Psalm 119:113-120
I hate the two-faced,
but I love your clear-cut revelation.
You’re my place of quiet retreat;
I wait for your Word to renew me.
Get out of my life, evildoers,
so I can keep my God’s commands.
Take my side as you promised; I’ll live then for sure.
Don’t disappoint all my grand hopes.
Stick with me and I’ll be all right;
I’ll give total allegiance to your definitions of life.
Expose all who drift away from your sayings;
their casual idolatry is lethal.
You reject earth’s wicked as so much rubbish;
therefore I lovingly embrace everything you say.
I shiver in awe before you;
your decisions leave me speechless with reverence.
Scripture quotations from The Message. © 1993, 1994, 1995, 1996, 2000, 2001, 2002 by Eugene Peterson. Used by permission of NavPress, Colorado Springs, CO. All rights reserved.
When Timothy and Zola visited this week, I showed them a little vintage elf ornament that hangs on a Christmas tree I decorated for them. They have an “Elf on the Shelf” at their house named Christopher Pop-In-Kins, so I told them that OUR elf was named Henry Truman, and that he was watching them just like Christopher did at home – and reporting to Santa. The children were very well behaved… and any time they started to falter, we reminded them about Henry Truman - and they generally changed their mind. It is very hard to be good at Christmas time with all of the temptations, exciting events and sweet treats to keep your mind and body revved up. But the Christmas season is also a time when children of all ages often at least try to act nicer!
Have you noticed that you see a lot of people in church around the Christmas and Easter seasons that you never see there the rest of the year? Or maybe you’ve observed that a lot of people are friendlier and more generous to others during the holidays. A friend of mine actually refers to these folks as “Christmas and Easter Christians”! While I’m glad to see people in church any day of the year… while I will take all the incentives for good behavior in children that I can get – especially at Christmas time…it does leave me to wonder about what they are like the rest of the year.
Don’t misunderstand me… God is thrilled ANY TIME we turn to Him. His heart is glad when we worship Him and come before Him for guidance and care. But He is so much more than a “Christmas and Easter God”. He wants us to walk with Him each and every day of the year… to be diligent and serious in our Christian discipleship – not casual worshippers. God wants us to spend time in His presence and hear what He has to say 365 days a year… not to drift away from His teachings for months on end – or to call on Him only when the chips are down and we are desperate!
I am sad to admit that I think my friend might be at least partially right. I am afraid there truly are “Christmas and Easter Christians” who hardly give God any thought the other ten months of the year. And sadly, I’m pretty sure they are missing out on all of the benefits and blessings of a constant relationship with God. They don’t fully know what it is to shiver in awe with speechless reverence at God’s power in their lives. They have not given Him their full allegiance, so their hopes – if they even have any – often end in disappointment.
As I told Timothy this morning, there are “ten more sleeps” until Christmas. Let’s recommit ourselves in this next ten days to waiting on God’s word to renew us… to finding a place of quiet retreat with Him each and every day of the year. Let’s let take God’s side and keep His commands… and live every minute of the day with assurance that He is giving life to our hopes, meeting our every need, and planning for our future even into Eternity. Let’s be “Everyday Christians” who really, truly operate in the hope of Jesus Christ… at Christmas, Easter, and always.
©2013 Debbie Robus
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