For those who have been a Christian for many years, it’s easy to think of our faith as something that comes naturally. We can grow complacent and assume our Christian routines please God. Those assumptions are unwise and unbiblical. 

Our faith should be an effort. Our walk with God should be a continual choice throughout the day. We lull ourselves into believing that our faith comes naturally after all of these years. Our faith will usually be an unnatural choice in our lives. 

Forgiveness rarely comes naturally. Choosing to rejoice, even when life is difficult, is an unnatural decision. Giving gratitude to God when it doesn’t seem like God is responding to our prayers is a choice that is often a fight against our natural feelings.

Jesus was preaching his Sermon on the Mount when he reminded his listeners that what they valued as “treasure” indicated where their heart was. Put another way, when you choose what to value in this life, you choose what will motivate your choices. 

The very important calling for every Christian is to choose God as their King. That means we don’t have a good choice apart from obedience to his will and his word. The Sermon on the Mount is all about choosing God as our King. So often in the Christian culture, we are encouraged to make God a friend instead of our “treasure.”

Is the Creator God your treasure? Is your relationship with him more valuable than any other relationship you have? We don’t mean to elevate our loved ones to a throne, but we often do. You can know who sits on the throne of your heart if you contemplate what motivates your choices.

Be grateful that we are not responsible for our lives. Be cautious that we aren’t responsible for our choices. That is God’s position in our lives.

Wisdom is offering our gratitude to God. How grateful are you for God’s role in your life as your King? Does that knowledge cause you to cringe a bit, or does it cause you to praise him with gratitude? Examine your thoughts and consider why you are truly grateful to God. Wisdom is being grateful for your King.

I love getting on an elevator with someone who is wearing a clean, pleasant fragrance. The aroma almost seems to lighten everyone’s mood as they travel to their floor. With equal passion I can say that I hate getting on an elevator with someone who hasn’t showered, especially if they’ve used their perfume or aftershave lavishly, hoping it will cover their odor.

Some people are known for the fragrance they wear. My mom-in-law only wore a perfume called White Shoulders. When I hugged her, she left a hint of that fragrance on me. I had always heard the power of smell is one of our strongest senses. I was standing in the frozen foods aisle a few months after my mom-in-law died when a woman walked by wearing White Shoulders. Tears sprung instantly to my eyes, and I was surprised by the power of the emotions I felt.

I like to consider that when we walk closely with the Lord, his “fragrance” lingers on us and we are able to spread the knowledge of him to those around us. I like to think that the knowledge we spread can cause others to instantly respond to moments from their past as they remember a past experience with Jesus.

We should be grateful and honored to serve Jesus in this way. We can be that fragrance in a room that causes people to be glad we have joined them. We can also use our faith to mask the truth about our lives. People can tell, and people will respond accordingly.

Wisdom is offering our gratitude to God. Wisdom is walking so near to Christ that his fragrance lingers on us. We know him and recognize him by his fragrance. Others can know him as well when we wisely and gratefully share our knowledge of him with others.

How would you finish this sentence: “I will always be grateful for . . . ”?

We have spent the month of November learning the wisdom of leading a life filled with gratitude for God. As we look ahead to December, is there anything or anyone higher on our list than Jesus?

I will always be grateful to God for loving the world so much that he gave us his only Son.

I will always be grateful that Jesus, though despising the cross, accepted its shame so that God could accept ours.

I will always be grateful for the people who invested their knowledge of Jesus into a young, inexperienced pastor’s wife so that I could grow in wisdom and knowledge and in favor with God.

I will always be grateful for God’s calling in my life to share his word and help others know the love and grace of God through Christ Jesus.

I will always be grateful for God’s word that has carried me with the power of truth through some difficult days.

I will always be grateful to God for blessing my life with more than I would ever have asked for or imagined.

I will always be grateful to God for allowing me to finish my life with the assurance of my eternity in heaven.

