Sun, Nov 25th - 11:48PM

The Christmas Season Is Here — Enjoy The Real Reason For the Season

Christmas Carols are now flooding the airways of our area Christian radio stations. The melody invigorates the soul and stirs the spirit of born again people. We know that Christmas is upon us once again. And already, there seems to be a stirring of good will upon the faces, lips, and personalities we meet from day to day.

So, put away the turkey dishes. Pull out your Christmas decorations. It is officially the Christmas season! Black Friday is now history and a great deal of our attention is upon getting that right person just the right gift.

But with joys filling our souls at this season of the year, also comes moments of reflection. Scores of individuals are unable to enjoy Christmas with the same passion as once they did. They will face Christmas from the bedside in a nursing home, with much of the day spent alone. They might remember those wonderful days in the long ago when meals were prepared, family members came home, and children played with their new toys. But time has taken its toil in their lives and they find themselves walking down their sunset boulevard.

Still other individuals will find it difficult to get excited about the season of the year because of the death of a loved one. Their memory bank will be full of the years they spent at preparing for their wonderful celebrations. This Christmas they will only be able to talk with their departed loved one in the quiet of their bedroom and there recount their years together. Christmas for them will be sort of anticlimactic.

Many of us will be thankful for the wonderful gift of God’s Son as we remember Christmas of years past. Even though we can’t recall those happy experiences with our parents, we can be thankful for the new celebrations with families given to us by God’s gracious love. Children are still a blessing and the sights and sounds of them unwrapping presents from under the Christmas tree, tearing into them like there is no tomorrow, throwing paper to wherever it lands, is always an impression upon our minds.

Christmas at the Jackson household is quieter in these latter years. I’ve experienced some of what might yet come to pass. Our children have their own families and those early morning hours are spent in their homes. Then they all converge upon our house for a late noon meal and afternoon of whatever Peggy has planned for us to do.

Those early hours belong to Peggy and myself. They are quiet and we try to find good Christmas programing that will bless on this special day. Then, as she moves to the kitchen to begin her preparations for the children’s arrival, I sort of drift into past years. I think of the excitement my mother always had at Christmas time. She baked those cakes and pies as soon as the turkey dishes were washed, or it seemed that way to me. She would spend her time in the kitchen, humming hymns and Christmas songs as she cooked away. You might say that is when she was in her zone!

Daddy spent his time working to pay for all the stuff she was ordering from Sears Roebuck and Company. He enjoyed his coconut cakes and mommy could make some good ones. Those were days without a care, just enjoying our family and Christmas.

It seems that today’s Christmas is more about whether or not merchants are going to make enough money for their stores than about the real reason for the season. But I guess that’s the way it is in a world which tries to tie the season with everything but with the birth of Jesus Christ.

Christians are celebrating the fact that some 2,000 years ago God sent His Son Jesus Christ into this world to save sinners. Jesus is still the reason for the season!

The secular world has already begun their attacks upon this theme. They want to give us a Happy Holidays greeting. Christmas cards are being replaced with Happy Holiday themes. Folk in stores are ready to wish us a Happy Holiday. I hope at this Christmas season, we shall respond to everyone who wishes us a Happy Holidays, with a polite "And I want to wish for you a Merry Christmas".

And be sure to look at those cards you mail. I will not send a card unless it is a Merry Christmas card. They are out there, you just have to look for them. Spend some time in a Christian Book Store and you will find some super cards.

As December 25^th approaches, make plans to remember that on that date we are saying "Happy Birthday Jesus". The spiritually ignorant might not understand you but the One Whose day we are remembering will understand. "Then she gave birth to her firstborn Son, and she wrapped Him snugly in cloth and laid Him in a feeding trough—because there was no room for them at the inn."(HCSB).

Mon, Nov 12th - 1:30AM

Thanksgiving 2007

Thanksgiving 2007 is only a few days away. This national holiday has from its inception been designed as a day of thanksgiving to God for His guidance and protection. Families will gather around a table spread with great food, some will attend special church services, some hunters will hit the woods for an afternoon hunt, while many others sit around the television to watch football games.

God has indeed been good to our nation. We are blessed beyond any other nation on the face of the earth. That’s why so many are trying to escape the poverty of their native lands to become citizens in America. They see the blessings and are unaware of why we are so blessed. I fear their lack of understanding that God has been our refuge, that He has been our hiding place, and that He has been our strength and the One blessing our years, will become a part of our ultimate downfall.

There are many angles from which we can approach this special day. But I want to do a personal category of blessings for which I’m thankful this year.

First of all, I am thankful for parents who gave me a solid foundation during the days of my youth. We weren’t wealthy by any stretch of the imagination. Daddy was a saw mill man, a lumber checker, and a timber cruiser. My mother was reared in a very poor family. She was the only girl out of several children. Growing up in the early 1900s wasn’t easy for either of them.

My mother was stickily a homebody. Her home and her children was her life. Daddy worked hard, often 6 days a week, leaving before any of us children were awakened and arriving home after dark. Even though they couldn’t give me all the nice things I might have wanted, didn’t have time to spend hours at sporting events just to watch me play, couldn’t afford to provide me personal transportation, they did provide me with a character example. No! They were far from perfect, but when us children were told something, it could be taken to the bank. I will stop by their grave side and say a special thank you even though I know they aren’t there.

I am also thankful that God privileged me to be born in this nation of America. The freedom we’ve known throughout my lifetime has been a joy. I don’t know what it is to live where one’s home is always raided by government persons just because they want to do so.

It does upset me when our political leaders push to give illegal folk same benefits as the American citizens receive. It does upset me when the laws of our land are broken by folk who shouldn’t be here and nothing is done. It causes me to wonder word about Canada, the United States, and Mexico becoming one new nation isn’t true. I especially thank God for having lived through the best of years experienced in America.

I am also thankful for a pastor who believed and preached the Word of God during my childhood years. Brother Roy Brigance wasn’t the best orator to fill the pulpit, but he loved God, his family, and the Lord’s church. And he was truthful with the Word of God. He and his family meant a great deal to my life in those early years.

Another thing for which I’m thankful is my family. My wife has stood with me during these 50 years of marriage and 48 years of preaching ministry. Her prayers in my behalf through the years have been felt and her prayers for our children have been answered on a numerous occasions. She has been, and I guess as all mothers, is still concerned about our children’s every decision. I couldn’t have made it this far without her love, support, and prayers.

One important thing for which I’m grateful is for God allowing me to grow up with such a Godfearing group of youth. Our church was the center of our lives back in those dark age days. We drifted away from our roots but always returned to where we knew we should be. Thank you Lord for allowing me those wonderful youthful friends.

I want to, above all, express my thanks for God’s indescribable gift. That gift is His Son the Lord Jesus Christ. Without that gift, there would be no hope in this world nor in the world to come. This Thanksgiving, I will once again express my gratitude to Him for His wonderful love. And I trust that you will be able to do the same with your family and friends gathered.

I trust for each of you a God-filled Thanksgiving 2007. And now! On to those tiring days of Christmas preparation.

Mon, Nov 5th - 1:11AM