365 Days with God - Day 5

I'm giving myself a challenge. Read the Bible each day for a whole year, following the ESV Study Guide 1-year plan. Each day, I will post whatever God has revealed to me in His Word, and how it is changing me. A friend of mine once said that nothing has changed her life as much as reading the bible each day - and I'm excited for how this will change me. Join me on an adventure into the heart of God - and day by day, we can learn more about who He is and what that means to us!

- Andy Catts

Day 5, December 25, 2013
Readings: Psalm 4, Genesis 5, 1 Chronicles 5, Luke 2:22-52

Merry Christmas! I consider it providential, not coincidental, that I found myself reading Luke 2 on Christmas Eve & Christmas Day. However, what struck me most was found from David's words nearly one thousand years before Christ.

The Psalmist writes:

O Men, How long shall my honor be turned to shame?
How long will you love vain words and seek after lies?
But know that the LORD has set apart the godly for himself;
the LORD hears when I call to him.  (Psalm 4:2-3)

Christmas this year was mayhem. Plain and simple. Children shrieking, crying, tears of joy becoming tears of agony in an instant as one gift was suddenly trash when another child opened a more desirable gift. This was not my idea of a God-honoring, Christ-centered Christmas. There we were, in all of our sinful nature, turning the Lord's honor, the day celebrating the beginning of his rescue of our eternity, into shame.

How long will we love pretty, shallow things that never satisfy? How long will we chase the lie that what this world offers is the best? That we should fight tooth and nail for every last crumb (or princess dress?) Every ad I have heard or seen this year centers around getting the perfect gift, having what you want, making your life here, on earth, perfect.

And the horrible lie is that it could come true. This world will never be perfect. We will never have everything we want, whether it's personal possessions, relationships, security or peace without Jesus.

But once we have him, the rest is irrelevant. We won't need stuff, because He has given us everything. We'll have the most important relationship, and our others will grow because of it. We'll have security, because He is the only hope we have. And finally, we will have peace, because He is the Prince of Peace - who has come to wipe away every tear from every eye.

On this Christmas day, I'm calling out to the LORD. I'm asking that He grow my heavenly treasure as I give away what I have here. I'm asking him to increase my love for Him and for others, so that I can serve those in need. I'm asking that I will have security in Him, rather than anything on earth. And I'm asking for peace amidst the chaos. That sounds like the kind of Christmas gift that I need.