The World is Changing

It’s December 23, 2006, Saturday, the day before Christmas Eve. About 90% of the shopping is done. I have just realized that I have been shopping for the last three days, wow! No wonder I feel sore and tired. It’s tough to stand around in line at every store we have gone to. I must ask myself, is it worth all the hassle? My answer is no, if you’re talking about the superficial meaning of Christmas.

You know, I feel really good when I think about the true reason we celebrate Christmas. It’s about the birthday of our Savior Jesus. We give gifts as an example of the gift given us by Jesus. The gift of eternal life He gave us in which we will spend eternity with God our Father.

In our family we actually have a birthday cake for Jesus, usually a three layer double, double chocolate cake. We sing happy birthday to Him, and celebrate His birthday, which means so much to us. We read the account of His birth and remember how He was born and why He was born. We never want to diminish the importance of what Jesus means to us.

This world is changing radically these days, different opinions and beliefs that contradict mainstream Christianity. People who would rather have us Christians stay behind the four walls of our churches. We are seeing the long time presence of Christian symbols and verses removed from public presence because of being so called offensive. Even History that includes Christian origins is being excluded just because it infers the name of Jesus.

What will come of all of this? I don’t know, but I do know it will fit into God’s plan for the future. We need to remain close to Him and continue to remember that Jesus is our Messiah and He is the One we are waiting for. The Bible gives us a vivid picture of the events of the future and if you are a Christian, I know you are excited at the thought of His return.

I believe what is happening today is a precursor for the events predicted in the Bible. That means these are exciting times we live in. I consider the stance we should take is one of anticipation and excitement.

Remember, in our suffering, this is the closest we will ever get to hell, and to the sinner, this is the closest they will ever get to heaven. So in these last days our concern should be for the lost. We should be getting the Gospel to those who need to hear it, because the return of Jesus is closer than when we first believed.

R. William Collier