Faith Revolution

Have you seen the Mac - PC parodies produced by Community Christian Church? (communitychristian.org) These are too good!
Enjoy!

By the way, there are four of them. I may post them later.

Ok, so i’ve been gone a while. With good reason, most of which I won’t share with you. We’ve been on vacation. We’ve been hunting. We’ve been doing some heavy duty ministry stuff that really bogged us down. Some people can suck the life out of you, if you let them. So don’t let them.

We went on vacation. Had a great time with my family at Shenendoah National Park. Stayed in a lodge near Stoney Man Summit. Here’s a couple pics. Click on them to see the full size pic.

Before I forget, I want to wish you all a Merry Christmas. I hope that it is your best Christmas ever.

Christmas has a lot of different meanings, if you will, to different people. I’m not going to go into all of it, but what I have been focusing (and teaching) on looking at Christmas in a more holistic manner. We all know that Christmas is more than Santa and presents. We know that it is more than food and (gulp!) family. It is the day and the season that we celebrate the birth of the Christ child. Our thoughts have a tendency to immediately go the fact of our salvation through this babe in a manger because that is why He was born. Of course, that would make us want to celebrate. And it should! But there is so much more that Jesus represents, I wonder if the Christians who insist on keeping Christ in Christmas are not themselves missing a large part of the “reason for the season”. The more I study the Bible, I see the reason for celebrating Christ in a much broader sense.

Can I take a big risk and be rather transparent? You can flame me with comments if you want. (I’ve been flamed so much lately that I’m getting pretty crisp, so a little more won’t hurt.) To be totally honest, I got bored with Christmas. (Yes, I know, that doesn’t make for a very good pastor or christian.) The same old story, the same old songs, the same old decorations, the same old tree, the same old hurried schedule; we do it year after year. I was praying for a fresh influx of knowledge and insight into the “reason for the season” (I’m tired of that phrase too.) What God led me to was really nothing new. He just gave me a different perspective.

The Spirit led me to a not-so-Christmas passage of scripture. Let me share it with you.

Revelation 21:1

1 Now I saw a new heaven and a new earth, for the first heaven and the first earth had passed away. Also there was no more sea. 2 Then I, John, saw the holy city, New Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God, prepared as a bride adorned for her husband. 3 And I heard a loud voice from heaven saying, “Behold, the tabernacle of God is with men, and He will dwell with them, and they shall be His people. God Himself will be with them and be their God. 4 And God will wipe away every tear from their eyes; there shall be no more death, nor sorrow, nor crying. There shall be no more pain, for the former things have passed away.” 5 Then He who sat on the throne said, “Behold, I make all things new.” And He said to me, “Write, for these words are true and faithful.” 6 And He said to me, “It is done! I am the Alpha and the Omega, the Beginning and the End. I will give of the fountain of the water of life freely to him who thirsts. 7 He who overcomes shall inherit all things, and I will be his God and he shall be My son.

In that passage of scripture, I found the resolution to my boredom. The birth of Jesus is not just summed up in his death, the forgiveness of sin and a “mansion over the hilltop”. These words, considered prophetic and futuristic are actually why I celebrate the birth of my Lord. Contained within the words of this passage are the advent (God with us); Jesus’ mission (I make all things new); His power and position as the everlasting, infinite and powerful King of everything (Alpha and Omega, the Beginning and the End); and the completion and finality of the purpose of Jesus’ coming to earth (It is done!).

I read that portion of the Bible and it hit me! That is why Jesus came! That is the whole story! I’m not bored anymore with Christmas! I am celebrating Jesus, God with us, the Alpha and Omega, the One Who makes all things new! It is done! I don’t have to wait for it, for it is done! That message, my friends, is what makes Christmas merry and it truly is the “reason for the season”.

God Bless! Merry Christmas! Now, go celebrate!