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| Message by Bro Bryan |
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| Prepared For Christmas
I can't imagine how busy everyone must be at this time of the year with shopping, cooking, planning family get togethers, decorating, working etc. All of these activities are because of the holiday season we call Christmas. In order to get the most out of Christmas, it does take a certain amount of time, preparation, and focus. We devote so much time and energy preparing, and yet we seem to get further and further away from what the message is all about. What is the message? Of course it's about Christ being born into the world, God's gift to humanity, salvation, and new life for all. But the message goes much deeper than this. The message of Christmas is not only about what God has given to us, but it's also about how His gifts to us affect our lives on a personal level. Luke 1: 26- 38 teaches us that a certain amount of personal refocusing and spiritual evaluation are a must every Christmas season. This is probably the most neglected part of Christmas year after year. Mary, the mother of Jesus, gives us a perfect example of how refocusing and preparing should affect our lives during this season. First was God's call upon her life. Mary was an Israelite girl known only to those in her small home town, family, and friends. Scriptures reveal that she did not possess special gifts or talents that would have made her stand out above any of the rest of the girls in her village. But God had a calling in her life, a calling that would not only change her world but would also change the world for everyone there after. The message of Christmas is about God calling all of us to His will, about God wanting to use all of humanity for the purpose of His plan. Next, the coming of Christ meant a huge changing of plans and ideas for Mary. To be used of God to literally change the whole world, she had to realize that the coming of Jesus was all about God's plan and not her own. The message of Christmas is about God's plan and not our own. If we too want to experience the unimaginable then we must, as Mary, be willing to yield to God's will and plan, and then watch the impossible become reality in our own lives. Finally, the coming of Christ meant a schedule change for Mary. In all honesty, the story reveals that the timing of God couldn't have been worse for Mary. She was espoused to Joseph in a small town which was not the place for a young girl to be found pregnant. But what God had planned was on His schedule and not hers. Throughout the years I have heard people say things like, "When I get finished doing this or that I'll start doing things for God." Thank God this was not Mary's heart or choice. When God called her, all she said was, "Behold the handmaid of the Lord, be it done unto me according to your will". Look what happened as a result. She was blessed; you and I are blessed; the WHOLE WORLD IS BLESSED! So let this Christmas be a time of true preparation for us. Examine God's call in our lives. Take a look at God's plan versus our plan. Focus on God's schedule and not our own. In doing so, we will find Christmas deeper and richer than ever before. MERRY CHRISTMAS. by Bro Bryan |
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