John 3:16
For God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life.
Romans 6:23
For the wages of sin is death, but the free gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.
James 1:17
Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of lights with whom there is no variation or shadow due to change.
Thursday, December 5, 2013
What Is Christmas?
What does it really mean to celebrate Christmas? Buying and wrapping presents for each other? Decorating the house with lights and festive decor? Does Christmas mean to make cookies and gingerbread houses and take a break off from school?
No
While all of those things might be great and makes Christmas even more enjoyable, that's just simply not what Christmas is about. Can you guess what is the most important part of Christmas tho? It shouldn't be that hard, since his name is in the word; Christ. The birth of the Christ, our savior, who came down to Earth to deliver us from evil and forgive us for our sins. Christmas, or rather the Advent season, is the waiting for the coming of Christ. Although we would like to think that Christmas is about waiting for jolly old St. Nicholas to come on the 25th, that's simply not what it's supposed to be about.
The History?
The Advent season always starts after Thanksgiving and from then on until Christmas day, we celebrate the coming of our Savior. Back then when people believed in god, they believed he would send a savior to rescue them from the darkness they were in. The weeks before Christ's birth were just like others; dark and lacking in faith. Those weeks were supposed to be reflected in our culture now in days with without all the lights and festivities. We were supposed to experiencing what it was truly like to be waiting for a savior to came and rescue you. Only after Christmas day are we actually supposed to celebrate the birth of Christ. Then we could have all the festivities, cookies, lights, etc.
The Problem?
We've forgotten what the true meaning of Christmas is. I know it sounds cheesy, but why should it? Why have we forgotten about the birth of Christ? how many of us actually go to church on Christmas, or Christmas Eve? How many of us have a nativity scene somewhere in our house when we decorate it for the Holiday season? How many of us actually understand what it was like waiting in the dark for a savior to rescue you with the light? So many of us focus on the gifts, Black Friday shopping, getting a Christmas tree, lighting up the house inside and outside. No one really stops and thanks Him for giving us the one thing that we absolutely needed (and still need); Himself.
Solution?
So, how about this Christmas season we take that initiative to know about this time more and thank Him for everything He's given us and try to put yourselves in those people 2,000 years agoto understand how they felt without a Savior? Is that too much? I hope not, but something is better than nothing. I think we all could a little better in praying and simply being thankful for what you have and not be so needy for what you want. So instead of asking for so much this Christmas season, how about we ask for less? how about we simply ask for our families safety and love? How about we ask for simply being able to enjoy the littlest things we have? how about we ask for grace, mercy, and love from Him during this extraordinary time of the year?
After all, for someone's birthday that we've been supposedly been celebrating for the past 2,000 years, I would think we should know just why and what we are celebrating because He's obviously important, instead of just going through the motions.
So Merry Christmas this season. I hope you all have a great and happy holidays. Amen.
No
While all of those things might be great and makes Christmas even more enjoyable, that's just simply not what Christmas is about. Can you guess what is the most important part of Christmas tho? It shouldn't be that hard, since his name is in the word; Christ. The birth of the Christ, our savior, who came down to Earth to deliver us from evil and forgive us for our sins. Christmas, or rather the Advent season, is the waiting for the coming of Christ. Although we would like to think that Christmas is about waiting for jolly old St. Nicholas to come on the 25th, that's simply not what it's supposed to be about.
The History?
The Advent season always starts after Thanksgiving and from then on until Christmas day, we celebrate the coming of our Savior. Back then when people believed in god, they believed he would send a savior to rescue them from the darkness they were in. The weeks before Christ's birth were just like others; dark and lacking in faith. Those weeks were supposed to be reflected in our culture now in days with without all the lights and festivities. We were supposed to experiencing what it was truly like to be waiting for a savior to came and rescue you. Only after Christmas day are we actually supposed to celebrate the birth of Christ. Then we could have all the festivities, cookies, lights, etc.
The Problem?
