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What Will You Find this Christmas?

What Will You Find this Christmas?

By: Dr. Jeff Fuller

What do you want for Christmas this year?  If I were to ask the kids, we would probably get a wide variety of answers.  It's not like some of the previous years where there was some "super gift" that every kid wanted (like Wii’s and Xbox).  It's all up for grabs this year.

I am told there was a little boy who wanted a watch really badly and kept on asking his parents to give him one for Christmas.  Every time they would hear him talk, he would ask about this watch. Finally they said, "Look, just stop talking about this watch . . . we know what you want for Christmas . . . don't talk about it any more.”  Later that night at dinner his parents asked him if he would like to pray out loud before the meal.  He said, "Sure, but before I pray I would like to read a Bible verse." He turned to Mark 13:37, and read: "I sayeth unto you that which I've said before, WATCH!"  Interesting use of scripture, there!

We spend most of our time searching in the holiday season.  We spend time searching for the perfect gift, searching for the right bargain, searching for the perfect decorations for our house, searching for the right parking spots.  It is interesting to remember that at the first Christmas, a lot of people really missed the significance-they missed out on the blessing-because they were not searching for it.

The politicians missed it.  The people in the business community missed it (the innkeeper).  The people in the religious establishment missed it.  Why, you ask?  They were searching for something else at that time. The only people who really were blessed were the people who were searching for it.  The angels went to the shepherds and gave them the news.  The shepherds said, "Let's go to Jerusalem and find this Jesus."  The Wise Men saw the star and said "let's go look for this Jesus."  And in seeking Him they found Him.

What are you going to find this Christmas in your own life?  It depends on what you're searching for!  The Bible says, "Seek and you will find."  That which you are seeking for is what you are going to find.

Thankfully, in our society today, there is increasing interest in seeking for spiritual truth. It's been a trend for a few years now. We see evidence of this in many places. People are searching for answers to the spiritual questions of life. We see this evidenced in the television shows that have spiritual themes, in movies, even in news magazines like Time and Newsweek, which have cover stories about spiritual things. This never used to be the case-but it's the case increasingly today.

In the past we have seen cover stories like "Is There Life After Death?" or "A Clear View of Heaven" or "Who was Jesus?"  And they don't put these stories on the covers of their magazines unless they're going to sell magazines.  They sell because people are interested in those things.

Newsweek Magazine did a cover story not long ago called "The Search for the Sacred."  The author said,

"Maybe it's just a critical mass of baby boomers in the contemplative afternoon of life. Or maybe it's just general dissatisfaction of materialism in the modern world. Whatever the reason, millions of Americans are embarking on a search for the sacred in their lives." People are asking these questions: Is there meaning in my life? Does my life count? How can I come to know God? That's what Christmas is all about-seeking God.

As the article progresses, the authors write:

"A lot has changed in the last half century. We stripped away what once our ancestors saw as essential-the importance of religion and the family-and people feel that they want something that they've lost.  They just don't remember what it is that they've lost.  That, in essence, is the seekers quest…to fill the hole with a new source of meaning -- why are we here?  What is the purpose of our existence?"

I would imagine, if we were honest, probably every one of us has asked some of those searching questions this past year, in some of the more quiet moments of our lives.  If you have not made the commitment to Christ, there is still that hunger, that search, and when there are moments of quiet and our lives slow down and we can think about these things, you are finding questions like:

What's the purpose of life?

Why am I getting up this morning?

What is it that I'm here for?

How can I come to know God?

Is there a God?

Those questions, I believe, are implanted in our consciousness because we have this innate need to be intimately connected and intimately related to God.  If that's not in place, there is that 'hunger'- that sense of need-that sense of emptiness, and there is no better time than Christmas to respond to those questions by actually seeking it out.

This Christmas, God wants to give you three Christmas gifts.  The Bible says, "You will seek me and find me, if you seek me with all of your heart."  If you are seeking after it we will find peace of mind. You will find forgiveness if you seek after it.  You will find renewal for your faith if you seek after it.  These are Christmas gifts that you can find if you seek after them.

Three very wonderful presents that the Father wants to give you this season, which will carry you into and through the New Year: Peace of Mind, Forgiveness of Sin, and Renewal of Faith.  Wonderful presents I pray you find this Christmas Season!

            Merry Christmas from the Fuller Family!

Received by Email on December 1, 2012

Dear Jeff,

I wanted to drop you an email to say that I have been thinking about you over the last few weeks.  My prayers have been for you in these days, and I have also been praying for the family and your church congregation as well.  If there is anything I can do, feel free to call on me.

 We are extremely busy up here at the North Pole.  The Elf’s are all running around like chickens with their heads cut off, if you know what I mean.  The list is being checked and double checked and triple checked as we see who has been naughty or nice.  We are now working around the clock, as shipments are arriving hourly, from around the world.  The Workshop is humming along, and that little problem with the doll line was repaired before the sun set.  Deadlines are being established, as we prepare for the Big Guy to get his one night of travel over with and we hope that he is able to do it before the sun comes up on the 25^th.

So much planning and so little time to get it done!  Yet, we enjoy nothing more than seeing children happy and smiling on Christmas morning.  Oh, the letters we receive in March, as we all return from the Alps.  My desk is overflowing with letters of gratitude from children around the world.

But as you know, we all celebrate Christmas, not for the gifts and to worship Santa.  Even this morning in a meeting with Santa, he reminded us that this is the season to remember the greatest gift given to man, Jesus born in a manger in Bethlehem’s stable.  That is the Reason for the Season!

Keep on reminding the people there in Coosa County, that Jesus is what is most important at this time of the year, no at every day of the year.  Thanks for sharing Jesus, and thanks for being such a dear friend to me.

God bless and Merry Christmas!

Elwood

COE, Santaland

North Pole