Merry Christmas

Christmas 2007

I know Christmas 2007 is at an end.  Most people are getting ready to go back to work and school.  New Year's plans being made, lights coming down, trees put away (or mulched for you old fashioned real tree folks)...

I had a good time.  I had a nice couple of dives recently:

This year I put up lights:

A tree:

And baked apple pies:

More

But there is more to Christmas than lights, presents, trees, and dinners.  This is a dedicated time to celebrate when God invaded this planet with His plan of redeeming humans.  Angels made the announcement and told shepherds the good news.  By most accounts that was 2011 years ago.  (Using 4 B.C. as the date).  Since AD 29 or so, Christians have had the task of telling humans around them the good news.  Who did you tell today? Yesterday?  Last Week? 

If you told someone, great, if not, what was the reason?  Was it fear of persecution? War? Both of those are on the rise.  In fact, the number of Christians in the Middle East is on a very sharp decline.

It is still possible to find shops decorated for Christmas like this one in Iraq:

But do you see anything related to the true reason for the season? Perhaps this is the reason:

Several churches were bombed in Baghdad, and a priest in the northern city of Mosul was kidnapped and later found beheaded. This year, Sunni Arab militants began knocking on doors of Christians living in Baghdad's Dora neighborhood, demanding that they pay a "tax," convert to Islam or leave. In April and May alone, an estimated 500 families fled Dora. - Los Angeles Times

And it is no excuse to say that the end of the world is just about to happen.  The asteroid rocketing through space is headed to Mars, not Earth.  There is still time.  For those in the US, you have it easy:  an estimated 91% of households have a copy of the Bible.  All you have to do is live in such a way that they will read it (or hear it) and believe.  If nothing else, it now comes in pink:

Conclusion

This was not a chew-out session.  Rejoice with family and friends.  Enjoy the music of the season (I know I did).  Just don't forget what it is really about.

Merry Christmas!!