Funny, but as I began to write this last Thursday, it was hot and very muggy, and yet, George and the worship teams are starting to make plans for Christmas. As much as I hate winter weather, this devotion came to mind.
It was a snowy Christmas Eve. Inside the warm house, the Christmas tree was cheerfully ablaze with lights and surrounded by dozens of presents. The man’s wife and children were dressed and ready to leave for church. “Come with us,” they urged, for they loved him. “Not me,” he snapped. “I don’t believe all that religion garbage.”
For many years the man’s wife had been trying to tell him about Jesus Christ and the salvation he offers. How God’s Son had become a human being in order to show us the way to heaven. “Nonsense,” the man always said.
The family left for church and the man was all alone in his cozy country home. He glanced out the window at the cold snowy scene outside. He turned to warm himself by the fire.
But as he turned, his eyes caught a movement in the snow outside. He looked. Cats! Three young cats walking slowly past his window.
“The fools,” he thought. “They’ll freeze for sure!” The man put on his hat and coat and opened the door. A blast of wintry air sent a shiver through his body.
“Come here, cats! Come inside where there’s warmth and food. You’ll die out there.” But the cats ran away, frightened by the stranger at the door.
He walked outside. “Come back! Don’t be afraid, I want to save you.”
But the cats were gone. It was too late.
“Well, I did everything I could for them,” the man muttered to himself. “What more could I do? I’d have to become a cat myself in order to reach them and save them. If I became a cat, I could tell them and show them. They would have to believe me then, unless they were fools.”
Just as he reached the door, the church bells rang in the distance. The man paused for a second and listened. Then he went in by the fire, got down on his knees, and wept.
So…I assume that I am the only person in the world with a devotion about Christmas as a heat spell covers the nation. So why talk about Christmas?
We all know and love John 3:16… For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life.
And that is what the Christmas story is all about. The Creator of the universe loved us so much that he came to earth to show us how to be saved. And if we listen to him and follow him, we will not perish, but instead will be given everlasting life.
Is His birth all that we need? NO! It involves His birth, sinless life, death, and resurrection….FOR YOU!
Philippians 2:6-8… Who, being in very nature God,did not consider equality with God something to be used to his own advantage; rather, he made himself nothing by taking the very nature of a servant, being made in human likeness. And being found in appearance as a man, he humbled himself by becoming obedient to death— even death on a cross!
It’s Christmas, Good Friday, Easter together that makes us who we are…children of God, forgiven, renewed, saved!
- So…are like the man at the start of the story…”I don’t believe in all that religious garbage”…ignoring all that Jesus did for you?
- Or are you like the cats in the story? Wandering aimlessly…walking toward death…while God invites you to come in and be saved.
- Or are you like the man when he tried to invite those that are perishing to come in where it’s warm? Are you reaching out to the lost?
- Or are you like the man at the end of the story when he realized that Jesus is real and that He invites into the warmth of His Love and Mercy and Grace? Do you fall on your knees and acknowledge Jesus as your Lord and Savior?
I pray that you realize how much God loves you (personally)…and what He did to offer you eternal life.
I pray that you ask yourself: who of my friends, family, people in my circle of influence, are like the man in today’s story and who do not know about the Love of God?
How can you share His Love with them? What can you say or do to show His Love to them? Remember that Jesus came so that all would be saved!
Some Christmas in July (actually August) Humor!
What do snowmen eat for breakfast? Snowflakes.
What did Adam say on the day before Christmas? It’s Christmas, Eve!
Which of Santa’s reindeer needs to mind his manners the most? Rude Olph.
Why does Santa Claus go down the chimney on Christmas Eve? Because it soots him.
What did the English teacher call Santa’s helpers? Subordinate Clauses.
What do you call people who are afraid of Santa Claus? Claustrophobic.
What do you call a chicken at the North Pole? Lost.
How do the elves clean Santa’s sleigh on the day after Christmas? They use Santa-tizer.