Good Morning Everyone,
Our theme for this month: “Celebration”
Our Bible verse for today: “For there has already been enough times spent doing what the pagans choose to do: carrying on in unrestrained behavior, evil desires, drunkenness, orgies, carousing, and lawless idolatry.” 1 Peter 4:3 (HCSB)
Our thought for today: “Celebrating is good, as long as it is God-honoring.”
As I think back to my years as a young sailor on liberty in exotic ports around the world I realize that so many of those memories are clouded and hazy – and it’s not just because so much time has passed since then. I wasn’t a Christian in those years and my behavior was often something much less than “God-honoring”.
For many of us 1 Peter 4:3 is a great understatement. Yes there has been more than enough of that kind of behavior. The truth is that celebration that is self-indulgent and which involves sinful acts is wrong. But when we come to faith in Christ, the Holy Spirit immediately goes to work in our hearts to remove the desire to be involved in those kinds of activities. Soon the very thought of participating in that kind of life becomes abhorrent and we discover that there are plenty of better, healthier ways to celebrate that don’t involve drunkenness and carousing, evil desires and unrestrained behavior.
An important element of church life revolves around group celebrations that honor God and are in keeping with Biblical standards. While those pagan celebrations described by Peter usually result the next day in hangovers and hazy memories, God-honoring and church-oriented celebrations produce a sweet fragrance of fellowship which lingers and is savored long after the event is over.
As I write this we are in the Christmas season. For most of us there will be parties at work, school plays, family gatherings, and much more. Those kinds of Christmas celebrations are fine as long as they don’t include the kinds of pagan activities Peter wrote about. It’s much better to be involved in celebrations that are intentionally and specifically Christian and God-honoring. I hope your plans for celebrating this season also include the OHBC Christmas party for the girls of the Tennessee Baptist Children’s Home this Saturday; and the OHBC family Christmas dinner on Sunday the 22nd; and our Christmas Eve candlelight service.
I’m looking forward to seeing you there!
God Bless,
Pastor Jim
Oak Hill Baptist Church 