Daily Advent Devotions from Church Street UMC
Tuesday, December 22, Evening
By Nancy Thompson
Wishing Jesus a Happy Birthday
Read Luke 1:35
“The child to be born will be holy. He will be called The Son of God.”
Things seem so different this year, yet not too much. The saying is, “The more things change, the more they stay the same.” That certainly is true with Jesus and His birth. He is the same yesterday, today and forever. However some of us may (or may not) change the way we celebrate the event. Here are two ways we might wish Jesus a happy birthday.
The first is an every ‘i’ dotted and every ‘t’ crossed celebration:
LIST:
- Floors mopped and waxed check
- Rugs cleaned check
- Necessary windows washed check
- Guest room ready check
- Get dog groomed check
- Holiday clothes to cleaners
- Christmas dishes clean and ready
- Grocery list made for parties and Christmas dinner
- Christmas card list updated and stamps bought
- Babysitters reserved
- Fruit baskets and poinsettias ordered
- Trees and decorations cleaned and ready to go up
- Shopping almost done check, check and check
Jesus, our family is now ready to wish you a Merry Christmas.
The second group is different and concerned with improving their attitudes, character, relationships and concern for their Christian wellbeing in working through the following thoughts:
- To close your book of complaints and open your book of praise.
- To ignore what life owes you and think about what you owe life.
- To stop looking for friendship and start being friendly.
- To be content with things you have and stop worrying about things you have not.
- To enjoy simple blessings of life and to cease striving for the artificial pleasures of the day.
- To cease looking for someone to help you and devote yourself to helping others.
- To consecrate your life to the service of an imperfect church and to remember that Christ chose 12 imperfect men to be His disciples.
Add your thoughts to either or both lists. Jesus wants to know our thoughts.
Prayer
Dear God, please accept our thoughts and prayers, however different they may be, to wish our Savior a truly sincere Happy Birthday and Merry Christmas this year. Amen.
