I love Christmas! Now, to clarify, I don't mean I'm all about the crazy shopping, 24/7 holiday music or extreme over decorating. But yes, I will watch the cheesy, warm-your-heart, learn-to-be-a-better-person Christmas movie more than a couple times. I will definitely have a smile on my face when I see huge piles of toys at the toy drive box or Santa ringing his bell for Salvation Army donations on the street. And don't even get me started if it's a "white Christmas"! These things are all a part of Christmas.
But I'm going to go off on a big tangent. Have you ever read something so profound that you are just like "Woah! Where has this been my whole life?". I'm not talking about reading some inspirational quote or random tweet from a random dude who just happened to say something that resonated with you at the moment. I'm talking about sincerely profound statements. Something where you understood the context of the situation the person was in and how the meaning and honesty behind the statement is more than just a wisp of hope, but a breath of life. It seems rare, but it's closer than you think. I recently started doing this one thing every day consistently for the past half a year-ish and I'm never going back to my old ways. So I should probably tell you what it is if you haven't already guessed. It's called devotions.
If you don't know what devotions are, they're basically a relatively short, guided lesson that goes along with a passage from the Bible where you read it and reflect on what it means to you and your relationship with God. Now this may seem extremely boring and a complete waste of time. And it will be if you pick devotional topics that aren't relevant to you or ones that go chronologically through the Bible (note: some people actually like the chronological ones, sorry!). If you do this, more often times than not, you will just end up trying to get through the devotion instead of really taking it in. Right now, you're probably thinking "I'm still not convinced". Well, I wouldn't be either. I've been down this road before too. I've tried devotions MANY times since as long as I can remember and I've always quit not even a week into trying. Why? Because it was so dang boring! I tried to read the Bible every day, but who ever said you can "just flip open the Bible, land on any passage and it will move you" was dead wrong! I tried that and I often landed on a list of old testament laws, a genealogical record of someone's family or a description of something where I had no idea what was going on. It was frustrating and not helpful. Hence, I quit. A lot. So what changed? Technology.
It's called the Bible App. Pretty simple right? At first, I got it so I could easily look up verses anywhere and I didn't see that button for "plans" on it for over a year. (Yes, I am technically visually impaired because I wear glasses, but that's not a good excuse.) So this button just sat there for months. All alone and untouched. Until I decided to actually explore the app. And low and behold, there are actually devotions there! Any topic from love to overcoming addiction, family to self-discovery, Tim Tebow's guided devotional to Hillsong's guided devotional, first time believers to stories of wicked women in the Bible (I'm not lying, that's an actual topic). You can choose a 3 day devotional or a series of 30 days. You can even flip between the dozens of versions of the Bible to get a different wording that makes the most sense to you. It's so flexible and easy to find what you want. Before I would try to follow guides from a book and found I lost interest or skipped to the last chapter to just get the gist of the whole thing. Not anymore. I haven't read one thing that has made me want to stop doing this. It's not just the compelling stories and lessons but the passages that are chosen to go with them. They are mind blowing. How can passages from a book written 2000 years ago be so relevant? It's because God loves us. And because He can't be here in person to tell us how much He loves us, He gave us a ginormous book of some of the most important things He wants us to know. It takes a long time to get through the whole thing and not everything will make sense or seem important the first time you read it. But the pieces do come together over time.
Every day I spend time really taking in His Word and find again and again that God loves me (and you!) so much. That's how profound His Word is! And I have technology, some awesome people who have taken the time to write those devotions, and God to thank for leading me here. I'm not saying that you will end up with the same feeling that I have, but you have to give it a try. I failed for over 15 years. But I finally found it!
So how on earth does this relate to Christmas?! Well, when I think about Christmas at its essence, it's all about love. And it's about a love that runs deeper than the largest ocean on this Earth. God sent His Son to Earth in human form as a baby who would eventually suffer the most horrific and unjustified death in history to save His people from a sin that would have led us all to eternal death. He did that for us. It was a profound act of love. If it wasn't for that baby in a manger in Bethlehem, we would all be goners. And from this one profound act of love, we have an entire book of profound statements and stories that demonstrate and tell us the whole story of God's grace and what we are to do with it. So though my whole blog post may seem like a stretch, it's all a part of why I truly love Christmas. :)
P.S. My words never do justice to God's actual Word. So go and experience Him for yourself. Merry Christmas! God Bless!
