As I think about what a merry christmas would consist of… these words come to mind.

 

Happy.

Glorious.

Humble.

Blessed.

Gracious.

 

But among those words that describe the best christmas, I think that the one thing that God has laid on my heart the past few days  for this holiday season is wrapping my head around the mindset of a becoming a servant. 

 

I want to you to join me in adding this to the list of things that you will take upon yourself this christmas! What an impact we can make with the people we interact with this christmas season if we lay our lives down and serve them. 

 

There are two ways to serve though…. 

Out of the heart.

or out of the hand.  

 

When you serve out of the hand you serve so that people notice what you have done. You want to wave your hand in the air when you serve, most likely not intentionally though, and let others know that you are “doing something good” even though this, in actuality, isn’t really serving… its a political stunt. This is the easy one and most likely… again whether intentionally or not…. we do this one.  [yes mission trips are of the hand].

 

The other way to serve is out of the heart.  You serve the way that Mother Terresa served… un-noticed and from the heart.  You serve for you and your maker alone.  And you keep it that way. What you do is from the depths of who you are and it isn’t something that is necessarily noticed. Serving from the heart though is a bit tougher, you have to serve and NEVER want any attention what-so-ever from it…. and in the end be completely fine with people never acknowledging it. 

 

 

What I encourage you this christmas is to adopt the idea of serving from the heart.  Make it who you are… Make it what your about.  Make it your mindset.  If we really want to put all the things God has challenged us this year into action we have to serve wholeheartedly.  

 

  — and by the way, when you serve.. it can be the most humbling and gratifying thing you ever do… if it is from the heart!

 

 

 

 

 

So….  this christmas, if we really want to make it a “merry” christmas, we have to figure out how to serve from the heart.  Un-noticed, Mother Terresa style. No spotlight. No glory.  The guy keeping score, the creator of the heavens, will notice you and never forget.  so go ahead…  Make this a Merry Christmas. 

 

 

 

 

 

Wishing all of you a VERY Merry Christmas,

Luke

 

…and you better believe that I will be here next week, the last week of 2006!!!  Get ready for God to challenge you for ‘07!

 

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One week away and the smell of Christmas is all around… with lights outside every house in my neighborhood, the christmas tree and best of all… friends are back in town and there are christmas parties with warm fires and yummy food!!!  

 

The last two weeks God has challenged me to be a star in my communities and let others read the “bible” inside all of me… and he challenged me to Jump in to the comfort of the uncomfortable crib of sharing Jesus Christ with those who God has strategically placed in my life… 

 

but what’s really cool about the concept of this week is that among all that above… we can know and understand that in the core of who we are in relation to God….God is near… and we are completely surrounded by his love.

 

 

 

 

The cloth.

 

 

The cloth that wrapped Jesus in the manger after he was born was really what I like to think about as…the cloth of Christ. Among the cold of the winter and the lack of clothing on his body, Mary had to keep baby Jesus warm with a single cloth.  how did she do it?  like all mothers… a swaddle.

 

What I love is that we not only see this type of love during christmas time, but throughout our entire lives, God has us in a swaddle of His love. He provides us warmth when we are cold, and food for his children, clothes for the homeless, and a life more abundant than we can imagine…. 

 

 

Think about the security we can find in the swaddle of God’s love… it’s exactly the essence of what Christmas is all about…. the Gift of Christmas: Jesus.

 

 

For we know that through this gift, we are secured a spot in the book of life and are given the warmth of knowing that we can spend eternity in heaven with Him one day!

 

 

 

So think about the cloth this week… think about how Christ sent his son into this cold, dark and broken world to save us…. all the while,

 

to prove that he has us in his arms… 

to prove that he has us EXACTLY where he wants us… 

and prove that He is our father & will love us till the end of time.

 

 

He has wrapped us in the cloth of his love to give us warmth, to shine his light and to fix the pain and suffering of this world…. let yourself be wrapped up in his love, and wrapped up in HIS story, so that you can become the light to someone this christmas.   

 

 

embrace the true Gift of Christmas:  Him.

 

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you’ve seen the show “Cribs” I imagine… and I imagine that the last thing you thought of when you were watching that show was… “man I feel really really bad for these people, I mean they have so little… and life must be so uncomfortable.” 

