Every day is Christmas Eve

The scriptures (in the Message) read: "Don't look for shortcuts to God. The market is flooded with sure-fire, easygoing formulas for a successful life that can be practiced in your spare time. Don't fall for that stuff, even though crowds of people do."

It's Christmas Eve, as you might have noticed. We awoke this morning to a cool day, with sun striking the rain hard on its way out of town. It had stormed, sending the dogs into fits early on the evening, but the storms abated somewhere around midnight and the temperatures dropped like passes hitting the hands of the Saints Jimmy Graham. This morning seemed, in this area, like what Christmas Eve should feel like. Cool, man, cool.

I've read the scriptures this morning. I will read from the devotional book called It was not a silent night as I devour a full breakfast. I've experimented with and dabbled with thoughts of Jesus, the baby not the man, this morning, as if doing so would make tonight's two services at our church even more meaningful.

And the morning isn't a bit more spiritual than it would have been if it wasn't Christmas Eve. In other words, trying to make it spiritual won't make it spiritual. In other words, wanting deep meaning to be won't make it be.

The scriptures say in the same section of Matthew quoted earlier, "What is required is serious obedience -- doing what my Father wills. I can see it now -- at the Final Judgment thousands strutting up to me and saying, 'Master, we preached the Message, we bashed the demons, our God-sponsored projects had everyone talking.' And do you know what I'm going to say? 'You missed the boat. All you did was use me to make yourselves important. You don't impress me one bit. You're out of here.'

In other words, dear friends, going to Christmas Eve services won't make you a bit more of a disciple than not going. Going to pray, won't make you a great person of prayer. Going to remember your baptism won't make you cleaner. Going to take Communion won't make you closer to God. And going to sing the great hymns of Christmas won't make your Christmas a dab more meaningful.

In fact, what you did yesterday and what you do on Friday will come closer to making you closer to Him than this artificial Christianity that we've plugged into today and tomorrow.

Sounds harsh, but it is what it is. When we pick on people, jump on their failures, criticize their faults, and fail to feed and clothe them, then give a $20 in the offering plate because, well, it's CHRISTMAS, we've missed the point of all of it haven't we?

The Word says, "Those diseased trees with their bad apples are going to be chopped down and burned."

On Christmas Eve as much as on the 15th of January. All days are important. All people are vital. Let's begin to live that way ... both of us, all of us.

Let's do God-sponsored projects that have everyone talking ... all the time.

Merry Christmas, friends. God loves you and there is nothing you can do about it. Oh, and Mary and I love you, also.

Today. Tomorrow, and next week.