"For no word from God will ever fail." - Luke 1:37 (NIV)
"Do not be afraid. I bring you good news that will cause great joy for all the people. Today in the town of David a Saviour has been born to you; he is the Messiah, the Lord." - Luke 2:10-11 (NIV)
G.O.L.F.
But I'm going to go off on a big tangent. Have you ever read something so profound that you are just like "Woah! Where has this been my whole life?". I'm not talking about reading some inspirational quote or random tweet from a random dude who just happened to say something that resonated with you at the moment. I'm talking about sincerely profound statements. Something where you understood the context of the situation the person was in and how the meaning and honesty behind the statement is more than just a wisp of hope, but a breath of life. It seems rare, but it's closer than you think. I recently started doing this one thing every day consistently for the past half a year-ish and I'm never going back to my old ways. So I should probably tell you what it is if you haven't already guessed. It's called devotions.
If you don't know what devotions are, they're basically a relatively short, guided lesson that goes along with a passage from the Bible where you read it and reflect on what it means to you and your relationship with God. Now this may seem extremely boring and a complete waste of time. And it will be if you pick devotional topics that aren't relevant to you or ones that go chronologically through the Bible (note: some people actually like the chronological ones, sorry!). If you do this, more often times than not, you will just end up trying to get through the devotion instead of really taking it in. Right now, you're probably thinking "I'm still not convinced". Well, I wouldn't be either. I've been down this road before too. I've tried devotions MANY times since as long as I can remember and I've always quit not even a week into trying. Why? Because it was so dang boring! I tried to read the Bible every day, but who ever said you can "just flip open the Bible, land on any passage and it will move you" was dead wrong! I tried that and I often landed on a list of old testament laws, a genealogical record of someone's family or a description of something where I had no idea what was going on. It was frustrating and not helpful. Hence, I quit. A lot. So what changed? Technology.
It's called the Bible App. Pretty simple right? At first, I got it so I could easily look up verses anywhere and I didn't see that button for "plans" on it for over a year. (Yes, I am technically visually impaired because I wear glasses, but that's not a good excuse.) So this button just sat there for months. All alone and untouched. Until I decided to actually explore the app. And low and behold, there are actually devotions there! Any topic from love to overcoming addiction, family to self-discovery, Tim Tebow's guided devotional to Hillsong's guided devotional, first time believers to stories of wicked women in the Bible (I'm not lying, that's an actual topic). You can choose a 3 day devotional or a series of 30 days. You can even flip between the dozens of versions of the Bible to get a different wording that makes the most sense to you. It's so flexible and easy to find what you want. Before I would try to follow guides from a book and found I lost interest or skipped to the last chapter to just get the gist of the whole thing. Not anymore. I haven't read one thing that has made me want to stop doing this. It's not just the compelling stories and lessons but the passages that are chosen to go with them. They are mind blowing. How can passages from a book written 2000 years ago be so relevant? It's because God loves us. And because He can't be here in person to tell us how much He loves us, He gave us a ginormous book of some of the most important things He wants us to know. It takes a long time to get through the whole thing and not everything will make sense or seem important the first time you read it. But the pieces do come together over time.
Every day I spend time really taking in His Word and find again and again that God loves me (and you!) so much. That's how profound His Word is! And I have technology, some awesome people who have taken the time to write those devotions, and God to thank for leading me here. I'm not saying that you will end up with the same feeling that I have, but you have to give it a try. I failed for over 15 years. But I finally found it!
So how on earth does this relate to Christmas?! Well, when I think about Christmas at its essence, it's all about love. And it's about a love that runs deeper than the largest ocean on this Earth. God sent His Son to Earth in human form as a baby who would eventually suffer the most horrific and unjustified death in history to save His people from a sin that would have led us all to eternal death. He did that for us. It was a profound act of love. If it wasn't for that baby in a manger in Bethlehem, we would all be goners. And from this one profound act of love, we have an entire book of profound statements and stories that demonstrate and tell us the whole story of God's grace and what we are to do with it. So though my whole blog post may seem like a stretch, it's all a part of why I truly love Christmas. :)
P.S. My words never do justice to God's actual Word. So go and experience Him for yourself. Merry Christmas! God Bless!
"For no word from God will ever fail." - Luke 1:37 (NIV)
"Do not be afraid. I bring you good news that will cause great joy for all the people. Today in the town of David a Saviour has been born to you; he is the Messiah, the Lord." - Luke 2:10-11 (NIV)
G.O.L.F.