nice – The Arrow Preacher

Have You Been Naughty or Nice?

We are in the mindset we’ve been nice, and we’ve made the list in which Santa Claus has checked twice. We think we deserve gifts and presents but we’ve lost sight of what’s so important. Instead of Santa it’s God who truly knows if we’ve been naughty or nice. When we think of our walk are we walking in God’s will or our own will? Luke 1:26-3326 “Now in the sixth month the angel Gabriel was sent by God to a city of Galilee named Nazareth, 27 to a virgin betrothed to a man whose name was Joseph, of the house of David. The virgin’s name was Mary. 28 And having come in, the angel said to her, “Rejoice, highly favored one, the Lord is with you; blessed are you among women!” 29 But when she saw him, she was troubled at his saying, and considered what manner of greeting this was. 30 Then the angel said to her, “Do not be afraid, Mary, for you have found favor with God. 31 And behold, you will conceive in your womb and bring forth a Son, and shall call His name Jesus. 32 He will be great, and will be called the Son of the Highest; and the Lord God will give Him the throne of His father David. 33 And He will reign over the house of Jacob forever, and of His kingdom there will be no end.”Our sins are treacherous and filthy and our sins forever place us on the naughty list. We are wrapped up in emotions this time of year and we often loose sight of truth. Faith is based on God’s truth not emotions. We cannot look back to our emotions and expect our perceptions to be based on reality.

Santa is a fun fantasy we enjoy but we cannot take our eyes off of the real giver of the best gift we could ever accept. Forgiveness of our sins for eternal salvation is freely given despite the naughty nature of our lives. Hebrews 11:6“But without faith it is impossible to please Him, for he who comes to God must believe that He is, and that He is a rewarder of those who diligently seek Him.” We must accept into our heart that

James 1:17“Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above, and comes down from the Father of lights, with whom there is no variation or shadow of turning.”

Philippians 4:19 (NKJV)19 “And my God shall supply all your need according to His riches in glory by Christ Jesus.”

Matthew 7:11“If you then, being evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father who is in heaven give good things to those who ask Him!”

John 3:16 “For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life.”

We celebrate Christmas of the little baby in the manger, but we forget it was be cause we were hopeless without Him, we were sinners in which there was no hope of works to win our way to Heaven. Death is a gift, a release of a sinful life for a place of no sorrow, no pain, and no tears. Our naughty nature is wasted away and Heaven awaits us where we will forever be amazing.

Now, before all of you get up in arms about Santa Claus let me add a personal note, I believe the spirit of Santa Claus is very alive and real. In the 4^thcentury Saint Nicholas was a very alive and real person who gave gifts generously to those of the poor. While the legend has changed, and small things were added or moved, the idea of Santa has endured. The magic and mysticism of Santa may have grown as time has moved forward, but the truth is, while Santa may no longer be a real person (that we know of) the thought of what Santa represents is just fine. Giving to those in need selflessly is not only a Santa thing, but as the Saint who gave birth to the legend was a Christian bishop. Live your life with a giving heart, and full of love. Keep Christmas cheer and while Santa is great, remember Santa worked for Christ, just doing as Christ had done. Don’t put Santa ahead of Christ, but don’t miss the spirit of good ol Saint Nick.

Remember Who You Are

No matter the fire and brimstone you will go through in your life an important thing to remember is who you are in Christ. Remember the promises the Lord has made to us. We know that we will face the worst humanity has to offer, but in that we remain faithful to the Lord. We must remember that we are not to speak with a wicked tongue. In all things we know and value love in our hearts. We must remember that the Devil will try and break us, the Devil will attack us relentlessly until we are on the ground bleeding, crying out that we cannot take anymore. When we are on the ground bleeding, unable to stand and face the bombardment of attacks we must remember whose name to call. We must call out to Christ and ask the Lord above to help us, to deliver us from evil.

Occasionally we may get off the rails. Sometimes we may wander off and forget who we are. Our behavior may leave much to be desired, and our tongue may speak wickedness. We can always find a way back. We can always find our way back home if we follow the light of the Lord. As long as we do so before death there is always a chance to return to the Lord. Luke 23:40-43 “⁴⁰But the other answering rebuked him, saying, Dost not thou fear God, seeing thou art in the same condemnation? ⁴¹And we indeed justly; for we receive the due reward of our deeds: but this man hath done nothing amiss. ⁴²And he said unto Jesus, Lord, remember me when thou comest into thy kingdom. ⁴³And Jesus said unto him, Verily I say unto thee, Today shalt thou be with me in paradise.” The key is we don’t know when our last day is. We don’t know how much time any of us has on this world. God wants all his children to return home. 2 Peter 3:9 “9 The Lord is not slack concerning his promise, as some men count slackness; but is longsuffering to us-ward, not willing that any should perish, but that all should come to repentance.” Don’t waist what little time we have on this world living in hate, and fear, and allowing anger and a vindictive spirit to poison who we are.

Rise above and treat everyone with respect and dignity even if you do not receive it in turn. This may be one of the hardest things to do but it is something we should attempt every day. Wake up and try to find a way to make someone’s day brighter, a little better. Have faith in God, and live your life to put a smile on God’s face.