Back in June of 2007, a U.S. senator from Illinois said, “Whatever we once were, we’re no longer a Christian nation—at least not just. We are also a Jewish nation, a Muslim nation, and a Buddhist nation, a Hindu nation and a nation of nonbelievers.”  This is the man who, just two years later, would become the President of the United States of America, and serve for two terms, leading our republic even further into spiritual darkness.  He is a man who mocks truth as found in non-revisionist, honest history.  He mocks the Bible and its distinctly Christian foundational principles and precepts that were chosen by our founding fathers to be used as building blocks for our constitutional republic.  But he was right, we are no longer a Christian nation. 

  And why? It is because we carnal American Christians have, for decades, shirked our responsibilities to pass our Christian heritage on to our families, friends and neighbors; it is because we have stood by silently as evil has blinded the minds of the masses.  These are the reasons we now stand on the threshold of total apostasy as a nation.  We have spurned the grace of God, and have provoked the Almighty to judgment.

  Is it possible to reverse this moral, social and political carnage?  Is there still time?  Truth is, it is not a matter of time, but of the will.  God once said to a nation of repeat offenders, “If my people, which are called by my name, shall humble themselves, and pray, and seek my face, and turn from their wicked ways; then will I hear from heaven, and will forgive their sin, and will heal their land. (2 Chronicles 7:14)”  It is up to us fourth and fifth generation, lazy, lukewarm, ignorant children of God, to shape up.  The unsaved will continue to act unsaved, and no political party or philosophy that they can muster will be able to deliver us.  What our nation, and the world, needs is Jesus Christ, and everything He taught and preserved for us in the Bible.  Mockers will mock because they are blind to the spiritual truth that could set them free, so it is up to you and me to win them to our Savior, one at a time.  He is our ONLY hope.  “Blessed is the nation whose God is the LORD! (Psalm 33:12)”

  My mother tells the story of how, as a little girl, she had a playmate over.  The two of them were playing around her father’s woodpile when she noticed the axe stuck in the top of the chopping block.  My mom proceeded to work the axe out of the block, and invited her little friend to extend her finger over the block, assuring her that she would “chop it off.”  Without a moment’s hesitation her friend laid her finger on the block, and my mom chopped it off.  Both girls were horrified as they realized what they had done.  Almost every time this story was told in my youth, someone would offer, “Well, I guess you gave her a fair warning.”  But, fair warning or not, it still makes me cringe to think of it, and I often wonder, how could anyone be so careless, so thoughtless, as these two little girls?

  But then I am reminded that I am surrounded by people who, with that same carefree, foolhardy, willful ignorance, refuse to consider the “fair warning” that has been issued by the Almighty.  God has clearly stated, “And as it is appointed unto men once to die, but after this the judgment: (Hebrews 9:27)”  And those who will not heed His warning and make ready, “…shall be punished with everlasting destruction from the presence of the Lord, and from the glory of his power; (2 Thessalonians 1:9)”  There is so much more at risk here than losing a finger.  Won’t you consider God’s warning?

  Perhaps you would answer, “Why would God, if there is a God, send people to eternal destruction in Hell?”  If you will read His Word, the Bible, you will start to understand the seriousness of sin.  You will see God as loving, merciful and gracious, but also just, righteous and holy.  It is more than can be disclosed in a little article such as this, but God has not left you to ignorance; His Word is sufficient to illuminate the path that leads to His eternal presence.

  But don’t take my word for it; read it for yourself and you will see, “…the word of God is quick (alive), and powerful, and sharper than any twoedged sword, piercing even to the dividing asunder of soul and spirit, and of the joints and marrow, and is a discerner of the thoughts and intents of the heart. (Hebrews 4:12)”

The first people to make New Year’s resolutions were the Ancient Babylonians.  People all over the world have been breaking them ever since. Resolutions in ancient civilizations included things like returning a borrowed farm implement.  Early Christians believed that the first day of the new year should be spent reflecting upon the failures of the past year, and resolving to correct them in the new year.  Popular contemporary resolutions tend to involve things like quitting smoking, losing weight, or paying debts.

  It has been reported that 25% of all resolutions are broken in the first week.  That percentage rises to 80% by the second week of February.    Less than 8% make it to the end of the year.  Our propensity to break them has made New Year’s resolutions a laughing stock.  That’s unfortunate when you consider how Biblical Christianity is propagated in part by our resolve to do right before others.  “Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works, and glorify your Father which is in heaven. (Matthew 5:16).” 

