We wish you a Merry Christmas

My friend Bill Berry has this blog in his blogroll.  Bill is a dear friend of mine that I have known for a very long time and he is very involved in ministry both online and off.  He posts his daily devotional online via his Elderberry Blog.  His dedication in doing this is very inspiring.   


I spend most of my time producing content at our Lightourworld website/blog.  Seeing as we have 31 followers on this blog, perhaps I should cross post my content on lightourworld, to here as well.  Please let me know if you would like to see this happen.  


As the blog post title says, We wish you a Merry Christmas.  I hope that this does not offend anyone. but even if it does, I will not change it.  Christ is the reason for the season.  This is the time of the year when we highlight Emanuel, God with us.  Christ IS the reason for the Christmas season. Instead of saying Merry Christmas some folks choose to say Happy Holidays.  Unfortunately this time of the year is not always cause for happiness.  We need to be aware of the fact that there are a lot of hurting people all around us and that this time of the year is not always a cause of celebration.  Please be mindful of this and reach out to those folks in your sphere of influence that could use a kind word or a shoulder to lean on.  


As I look around each year I see the familiar signs of the season punctuated by pretty trees all decked out with lights and ornaments of all kinds.  I see that the neighbors have put all kinds of decorations and lights in their yards that are very nice to look at when it is dark.  Radio stations are playing Christmas music which is nice to listen to when we are driving around.  


One of the things that I do not like about the holidays is that they are marked by incredible amounts of advertising by companies that are competing for our hard earned dollars.  Right after Halloween stores like Wal-Mart had their Christmas decorations out and Christmas music playing in their stores.


Another thing that I do not like is how some people act like idiots and ruin the Christmas season for others.  All the stores have their black Friday sales, where they mark down items and cause people to stand or sit around in the cold, waiting until the next morning for the doors to open, so they can get this item or that.  Once the doors open some people are so out of control in their quest to get what they want, that people get trampled.  We all heard about the lady at Wal-Mart who used pepper spray to keep people away from the items she was after.  


There is absolutely nothing wrong with buying gifts to give to your loved ones at Christmas.  I just hope that we do not lose sight of what we are celebrating.  We should be celebrating our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ, and that he came into this world to save us from sin, and to provide us with a way to spend eternity in Heaven with him.  We should be celebrating the fact that God loves us so much that he pursues us and wants a relationship with us.  


Katy and I live far away from our relatives in Texas.  That means that we usually hang out with one another on Christmas day.  On Christmas eve this year we will be celebrating Christmas at Coastal Community Church in West Ashley.  We have been attending here for the last couple of months since it is very close to where we live.  They are having a special celebration service at 5 pm and 7 pm at the Oakland Elementary School which is across the street from the church.  If you are local to Charleston and you are looking for something special to do to celebrate Christmas in 2011 then you are invited to attend one of the two celebration services.  Go to the link above and sign up for your free tickets.