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The Spirit Of The Season We Hold ... 2


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.

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