Keeping Holy in Holidays

My conscience stabbed me in the back last week when our pastor Jim Britt asked, “Are we too busy celebrating the King of Kings to spend time with Him?” While I do have devotions every day, I’ve been as guilty as anyone lately of speeding through my precious time with God so I can get on with the task of speeding through all the other tasks and events of the holidays.

Our friend Uk Chong, serving God in Thailand, wrote on his family’s Christmas card this year, “We wish you the ability to focus on the birth of Jesus like the Wise Men did when they followed the star on their long journey. May all the distractions fall into the background and may the most glorious Christmas gift shine His light into your life.”

Charles Spurgeon wrote the following for December 25 in Morning and Evening, “It ought not to be true, but it is true, that our days of feasting are very seldom days of sanctified enjoyment, but too frequently degenerate into unhallowed mirth.” Thankfully, he also wrote, “Have you been forgetful of your high calling?…Then confess the sin, and fly to the sacrifice…This is the best ending of a Christmas – to wash anew in the purifying fountain. Believer, come to this sacrifice continually; if it is so good tonight, it is good every night. To live at the altar is the privilege of the royal priesthood.”

Let’s celebrate our Lord’s birth and enjoy our precious time with friends and family. But let’s never forget to honor Him in our hearts through every bit of it.