Christmas day has come and gone. Now, many people are paying for this year’s presents with next year’s money! Ha! For the Christian, the true gift of Christmas is the Lord Jesus Christ and that gift is paid for by God Himself. No charge to us! Three times in Romans chapter five it is called the “free gift”. For a gift to be yours it has to be received. John 1:12, “But as many as received him, to them gave he power to become the sons of God, even to them that believe on his name:” Romans 6:23, “…the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord.” This is an eternal gift. This is a gift that we, who have accepted Jesus as our Savior, will enjoy in Heaven for all eternity.

“Our God is the God of the unexpected. A few things could be more unexpected than the King of heaven being born in a stable”
— Bill Crowder

“You can never truly enjoy Christmas until you can look up into the Father’s face and tell him you have received his Christmas gift”
— John R. Rice

“If we could condense all the truths of Christmas into only three words, these would be the words: “God with us.” We tend to focus our attention at Christmas on the infancy of Christ. The greater truth of the holiday is His deity. More astonishing than a baby in the manger is the truth that this promised baby is the omnipotent Creator of the heavens and the earth!”
— John MacArthur

“Who can add to Christmas? The perfect motive is that God so loved the world. The perfect gift is that He gave His only Son. The only requirement is to believe in Him. The reward of faith is that you shall have everlasting life.”
— Corrie Ten Boom

“Christmas is based on an exchange of gifts, the gift of God to man – His unspeakable gift of His Son, and the gift of man to God – when we present our bodies a living sacrifice.”
— Vance Havner

Matthew 1:21, “And she shall bring forth a son, and thou shalt call his name Jesus: for he shall save his people from their sins.”

Luke 2:12-15, “And this shall be a sign unto you; Ye shall find the babe wrapped in swaddling clothes, lying in a manger.  And suddenly there was with the angel a multitude of the heavenly host praising God, and saying,  Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace, good will toward men. And it came to pass, as the angels were gone away from them into heaven, the shepherds said one to another, Let us now go even unto Bethlehem, and see this thing which is come to pass, which the Lord hath made known unto us.”

O Holy Night! The stars are brightly shining
It is the night of the dear Savior’s birth!
Long lay the world in sin and error pining
Till he appear’d and the soul felt its worth.
A thrill of hope the weary soul rejoices
For yonder breaks a new and glorious morn!

Fall on your knees Oh hear the angel voices
Oh night divine Oh night when Christ was born
Oh night divine Oh night divine

The story of Christmas is an amazing story! Songs are written and sung all over the world with this theme. Believers rejoice that the Savior has come. The Scriptures foretold of His birth in many details. The Scriptures went on to tell of the fulfillment of the prophecies, but also described the purpose of Christs coming to this world. Matthew 18:11 states, “For the Son of man is come to seek and to save that which was lost.” Jesus prepared for our salvation by being born. Jesus paid for our salvation by being put to death. Both His birth and His death were necessary that man might be saved. Christmas is the story of the incarnation. John 1:14, “And the Word was made flesh and dwelt among us,…” Philippians 2:7, “…and was made in the likeness of men:…” II Corinthians 5:21, “For he hath made him to be sin for us, who knew no sin; that we might be made the righteousness of God in him.” He became a man that He might become our Substitute and our Sacrifice. I Peter 3:18, “For Christ also hath once suffered for sins, the just for the unjust, that he might bring us to God, being put to death in the flesh, but quickened by the Spirit:” Jesus came into the world to be our Savior, but He was despised and rejected of men, a man of sorrow and acquainted with grief. We know that He was crucified and that He was buried, but that was not the end. I Corinthians 15:4 states, “…that he rose again the third day according to the scriptures:” You really can’t talk about Christmas without talking about Easter.

Let me say to you today that the best is to come. We rejoice in the birth of Jesus because of what that means for our future…our eternity! We, who are believers, have read the last chapters of the Bible. Revelation 21:4 states, “And God shall wipe away all tears from their eyes; and there shall be no more death, neither sorrow, nor crying, neither shall there be any more pain: for the former things are passed away.” God is careful to tell us that in Heaven there will be no more sorrow, crying, pain or death. He is saying the best is yet to come. I Corinthians 15:53, “For this corruptible must put on incorruption, and this mortal must put on immortality.” Psalm 16:11, “…in thy presence is fullness of joy; at thy right hand there are pleasures forevermore.” There are not enough words to describe what is ahead for the Christian. Suffice it to say that the best is yet to come.

