Tag: Savior

The Spirit of Christmas

What is being in the Christmas Spirit? Is it being geared up to shop or decorate? Is it having an attitude of cheerfulness and wonder? Is it being merry and festive? While the attitude is nice, those things are sometimes just put on by people because they feel that it is expected of them to be cheerful during “the season.” The decorating and the shopping are the ‘fluff’ of the season. But what is the true spirit of Christmas? The word Christmas literally means the celebration of the birth of Jesus Christ. So if we are celebrating his birth, then why? Who is Jesus to us and what impact has he had on our lives? 

Unto you

For me, Jesus is the reason we celebrate Christmas, but it shouldn’t only be an annual celebration, it should be an ongoing year round jubilee. Without Jesus, we wouldn’t have eternal life or life more abundantly.  Jesus IS Life and Love. He came to produce life, and extinguish death. He died on the cross so that we (everyone) has a chance to have Eternal Life! And we do this simply by asking him to be our Savior and committing our lives to follow him. Jesus Lived and Loved as he walked on this earth and he is Living through us today, if we have accepted him. That alone should give us cause to celebrate! Anyone who has accepted Jesus as their Savior, carries the Spirit of the Living God within them. We are carrying Christmas, we are carrying the season wherever we go. But how many of us act like it? 

The thief does not come except to steal, and to kill, and to destroy. I have come that they may have life, and that they may have it more abundantly. John 10:10

The True Spirit of Christmas has nothing to do with the peripheral things of shopping, decorating, or putting on an attitude. We add those by the traditions of man. The true Spirit of Christmas has everything to do with being in an attitude of loving, giving, showing mercy and grace, and reaching out to others. When we share love to our fellow man, when we carry the example of peace, and bring others to the Kingdom, then we are IN the Spirit of Christmas Every day of Our Lives. You can carry it and so can I. We should go out and greet others in that peace and love each day and then we are IN the Spirit of Christmas all year long, living the life more abundantly. 

The Three Unopened Gifts

After Christmas there were still three gifts left under our tree that hadn’t been disturbed. After our family left, all of the other gifts had been opened and the bright shiny wrappings had been thrown away, or put in storage, but these three gifts didn’t have any nametags on them, and they were left untouched. Oddly, nobody even asked about these gifts. They didn’t question who they were intended for. I suppose they thought they were gifts that my husband, Jonathan and I had bought for each other, and would open later, privately. But Jonathan and I didn’t need them; we already had them. We knew who they were for and what they represented, so they sat there under the tree, as a reminder.

3 gifts

You see, I put these gifts under the tree because I wanted them there as a reminder of what Christmas is truly about. It isn’t about presents, at least in a material sense, but it is about gifts, gifts that can only be given from a pure heart. If you were to open these boxes, you wouldn’t find anything inside… they’re empty. But they each represent a deeper meaning. They represent what Christ came to the earth to share with us, something that cannot be bought with money or credit.

The red box represents Love, it was the love of God to redeem man, that sent us a Savior (red = the blood of Jesus) in the form of Jesus Christ. This love is unlike anything or any love that man can offer. “No one has ever seen God. But if we love each other, God lives in us, and his love is brought to full expression in us. And God has given us his Spirit as proof that we live in him and he in us. Furthermore, we have seen with our own eyes and now testify that the Father sent his Son to be the Savior of the world. All who confess that Jesus is the Son of God have God living in them, and they live in God. We know how much God loves us, and we have put our trust in his love. God is love, and all who live in love live in God, and God lives in them.” 1 John 4:12-16 NLT “And I am convinced that nothing can ever separate us from God’s love.” Romans 8:38 NLT

The silver box represents Peace. This does not mean we won’t have problems as we live out our lives, but we can know that God is for us and will be there for us to help us. Jesus told us that he gave us the gift of peace the world cannot give. “I am leaving you with a gift—peace of mind and heart. And the peace I give is a gift the world cannot give. So don’t be troubled or afraid.” John 14:27 NLT

The last gift, with the wild bow, is the gift of JOY! No matter what we face in this life, no matter what we are going through, we can have joy! This doesn’t mean we have to En-joy whatever it is, but we can still ‘Have’ Joy! That joy comes from the Holy Spirit within us. “But the Holy Spirit produces this kind of fruit in our lives: love, joy, peace…” Galatians 5:22-23 NLT The Joy of the Lord is our Strength to get us through every day of our life.

These three gifts are available to everyone! That is why there aren’t any nametags. I offer these gifts to you today. They are free for the taking. All you have to do to receive them is to accept Jesus Christ as your Lord and Savior. It’s that simple. Just tell him that you are willing to put your life in His hands and trust him to make your life new.

You can pray this prayer: Father, I know I have sinned, but I want to put that life behind me. Please forgive me for my sins. I accept Christ as my Savior and I believe he died for my sins. Help me to do your will for my life. Help me to experience your love, peace, and joy. Thank you. Amen.