Just yesterday I had someone ask me, “Are you ready for Christmas”? This is a common part of conversations this time of year. When people ask this question, their usual thoughts are around: “Are your Christmas decorations all in place”? “Do you have your presents for giving, purchased and wrapped”? “Have you sent out Christmas cards or Christmas emails and messages”? “Have you been to the grocery store and stocked up with the food you will be eating over the holidays”? “Is any Christmas baking that you will be doing finished”? “Are details of plans for gathering with family and friends in place”? It is possible to have all of these things completed and still not have attended to making ourselves ready for Christmas. When we recognize that Jesus is intended to be at the heart of celebrating Christmas, what will it mean for us to be “ready for Christmas” this year? Consider the response of the shepherds when they received the news that Jesus had been born: 15 When the angels had left them and gone into heaven, the shepherds said to one another, “Let’s go to Bethlehem and see this thing that has happened, which the Lord has told us about.”16 So they hurried off and found Mary and Joseph, and the baby, who was lying in the manger. 17 When they had seen him, they spread the word concerning what had been told them about this child, 18 and all who heard it were amazed at what the shepherds said to them. (Luke 2:15-18) The shepherds did not get distracted by several other thing to do. They were ready, at that moment, to go and to welcome Jesus. How will our thoughts and words and the way that we spend our time over Christmas ensure that we are ready to mark again this miraculous event of God loving our world so much that He sent his own Son Jesus to be our Saviour? As we have been lighting the candles of the Advent wreath at church each Sunday, we have been preparing and getting ready for Christmas. We have been reminded that Jesus came to bring HOPE, PEACE, JOY, and LOVE to our world and to us. How we choose to receive Jesus and to welcome these gifts that He offers, indicates our readiness for Christmas. Prayer is an essential part of being ready for Christmas. Tomorrow, Wednesday December 21st at 1 pm when we pause for our WEDNESDAY PRAYER TOGETHER, our prayer will center on being ready for Christmas by renewing our commitment to eagerly welcome Jesus into our hearts and homes.
Asking God to do his work to make us ready for Christmas by being ready to celebrate Who Jesus is and what He brings us, Pastor Lola
Our generous God, thank You for Your immense love for us and for our world. Thank You for Your plan to send Jesus to be our Saviour. In all our busyness getting ready for Christmas, we do not want to neglect Jesus as the most important part of Christmas. We praise You for the gift of faith in You. Our hearts are grateful that through Your grace, we have believed the truth of Your love for us and of the reason that Jesus entered our world. We do want to be ready for Christmas by renewing our commitment to You. Where our desire for You has been replaced by the many other demands of life, we ask You to forgive us. When our worries and concerns have become prominent in our thoughts instead of You Lord, we ask You to change us. We really do want to be like the shepherds and willing to set everything else aside in order to come and welcome You. We do believe as we pray together now that You God can and will prepare us for celebrating Jesus. You can and will delight in helping us to be ready for Christmas. Thank You for Christmas music that lifts our cares and invites us to celebrate again what You have done for us in sending Jesus. Thank You for opportunities to give and to bless others that readies us for Christmas. Thank You God for leading us to notice the needs of others and to respond with compassion. We recognize how love in our hearts makes us ready for Christmas. Glory to You our God that we can have fresh experiences of you at Christmas and every day. For the many ways that You inspire us to seek You in being ready for Christmas, we thank You. For new beginnings that are possible when we realign ourselves and give you first place, we thank You. In a world where we shudder to listen to the news and to be confronted with turmoil and heartache, we trust You God and ready ourselves for Christmas. When we anticipate awkward family interactions or recall hurtful conversations and actions, we want to be ready for Christmas by releasing these to You. Where recent days have reminded us of how fragile is life, we pray that we will live every day appreciating Who You are and the life You have given us. You God Who know us well, know what will be needed in order for each of us to be ready for Christmas. We invite Your holy activity in us shaping us to be more of who You want us to be. Father, Son, and Holy Spirit live in us and guide us constantly, we pray, to be ready for the unfolding of Your Divine plan initiated when Jesus came to live among us. In His Name we pray. AMEN.