The last verse of “Good Christian Men Rejoice” shows us the reason for our rejoicing.

Good Christian men rejoice, With heart and soul and voice.
Now ye need not fear the grave: Peace! Peace! Jesus Christ was born to save.
Calls you one and calls you all, To gain His everlasting hall.
Christ was born to save! Christ was born to save!

Years ago, “Just say no!” became a popular saying in America’s war on drugs. It has been used in response to many different sinful temptations. Nothing complicated about the word no. Webster defines it as “A word of denial or refusal, expressing a negative, and equivalent to nay and not. When it expresses a negative answer, it is opposed to yes or yea.” Proverbs instructs us in chapter 1 and verse 10, “My son, if sinners entice thee, consent thou not.” Just say no when some would lead you the wrong way. “Thus saith the LORD, Stand ye in the ways, and see, and ask for the old paths, where is the good way, and walk therein, and ye shall find rest for your souls. But they said, We will not walk therein.” Jeremiah 6:16. God said, “This is the way, walk ye in it” and Israel said no. It is important to say no to the right thing. Saying no to sin is wise. Saying no to God is unwise and foolish. The Bible teaches that the pleasures of sin are only for a season. God’s pleasures are forevermore. The song says, “It will be worth it all, when we see Jesus.

The Bible teaches us the difference between good and evil, truth and error, wisdom and foolishness. “Beloved, believe not every spirit, but try the spirits whether they are of God: because many false prophets are gone out into the world.” 1 John 4:1. We “try” the spirits or search the Scriptures to see what God says is good. The problem today is that many have their own ideas and philosophies. Don’t get caught up in false teachings and say no to the Truth. “Beware lest any man spoil you through philosophy and vain deceit, after the tradition of men, after the rudiments of the world, and not after Christ.” Colossians 2:8. Isaiah 5:20 states, “Woe unto them that call evil good, and good evil; that put darkness for light, and light for darkness; that put bitter for sweet, and sweet for bitter!”

There is no question that we should say no to evil and yes to God. Billy Graham wrote,

More than 100 years ago a man living in London was converted to Christ. He became pastor of a church in the slums of London. He went to the poor, the down and out and the oppressed. He formed a little group of people called the Hallelujah Band, and he would stand on street corners and preach the Gospel. Many of the clergy were embarrassed by it all. The man was called before a conference of religious leaders, who said, “William Booth, will you go where we tell you to go? If not, you will be defrocked.” In the balcony a woman stood. She was Booth’s wife, Catherine. She said, “William, say, ‘No, never!’” And he said, “No.” That no changed history in Great Britain and in many other parts of the world, as Booth founded the Salvation Army, which has given help for both body and soul wherever it has gone.

I’ll say yes Lord yes, To Your will and to Your way
I’ll say yes Lord yes, I will trust You and obey
When the Spirit speaks to me, With my whole heart I’ll agree
And my answer will be, Yes Lord yes

“The greater part of our happiness or misery depends upon our dispositions, and not upon our circumstances.”
― Martha Washington

“Hope is the power of being cheerful in circumstances that we know to be desperate.”
― G.K. Chesterton

“Stop blaming outside circumstances for your inside chaos.”
― Steve Maraboli

We have heard the expression, “under the circumstances…” or “rise above your circumstances”. Many people today seem to be “victims of their circumstances”. The Christian is the victor and not the victim. Romans 8:28 states, “And we know that all things work together for good to them that love God, to them who are the called according to his purpose. ” Verse 37 says, “Nay, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him that loved us.” I Corinthians 15:57, “But thanks be to God, which giveth us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ.” I John 4:4, “Ye are of God, little children, and have overcome them: because greater is he that is in you, than he that is in the world.” Victim or Victor? “According to your faith, be it unto you.” “And this is the victory that overcometh the world, even our faith.” Too many Christians (like the Jews of old) are delivered from Egypt, but they get lost in the wilderness of unbelief! Sometimes we are not the victim of our circumstances, but the victim of our own bitterness, jealousy or our own ambitions.

