This time of year there is a certain respect for most people about the birth of Christ, even if you do not claim to be a Christian.
From children singing ‘Away In A Manger’ to living Nativity scenes in local communities, everyone knows that there is going to be more talk, images, and references to Jesus and His birth.
While the multitudes of people do not acknowledge Him in their own personal lives, they do accept that Christmas is directly related to Christ’s birth and they don’t seem to mind. They may even display Christian symbols; angels, crosses, doves, crèches, mangers on tables, walls, doors, and Christmas trees.
However, there is a growing group of people who are trying everything in their power to not only remove references to Christianity from our lives, they even want to remove Him from Christmas. They have decided that while we cannot discriminate against and must even respect Muslims, Buddhists, or other pagan religions, that Christianity must at all costs be removed from our lives.
In God We Trust
This phrase has appeared on U.S. coins since 1864 and on paper currency since 1957. It has been a part of our daily lives for most of us since birth, and while it does not specifically say Jesus Christ is Lord, it is the accepted reference, and there have been factions that have tried to remove it from our money, or any other U.S. document, building, or monument because of the constitutional statute of separation of church and state. The U.S. Supreme Court has ruled that this is not a violation of that statute, but still in all there are secular groups that use this as their banner ideology in removing God due to their own opinion that this violates the constitution.
Monuments, plaques, or other displays that include any references to the God of The Bible are considered issues. From the Ten Commandments to crucifixes, The Pieta, and other religious icons are being torn down, or at the very least issues of contention for many who want God removed from view.
It makes one wonder why there is also not such an outcry against Buddhas, Muhammads, Wiccan, and other images? Do they not consider them religious symbols as well? No room for Him here.
Politics Over Personal Preference?
Now, let me make it clear, I am a practicing Christian in all aspects of my life. I do believe that God is integral even in the DNA of every human body, and I believe that the message must reach every person that they may be saved.
When it comes to being aggressive against other religions, politicians, ideologies, or creeds, I have not adopted a stance of hate against anyone. Even those with values I find abhorrent and against every principle of the Bible, I have chosen not to attack. People are people, and all humankind deserves life.
The Bible says all have sinned, and while there are certain beliefs that are in fact, sin, even God himself gave us free will. Regardless of whether or not you choose to live a sinful life, and are in direct violation against the scriptures, I am not your judge.
However, there are certain aspects of my beliefs that make me want to take a stand and shout unto the heavens against the forcible actions that are attempting to remove Christ from my life and the lives of others. This past year it has became abundantly more clear, that as Christians we must take a stand against the current ideologies of the current U.S. Government administration. Their philosophies and bias has become part of the force to remove Christ, God, and other Christian principles, even inferred ones, from our country. Plenty of room for Buddha, Muhammad, and other religious icons but no room for Christ.
Did You Know?
On September 14, 2011 Chief of Staff C.W. Callahan of Walter Reed National Military Medical Center sent out a memo about policies that cover guidelines for wounded, ill, and injured partners in care (our wounded soldiers). It stated that, 'No religious items (i.e. Bibles, reading material, and/or artifacts) are allowed to be given away or used during a visit.’
A Republican lawmaker denounced the policy on the House floor and called on President Obama to publicly renounce the military policy.
‘That means you can’t bring in a Bible and read from it when you visit your son or your daughter, perhaps – or your wife or husband,” Representative King said. ‘It means a priest that might be coming in to visit someone on their death bed couldn’t bring in the Eucharist, couldn’t offer Last Rites. This is the most outrageous affront.’
This would also mean our own Apostolic preachers, or even the soldier’s family could not bring in a prayer cloth, or even giving one of their own magazines, books, tracts, or other religious materials to the wounded soldier.
While Walter Reed National Military Medical Center has said this was not their expressed intent to restrict soldier’s families from praying for them, the policy was enacted as to not force ‘one’s religion on others who may be nearby.’
President Obama has made no comment or taken any action on this issue as of the writing of this article.
No room for Him even with our wounded soldiers who have fought for our liberties?
Removing Christ From Christmas & Thanksgiving
There have been a lot of over the past two years about changing the wording of Christmas celebrations to Holiday or other derivatives.
This year has been no different and unless you have been living in a cave somewhere you are well aware of stories that have come out about communities changing the names of Christmas displays to Holiday displays on the premise that just saying the word, ‘Christmas’ can be construed as offensive.
