Hope for all the World (Christmas)

Two firefighters are dead, and two more are in the hospital as I type this very sentence.  They didn’t die from flames, nor did they die from smoke inhalation.  There were no burning beams that fell upon them, nor did they slip through a burning roof while attempting to vent the fire from above.  First responders arrived on the scene of a burning car and seven structures… homes… in what is being called a very nice neighborhood in the upstate NY town of Webster.  In an attempt to first save lives, and then property, these brave men fell from, of all things… bullets.

A man released from prison gunned down the firemen as they arrived to extinguish fires that this man in fact is believed to have started himself, all as a simple trap… to kill.  After gunning down the firefighters from a nearby berm, the man fired shots at police officers, and then took his own life.  This all occured on Monday morning… Christmas Eve.

Just over a week ago, I had the honor of participating in a benefit for the younger victims of Superstorm Sandy, a massive weather event that destroyed many homes in the NorthEast just a couple of months ago.  The charity event was bittersweet.  Our intentions were to collect toys for children who lost their homes due to Sandy.  On the morning of the event, we received word that just 60 miles away in Newtown CT, 20 children lost their lives, along with 6 adults when a gunman entered and robbed 26 lives and the innocence and security of hundreds more at Sandy Hook Elementary School.  26 dead… 20 of them were 6 or 7 years old.  It was so hard to participate in an event called “Laughing at Sandy” when this just occured at Sandy Hook Elementary.  It was a very long night.

Less than 24 hours later, two people were shot and killed at a Las Vegas hotel rampage, and three more were injured from gunshots wounds at a Birmingham AL hospital.  Countless other events have surely happened since then that none of us are even aware of right now.  One thing is certain… this world is changing fast.  It’s not what we are used to.  It’s far from a glorious night that happened long, long ago…

“Upon a night so dark They saw a brilliant star Heaven was reaching down Heaven was reaching downThe long awaited One
The Father’s perfect Son
The lost can now be found
The lost can now be found.”

We cannot understand why we are seeing everything that we are seeing right now.  Firemen killed by a madman, seven homes left to burn while police scrambled to secure the area from the unexpected madness, and so many unanswered replies to the one word question… why?  Children, teachers, and administrators have been laid to rest for the past week, all from the actions of someone with an evil agenda.  WHY?!!  Under Christmas trees this morning, at homes in Connecticut and New York, one might find toys, video games, new books, maybe even a brand pair of fireman’s extrication gloves.  These gifts will be left unopened.  The names of the people on the tags… they could not attend.  There’ll be tears, sadness, and for some… memories and celebration of lives young and old.  But, there’ll still be that unanswered question… WHY?  DANGIT, WHY?!!!

Why am I telling you this on Christmas morning?  I’m doing it because this is the world we live in today.  I’m doing it because someone needs to know that there is still hope.  Yes, you read that right.  There is still hope.  It all lies on the shoulders of the oldest living person on this planet.  He was born over 2000 years ago, and He came to take away the sin of the world.  He came so that we could live, and yes… HE IS ALIVE!

“There in the humble place Though just a tiny babe Our God victorious Our God victoriousA perfect life to live
He chose to bear our sin
We sing, “How glorious”
We sing, “How glorious”

In spite of everything we see around us today, He was born so that there would be hope for all the world.  He is ALIVE!  He is “Emmanuel,” meaning GOD WITH US!  He walks along side of us everyday, every step of the way.  We are never alone, even when tragedy and calamity strikes.  He sees every tear that we shed, and he has gone to prepare a place where He will wipe those tears dry one last time, and we will never, NEVER weep again.  That’s why He came.  That’s what we celebrate today.  We celebrate the birth of the Savior.

“Heaven and angels sing

The coming of the King
The only Son of God most high
His name is Jesus Christ”

We can’t answer WHY.  We’re not supposed to.  We are supposed to turn it all over to Jesus.  He wants us to.  We are weak, but He is strong.  It’s sounds very simplistic to just “give it to Jesus” and let Him deal with it, but that’s exactly what we are to do.

