Xmas?

We are well aware of certain truths in our lives when it comes to sin and our weakness concerning things we should or shouldn’t do. And on a day like today, we may take many things for granted; many have be conditioned to expect gifts from certain individuals, kids demand their presents, whilst others may petition for Christmas trees with their decorations and sadly some may even deal the Father Christmas card as the highlight of the day. We have all been tainted with the brush of the festive season in one form or another and it may just be time to trim our sails in this area of our lives.

The world celebrates the birth of Christ, now whether today is the actual day he was born or not is irrelevant; the truth of the matter is that God sent His son, born through the womb of a virgin. It was a miraculous conception with no intervention from mankind; God so willed it and it happened! The truth according to scripture and there are not many who dispute this fact. The majority of the world’s population accept the birth of Christ. The historians concede that the birth of Christ is a fact, however not many treasure it the way they should, God laid down His life and took on a flesh and blood body and went through all the same growth phases we have and others will still go through as they grow up into men.

There are some traits that God will never relinquish and one of them is that He will not share his glory with a liar. Neither will he ever accept those who challenge His Sovereignty. With this said, did you know that our God is a jealous God and He will not share His glory with another? “(for you shall worship no other god, for the LORD, whose name is Jealous, is a jealous God)” Exodus 34:14 - Satan knows this and therefore will always position himself to distract and shift our attention from our focus around our God and Father’s will for our life, that’s just the way it is. This is why we should never place our wants above the instructions found in the Bible. It is hard enough trying to understand what has been penned at times whilst we find a way in making those teachings our own. But never overlook the enemy’s objective. From the beginning Satan has always challenged God and His Word and is still looking to get mankind to do the same thing, all it takes is a twist on what is actually true, which in turn distorts and ends up achieving an objective that robs the individual of the blessings of God.

Today is a day that is easily recognized as such a ploy if we would only be truthful with ourselves. It should be all about Christ and His birth, but examine the shift; it is about us and what we will get from others and this is drummed into us from an early age. We have been conditioned; many even teach their children that Santa is real. What chance does your child have to sand upon truth if you cannot even give them that truth?

When I examine the account of the birth of Jesus we see the “wise men” (will we be wise?) bringing gifts to the new born king, from them to Him and not from them to each other. It was all about Christ and His birth. Can you see the twist that has crept into society? Take it even further; bring in a new character that will entice the self in oneself and who better than Father Christmas the man who brings gifts, not to the king, but to the people. We are conditioned by default to make life all about ourselves, it just the way it is, and even when we give to others what I find drives us is the way that makes us feel and the way others perceive us. I may be wrong; you make up your own minds; as for me and my family we will not be drawn into the hype of Christmas as it is a day that has been so distorted with a smear Campaign of falsities that I have had enough to last me ten lifetimes.

My stance may seem harsh, but it has been examined, I have considered it in depth and have arrived here. There were some great kings in the time of the kings, but most of them where extremely evil. Nevertheless even some of the good kings refused to break down the altars in the high places and with this God was not pleased. Read it for yourself in the book of Kings.

Regardless of where you stand on Christmas, there are more pressing issues and therefore let me leave you with this glorious invitation; “For "everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved."” (Romans 10:13)

Signing off

Tyrone   

               

An eternal consideration

What would spring to mind if I asked you what scared you the most? When a government official or a celeb is caught with their hand in the “cookie jar” it is often the “bread and butter” by which the media captivates their audience and keeps them afloat in a very competitive arena. Any hidden agenda of those in the public's’ eye, if caught in a shamefulness act draws get curiosity. Society is naturally careworn to the downfall of their demise and the closer we get to the vortex of where that happens, the further we gravitate into the whirlpool of these types of devastation's, in essence it is no different to a addict needing their fix.

This is the way we have been conditioned but it is never pleasant when we find ourselves in the hot seat. We all carry guilt for many things throughout our lifetimes and the sooner we confront our fears the better. We love to accuse others so that we can excuse ourselves. The Lord Jesus uses a very serious account to illustrate this point; “The scribes and the Pharisees brought a woman who had been caught in adultery, and placing her in the midst they said to him, "Teacher, this woman has been caught in the act of adultery. Now in the Law Moses commanded us to stone such women. So what do you say?" This they said to test him, that they might have some charge to bring against him. Jesus bent down and wrote with his finger on the ground. And as they continued to ask him, he stood up and said to them, "Let him who is without sin among you be the first to throw a stone at her." And once more he bent down and wrote on the ground. But when they heard it, they went away one by one, beginning with the older ones, and Jesus was left alone with the woman standing before him. Jesus stood up and said to her, "Woman, where are they? Has no one condemned you?"” (John 8:3-10)  

  

We are all guilty of sin! I would have to visit a metal asylum to find someone who wouldn’t concur with my assumption concerning this truth, or engage with someone so deceived that they would lie to keep their sins hidden. However, it is a scary thing when we find ourselves caught out trying to cover up a lie in our lives. But I tell you an even greater truth; “It is a fearful thing to fall into the hands of the living God.” (Hebrews 10:31) – We must all realise that this day will come for all of us. No one from the greatest to the smallest will slip through the cracks of God’s glorious hands; we will all stand before Him. Regardless on how ones minds look to escape this reality as it looks for wiggle room, no differently to the Pharaohs looking to escape dead as they went to great lengths to have those still alive to embalm their dead bodies in the hope that one day they could be brought back to life. Today they are as dead as they were way back then; death a result we will all need to face. However it is the second death we need to avoid. All the Egyptian magic in the world couldn’t change this truth and all they achieved were to give treasure hunters an opportunity to uncover their graves.

Once we are freed from the guilt of our sin, life then takes on a totally different perspective, or it should. There is no doubt that newly saved Christians most certainly does an about turn, this is an obvious phenomenon that is impossible to avoid. It will leave many having to realign their compasses in most areas of their lives. For me some of the change, although it was the work of the Spirit in my life seemed to be a natural change. It took very little effort if any at all. However over time due to misunderstanding the work of the Spirit in my life it became a grind and as a young man having to work in the secular world seemed like such a waste of time and energy. All I wanted to do was share the gospel. This is then my reckoning; Faith is the pivot for the Christian, the kernel for everything we do, whereas the natural man under the curse of sin is driven by his own efforts. Sadly as Christians we often loose our bearing of where, what and how from there on in.

Here is the only guideline for the Christian, we must comply with the Word of God and we must forget all the other voices that look to trip us up. “Jesus in my place” must become the “all” in our lives as it will eventually pay dividends that will bear eternal results. One day our God and Father will welcome us in to His kingdom not as slaves or servants but as sons of God; what a hope we have! Praise His glorious name now and forever more, Amen and Amen!

Signing off

Tyrone