Our stores are packed with Christmas sales and shoppers and no one seemed to mind regardless of their personal beliefs about that. In fact this year on ‘Black Friday’ was considered one of the best sales days in recent years, even in a bad economy, but let’s get rid of the word ‘Christmas’ anyway.
I am wondering if they changed it to Holiday sales, would people still come out and shop, and what about sales on other acknowledged holidays? Maybe we should remove the name of all holidays, including Independence Day, because it will surely offend someone. If we are intent on removing Christ from Christmas, then what is the difference?
Remove Valentine’s Day from any mention and I wonder what kind of outcry would there be to that? After all there are many who are single, alone, lonely and do not like that day. But no, this is just one other way to remove Christ from our lives.
Even our own President this year made no reference to God or Christ in his Thanksgiving message. He said to be thankful, but doesn’t being thankful require giving thanks to someone? It is an action word even though we have made it more about turkey, cranberries, and pumpkin pie, than about being grateful to God for giving us another year. I wonder what the Pilgrims would think?
President Obama also this year when bringing in the official national Christmas Tree, called it a ‘Holiday Tree’. For someone who has been very vocal to say he is a ‘Christian’ to put down distractors who say he is in fact a Muslim, and likely not even an American, I am amazed that he is so afraid of offending that he would call it a Holiday Tree instead of a Christmas Tree. Or is not that he is afraid of offending at all, but instead is like many out there who want Christ removed from Christmas?
If Christ were to be born today instead of two thousand years ago, would there be a bed for Him in the White House?
Is There Room For Him In Your Life?
In John chapter five, Jesus said, ‘I am come in my Father's name, and ye receive me not: if another shall come in his own name, him ye will receive.’
From His birth to His death, it seemed that many had no room for Jesus. Sure, when it came to miracles and blessings, they wanted in on that. His messages might have moved them on the hillside, and of course the healings and miracles moved people to such a frenzy that the government of that time, much like ours today, plotted to remove Him out of fear of His taking power away from them.
But it goes much deeper than that, many of us do not acknowledge Him in our lives either. We are quick to point out others who would want Christ removed, but possible due to unconscious neglect, or perhaps a whittling away of our faith, we don’t often think of Him either.
I have a print of the cover from The Saturday Evening Post in November 1951 hanging on the wall in my kitchen. It depicts an elderly lady and her grandson praying in a restaurant over their meal, while others look on with great interest.
I have seen movies, and even TV shows from the era that had families gathered around the table saying ‘grace.’ Yet, for many of us, praying over our food has fallen by the wayside. We are in such a hurry running through the fast food drive-thru that we grab our food out of the sack, take a drink from our soda or coffee and back on to the hustle of our lives, without a thought to stop and say a prayer.
Now I realize most of us are in a hurry, but we don’t pray over our meals when we go out with friends or family either, for that matter most of us do not pray over food in our own homes, except for maybe at Thanksgiving or Easter. It has become an afterthought.
Growing up, I remember we always prayed over meals no matter where we were. We would pray before we went to bed, or on a trip somewhere, and many of us had daily family devotions of bible reading and prayer before we would start our day. It was a normal part of our lives. In fact, in my house even guests spending the night, missionaries or evangelists that were staying with us, would also get up early in the morning before my father left for work to read a chapter out of the Bible and each individual prayed one after the other from the youngest that could speak even a phrase or two being helped, to the oldest person in the family. It was a part of our lives.
But now it seems we are too busy. Our Bibles sit on a shelf or table, unless we are headed to church. We get up and eat, or go to bed crashing from the day without taking time to pray or read the Word. I admit I am as guilty as anyone when it comes to personal devotions and prayer. We can make all kinds of excuses, but really it comes down to effort. We don’t take the time because He is not ever present in our thoughts. Maybe that is part of the reason for the decline in marriages working, families being dysfunctional, and the ever increasing amount of tragedies and disappointment in our lives. No room for Him.
Is There Really Room For Him In Your Ministry ?
We shout it out from our pulpits and pews to our literary publications, broadcasts, and music. We exclaim our love and passion for Him and our burden for others to know Him. We rave against those who teach false doctrine, we sign petitions and share emails with references to Christ or His removal from our lives.
We are quick to let it be known we are not the same as others who believe different from us, in fact we often criticize others who do not have the same doctrines or dogmas.
