And the angel said to them, “Fear not, for behold, I bring you good news of great joy that will be for all the people. Luke 2:10

Have you ever really pondered how, as time goes on, the things of God get more and more watered down and distorted and He gets less and less honor, glory and praise?

Take Easter for instance. As I indicated in our blog “Faith Like A Child” Easter is a particularly special day for me, as it was the day that our Grandson was first introduced and drawn to the Lord. Easter was once a holiday set aside for remembering what our Savior accomplished at the cross….forgiveness for all mankind (when they accept Him as Lord and Savior). It is always on a Sunday and we would go to Church, we praised and worshiped and learned more about Him. Then we celebrated and fellowshipped as families and the day was literally set aside for Him. But, as the world would have it, (other than the Church) Jesus is rarely even talked about. It is about a giant bunny who brings candy and eggs to our children.

The rainbow once represented a promise from God to all of mankind and children were raised to know that. Children were told the story of Noah. We even had toy arks and animals that to play with (I wasn’t even churched as a child and my grandma bought me one and told me the story of Noah). Even this symbol of God’s love and promise to us, no longer represents what it once did.

And what about Christmas…for the Church, it is the day that we celebrate the birth of our Savior and honor Him. But outside the Church it is a marketing holiday. A day to celebrate children and to spoil them more than we already do. To some degree worshiping them as though they were our idols. Offering them greater and greater gifts, seeking their pleasure and praise.

Please understand that I am not saying that it is evil to present your children with gifts. In fact Matthew 7:11 says “So if you sinful people know how to give good gifts to your children how much more will your heavenly Father give good gifts to those who ask him”. The verse is primarily speaking of the magnitude of the blessings of God, to His children, but it does say that we know how to give good gifts to our children and it does not condemn that . The fact remains that the greatest gift that we can give our children is knowledge about our Heavenly Father and how to obtain a personal relationship with our Savior Jesus Christ. Yet the modern day Christmas Holiday attempts to blot out our Savior and make it about striving after material possessions. This is contrary to the scriptures teaching “Do not lay up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust destroy and where thieves break in and steal, but lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust destroys and where thieves do not break in and steal”. Matthew 6:19 & 20.

Now, we even have a “Christmas in July”. It is a day that the world has begun to throw “Christmas” parties. It is typically celebrated on July 25th and occasionally on the 12th. And has nothing to do with our Savior. People wear winter clothing , put up Christmas decorations, give gifts to party attendees and drink spiked egg nog.

As time goes on, the scriptures tell us that, we (mankind) will get further and further from our Heavenly Father and will worship other idols and turn our backs on Him.

I pray that on this July 25th, and on December 25th (Christmas) and on Easter and every other day of the year, we would celebrate the only one worthy of honor, praise and glory, our risen Savior Jesus Christ. I pray that we would take back those holidays and on the days leading up to them and every day of the year, I pray that we would share Jesus with those around us and would point them to Him. I pray that we would raise up our children and pour into our Children and Grandchildren, the love and forgiveness of our Heavenly Father. And I pray that it starts today.

If you do not know Jesus as your personal Lord and Savior I pray that you would go to our Life Preserver page and pray the prayer outlined there. I pray that if you do, you would reach out to me and let me know so that I can pray for you and help you grow in your knowledge and relationship of our Savior.

Luv Ya,