Keeping Christmas

“As every man hath received the gift, even so minister the same one to another, as good stewards of the manifold grace of God.” 1 Peter 4:10

Because the “Word made flesh” has come among us, let us continue to keep Christmas in our hearts! Let our hearts remain as a manger lighted by the radiance of the Christ child! Though our calendar announces the passing of Christmas, we can retain within us the reason for our Christmas joy. That shining joy that warms our heart during this season of love can flow as the light of His love into the heart of another. Pastor Bryan recently spoke of “grace gifts” as a spiritual act in which we die to ourselves in order to give to another. Grace gifts can take the form of our attitudes, our actions, and our assertions.

Through Sunday morning teaching and worship, studying God’s Word, and prayer, our spirits are fed and we develop, in time, those traits that define us as Christians. Eventually, our Sunday morning renewal should serve to fuel our Monday morning outreach! Good stewardship of the gifts given us by God is not storing them up, but giving them away.

All believers have free access to Jesus. Hebrews 4:14-16 reminds us, “Therefore, since we have a great high priest who has ascended into heaven, Jesus the Son of God, let us hold firmly to the faith we profess. For we do not have a high priest who is unable to empathize with our weaknesses, but we have one who has been tempted in every way, just as we are—yet He did not sin. Let us approach God’s throne of grace with confidence, so that we may receive mercy and find grace to help us in our time of need.” So we go to Christ in prayer to ask Him to supply what we need and to strengthen us where we are weak.

From Jesus comes the tenderness and kindness we want to give to our spouse, the strength to prepare the evening meal, patience for our children for stories and bedtime prayers (and that last glass of water), and finally the ability to make a phone call to an elderly parent at the end of the day. It is Jesus who can replace criticism with empathy and condemnation with compassion.

As the new year arrives, let us dwell on Immanuel, God with us—for God longs to go with us in all we do. It is His desire to be our guide, our counselor, our fortress, our deliverer, our companion, and so much more! He longs to uphold us in all we do in His name and for His sake.

Our dear Father in Heaven, we thank You for being so available to us. Please continue beside each one of us. Light our path, and transform us on our journey to become more and more a reflection of Your dearly beloved Son, Jesus.