HOT CHOCOLATE ANYONE?

Thank you Lord for this day of life. This is the day You have made and we will rejoice and be glad in it. Amen!

Welcome to your 24/7 week long online church service. Everyone is welcome in this place. Well, the Christmas shopping season and madness is upon us. Television commercials telling about the deals that aren't really deals at all, the pressure of buying so many gifts we can't afford. Let's face it folks, Christmas has become less and less about the birth of our Savior Jesus Christ, and more and more about Santa Claus and how much money we don't have, yet are determined to spend. I am saddened by what I see.

I am making a plea to you, my friends. If you are going to celebrate Christmas this year, turn away from going into debt and give the real gift that people want from you. Do you know what that gift is? Mothers, fathers, children it is the gift of yourself to each other. Give of your time, give of your love, give of your smile, your touch, your tears, your laughter. You know what that is worth? It is priceless!!

If love is what the season is all about, then give love. The gift of true love for your family and friends will outshine any material gift you could ever give.

The things I remember most about Christmas past is the gathering together of our family on Christmas Eve. Oh, how we loved those gatherings! It all started with just my wife and I sharing hot chocolate with our young children before bedtime. Then, the hugs and goodnight kisses as they went upstairs to bed. A family Christmas Eve tradition had begun. I must add, that before bedtime I read the Bible account of Jesus being born and explained that Jesus came to reconcile us to God because God loved us all so much. Turn to Luke 2:8-14. This passage relates the angelic announcement of the birth of not just a savior, but the only Savior of the world. His name is Jesus.

“And there were in the same country shepherds abiding in the field, keeping watch over their flock by night. And, lo, the angel of the Lord came upon them and the glory of the Lord shown round about them: And they were sore afraid. And the angel said unto them, fear not: For, behold, I bring you good tidings of great joy, which shall be to all people (even us). For unto you is born this day in the city (Bethlehem) of David a Savior which is Christ the Lord. And this shall be a sign unto you; ye shall find the babe wrapped in swaddling clothes lying in a manger. And suddenly there was with the angel a multitude of the heavenly host praising God and saying, Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace, goodwill toward men.”

What a story, my friends!! Yet, not just a story, but a true story at that. Praise the Lord!! Well, to continue. As our children grew into young men and women, we continued our Christmas tradition. Only now every Christmas Eve all our children would come over to our house with their children, and their spouses, and sometimes fiances. What a crowd in our modest bungalow home in Hazel Park, Mi.

The tradition carried on, only with many more cups of hot chocolate than before, lots of food, fun and laughter. Then, quieting down and getting them settled for the Bible reading, no easy task. No one can describe the feeling of sitting in that small living room filled with adult children, grandchildren and great grandchildren and all the spouses, knowing that this was the gift of God to us. We could never express the love we felt for our offspring assembled together. As I read the Bible, my oldest granddaughter, Rachel, would sit on my lap or as she got older, the arm of my chair, looking over my shoulder at the pages of the Holy Bible. Then, Jesus became the center and focus of our assembly. I would read and comment on the birth of Jesus and how it affected our world and our children. Oftentimes, I would feel the presence and anointing of God in that place. I knew we were doing what the forefathers of old did, repeating and telling the story of our Savior. That is sadly missing in many families today. As the Bible reading ended, I would ask a question about what Christmas meant to them, or what was the best or even the worst thing that happened to them that year. My friends, the stories that came forth were amazing. We laughed, sometimes we cried, we consoled and lifted each other up. Truly, God was in that place with us year after year.

God had blessed us with this family and as we observed them, enjoying each other's company, watching the different personalities, also the things they had in common, the love shown to each other. Now friends, that is something to enjoy and share! My point here is, no – I repeat no material gift, no matter how big or expensive was more or better than the gift of love God provided us through our family. Thank you Lord!

Now of course, after the family time we gave gifts to the children. But, my friends, if we never gave one material gift, they all would have left happy, contented and blessed.

What we are talking about this week is love. This season let's give God love. Paul talks about that in Ephesians 5:1-2.

“Be ye therefore followers of God as dear children: And walk in love, as Christ also hath loved us and hath given himself for us an offering and a sacrifice to God for a sweet smelling savour.”

The sweet savour describes the atoning sacrifice as accepted by God. God loves when we give love because He is love. So, I am asking you to not worry about material giving this year or ever again. Give love, my friends. Christmas is about giving, but not about material giving, but by the giving of love we become more like our Heavenly Father who gave us the greatest gift of all, His only begotten Son, Jesus Christ. This year let's have a lot less of Santa Claus and a whole lot more of God's love for each other.

God Bless You,
Bro. Bob