Jesus Christ - The Reason for the Season
Dear Friends,
"Look! The virgin will conceive a child! She will give birth to a son and they will call him Immanuel which means ‘God is with us’." Matthew 1:23 (NLT)
What a great name 'Immanuel' is - 'God is with us'. Jesus Christ came to live among us and he is the reason why we celebrate Christmas. What an incredible, indescribable gift God gave to us on that first Christmas, over 2000 years ago. God has given us the gift of Jesus that we might know what it means to have God with us, to know his presence which never leaves us, to know he is with us, he is for us, not against us which means we are blessed not only by his presence but also by his protection over us.
This year as I prepare for Christmas I've been more deliberate about keeping Jesus Christ as my focus and at the centre of everything I do, rather than focusing on what I think needs to be done. When I'm not deliberate about it then I find I easily become caught up in the hustle and bustle of Christmas - shopping for gifts, planning the menus, food shopping, sending cards and letters etc. And the one who it is all about, the one who's birth-day we celebrate is relegated to the side lines, rather than being at the centre of it all.
Here's some of the things I've been doing, and maybe you'll find some helpful suggestions for yourself as you read on:
I enjoy music and singing (I may not be any good at it but God has blessed me with an enjoyment of it!) so in November, out come my Christmas Carols CD, they are set to come on when my alarm goes off in the morning, I sing along to them as I drive my car, I play them and sing along as I do my housework, as I wrap presents and write my Christmas cards.
I found out about a Ladies Christmas Celebration Day early in December and a group of friends and I put aside the day to go together to worship God. All the things we needed to do were left for another time so that we could focus on God and the birth of his son, Jesus. We sang carols, listened to a message about Elizabeth (the mother of John the Baptist) and her Christmas Expectations and we enjoyed a festive lunch together. This day was God's gift to us, and in return, we gave our him our time and worship.
One day last week I went into town to do some Christmas shopping, it wasn't long before I was in need of a break so I decided to go along to my favourite coffee place. While I was there, I realised to my surprise that a friend was already seated with her own coffee. I knew God had lead me there at that time so that my friend and I might sit and chat together, and as we did so I was aware of God being right there with us in our discussions. God had given us that time that we might pause and refocus on him and to remind us that he is right there with us in everything we do, directing our steps, and both my friend and I went away from that time feeling very blessed.
In one of my regular devotional emails I receive the writer made the suggestion of praying during the week for each of the people we give Christmas presents to. I thought that was such a good idea and I was glad for the suggestion, so simple and obvious when told, but something I had failed to see for myself.
This morning I was so taken up with the list of things that needed to be done today (I'm very much a list person and this time of year I have numerous lists for all kinds of things!) I knew my feelings of anxiety and worry were getting out of hand, so I just stopped everything and took my concerns to God because I knew I was in danger of getting so swept up in trying to accomplish things that I was loosing my peace and joy and if I wasn't careful God would once again be placed on the side lines rather than at the centre. As I did, it made such a difference, my to do list didn't disappear but my attitude changed, and God was right where he should be once more.
This Christmas I don't want it to be all about what I think needs to be done, I don't want to be so busy that I ignore God or forget him, I don't want it to be all about rushing from one task to another. I don't want to miss out on what it's really all about - the wonderful gift of Jesus and celebrating his birth with family and friends.
To Think About:
What are some of the things you can do to ensure that Jesus is at the centre of your Christmas?
Sometimes we get caught up in doing many things which may not actually need to be done, but we do them because we think we ought to, because we think we should do them, and we place pressure on ourselves that God never intended to be on us. Perhaps you need to take a look again at what you are doing and ask God to show you if there are some things that can be left off your to do list, so that instead you can use that time to be with friends and family and celebrate Jesus' birth and all that means for us.
Vicki
"Look! The virgin will conceive a child! She will give birth to a son and they will call him Immanuel which means ‘God is with us’." Matthew 1:23 (NLT)
What a great name 'Immanuel' is - 'God is with us'. Jesus Christ came to live among us and he is the reason why we celebrate Christmas. What an incredible, indescribable gift God gave to us on that first Christmas, over 2000 years ago. God has given us the gift of Jesus that we might know what it means to have God with us, to know his presence which never leaves us, to know he is with us, he is for us, not against us which means we are blessed not only by his presence but also by his protection over us.
This year as I prepare for Christmas I've been more deliberate about keeping Jesus Christ as my focus and at the centre of everything I do, rather than focusing on what I think needs to be done. When I'm not deliberate about it then I find I easily become caught up in the hustle and bustle of Christmas - shopping for gifts, planning the menus, food shopping, sending cards and letters etc. And the one who it is all about, the one who's birth-day we celebrate is relegated to the side lines, rather than being at the centre of it all.
Here's some of the things I've been doing, and maybe you'll find some helpful suggestions for yourself as you read on:
I enjoy music and singing (I may not be any good at it but God has blessed me with an enjoyment of it!) so in November, out come my Christmas Carols CD, they are set to come on when my alarm goes off in the morning, I sing along to them as I drive my car, I play them and sing along as I do my housework, as I wrap presents and write my Christmas cards.
I found out about a Ladies Christmas Celebration Day early in December and a group of friends and I put aside the day to go together to worship God. All the things we needed to do were left for another time so that we could focus on God and the birth of his son, Jesus. We sang carols, listened to a message about Elizabeth (the mother of John the Baptist) and her Christmas Expectations and we enjoyed a festive lunch together. This day was God's gift to us, and in return, we gave our him our time and worship.
One day last week I went into town to do some Christmas shopping, it wasn't long before I was in need of a break so I decided to go along to my favourite coffee place. While I was there, I realised to my surprise that a friend was already seated with her own coffee. I knew God had lead me there at that time so that my friend and I might sit and chat together, and as we did so I was aware of God being right there with us in our discussions. God had given us that time that we might pause and refocus on him and to remind us that he is right there with us in everything we do, directing our steps, and both my friend and I went away from that time feeling very blessed.
In one of my regular devotional emails I receive the writer made the suggestion of praying during the week for each of the people we give Christmas presents to. I thought that was such a good idea and I was glad for the suggestion, so simple and obvious when told, but something I had failed to see for myself.
This morning I was so taken up with the list of things that needed to be done today (I'm very much a list person and this time of year I have numerous lists for all kinds of things!) I knew my feelings of anxiety and worry were getting out of hand, so I just stopped everything and took my concerns to God because I knew I was in danger of getting so swept up in trying to accomplish things that I was loosing my peace and joy and if I wasn't careful God would once again be placed on the side lines rather than at the centre. As I did, it made such a difference, my to do list didn't disappear but my attitude changed, and God was right where he should be once more.
This Christmas I don't want it to be all about what I think needs to be done, I don't want to be so busy that I ignore God or forget him, I don't want it to be all about rushing from one task to another. I don't want to miss out on what it's really all about - the wonderful gift of Jesus and celebrating his birth with family and friends.
To Think About:
What are some of the things you can do to ensure that Jesus is at the centre of your Christmas?
Sometimes we get caught up in doing many things which may not actually need to be done, but we do them because we think we ought to, because we think we should do them, and we place pressure on ourselves that God never intended to be on us. Perhaps you need to take a look again at what you are doing and ask God to show you if there are some things that can be left off your to do list, so that instead you can use that time to be with friends and family and celebrate Jesus' birth and all that means for us.
Vicki
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