Taking Back Christmas: December 26th
Scripture: Mark 10:35-45
Commentary: There was a lot of discussion when we were formulating this project over when these twelve days would start and end. First we thought it would probably make the most sense to end on Christmas day. The more we thought about it the more we thought that we needed to stretch beyond Christmas day, and here’s why. Christmas was never meant to mark the end of anything, but rather to mark a radical new beginning. The first Christmas ushered in something totally new and wonderful to our world. Jesus came and shook the foundations of what life was all about. He boldly challenged us to be active servants of God, being devoted not only to prayer and scripture, but also to serving others in our world through the spreading of the gospel, the loving of others, and the meeting of needs with love. For one of the first times in human history people were being told not to focus on their own success in life, but to live a life that serves and benefits others as well.
As we enter our final two days we urge you to think about letting this Christmas be a new beginning for you. A time to hit the “re-start button,” to start living a out a life of servant-hood.
Prayer: Take time today to pray about the following
- Ask God to make you a better servant. To do that maybe you have to ask Him to help you take some things out of your life, give you courage and strength, or help you to trust Him more fully.
- Ask God to reveal people in your life and community that need to be served.
- Thank God for the people who have served you throughout your life (i.e. your parents, Sunday school teachers, friends, pastors, etc.)
- Pray for people in our community that need to be served: those who don’t know Jesus, the poor, the sick, the elderly, the abused, and more. Pray that God would raise up people, by His Spirit, to serve them.
Andy's Ramblings 