Taking Back Christmas: December 19th
Scripture: Matthew 20:20-28 and 1 Timothy 5:1-8
Commentary: Let’s be honest. There are plenty of days its difficult enough to find time to adequately worry about our own lives, let alone worry about the lives of others. Yet, look at what happens on Christmas. The Christmas story is just not a cute story about a child being born in a barn, but it’s the re-telling of God coming to earth for all of us. The gift of Christmas is that our perfect God left a perfect heaven to save imperfect people (us!). Christmas represents the first step God takes on a sacrificial journey that will include rejection, crucifixion, and finally resurrection. Christmas at its very core is about God doing something incredible for the benefit of others. Shouldn’t we look at it likewise, seeing Christmas as a season to give to others as Christ gives to us?
Two groups that we would like to specifically encourage everyone to love and care for this Christmas are our elders/seniors and family members. There are certainly many groups of people that God urges us to show love to, we simply chose these two because nearly all of us have elders and family in our lives who we can serve. The scripture we read today makes it clear that God wants us to love and care for them as God loves and cares for us. This Christmas, lets take time to love and care for others as God so deeply cared for us by coming to earth to love and save us.
Pray: Take time today to pray for the following
- Thank God for being willing to sacrifice being in a perfect heaven to take on imperfect flesh to save you.
- Ask God to help you develop a similar sacrificial attitude this Christmas season, taking steps in your life to show love and care to others
- Spend time praying for everyone in your family. Include anyone you consider as family. Don’t just simply list their names, but take some time to truly pray for each one of them.
- Pray for some elders in your life. Perhaps they have gone through the death of a spouse, are suffering from an illness, are experiencing loneliness this time of year, etc.
Andy's Ramblings 