I have been thinking about Christmas a lot lately.  So, I’m sure, have been most people. Some can’t wait for the arrival, while others can’t wait for it to end.

I can see both perspectives. It is painful to endure if you see Christmas as being all about the hype and hoopla (and there is plenty of that) or the constant parade of advertisements pandering to every greedy cell in our bodies.

It is a fantastic season if you enjoy Christmas as a series of parties and family get-togethers. If not, you want it to be over.

If the season is about Advent leading up to Christmas and celebrating the birth of Emmanuel, God with us, it is a special season indeed.

For the believer, Christmas is about Christ. 

Therefore the Lord himself will give you a sign. Behold, the virgin shall conceive and bear a son, and shall call his name Immanuel. Isaiah 7:14

In the sixth month the angel Gabriel was sent from God to a city of Galilee named Nazareth, 27 to a virgin betrothed to a man whose name was Joseph, of the house of David. And the virgin’s name was Mary. And he came to her and said, “Greetings, O favored one, the Lord is with you!”But she was greatly troubled at the saying, and tried to discern what sort of greeting this might be. And the angel said to her, “Do not be afraid, Mary, for you have found favor with God. And behold, you will conceive in your womb and bear a son, and you shall call his name Jesus. He will be great and will be called the Son of the Most High. And the Lord God will give to him the throne of his father David,and he will reign over the house of Jacob forever, and of his kingdom there will be no end.” And Mary said to the angel, “How will this be, since I am a virgin?” And the angel answered her, “The Holy Spirit will come upon you, and the power of the Most High will overshadow you; therefore the child to be born will be called holy—the Son of God.” Luke 1:26-35

The critical moment in history, foretold by these words, is while we celebrate Christmas. It’s why we have Christmas Eve and Christmas Day services.

Warning … personal rant follows…

It saddens me to see how few churches even bother with a Christmas Day service anymore. Our community has approximately 60 local assemblies, and only two offer Christmas Day services (at least according to a quick online search). Perhaps there are more than the two, but whatever the actual number, it is a decided minority.

Pastors have explained that the service is not offered because of poor attendance and the staff being given the day off.

I oppose attending a  Christmas Day service as a legalistic requirement or empty ritual. I’m not condemning the churches that don’t offer Christmas Day; after all, it isn’t a faith essential to gather on December 25. Still, it does break my heart that even believers have relegated celebrating Christ’s birth to a secondary or even tertiary status.

Whether you attend a Christmas Day service or not, take some time during the day, amidst the festivities, to celebrate the reason for the season and praise the Lord.

Be blessed

Hallelu Yah / Praise God 

Kevin

Gleanings From The Word

Experience an extraordinary God in ordinary life. 

Soli Deo Gloria (For the glory of God alone)

Never let the enemy tell you that you are worthless or insignificant. Your value in God’s eyes is so great that it was worth dying for. You are a blessing to the world. You are so precious to God that his plan for heaven will not be complete without you.

__________________________________________ 

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© 2024 Gleanings From the Word, K.F. “Kevin” Corbin. All Rights Reserved. Used by permission.

The word “church” is interesting in that it can have  various meanings depending on the context.

We can go “to church,” which is a common way of referring to gathering in a building for worship. Sometimes, the church means the building itself.

The church can refer to the people gathered together for worship and instruction. It is often a mixed bag of believers and non-believers. Some people don’t yet know Jesus but are seeking truth. Some people claim the name “Christian” for any number of reasons but don’t have a relationship with Christ.

This gathering is called the visible church. It’s what the world sees as the church.

Then, there are all true believers worldwide. They can differ in theology and practice, but the Holy Spirit seals them all. They can vary by denomination, affiliation, and confession. This is the invisible church, the true church.

In North America, at least, a Christian can be a member of the invisible church, part of a visible church, and meet in a church building.

Some advocate that Church gatherings be comprised only of true believers. This begs the question, “Who decides whether someone is a believer or not?” Only God knows our true hearts; you and I cannot know the state of someone else’s salvation.

We can get some hints from their conduct and the fruit of their lives. We can get clues from what they profess to believe.

When we get to glory, I think we will be surprised by the absence of some people we expected to see and the presence of some we didn’t. There won’t be any mistakes. Jesus knows his own.

So Jesus again said to them, “Truly, truly, I say to you, I am the door of the sheep. All who came before me are thieves and robbers, but the sheep did not listen to them. I am the door. If anyone enters by me, he will be saved and will go in and out and find pasture. The thief comes only to steal, and kill, and destroy. I came that they may have life and have it abundantly. I am the good shepherd. The good shepherd lays down his life for the sheep. He, who is a hired hand and not a shepherd, who does not own the sheep, sees the wolf coming and leaves the sheep and flees, and the wolf snatches them and scatters them. He flees because he is a hired hand and cares nothing for the sheep. I am the good shepherd. I know my own and my own know me, just as the Father knows me and I know the Father; and I lay down my life for the sheep. And I have other sheep that are not of this fold. I must bring them also, and they will listen to my voice. So there will be one flock, one shepherd. John 10:7-16

Our role isn’t to decide who is and isn’t a believer. We are called to love and minister to everyone and let God do the sorting.

Sheep and goats can be present on any given Sunday (or at special times like Christmas and Easter). Let’s welcome and love them all.

Hallelu Yah / Praise God 

Kevin

Gleanings From The Word

Experience an extraordinary God in ordinary life. 

Soli Deo Gloria (For the glory of God alone)

Never let the enemy tell you that you are worthless or insignificant. Your value in God’s eyes is so great that it was worth dying for. You are a blessing to the world. You are so precious to God that his plan for heaven will not be complete without you.

__________________________________________ 

Did you know that we have an email version? It has the same great content but in a different format.

Subscribe today: https://mailchi.mp/f27bbeb09c22/gleanings-1 

For an archive of many back issues, visit our website at https://gleaningsfromtheword.com.

© 2024 Gleanings From the Word, K.F. “Kevin” Corbin. All Rights Reserved. Used by permission.