If you don’t know Jesus, and you are reading this, I encourage you to accept Him into your life today.  Accept Him, and give Him all of the troubles and trials that weigh you down.  All of the heartache and pain… let Him have it.  From a child to our Savior… our redeemer.  Because He came, and because He lives, so can we… and we can face what happens tomorrow.  Accept Christ today.  It’ll be the biggest gift to unwrap, and it’ll never expire, break, or spoil.  It’s eternal!

“Rejoice, in a manger lay The promise of God’s love for us For everyoneRejoice, here upon this day
Our Emmanuel has come
Blessed hope for all the world!”

 

♫♪ “For All The World” by Phillips, Craig, and Dean  contributed to the composition of this story.

♫♪ This is Christmas ♫♪

I was just a kid riding down the main street in our town with my father when it happened.  My dad glanced over at a local store, drove about a quarter mile past it, pulled over, and performed a U-Turn.  He drove to back to the store front.  He instructed me to stay put, as he exited the car and entered the store.  Through the window of the store, I could see my father having what was becoming a heated argument.

He finally came back outside, redder than a stop sign.  I was totally confused, and needless to say, afraid to ask what that was all about.  My father finally took time to explain to me that when he passed the store, in larger letters on the store’s window glass, it read “Merry X-Mas.”

My father was not the best Christian in the world, but he was not about to pass up a chance to tell someone that they should never take the name of Christ out of Christmas.  If I remember correctly, dad told me that the manager’s excuse for this was that there was not enough room to write the full word “Christmas” and still have painted both large enough and readable letters from the road.  Dad was very stern with his belief though, and he gave that man an earful.

It’s common knowledge that here in the 21st century some are now saying “Happy Holidays” rather than the traditional “Merry Christmas” around December.  Some have used the excuse that Happy Holidays includes both Christmas and New Years into two words and one phrase.  Others argue that it associates all of December’s Holidays into one, excluding no one, and offending less people.   Now, add two additional sets of people.

People #1 are the ones who have totally forgotten what Christmas is all about.  They may still think about Christ being the reason for the Holiday, but they’re more focused on buying and receiving gifts.

People #2 are the ones who have done research and believe that Christ was not born on December 25th all, and have chosen to not celebrate the birth of Christ… period.

♫♪ “Do you find it hard to sleep tonight
resting by the Christmas lights
Could there be something you forgot
Beyond the bows and mistletoe
A tree with presents wrapped below
There’s more to this than you had ever thought
Have we lost the reason that we celebrate each year?

What is Christmas
if there never was a Savior wrapped in a manger?
What is Christmas
if the angels never sang glory to the newborn king?
What is Christmas without Christ?” ♫♪

Christmas is a very special holiday, and it’s slammed packed with activities.  It’s the time when folks are rushing to the mall to get gifts, rushing to the grocery store to get the Christmas ham, and we cannot forget the trip to the Hallmark Store to reach out to the out of town friends and family.  Trimming trees, hanging twinkling lights on the house, hanging stockings above the fireplace…  it’s all a tradition for many of us.

If presents are your thing, buy presents!  If you prefer to ditch the twinkling lights and the overpriced tree and just make a really nice dinner, make that dinner the best you’ve ever made and enjoy the time with your family.  If you don’t celebrate the holiday because you don’t believe Christ was born on Dec 25th, enjoy your day off from work.

No matter how you celebrate the holiday, it is important to remember that you cannot have Christmas without Christ.   So, take time to read the Christmas story found in the Gospels of the Holy Bible.  Remember that Jesus was born.  He came to take away the sin of the world, and his death put in into action.  It’s irrelevant what day we recognize Him, but it’s very important to recognize Him.  If you’ve never accepted Him as your Lord and Savior, He is waiting on you, and you can do that TODAY.

Enjoy Christmas!  Enjoy Hanukkah and Kwanzaa.  Enjoy the day off!  But, be sure to remember Christ.

