Christmas

It is Christmas Eve 2010. A lot has changed in the past year, primarily on a personal level. But, what is, is. Often times in years past I would sit at home alone, drinking coffee and Kahula wrapping Christmas presents into the early morning. So much has changed this year.

Personally, I have grown stronger as a person, though I have been extremely weak at times. Only weak because I tried to control the uncontrollable. I realized that you can only control yourself. You can talk all you want, show people the error of their ways, but ultimately, you cannot force someone to act the way you feel they should act. You cannot force someone to think the way you think. You cannot show a person that has done people wrong when they think they have been wronged. You cannot make a person see the error of their own ways, they can only choose to do it themselves.

People who have wronged others, who think they themselves have been wronged, will never see their errors. They have justified what they have done in their minds, but there is never justification for wronging others. One wrong, real or perceived, is never a reason to harm others.

I do not mean to for this to be a depressing blog, just some thoughts about the year.

I was looking at Facebook and people posting about going to candlelight services tonight, and that is fantastic. I have mixed feelings about some of these people and the churches they choose to attend. It is wonderful that people have found God in their own way, and it is truly a blessing, but it also saddens me to see what some of these churches stand for.

Now, I am not judging, and I apologize ahead of time if I offend some people with this post, if anyone even reads it. But churches in Houston like Lakewood, Second Baptist, and what I call "feel good preachers" are missing something in their ministry and their lives.

These "preachers" talk about doing good deeds and you will be blessed by God. The more good that you do, the more blessings you will receive from God. For me,I don't think God is someone you should bargain with. These people who believe in "feel good" preaching, or "feel good" Grace, miss the glorious feeling knowing that there is absolutely nothing you can do to receive God's Grace and blessings.

WE ALREADY have it. We should do good simply because we want to do good to glorify God. We can choose to do good, or bad, but the level of God's grace in us does not change.

Think about it this way: When you do good, you glorify God. When you do bad, you glorify evil. And we all know who evil is. Who do you choose?

Many times this past year I asked how God could allow certain things to happen. Why did he allow people to do what they did. Even to the point of questioning my own faith. I realized it is not God's fault, we choose our own paths and actions. Everything that people do is by choice.


On this Eve of the day that we celebrate the Birth of Christ, a message: Without the "Word made flesh" we would never have understood God's revelation in full. We would never have understood God's Grace. We would never see, and attempt to understand, the Glory that is the Trinity, one God, Father, Son, and Holy Spirit.

Remember to Thank God for all that He has done for us. Enjoy family and friends, but remember, it is about Jesus Christ, our Savior, Teacher, and God.