Christmas presents

In His Image

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Gingerbread Man

Each Christmas my wife makes special cookies in the shape of ginger bread men or Christmas trees. Once the dough is soft she presses the form over it and cuts out the exact images over and over again. But what is good for cookies is not so great for our minds.

Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewal of your mind, that by testing you may discern what is the will of God, what is good and acceptable and perfect. Romans 12:2

close up photography of gingerbread

Photo by Noelle Otto on Pexels.com

The apostle Paul appeals to us to give our bodies to God as living sacrifices, so that we will not be pressed into the world’s mold. As a part of real worship we lovingly give to God all that we have and all that we are. He is so worth everything

we could offer and more. When we yield to Him, God comes and liberates our minds. As our minds and hearts become open to Him the fresh wind of His Spirit can begin His work so we can experience the transforming freedom of his presence. We need each day and to ask ourselves: “Is there something that has pressed me back into the world’s mold?” Then stop and make a quiet choice to give yourself to God, and wait on Him to come. Only then, in that wonderful freedom, when we have been transformed by His presence can we begin to understand what He really wants in our life. He breaks the cookie cutter molds of this world when we choose to be His and His alone!!

 

The Gift of Being a Neighbor

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When He had come to His own country, He taught them in their synagogue, so that they were astonished and said, “Where did this Man get this wisdom and these mighty works? Is this not the carpenter’s son? Is not His mother called Mary? … So they were offended at Him. Matthew 13:54-57

Sometimes we Christians get hung up on what we should be doing to celebrate Christmas. Many just dive in to mall shopping, with scarcely a passing thought at the appropriateness of celebrating our Savior’s birth by buying everything in sight. Others militantly burn the Christmas tree, fire Santa and feel that sending Christmas cards wastes money better given to the Salvation Army. But I just end up feeling miserable and guilty enjoying seasonal fun while there is so much trouble in the world.

But what would Jesus do in our modern world? What would the Word made flesh do for Christmas? While most of us know that Jesus tells us to love our neighbor, how many of us have stopped to wonder how Jesus handled that? Jesus had neighbors too! While He took the time to talk with his neighbors He was also doing mighty works (Like healing some of them). But He was rejected! Have we decided to ignore our neighbors because they might reject us? Jesus would say something to us, “Welcome to the club!” Rejection doesn’t get us off the hook from the command to love. Maybe we should just start out by finding out what their name is! How about trying to meet your neighbor as your first gift of Christmas and then take it from there?

What Will We Give?

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And when they were come into the house, they saw the young child with Mary his mother, and fell down, and worshiped him: and when they had opened their treasures, they presented unto him gifts; gold, and frankincense and myrrh.  Matthew 2:11 KJV

 At Fort Knox in Kentucky the U.S. government stores over 9 million pounds of gold bullion. As you can imagine this is one of the most secure facilities anywhere on the planet. That gold has been there for over 90 years. Nothing more has gone in and nothing has been taken out. That is the way things are with the treasures of this life. They are kept under lock and key and rarely used. But at the birth of Jesus Christ things changed if only for one night. Men who had saved up immense riches risked everything to bring them to Bethlehem.

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They risked their lives on the dangerous and difficult journey from their far homeland. They willingly risked the wrath of King Herod whose soldiers were standing by ready to descend onto the helpless village. But nothing of their treasure, nothing of their comfort or safety mattered to them on that evening. All they could see was the star they had followed standing over the place and the opened their treasures and worshiped Him!