AVOIDING THE CHRISTMAS HALLUCINATION: LIVING-UP THE REAL CHRISTMAS DREAM

INTRODUCTION

Not many people have the real understanding of what Christmas means. The period connotes different things to different persons.

• To sale representatives it is that period of the year when companies reward loyal customers for their patronage throughout the year, with one bonanza or the other; 
• To very busy workers, it is another major break away from office rush and all the traffic hustles and bustles; 
•  To kids and perhaps  most younger folks, it is another opportunity to get a new clothe to their wardrobe with the traditional “Christmas clothe”; 
•  In fact there are folks who look up to this season to catch a new partner from the multiple events lined up to end the year, and 
•  To the general populace they see this period as the “mass return” or “family reunion” time.

There is nothing really wrong with all these activities, except that they negate the real essence for which Christmas is celebrated.

UNDERSTANDING THE TRUE ESSENCE OF CHRISTMAS

These divergent perceptions of what an occasion as holy as Christmas means have indeed altered the way it is celebrated across the globe. A random questioning test of what the true meaning of Christmas is, both from non-Christians and Christians alike will likely reveal how it has wrongly conceptualized. 

The essence of Christmas is not far-fetched for any person who truly desires to know. In its simplest form Christmas is ‘Christ’-‘mass’. Meaning a mass for the birth of Christ; but who is this Christ? And what exactly is his mission?

Beginning with the first question-Christ is the promised messiah and His mission is simple- 'to deliver the world from its sins' (Isaiah 9:6-7).  There is however a more a compelling reason for Christmas – which is the unconditional LOVE of God!

The whole essence of Christmas revolves around love. When God perhaps saw the need for a messiah He had to offer His only begotten son as the ransom for all who will sincerely accept  and confess with their mouth that He is Lord (John 3:16-21).

We may wish to seek other subtle benefits from the season, but if we fail to acknowledge this gift of God to mankind we are above all most miserable.  In addition to that, we must remember that if we only receive at this period without reciprocating we will be guilty of selfishness. If the God-Head could give the world a saviour without strings attached, we cannot let this season pass without blessing somebody from the same blessing we have freely received. If the essence of Christmas is well understood, then our joy will not be complete if only our own Christmas needs are met, without a sincere show of concern to our neighbours and brethren who cannot enjoy the happiness of the season because of their weak financial status. 

LIVING THE REAL CHRISTMAS DREAM

One thing perhaps that will gladden the heart of Christ for whom we celebrate this season is to show true love to those in need. Consider what the Saviour had to say in Mathew 25:34-40.

“³⁴Then the King will say to those on his right, ‘Come, you who are blessed by my Father; take your inheritance, the kingdom prepared for you since the creation of the world.

 ³⁵ For I was hungry and you gave me something to eat, I was thirsty and you gave me something to drink, I was a stranger and you invited me in,

³⁶ I needed clothes and you clothed me, I was sick and you looked after me, I was in prison and you came to visit me.’

³⁷ “Then the righteous will answer him, ‘Lord, when did we see you hungry and feed you, or thirsty and give you something to drink?

³⁸ When did we see you a stranger and invite you in, or needing clothes and clothe you? ³⁹ When did we see you sick or in prison and go to visit you?’

⁴⁰ “The King will reply, ‘Truly I tell you, whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers and sisters of mine, you did for me.’

The reverse will be the case if we ignore this simple but compelling message to share God’s love with those in need. The impending danger of neglect is found in Matthew 25:41-45.

⁴¹ “Then he will say to those on his left, ‘Depart from me, you who are cursed, into the eternal fire prepared for the devil and his angels. ⁴² For I was hungry and you gave me nothing to eat, I was thirsty and you gave me nothing to drink, ⁴³ I was a stranger and you did not invite me in, I needed clothes and you did not clothe me, I was sick and in prison and you did not look after me.’

⁴⁴ “They also will answer, ‘Lord, when did we see you hungry or thirsty or a stranger or needing clothes or sick or in prison, and did not help you?’

⁴⁵ “He will reply, ‘Truly I tell you, whatever you did not do for one of the least of these, you did not do for me.’

The question some curious, fire brand Christians will likely ask, will be – “on what account will a person go to hell, is it for not showing God’s love or for not accepting Christ as Lord and Saviour? The answer is an emphatic BOTH as can be confirmed from 1^st Peter 4:8 which says “Above all, love each other deeply, because love covers over a multitude of sins.

