It's a little early for a Christmas post, but then again, since the material world tries to get an earlier jump on the season every year, maybe posting now isn't so bad after all.
As a person goes out and about to plan their holiday decorations or to start their Christmas shopping, they will see many things.
The department stores display Christmas trees, tinsel, lights both white and multi-colored, giant snow globes with any of a number of characters looking out at passers-by, and light-adorned metal frames of animals such as reindeer, penguins, cows, and even dolphins (someone somewhere must have drawn a connection between marine mammals and Christmas, but I just don't see it). There are miniature displays of Norman Rockwell-like towns, and there are replicas of Santa's sleigh and his reindeer.
There are sales and specials and displays for every toy, game, and tool you can imagine, as well as nearly every kind of apparel you can think of. In the stores and elsewhere, music pipes out songs about snow, sleigh rides, and Santa Claus.
What - or who - is missing from the picture?
Even in this busy hustle-and-bustle time of year, wouldn't it be nice to pause once in a while just to dwell on what this holiday is for? The reason isn't a cliche', and it's not a warm fuzzy feeling that Christians invented to make ourselves and others around us feel good toward the end of every year. God loves the world so much that he sent Jesus into it to save from Satan, sin, and death those who choose to believe. It can be argued that the birth of Christ didn't happen in December, and that any number of details surrounding the 'traditional' Christmas story are inconsistent with the historical birth account of Jesus. That's not really the point though, is it?
The point of Christmas is to commemorate the earthly birth of the One who came to save us, and to express to others the kind of selfless, unconditional love that God expressed through the birth, life, death, and resurrection of Jesus. May the love of Jesus flow into every heart and through every household this Christmas and throughout the year.
Saturday, November 18, 2006
Sunday, November 12, 2006
Hello, world!
Religious person. Bible bumper. Jesus freak. Otherwise, you can just call me Eric.
Now that introductions are out of the way, I can respond to the thoughts above that I've read on the faces of or sensed coming from people I interact with every day.
'Religious' person: not so much - I don't have a religion so much as a relationship with Jesus. 'Bible bumper': occasionally, I guess - the Bible is God's love letter to us and the believer's handbook for life, so it comes naturally that I share what I've learned from it from time to time. 'Jesus freak': definitely - the Son of God saved my life, so I can do nothing less than give it back to Him.
This blog isn't my first. For a while I posted my own thoughts and perspectives on different topics; not a bad thing at all, but it was sort of without real aim or purpose. After a time, I shifted my focus to highlight the persecuted church, the body of believers in a number of countries around the world, who are harassed, jailed, killed, or worse, for being Christians.
Due to a . . . shift in focus at Cornerstone, the persecuted church is more of a personal than corporate ministry. I guess that's okay for now, and still, this new blog will have elements of both of the two previous ones, with the exception that I'll try to stick to Cornerstone's desire to enable people - churched and unchurched - to become fully devoted followers of Jesus Christ.
One of the things I feel led to do - it almost feels like a duty or a calling - is to keep a watchful eye on social, spiritual, and I suppose to some extent, political, trends today in America and beyond. Hopefully, that's where this column will come in, to link the mission and values of Cornerstone Community Church with the happenings in the world outside our doors. Prayerfully, God will give me the perception to pick up on the significance of what goes on in the world, whether major or mundane, and the wisdom to translate it as the Holy Spirit leads.
Now that introductions are out of the way, I can respond to the thoughts above that I've read on the faces of or sensed coming from people I interact with every day.
'Religious' person: not so much - I don't have a religion so much as a relationship with Jesus. 'Bible bumper': occasionally, I guess - the Bible is God's love letter to us and the believer's handbook for life, so it comes naturally that I share what I've learned from it from time to time. 'Jesus freak': definitely - the Son of God saved my life, so I can do nothing less than give it back to Him.
This blog isn't my first. For a while I posted my own thoughts and perspectives on different topics; not a bad thing at all, but it was sort of without real aim or purpose. After a time, I shifted my focus to highlight the persecuted church, the body of believers in a number of countries around the world, who are harassed, jailed, killed, or worse, for being Christians.
Due to a . . . shift in focus at Cornerstone, the persecuted church is more of a personal than corporate ministry. I guess that's okay for now, and still, this new blog will have elements of both of the two previous ones, with the exception that I'll try to stick to Cornerstone's desire to enable people - churched and unchurched - to become fully devoted followers of Jesus Christ.
One of the things I feel led to do - it almost feels like a duty or a calling - is to keep a watchful eye on social, spiritual, and I suppose to some extent, political, trends today in America and beyond. Hopefully, that's where this column will come in, to link the mission and values of Cornerstone Community Church with the happenings in the world outside our doors. Prayerfully, God will give me the perception to pick up on the significance of what goes on in the world, whether major or mundane, and the wisdom to translate it as the Holy Spirit leads.
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