For: Jesus, From: Me (Truths from a Kid's Gift to Jesus)

This past Sunday at our church we had our annual “Christmas gifts to Jesus” service and offering. This is a service/offering where we can give either monetary or tangible items “to Jesus.” After the service I helped move many of the tangible gifts out of the auditorium and into a room for temporary storage.

 As I was grabbing the gifts one caught my attention and my heart. It wasn’t wrapped in fancy paper or a pretty bow, it wasn’t even that big. In fact it was wrapped in brown paper with a generic red and green ribbon and was about the size of the envelopes gift cards come in. So what was so special about this gift? Well on the top left corner in little kid writing were the words:

 For: Jesus
 From: The Child's name.

 There was nothing truly remarkable about that gift, but the simple childlike faith touched my heart. I wonder if that kid really believed he was giving Christ a present. I bet he did. I wonder if the adults who gave really believed they were giving to Christ. They most likely didn’t. I don’t know what was in that tiny little package. I most likely never will. But the lesson will live with me forever. I wish I had taken a picture of it. Of the simple childlike faith. Here's the truth:

Recently I wrote a poem on what it truly means to “Keep Christ in Christmas.” [Here’s the Link: The Religion Revolution: Getting Christ in Christmas (A Christmas Poem) ]The point that I’m trying to make through the poem is that we Christians are too adamant about saying “keep Christ in Christmas” rather than living “keep Christ in Christmas.” I explain that the true way to “Keep Christ in Christmas” and live it out is by living out Christ.

That is done two ways: sharing the good news of Christ, and by giving to others. Christ told us in Luke 19:10 that He came “to seek and to save.” Our first priority this season concerning “keeping Christ in Christmas” is telling others of the greatest Gift ever given − salvation.

Our second priority in “Keeping Christ in Christmas” is to give back to Jesus. Now here’s where it gets tricky. Let me try to explain. Christ gave unto something we can never repay. The least we can do is give some back. But we can’t give tangible gifts to Christ. Not really. He’s in Heaven preparing a home for us. Yet we still can give to Christ tangible gifts.

So how do we give back to Christ? By this: giving unto others. Sure we can give to others that we love. But that’s not enough.  People in the world can do that. We need to give to those who are unlovely. That’s what Christ did for us. While we were unlovely, Christ still loved us. Not only should we give to unlovely but we should give to those who can never give back, who can never repay us. It’s easy to give when we know that we’re going to get something back. But it takes a real Christian to give with no expectation of returns. And again, Christ did that for us. He gave what we could not pay, and cannot be repaid.

His gift is final. Salvation once received cannot be lost, returned, exchanged or voided. What an amazing thought! That’s how our lives for Christ should be. And our love for others.

 You may be wondering what does this have to do with giving back to Christ and keeping Him in Christmas. Well, here’s the deal: By giving to others we giving to Christ. Jesus told His disciples:

35 For I was an hungred, and ye gave me meat: I was thirsty, and ye gave me drink: I was a stranger, and ye took me in: 36 Naked, and ye clothed me: I was sick, and ye visited me: I was in prison, and ye came unto me. 37 Then shall the righteous answer him, saying, Lord, when saw we thee an hungred, and fed thee? or thirsty, and gave thee drink? 38 When saw we thee a stranger, and took thee in? or naked, and clothed thee? 39 Or when saw we thee sick, or in prison, and came unto thee? 40 And the King shall answer and say unto them, Verily I say unto you, Inasmuch as ye have done it unto one of the least of these my brethren, ye have done it unto me.(–Matthew 25:35-40)

In this parable Christ is the King, the servants are the disciples, and us-21^st century disciples. What we do unto the “least of these” we do as unto Christ. It can also be said this way: what we give unto to others, we give as unto Christ.  That is how giving unto others especially those who cannot repay us, is how we “Keep Christ in Christmas.”

As Christians our goal, our model, is Christ. Because of that we must live as He lived, therefore, this Christmas, we must give as He gave- unconditionally, freely, and indiscriminately.

It’s easy to read all that I’ve written and say, “That’s so true!”or “Hmm I’ve never thought of it that way.” The hard part is putting it to action. It’s a personal choice that must be acted upon. So here’s my challenge: Act! Do something! Keep Christ in Christmas by sharing the message of His Gift, and give unto others who cannot repay you. Give out of love and with the heart of Christ.

I’m going to do it. I challenge you to do likewise. Before you argue with the cashier for saying “Happy Holidays,” focus on the person in line behind you who can’t pay for all their gifts. Find a low income family that needs gifts, give an hour at a soup kitchen on Christmas day—yes I said ON Christmas day. Buy some bikes and toys for the foster kids on your block, give that homeless man more than spare  change. Whatever you do, do it with the attitude of “I don’t expect anything from this for me. Not compensation, recognition,  or even inward peace. Do it for the fact that you are doing it for One and One only, the King of Kings, Who became a baby and gave us a gift like no other. Do this and I believe you can truly say “I kept Christ in Christmas.”