It is sin that leads people to hell and the passage above reminds us that love is one antidote for the remission of sins after we have accepted Christ into our lives. Confessing Christ as Lord and saviour is a prerequisite to heaven, but it does not end there. Charity should not be a subject of debate, amongst Christians; even unbelievers know that there abound immense benefits for all kind deeds done to the poor. As true celebrants (i.e. persons who know the real essence of Christmas) we must demonstrate in practical terms the love of God showered on us freely by the gift of Jesus Christ. If God can give us His only son, we have no excuse to withhold anything from those we can bless. Be reminded that He is a good Lord who rewards those that diligently seek Him. If you are still in doubt about what to do perhaps 1^st Corinthians 15:58 will be of good help. It says:

“Therefore, my dear brothers and sisters, stand firm. Let nothing move you. Always give yourselves fully to the work of the Lord, because you know that your labour in the Lord is not in vain”. 

WHAT NEXT?

Every true expression of love begins with giving! Even in our natural relationships, affection permeates gifts. The best way to show wholesome concern is in giving. I believe strongly also that every man has what to give; we only need to check carefully to find out what are gifts should be. To some it is their money they have to give; to others it could be their talent, time, knowledge, words of wisdom and unconditional care for the infirm, weak and the less privileged. Consider what Apostle Paul had to say in Acts 20:35 on this:

“In everything I did, I showed you that by this kind of hard work we must help the weak, remembering the words the Lord Jesus himself said: ‘It is more blessed to give than to receive.”

THE CONCLUSION

What more do I have to say- Nothing than “Go ye and do as you have read”. Make sure you give somebody a real reason to be happy this season by your show of love. God bless you now and in the New Year to come as you diligently obey His words.

Have a Merry Christmas! !!

The 10 Most Influential Persons of the Year 2012

Last week I had the rare opportunity of talking to a group of Christian worshipers on the imperatives of gratitude to God.  The succeeding comments, phone calls and personal interactions that accompanied the message deepened my thought on the issue of gratitude holistically. One critical question that wallowed through my mind in all of these was ‘the place of fellow mortals in our attitude of gratitude’. The big question for me was ‘beyond God, do I owe men gratitude? YES! Was the overwhelming inner response I got.

Not just to settle for a lesser debate I searched further for spiritually based evidences to this position. A number of bible based stories flashed through my mind to concur with the fact that every man indeed owe another man gratitude for what God has used him to do in his life. Let me share this simple but profound story to buttress my point.

The Ten Lepers

This is one of the celebrated teachings of Christ that is used to depict the need for Christians to show appreciation to God for the good they receive from Him. No issue with that perception- except that in my discussion last week, I sought a rather different view on the issue and enquired rhetorically whether our appreciation should be based on only miracles and tangible blessings we can count? (See Gratitude: the right attitude for spiritual Health for more on that).

In Luke 17:11-19 from where the story is culled, an account was given of Christ’s journey to Jerusalem, in which Jesus traveled along the border between Samaria and Galilee. As he was going into a village, ten men who had leprosy met him. They stood at a distance and called out in a loud voice, "Jesus, Master, have pity on us!" When he saw them, he said, "Go, and show yourselves to the priests." And as they went, they were cleansed. One of them, when he saw he was healed, came back, praising God in a loud voice. He threw himself at Jesus' feet and thanked him -- and he was a Samaritan. Jesus asked, "Were not all ten cleansed? Where are the other nine? Was no one found to return and give praise to God except this foreigner?" Then he said to him, "Rise and go; your faith has made you well."

Even though I do not intend to analyze this story in its full theological perspective, I will however consider the following critical points of the story:

i.                   First there were ten lepers healed but only one returned to show appreciation to Christ (Verse 15).

Whatever was responsible for this must fall between forgetfulness, procrastination or outright ungratefulness. The latter perhaps represents a really bad attitude.

ii.                 The other major concern of Christ was expressed in verse 17-  and Jesus asked, "Were not all ten cleansed? Where are the other nine?

Let me perhaps explain here that Christ was still with his disciples on earth and as at this time it was Christ the “human” working under heaven’s mandate. Only Jesus Christ holds the dual status of being man and God. Even though he was not interested in getting any human reward from the other nine lepers, he was worried as a normal human would as to why the nine did not show up. The answer to that is another day’s discussion, but here is the moral to lesson-men deserve and expect their fellow humans to show gratitude for charities received in kind and otherwise.

We may argue this differently as to why should men seek to be appreciated for their kind deed, would they not forgo the attaching blessings by this act? Yes! That is true only if the intention behind the good gesture is to gain public recognition. In the absence of that which only God can determine- it is appropriate before God and men to appreciate others for the good role God has used them to play in our lives. 

Sometimes it seems to me as if we have a slightly negative practice of this principle. It is common for people to reserve all gratitude they owe people till their funeral when they speak of all the good works of the person-obviously because we do not want to speak evil of the dead. We must however learn to appreciate persons whom God have used to bless us throughout a year.

