Jesus Is The Reason For The Season!

The Advent and Christmas season is a time to draw near to Christ, opening our hearts and minds to who Jesus is and why He came to live among us on that night in Bethlehem so many years ago.  What does knowing Christ mean today, and what are the implications for our future? We offer the following Christ-centered seasonal meditations for your consideration:

CHRISTMAS PAST:
Gabriel’s World Tour, 6 B.C.

• Zechariah: “Yes, but …”
• Mary: The Bible talked about the Messiah, but not about being the Messiah’s Mom.

CHRISTMAS PRESENT:
Finding the Manger Amidst the Madness of the Mall

• Christmas Cheer: Encountering God in the check-out aisle.
• Switch Seats: Feeling run down? Try a new power source.

CHRISTMAS FUTURE:
Living In Hope

• The Second Advent: We’re waiting for more than Dec. 25.
• A Thousand Years Are Like A Day: We don’t know what the future holds, but we know Who holds the future.

We hope these meditations will bless you and your family this Christmas season!

]]> http://www.christmasincyberspace.com/reflections/advent-meditations-and-devotionals/feed/ 1 http://www.christmasincyberspace.com/reflections/thanksgiving-as-a-ministry-opportunity/ http://www.christmasincyberspace.com/reflections/thanksgiving-as-a-ministry-opportunity/#comments Wed, 26 Nov 2008 12:57:57 +0000 RichM http://www.colocationcentral.net/?p=13

Are we losing Thanksgiving? That’s the question posed by Leadership Journal managing Eric Reed in a holiday essay from 2006. Reed worries that football and commerce have overwhelmed the Thanksgiving holiday. “I don’t mean to sound like Chicken Little (or Turkey Lurkey?),” Reed writes, “but the one day set aside to contemplate our blessings and their divine origin has, in one generation, been reduced to a football orgy and now, for football widows, a jumpstart on the biggest shopping day of the year as more stores open on the sacred Thursday.”

But Reed also notes that Thanksgiving services can be an important ministry opportunity:

The pastor of an Atlanta church told us that Thanksgiving was becoming for them the new seeker’s holiday. They found that people curious about faith would attend thanks-themed worship services with their believing friends. For seekers, Thanksgiving is a less demanding holiday than Christmas, which requires belief in the improbable (a Virgin birth?), or Easter, with its claims to exclusivity (must Christ be the only Way?). Everyone has something to be thankful for, and most people recognize that something beyond themselves must be credited with their blessings.

As we interact with family, friends and co-workers this Thanksgiving, let’s be mindful of that point and share our gratitude for the amazing God who is the source of all our blessings.

“You must understand that in the last days scoffers will come, scoffing and following their own evil desires. They will say ‘Where is this coming he promised? Ever since our fathers died, everything goes on as it has since the beginning of creation’ … But do not forget this one thing, dear friends: with the Lord, a day is like a thousand years and a thousand years are like a day. The Lord is not slow keeping His promise, as some understand slowness. He is patient with you, not wanting anyone to perish, but everyone to come to repentance.” 2 PETER 3: 3-4, 8-9

We live in astounding times.  The combination of momentous political change and unusual natural phenomena in recent years has many folks wondering just what the heck is going on. The evangelist Billy Graham recently wrote that he has never in 50 years of ministry had so many people ask him if the end of the world is at hand. The timing of the Second Coming has always titillated Christians, perhaps because it is concealed. For as Jesus said, “No one knows that day or hour, not even the angels in Heaven, nor the Son, but only the Father.”

That instruction often gets forgotten when believers see events that correspond with the signs Christ said would foreshadow His return. There is growing speculation that the Second Coming is imminent, a trend that will only intensify as the turn of the millenium approaches. Christians must take care to not be deceived – either by those who insist He’s coming tomorrow, or those who claim He won’t return in our lifetime. For the “scoffers” are also many, and are on thin ice as well. For decades, progressive thinkers ridiculed “Bible believing” scholars who insisted that Christ’s return would be immediately preceded by such unlikely events as European political union and a cashless society. No one’s laughing today.

But as Peter understood, a comma on a page in the Bible could be 50 or 100 years for us. God defines “soon” much differently than we do. God’s desire is for “everyone to come to repentance” – for us to invite Christ into our hearts and our lives. On a Bethlehem night 2,000 years ago, He came as a babe. One day, He will come in glory.

In our world, He comes to us through the love and caring of forgiven people living changed lives. Christ means for us to join him in eternal life. For now, His will is for us to be here, loving our neighbor until they ask us why, and then pointing them toward the Cross.

These meditations were prepared by Rich Miller of Lawrenceville, New Jersey. Rich is a lay speaker who attends the The Hopewell United Methodist Church in Hopewell Borough, N.J. Don’t miss our Easter and Lent Meditations at Easter in Cyberspace. Bookmark them now!

This year we’ll be blogging about many facets of the Christmas season, and pointing to quality sites and information resources for Christians. One subject we haven’t covered previously is Christmas poetry. We’ve reviewed many resources for Christian Christmas poems, and here are a few we’ve found worthwhile:

• Christmas Poems: An extensive collection of Christmas poems compiled by the Marian Center at the University of Dayton.
• Christmas Poems: A nice collection of traditional Christmas poems, some dating as far back as the 14th century.
• Apples 4 The Teacher: Excellent collection of Chirtsmas poems and recitals for children.
• A Holy Christmas – Poems: Richard Fairchild’s excellent collection of Christmas links has a fine poetry section.

Are there any good resources we’ve missed? If so, share them in the comments.