Merry Christmas to everyone! This month for Cyberspace Bread I am going to bring you some thoughts for the season we are in. "The Most Wonderful Time of the Year" is truly that when we reflect on the "reason for the season." In our services here at First Assembly we are taking a different approach to Christmas. We are striving to slow down and do somethings differently reflecting on the real reason for Christmas...JESUS! So as you walk with me each week may God bless you with His Spirit.
Throw yourselves into the work of the Master, confident that nothing you do for him is a waste of time or effort.
1 Cor 15:58 (MSG)
Bah! Humbug! You may not have voiced those exact words, but perhaps you have felt that way regarding the Christmas season.
Perhaps it was the thought of having to buy presents. Perhaps having to deal with a difficult relative that you have a hard time being with. Perhaps it is the hectic schedule of shopping, work, programs, and parties. What's a child of God supposed to do during the Christmas season? Let's pause for a moment and allow God to answer the question:
With all this going for us, my dear, dear friends, stand your ground. And don't hold back. Throw yourselves into the work of the Master, confident that nothing you do for him is a waste of time or effort.
1 Cor 15:58 (MSG)
Camp for just a moment on that phrase "nothing you do for Him is a waste of time or effort." The KJV uses the word "vain." It means "empty" or "waste." It's interesting that the Apostle Paul uses the same word when He speaks of Christ Himself in a great Christmas passage:
[Christ] made himself nothing, taking the very nature of a servant, being made in human likeness.
Phil 2:7 (NIV)
This does not mean that Christ or His work was useless, but it means that Christ chose to set aside the use of His glory and power for His own advantage and submit Himself to the humiliation of becoming one of us--a human being. And when He was here, He followed the very pattern the Scriptures are challenging us with today. He threw Himself into the work of His Father confident that it was not useless or empty.
So what are we to do this Christmas? Continue to serve the Father the way that Christ did. Serve Him in the same spirit and strength that Christ did--the Holy Spirit. Know that while you are doing that NOTHING we do as we are being led by the Spirit is a waste and empty. God's hand is upon it and He will use it for His glory.
