Merry Christmas to You!

Good morning, Happy Souls!

Bill Keller wrote a wonderful devotional today
that I highly recommend to you.  He has given
me permission to copy his e-mails, and I'm sure
he would be happy if you would share this with
people you know as well.

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DAILY DEVOTIONAL TUESDAY NOVEMBER 29, 2005
(Isaiah 43:10, John 15:27)

Why are people so upset a department store won't say
"Merry Christmas?" Please forgive me if I don't share
the outrage of many Christians that department stores
like Wal-mart, Target, and I'm sure others have quit
saying "Merry Christmas." To be frank with you, I don't
know why we expect a secular business to promote Christ
when they have turned the celebration of his birth into a
celebration of mammon! They don't exist to please the
heart of God but the insatiable appetite of man. They
aren't in business to bless people, only take their money.
So their decision to not say "Merry Christmas" is much
ado about nothing.

The fact is, WE are the ones who are supposed to say
"Merry Christmas" to them!!! Why do we expect the
world to do what WE are supposed to be doing? If you
know Jesus as your Savior, it is YOU who is supposed to
say "Merry Christmas" to those you meet along your
journey through life each day. The Bible says the WE
are His ambassadors, WE are His witnesses, WE are to
be salt and light, not some secular department store!
This is one of the best times of the year to be a Christian
and remind people that Christmas is NOT about
merchandise, but the birth of Jesus. WE are the ones to
remind the world that Christmas is not about the presents
we give to each other, but the present God gave to this
world in the form of His Son Jesus Christ!

This is also the time of year when so many people get
outraged because their town hall won't put up a manger
scene. I wonder how many of those who are outraged
have manger scenes in THEIR yards? Why do you expect
the city hall to put up a display like that when you won't
even do it in your own yard where it is 100% legal? We
expect the government to publicly symbolize the birth
of Jesus but we aren't willing to do it ourselves! Again, God
called US, not the government to be His witness to this
lost world!

Listen my friend, I would LOVE to see manger scenes in
the town square, love to see "Christmas" not Holiday
parades, love to hear Christmas carols in public, not songs
about reindeers, snowmen and Santa Claus, and I would
love to hear "Merry Christmas" at the store instead of
"Happy Holidays," but what do you expect from a world
that has rejected God's Son and the Truth of His Word?
I've been trying to tell you for over 6 years now that this
is no longer a Christian nation, that we live in a world that
operates in rebellion to God, so how come we expect the
world to promote the birth of Jesus?

PROMOTING THE BIRTH OF JESUS IS OUR JOB!

God has called us to share our faith in Christ and the
hope we have in Him with this lost and dying world. As
this Christmas season is upon us, NOW is the time for
each one of us who knows Christ as our Savior to be
faithful in sharing Him with a world that needs His love
so desperately. Even though the world has perverted this
wonderful time of the year by cashing in on the birth of
Jesus, now even trying to act like that is not what this time
of the year is about, it is our opportunity to make sure
everyone we meet knows that this blessed time is about
one thing and one thing only...the birth of Jesus!

My challenge to you is to not get caught up in these
mindless debates about department stores not saying
"Merry Christmas," but for YOU to say "Merry Christmas"
to those you encounter during your day. Let those God has
called to the legal arena fight for the public displays and
symbols of our faith, while those of us who know Christ
exercise OUR FREEDOM to publicly display the symbols
of our faith. Rather than being upset that the great
Christmas carols are not being sung, get a group from
your church and spend a night caroling throughout your
neighborhood.

I love you and care about you so much. I know it is
frustrating to see the world we live in reject Christ. If it
hurts us, imagine how it hurts God who so loves this
world! We often get so caught up in the world's rejection
of God and His Truth that we forget that WE are the ones
God has called to bring His hope and Truth to the lost and
hurting. We expect the world to do what we have been
called to do! It is our job as followers of Christ to declare
His love and mercy and grace, not the job of a fallen world
that rejects the Lord. Rather than lamenting how the world
is trying to eliminate God, we have got to get busy doing
our job which is to declare God's existence and presence.
We can't blame a world that has rejected God for not doing
the job WE have been called by God to do!

I pray today that each of us who knows Jesus will exercise
OUR freedoms this Christmas season and make sure every
person we come in contact with knows that the joy we have
in our heart comes from this precious time of year when we
celebrate the birth of our Savior. It is a great opportunity
for each of us to share our faith in Christ, to help someone
we know find the true meaning of Christmas. The fact the
departments stores, the town halls, and other public
entities are not promoting Christ's birth is a wake-up
call to the churches and each Believer that WE are the ones
God has entrusted with this mission. That first Christmas,
God didn't entrust that great message with the men of the
world, but men of God who were tending their flocks.

May each of us be faithful this Christmas season in being
like the shepherds and sharing with the world that 2000
years ago in a manger in Bethlehem, a baby was born.
This was not just any baby, but the Savior of the world.
God's gift to a fallen world that through this baby they
would find the forgiveness of their sins and everlasting life.
This baby's name was JESUS, the only name by which men
are saved. Let each of us who have accepted Him into our
hearts and lives by faith declare HIS birth and hope to this
lost world this Christmas

In His love and service,
Your friend and brother in Christ,
Bill Keller

***If I can help you in any way you can contact me
through my personal email at bkeller@liveprayer.com

***ARE YOU 100% CERTAIN WHERE YOU WILL SPEND
ETERNITY?  The fact is you will die one day.  At
that moment, you will either spend eternity with
the Lord or be cast into everlasting darkness
forever separated from God your creator.  To know
for certain you will be forever with Jesus, go to:
http://www.liveprayer.com/bdy_salvatn.html

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(C) Copyright 2005, Bill Keller Ministries.
All rights reserved

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May God bless you as you learn from this message!

Merry Christmas!!

Donald W. Mitchell, Your Dream Concierge

Copyright 2005 Donald W. Mitchell