 

the culture has caused the word “crib” to mean lavish, nice, a comfortable location of rest and relaxation. But in “the” story of Christmas, Jesus would have disagreed.  What his crib consisted of was a troth, the place where animals drink water from.  

 

But the bible doesn’t dwell on the fact that the King of the Universe was born in a not-so-comfortable place… no it actually only mentions it in a few chapters of the new testament. 

 

 

 

If you notice, Jesus found comfort in his uncomfortable crib. 

 

God likes to put us in uncomfortable situations where we stretch our faith, and reveal to God the love we have for him.  What I think God wants us to learn from the crib of the Christ is that in the uncomfortable situations that God places us in, God is wanting us to grow our faith, he’s wanting us to find comfort in HIM.

 

 

Comfort in an uncomfortable situation.  

 

So instead of avoiding the conversation with the loved one, or journeying off the path of talking to a family member about Jesus… find comfort in the fact that God has called you to do this.  He has called you to be in this uncomfortable situation.  He has divinely appointed you to be where you are for a reason, and we need to celebrate these moments!

 

God’s plan is at work…. and we should find great Joy and comfort in God using us it to fulfill his purposes. 

 

 

 

So this Christmas season when its so easy to just avoid talking to the people you interact with and the people that are getting a chance to read the bible through you this holiday… get uncomfortable with them and jump in the crib of Christ.  Not only will God show you the comfort in being uncomfortable, but you will see a faith in you that has never been revealed before.

 

Go ahead.  share the love of the creator that changed your life.  Ask God for opportunities to open up your heart and share the pages of the bible in you that the people around you NEED to hear.

 

get comfortable in getting uncomfortable. 

 

 

 

God never meant for us to be alone though… and that is what next week is all about… but until then… be the star in the sky, and jump in the crib of Christ so that God can begin to use you this Christmas for his works, for his might, for his plan… for his GLORY!

 

Jump in!

 

-L. 

 

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Have you ever wondered if culture gets too wrapped up in the concept of giving a gift for christmas?  the exchange of material expressions of gratitude and love? Think about what the original story of Christmas is truly centered on… a Gift.  

 

The gift of a savior. 

 

But why do we focus so much more on the material aspects of the holiday and not on the glorious truths that we are loved by a creator, and Jesus entered the world to give us life…. by reuniting us with our father in heaven.  

 

 

 

What I would love to do over the next three weeks is open up three aspects of the Christmas story and apply them to our lives so that we can better align ourselves with the true meaning of what Christmas was meant to be.  

 

I start with the star.

 

 

To the three wise-men that were coming to see Christ after he was born, the star represented guidance.  Direction. A map.  If we think about it, for us the bible is our map.  It is the exact thing that God gives us directions through.  And what we try so hard to do in life is align our lives with God’s plan by reading his guide… his holy word.

 

But have you ever thought of the people who won’t ever pick up a bible in their life? I bet there are more people than you think, some of them probably are in your circle of influence.  I look at it like a professional bus driver, and throughout his/her entire life…. will never, not even once… come in contact with a map or directions on where to go.  Without the map, they are lost, and just driving around wasting gas with no destination in the end. 

 

 

The problem is that in life and in the world of driving, the price of gas is expensive, and we need a map to make sure we are driving for a purpose, in the right direction… so that we don’t get off track with what our destination is.  We need a navigation system installed. 

 

My dad said to me when I was younger, “Luke, you may be the only bible someone reads one day…. what do you want it to say?”

 

 

 

what a thought.  This Christmas, someone may read you… it may be the only bible they get a chance to read…. and they may get a glimpse of what life with Jesus is all about.  Or will they get a glimpse of something else?   they may get a glimpse of what driving around with a map and directions is like.  Or they may get a glimpse of a lost bus driver wasting expensive gas….

 

But hopefully they may see the star in a clouded sky.  And if they can find the map and follow the star, they will have the same hope you and I walk with every day of a life with Christ….  Be the star. Be the map.  Be the guide.  Install the navigation system.

 

 

So I ask you……

 

If you are the only bible that someone may read one day, what do you want it to say? what do you want it to shout out?  

 

 

 

then let it say that!

 

 

-L.

 

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