Christians After Christmas ~ Episode 234
What should we feel as Christians after Christmas? Should we rejoice and be glad? Similar to our secular counterparts, we often feel like something is missing. In this episode, Felice delves into the gift of Christmas and how we can celebrate all year long.
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Do you feel it? That after-Christmas letdown? Many of us have been busy during the weeks leading up to the big day. After all that preparation, the letdown is sometimes overwhelming. In this episode, we’ll discuss keeping the Christmas “feeling” with us all year.
Well, friends, if you are like me, you have prepared fo
r weeks before the holidays, and now there is nothing to do other than maybe return gifts. Our celebration has just begun if our focus has been on the Almighty, the Word becoming flesh. As Christians, we continue to praise God for one of the greatest miracles of all times, the Birth of Christ…God becoming man. We can focus on the theme of Advent, which is waiting with expectant faith, and now that He has “come” and we’ve remembered the Savior’s birth, the celebration begins.
It is similar to your choice to follow Christ. No one can make you decide this is important; it is a free-will decision. Yet, for some, it is one and done. There is a profession of faith, a proclamation of renouncing sin and following Christ, yet it ends there. Maybe some read the Bible from time to time, or perhaps there is a prayer from time to time. There can even be church attendance, yet that is just the beginning for me.
Each day we should renew our love for God. We should say, Here I am, Lord. I’ve come to do your will. We read in Psalm 40:6-8 …
When we love someone, we are happy to please them and to do things for them without expecting anything in return. As we renew our decision to follow Him, we should seek ways to serve God – in our thoughts and in our actions. How do we seek the Lord? How do we plan our lives? Does it include a prayer to the Lord for direction? Do we seek His will and his direction? Some of you may say you do but don’t hear anything back.
The Lord gives me direction in how things seem to unfold. I don’t sit on my hands and do nothing; I put something out there and pray…then I wait. Sometimes I’ll get an idea or feel like there is a direction I should take, but I do not stress about it; I go on with my life. Then I am attentive and, as we are told during Advent – to stay awake and be aware. How often do you look back in your life and see the hand of God? How often do we realize that God has been there the entire time?
We are meant to serve, not to be perfect. All the other things will follow by allowing our thoughts to focus on the essential parts of our life, faith, family, work, and responsibility. If you are stressed or unsuccessful in putting things into perspective, it might be time to look at what is causing the discomfort in your life.
I’ve shared with you before the importance of putting on the Armor of Christ. Recently I have struggled with many issues that were work-related – I think I’ve talked about this previously! I couldn’t be in business for over twenty-eight years without being able to handle the problems that crop up. Yet, this was doing me in, and I kept thinking … I need to pray a spiritual warfare prayer. But I put it off until I decided to prioritize it. So I knelt down beside my bed and prayed a Spiritual Warfare prayer. I took authority over the things in my life that were an issue, asked the Lord for providence to show me ways I had sinned against Him and rebuked this sin, and then asked the Lord for the grace of the opposite of the struggle. For example, I said, “I take authority in the Name of Jesus Christ over frustration and rebuke it and ask my God for the spirit of peace that surpasses all understanding.” Then I went down the list as I thought of things I should rebuke. I also prayed for an increase in time and had one of the most productive days ever.
We can do this, friends, we have that authority under the Lordship of Jesus Christ, and we do nothing without His help and providence. We should not miss the ability or the opportunity to place the things troubling us at the foot of the cross. As I record this, we are heading into a new year and closing out the old. So much emphasis has been put on the nostalgia of thinking about the new year ending sadly (or happily, depending on your situation) and looking forward to a new year of big changes.
As followers of Christ, we have an opportunity to be better, to have a fresh start which I will discuss in my new year’s podcast, and the ability to be the best Christian we can be, which is easy with the love of the Lord has for us.
Instead of the after-Christmas letdown, let’s rejoice that the best is yet to come. We have each other, even from afar or through the audio waves of whatever method you are listening to. We have like-minded friends and a community. You can find that at the Ultimate Christian Podcast Network. If we focus on the love that Christ has for you and how you want to grow this coming year, rejoice because the Savior of the World is with you today and always!
Your challenge this week is to look, to be aware and to rejoice and be glad, to turn that frown upside down and smile, and to say, the Savior loves me, and I love Him. Rejoice and be glad! May God’s blessings be upon you today and always.
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Thank you for sharing your story here. We are sorry to hear about the difficulties you have had in the wake of this issue, but encouraged by your positive outlook. Life IS a gift. Thank you for the reminder not to take it for granted.