I find the story of the Magi in Matthew extremely interesting.  Here are a group of very intelligent men, who on complete faith and trust in their cause, followed a star.  Notice this was not just a faith in spirit, but also in action.  Then when they arrived at the child called Jesus, they acted with complete humility and obedience, and worship a baby they knew nothing about. Regardless of our intelligence, belief in someone or something directs our actions, good, bad, or indiffe...

I recently watched a Christmas movie where santa was on trial.  People who believed that santa did exist wore buttons that said "I Believe".  As Christians we are called to not only believe in God and His Son, but also to take action based on this belief.  It is one thing to believe, but entirely another to act on this belief.  I can believe parachuting is a safe activity, but to actually jump out of a perfectly good airplane to test this belief, is a very different thin...

Some time back I remember reading an article about Michael Jordan.  The article talked about the "zone" and a basketball players ability to block out the many distractions of a game to focus entirely on the task at hand, putting the ball in the basket.  I don't think anyone was better at this than Michael Jordan.  I think this is a skill we could all benefit from during this time of year.  It is so easy to become distracted with the "game" of Christmas.  W...

This year I struck out to buy my 12 year old a Christmas gift.  I was busy, so convenience was going to be a major factor.  I thought about something practical, like a pencil sharpener, or a shiny stapler from work.  After all there were plenty and who would notice if one was missing, plus I wouldn't have to spend any of my own money.  After a little thought I decided it seemed a little impersonal.  I also consider money, but again this didn't se...

Today my mind is on this roller coaster we call life.  Each and every day I come into contact with people, driven up and down in life, purely by their emotions.  We so often follow what we think will make us happy, or fulfill our lives, only to be left wanting something more or different.  To use a Christmas reference, one minute we can't wait to open the presents under the tree, the next minute we are frustrated because the credit card bill arrived.  Life comes at us with so...

Does it ever seem like Christmas has lost some of its luster.  As adults it is easy to look at Christmas from our past and wonder where has all the excitement gone.  After all, it is tough to compete with the wonderful memories of childhood.  I remember waking up one Christmas morning and finding a new bike next to the tree.  It is hard to get a magical moment like that out of my head.  The tree and presents looked so perfect on that morning of anticipatio...

It's Christmas time and you can feel it in the air.  I don't think you need a tree or lights to know it is the Christmas season.  This time of year has a feeling that is often unexplainable.  It is something you feel, not necessarily see.  Yes, lights, trees and Christmas shows like "Christmas Vacation" help get us in the mood, but the real reason for our excitement and anticipation is the unseen.  This feeling has been with us since we were children, and it will follow ...

God is never more close to us than when we are at our most difficult moments.  The God of peace is at His best, when we are at our worst.  It is inevitable that with this wonderful holiday season, for many comes anxiety, stress and moments of loss and despair.  We would like to believe that this is the season for joy, but for so many in our world today this is just not the case.  The Christ of the manager was for such a time as this.  When we are able to recognize the gi...

This Christmas I will re-gift.  As a gift to me, Christ surrendered His life on the cross, I will likewise surrender my attitude and expectations that He would have control over my whole life.  Christ gifted me with His sacrifice, that my sins would be forgiven, I will also sacrifice my wants and desires that others would be lifted up.  Christ gifted me with His selflessness, by leaving heaven and becoming man that I would have an example of a life of righteous...