Celebrate Christmas! (2)

The word holiday comes from the Old English word haligdæg, which means “holy day.” So, when Nehemiah announced, “This day is holy,” he was declaring a celebration; a time to “eat and drink before the Lord” (1 Chronicles 29:22). Today, overindulgence and overspending have become synonymous with Christmas, making Christians hesitant to celebrate. Jack Hayford wrote, “Often it is from those newly associated with our fellowship who have allowed themselves—perhaps for the first time—to enter into the wonder and fulness of Christmas joy and celebration…Christmas is more than merely merry. Christmas is mighty. Celebration—unfettered enjoyment, love…laughter…gifts and giving, trees and tinsel…carols and bells…all of it—has an inherent potential for mightiness. The qualifying factor is the presence of the Holy Spirit. When He is present, the accoutrements of Christmas…can bless, strengthen, heal, [and] restore…When He is absent, carols ring hollow. Greetings, wishes, and smiles lie on the surface, like glitter glued on a flat card. Lights and decorations…can leave the heart more desolate than ever. But where the Holy Spirit is there is power…to change entrenched habits…transform cold hearts…grudges and expectations…lift lives out of the shadow…This Christmas, let Him come upon you. Welcome the…Holy Spirit…to move upon your life, and then make your own move…into the season’s best opportunities to bask in the wonder of it all…Reach out to those around: encourage, bless, bake, give, visit, invite, share, and lift hearts wherever you can. By…New Year…you’ll find Christmas to…have been marvelously, and even miraculously, mighty.”