Christian Devotionals and Scripture Applied to Everyday Life

Christmas is often a time of travel. Friends and families love to spend this special season together celebrating and giving gifts. By necessity many take a journey across town, across states, or even across country. When I was growing up in New Jersey, my extended family lived relatively close. Every Christmas my aunts, uncles, and cousins would meet at Grandma & Grandpa Thomson's house to celebrate the season together. After exchanging gifts we observed an annual tradition. All who wanted to go wrapped themselves in their warmest clothes, jumped in the car, and journeyed into New York City.

I am having a time shortage crisis. It seems that life is just rushing by at 100 miles per hour. There never seem to be enough hours in the day to accomplish all that demands to be done. Ours is probably the only house in the area that still has a pumpkin on the porch and no Christmas decorations up. There are only two weeks left until Christmas and I don't have any gifts - but who cares because we don't even have a tree to put them under yet. I am behind at work, there are dishes in the sink and laundry to be done.

Christmas is a season we make lists. There are lists of things we need to do, lists of items we need to buy, and lists of gifts we hope to receive. It is easy to get caught up in the commercialism of the holiday, letting our minds dwell on all that is available for the consumer. Often we forget all the blessings we already have as we greedily consider what we hope will be under the tree Christmas morning. But as we let our minds wander down "Hope I Get It" Lane, there is another thing to consider. Most of what we are coveting is a package deal! Regularly we have people call our office about a cute little cottage that is for sale. When they inquire about the property, the first thing we tell them is that the cute little cottage is part of a package deal. If you want to buy the one, then two other houses come with it. Though this is a wonderful opportunity for someone interested in a larger investment, the average buyer is not interested in owning three houses.

Satan is a crafty enemy who uses many tactics to shut down those who are Christ-followers. One successful approach is to convince God's children that they are helpless and unable to do what they are called to do. I know this because this is something the enemy has used on me. I have never been a very confident person. Though I can come across as very self-assured, I have always struggled with a feeling deep inside that says I am not good enough. These feelings became so strong at one point that I came to a place where I really started to believe that I was not good enough to do even the simplest of tasks. When asked to clean a house for someone, I panicked thinking that I did not have what it would take to accomplish the job well. Thank the Lord I finally realized where these paralyzing thoughts were originating. They were vicious lies whispered in my ear by an enemy who desired to shut me down. He knew that I am a child of God and have the power of the Holy Spirit available to me and he decided to attack me where I was weak.

Whenever you get ready to do something where you could get hurt you need to wear the right gear. Football players wear  pads and helmets, soccer players wear shin guards, and volleyball players wear knee pads. Beekeepers wear special clothing to protect themselves from bee stings and astronauts wear insulated suits to shield their bodies from extreme temperatures and air pressure. If you want to be safe, you are wise to use the right clothing and equipment. The Bible tells us that we are in a battle - one that is not fought against other humans but against Satan and his demons. Though we are assured that Christ has already won the final victory over our enemy, there are still dangerous skirmishes. Every day Satan seeks to destroy our testimony and to keep unbelievers from accepting Christ as their Savior.

This is the time of year that should cause us to reset our thankful meter. Thankfulness is a mindset we should have all year round, but often in the business of life we forget to stop and think about all the blessings that we enjoy on a regular basis. Every day, not just Thanksgiving, we should enter God's presence with gratefulness praising Him for all He has done. So if your thankful meter has become sluggish consider what Psalm 100 has to say. How should we give thanks?  Often we tend to think of anything to do with God as very solemn and quiet - like a monastery where you are afraid to make noise or disturb the silence. Though quietness is often helpful in bringing grateful thoughts to our minds when we discover them, it is OK to shout with joy. God loves to hear our voices and wants us to share loudly what He has done with others.