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| "Adoration of the Shepherds" by Gerard van Honthorst, 1622 |
Luke 2:1: In those days Caesar
Augustus issued a decree that a census should be taken of the entire Roman
world.
In those days… What do you remember when you think of Christmas past? What memories come to mind, emotions to heart? In those days, are they the “good old days”, days in which you visit and perhaps still live? We can get trapped by the past. Often we romanticize memories, make them softer, kinder, larger, sweeter than they were in reality. Do our hearts ache for a simpler, easier holiday? Perhaps you are the opposite – memories of holidays gone by hold only pain and bitterness and disappointment for you. You carry the chains of your past as much as Marley’s ghost from A Christmas Carol. They haunt you and keep you from Christmas present.
As we begin our countdown to Christmas, live in the present. Realize you can choose from this day forward how you will live, and why you will live. Look to Jesus, the author and perfecter of our faith (Hebrews 12:1-2). Look to the baby in the manger, the God-man on the cross, and blessed/gloriously, the risen Christ, Lord of all. Choose Him today. Take His gift of sacrificial love by accepting Him as your Savior. Unwrap the gift of Jesus and eternal and abundant life today. Bring Him the good memories, the bad memories, let Him redeem your past, your present, your future.
In those days… What do you remember when you think of Christmas past? What memories come to mind, emotions to heart? In those days, are they the “good old days”, days in which you visit and perhaps still live? We can get trapped by the past. Often we romanticize memories, make them softer, kinder, larger, sweeter than they were in reality. Do our hearts ache for a simpler, easier holiday? Perhaps you are the opposite – memories of holidays gone by hold only pain and bitterness and disappointment for you. You carry the chains of your past as much as Marley’s ghost from A Christmas Carol. They haunt you and keep you from Christmas present.
As we begin our countdown to Christmas, live in the present. Realize you can choose from this day forward how you will live, and why you will live. Look to Jesus, the author and perfecter of our faith (Hebrews 12:1-2). Look to the baby in the manger, the God-man on the cross, and blessed/gloriously, the risen Christ, Lord of all. Choose Him today. Take His gift of sacrificial love by accepting Him as your Savior. Unwrap the gift of Jesus and eternal and abundant life today. Bring Him the good memories, the bad memories, let Him redeem your past, your present, your future.
New Jersey Time
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