For: Jesus

From: Me 

Getting Christ in Christmas (A Christmas Poem)

The Christmas season is here!
Lights sparkle and shine on every street.
Share joy and spread the cheer!
Family and friends we all will greet,
Some come from far, and some from near,
But we all know, they’re here to eat!

The halls are decked,
The tree decorated.
The sled‘s been wrecked,
The carols slated.

Why do we celebrate this “Christmas” season,
Emmanuel is come, that is the reason!
God here with us --is why we give.
He came to die, so we can live!
His gift is free and precious indeed,
To accept the Gift is all you need!

Yet, do we really focus on what he gave?
Or are we focused what we get?
Born in a manger, died on a cross,
Yet the third day rose from the Grave!
Oh! We must never forget-
We gained from His loss.

We all proclaim: “Keep Christ in Christmas!”
“Don’t ever forget!”
Yet it’s the very truth we miss.
“Pass me the present, What did I get?”
  Oh sure we’ll give Him time … a minute will do.
After all, we need to read Luke 2!
We give Him that moment then we move on,
We open the present- the one from Uncle Don.

He got His moment, now put Him back in the box,
With Mary and Joseph and Santa too,
Mom again? I told you I don’t need socks!!
Yes! A dirt bike and this one brand new!
See Dad I told you, Grandma Rocks!
Did you see the I-Pod, oh, is it from you?

He’s in the box now, with reindeer around,
He’ll stay that box, the one on the ground.
The garage for months will be his domain,
For the King−− who as a baby he came .

“We kept Christ in Christmas”--
Well that’s what we say.
Yet the hard truth is this:
It’s all a play.
He’s not in Christmas.
Definitely not this way.

To Keep Christ in Christmas,
Entails much.
To honor Him from above--
Who died so we can live.
The key is this:
 We share his touch.
We spread his love.
But most of all – Give!

And not only to those who give back.
Give to those who need, those who lack!
Christ gave to us what we could never repay.
So that we’ll live in heaven one day.

We keep Him in our celebration.
This is my summation:
The challenge to us who believe:
Get Christ in Christmas! To Him We must cleave!
Share His love to all on earth!
Tell them of the Savior’s birth!
Give to those who can never return,
For Christ love, we cannot earn.
It is a gift one we cannot fathom,
From the perfect sinless second Adam.

Before we can keep Him in our holiday,
we must give Him adoration.
That’s what I say.
So Christ I invite you to our celebration.
The honored guest is who You’ll be,
Who cares what’s under the tree!
Your love I’ll spread, hope, peace and joy.
Forget if I didn’t get that toy.

Happy birthday to Christ  our King,
The very reason that we sing!
Your in my heart, and Christmas too.
My only Christmas wish is to be more like you.

Keep Christ in Christmas it’s a truth.
One I’m getting in my youth.
He needs to get in it from the start.
Get him inside you, yes in your heart.
Share it and shout it out loud!
“Jesus is the reason!” Yes be Proud!
Most of all remember this
Get Christ in your Christmas!

Why I wrote this:

I’ve realized that during the Christmas season people get all wrapped up in the “Keep Christ in Christmas” drama that they focus and lose opportunities to share Christ. We (yes even I was) were focused more about arguing about businesses saying “Happy Holidays” and us telling them “Merry Christmas.” We forget to share the reason we say “Merry Christmas.”

I admit that when I looked at the calendar and saw that this year Christmas was on a Sunday I was disappointed that I Had to go to Church on Christmas! How dumb was that! Then the Lord spoke to my heart and showed me how stupid−−yes STUPID −̶ it was to think that. It’s Christ birthday and He’s inviting me to His house to celebrate it!

Another thing I thought was how can we “Keep Christ in Christmas” if He’s not in it to begin with. Let’s get real for a second. We really don’t focus on Christ on Christmas. Sure we give Him the few minutes it takes to read Luke 2 -- and if you’re really spiritual Matthew 1 as well. But that’s all of Christmas He gets.

If we want to “Keep Christ in Christmas” he needs to be in it first. Christ came to seek and t save the lost. We must accept that Gift to get Christ in Christmas. We must then share that news of salvation with others. Finally we must do as He did and give. Not only to those we love and how will give back, but to those who are our enemies and those who are less fortunate than we. That’s what Christ did. He gave knowing full well that some would hate Him. He gave knowing full well that we could do nothing to repay Him.