♫♪ “This is Christmas.
It’s all about a Savior wrapped in a manger.
This is Christmas because of Jesus Christ.” ♫♪

♫♪ “This is Christmas” by Kutless contributed to the composition of this story.

Believe

It was literally the coolest thing I had ever seen thus far as I stood in front of Toys R Us.  I was 5 years old, and my dad pointed up to the sky at the helicopter that was lowering into the parking lot.  I had never seen a helicopter up close, and this was my big day.  I had loved airplanes and helicopters and wanted one for Christmas, but today I was getting to see the real thing.

Everything changed when the side door of the chopper opened, and someone stepped out.  I suddenly realized why the helicopter had landed when I recognized the exiting passenger… It was SANTA!

I, along with another 50 or so children were absolutely thrilled at this point, because this was our chance to sit in Santa’s lap and tell him what we wanted for Christmas.  I of course asked for a helicopter just like his!  He looked into the crowd and said “Has he been a good boy, mom?”  Mom smiled and nodded.  I had the most satisfaction ever at that moment when Santa told me to expect my helicopter on Christmas morning.

I knew Santa was just a man in a red suit and a fake beard, and when I unwrapped my remote control helicopter on Christmas morning, I knew it was from mom and dad.  But still, the experience was surreal at five years old, and it was a moment that has yet to exit my favorite memories file folder of my mind.

♫♪ “Children sleeping, snow is softly falling
Dreams are calling like bells in the distance
We were dreamers not so long ago
But one by one we all had to grow up
When it seems the magic’s slipped away
We find it all again on Christmas day.” ♫♪

I never bought into the whole Santa, Easter Bunny, or Tooth Fairy thing.  Just didn’t seem right.  It seemed totally illogical, even as a small child.  It was something that I enjoyed every year… telling Santa my toy wishes, and hunting for Easter eggs and things like that simply because I was a child.  But I had to tell myself that these beings were just figments of imagination and fun ideas.

That was never the case with Jesus Christ.  I believed in Him the moment I was first told about Him.  Being raised in a Christian home, I heard a lot about Jesus as a child.  When I was frightened of the dark, and mom reassured me that I shouldn’t be because Jesus was in my room with me, I believed her.  I still do.

What I found hard to believe happened when I watched “The Passion of the Christ.”  I vividly remember being at Rave Motion Pictures in Daphne Alabama seated between a good friend and my Associate Pastor.  For nearly 45 minutes, I watched a man portraying Christ who was beaten, and beaten, and beaten… and then he was beaten some more.  This went on forever, eventually leading to him being nailed to a wooden cross aside  criminals… our Savior.

I had a really hard time watching this, and YES, I cried.  I cried hard.  I just couldn’t believe that someone would do something like that for me.  This wasn’t Santa… this was my Savior.  This gift that I would receive from Him could never fit beneath a Christmas tree… it WAS a Christmas tree.  Two wooden beams… stripped of their branches, limbs, and leaves… And three nails later, Jesus hung, almost lifeless with two limbs of His own stretched from the east to the west.

It’s not fiction, nor is it a simple inspirational story combined with emotional triggers to try and steer us all in the right direction.  It was real.  It all happened.   He began as a King, but became a child to show us the way.  He then had to once again become a King to show us all what love really was, and to take away the sin of the world.  He had to become something we couldn’t be ourselves.  From a precious baby to a martyr.

It’s easy to get caught up in the way Christmas is popularly celebrated today, but it’s important to remember who Christ is and why He came, and why He died and rose again.  He’s our Savior, and for many, this is the only time they will even think about Him.

♫♪ “When it seems that we have lost our way
We find ourselves again on Christmas day” ♫♪

Christmas is near, and as we enjoy our gifts, Christmas dinner, and friends and family… Take time to celebrate Christ and what He means to us all.

♫♪ “Believe in what your heart is saying
Hear the melody that’s playing
There’s no time to waste
There’s so much to celebrate
Believe in what you feel inside
And give your dreams the wings to fly
you have everything you need
If you just believe.” ♫♪

♫♪ “Believe” by Josh Groban  contributed to the composition of this story.