Daily Devotional for Thursday December 13, 2018

Why a Christian should NOT celebrate Christmas!

(Luke 2:6-7)

***DAILY PERSONAL PRAYER FOR YOU: Dear Lord, please guide my steps this day. Help me to walk in your light and strength and not in my own ways. Thank you for your many blessings, most that I take for granted. Help me this day to acknowledge your love, grace, and goodness as I live my life for you and do my best to glorify you in all of my thoughts, words, and deeds. This I ask in the name of Jesus. AMEN!!!

Every year at this time, I get inundated with emails that read like 40-page doctrinal dissertations on why a Christian should NOT celebrate Christmas. They make very good arguments about the pagan celebrations at this time of year, the evils of the Christmas tree, lying to children about Santa Claus, how Jesus was not born on December 25th, and many other reasons why a Christian should not celebrate Christmas. To those people I have only one thing to say . . . BAH HUMBUG!

Please, don't send me emails why those who celebrate Christmas are following the devil. If you are led to not celebrate the birth of our Lord and want to miss out, that is up to you. Sadly, your misguided legalism has stolen your joy.

Listen, everyone understands that Jesus was not born on December 25, but according to most scholars, He was born sometime in September. I have yet to meet anyone who worshipped their Christmas tree; only decorated it. If you are old enough to be able to read this, then you are old enough to know that there is no Santa Claus and, yes, there are many pagan celebrations that occur at this time of the year and the Bible does not have the word Christmas in it. However, there is only ONE REASON that we celebrate Christmas and that is to celebrate the birth of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ!

Christians SHOULD celebrate the birth of Jesus! It is right and good that we take time each year to remember that blessed event. It was foretold by the prophets of old. It is a well-documented, historical event chronicled in the Gospels and supported by the historians of that day. After His death and resurrection, it is easily the GREATEST EVENT IN HUMAN HISTORY!

Think about it. God Himself, the Creator of the heavens and earth, came to this earth as a mere man to live with His creation. He came as a baby, born of a virgin in a humble manger in an obscure little town. He would grow up to die on a cross as the perfect sacrifice for the sins of all mankind. Three days after His death, God would raise Him from the dead as a sign to this lost and unbelieving world that He was exactly who He claimed to be . . . the SON OF GOD!

His life would literally transform the lives of every man, woman, and child for the rest of human history!!! THAT is why we celebrate Christmas. THAT is why, as Christians, we SHOULD celebrate Christmas!!!

I love you and care about you so much. I realize that people who say not to celebrate Christmas mean well and are trying to live their lives in a way pleasing and acceptable to God. Sadly, they are missing the great joy of this time of year. I know they are well intentioned and many of the things they point out about Christmas are true but they have missed the point of Christmas.

Christmas is about only one thing, celebrating the birth of Jesus. It is one of those times of the year that we gather with family and friends and share our faith in Christ. That alone is a great reason we should be celebrating Christmas.

Christmas is also VERY BIBLICAL. Luke Chapter 2 gives us the account of His birth. That was the very first Christmas. Of course, Mary was there, as was Joseph. We also read about several shepherds that God spoke to who were part of that first Christmas. Now, some 2,000 years later, we will set aside time in the coming days to do what they did at that first Christmas . . . to celebrate the birth of Jesus!

I pray today that you will never forget what Christmas is really about and why we celebrate this holiday. Of course, anything that the world gets involved with becomes perverted. The world has taken this sacred time of the year and turned it into a time of commerce.

We must never allow ourselves to get so caught up in the parties, the gifts, the food, and all of the other things associated with the Christmas season to forget what it is about . . . .a time to celebrate the birth of Jesus. THAT is what Christmas is really about and THAT is why, as Christians, we SHOULD celebrate this wonderful event!!!

In His love and service,

Your friend, brother, and co-laborer in Christ,

Bill Keller