Why Christmas Is A Day Of Joy

December 24 (Psalm 30:5)

Weeping may tarry for the night, but joy comes with the morning.  (ESV)

Tomorrow is Christmas Day.  Popular songs, to say nothing of experience, tell us that children will find it hard to sleep as they anticipate the gifts and pleasures to come.  Guess what?  That should be you, too.  Tomorrow may include travel and family and cooking.  It may involve gifts and laughter and lights.  Yet tomorrow is so much more than all that, and the merest thought of it should keep you awake with excited anticipation, for you see, joy comes with the morning.

Tomorrow is the day when the world acknowledges the birth of God in the flesh.  To be sure, many of the world’s celebrations are misguided, and many who celebrate do not know God as anything other than a word of profanity to be invoked when they want to condemn something.  Yet celebrations will take place, and whether those who celebrate fully understand it or not, it is because of unspeakable joy.

We humans wrecked everything in the Garden of Eden and have continued to make a mess of things ever since, hence the weeping.  God looked into that mess with the eyes of love and sent us His Son to comfort us, to guide and support us, and to redeem us with His blood.  So get excited!  But not with visions of sugarplums dancing in your head, but with the image of Jesus Christ, born to die so that YOU could truly live.

What joy, Lord, it truly is to think about the life, death, and resurrection of Your Son, Jesus!  In my celebration of Christmas with family and friends, may that joy, the joy that comes with a life redeemed by Him, radiate from all that I do.  Thank You, Father, for the greatest gift of all!  Amen.

Copyright © 2017 by Steven R. Perkins

A Lion At Christmas

December 25 (Revelation 5:5)

Weep no more; behold, the Lion of the tribe of Judah, the Root of David, has conquered….    (ESV)

Many of us will see nativity sets under our trees today or on tables amid candles and cards.  Often those sets will have a sheep or two, for the shepherds were there to welcome their Lord as a baby.  The sheep are also a reminder of the gentle love of our Savior, Who is the Lamb of God.

Yet this Lamb is also a lion, the Lion of the tribe of Judah, spoken of in the last book of the Bible as the One Who has conquered.  And what has He conquered?  He has conquered everything…sin, death, separation from God…and every other ill that has sprung from the attempts of Satan to bring harm to God’s creation.

So what are you waiting for?  Laugh, celebrate, and sing loudly for joy!  Joy to the world, the Lord is come!  Let earth receive her king!  Let every heart prepare Him room, and heaven and nature sing!

Lord, I am so grateful to You this Christmas Day!  The gift not only of eternal life is mine through Jesus, but the gift of life to the full, as it was meant to be, with You.  Glory be Yours this day, Lord, from the depths of my heart and in all I say and do.  Amen.

Copyright © 2016 by Steven R. Perkins

The Christmas Dragon

December 11 (Revelation 12:3, 4)

I saw a large red dragon with seven heads and ten horns, with seven crowns on his heads.  He stood in front of the woman as she was about to give birth, ready to devour her baby as soon as it was born.  (ESV)

Does the nativity set under your tree come with a dragon?  It should.  We focus a lot on gentle Jesus, meek and mild, but we rarely acknowledge the dragon that showed up at His birth.  We sing of the wise men and we talk of the shepherds keeping watch over the flocks that night, but the dragon is curiously absent from most of our Christmas stories, plays, and songs.  Then again, we do remember, at least sometimes, the threat of King Herod, so perhaps we are at least faintly aware that something serious, something dangerous is connected with the babe wrapped in swaddling clothes.

The birth of Jesus was both an earthly and a cosmic event, which stands to reason since He is both God and man.  As a result, His birth was opposed in both realms, by Herod on earth and by Satan in the heavenly places.  Make no mistake here.  Satan is not a cute Disney dragon.  He is the ancient serpent who deceived Adam and Eve and is the inspirer of abortion, genocide, racism, hatred, murder, lying, theft, abuse, and every evil we have ever experienced.  And that is the beast that stood ready to devour the Christ child.

It is a king you have represented beneath your Christmas tree.  It is a cosmic warrior who defeated death that is being portrayed by a plastic baby doll in the Christmas play.  It is the incarnation of more power and love and grace and truth than our small minds can comprehend that Satan wished to kill from the beginning and who looks today into your eyes as He says, “That one is mine.”

O Lord, my God, You have my allegiance and my life.  All that I am, all that I have, and all that I do is Yours.  Today I ask for nothing, but give to You once again my everything.  Amen.

Copyright © 2016 by Steven R. Perkins

The Name In Christmas

December 20 (Acts 4:12)

And there is salvation in no one else, for there is no other name under heaven given among men by which we must be saved.  (ESV)

Merry Zeusmas!  Have a great Thormas!  Hope you enjoy Bobmas with your family!  So, are you going anywhere special this Nancymas?

There is a reason no one says such things.  There is a reason that if someone did, we would think he was crazy.  Zeus, Thor, and their like are false gods, mere fictions, and Bob and Nancy are names of ordinary human beings.  In short, none of them has warranted such celebration as we see at Christmas, and for good reason.  Not one human being other than Jesus has the power to save, and certainly no god created by powerless humans can do it.

I recently read an article suggesting that people do not need to be Christians to celebrate Christmas, and this is certainly true.  It went on, however, to suggest that Christmas was really no more than a pagan holiday that had been viewed through a Christian lens and now, in the 21^st century, is once again a time stripped of its Christian meaning.  To this I would simply say, look at the word.  We are not celebrating Ra or Buddha at Christmas.  Whether a person acknowledges it or not, Christmas, like the rest of life, is first, last, and always about Jesus.

Lord, as the days pass rapidly heading toward Christmas, help me not to get so caught up in holiday stress and year-end business that I miss the chance to pause and honor You, born as a human, just like me, but capable of saving me from the penalty of sin.  As I focus on this truth, help me to shine its glory for those around me, far brighter than any decorative lights I may hang.  In the name of the One Who is the way, the truth, and the life, even Jesus my Lord, amen.

Copyright © 2015 by Steven R. Perkins