By Karen Moore
karenmooreauthor.com
For those who celebrate Advent, the theme this year is share, share, share! It is an awesome theme for the Christmas season and one that inspires the heart. What do we mean by the word “share” that could make this season merrier for those around us? Here are a few thoughts.
You can share:
- The Christmas spirit, the sense that hope fills the air, with something mysterious, something wonderful. Our minds are awed by the idea of shepherds who were astonished by the glorious sight of angels as they proclaimed that the Son of God, the Redeemer of all humankind had been born. They were amazed at the sight of angels, and so are we as we try to imagine it. It’s the story of love that we’ve heard every year since we were born, the one that still captivates us and gives us a desire for good to win out over suffering, and for joy to permeate every sweet soul. It’s our chance to share the Light of the world.
- The attitude of Christmas, the one that makes us feel more loving and giving and generous. We look for ways to give to community services, and volunteer in soup kitchens and nursing homes and homeless shelters. It’s our opportunity to be grateful for the abundance that blesses our lives every day and open our hands and hearts to those in greater need than we are. It’s a chance to pray for people who seldom have anyone to lift them up into the ever-faithful presence of God. It’s music that fills our souls with delight and carols that we love to sing over and over again. It’s an attitude of sharing.
- The symbols of Christmas that decorate our homes, reminding everyone that we still believe in the beauty of Christmas. It’s sharing gifts of love with those around us, and baking cookies that make every one smile. It’s Santa and reindeer and little faces anticipating the big day. It’s a feeling that only comes once a year.
Chances are, you know a few people who have lost their Christmas spirit and mumble a few “humbugs” as they go through the season. They imagine it to be some kind of retailer’s holiday, some opportunity for endless charities to ring your bell.
It could be that of course, if we let it be that, but it can be so much more. It can be the sweetest memory of childhood, the miraculous story of courage, the simple reflection of all that it means to spread joy and love. It’s all up to you, of course. God did His part. He sent a gift of love that exists for all eternity.
With a little Christmas Spirit, we can return the favor. Let the advent-ure of sharing begin!
Letters to the Editor
The article on dysautonomia in the Nov. 30 edition was not an article I expected to find in TAB. Thank you for sharing it.
Four generations of my family have suffered from this rare condition. It took my daughter’s diagnosis journey of 12 years and total disability to put all the pieces of the puzzle together and receive effective treatments. She is now 25 years old, happily married and truly blessed by God.
Through her struggle with this condition, we came face to face with Psalm 34:19. That verse helps us understand that God doesn’t promise to always remove the storms from our lives. He does promise He is always with us, even in the midst of the storms of life. As a result, we have learned to use our faith to dance in the rain. We enjoy life where we are because God is there too!
COVID-19 has made this condition very common. It is good for churches to know that invisible conditions exist and learn to do church, missions and worship with adults and children with very real issues.
Robin Crowe
Montgomery
There are many issues that can divert our attention from the Great Commission and support of our missionaries. We have a great and mighty God who is at work all over the world. Let’s join Him in what He is doing and make it a priority to pray for and support our missionaries.
Rick Ellison
Director of missions
Baldwin Baptist Association
Don’t lose sight of the majesty of the incarnation this Christmas. Amid the hustle and bustle of the season, make sure you stay focused on Jesus, the ultimate fulfillment of God’s promises, our King in a stable, our Savior born as the heaven’s sang.
Jessica Ingram
“Re-experiencing Advent”
the-scroll.com
When Christmas comes, may it be a reminder of His presence. And when the holiday concludes, may the Lord keep His presence on the forefront of our hearts and minds so much so that we approach New Year’s differently than the world around us. Let’s plan and pray and think and hope with the presence and glory of God in full view.
James Hammack
“God with us forever”
the-scroll.com
For at least 18 centuries, Christmas was seldom celebrated outside the Christian church. It is just in the past 200 years that there has been a growing recognition of the sacred day in the secular world.
Today, Christmas is by far the most celebrated and popular holiday around the world.
Even in the Muslim strongholds of Dubai or Indonesia and in predominantly Hindu India, Christmas decorations and yuletide music — even the exchanging of gifts — are widely seen and heard during this joyous season.
While secular additions to Christmas, such as decorated trees, were banned, even criminalized, in 17th century England and some American colonies, the tide began to change in this country with the popularity of such literary works as Charles Dickens’ “A Christmas Carol,” Washington Irving’s “The Keeping of Christmas at Bracebridge Hall” and “The Book of Christmas” in the 1800s.
Alabama became the first state to make Christmas a legal holiday in 1836. By 1907, every contiguous state had followed when Oklahoma proclaimed the day a legal holiday.
Christmas is still a sacred day commemorating the beginning of the fulfillment of God’s promise of everlasting love and eternal peace.
It is best expressed in the Bible passage found in John 3:16–17: “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. For God sent not His Son into the world to condemn the world, but that the world through Him might be saved.”
—Submitted in December 2022 by Adon Taft, a long-time reporter with The Miami Herald and a Baptist lay leader, who died Oct. 15, 2023, in Birmingham
The proper response when we hear of a wealthy person making a generous contribution to a person or cause is not “I wish I had that much money,” but “I wish I had that much to give.”
As believers, we wrestle with two sobering questions. One, am I faithful now with what God has given me? And two, could God trust me with a larger sum of money if he gave it to me?
Pastor Michael J. Brooks
Siluria Baptist Church
Alabaster
“The Church cannot rely upon the state or federal government to solve the foster care crisis in our nation. Churches must lead the charge in responding to the plight of the fatherless and should also be actively involved in strengthening families, combating substance abuse, reducing poverty and otherwise eliminating the need for children to be in need of out-of-home placements,” said Rod Marshall, president of the Alabama Baptist Children’s Homes & Family Ministries.
Your house or apartment is a resource that God has entrusted to you. You and your home can be a gospel outpost, a place where Jesus’ love is displayed. Imagine your home being the place where neighbors say, “That’s where I learned about and accepted Jesus.”
@ArtRainer
X (formerly Twitter)
When everything comes together, it’s a beautiful moment of honest worship to God.
Kristian Stanfill
Worship leader, singer/songwriter
God says He has the plans. Don’t go looking for the plan, look for God. When you seek God with all your heart, you will discover His plan for your life.
@drtonyevans
X (formerly Twitter)
“Discipleship begins in the home, and it must be intentional. Parents cannot begin too soon to teach their children a biblical worldview. ‘D-Life for Families’ is a very simple, practical and biblical tool to assist them with this,” said Bill Wilks, pastor of NorthPark Baptist Church in Trussville, and founder of D-Life.
Give Jesus every bit of your life. He will do more with it than you could even dream.
@DanielRitchie
X (formerly Twitter)
With all the demands of life it can be easy to become bombarded by messages of who we should be and who we’re not. When we submit ourselves to God in prayer, we’re reminded that He is greater, and we are a part of His sovereign plan.
@karaaubrey
Instagram
“People are [spiritually] lost and need to understand the love that God has for them. This is a spiritual fight — the very presence of light searching to repair the darkness,” said Keny Felix, senior pastor of Bethel Evangelical Baptist Church in Miami, Florida, and president of the Southern Baptist Convention National Haitian Fellowship.
The gospel is not simply good advice, nor is it good news about God’s power. The gospel is God’s power to those who believe. The place where God has supremely
destroyed all human arrogance
and pretension is in the cross.
— D.A. Carson
@PastorOnTheFly
X (formerly Twitter)
Great preaching seeks to create a place where the meaning of the text, the meaning of the truth of the text and the meaning of a person’s life, converge.
@DrDavidLAllen
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