the lusts of our flesh and the freedom to disobey the very God who created
us. It encourages shameless perversion of the natural order that He Himself
established and the contamination of anything given as sacred and suggests
compromise. It robs the unwitting of their inheritance and powerful identity in
Christ and pulls down those created to be eternal to become the eternally
damned. It’s clever in its deception and many more are likely its prey than have
conscious knowledge... my heart consuming desperation is that you not be among
them.
Over the years I’ve watched with a growing
ache and increasing agony as darkness pervades what our Lord has created. I’ve
watched brothers and sisters in Christ - mine in the family of my Father God
fall by the wayside for one reason or another. I’ve witnessed a country that
once declared that it was "one nation under God" and whose money bore the motto“In
God We Trust” become increasingly a country that’s running from Him. I’ve
watched a spirit of darkness murder, maim, rob, deceive and destroy without
remorse. Through it all, from my youth I’ve learned to despise the darkness and
its master with a passion that’s nearly as powerful as my love is for my Christ.
My patience is bolstered only by the knowledge that one day darkness and all who
serve it without repentance will come to a reckoning. This spirit of darkness is
what I was referring to as the source of my disgust in my earlier post - and not
anyone else.
So near the end of this lengthy rant, what
am I driving at? What is it that I want from you? I’ve watched as this little
blog has reached around the globe, so the chances are that you don’t know me in
person. But if I as a brother in Christ could ask something of you in His
Spirit, let it be this as we near the observance of Christmas: 1. Be certain and
focused on what it is that we in Christ are celebrating. 2. Don’t let your
conversations be wrapped up in gifts purchased, wrapped, presented or received.
These things are perishable and don’t have any priority of themselves in what
we’re celebrating. They can be given without any cost of eternal value and if so
they are near as worthless as earthly currency will be to eternal beings. I’m
not condemning them or the decorations and all that goes with your traditions.
They can be wonderful if they can be enjoyed and offered in the spirit of our Lord
in honor of what we are truly celebrating. But don’t let them have precedence
over the true cause of our celebration. Let your conversation and observation
include and honor Christ as our Savior and hero. 3. Follow His example and make
yourself vulnerable to offer a gift of compassion to someone who doesn’t deserve
it this Christmas. Show Christ’s love to someone who desperately needs to see
Him through you. By this, you will honor Him this Christmas and even if it’s
rejected by the person you offer it to here, its value won’t be lost or
diminished in His eyes if it’s offered in His spirit. He’ll always accept it as
if you offered it to Him personally.
These things will pay eternal dividends in
your relationship with Him that will guarantee that you won’t come away from
this Christmas disappointed and your observation of the holiday will become
something that shines powerful light in dark corners of a world ever more
desperately in need of it. When I said in my previous post "as we've been faithful
to follow His example, by His grace they will have seen Him through us this
Christmas. There is nothing greater that we have to offer ..." - if you truly
have taken the time and had the self effacing courage to surrender to know Him
intimately, then you know that I'm speaking the truth.
I pray that your honest
and unguarded worship and celebration of our Savior's birth this Christmas
brings you deeper intimacy with Him and fulfilling satisfaction, peace and joy.
If you keep your focus on Him this Christmas, not allowing yourself to be
distracted by the world's clutter and press into Him, I guarantee that it will.
May the Lord bless
richly your house this Christmas and inhabit your celebration by His
Spirit.
Comments
Post a Comment