via TJC
“And the angel said to them, “Do not be afraid; for behold, I bring you good news of a great joy which shall be for all the people; for today in the city of David there has been born for you a Savior, who is Christ the Lord.” Luke 2: 10-11
It really doesn’t get any plainer or more truthful than that!
The confusion comes with earthly holiday traditions and tales of St. Nicholas, (who was, for the record, a real person), Pere Noel, and most embellished and revered of all, Santa Claus.
When my children were young and aware of Christmas and what it was, we were up front with them about the gifts, they came from mom and dad and friends and family and Jesus provided us with the ability to give them, not a make believe character in a red suit. Every Christmas morning before we went to the tree to see our gifts, our children would sit on our bed and I’d read them the account of the birth of Christ. Then we’d pray and then race to see what was under the tree!
Do I regret this way of sharing Christmas with my children…no. What I do regret is not letting my children enjoy the fantasies and tales about Christmas.
I know I did as a child; writing letters to Santa, standing in line to tell Santa what I wanted him to bring me, leaving milk and cookies out for Santa and a carrot for Rudolf, of course. I did not let my children dream the dreams that come with the joy that is Christmas.
Daily Battle Order:
Kingdom Man let your children dream as dreams are a gift from God. It was, after all, an angel who came to Joseph in a dream telling him to take his child and Mary to Egypt to escape Herod and his search to destroy Jesus. And then, tell your children more of the story of the Christmas adventure that is told in the Bible. It’s more exciting than flying reindeer! After all, we now get to dream of eternity with God! What dreams do you have and share with others about heaven? Those dreams are a gift!
I may be in the minority here. And I do not mind a good wrestling match. But allow me to toss in a spiritual hand grenade from a warrior's standpoint. Over the years, I have tussled with other men regarding their desires for fantasies. Joel tells us that "Your old men will have dreams. Your young men will see visions." Those are great! Dreams that are from the Lord are cherished aspirations, ambitions, or ideals. Dreams can be encouraging or warnings from our Father. But let's face these facts: Fantasies are NOT from the Lord and, from what I see in our culture (or any culture for that matter), never produce good fruit. The whole porn and drug abuse cultures feed…