Yet while we criticize other faiths, we see them on the streets sharing their message while we keep our enclosed in the four walls of our sanctuary. We used to be about door knocking, handing out tracts, raising money for missions by collecting aluminum cans or selling baked goods in our shopping malls.
Many a church was built by selling peanut brittle door to door, and many times the life we lead away from church was the instrument for others coming to visit our church, even if we were not eloquent in our speech, or aggressive in our approach.
Now, Instead of being proactive in our communities, we have become more ‘protective’ of our saints to the point that when someone leaves our congregation we stop acknowledging their existence. We have no room for those who fall away, even if they are in the hospital or going through trials that most of us cannot bear ourselves. It is much easier to criticize and cast judgment than it is to still reach out to the lost sheep. We are so adamant about keeping ‘our saints’ that we take the message out of our public schools, jobs, and other areas of our community.
But we wonder come Sunday, or a revival meeting, why the handful sitting in our pews are the ones we see all the time? But we will keep shouting about our burden for a move of God, and the revival He has promised so many times. But we will be shouting to the same ones that always hear us. After all, they know where we are. If they needed God why aren’t they coming to church?
We will preach about missing church, not paying tithes, and other parts of our doctrine and be critical about those that miss even one Sunday. But going to church doesn’t make you a Christian. Living the life, sharing the message does. Maybe because we have become so busy in our lives, ministries, programs, and plans, that we do not even realize we didn’t leave room for Him.
No Room For Him?
I woke up this morning to news about a sculpture of Christ near a Veterans Hospital in Montana that overlooks a lake. It has been there since the early 1950s, but somehow there has been a petition to have it removed recently because it might possibly offend someone.
Sixty-plus years that image of Christ has sat in the same spot, and now someone wants it gone. At first, I was outraged, and then I thought about it. An image is just an image, it is not Christ. In fact you can buy a toaster that will put an image of Christ on your morning toast each day, and no putting an image there doesn’t make you more spiritual, nor does it make your toast blessed.
However, the commentator was railing about how dare they want to remove this image? In fact this article started from that idea. But the truth is, while we rail and complain about people wanting to remove Christ from our lives, for most of us, He is not really an integral part of our lives. We call ourselves Christian, but we do not practice even the basic Christianity that used to be normal.
We used to sing, ‘This little light of mine, I’m going to let it shine…’ but we do not have time to even stop and whisper a prayer, read a scripture, let alone tell someone.
When is the last time, other than a church service, you picked up your Bible, said a prayer that lasted more than a minute, or told someone not about how wonderful your church is, our how your pastor said this or that, but talked about Christ Himself?
We had room for Him at one time, when we were looking up from the pits of despair, lost without knowing Christ. And even though there are countless souls in the same place, fighting the same issues you were, looking for answers but we do not have room for Him.
No Room For Him… Again
They say history repeats itself. When He came into this world, they couldn’t find a place for Him. When He ministered, He had no place to lay His head. When He died, He was buried in a borrowed tomb. We talk about Him being as close as the mention of His name, and many have shouted His name in peril, but as life slips by once again, we have no room for Him. It really isn’t that hard to find room.
- Get up a little bit early tomorrow and say a prayer, or take time to read a scripture.
- Take a moment when you are rushing through the checkout lane to thank God for the food you are buying.
- When you see someone begging beside the road, even if you don’t have a dollar to spare, take a bit of time to pray for them, or stop and say hi.
- When you think about our country and the changes that are taking us down the wrong path, instead of just getting mad, say a prayer.
- When you put your child to bed, even when they wail about not wanting to go, go with them, kneel by their bed and pray a bit.
- When you come home from a long day at work, take a few moments as you change clothes or prepare some food to thank God.
- Take that extra food in your pantry that you know you won’t eat and give it to someone, or a local food bank.
- When you are unwinding at the end of the day, take a few moments extra, put down that book or remote, and tell God how grateful you are.
- Stop for a moment before you text your friends, or read updates on your Facebook page to remember that without Him none of it would exist.
- Before you open your Christmas gifts this year, gather around with your family and read the Christmas story one more time. Luke 2:1-21
Make Room For Him… Again
For unto us a child is born, unto us a son is given: and the government shall be upon his shoulder: and his name shall be called Wonderful, Counsellor, The mighty God, The everlasting Father, The Prince of Peace. Isaiah 9:6