Wisdom is offering our gratitude to God. Will you take some time on this last day of November and make your list? You can wisely lay it at the foot of the throne as your sacrificial offering of praise to the One who deserves all praise. Praise God from whom all blessings flow! 

This month most of the world will celebrate the Christmas season. Many will understand that the celebration is about the birth of a Savior, but the majority of our world will celebrate Christmas without celebrating Christ. 

The Christmas season is the perfect time to help people understand what Paul was saying to the Colossians. The world will notice the ways our celebrations are different from their own.

As Christians gather, we can be “knit together in love” and live with the “full assurance of understanding and the knowledge of God’s mystery.” Christmas is about Christ, “in whom are hidden all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge.”

Wisdom is understanding that the gift of Jesus is our treasure. Christmas is about Christ, and we celebrate the birth of our Savior.

It’s been said that the entire message of the gospel is found in John 3:16. We celebrate Christmas because of God’s love and grace for this world. God gave us his Son, his own Self, so that anyone who believed in him could have eternal life.

The most important gift God’s children give each Christmas season is simply sharing the gift we have been given. Every family member deserves to live with the joy of eternal life. Every friend, coworker, and acquaintance can discover that the true joy of the season is found through personal faith in Christ. As believers we are called to share the gift of Jesus.

We will enjoy this holiday and all the celebrations, but we will enjoy it more if we live this season as a disciple of the Christ child we honor. Wisdom is understanding that the gift of Jesus is our treasure. Who might celebrate this Christmas with Christ because you wisely shared the faith you treasure with them?

The first picture of the Holy Trinity is seen in Genesis 1. God had created the world and was pleased. Lastly, he chose to create man. Genesis 1:26 says, “Then God said, ‘Let us make man in our image, after our likeness.’” 

John was called the “beloved disciple.” He knew Jesus as his dearest friend on earth. In his gospel, John introduced Jesus saying, “In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.” He went on to say, “He was in the beginning with God. All things were made through him, and without him was not any thing made that was made” (John 1:2–3).

Most people think the life of Jesus “began” in a stable in Bethlehem. That belief can reduce Jesus to just a special kind of human being, when, in fact, there was never a moment of Jesus’ existence where he wasn’t fully God. The Holy Trinity is difficult to comprehend with our human limitations. But we need to know, believe, and teach others that the birth of Christ was the moment God Incarnate stepped out of heaven and into the world.

Jesus was and still is the “Word” who was with God and was God. As Genesis 1 reveals, Jesus was with God in the beginning and humankind was made in the image of the Holy Trinity: the Father, Son, and Spirit.

The author of Hebrews described Christ in this way: “The founder and perfecter of our faith, who for the joy that was set before him endured the cross, despising the shame, and is seated at the right hand of the throne of God” (Hebrews 12:2).

Jesus chose to leave the glory of heaven to become an infant and grow to be a man. He needed to experience everything humans experienced so he could one day be the holy sacrifice for every sin committed by humankind. Jesus “endured” an earthly life so that all people could live eternally.

When asked about the meaning of Christmas, we need only quote John 3:16 with conviction. God loved us and sacrificed himself for us. Wisdom is understanding that the gift of Jesus is our treasure. Wisdom is treasuring the gift we have received.

These words from the book of Isaiah were written more than seven hundred years before the birth of Christ. Every Christmas these verses are preached, taught, sung, and honored. They are considered messianic prophecy because they taught God’s people what to look for and hope for in their Messiah.

Isaiah’s words are celebrated each Christmas, but this verse also describes why so many in Israel saw Jesus, even witnessed his miracles, yet did not believe him to be their Messiah. Isaiah said, “The government shall be upon his shoulder.” The Jewish people were looking for a man from the lineage of King David, but they were also looking for a leader like King David. They wanted and expected that their Messiah would be an earthly king, a great soldier who would overthrow the Roman oppressors. They believed the Messiah would lead Israel to once again become the most powerful nation in the world.

