This holiday season, please do not forget Jesus. He is not like Santa and he is not like Rudolph! He is not a figment of one's imagination and he is not a swear word. He is the son of the most High God. He is the name that gives clarity to the God you serve. There are so many that say they have God or claim to have accepted God, but without Jesus, we have no reference to which god it is that they are talking about. Keep Jesus in everything you do, whether you are praying, shopping, or just witnessing it needs to be understood who you are doing it for. Jesus is the reason, not just for this season, but for salvation period. Throughout history, pagans have tried to discredit the birth of Jesus. Each form of paganism from the Mayans to Egyptians, from the Incas to the Zodiac predicted a child born of a virgin in their own culture. They ran a christ-like theory parallel with God's word to make it look like Jesus' birth was just another son of a god born of a virgin. But we that believe in the true God know that the devil may counterfeit the birth be he cannot counterfeit the power of the life and death! We know that by faith we believe in the son of God, Jesus. He is the only way and even though many pagans selected Jesus birth to celebrate their false gods, we celebrate the birth of our savior regardless. It's not a commandment of God but a privilege of those of us that love him.
I love my family and though they do not command me to celebrate them on their birthdays, I do it because I believe that they should be honored on that day in my eyes. I want to celebrate the fact that they are here. I feel the same way about Jesus. And though there are a lot of pagan themes used in our cultures celebration of Jesus' birth, the fact still remains that HE WAS BORN! And with that fact, I choose to celebrate him and my family. But pagans would rather we associate this day with their gods and find reason to ignore the day. I choose to take the stand that I will celebrate Jesus birth with my family and celebrate my love for them by giving gifts to them in honor of Christ. I know this doesn't sit well with many because they have pulled up the history of pagans but the pagans targeted the birth of Jesus to stop all future celebrations of him. This is the day that the world would call his name and recognize his coming. But pagans knew that if they could counter the date, they could make even some Christians choose to fight the celebrating of Christ's birth.
The wise men brought gifts to celebrate Jesus and that is a fact. Jesus turned water into wine at a wedding celebration, that is a fact. So, though many feel that celebrating events and dates is wrong, my bible shows me different. So, I will continue to celebrate birthdays including the birth of my savior without conviction. And though we should forsake the pagan gods we should never deny the fact that a real savior was born and the date we select to celebrate it is our choice.
Don't let the pagans, the astrologers, and the Wiccans discredit the obvious. Jesus was born, and he is worthy of recognition on the day we choose. And though December 25th may not be the exact date, on a linear calendar it's impossible to celebrate an exact date for anything. Come on folks, don't lose Christ this season and don't let the pagans erase a day that did occur and that warrants our celebrating and remembering.Sure the world wants Christ out of Christmas. Sure they want to allow every other god and religion to freely express themselves, except for Christians and those that believe in Christ. Sure department stores are taking Merry Christmas off their ads and just saying "Happy Holidays". This world hates JESUS and if you love him, they will hate you. We must stop being politically correct and trying to fit in with the in-crowd by not saying his name or claiming him in public. We must stand up for Jesus if we love Jesus. Say his name if he is who you are talking about!
It's time for those that really love him to defend his name and preach his gospel. It's time for those that really love him to sound the alarm and warn this wicked world that he is coming back! It's time for those that have denied their own flesh to promote him, and let the world know that he is the ONLY way to God! This holiday season, don't forget the reason we celebrate it. Don't forget Jesus
Is. 9:6 For unto us a child is born, unto us a son is given: and the government shall be upon his shoulder: and his name shall be called Wonderful, Counsellor, The mighty God, The everlasting Father, The Prince of Peace.
In Love,
G. Craige Lewis
