The Day After

Merry Post-Christmas to all of you!

I can't tell you how many times I heard someone say or said it myself - "It just doesn't feel like Christmas!"

As much as I like change and new things to happen in my life - consistency at Christmas is something I've cherished. Yet the older I get it seems that my expectations of Christmas each year are unrealistic. As hard as I try to control it, I don't have the ability to do so.

Let me explain. All my growing up years I believed it was almost heresy to celebrate Christmas on Christmas Eve like some weird families did. Then as our kids grew up, got married, and moved away we realized if we were going to have any quality time with them we needed to do it Christmas Eve.

This year added a new little wrinkle - our son in law Scott was being deployed to Iraq for the third time December 29th! That meant he and his family couldn't travel away from Ft. Campbell (Army rules) so we snuck down there before Christmas to see Jenny graduate from college and briefly celebrate with Scott.

We're hoping Jenny can come up soon after Scott leaves so we can celebrate with her and our grandson.

But what about next year? Will there be more challenges? You can count on it. As soon as you think you've got things figured out - you realize you don't.

That leads me to the spiritual part of this blog. STOP! Don't go away just because I said that word Spiritual.

There is one thing you can count on Christmas after Christmas, year after year. It's something we all need more than another sweater, tie or the obligatory Starbucks gift card.

Rick Ezell in one of the blogs I subscribe to writes:

"What do you need for Christmas? The question of need is not the same as the question of want. I suspect that what we need is vastly different from what we want. I've said many times, and I suspect that you have to, in response to the question, what do you want for Christmas? "You know, I don't really need anything."

There's one gift I need, and I need it 365 days a year. I need it every bit as much as the air I breathe, and the water I drink, and the food I eat, and the shelter over my head, and the love of my family. In fact, I need it more than any of these. And you need it too.

What's beautiful about this gift is that it doesn't cost us anything; it's available to all."

Later in the blog Rick reminds us of what Paul said when he wrote to his friend Titus: "For the grace of God that brings salvation has appeared to all men. It teaches us to say 'No' to ungodliness and worldly passions, and to live self-controlled, upright and godly lives in this present age, while we wait for the blessed hope-the glorious appearing of our great God and Savior, Jesus Christ, who gave himself for us to redeem us from all wickedness and to purify for himself a people that are his very own, eager to do what is good" (Titus 2:11-14 NIV).

Can you guess what the gift is? It's not something you have to stand in long lines to return today. Have you ever received it? Be careful, most of us miss the gift we all need for Christmas. It's Grace!

We are told in the Bible that because of our sin we are separated from God. But God provided a way out of the punishment we deserve - he sent His Son Jesus to pay the penalty. Without receiving Christ, which means to receive God's grace, then we have no hope of eternal life and whatever you experience here on this earth for the short 70 or 80 years, that's it.

But God's grace doesn't effect us only when our physical bodies die. No read again what Paul says the benefit of grace is for us today, ""For the grace of God that brings salvation has appeared to all men. It teaches us to say 'No' to ungodliness and worldly passions, and to live self-controlled, upright and godly lives in this present age, while wait for the blessed hope.."

The grace of God is the message of Christmas. Grace is the one true lasting and satisfying gift of Christmas. If we don't receive it all the other gifts are inconsequential.

My prayer for you today - in your groggy, ate too much, slept too little holiday time, is that you've accepted the free gift of God's grace.

If you're still confused about this - not sure and want to know more - then The Grove is the place to come and grow and learn.

This Sunday we will be treated to some awesome life stories of God's transformation in the lives of those who attend Teen Challenge. Come early to get a good seat.

Then beginning January 6th we begin an exciting message series entitled "Work Matters". We will explore topics such as: What Should I Do With My Life? How Do I Balance Life and Work?
Work Matters: How Do I Mange My Money? How Do I Leave A Legacy?

I hope you can come and grow with us at The Grove and maybe even bring someone you care about to one of our services.

In the meanwhile, let's take a moment over the last few days of 2007 and reflect on how blessed we are. I hope to recall some of the highlights at The Grove in my next blog.

While you are in the reading mood - check out two new blogs by Carolyn and Vince - I think you'll enjoy them too! You can find them at http://groveworship.blogspot.com/ and http://mediathegrove.blogspot.com/

Remaining in His Grip,

Jeff