Merry Christmas

It's that time of year. Parents spending their last on toys or clothes or shoes. Salvation Army volunteers with red kettles collecting money to help those that are in dire straits. Grandmas and Grandpas over-doing it with toys and confections to give to the kids. It's CHRISTmas.

Too many times, we get caught up in the revelry and the routine of Christmas without pausing to understand what Christmas us really all about. We celebrate Christmas to honor the birth of the Savior of the world, Christ Jesus. While December 25th has been ascribed, his actual birth probably varies from that date. Roughly 2000 years ago, He was born and the shepherds knew because the angel told them. The ones that visited Him brought gifts of gold, frankincense and myrrh. While I sat in a Christmas Eve service last night at Millbrook Presbyterian church, the preacher kept bring up one thing- THE CROSS! All I could see was Christ, the Savior, taking my place and becoming a sin offering unto God on my behalf. Even the frankincense and myrrh were symbolic in that they were death spices. Christ was born to die for the sins of the WORLD.

I love Jesus for what He did for me. I love Him for His selflessness and his power to do for me what no priest or goat or bull could do- take away my sins and restore me to fellowship with the Father. So I don't say X-Mas or some other code because Christ is the reason for Christmas. Atheists in California have removed the Nativity scenes along the coast in Santa Monica but they don't seem to understand that Christmas doesn't change meanings because the Nativity scene is gone. Christ is still in the hearts of true Christians that understand the reason for the season. Even if you listen to some of your favorite carols, they ALL speak of the birth of the Savior. You can't change that, regardless of how much you protest. If you don't believe in God, don't celebrate Christmas, it's that simple. Don't try to change the meaning to suit some selfish desire to humanize everything. Don't sing, don't give, don't do anything- just ignore us "fools" that understand what the true gift of God was/is to us. Merry Christmas to you all.