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| GraceLutheran Church Deniston TX. |
December- Messiah
“As you come to him, the living stone—rejected by men but chosen by God and precious to him-you also, like living stones, are being built into a spiritual house to be a holy priesthood, offering spiritual sacrifices acceptable to God through Jesus Christ. Now to you who believe, this stone is precious. But to those who do not believe ‘The stone the builders rejected/ has become the capstone.’” 1 Peter 2:4, 7 (NIV)
“Peter is writing at a time when Christians are increasingly viewed with suspicion. Their failure to participate in many civic events (which characteristically involved the worship of pagan deities) is commonly misunderstood, and believers are even classified as ‘haters of humanity.’” (1.)
Jesus becomes very precious to those who spend time getting to know Him. The Apostle Peter tells us of a process believers go through as they mature in Christ.
Maybe you saw this story on the news. It takes place in central Indiana. The small town of Knightstown erected a Christmas tree in the center of town as they have for several years. On top of the tree, they placed a lighted cross. One person objected and sought the help of a group dedicated to ‘protecting civil liberties ’of the people of our nation.
The town council studied the matter and chose to remove the cross. At the next council meeting, the members will consider an ordinance to no longer have the cross on the community Christmas tree.
When I read of the council’s decision, I thought that people could display crosses themselves. That is just what the townspeople have done. Two women made a quantity of them and gave them to anyone who wants one. Other citizens have placed crosses in their yards with messages painted on them. Windows in businesses have put crosses in their windows. Last night on the news, there was a video showing all these scenes and one of a pick-up truck with a lighted cross standing in the front of the bed and above the cab.
These townspeople have shown their faith in Jesus. They have become “a spiritual house” in a time when the believers need something to revive them in the face of the events of our world.
As a personal witness to Jesus, on my little 18 inch high Christmas tree has a wooden cross on the front of it to honor the efforts of those fellow believers.
May we all grow closer to Jesus and become ‘spiritual houses’ for Him and honor God every day.
1. The Discovery Bible, Zondervan, Grand Rapids
a. © 2004, page 1636
What a great idea...I am surprised that we haven't customarily had any crosses as Christmas ornaments...I guess we don't want to mar the excitement of Christmas by remembering the sorrow of Easter...and yet, Easter is the most joyous season of all...because Christ overcame the death on the cross...and is alive today...and the cross is the reason He came to the cradle in the first place! Something to ponder. Yes, I think we Do need to have a cross on our Christmas tree. Thank you for this story to make us think about that.
ReplyDeletePam: Thank you for your thoughts. In a former church, we always had the message that God planned Christ's coming to earth in order to save us from our sins. Jesus had to go to the cross in order to do that. Until then, I had never thought about it like that. Bless you as you prepare for the celebration of His birth.
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