Faith and Trust in the Christmas Story

 The Faith and Trust of the Christmas Story

I love the Christmas season. I love the busy shopping malls, the seasonal foods, the worship services, Christmas movies, and yes, I am one of the people that the Christmas music police come to attack because I play Christmas music super early in the season. (I also play it late into the new year but let’s not tell the Christmas music police.) When I was a child, I loved the anticipation of receiving gifts. When I became a teenager, I tried to find the best gifts for my family. As an adult, I have a come to understand the true joy and peace of Christmas Day which reveals faith and trust in God. 

Christmas reminds us of the obedience and complete trust and faith in God. Everyone that encountered Jesus as a baby, had complete trust and faith in God and revealed their faith and trust through their obedience. The moment Jesus entered the world, he changed the lives of those who encountered him. He still does that today. 

Starting with Mary we see her devout obedience to God and her complete faith. When the angel visited her and gave her the announcement that she was going to have a son, and his kingdom will reign forever, Mary asked how it would be since she never had any sexual relations. When the angel explained that the Spirit of God would come over her and she would conceive, Mary believed it. Before the angel left, she gave her statement of faith. “I am the Lord’s servant. May it be done to me according to your word.” (Luke 1:38; CSB) Mary revealed her faith as she trusted that God’s way was perfect and that she was his servant. She obeyed God because of her faith and trust in God. 

Along with Mary, Joseph had his own encounter with an angel. He was going to divorce her quietly before they were married, but the angel explained that she was able to conceive through the power of God. He then married Mary but did not have sexual relations with her until after Jesus was born so that no one could claim that he was the biological father. 

Mary and Joseph had complete trust and faith in God. Like all the other Israelites, they were waiting for the Messiah. They believed that it would be a grand entrance, but instead, Jesus came to earth as a baby. Jesus came to a humble couple who had no idea how they would fulfill all that the angel said, but they were obedient to God’s plan.  Being obedient is not just about not committing specific sins. Being obedient is putting our faith and trust in God, especially during the times of life when it is difficult to put our trust and faith in God. 

Mary and Joseph were not the only people at Jesus’s birth that revealed their faith and trust through obedience to God. There were shepherds out in the fields guarding their sheep at night when they were visited by an angel. The angel told them that the Savior was born. The angel then explained that they would find the baby in a manger wrapped in a swaddling cloth. Then, a multitude of angels came and shouted praise to God. The shepherds decided to go visit and see this baby. Most people know that part of the story, thanks in part to the Charlie Brown Christmas special. If we look closer at this account with the shepherds, we discover that their faith and trust in God superseded everything else in their lives. 

The shepherds left and went and found Jesus in a manger wrapped in a swaddling cloth. After they saw the baby, they went and reported all that they saw and experienced to everyone they met. I have a question. What happened to the sheep that they were guarding? Did they leave them? If they did, they just lost their jobs. It wasn’t their flock of sheep. It was a flock of sheep they were protecting. Did they take the flock with them? If they did, they didn’t have permission to take the flock out of the fields and traipse them through a town.

Whichever choice the shepherds chose, through their obedience they revealed their faith and trust in God was of more importance than their jobs. If we claim to have faith and trust in God, we will put him first, even over our careers, even if our careers are in full-time ministry. With God first in our lives, people will be amazed at the events that we tell them, just like the shepherds. 

The shepherds were not the only visitors that came to visit Jesus. There were Magi who came from the East following a star that they had seen. Herod asked them to come back and tell them where he could find Jesus. They followed that star for almost two years. When they found Jesus, they worshipped him and gave him gifts of gold, frankincense, and myrrh. They honored his life of royalty, his worthiness of worship, and a significant death.

The real significance of the Magi was not that they visited and worshipped Jesus, but that they were forever changed. They were not Jewish. They were Gentiles. They were warned in a dream that Herod wanted to harm Jesus, so they returned home a different way. They found Jesus and went home in a new direction. When we come and worship Jesus, we should return home in a different direction with our lives. We should recognize our sin and repent from it. The Magi obeyed and revealed their new faith and trust in God. 

This Christmas, discover how you can be obedient to what God is calling you to do. In your faith and trust in God begin to worship him with your obedience. We must come and understand we obey not because it is a rule or what we must do, but what we get to do because of what Jesus came to earth and did for us. Our obedience will reveal our trust and faith in God. So, have a Merry Christmas with faith and trust in God through your obedience to Him. 

Christmas: A Pagan or Christian Holiday?

 Every year at Christmas my non-Christian friends and friends who do not celebrate Christmas remind me that Christmas originated as a pagan holiday. They then question why would I celebrate it? It made me think. Why would I celebrate a former pagan holiday? Most people today do not know the origins of Christmas. They even get angry if some people greet you with a “Merry Christmas” because they do not believe in. Christ. The holiday has changed from a pagan holiday to a Christian holiday because of the early Christians who found a way to take the power away from evil and instill the power of Christ. 

