abandoned to Christ.

MERRY CHRISTMAS everyone! May the grace and peace of the Lord Jesus Christ be multiplied to your spirits. And may all of you have the greatest joy known to mankind—knowing Christ and being known by Him through saving faith.  "She will bear a son, and you shall call His name Jesus, for HE WILL SAVE His people from their sins...For the wages of sin is death, but the FREE GIFT OF GOD is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord...THANKS BE TO GOD for His inexpressible gift!" ~Matthew 1:21, Romans 6:2, 2 Corinthians 9:15 (ESV)

The prevalent thoughts and images about the "spirit" of Christmas usually involves: Santa Claus, worldly peace, sweets, merriment, feasting, lavish gift giving and receiving, the hustle and bustle of shopping and enjoying elaborate entertainment events to celebrate the birth of Jesus—the First Coming of Christ, the only begotten Son of God. But none of these things are found in any of the Old Testament prophecies or in the New Testament accounts of the great and glorious day that our Creator entered into His own creation as a humble babe. Please don't misunderstand, I'm not saying we ought not enjoy celebrating Christmas. My family does. What I am saying is, the focus and purpose of our joyful celebrations should be the same as God's focus and purpose: to bring the Good News of eternal salvation by giving us Christ as a propitiation for our sins. The true spirit of Christmas and the reason for the season according to God is: eternal salvation . ...

"I've learned so much from my mistakes, I think I'll make more" is a popular phrase that has appeared on many memes, tweets, timelines and even things like magnets, pins, and other items we can purchase. This seemingly harmless saying is actually very harmful. Most of us have read it someplace, and often, our initial response is to laugh, feel better about the genuine mistakes we've made and sadly, even the purposeful sins we've committed against our holy, kind, and gracious Father God. This is where it gets dangerous. Do we all make mistakes? Absolutely! To err is human, right? Unfortunately, to sin is human too. And we all do it more than we'd like to admit...unless of course, a flighty little phrase like this one comes along and feeds our flesh the lies it desires—we can excuse our sins without repentance—and without a Savior. We continually come up with new ways to make ourselves and others feel better about our sins rather than do what God...

Scripture art by: Biblescreen.com The LORD God Almighty, Creator of the heavens and the earth—is personal. He could've left us to our sinful natures, miserable, lost and debased. But He didn't. He could've chosen to save us from afar in an impersonal way by zapping us with a lightening rod from the heavens. But He didn't. He could've done so many things us human beings would consider, or even actually do. So let us thank God; that He didn't. Because God is holy (set apart), He did what only He can do and what He alone is willing to do with no external prodding (as if anyone could "prod" God to do anything). He chose to create, in His own image; human beings. Unlike any other creation, people alone, are His image-bearers. We alone have the ability to reason, to consider things, understand cause and effect, acknowledge our own existence (i.e., animals look in the mirror and think it's another animal, people know it's their own reflect...

It seems everywhere we look and every place we go, there's Christmas music playing, people shopping, commercials filled with laughter and gaiety; sparkling decorations and hearts filled with merriment and hope. But it's not that way for everyone. There are a silent few...or a silent many, who are not merry at Christmastime. Some people have lost loved ones this year through death, or by sin, that always separates. Some, like orphans, have no one to lose, but have constant dreams of finding parents who offer the sacrificial and eternal love of Christ rather than the self-centered, ephemeral love this world offers and settles for. Then, there are those who are alone in adulthood: widows, divorcees, and those struck with depression. The list goes on...and so do their sorrows. To aggravate the reality of their lack of merriment, they are often pressured to join in on all the Christmas festivities whether they feel like it or not. And as Christians, if we don't, th...