A Time to Celebrate

I didn't think I would get time to write another blog before the new year, but I have found the time and the topic. This blog is going to be a little different than the ones I have written in the past. This one is going to be my interpretation or what has touched me in a book that I am currently reading.

A little about the book, it is called The Purpose of Christmas by Rick Warren. Now I know that Christmas is over, but my mom read it and came into my room a few days ago and said "You have to read this book." So I am. It doesn't dwell on just Christmas either from what I have gotten thus far, it is more or less how Christmas applies in your every day life, but we only choose to recognize it once a year.

I haven't gotten very far in the book, but already some things have hit me in a way I never thought about them before. I love when that happens, don't you? How God can take a verse you have heard a thousand times and through someone else open a whole new meaning behind it. I love it. The book starts out by describing Christmas and saying that the angel appeared to the shepards and told them the good news along with three purposes of Jesus' birth. They were: celebration, salvation, and reconciliation.

I have only read though the celebration part of the book, but this is what I found. Christmas is a time to celebrate that God loves you. The reason for Christmas is the love that God has for us. God is love. God's love is constant, steady, continuous, and unshakable. Christmas is a time to celebrate that God is with you. Sometimes you feel like God isn't there, but His presence has nothing to do with your feelings. Emotions are subject to many influences, which can often make them unreliable. Jesus was named Immanuel, which means God is with us. He came to be with us and never leave us. Christmas is a time to celebrate that God is for you. The Bible says that God knows the plans He has for you. Plans for a future and hope. We should not be afraid of what God has planned for us. He will carry us through, all we have to do is trust in Him.

So that is what I have read and gotten from this book so far. I found parts of it very touching and it applies to more than just Christmas. I believe this is something that Christians should be continuously applying to their walk. I'm not sure when I will have time to blog again, it might be after the new year, but when I do I will be getting into the salvation and reconciliation part, which my mom said was the main reason she wanted me to read the book. I don't know if you have gotten much from this, but I found it very simple to understand and something that we can never be reminded of too many times. I hope you have enjoyed this blog, I know I have. Have a safe and happy new years my friends!