With the original pagan holiday, they would take the day off from work and celebrate the coming of the winter season. They would decorate their homes with lights and greenery. They would have parties with gift exchanges. Then, some would go to the temple for a human sacrifice. That last part is pure evil but wait. The entire reason Jesus came to earth was to be a human sacrifice. Comparing that pagan holiday with today’s rendition of Christmas we can see what the early Christians did. 

The Christians, who were not snobs but had pagan friends, went to the house parties. At some point, they decided to change the day from evil to good. We don’t know the exact date that Jesus was born, but those Christians decided we needed to celebrate the birth of Christ. His entrance into the world changed everything. So, they took that pagan holiday, and instead of having a human sacrifice, went to the temple and worshipped Jesus who was our human sacrifice for our sins. Those Christians knew the power of Christ. 

Jesus changed the world. He turned B.C. into A.D. His entrance into the world was unassuming. The only people that heard and saw the angels in heaven were the lowly shepherds. So, they went to the barn where Jesus was born. Their lives were changed forever. The Magi visited him, and they were so changed that they took a different route home to avoid Herod. 

Jesus came to earth and walked in our shoes. He understands our hurts and pains. When he was on earth, he was fully God, but he was also fully human. Being fully human he understood the joys and sorrows of the human life. He left his perfect home in heaven to save us. We can celebrate his entrance so we can remind people of the love and grace that Jesus brought to earth. 

Our world needs Jesus. They don’t need our expertise. They don’t need our human judgment. They need Jesus. When we celebrate Jesus this Christmas season, let us remember those who are in pain and need the love of Jesus. Some people may have lost their way with Christmas and buy too many gifts. Others may forget Jesus when they decorate, but all are reminded through the music and books that Jesus came to earth and brought peace and joy. 

So, as you celebrate Christmas, recognize where you see Jesus. He is the light. He brought peace. His way into the world was the way in the manger. He brought the gift of salvation. That gift alone is worth the celebration. When Jesus came to earth, the power was taken from the evil, and the power of Jesus reigned. 

Politicians Will Not Save Us

 Politicians Will Not Save Us

“I voted! Now, everything wrong in this country will be right!” Those may not be the exact words that people say, but they are definitely the sentiment. As human beings, we have not evolved or grown much for the past two thousand years. The Israelites were anticipating a king who would come and save them. They believed that this king would defeat their enemies and allow them to live in safety, peace, and comfort. That king never came. They got Jesus. This reminds me that as human beings we don’t need a human being to take all our problems away. We need a Savior to take our sins away and save us with grace and love. 

With all of the political rhetoric in-person, on social media and through our news outlets, it is observable that people are waiting for a politician to save them from their dire straits. This political leader will rescue them from financial struggles and keep them safe from other enemies. 

Both of these groups fail to recognize that we don’t need someone to rescue us from our government but from ourselves. The peace that Jesus brought when he came into the world, was not a peace from physical war. Jesus gives us a peace that gives us strength to endure the trials in life that occur, and with every trial, Jesus will be with us. 

Jesus came to save us from our sins. He did not come to make our life comfortable and safe. We strive to have a comfortable and safe life, and we become disillusioned when we do not achieve it. Jesus did not come into the world and expel all the wicked people. He forgave them and died for them. With our sin, we are in the category of the wicked people for which he died. His actions confounded the people that he encountered when he walked on earth, and it would confound the people today, as it still does. 

Jesus would disappoint many of the Christians today if he arrived as he did when he was a baby. The people then rejected him as king, so the people of today would too. Jesus would not arrive and make or confirm any new laws. He wouldn’t support any political candidate. He went to thee homes of sinners and had a meal with them. He would heal people and tell them to go and sin no more. Most people today both Christians and non-Christians would be confused with the actions of Jesus. With that confusion, many would struggle to believe in Jesus. 

Jesus came and was the perfect Savior that we needed. He forgave us of our sins and gave us freedom from sin with his love and grace. We need his sacrifice, love, and grace. Jesus always gives us what we need. Many of us want our country to be better, but we don’t want to do anything to sacrifice for it. If we want people around us to be better, we must be better, which will cause us to sacrifice our own desires for the desires of others. We must focus on what we need, which is salvation, and less on what we want, which is comfort and safety. 

We need a savior who will save us from our sins. A politician cannot do that. We need a savior who will love us and show us mercy. A politician doesn’t even know us, much less love us with our flaws and all. Jesus promised us that we can go to him for comfort and peace, but he never promised us he will keep us safe or comfortable. Politicians have promised us to keep us safe and comfortable, but they have all failed at that too. 

We need less arguing over whose political agenda is correct and more of knowing who Christ is and how he works in our lives. We can vote, but if we are not acting with the love of Jesus in our daily lives, then our political debates are just clanging gongs that are useless to everyone who hears them. With our voices, we must proclaim the hope and love that Jesus gives. We all need a savior. Jesus is the savior that we need, as he has saved us from our sins, will continue to save us today and tomorrow in the future. God knows what is best for his human beings. God didn’t send a politician. He sent his perfect son who sacrificed everything so we can live. May we sacrifice our pride and our arguments to bring people into the presence of Jesus.