Journal - Some Christmas Thoughts

Yesterday we went to the Christmas Eve service at our church. They held services Friday at 7pm, and also Saturday at 3 and 5:30. We went to the 3pm service to avoid having to drive home in the dark.
Anyway, the service was kind of a little play about a Christian couple who invites a non-Christian couple to their home for a Christmas get-together. Through the course of the evening, the non-Christians see how the Christians speak and act and they begin to ask questions. For me, the pivotal point of the evening was the following exchange, which I have paraphrased:

We need Jesus to save us.
Save us from what?
Save us from ourselves!

Save us from ourselves? Well, yes that makes a lot of sense when I think about it. The world is full of all kinds of distractions and temptations. You can call it the world, or satan, or sin, or society, or whatever you want, but it all amounts to the same thing. When we give in to it, we have no one to blame but ourselves and that’s why we need Jesus to save us from ourselves. That’s a rather elementary concept I suppose, but I had really never looked at it quite that way. Those distractions will always be there but I need to learn to keep my focus on Jesus
So that’s what I’ve been thinking about the last couple of days. The play was acted out in several scenes and there was singing in between the scenes, groups and soloists. The service closed with a traditional singing of Silent Night by candlelight. It was a wonderful service, but it was really that one point that God seemed to want to make clear to me, and I’m glad He did. He’s such a wonderful teacher and it always makes me feel kind of special that He will go to so much trouble to reach out to little old me. Maybe it’s not that much trouble for God, or maybe He just thinks I’m worth it. Something else to think about.
I hope that you have (and will) feel a special connection to our Savior this holiday season. That’s what it’s all about after all.

Merry Christmas to you and yours!

Luke 2:10-14 And the angel said unto them, Fear not: for, behold, I bring you good tidings of great joy, which shall be to all people. For unto you is born this day in the city of David a Saviour, which is Christ the Lord. And this shall be a sign unto you; Ye shall find the babe wrapped in swaddling clothes, lying in a manger. And suddenly there was with the angel a multitude of the heavenly host praising God, and saying, Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace, good will toward men.