The heavens
are telling (declaring) of the glory of God; And their expanse is declaring the
work of His hands. Day to day pours
forth speech, And night to night reveals knowledge.
I read a Facebook
post from friend earlier this week that said he was going to sleep on the couch
with only the Christmas tree lights on.
He used the words peace and joy and talked about the greatness of the
season.
Many of the things
that are prevalent during this season do wonderful things to help us stop and
look at our Savior and the sweetness of the season and of the reality of the
Gospel. Some of these things stick out
in my mind, but one of the most critical things I am embracing is how busy we
all seem with life. It is at that time
that we have trouble focusing on Jesus.
The sky really is
incredible. One of my children mentioned
that the nights around Christmas are to be full moon. Another member of my family looked at the
weather for Christmas and shared that it will be in the 70’s which is not much
like Christmas or winter time weather.
It is not the weather that tells me to celebrate Jesus. It is not even the sky that reminds us of
God’s glory that leads to the season. It
is not the Christmas tree or the flickering lights. But there are a few things that draw my
attention to what really matters.
A card came in the
mail earlier this week from our friends Leif and Margaret (that would be Margret Fienberg). They included picture of themselves with
their little dog, Hershey. There was
also a letter that talked about their move from Colorado to Utah for ministry,
about the healing from Cancer and getting stronger, and they shared how
grateful they are for relationships. I
was reminded that relationships matter most.
People matter most.
I walked in to the
front door of the church recently and noticed that someone moved the pieces of
the nativity scene on the table in the entryway. By the way, you might know that I notice many
things and am a little OCD about stuff.
All the pieces were facing in what seemed like the wrong direction. Usually they are facing forward so the person
looking at the nativity can see who they are and what part they play, but the
person who moved these pieces has them all facing one center focused piece
which was the baby Jesus. I wanted to
fix the pieces, but I chose rather to take it in, look at it for a few minutes
and try to understand how we need to focus on Jesus.
Christmas is a time
when we can choose to focus on what really matters. Focus on Jesus. Focus on the relationships that God has
placed in your life. Christmas is about
life and not things. The gifts are great
but not the central important piece. The
lights and decorations are cool yet often cloud the most important parts of
this season.
It is about
Jesus. What is it around you that
declares the glory of God? May we stop
and look. May we change our focus. May we worship and slow down to let Jesus be
the center of our Christmas and to enjoy the relationships around us.
But may all who search for you be filled with joy and
gladness in you. May those who love your salvation repeatedly shout, “God is great!”
Through Christ you have come to trust in God. And you have placed your faith
and hope in God because he
raised Christ from the dead and gave him great glory.
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