Hannah Whithall Smith wrote, “He does not need to transplant us into a different field, but right where we are, with just the circumstances that surround us, he makes his sun to shine and his dew to fall upon us and transforms the very things that were before our greatest hindrances into the chiefest and most blessed means of our growth. No difficulties in your case can baffle him. No dwarfing of your growth in years that are past, no apparent dryness in your inward springs of life, no crookedness or deformity in any of your past development, can in the least mar the perfect work that he will accomplish, if you will only put yourselves absolutely into his hands and let him have his own way with you.”

For those of you that know these Bible stories, think about who the real victims or victors were. Mordecai or Haman? Daniel or his accusers? Paul and Silas or their Roman captors? Joseph or his brothers? David or Saul/Absalom? Jesus or those who crucified Him? The song says, “He arose the victor from the dark domain and lives forever with His saints to reign!” Galatians 2:20, “I am crucified with Christ: nevertheless I live; yet not I, but Christ liveth in me: and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by the faith of the Son of God, who loved me, and gave himself for me.”

In the third century, Cyprian, the Bishop of Carthage, wrote to his friend Donatus: “It is a bad world, Donatus, an incredibly bad world. But I have discovered in the midst of it a quiet and good people who have learned the great secret of life. They have found a joy and wisdom which is a thousand times better than any of the pleasures of our sinful life. They are despised and persecuted, but they care not. They are masters of their souls. They have overcome the world. These people, Donatus, are Christians… and I am one of them.”

Bob Jones Sr. wrote, “When gratitude dies on the altar of a man’s heart, that man is well- nigh hopeless.” That is a very powerful statement. We are to have a “gratitude attitude”! What a difference there is when an individual is thankful rather than unthankful. We are to celebrate Thanksgiving this week. What a great title for a holiday. It is certainly a Biblical title.

Psalms 26:7 That I may publish with the voice of thanksgiving, and tell of all thy wondrous works.

Psalms 50:14 Offer unto God thanksgiving; and pay thy vows unto the most High:

Psalms 69:30 I will praise the name of God with a song, and will magnify him with thanksgiving.

Psalms 95:2 Let us come before his presence with thanksgiving, and make a joyful noise unto him with psalms.

Psalms 100:4 Enter into his gates with thanksgiving, and into his courts with praise: be thankful unto him, and bless his name.

Psalms 116:17 I will offer to thee the sacrifice of thanksgiving, and will call upon the name of the LORD.

Psalms 147:7 Sing unto the LORD with thanksgiving;

“A thankful heart is one of the primary identifying characteristics of a believer. It stands in stark contrast to pride, selfishness, and worry. And it helps fortify the believer’s trust in the Lord and reliance of His provision, even in the toughest times. No matter how choppy the seas become, a believer’s heart is buoyed by constant praise and gratefulness to the Lord.”
– John MacArthur

“It’s one thing to be grateful. It’s another to give thanks. Gratitude is what you feel. Thanksgiving is what you do.”
– Tim Keller

“It is only with gratitude that life becomes rich!”
– Dietrich Bonhoeffer

A Thanksgiving Day Prayer

Lord, so oftentimes, as any other day
When we sit down to our meal and pray
We hurry along and make fast the blessing
Thanks, amen. Now please pass the dressing
We’re slaves to the olfactory overload
We must rush our prayer before the food gets cold
But Lord, I’d like to take a few minutes more
To really give thanks to what I’m thankful for
For my family, my health, a nice soft bed
My friends, my freedom, a roof over my head
I’m thankful right now to be surrounded by those
Whose lives touch me more than they’ll ever possibly know
Thankful Lord, that You’ve blessed me beyond measure
Thankful that in my heart lives life’s greatest treasure
That You, dear Jesus, reside in that place
And I’m ever so grateful for Your unending grace
So please, heavenly Father, bless this food You’ve provided
And bless each and every person invited. Amen!