They wanted a military leader more than they wanted a “Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace.” Jesus was born to be the Savior of everyone in this world, not to save Israel alone. Jesus was welcomed by very few who were expecting the Messiah. He wasn’t the Messiah those people wanted. 

We live in a culture that enjoys celebrating Christmas with a Savior and a Santa. Human nature is unchanging. The first-century Jewish culture would have chosen to follow Jesus if he had come the first time like we know he will return one day. They wanted a powerful king that day. Most still do. But Jesus didn’t come to be a Santa, bringing people whatever they asked for. Jesus came to be our Savior.

Christmas is about a child, born to peasants, who was also God’s Son, born to die for the sins of the world. Jesus offers the world what they need the most, but many don’t want to accept what Jesus offers them today. People tend to admire powerful earthly kings, but Jesus still wants to be our Wonderful Counselor, a Mighty God, an Everlasting Father, and a Prince of Peace. He is the mighty King, but his kingdom isn’t here on earth.

Wisdom is understanding that the gift of Jesus is our treasure. Our hope is the same as Isaiah’s. A child was born as our King, now and forever.

The apostle Paul often told the early Christians to “stand firm” in their faith. Paul taught them theology and helped those early believers understand God’s new covenant through Christ. Paul also stood strongly against those who came into the first-century Christian churches trying to teach a message that was different from the apostolic truth. Wrong teaching has always been the greatest threat to the church because it keeps people from truly accepting Jesus.

To believe there are many gods in this world is to deny there is a God. If we want to care about others as we should, we need to believe what Jesus said about himself. Jesus said, “I am the way, and the truth, and the life.” In the original language, those words do not give hope to people who believe in a god who is not Jesus. 

Our democratic culture rightfully allows personal freedom to believe in different gods. Our Christian culture must “stand firm” in our faith and believe the words of Christ. We should embrace the laws that provide us the freedom to choose because no one comes to the Father unless they freely choose his Son. 

Most people love the Christmas story. Only some realize it is much more than a story. Christmas is about Christ; his birth is always about his death as well. Christmas and Easter are part of the same story.

The beginning of the Christmas season is a good time to revisit the foundation of our faith. As we walk through the crowds at the mall, go to parties, and even attend worship services at church, we can know and trust that the first commandment is still our first commandment. There is no other god except our Creator God. There is no other way for people to be saved except Jesus.

Wisdom is understanding that the gift of Jesus is our treasure. Wisdom requires us to stand firm in the knowledge that Jesus is the treasure. Only Jesus is the way to heaven, the truth of God, and our gift for eternal life.

John began his gospel by saying, “In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God” (John 1:1). He then spoke about the coming of Christ saying, “The Word became flesh and dwelt among us” (v. 14).

Countless pages of commentary and theological study have been written on the subject of the Holy Trinity. The subject is best understood in the light of 1 Corinthians 13:12 which says, “Now we see in a mirror dimly, but then face to face. For now I know in part; then I shall know fully, even as I have been fully known.” There are just some subjects of theology that will never be fully understood until we can stand in heaven and fully know them.

God stepped into the world as the baby of Bethlehem. Jesus was and is God Incarnate. God became “flesh and dwelt among us.” The men and women who met Jesus, those who gathered to hear him preach, teach, and perform miracles, and those who gathered to watch his crucifixion saw God’s glory. They saw “the only Son from the Father, full of grace and truth.”

Jesus appeared to his disciples after his death and told Thomas, who had doubted the others, to witness his hands and touch his side. In that moment, Thomas knew he was seeing his risen Lord. “Jesus said to him, ‘Have you believed because you have seen me? Blessed are those who have not seen and yet have believed’” (John 20:29).

Jesus said believers today are blessed. We are blessed because we have faith in the truth of Christmas. We are blessed because we have received the grace and forgiveness of Easter. We are blessed because we have been filled with the continued earthly presence of Jesus through his Holy Spirit.

