Anybody that knows me well knows that I’ve never been a true lover of the Christmas season. To me, it’s always seemed like it was about greed and the human nature comes out so strongly in people that it always ends in them being rude and disgusting, especially in the industries that I consult in. My kids were even surprised when I bought a small “Bachelor” Christmas tree and gave them $400 for Christmas decorations for my new house.  My mom and other very special people in my life always loved Christmas so much and it was always hard for me to try to get into the spirit of Christmas. I’ve always known that Christmas was really about Jesus, but I never really understood that fully the way I do now in 2022. I understand now that the Christmas season is 100% about reconciliation and redemption. That is what the birth of Jesus Christ symbolizes and brought to this earth (John 3:17).

Redemption and Reconciliation

This year I have learned so much about human nature and how irrational and emotional we really are. Almost every decision we make every single day in our life revolves around our feelings and our emotions, and the “discomfort” or joy we feel. All of those feelings and emotions can lead us really astray in so many ways. Let me give you an example. People will pray for years for something to happen or someone to change and become depressed or angry when it doesn’t happen. Then suddenly, when a catastrophe or something bad happens that God has allowed to pass through his fingers or is using to bring about that change that you prayed for, the first initial reaction we have is anger, sadness and fear to name just a few. We fail to see that the pain that God is leading us through will deliver the result that we have been praying for.  Since I have been involved in the men’s group at my church, I have seen dozens of instances where wives or husbands, who have been praying for their spouses to change and stop what they are doing for decades, have something bad happen only to catch them in the act of something egregious or worse. This action often forces change in the prayed for spouse forever but sadly usually still results in having the spouse that has been praying for that change, leave for good Even though God granted them everything they had asked for in prayer. The problem is they (we as people) wanted this change to happen without pain, struggle or suffering, and in immediate time but God always has a different path for us (Proverbs 16:9). God wants us to learn from that pain, to change from that pain, and to forgive and reconcile through that pain so that we can move forward and tell others that it is possible with God.   Jesus, the redeemer, is in the business of forgiving the unforgivable, and he wants us to live more like him every single day, including dying to ourselves as we live for Him (Ephesians 4:30).

I can give you a very personal example of this in my personal life.   When I started my business, I prayed for God to bless it. I prayed daily. Multiple times a day. I prayed more than I ever have about anything else in my life to that point. But something was blocking the prosperity that God had promised for me. I took it upon myself through my own anger and frustration to take clients that were out of state and do tons of traveling to chase that prosperity.  None of this was ever what God intended. I fought this for years only to understand in 2022, after what most people would consider a personally devastating year, that I WAS THE REASON FOR THE LACK OF PROSPERITY. I learned Joy and peace in chaos.  Peace that makes no sense.  But for me to learn this, God had to break me to pieces, force me out of my dream house, leave me penniless, and make me fully dependent on Him alone. Normally my human nature would’ve kicked in and anger would’ve set me on a collision course for war and nothing ever would’ve changed. But this time God had other plans. He showed me grace and mercy when I didn’t deserve it and redeemed me so that He could answer my prayers that I had been praying for years. This time for the first time in my life, I chose to rejoice and have joy in the pain instead of anger. The results since then have been miraculous. I could write a hundred blogs about what God has done miraculously this year but for now, I no longer have to cry out to God for provision in my business. I haven’t traveled for business in almost a year and a half and God has offered me the opportunity to not only prosper at what I’m doing, but to share what I have learned to others in the same pain. Only a sovereign God can use the bad for good in this way and use a sinner for his Godly mission for Kingdom Purpose.

Summary – Sovereignty of God

We serve a sovereign God .  A God that proves nothing is by coincidence.  There is no “chance” or “luck”.  In contrast,  God says that “there is no one pure or righteous. Not one” (Romans 3:10). It is also written that we all fall short of the glory of God (Romans 3:23-24) and only through Jesus, can we be redeemed (John 3:16, Romans 5:8). Human nature and emotion always wants to take over for us. When someone wrongs us, we want to report back that we have a legal right or a biblical right to feel the way that we should. We want to stand on higher ground and judge them.  We want to pay them back for the pain that they have caused us. Or at a minimum we want to become angry about the circumstances which turns into depression, which then through lack of reconciliation, turns into a generational problem within our families that gets passed down time and time again (Exodus 34:7). It is written in the Bible that we are supposed to correct a brother twice and if they fail to repent, have nothing more to do with them (Matthew 18:15-17, Titus 3:10-11). Likewise, Jesus commands that if a brother repents, we as followers are commanded to forgive and accept them back in (Matthew 6:14-15) like He did for us. Jesus says that if we fail to forgive others when they repent, God will not forgive us for our sins (Matthew 18:21–35). Jesus goes on to say that we should forgive them 7 times 77 times. (Matthew 18: 21-22). Very rarely in life will you ever find people that can live practically like this. To live like Jesus did.  In fact, I’m certain that most of you that are reading this will think this is impossible to do and want to ridicule me for this message. By ourselves it is impossible, and only through the grace of God, with his power of the Holy Spirit, can this be achieved. The Word also says “For those God foreknew he also predestined to be conformed to the image of his Son, that he might be the firstborn among many brothers and sisters. 30 And those he predestined, he also called; those he called, he also justified; those he justified, he also glorified. (Romans 8:29-30).

This year, I choose to honor God, pass on the ministry, share the Gospel, to celebrate Christmas the way it should be, a season of Redemption and Reconciliation!  I have joy in a season that I used to feel stressed and depressed about. How do you plan to spend Christmas this year?