The Spirit of Christmas
The people of the world have an expression: “The Spirit of Christmas.”
We Christians know Who the Spirit of Christmas is. He is the Holy Spirit. He is in us and works through us to make Love Who is God real to those around us. All year long we are to be vessels through whom the Lord can flow to bring joy and love and peace to those around us. Particularly this time of the year, when people are more receptive to love and giving, we need to ask the Lord to make His love so real to those we come in contact with—our family, our neighbors, people in the malls where we shop, the clerks at the counters where we buy gifts. What an opportunity we have to bring the reality of love into other people’s lives.
The Love of God, God Himself, wants to saturate our hearts with His Spirit to the point that we are moved with compassion for people. Compassion is a person, not a feeling, and His name is Jesus. If you were to look up the word “compassion” in the dictionary you would find that it is that which moves you to action on someone’s behalf. Before the foundation of the earth, the Father was moved with compassion to set up a plan to restore mankind if he messed up. What a plan! It was so well hidden that satan didn’t know anything about it and he was a key player in the outcome for the whole human race. When he arranged for Jesus to be crucified, satan sealed his doom forever and actually was used to open up the way for Jesus to be poured forth as the ultimate sacrifice for our sins and their consequences.
Thank You, Jesus. Thank You, Father. Thank You, Holy Spirit.
Because of what you have done, we are free this Christmas to enjoy our lives, to participate in the blessings that you have provided for us. Thank You.
Thank You for coming. Thank You for thinking of me. Thank You for giving me the greatest gift—Yourself. Thank You for teaching me how to love your way. And thank You for pouring forth that love in me. I am so grateful.
Your love wraps itself around me and causes me to (1 Corinthians 13:4-8 Amplified Bible):
endure long and to be patient and kind; never to be envious or boil over with jealousy; not to be
boastful or vainglorious or to display myself haughtily. Your love causes me not to be conceited, arrogant or inflated with pride, not to be rude or unmannerly or to act unbecomingly. Your love causes me not to insist on my own rights or my own way, not to be self-seeking or touchy or fretful or resentful. Your love in me causes me not to take account of evil done to me or pay attention to a suffered wrong. Your love in me sees that it is wrong to rejoice at injustice and unrighteousness. But rather I rejoice when right and truth prevail. Your love, Jesus, causes me to bear up under anything and everything that comes, ever to be ready to believe the best of every person. Your love in me causes me to know that there is always hope that never fades under any circumstances; nor does it become obsolete or fade away. Your love in me causes me to know that I endure everything and anything without weakening. Your love in me never fails or fades out or becomes obsolete or ends. And why is that? Because God Who is Love never ends. He is always, yesterday, today and forever, never changing, always the same. Because God, Who is Love, is in me, I am stable, never changing, always the same, regardless of what comes my way.
This Christmas, Jesus, I ask You to make Your love so real to me that You are the very air I breathe and the very One I sense so close to me, as close as my heartbeat. And let that translate into the law of kindness being upon my lips, the act of mercy being in my actions toward others, the love of Jesus being my gift to others.
May others know that they have better lives because I brought Jesus and His reality to them this Christmas.
We Christians know Who the Spirit of Christmas is. He is the Holy Spirit. He is in us and works through us to make Love Who is God real to those around us. All year long we are to be vessels through whom the Lord can flow to bring joy and love and peace to those around us. Particularly this time of the year, when people are more receptive to love and giving, we need to ask the Lord to make His love so real to those we come in contact with—our family, our neighbors, people in the malls where we shop, the clerks at the counters where we buy gifts. What an opportunity we have to bring the reality of love into other people’s lives.
The Love of God, God Himself, wants to saturate our hearts with His Spirit to the point that we are moved with compassion for people. Compassion is a person, not a feeling, and His name is Jesus. If you were to look up the word “compassion” in the dictionary you would find that it is that which moves you to action on someone’s behalf. Before the foundation of the earth, the Father was moved with compassion to set up a plan to restore mankind if he messed up. What a plan! It was so well hidden that satan didn’t know anything about it and he was a key player in the outcome for the whole human race. When he arranged for Jesus to be crucified, satan sealed his doom forever and actually was used to open up the way for Jesus to be poured forth as the ultimate sacrifice for our sins and their consequences.
Thank You, Jesus. Thank You, Father. Thank You, Holy Spirit.
Because of what you have done, we are free this Christmas to enjoy our lives, to participate in the blessings that you have provided for us. Thank You.
Thank You for coming. Thank You for thinking of me. Thank You for giving me the greatest gift—Yourself. Thank You for teaching me how to love your way. And thank You for pouring forth that love in me. I am so grateful.
Your love wraps itself around me and causes me to (1 Corinthians 13:4-8 Amplified Bible):
endure long and to be patient and kind; never to be envious or boil over with jealousy; not to be
boastful or vainglorious or to display myself haughtily. Your love causes me not to be conceited, arrogant or inflated with pride, not to be rude or unmannerly or to act unbecomingly. Your love causes me not to insist on my own rights or my own way, not to be self-seeking or touchy or fretful or resentful. Your love in me causes me not to take account of evil done to me or pay attention to a suffered wrong. Your love in me sees that it is wrong to rejoice at injustice and unrighteousness. But rather I rejoice when right and truth prevail. Your love, Jesus, causes me to bear up under anything and everything that comes, ever to be ready to believe the best of every person. Your love in me causes me to know that there is always hope that never fades under any circumstances; nor does it become obsolete or fade away. Your love in me causes me to know that I endure everything and anything without weakening. Your love in me never fails or fades out or becomes obsolete or ends. And why is that? Because God Who is Love never ends. He is always, yesterday, today and forever, never changing, always the same. Because God, Who is Love, is in me, I am stable, never changing, always the same, regardless of what comes my way.
This Christmas, Jesus, I ask You to make Your love so real to me that You are the very air I breathe and the very One I sense so close to me, as close as my heartbeat. And let that translate into the law of kindness being upon my lips, the act of mercy being in my actions toward others, the love of Jesus being my gift to others.
May others know that they have better lives because I brought Jesus and His reality to them this Christmas.
posted by Rev. Kialeen Potterton @ 8:44 PM
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