Whatever the circumstances of your life might be, if by faith you have received the great gift of Jesus into your life, you are blessed. Christmas joy is the joy of Jesus, our blessing.

Wisdom is understanding that the gift of Jesus is our treasure. Celebrate your Christmas season knowing you are the blessed child of God.

Every year the Christmas season ramps up just a little earlier. It seems people hunger to think about joyful things, and the Christmas season does that for most. Maybe it isn’t just the retail industry driving our holidays. Maybe people are truly seeking peace and joy while hoping for more kindness in our world. People want what Jesus provides even when they don’t realize it is Jesus they need.

There is a Christmas song titled Christmas All Year Long, written by M. McAnally. One lyric talks about giving being an important part of living. McAnally wished the spirit of giving would continue, making Christmas last all year long. The world would likely vote for the Christmas spirit to remain in our hearts, but human hearts don’t produce the character of Christmas consistently. There is “no one else” with the character of Christmas except Christ.

Peter and John had been arrested for preaching the gospel and were standing in front of the same men who, only months earlier, had called for the crucifixion of Christ. Yet these men, filled with the Holy Spirit of God at Pentecost, looked at the Jewish leaders and told them about Jesus saying, “There is salvation in no one else, for there is no other name under heaven given among men by which we must be saved.”

There will never be another Christmas story apart from the story of Bethlehem. There is only one Christmas in our Bibles because there is only one Savior. Jesus is the only “name” given among men by which we must be saved. 

I wonder if that is why the world insists on so many other ways to celebrate this holy season. Satan must cringe each Christmas season and work overtime to quench the “only name” behind Christmas. Christmas is about Christ, and “there is salvation in no one else.”

There is only one way for the Christmas spirit to live all year long. The Holy Spirit is the power of Christ, the Spirit of Christmas. We can share the truth of the Christmas season when we share the truth of the gospel. There is only one Christmas story because there is only one Christ. There is only one Christmas because this world only needs one Savior.

Wisdom is understanding that the gift of Jesus is our treasure. When we have received our treasure, we can live with the character of Christmas all year long.

Each year there seems to be a bit more strain between those who want Christmas to be a holiday and those who know Christmas was a holy day. How do we live and work alongside people who want to believe differently than we do? With those who want to insist we believe as they do?

Many think that Christians shouldn’t believe we have the only answer. That way of thinking indicates a lack of tolerance. They almost always insist that we believe their tolerance is the only answer, not realizing that they have been intolerant of our beliefs.

In his Sermon on the Mount, Jesus told those listening, “Blessed are the peacemakers for they will be called sons of God” (Matthew 5:9). Jesus didn’t just teach God’s children to live peacefully. He told them to “make peace” wherever they went. Paul reminded Timothy of the power behind those who “make peace.” Paul wrote, “There is one God, and there is one mediator between God and men, the man Christ Jesus, who gave himself as a ransom for all.”

Every Christmas the world extols the “peace” of the season, but, in truth, it is one of the least peaceful times of the year. People are rushed, overbooked, and often unable to afford the month of December. Christmas began as a holy day and became a holiday. 

Christians have a unique opportunity to be “peacemakers” in this busy time of the year. We can simplify our season to all that makes it holy. We can walk these busy days with Jesus, the mediator between God and men. We aren’t just called to put on a peaceful face; we are called to “make peace” anywhere we go. 

Jesus is the peace people are looking for and the reason someone’s holiday can become a holy day instead. If a tense situation arises, ask the Mediator to speak through you, and bring the Lord’s peace into the room.

Wisdom is understanding that the gift of Jesus is our treasure. Jesus told his disciples to be “peacemakers.” He then gave his Spirit, the Spirit of the Mediator, so that we could speak his peace with wisdom to a world that needs to understand that Christmas is much more than a holiday. It is a holy day.