"When Christmas Gets Messy"

(Reproduced and cut/expanded from a sermon outline sent to me by a friend. His outline was redacted/adapted from another outline... and so it continues... :-)
"When Christmas Gets Messy"

26 Now in the sixth month the angel Gabriel was sent by God to a city of Galilee named Nazareth, 27 to a virgin betrothed to a man whose name was Joseph, of the house of David. The virgin’s name was Mary. 28 And having come in, the angel said to her, “Rejoice, highly favored one, the Lord is with you; blessed are you among women!” 29 But when she saw him, she was troubled at his saying, and considered what manner of greeting this was. 30 Then the angel said to her, “Do not be afraid, Mary, for you have found favor with God. 31 And behold, you will conceive in your womb and bring forth a Son, and shall call His name JESUS. 32 He will be great, and will be called the Son of the Highest; and the Lord God will give Him the throne of His father David. 33 And He will reign over the house of Jacob forever, and of His kingdom there will be no end.” 34 Then Mary said to the angel, “How can this be, since I do not know a man?” 35 And the angel answered and said to her, “The Holy Spirit will come upon you, and the power of the Highest will overshadow you; therefore, also, that Holy One who is to be born will be called the Son of God. 36 Now indeed, Elizabeth your relative has also conceived a son in her old age; and this is now the sixth month for her who was called barren. 37 For with God nothing will be impossible.”  Luke 1: 26-37 (NJKV)
1)   Give God your Undivided Attention. "The angel went to her and said, 'Greetings, you who are highly favored! The Lord is with you.' Mary was greatly troubled at his words and wondered what kind of greeting this might be. But the angel said to her, "Do not be afraid, Mary, you have found favor with God." (Luke 1:28-30)"How I wish my people would listen to me; how I wish they would obey me!" (Psalm 81:13, TEV) 
2)   Discover God's Different and Better Plans for Your Life. "'For I know the plans I have for you,' declares the Lord, 'plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future.'" (Jer. 29:11)
a)   God's Plans Are Always Bigger than Our Plans. "You will be with child and give birth to a son, and you are to give him the name Jesus. He will be great and will be called the Son of the Most High. The Lord God will give him the throne of his father David." (Luke 1:31-32)
b)   God's Plans Are Always More Challenging than Our Plans. "Our friend Lazarus has fallen asleep, but I go to awake him out of sleep." The disciples said to him, "Lord, if he has fallen asleep, he will recover." Now Jesus had spoken of his death, but they thought that he meant taking rest in sleep. Then Jesus told them plainly, "Lazarus is dead; and for your sake I am glad that I was not there, so that you may believe. But let us go to him." Thomas, called the Twin, said to his fellow disciples, "Let us also go, that we may die with him." (John 11:11-16) "My thoughts are not your thoughts, and my ways are not your ways," (Isaiah 55:8)
c)    God's Plans Are Always More Rewarding than Our Plans. "No one has ever seen, heard, or even imagined what wonderful things that God has ready for those who love the Lord." (1 Cor. 2:9, LB)
3)   Trust God Even When You Don't Fully Understand. "'I am the Lord's servant,' Mary answered. 'May it be to me as you have said.'" (Luke 1:38) "Without faith it is impossible to please God..." (Heb. 11:6)"And we know that God causes everything to work together for the good of those who love God and are called according to his purpose for them." (Rom. 8:28, NLT)
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"The true gift of Christmas is not found in a present under the tree; it is found in His presence in our lives."

Kicked outa the manger...

OK, R'Cat's got my crank turnin' with her Daily Advent Meditations over at Cathouse Chat. Another good'un today riffing off the Mark Lowry song, "Mary Did You Know?" (A song that, by now, has been recorded by nearly everyone and his dog, but well worth a listen, IMO. I happen to like the Kenny Rogers/Wynonna Judd version.) I recieved a rather lengthy email yesterday, one of those multi-forwarded things with an article supposedly (probably true, just haven't bothered to check) reproduced from a newspaper article going slightly "mad dog" all over the hyper-secularization of Christmas. This comment set me back on my heels:

"We've allowed the Baby Jesus to be kicked out of His lowly manger, and those offended by Christmas are still not happy."

