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'twas The Day After Christmas... Tsunami
Contributed by Jerry Shirley on Dec 18, 2004 (message contributor)
Summary: Christmas has come and gone, but Jesus Christ is the same, yesterday, and today, and forever. And everyday can be Christmas for the Christian! Powerpoint at website.
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INTRODUCTION: What a difference a day makes. Last Christmas we were on vacation in NC w/ my in-laws, and had a wonderful time…the next day…Bam! Literally…a massive earthquake hit Bam, Iran, killing 40,000 and turning off the Christmas lights in a hurry! A sober spirit ensued.
Then last week, same vacation spot, another great time, then the biggest earthquake in 40 years, a 9.0! Islands were removed like in Revelation, and Christmas was over in a hurry once again!
Christmas has come and gone, but Jesus Christ is the same, yesterday, and today, and forever. And everyday can be Christmas for the Christian!
There always seems to be a let down following Christmas. For several weeks we have all of the lights, the decorations, all of the reminders of Christmas and then in a matter of just a few hours it is over. None of the decorations mean anything now. Christmas is gone. Hardly anyone listens to Christmas music following Christmas. All of the sales at the malls will be entitled, "After Christmas Sales." In just a day or two all of the lights and decorations will be removed until next year. To have a Christmas party now would be anti-climatic. The tree will be removed and returned to the attic. The lights have been placed back in the boxes along with the balls, and other decorations. The array of Christmas cards have been placed in a box somewhere. The house no longer has the appearance of Christmas. Christmas is over.
The sad thing is that there is no more realization as to whom Christ is after Christmas as there was before Christmas. The image of a babe lying in a manger has disappeared from the minds and hearts of the public. The purpose of His birth is no more real than it was in October. The reality that man is a sinner is no more of a concern today than it was before Christmas.
Christmas is gone and what did the celebration do for the world’s population? Mostly nothing in general.
I want to share six thoughts with you today concerning the "Day After Christmas."
I. CHRISTMAS HAS COME AND GONE AND JESUS IS STILL IGNORED BY MOST OF THE WORLD
I think much of the ignoring is to give a disapproval of Jesus, but it matters not how much He is ignored. He is still the reason for Christmas, and ignoring Him will not remove Him.
He is the same always and forever. What He was yesterday, He is today. What He is today, He will be tomorrow. What He is tomorrow, He will be forever.
Jesus Christ the same, yesterday, today, and forever.
As He lay in the manger yonder in Bethlehem’s manger, He was God. He was God as He grew. He was God as He grew through His teen years. He was God as He approached adult hood. He was God when He began His earthly ministry. He was God as He was arrested and falsely tried. He was God as He was falsely convicted of no crime. He was God as they executed Him on the cross. He was God while He lay in the tomb. He was God in that he raised Himself from the dead.
All of Deity was confined to that little baby in the manger. Oh what a different world we would live in if every nation would recognize Jesus Christ.
II. CHRISTMAS HAS COME AND GONE AND THE UNITED STATES IS NO CLOSER TO CHRIST THAN BEFORE
Jere. 8:20. "The harvest is past, the summer is ended, and we are not saved."
America needs the Christ of Bethlehem. America has rejected the authority of Christ. No one seems to want to subject themselves to the confines of the Bible. If He was the Saviour in the 40’s and 50’s, He is Saviour today.
The Jewish nation rejected Him. Why? Because they wanted a physical king to meet their physical needs. America is looking for the same person or institution, welfare. The average American seeks for a way to live and survive without having to work. They want some magical method of having the everyday necessities without the responsibility that accompanies such.
We have just witnessed millions of Christmas trees.
Millions of Christmas cards.
Millions of Christmas carols.
Millions of Christmas gifts.
Millions of times of mentioning His name.
Yet all of this did nothing to turn America back to God. Just the realization of Christmas should bring us to Him. When we let Him take charge of our spiritual matters, He meets the physical needs also. The absence of the meeting of our physical needs in most cases is because we have ignored Jesus. John 15:7; John 14:13&14.
