The Aftermath of Christmas

The Aftermath of Christmas (Luke 2:19)

Christmas is over . . . or is it? Most of us will go back to work on Monday. The presents are unwrapped, and some of them already exchanged or broken. We’re recovering from Christmas dinner and all the sweets that go with it. All the special church services are a memory, and we’re thinking about the New Year.

Jesus’ mother held all the events of Christmas in her mind and heart. Listen to Luke’s words: “But Mary kept all these things and pondered them in her heart.” These are his words after the angel’s heavenly chorus and the departure of the shepherds. Mary encountered everything that Christmas brought to our world. She kept them front and center in her consciousness so she could think about them, reflect on them and let them take root in her soul. She knew God was at work in all those events; they deserved more than passing attention. She “pondered” them, thought about them, meditated on them

We can learn from Mary’s response to Christmas night. The lesson she can teach us will help us benefit from Christmas long after our calendars tell us it has past. I’ve been thinking about how to ponder the Christmas event throughout the year. What can men like us do to “ponder” through the year that God stepped into our world as an infant and changed our world and our lives?

Let me tell you what I think we can do that will help us keep the power of Christmas alive between Decembers. First, I plan to read the Christmas story from Luke or Matthew on the twenty-fifth of each month this year. By taking just a few minutes once a month, I give God’s Spirit the freedom to remind me of the power of the Christmas story for my life. Think about reading the story with me once a month.

I’m also going to put a Christmas music CD in the car and make sure that I listen to it at least once a week. The Christmas carols that we sing only three or four weeks a year tell the story of Jesus’ arrival into our world. Listening to the songs and allowing the melodies and lyrics to saturate our souls will help us “ponder” the Christmas events.

Is Christmas over for us? We can refuse, like Mary, to let that happen. Let’s choose to “ponder” Christmas in our hearts throughout the year. -- Pastor John Strain is Senior Pastor of First Baptist Toms River

Today and Tomorrow are the last two Freedom Fighter entries that Pastor John will be writing. Some recent changes at First Baptist are placing addition responsibilities on his shoulders, and for the moment, he felt it was best to discontinue writing the weekend FF's. I have deeply appreciated his commitment in investing in our lives the past several years. I would love to have many of you write notes of appreciation. You can simply respond to this email.

God's WORD for YOU: Proverbs 27; Zechariah 1-4; Revelation 18

Great Quote: Veiled in flesh, the Godhead see;
hail the incarnate Deity
Pleased as man with men to dwell,
Jesus, our Emmanuel

Charles Wesley