Monthly Archives: December 2009

December 24, 2009

Merry Christmas!

By alexpenduck

So Christmas has finally crept on us for another year. Within the next twenty-four hours the majority of the peoples of the world will be partaking in some sort of celebration.

Many celebrate in different ways. Some through a religious ceremony, others through the giving of gifts, others through eating a feast of food while some consume a more than normal amount of beverages.

This is a time to celebrate, yes. However, I would encourage you over the next day or two to take five minutes to think, ponder and be thankful. Before you start tearing into all the gifts that are under the tree or before you stuff your belly with way too much Christmas Pudding and Sherry (that was for all the British people out there!) and before you say good night to another Christmas season I would encourage you to think on one little verse that explains what Christmas is all about.

In Matthew 1:23 the Angel of God is speaking to Joseph. Joseph has just had the shock of his life, not only is his fiance pregnant, but now an angel is talking to him! The angel says that the pregnancy is of God and the baby shall be called a certain name. This name is ‘Immanuel’, which means God with us.

This baby Jesus is in fact God who has chosen to dwell among us! Think on this for a moment. Most world religions believe that if a God exists, that he is a distant God who is untouchable and unreachable. However, in this one verse we say the difference between the man called Jesus and every other faith in the world. This is God who has decided to ‘dwell’ with us!

This man who was in fact God walked this earth for thirty-three years. However, today Immanuel is still a very real fact. God chooses to dwell with us. Instead of this being in the form of a man, it is now in the form of a spirit which can be identified through love, joy, peace and hope.

Immanuel is a reality. We have a choice, we can also dwell with him or ignore him. If you are a person who has chosen to let Immanuel become part of your life then now is the time to take five minutes and show God your love and appreciation of him. If you have chosen to ignore Immanuel this Christmas, now is a time to embrace the love, joy, peace and eternal hope that can only be found in Jesus Christ. The bible says, just believe on Jesus and you shall find Immanuel!

Merry Christmas to you all. I pray that this season is filled with much love, unspeakable joy, perfect peace and an incredible hope for tomorrow!

Leave a comment   |  tags: , , , , , , , , , | posted in Christianity, Worship

December 22, 2009

Christmas Traditions

By alexpenduck

Christmas is a time of traditions. Ask anyone who celebrates Christmas and they will tell you exactly how they celebrate each and every year.

I recently got asked the question of how people celebrate Christmas in England for a friend who was doing a school project. It brought back a lot of memories and traditions that I have always observed during Christmas.

In 2005 when I moved to the USA, those yearly December traditions started to become December memories. I now lived in a foreign country where people did ‘Christmas’ differently from the homeland. Now I was married and my wife Raquel had very different Christmas traditions than I did and also I was in ‘my’ home, not my parents home, which changed the feel of the season.

Some people maybe horrified by the thought of not following their traditions at Christmas. Some believe Christmas is not Christmas unless they put their tree up the day after Thanksgiving while another has to put their tree up the week before Christmas Day. However, I have found that doing something different at Christmas is a wonderful experience. The first time I spent Christmas with my in-laws was a totally different experience. It involved celebrating on Christmas Eve and staying up into the early hours of Christmas Day eating, laughing and opening presents. It felt strange, but it was still a great Christmas experience.

People often live and die by their traditions. Whether it is at Christmas or how we do church! I like some traditions, but I have realized that traditions while give us a ‘nice’ feeling on the inside, can in fact stop us from experiencing a whole new world. I challenge you this year to maybe do one thing different from what you do every year. I am not saying get rid of your traditions, but do not let them stop you from discovering new things!

3 comments   |  tags: , , , , , , | posted in Church, Immigration, Life in general

December 17, 2009

The Light!

By alexpenduck

The other day I decided to start reading the book of Genesis. I love that book because I love beginnings. I love to see how things begin and how foundations are set. I also like all the debate and unanswered questions that go along with this ancient book.

However, as I started reading the first chapter I started seeing a pattern I had never seen before. No it was the bible code or anything crazy like that! It was a pattern of how to explain the nature, person and life of God.

We are informed that the earth was without form (meaning it was a little chaotic), and void; and darkness covered the face of the deep. Then God spoken the words, ‘let there be light’ and suddenly light appeared. As you read through the next 18 verses the term light, or something that refers to light is mentioned over 13 times.

So you may say, so what! Well, the bible is known for repeating words and phrases when it wants to emphasis something. I believe, past the questions to how our universe was started. Past the questions of whether there was a big bang, past the questions of how old the earth is and past the questions of an intelligent creature is a picture of who God really is! He is the light of the world!

Whenever God speaks it brings forth light. Whatever God creates it is formed in and through light. When God is around darkness cannot be sustained. Where there is no form and things are chaotic, God brings shape and organization. When everything seems like night, God brings the day! God is light and he is the light od this world!

The bible tells us in John 9:5 that Jesus Christ is the ‘Light of the World’. This man Jesus is the light, the same light as the one who was at the beginning of time. The bible tells us, that the light of the world desires to dwell in our lives and if we just believe on Jesus as the Christ and choose to follow him we also will be light.

Therefore, my challenge to you today is this, are you a light in this world? Does darkness remain when you are around?

My wife prays a prayer every morning when she drives to her place of employment. She prays, ‘Let me be a light today that disperses the darkness in the places I live, work and go’. I desire to be a disperser of the darkness. What about you?

Leave a comment   |  tags: , , , , , , , | posted in Christianity, Life in general

Follow

Get every new post delivered to your Inbox.

Join 495 other followers