Sunday Christians

It's a sad fact that many Christians can only be holy during Sundays. Is holiness affected by the day of the week? Or is it just that Christians want to appear righteous before others in church?

True, it is expected for Christians to always be on their toes, to serve as salt and light to a world that knows not of Christ and His gift of salvation to man. But we are all human. We commit mistakes, whether we like it or not. Whether we are aware or not. While we want to preserve how other people look at us, we deny this fact. Actually, we are denying the truth that were it not for Jesus, we would not have been saved.

Does that mean that we should go on living in sin? That is not my point. We have to do the best that we can and live the way we should live--in Christ--but we should not be punished by fellow Christians should we fall. And we should practice becoming Christians in everywhere we go so we can truly be the salt and light God has commissioned us to be.

Is God Your Genie?

We frequently ask God for the things we need--health, success, money, a bright future, fortune. While Jesus himself said in Matthew 7:7,

7 "Ask and it will be given to you; seek and you will find; knock and the door will be opened to you."

God is not a Being Who grants all our hearts' desires. Neither does he give us things we do not need. He is wise, and all of his decisions are for the benefit of His children. He knows what is good for us; He sees what we do not; we are inscribed on the palm of His hands.

If God were merely a genie, then all of the things we ask would be granted, and there would be so much chaos, disorder, crime, corruption, evil. Even if we see all these everyday, it would be a welcoming thought to think of how much rampant all these would be if all the desires of evil men will be granted. In Psalm 37:4,

4 Delight yourself in the LORD and he will give you the desires of your heart.

If we keep in tune with God, He will help us know what to desire. We won't need to ask for anything because we will know God's love will see us through.

Never Too Busy for God

There are twenty four hours in a day. Have you thought about how many hours do you actually spend for yourself? Just think: eight hours for sleep, eight hours for work, at least two hours for travel, three or four hours for recreation and two more hours for grooming--a total of almost twenty four hours as well.

But have you stopped to think about how long you have spent talking to God?

If we are to give our tithes to God for the time he has given us to spend, 2.4 hours should be devoted each day just for Him. Will the minutes we spend praying for our food, for ourselves, for our travel, for our loved ones, for praising Him and asking forgiveness for the sins we have done and for thanking Him for all He has done for us, add up to that?

Martin Luther once said, "I'm so busy today that I'll spend my first three hours in prayer." Regardless of how long we are to speak to God in prayer, let's take the time to talk and ask.

Christmas and Jesus

There is only one reason why we celebrate Christmas.

Christmas is not about the giving. Not about the giver, nor about the gifts we give. Not about peace on earth and goodwill to men. Definitely not about Santa Claus, Rudolph the red-nosed reindeer, King Wenceslas, or even the Magi--ideas that highly creative advertising and marketing individuals have devised to keep people shopping for expensive gifts each year.

Christmas is not about these things which we have for so long thought to be the reason why we celebrate the occasion.

Christmas is about Jesus.

Think about what life would be without Jesus. No hope for redemption from sin and death. No contentment or joy despite the chaos in this world. No salvation from eternal damnation.

Christmas is a tale of love, of sacrifice, of being selfless. Had God not given his only begotten Son to the world, there would be no reason to celebrate the season. But He gave Jesus, not to be worshipped by men, but rather to be killed for their sins and to serve as the sacrificial lamb by Whom salvation will be known by all.

16"For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life.

John 3:16, New International Version

Do you know Jesus? He knows about you. He cares about you. This Christmas, let's focus on the reason why we had the season in the first place. Get to know the reason for the season in your life.