Draw me nearer

Well, it's that time of year again when we reflect back on the previous one with all the good, bad, and the ugly and try and figure out how we can make the next twelve months better.  We make New Year's resolutions that in a perfect world we would keep with ease, but which in the real world go by the wayside the minute we let the pressures of life come in.  They may crash in unexpected like a tsunami, or just creep in with the tide unnoticed.  Either way we can feel the impending doom of life and all it demands of us.  Christmas for many has even lost its magical presence of love, peace, and good will toward man. Not to mention the joy of family and celebration.  We have instead mounds of stress wanting to live up to expectations we have put on ourselves.  We are exhausted and a good number of us sick before Christmas is over.  Even the extremes we go to, to meet the expectations of getting our Christmas cards out on time astounds me, not to mention the cost!  Now don't get me wrong. I do love receiving Christmas cards and sending them and I in no way imply it is wrong.  But if it is a burden instead of a joy we can know "Houston we have a problem!" and it is just the tip of the iceberg.  Recently I saw an article in my Edmond Outlook about a man who traded his Edmond life for the life of a missionary in Honduras.  Now I have to admit I did not bring myself to read the article. Why? Because I was more than a little envious!  It was during the holiday rush and I felt an urgent desire to chunk it all and go too.   Now don't lie I know you have felt like you would like to chunk it all at one point too.  It made me disillusioned with where I was and all the demands I (not others) had placed on myself to live up to.  Again, don't get me wrong I really do love the idea of Christmas but for the most part I tend to screw it up for  myself. I find myself disappointed in how I so quickly rob myself of all joy by not resting and rejoicing for the reason of the season.  The holy birth of our Lord and savior Jesus Christ.  We as a nation have truly taken Christ out of Christmas and all we are left with is a big old 'mas'.  Jesus is no longer the center of our celebration and we have consumed ourselves with parties, gift buying, Christmas cards oh and maybe we will make it to a Christmas Eve service if we have time!  Worse yet we do not even notice this causes our hearts (not to mention our Father's heart) to grieve.  All we know as we get older is we start to dread the stress of Christmas and all the things we think we need to do.  What would Christmas look like if we put Christ back in the center of our celebration and made it ALL about Him.  That is  something to think about and something that for most of us our hearts are grieving for!  "Good News! I bring you tidings of great joy!" Christ did not leave us, He is here and waiting to fill our weary thirst.  "Come to me all who are weary and I will give thee rest."  Christmas has once again come and gone but our Savior has not, He is not going anywhere.  "Lo I am with you always." Rejoice!   "This is the day the Lord has made. I will rejoice and be glad in it." After all the Christmas stress His mercy and grace are still new and fresh each and every day to a world of sinners who do not deserve it.  Charles Spurgeon put in to words the only New Years Resolution I or any of us for that matter ever need. My hope and prayer for all of us goes as follows .  

Heavenly Father help us to 

     "Grow in all grace: Believe the promises more firmly.  Let faith increase in fullness, consistency, simplicity.  

     "Grow in Love:  Ask that your love may become extended , more intense, more practical, influencing every thought, word, and deed. 

     "Grow in Humility:  Seek to lie very low and know more of your own nothingness, less of  you, more of God, also seek to grow upward, having nearer approaches to God in prayer, more intimate fellowship with Jesus.  He who grows not in the knowledge of Jesus refuses to be blessed." C.H. Spurgeon

" Draw me nearer, nearer, nearer, precious Lord, to the cross where Thou hast died."

May your New Year be filled with the love and the joy of Christ!

Love to all in Christ Jesus C:)