Warfare Wednesday

“Then the angel said to her, “Do not be afraid, Mary, for you have found favor with God. And behold, you will conceive in your womb and bring forth a Son, and shall call His name JESUS. He will be great, and will be called the Son of the Highest; and the Lord God will give Him the throne of His father David. And He will reign over the house of Jacob forever, and of His kingdom there will be no end.”” - Luke 1:30-33

It's the Christmas season, and this week as we continue to pray for President Obama, I want to pray for Christmas to really and truly come to the White House and Washington DC.  Everything these days is so politically correct, and it's just time for this nation to stand and up and say that our country was founded on Godly principles, and we recognize Christmas as in important part of those principles. Without Christmas, without the birth of our Savior, we likely wouldn't be where we are today.

And yet, while so many claim to not celebrate Christmas, there are also a great many out there complaining and grumbling about the hassles of the season.  Presents, and concerts, and family gatherings, and parties, and more presents... I just pray that these people will receive great joy this season.  As they think on the birth of Christ and as they select gifts to give to their loved ones, may they experience the joy that comes from knowing the greatest gift of all.

For our family, we've decided to celebrate simply this year.  Oh, we'll get some gifts for the kids, but there won't be anything extravagant, and we've reigned in on the number of sweets and treats and cookies that are being made as well.  We just want to focus our time on spending time with each other.  Christmas should not be about the kids doing their own thing while mommy is in the kitchen slaving away and daddy is sitting and cursing all the time he has to spend assembling gifts.  We just want to celebrate love and Jesus together as a family.   We are spending the season learning new games together- both video games and board-type games.  We're watching endless movies together, snuggled up on the couch in front of the fireplace.  It's just simply magical.  It sounds so simple and uncomplicated in this go-go-go day and age, but it's wonderful.

And I want to share it!  It is my prayer that the joy and the wonder that we have been experiencing in our home as a family is not unique to our family.  May it envelop our neighbors, our friends, our family, our many acquaintances and co-workers.  May it infect our city, our state, our country, and may it spread to the furthest corners of the globe.  There is peace and love and great joy in knowing Jesus Christ as our Lord and Savior, and as the center of our family. This is a unique gift that is so unique- it is available to every single person on the planet!  How cool is that! 

Every winter we watch a version of The Grinch Who Stole Christmas, and there is a line in the movie that "Christmas doesn't come from a store, perhaps it means just a little bit more" and every time I hear that line being said, regardless of which version we are watching, it makes my heart leap for joy.  Because the greatest gift is Heaven on Earth that was made possible over 2000 years ago in a town called Bethlehem. 

I pray this week that this Christmas will show the world that Heaven is indeed on Earth, that Jesus who came so long ago is alive and living and just waiting for each and every one of us to cry out to Him.  I pray that Christmas will come to each and every branch of the United States government, and that love, peace and joy will triumph over the darkness that threatens to take over.  The darkness will never win, because Jesus IS Lord!