It is possible for us to say I owe only God my gratitude-No Doubt! But God will always use men to accomplish His plans in our lives. As I think further of how best to reinforce this concept in our minds, it became clear to me that for a man to be called a father (a process that seems purely natural) he requires the support of a woman who would bear him children. Even though it is God that gives children, no man would boast of being a father without the biological support of his spouse or partner. Invariable we need men and owe them gratitude as well for all God has used them to achieve in our lives.

The Action Point:

Just before you stop reading this, I want you to do the following:

i.    Carefully think of those folks God have used to make the year 2012 a blissful one for you.

ii.        Make a list of your “10 most influential Persons of the year 2012”.

iii.   Do not stop there complete the process by sending them an SMS of appreciation and thanking them with specific reference to what God used them to achieve in your life this year.

Shalom!  Shalom!! Shalom!!!

GRATITUDE: THE RIGHT ATTITUDE FOR SPIRITUAL HEALTH

GRATITUDE: THE RIGHT ATTITUDE FOR SPIRITUAL HEALTH

delivered on 

Sunday 2^nd December, 2012

by 

Olayinka Moses

 Text: 1 Thessalonians 5:18; Habakkuk 3: 17-19

 As the year 2012 gradually winds-up it is common for folks to recount what the year has been for them. A basic underlying feature of this review will include the consideration of all faulty events and perhaps losses incurred during the year. This list will typically include things like:

i.                    Top 10 misses of the year 2012;

ii.                  Biggest Failures of the of year

iii.                Enemies of the decade

iv.                Unfortunate events of the period

v.                  And the endless list of all manner of negative things that happened.

Believe me it is a time for gratitude and appreciation to the Almighty God for His infinite mercies and super sufficiency. It is time to count our blessings not our losses. Just in case you have lost count of blessings the year 2012 has offered you below are a few:

Ø  1. If you have food to eat; clothes to wear, and place to sleep ... you are richer than over 75% of the world’s population who cannot afford that; 

Ø  2. If you woke up this morning with more health than illness ... you are more fortunate than the million people who will not survive the week.

Ø  3. If you have never experienced the danger of battle, the loneliness of imprisonment, the agony of torture or the suffering of starvation ... you are ahead of 500 million people in the world.

Ø  If you can read this message, then you are fortunate not to have been killed by one religious crisis or the other that have rocked this city and the entire nation.

So it is really not hard to see what God has done throughout the year and what He is still doing.

But consider this. If we follow this logic, then it means that if we do not have these things, we cannot give thanks. So what if we have no food ... no car ... no home ... no job? Does this mean we cannot give thanks? Consider what Prophet Habakkuk had to say in this regards:

“Though the fig tree does not bud and there are no grapes on the vines, though the olive crop fails and the fields produce no food, though there are no sheep in the pen and no cattle in the stalls, yet I will rejoice in the Lord,  I will be joyful in God my Savior. The Sovereign Lord is my strength; he makes my feet like the feet of a deer, he enables me to tread on the heights.”

We owe gratitude to God in spite of the situations around us. Remember God is good all the time. I know we just gave our sacrifice to God last Sunday, but that should not mark the end of our thanksgiving to Him for the year.

As I try to make you see the need to thank God, I am compelled to remind you of the very popular hymn of Johnson Oatman Jr. titled “Count your blessing”. It is good for each of us periodically to take time to rediscover the simple but profound truths expressed in this hymn.

In the first two verses he develops the thought that counting our blessings serves as an antidote for life’s discouragements and in turn makes for victorious Christian living.

The third stanza of this hymn teaches us that counting our blessings can be a means of placing material possessions in proper perspective when compared to the eternal inheritance awaiting believers.

Then as we review our individual blessings, we certainly would have to agree with the writer’s fourth verse: The provision of God’s help and comfort to the end of our earthly pilgrimage is one of our choicest blessings.

What next? Sing this hymn now as a spiritual awakening of your commitment to an unending life of gratitude God.

Count Your Blessings

1. When upon life’s billows you are tempest-tossed,
   When you are discouraged, thinking all is lost,
   Count your many blessings, name them one by one,
   And it will surprise you what the Lord hath done.
• Refrain:
  Count your blessings, name them one by one,
  Count your blessings, see what God hath done!
  Count your blessings, name them one by one,
  *Count your many blessings, see what God hath done.
  [*And it will surprise you what the Lord hath done.]
2. Are you ever burdened with a load of care?
   Does the cross seem heavy you are called to bear?
   Count your many blessings, every doubt will fly,
   And you will keep singing as the days go by.
3. When you look at others with their lands and gold,
   Think that Christ has promised you His wealth untold;
   Count your many blessings—money cannot buy
   Your reward in heaven, nor your home on high.
4. So, amid the conflict whether great or small,
   Do not be discouraged, God is over all;
   Count your many blessings, angels will attend,
   Help and comfort give you to your journey’s end.