  One of my favorite songs for the New Year’s season is, I Am Resolved.  We should consider some of its practical suggestions for a new resolution, and then pray for the grace to weave it into the fabric of our lives…

I am resolved no longer to linger, charmed by the world’s delight,
Things that are higher, things that are nobler, these have allured my sight.

I am resolved to go to the Savior, leaving my sin and strife;
He is the true One, He is the just One, He hath the words of life.

I am resolved to follow the Savior, faithful and true each day;
Heed what He sayeth, do what He willeth, He is the living Way.

I am resolved to enter the kingdom, leaving the paths of sin;
Friends may oppose me, foes may beset me, still will I enter in.

I am resolved, and who will go with me? Come, friends, without delay,
Taught by the Bible, led by the Spirit, we’ll walk the heav’nly way.

  Hollywood, and the many less endowed producers of our day, have created a number of films and animations that suggest some sort of magical power associated with Christmas celebrities.  Folklore and tradition have propagated the same fantasies for centuries.  Hey, it sells product and provides a seasonal venue for promoting the new ideas and isms of greedy and deceitful men.  Cozy traditions are utilized to produce cute or sensational drama that both entertain, and play on our emotions.  Underlying motives are hidden by masterfully orchestrated technological wizardry.

  In reality, Christmas is the simple celebration of the birth of Jesus, the Son of God, who came to offer spiritual light and life to a world steeped in sin.    No magic is needed to make this historic event worthy of our celebration, nevertheless, the real story of Christ’s birth, life and ministry are replete with supernatural signatures of the Almighty.  The miracles surrounding Jesus’ birth are God’s testimony of His unique relationship with His Son, the Babe in the Manger.  The prophets foretold that He would be born in a little village called Bethlehem (Micah 5:2).  God marked the uniqueness of His person by causing him to be conceived in the womb of a virgin (Genesis 3:15; Isaiah 7:14).  A star would later lead wisemen from the orient to the place where He abode as a little boy (Matthew 2:2).  And much of the life of Jesus was prophesied centuries before He was born.

  This babe in the manger was the Light of the World, revealing God’s truth and love to a fallen creation that He would not abandon.  Through Jesus’ bloody death, His burial and resurrection, forgiveness was purchased for every soul that would inhabit the earth from the beginning to the end of time.  This forgiveness is offered to you as a gift, but like any gift, it must be received.

  “But as many as received him, to them gave he power to become the sons of God, even to them that believe on his name: (John 1:12)”  “For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life. (John 3:16)”

 Wow!  It’s hard to believe that another year is almost past.  As a young man I thought it strange how the older folk spoke of time “speeding up” as they grew older.  Now I’m saying the same to my sons—does this mean I’m getting old?  The passage of time could be depressing except for the joy of celebrating Christmas every December to take our minds off of the fleeting years.

  Several years ago I was searching for a song to use in our church family’s celebration of Christ’s birth.  I wanted something different, something that would challenge our people to focus on the whole of God’s gift to mankind on that first Christmas long ago.  When my wife realized what I was doing, she immediately remembered an article she had seen containing the words of a song that was written in 1954 by William and Mildred Dillon entitled The Babe In The Manger.  This was the message that I had been looking for.  It has challenged the hearts of my family every year since that date.  It is my prayer that during this Christmas season, you too will be challenged by its message.

  • Do you worship the Babe in the manger, but reject the Christ of the Cross?  Your redemption comes not by the manger, but the death of Christ on the Cross.

  • If you worship the Babe in the manger, but ignore the Blood of God’s Son, to you Christ is only a stranger, ‘til you trust the work He has done.

  • Will you look past the Babe in the manger, will you look to Calvary?  Oh my friend can you see the danger of a lost eternity?

  Chorus:  The Babe in the manger was God’s only Son, who came to the world to die.  The Babe in the manger could never have done the work of His God on high.  The Babe left the manger and went to the Cross to pay the wages of sin.  Your way of forgiveness is not by the Babe, but the Christ who died for your sins.

  The Babe in the manger, the Christ of the cross, is now the risen Son of God, our Savior.  He is God’s gift to you, have you received Him yet?

  Have a blessed Christmas!