Christmas Day

12-25-2009
Christmas Day

The following devotional is from the Wisdom Hunters Resources. Enjoy!

“When they had gone, an angel of the Lord appeared to Joseph in a dream. "Get up," he said, "take the child and his mother and escape to Egypt. Stay there until I tell you, for Herod is going to search for the child to kill him." So he got up, took the child and his mother during the night and left for Egypt.” (Matthew 2:13-14).

The birth of Jesus did not encounter praise and adoration from everyone. There were those who felt intimidated by the attention He received, and they were threatened by His power. Though it was a misplaced fear, because Christ’s motivation was to reign over the human heart not rule over earthly kingdoms. When someone feels threatened by Jesus they attempt to dismiss His claims, discredit His teachings and destroy His influence. Because some people are jealous of Jesus, they will become jealous of you as a believer. Instead of celebrating His blessings in your life and family, they may come to loathe them. Some will even go out of their way to criticize you, your spouse, your children and your work. You may have to protect your family from the unfair attacks of critics by moving on. So be very careful how you display the good fortune of God in your life. Be modest and humble so you do not inflame the insecurities of those outside of the faith. Use your success as a creditable platform to reach out to those stuck in the crazy cycle of cynicism and deception. People trapped in jealousy are driven by anger, so be an example of encouragement and acceptance. Be attractive so they seek to embrace, not reject, Jesus. Be mindful to give your Christmas gifts out of gratitude and thanksgiving, not expecting anything in return. Follow Christ’s model of unconditional love and grace. The pure heart of an infant strikes at the heart of haughty Kings. Therefore, keep the humble and trusting attitude of baby Jesus as the spirit of your service to others. Some will reject, even attack, but many others will, by faith, place homage, worship, praise and gifts at the feet of Jesus. Wise men and women still seek Him, while the proud of heart still reject Him. Pray during this Christmas season that the Holy Spirit will change cynicism to optimism, fear to faith, insecurities to intimacy, rejection to acceptance, anger to forgiveness, hate to love and performance to grace. Indeed, baby Jesus came to replace jealousy with great joy! “An angel of the Lord appeared to them, and the glory of the Lord shone around them, and they were terrified. But the angel said to them, "Do not be afraid. I bring you good news of great joy that will be for all the people. Today in the town of David a Savior has been born to you; he is Christ the Lord.” (Luke 2:9-11).How can I celebrate with great joy the birthday of baby Jesus? Who can I serve and love unconditionally that may be jealous of my faith, my family or me?