Thought for December 25, 2024

 MERRY CHRISTMAS!

• 336: First recorded incidence of Jesus' birth celebrated on December 25. Found in the calendar of  Filocalus. 
• 800: Charlemagne crowned Roman Emperor
• 1066: William the Conqueror crowned King of England ending the Norman Conquest
• 1621: William Bradford forbids game playing on Christmas in Plymouth Colony. Puritans in America and England objected to celebrating Christmas on December 25 since there was no evidence that it was the date on which Christ was born and there was no Biblical authority for the celebration. Some newly arrived colonist asked for the day off to celebrqate and Baradford allowed until he saw them playing games rather than worshipping. 
• 1741: Anders Celsius introduces the centigrade temperature scale
• 1776: Washington crosses the Delaware
• 1818: Handel's "Messiah" premiers in the U.S. 
• 1821: "Angels from the Realms of Glory" first used in a public service.
• 1868: Andrew Johnson grants unconditional pardon to all who participated in the "Southern Rebellion"
• 1896: Sousa writes "Stars and Stripes Forever"
• 1914: Christmas truce on the battlefields of WWI
• 1962: "To Kill a Mockingbird" released
• Born: Isaac Newton, Clara Barton, Conrad Hilton, Humphrey Bogart, Cab Calloway, Anwar Sadat, Rod Serling, Nellie Fox, Jimmy Buffet, Larry Csonka, Sissy Spacek, Karl Rove, Brenda Hauk, Charlene Wilson
• Died: Samuel de Champlain, Linus Yale [Yale lock], Young Tom Morris [4 times Open Champion], WC Fields, Frederick Law Olmstead [Central Park, Biltmore House, Druid Hills], Charlie Chaplin, Billy Martin, Dean Martin, James Brown, Eartha Kitt, George Michael

Thought:

Reading 2 Corinthians 9:6-15 as my Christmas scripture. Interesting how things work out. This passage contains one of my life verses and here it is at Christmas. What truth about generosity can I find in these verses?

• Sow sparingly, reap sparingly. Sow bountifully, reap bountifully. [9:6] This is in a passage about giving, but think about the truth it teaches. First, consider what you might sow today. Will I sow joy, peace, love, faith, kindness, gentleness, patience, unity. Or will I sow bitterness, hatred, anger, impatience, envy, lust, selfishness. What will I sow today--for the truth is right whatever I sow, I reap. If I sow love, I reap abundant love--maybe not from the person I was trying to love, but from the lover of my soul. If I sow bitterness, I will certainly reap bitterness. I get to make a choice--what will I sow today?
• Deciding what to sow is a matter of the heart. [9:7] I can try fool the world by looking generous, loving, caring, patient, kind. But if it does not flow from a transformed heart, it is a sounding brass or tinkling cymbal. So, in deciding what to sow, I need to get my heart right--cast out all the stuff that chains me and accept the freedom in Christ.
• When my heart is right, I will give cheerfully, hilariously, joyfully. [9:7] I won’t even think about what I am doing. Go back and read Matthew 25 about the judgment. The saints did not remember when they fed the hungry, gave a cup to the thirsty, visited those in jail. They did it from a transformed heart so that it was a natural act, not something exceptional. 
• 9:8 is one of my life verses. I recite it by personalizing it. "God is able to make all grace abound toward ME, that I always having all sufficiency in everything may abound to every good work." I think Jesus placed this verse right after God loves a cheerful giver and sowing bountifully means reaping bountifully because it provides the basis and foundation for being a cheerful giver and sowing abundantly. I do not sow abundantly out of my resources, I do not give cheerfully out of my resources, I give generously out of His abundance. Look at what it says:
• The God of all grace can make all His grace abound toward me and in me. Imagine being a conduit for all of God's grace. When God calls me to be generous, He promises me the grace to meet the call. That is what happened to the Macedonian churches. They gave themselves to God and He poured out His grace so that they gave beyond their ability--but not beyond His ability. For God is able.
• When God's grace abounds toward and in me, I always have an abundance for every good deed. As those in my class know, when we serve the homeless or the college students, I never worry whether we have enough--God always provides an abundance. Ten extra people show up, no problem--God provides an abundance. One of my dear friends who works with Youth for Christ testifies about the time they ordered a specific number of turkeys to hand out at Christmas or Thanksgiving. The number was counted carefully into the truck. They counted as they handed out the turkeys and when the purchased number had been given, there were still people in line. Sorry. But wait, there are more turkeys in the truck. So just like when Jesus fed the 5000, the turkeys continued until the need was met. This must be what 9:10 is telling us--the one who provides the seed and bread will supply and MULTIPLY your seed.
• The goal is not the giving, but the thanksgiving. [9:11-12] We sow abundantly and God allows us to reap abundantly so that people will give thanks to God for His goodness and grace. 
• On Christmas, we can all join Paul is shouting 9:15--Thanks be to God for His indescribable GIFT!

Blessings

Larry