He left his throne, left his crown, left his home, to become a baby, laid in a manger, to later be nailed to a cross, laid again this time in a grave, but rose again and conquered death. That is the message of Christmas.

How do we “Keep Christ in Christmas”? By giving him more than two minutes.  By keeping all that in mind I said above in mind.  By getting Christ in your Christmas.

The Destruction of Judgment

A Progression of Perception

As stated in earlier posts, the Distortion of Religion is a progression of perception. As one develops the perception that Christianity is about “religious ritual” (The Distortion of Religion: The Distraction Called Religion) he will soon develop the growth of pride and self-righteousness for adhering to that “ritual” (The Distortion of Religion: The Deception of Self-Righteousness) and will inevitably transcend into the attitude of judgment.

Having the perceptions of “religious ritual” and “Self-righteousness” will inevitably lead to being judgmental. As someone follows the rules and then judges himself as being good according to those rules he will invariably judge others to those rules and to his keeping of those rules.

I must admit that I, myself, have fallen into that attitude before. Just this past month I was talking to a friend and she asked me if I thought myself to be better than others and if I looked down on others. I asked why she would ask, which led to her telling me that someone had told her that I act as if I do. I felt horrible! Here I am writing about “Returning to Biblical Christianity” and “Living the Authentic Christian Life” and I’m living against my own writing! I’ve done my best to live authentically and yet someone still feels as if I’m being a judgmental fake. I wonder, do people feel the same way about you? Do you come across as thinking yourself better than others?  

The Destruction 

This stage of the Distortion of Religion is the most harmful. I believe it is because this is the stage in which people are turned away from Christianity the most. I don’t even know how many times I or a friend of mine has been told by people we have invited to church that they won’t come because they don’t have a tie or a dress. This alone proves the perception that people are afraid that they will be judged for not wearing the proper church attire. This is a silly illustration, but very true. How far from authentic, Biblical Christianity is that? I think that when we look at the Bible and saw the company with which Jesus surrounded Himself, we will find that those we would cast out are the very ones He called unto Him. Christ did not surround Himself with politicians, or religious leaders. When Christ ministered and fellowshipped with people, He chose to do so with tax-collectors, the blind, the deaf, the dumb, the lame, the leprous, prostitutes, and the demon-possessed. People we would call the very least of these. And Jesus purposed to minister to them.

 A Problem of Perspective: Two Fitting Illustrations by Jesus

I find it ironic that we are no better than any of them were it not for the Grace of God. Christ found it equally ironic. In fact He found it so ironic that He illustrated it in two very fitting, very different ways.

The Mote and the Beam

The first illustration that I find is a very humorous way. (if you have my imagination that is. You see I am a visual learner. I learn best by putting a picture to what I need to learn.) Matthew 7 is no exception. Here’s what the passage says:

Judge not, that ye be not judged. ²For with what judgment ye judge, ye shall be judged: and with what measure ye mete, it shall be measured to you again. ³And why beholdest thou the mote that is in thy brother's eye, but considerest not the beam that is in thine own eye? ⁴Or how wilt thou say to thy brother, Let me pull out the mote out of thine eye; and, behold, a beam is in thine own eye? ⁵Thou hypocrite, first cast out the beam out of thine own eye; and then shalt thou see clearly to cast out the mote out of thy brother's eye.

Now here’s how I picture it: Jesus is giving the soon-to-be-famous Sermon on the Mount. He comes to this part and pulls out a small bag. In it is sawdust* that he got from his step-dad’s shop. He pulls one of His disciples, pours a bit of it into his hand and tells him to grab a speck and hold it near his eye. He tells them: “Judge not, that ye be not judged. For with what judgment ye judge, ye shall be judged: and with what measure ye mete, it shall be measured to you again. And why beholdest thou the mote that is in thy brother's eye.” With the disciple holding the small speck of sawdust near his eye, Christ at this point goes to a nearby tree and picks up a large branch that has fallen off the tree, or  to a broken down building and grabs an old cross-beam, He holds it up to His own eye and says: “but considerest not the beam that is in thine own eye? Or how wilt thou say to thy brother, Let me pull out the mote out of thine eye; and, behold, a beam is in thine own eye? Thou hypocrite, first cast out the beam out of thine own eye;” (He throws the branch/beam down then says) "and then shalt thou see clearly to cast out the mote out of thy brother's eye.” Do you get the picture? Christ wanted to show us very clearly, “HEY! You have too much about yourself to fix. Don’t worry about your brother!” We many times look at the faults in others and blow them out of proportion, when our problems are much more severe.

*(Note when I would read this passage before, I always thought that the word mote meant splinter. But I looked it up and realized it means speck, dust, sawdust. God showed me that what we judge in other people isn’t even a splinter, it’s a speck.)