We've forgotten what the true meaning of Christmas is. I know it sounds cheesy, but why should it? Why have we forgotten about the birth of Christ? how many of us actually go to church on Christmas, or Christmas Eve? How many of us have a nativity scene somewhere in our house when we decorate it for the Holiday season? How many of us actually understand what it was like waiting in the dark for a savior to rescue you with the light? So many of us focus on the gifts, Black Friday shopping, getting a Christmas tree, lighting up the house inside and outside. No one really stops and thanks Him for giving us the one thing that we absolutely needed (and still need); Himself.
Solution?
So, how about this Christmas season we take that initiative to know about this time more and thank Him for everything He's given us and try to put yourselves in those people 2,000 years agoto understand how they felt without a Savior? Is that too much? I hope not, but something is better than nothing. I think we all could a little better in praying and simply being thankful for what you have and not be so needy for what you want. So instead of asking for so much this Christmas season, how about we ask for less? how about we simply ask for our families safety and love? How about we ask for simply being able to enjoy the littlest things we have? how about we ask for grace, mercy, and love from Him during this extraordinary time of the year?
After all, for someone's birthday that we've been supposedly been celebrating for the past 2,000 years, I would think we should know just why and what we are celebrating because He's obviously important, instead of just going through the motions.
So Merry Christmas this season. I hope you all have a great and happy holidays. Amen.
Tuesday, December 3, 2013
Romans 10:9
That if you confess with your mouth, “Jesus is Lord,” and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved.
Smoke and Mirrors
When we typically thing of religion, what's the first thing that comes to mind? God? Church? Morals? Family Life? How about simply the fact of having to believe in something? These days, most of us pass by each other on our smartphones, talking to someone else through an electronic extenuation of ourselves, without ever really stopping and talking to the people in front of us. We've been slowly removing ourselves, bit-by-bit, from real close relationships that are right in front of us. These days we don't even need to actually meet the person before you "fall-in-love" and marry them. How many times do you check your email? How many times do you use your phone to look something up? Where do you get most of your news now? Social media websites and now news has become such a big role in most people's life that we never really pay attention to how much of a difference we have made on ourselves with our high-tech society.
God's not like that. You can't simply Face-Time Him or email whenever you want to. No He doesn't have a Facebook page or any other social media website page (although some have created pages for Him and His son). You can't ask Him to meet you later somewhere or shop online with you. No, you can't do anything like that with Him. You know why? Because God isn't like us. He's more important than that. He's special to all of us. If He wanted to be like us and get all those little things we've got and talk to us like we talk to each other, then how many of us would actually pay attention to Him? He's our Father. Our Creator. That means He wants a more personal relationship with us. He wants to know us and to hear from us. But in order to do so, we gotta put down our electronics and our drive to have less social interaction.
When is the last time you read a newspaper or had a coffee date with a friend? That's sorta what God wants with us. He wants to be that friend sitting across from you while you both talk as you sip your lattes (or whatever). With God, there needs to be more of a personal relationship, not simply one based off a text or a random email every now and then. If you want to know Him. If you want to be saved by Him, then talk TO Him. Pray. Go to mass. Go to confession. Put down the electronics and be "real" with Him. Stop hiding behind smoke and mirrors.
God's not like that. You can't simply Face-Time Him or email whenever you want to. No He doesn't have a Facebook page or any other social media website page (although some have created pages for Him and His son). You can't ask Him to meet you later somewhere or shop online with you. No, you can't do anything like that with Him. You know why? Because God isn't like us. He's more important than that. He's special to all of us. If He wanted to be like us and get all those little things we've got and talk to us like we talk to each other, then how many of us would actually pay attention to Him? He's our Father. Our Creator. That means He wants a more personal relationship with us. He wants to know us and to hear from us. But in order to do so, we gotta put down our electronics and our drive to have less social interaction.
When is the last time you read a newspaper or had a coffee date with a friend? That's sorta what God wants with us. He wants to be that friend sitting across from you while you both talk as you sip your lattes (or whatever). With God, there needs to be more of a personal relationship, not simply one based off a text or a random email every now and then. If you want to know Him. If you want to be saved by Him, then talk TO Him. Pray. Go to mass. Go to confession. Put down the electronics and be "real" with Him. Stop hiding behind smoke and mirrors.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)