Well, d'oh. What did The Man Himself have to say about such things?

18 "If the world hates you, you know that it hated Me before it hated you. 19 If you were of the world, the world would love its own. Yet because you are not of the world, but I chose you out of the world, therefore the world hates you. 20 Remember the word that I said to you, 'A servant is not greater than his master.' If they persecuted Me, they will also persecute you. If they kept My word, they will keep yours also. 21 But all these things they will do to you for My name's sake, because they do not know Him who sent Me. 22 If I had not come and spoken to them, they would have no sin, but now they have no excuse for their sin. 23 He who hates Me hates My Father also. 24 If I had not done among them the works which no one else did, they would have no sin; but now they have seen and also hated both Me and My Father. 25 But this happened that the word might be fulfilled which is written in their law, 'They hated Me without a cause.'(_a_) John 15:18-27 NJKV

And some of the foundational teachings of the Christian church include multiple reminders of Christ's humility and of Christians' call to emulate it.

For to you it has been granted on behalf of Christ, not only to believe in Him, but also to suffer for His sake... Phil. 1:29 NKJV

And

5 Let this mind be in you which was also in Christ Jesus, 6 who, being in the form of God, did not consider it robbery to be equal with God, 7 but made Himself of no reputation, taking the form of a bondservant, and coming in the likeness of men. 8 And being found in appearance as a man, He humbled Himself and became obedient to the point of death, even the death of the cross. Phil. 2:5-8 NKJV

So, an ACLU mentality wants to "kick the baby Jesus out of his lowly manger"? If Philippians 2:5-8 is a true witness, then He'd just sleep on the floor.

Consider the old Christmas song:

1. Thou didst leave Thy throne and Thy kingly crown when Thou camest to earth for me,
But in Bethlehem's home there was found no room for Thy holy nativity.
O come to my heart, Lord Jesus, There is room in my heart for Thee!

2. Heaven's arches rang when the angels sang, proclaiming Thy royal degree;
But in lowly birth didst Thou come to earth, and in great humility,
O come to my heart, Lord Jesus, There is room in my heart for Thee!

3. The foxes found rest and birds their nest in the shade of the forest tree;
But Thy couch was the sod, O Thou Son of God, in the desert of Galilee,
O come to my heart, Lord Jesus, There is room in my heart for Thee!

4. Thou camest, O Lord, with the living word that should set Thy people free;
But with mocking scorn, and with crown of thorn, they bore Thee to Calvary.
O come to my heart, Lord Jesus, There is room in my heart for Thee!

5. When the heavens shall ring, and her choirs shall sing at Thy coming to victory,
Let Thy voice call me on, saying, "Yet there is room, there is room at My side for thee."
And my heart shall rejoice, Lord Jesus, when Thou comest and callest for me.

So, the secular world finds less and less room for Christ in Christmas, in public displays, in store greetings and product labels, etc.? There's always room to keep Christ in Christmas where it counts.

A Christmas Lullaby

The Gift

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The Gift

Trees and lights and bells and carols;
Bright-wrapped packages, piled high;
Winter's sharp blow joins the heralds:
"Christmas-time is nigh!"

Mailmen hurry; shoppers scurry;
Time is fleeing - Oh! So fast!
Parties gather, loud and merry,
Grander than in Christmas' past.

Pause a moment to remember
That a Savior's simple birth
Still stirs angel wings in susur' -
"Peace to men; good will on earth!"

Now the Father's hands that molded
The first Adam in the clay,
Gently 'round a manger folded,
Cradle a Baby in the hay.

So the Greatest Gift extended,
Gift of love and peace to all,
"God's great love to man descended"
Calls us to a manger stall.

©1990 David Needham