Good Morning, Meetpastordan Readers…I love this time of year. For the past 27 years I have been able to kick off my Christmas season as one of the conductors for the Holiday Brass concert, consisting of members of the St. Louis Symphony brass section and friends. We did four concerts, two on Monday and two on Tuesday, with a packed house at each concert. As usual, they were all stunning performances! What a treat!
Needless to say, when we got home, I was high as a kite! (on the music, of course.) Pam went directly to bed (she was involved in early Bayer meetings this morning), so I decided to celebrate the evening’s performance with a moose track sundae, topped with chocolate syrup, whipped cream and crushed nuts. After that, I flopped down in front of the fireplace (with Cliff and Glenn at my side), calmed down a bit, and thanked God for the ability to conduct music, and for His faithfulness, His faithfulness and His faithfulness! Pam and I have experienced that blessing in abundance this year.
Then I said out loud, “Holy Spirit, I want to express my gratefulness to God through a blog. Give me a topic that will be pleasing to Him” Instantaneously, this is what filled my mind: “Tell them I love them; remind them of what Christmas really means; tell them I don’t want to lose anyone!” Immediately the blog took shape in my mind, and I woke up this morning ready to go!
1 John 4:8-9 tells us that “God is love!” His very essence is to love, but not as the world loves. His love is unconditional, unending and unfailing, and He showed that love by “sending His only Son into the world so that we might have eternal life through Him. It is not that we loved God, but that He sent His Son as a sacrifice to take away our sins.” THAT is love! That is agape love – self-sacrificial love.
As we approach Christmas season 2019, commercialism has all but snuffed out the true meaning of Christmas. As of today, December 8, I have not heard, read or seen any mention of Jesus Christ, who He is, or why He came, delivered by any major news outlet. But to the contrary, I have been bombarded with ads for Black Friday sales (appropriately named), Cyber Monday sales, this “Holiday” sale, or that “Holiday” super sale! Christmas has been replaced by “Holiday” and Jesus Christ has been replaced by the newest, latest, and greatest gadgets and fashions in an attempt to make us “feel” happy. That unfortunately describes our culture today; believing the lie that our identity is wrapped up in what we have, what we wear or who we impress is sad, but true.
There has been a concerted attempt to silence the true meaning of Christmas.” And why is that”, you ask? Because in our culture’s exaltation of worldly thinking and secularism, the message of Jesus Christ is a stumbling block for what is erroneously known as “Enlightenment”. But truth be told, the happiness our culture is seeking is a fraud, because it is a fleeting fix that constantly needs to be replenished because the newest, latest, and greatest gadgets and fashions can never fill that God-shaped hole in your soul. Remember…at Creation, Man was spiritually connected with God. But when sin (being disobedient to God’s directive) entered the world, that spiritual connection was severed. Since man severed that connection, it is up to man to reestablish that connection. And therein lies the rub.
From the Fall (when sin entered the world) until 2019 years ago, Man was on his own to deal with the issue of sin. Consequently, when Man proved Himself to be “utterly helpless” to overcome that dilemma, God, in His loving kindness, implemented His plan to save Man from himself. Romans 5:6 explains this very clearly: “When we were utterly helpless, Christ came at just the right time to die for us sinners.” And what was “just the right time”? When we were “utterly helpless!” That’s quite an indictment!
This message of truth and of hope is one message our culture does not want us to hear: “That God sent His only Son to die for our sins so that we might have eternal life through Him.” (1 John 4:8-9) This is contrary to the enlightened thinking of the liberal progressives, who see the government as their god. Their lie is… let the government be your provider: free Medicare for all, free college, perhaps the government will even provide a living stipend; it will be better for everyone. History has shown that that socialistic way of thinking has NEVER proven itself to be better for everyone! Let me reinforce this statement by calling on Mark Perry, an authority on the subject, to weigh in.
Mark J. Perry, concurrently a scholar at American Enterprise Institute and professor of economics and finance at University of Michigan wrote an article in 2005 entitled, “Why Socialism Fails.” His opening statements included these two indictments: “Socialism is the ‘Big Lie’ of the twentieth century. While it promised prosperity, equality, and security, it delivered poverty, misery, and tyranny. Even if there are initial signs of success, those signs quickly fade as the fundamental deficiencies are exposed. It is the initial illusion of success that gives government intervention its pernicious, seductive appeal. In the long run, however, socialism has always proven to be a formula for tyranny and misery. Equality was achieved only in the sense that everyone was equal in his or her misery.”
The true meaning of the Christmas season is an event that changed the world. It came at a time when Man had proven himself incapable of qualifying for eternal life. Unfortunately for Man, God set this standard for entering through the pearly gates: “You must be holy (sin free; set aside for a sacred purpose) because I am holy.” (1 Peter 1:16) In other words, if you are stained with sin, you cannot enter into His Kingdom. Why? Because sin spreads, contaminates, kills and destroys. Revelation 21:27 tells us, “Nothing evil will be allowed to enter, nor anyone who practices shameful idolatry and dishonesty—but only those whose names are written in the Lamb’s Book of Life.”
“So, what is the Lamb’s Book of Life”, you ask? It is the record of everyone who is covered with the blood of the Lamb, Jesus Christ. This was always God’s plan for our salvation. He knew we couldn’t qualify through our own effort, so He sacrificed His own Son to pay the penalty for our sins so we can spend eternity with Him, Jesus and all Christ-followers in Paradise. This was a sacrifice for the sins of the world. This is called the Gift of Grace, and anyone “regardless of who you are or what you have done” (Romans 3:22) who believes that Jesus is the Son of God will be saved! “God does not want to lose anyone!” (2 Peter 3:9)
The coming of Jesus Christ is God’s gift to us. All of us will die physically, but for those who are in Christ, we are promised eternal life. This is the ultimate Christmas gift and it is free to anyone who wants it. Truth be told, this is the only gift that will fill that God shaped hole in your soul!
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May God bless you abundantly,
Dan Presgrave (a.k.a. Pastor Dan)
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