Remember

Christ has done so much for us. He gave up his throne in heaven and humbled himself to become human. He died on a cross to save us from our sins. He forgives us and offers us a new life and a life after death in heaven. However, we so easily forget all that he has done for us and jump right to what we want from him and what he has not done for us. When praying, we often address him like a small child writing a letter to Satan Claus. “God, I want to go to this college” or “God, I want this car or this house.” And, when we do not get what we want, we become angry with him, demanding answers. We like the idea of having an unseen power that we get to ask for help when we need it, but we do not like it when things don't always go our way. One of our greatest talents is forgetting all of the amazing things that God has already done for us and all the blessings he has given us. This is why we have holidays like Christmas and Easter that are meant to remind us of all of God's blessings.

It is Christmas time, a time of year when we celebrate the birth of Jesus Christ. However, even in the preparation for this holy holiday, we manage to get distracted from its true meaning. We get all caught up in the shopping, decorating, wrapping, and baking, and we forget the very thing we are celebrating.

In the book of Joshua, after the Lord parts the Jordan River and the Israelites pass through to the other side on their way to Jericho, he gives Joshua this command: “‘Now choose twelve men, one from each tribe. Tell them, ‘Take twelve stones from the very place where the priests are standing in the middle of the Jordan. Carry them out and pile them up at the place where you will camp tonight.’”

“So Joshua called together the twelve men he had chosen-one from each of the tribes of Israel. He told them, ‘Go into the middle of the Jordan, in front of the Ark of the Lord your God. Each of you must pick up one stone and carry it out on your shoulder-twelve stones in all, one for each tribe of Israel. We will use these stones to build a memorial. In the future your children will ask you, ‘What do these stones mean?’ Then you can tell them, ‘They remind us that the Jordan River stopped flowing when the Ark of the Lord’s Covenant went across.’ These stones will stand as a memorial among the people of Israel forever,” (Joshua 4: 2 - 7).

The Israelites, like all people, have a tendency of forgetting what God had done for them. An example of this is found in Exodus after God delivered them from their captivity as slaves in the Land of Egypt (Exodus 14) and they were traveling through the hot desert; they began to complain about not having enough food and water ( Exodus 16). They even began to make idols and worship other gods (Exodus 32) and say that they wanted to go back to Egypt. Not having enough food and water may seem like a problem worthy of complaining about, but even in the desert, we have to remember to praise God for his blessings instead of complaining about the problems in front of us.

Jesus is the greatest Christmas gift we will ever receive. He said, “The Spirit of the Lord is upon me, for he has sent me to proclaim that captives will be released, that the blind will see, that the oppressed will be set free, and that the Lord’s favor has come,” ( Luke 4: 18 - 19). In the book of John he states, “This is how God loved the world: He gave his one and only Son, so that everyone who believes in him will not perish but have eternal life” ( John 3: 16). He humbled himself and came down from heaven to walk among us and save us from our sins even though we did not deserve it. We give and receive gifts at Christmas time so that we are reminded of God’s gift of salvation to us. Let us rejoice and praise God for his gift as we celebrate and remember what this time of year is really about.

If you have any questions or would like to learn more about The C.A.N Sisters’ Ministry, check out our website, leave a comment below, or email us as at cansistersministry@gmail.com.