Romans 15:4-13 Everything that was written in the past was written to teach us, so that through endurance and the encouragement of the Scriptures we might have hope. May the God who gives endurance and encouragement give you a spirit of unity among yourselves as you follow Christ Jesus, so that with one heart and mouth you may glorify the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ! Accept one another, then, just as Christ accepted you, in order to bring praise to God. For I tell you that Christ has become a servant of the Jews on behalf of God's truth, to confirm the promises made to the patriarchs so that the Gentiles may glorify God for His mercy, as it is written: "Therefore I will praise You among the Gentiles; I will sing hymns to Your name." Again, it says, "Rejoice, O Gentiles, with His people." And again, "Praise the Lord, all you Gentiles, and sing praises to Him, all you peoples." And again, Isaiah says, "The Root of Jesse will spring up, One who will arise to rule over the nations; the Gentiles will hope in Him." May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace as you trust in Him, so that you may overflow with hope by the power of the Holy Spirit!

Christmas was an exciting time when I was a child. We may have not had much money, but we knew how to celebrate Christmas! The tree almost always reached the ceiling. (When you are in the 1^st grade that is a tall tree!) There may have been a few presents under the tree before Christmas morning, but the real presents came after midnight when Santa made his rounds.

Christmas is still an exciting event for those that want it to be… it is all in how we prepare – both spiritually and all those other activities… shopping,  Christmas plays, caroling, etc. But prepare, we must!

God has a reason for every story and teaching in the Bible. He plans ahead. “Everything that was written in the past was written to teach us.”

However, learning not applied is not true learning!

Thus Paul continues, “So that through endurance and through the encouragement of the Scriptures we might have hope.”

Yep, we have a personal responsibility! We have to study the Bible and be persistently involved in our own preparation. However, we see that God will help us. “May the God who gives endurance and encouragement give you a spirit of unity among yourselves as you follow Christ Jesus, so that with one heart and mouth you may glorify the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ!”

God will give us the endurance and encouragement, but we have to make the application. We have at least two snow shovels at our house. But neither one of them will do much work while I sit in front of the fireplace drinking hot chocolate. I have to be personally involved.

Paul also said, “Accept one another, then, just as Christ accepted you, in order to bring praise to God.” Also, make yourself a servant of others, just as Jesus Christ became a servant of the Jews on behalf of God's truth, to confirm the promises made to the patriarchs so that the Gentiles may glorify God for His mercy, as it is written: "Therefore I will praise you among the Gentiles; I will sing hymns to Your name."

Finally, we are told to rejoice. "Rejoice, O Gentiles, with His people."

And again, "Praise the Lord, all you Gentiles, and sing praises to Him, all you peoples."

And again, Isaiah says, "The Root of Jesse will spring up, one who will arise to rule over the nations; the Gentiles will hope in Him."

This section of scripture ends “May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace as you trust in Him, so that you may overflow with hope by the power of the Holy Spirit!”

Spiritual preparation is always an ongoing process. However, we can be prepared for worship at Christmas time. Of course we still have to do our shopping!

Recently I read an article about the problems associated with being a perfectionist. The author truly hit the nail on the head and already I feel better about myself.

We try to hard to prepare for Christmas but sometimes end up ignoring the spiritual part. But slow down, take a deep breath and correct your course. Don’t condemn yourself. It’s hard to get everything right all of the time.

 

We do not have to be perfect, just willing to grow!

 

For instance, consider this. The Old Testament Bible characters were often frail and imperfect, just like all the "heroes" actually are.

 

Abraham, the father of our faith was also the coward that told his wife to tell a king that she was his sister instead of his wife.

Jacob was actually a cheat that struggled with everybody.

 

Joseph, who was a type and shadow of Jesus, started as an immature and arrogant teen.

 

Moses, the wonderful man of God that led the Children of Israel out of Egypt initially was an impatient murderer who got ahead of God.

 

Initially Gideon was a cowardly Baal-worshipper.

 

Super-strong Samson was a womanizing drunk.

 

King David stumbled and was a power abusing adulterer.

 

Solomon is really hard to understand. He was the ultimate unwise wise man.

One of the major problems the early church faced was trying to blend Christianity and the Jewish religion. The Jewish religion was primarily led by Pharisees – and they had rule-making down to a fine art. Therefore people were judged by externals, which is not much different from today, I might mention!

Just as we welcome Jesus, we must welcome all believers. The religious leaders of Jesus’ day rejected Him because they thought that the Messiah would be different.

We can do our best to change our belief system and judgmental attitudes, but if that attitude is deeply imbedded it takes a work of God’s Holy Spirit to pull it off.  The Holy Spirit will mold us if we will let Him!

Spirit of the living God, fall fresh on me.
Spirit of the living God, fall fresh on me.
Melt me, mold me, fill me, use me.
Spirit of the living God, fall fresh on me. (author unknown)

What does it look like when we truly welcome people as Christ did?  A little boy went to a new school. It was his first time there. The lady told him where the classrooms were, and then to stand in line at the door where his name was posted with his classmates' names. 

But none of the lists had his name on them! So he began to cry! There was no room for him apparently, and his mother had already gone home. A boy about his same age asked what was wrong. Through his tears he told his sad story.

To his delight the new friend told the tearful boy, “Don’t worry… I’m going to stick with you until we get this figured out!”

That is what Jesus does for us, and it is what we are to do for others!

A few years ago a United States submarine sank off the coast of New England. The rescue operation led to the discovery of the disabled vessel in the bottom of the ocean. When the divers approached the submarine, they heard a tapping sound from the inside. When they stopped to listen, they heard this message tapped in Morse code: "Is there hope?"

That is the question still tapped from within the depths of the human heart. In the hour of tragedy and of impending death it is most poignant, but hope is never a luxury that we can get along without. It is an absolute necessity if we are to have a zest for life.

Hope is faith in the future, faith that gives courage and strength to face the present. Young people usually are full of hope. The future lies ahead of them and they set their sights on it. But old people tend to become discouraged, because they have nothing to look forward to. The present is unbearable because there is no future, and they have only memories of the past to sustain them. Such a state of mind is nothing less than hell. Hell," says A. J. Cronin, "is the place where one has ceased to hope." He is echoing the words which Dante saw inscribed over the portals of Inferno: "Abandon all hope you that enter here."

It is a scientific fact that hopelessness shortens life, for a man without hope feels himself cornered and trapped and loses the will to live. Science itself, according to Dr. Karl Menninger, is built on hope. "Man can’t help hoping," he says, "a scientist only hopes more accurately." Today we are hoping for a cure for cancer. That is why men of science are working hard in their laboratories to make this hope come true. In the meanwhile cancer patients ask, "Is there hope?" And even if a way is found to lengthen the span of life, there is still a boundary which no human hopes can cross. That boundary is the inevitable death that awaits all of us. And if one is hopeless in facing death, then one is also hopeless in facing life.

We believe there is hope because we believe in Jesus Christ and we believe the Bible. We know that God will take care of us. Many however are without hope. Thus we, empowered by God’s Holy Spirit need to let that hope and peace live in us and through us!