Good Morning Everyone,
Our theme for this month: “The presence of the Lord”
Our Bible verse for today: “Be still, and know that I am God.” Psalm 46:10 (NIV)
Our thought for today: “At Christmastime try slowing down instead of speeding up.”
A comment I hear frequently (in fact a comment that I make frequently), is what a busy time of year Christmas is. Most of us live ridiculously busy lives to begin with but at Christmastime the pace seems to accelerate. With all the shopping and the parties and the visiting, we end up even busier than usual. But this is the exact opposite effect Christmas should have on us and it actually makes a bad situation even worse.
I read a study recently that reported that 86% of American men and 67% of American women work more than 40 hours per week. LifeWay Research (The research arm of the Southern Baptist Convention) reports that 48% of pastors work more than 60 hours per week.
The Japanese have a word, “koroshi”, which means “death by overwork”. That word exists in the Japanese lexicon because overworking is such a big problem in their society. But on average, Americans work 137 hours per year more than the average Japanese worker, 260 more than the British and 499 more than the French. We are a nation of workaholics!
And that’s just our working lives. That doesn’t account for family obligations, civic activities, and everything else that crowds into our already busy lives. And at Christmastime we get even busier than that?
At Christmas we celebrate the incarnation of Christ – Immanuel, “God with us”. It’s a time for us to reflect on who He is, what He did, and what He continues to do. He is the Sovereign God of the universe; He is all-knowing, all-powerful, and always present; there is nothing in the entire universe (and therefore nothing in your life or mine) which is beyond His control or out of His control. Borrowing a popular phrase; “He is large and in-charge!”
Since that’s true it means that it’s not necessary for us to carry every load, solve every problem, or do everything for everyone. God is God, and therefore I don’t have to be. I can just relax and let Him run the universe, as well as my life, my job, and my family.
Christmas should be a time when we slowdown and reflect on the wonder and the joy and the reality of “God with us”. I encourage you to spend extra time this Christmas season relaxing, meditating, and just knowing that He is indeed God.
God Bless,
Pastor Jim
Oak Hill Baptist Church 