The Pharisee and Publican

The second illustration given by Jesus isn’t as humorous, but is equally true. Jesus is again, teaching His disciples when He realizes there are some who have the attitude of self-righteousness and judgment. (v.1) So he told them a parable:

⁹And he spake this parable unto certain which trusted in themselves that they were righteous, and despised others: ¹⁰Two men went up into the temple to pray; the one a Pharisee, and the other a publican. ¹¹The Pharisee stood and prayed thus with himself, God, I thank thee, that I am not as other men are, extortioners, unjust, adulterers, or even as this publican. ¹²I fast twice in the week, I give tithes of all that I possess. ¹³And the publican, standing afar off, would not lift up so much as his eyes unto heaven, but smote upon his breast, saying, God be merciful to me a sinner. ¹⁴I tell you, this man went down to his house justified rather than the other: for every one that exalteth himself shall be abased; and he that humbleth himself shall be exalted. 

This attitude was not foreign or novel to the disciples. They saw it every day with the Pharisees. But the lesson that Jesus taught them was. It was revolutionary. Christ showed them that the man who walked away justified was the Publican – the dirty sinner, not the Pharisee- the (outwardly) clean saint. Have you ever caught yourself saying the Pharisee’s prayer? “God, I thank thee, that I am not as other men are.” Or in our vernacular: “Thank God I’m not like them!” I’ll be the first to admit I’m guilty. When that person with tattoos and pericings all over comes into the church and wants to sit by me.. Don’t we get that same thank-God-im-not-like-him attitude? I fear that we are guilty of seeing them as the Pharisee sees them and not as God sees them. I’m reminded of 1 Samuel 16:7

⁷But the LORD said unto Samuel, Look not on his countenance, or on the height of his stature; because I have refused him: for the LORD seeth not as man seeth; for man looketh on the outward appearance, but the LORD looketh on the heart.

How are we looking at them? Do we see just the appearance? Jesus shows us that although the Pharisee was clean on the outside he was unrepentant and therefore dirty on the inside. The Publican, however, although dirty on the outside, was repentant and was therefore clean, or as Christ described: Justified. Christ points out and, in essence, says, "He is repentant and wants to be made whole, while you just puff yourself up. He is the one I will forgive, while you will stay in your sin. The one who exalts himself will be humbled, but he who humbles himself will be exalted.” Which are you? The prideful judgmental Pharisee or the humble justified Publican?


A Disturbing Modern Example 


One of the most famous groups in this present day that not only show judgment but also endorse judgment is the Westboro Baptist Church. They are the epitome of this false perception. Their message is one of hate and eternal damnation. I researched their websites and would not recommend anyone to visit. The attitude and message was so anti-Bible it made me feel sick. The only reason I use them  as an example is because the detriment their agenda is having on Christians of all stripes. Picketing at funerals of soldiers, shouting "God hates Fags," "America is doomed," "Obama is the Anti-Christ," and much more is now what people think of when they hear Baptist. As a Baptist I understand that their message is the very antithesis of the message of the Bible. God loves the sinner but hates the sin. I'm pretty sure that John 3:16 still says: "For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life." (emphasis added) And 2 Peter 3:9 still says: " The Lord is... not willing that any should perish, but that all should come to repentance." (emphasis added) Romans 10:13 also still says: "For whosoever shall call upon the name of the Lord shall be saved." The "God hates sinners" message of WBC grieves and disturbs me to the core. And it is wrong!


We may not be as extreme in our judgment, but we can too fall into the same vein of judgment. We must hate the sin, love the sinner. No matter how sinful we think they are. We must view them as Christ does. - Souls in need of a loving Savior. 

The Challenge

So here’s the challenge: Examine your life. Do you judge others by their appearance, by your list of rights and wrongs, do and don’ts, or your own righteousness. Have you turned others away from Christ because of your judgment?  If so I challenge you to see others as Christ sees them. People He loves. People with whom He wants to have a relationship. Love others. -Christ does.

One Final Word

And one last thing. Are you someone who has been the recipient of judgment? Have you left the Church because of someone’s judgmental acts toward you? Have you been a recipient of hate like that given by WBC? If so I hope this post showed you that that is not the heart of Christ or His church. I hope you will turn back to Him Who loves you so much. I know that some hurts are hard to heal, but I also know that Christ is the Great Healer. He loves you and wants to have a real relationship with you. I pray that you will turn back to Him and get back into Church. His people do love you. And you can’t judge Him or His people by one action no matter how hurtful it was. I hope you see  the Heart of Christ. He Loves you and wants to have an authentic relationship with you. If you would like to know how to have a relationship with Him message me. I would be thrilled to show you how!