A Blue Christmas? By Pastor Brad
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hat color do you think your Christmas will be this year - bright, colorful or blue? Perhaps Elvis made it popular, but I think all of us have had or will experience a blue Christmas at some time in our lives. When Elvis sang, “I’ll have a blue Christmas without you…” he must have been missing someone and that was causing him to be a little down, depressed or sad during the “most wonderful time of the year!” What is ironic is that I had searched on YouTube to play “Blue Christmas” while I was writing this article and the next song that played was “It’s a most wonderful time of the year!” These songs have completely different lyrics, tempo and moods, yet they are on the same Christmas playlist. When these songs played, I was experiencing the exact juxtaposition of emotions that I was writing about.
Christmas was never meant to be “blue.” In fact, the traditional colors of Christmas are anything but blue. We celebrate with red, green, gold and white. These are festive colors that are meant to warm the heart and bring cheerfulness. If your Christmas is a little more blue than bright this year, if you have lost a loved one, lost work, lost a relationship, lost your heath or just feel like you are at a loss, how do you deal with it and the change the colors of your Christmas? For me, it goes back to Elvis’ song. If I am missing someone and that someone is God then the circumstances of my life can make my Christmas blue. But if I discover and rediscover God’s present of His presence in my Christmas that can change everything. In a recent small group meeting our leader asked, What’s the difference between joy and happiness. One of our members said, “Joy is a God-given inner disposition and perspective that is not dependent upon your circumstances. Happiness is a fleeting feeling that comes and goes with your circumstances.” Let’s face it, Christmas can be celebrated with or without God. I promise you that if you celebrate Christmas with God it will bring you joy. The joy for me of Christmas is that God sent me a colorful gift when He gave the gift of Jesus. That is the original purpose of Christmas – to celebrate Jesus’ birth.
The gift I receive is straight out of the Bible. “For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life.” (John 3:16 NIV) If I receive the gift of Jesus this Christmas, then God will save me from the darkness of my life and help with the blueness of my circumstances by giving me the joy of a relationship with Him. Don’t miss the fact that Christmas is originally about God’s gift to the world which includes you and me. Remember, that if you start feeling a little blue this Christmas, just take time to connect with God and ask him to warm your heart and color your Christmas with His Joy! Brad Heintz is the founding pastor of Living Word Church in Taylor Lake Village, Texas, a vibrant family-style, non-denominational gathering of believers who take a pure, simple and real approach to faith and life. www.LWCBA.org Like us and watch us live on www.Facebook.com/LWCBA
Check out the New Podcast encouraging us to show our faith, through real-life situations. Hosted by former Christian Radio Show Host J.P. Spees. How to listen: Subscribe to "Show Your Faith Podcast" on YouTube or "SYFP JP Spees" on SoundCloud.
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Bay Area Houston Magazine | DECEMBER 2021
