Christmas is such a wonderful time of the year. Often great memories are built during those special opportunities that the season brings. We thoroughly enjoy whatever time we can spend with our family and close friends. And yes, we love to see the expectation in the faces of our grandchildren and the ability to still surprise the bigger kids. Good food, wonderful music, tasty snacks, gift exchanges, and great fellowship cause us to be thankful for our blessings; however, remembering the Reason for the Season adds so much more value to all the celebration.

Many people are on a quest for “success” and “personal happiness” — at least according to how the world defines them. Our culture sets up for us models of wealthy, famous, well-dressed people and says that if we can just become like them, we’ll be happy. What Hollywood and professional sports project as “winners” are often just really unhappy and unfulfilled people.

We can spend our whole life chasing dreams, toys, and adventure only to end up tired, alone, and empty. If all we’re chasing is our own happiness, we’re chasing after the wind. When we pursue the things of God, we will find lasting joy, adventure, and eternal treasures. I’ve found the greatest pleasures in life often come from giving rather than getting… a simple truth that even a child understands…

Friends, we have a moral and spiritual war going on that is as equally devastating as nuclear bombs being dropped on our country. Men must rise-up and become warriors for God and their families or this culture is doomed. We must lovingly project an agenda of hope, strength, courage, and great character to the younger generation.

Gratitude, you see, is one of the evidences that God is in us and that He is working in our lives. Why do I say that? Because in the world in which we live today, there are so many reasons to be ungrateful. So many reasons to complain. Too many things we experience in the media that can cause us to be disheartened.

Unexpected difficulties — we all experience them. How do you handle your problems? Many people believe that once you become a Christian, all your troubles go away. This illusion is simply not Biblical. What we can count on with absolute confidence is that God is in control and He is with us during times of trouble.

With all the social, political and economic turmoil in our world, it’s no wonder many people struggle with anxiety, rejection, abandonment, emptiness, and depression. Under the mounting pressures of just their daily lives, many are desperate for relief… and peace.

A friend of mine often reminds his children, “You are my children. I have given you my name. Honor it… and me. When you leave this house, you carry it with you. When you return, bring it back as good as it was when you left.” What a sobering consideration for a “Christian”.