I don't know about you, but my family and I have decided to throw Jesus a party every year until He returns. In fact, every day we celebrate Jesus and what He's done for the Body of Christ.
During this holiday season, many people, including Christians, will get wrapped up in "raising the roof." By this I mean, they'll be preoccupied with the world's way of celebrating the season. By this time next year many will still be looking for the party over here and running to the party over there.

Child of God, if there's anything worth celebrating, it's the birth of Jesus! However, people spend more time concentrating on the Christmas gift exchange than anything else. But think about it; if it had not been for Jesus, there'd probably be no gift exchange. Besides, the idea of giving gifts at Christmas had to originate some place. So thank God for Jesus!

I don't know about you, but my family and I have decided to throw Jesus a party every year until He returns. In fact, every day we celebrate Jesus and what He's done for the Body of Christ. As believers, we shouldn't have to wait for Thanksgiving or Christmas to thank God for blessing us.

It must be a part of our daily lives.

Keep the Focus on Jesus
Now don't get me wrong, I don't have a problem with the turkey at Thanksgiving or the glittering tree and the gifts at Christmas. It does bother me, however, when people replace Jesus with traditional images and idols, and forget to glorify God.

Instead of keeping the holiday season in its proper perspective, with Jesus as the focal point, they allow themselves to get wrapped up in the world's way of celebrating with toys, gifts and credit card debt. One reason is because of myths and traditions that have been handed down through generations.

One such myth says that there were three wise men who visited Jesus when He was born. Nowhere in Scripture does it say there were three wise men. In fact, concerning their arrival, Matthew 2:1-2 says, "Now when Jesus was born in Bethlehem of Judaea...behold there came wise men from the east to Jerusalem, Saying, Where is he that is born King of the Jews? for we have seen his star in the east, and are come to worship him."

This doesn't say anything about the number of wise men, only that they came to worship Jesus, the King of the Jews. Like me, you probably thought there were three wise men too. I may have never known the truth had I not studied it for myself.

Now I mentioned this so you may be mindful not to accept religious traditions and live by them just because everyone else does.

What's Our Focus, Here?
For example, have you ever seen those manger scenes people display on their porches or lawns? Notice how most of them show a little helpless-looking baby Jesus tucked away in a manger. They usually show Him crowded by three wise men, goats, hay and a bunch of other stuff.

Although the focus is supposed to be on Jesus, you see more of the elements around Him than anything else. The attention is supposed to be on the One Who is to be worshipped, not on those who come to worship. Many of our celebrations of His birth are similar. All the fluff with little mention or display of Who He is.

And it's no coincidence that the world would rather say "Merry Xmas" than "Merry Christmas." It's all by design. The world wants to take Christ out of Christmas so you'll forget the true reason for the season.

The Bible, however, encourages believers to continue "Looking away [from all that will distract] to Jesus, Who is the Leader and the Source of our faith...and is also its Finisher [bringing it to maturity and perfection]..." (Heb. 12:2 AMP).

The King James Version says He is the author (or beginner) and finisher of our faith. So unless you make a sound decision to keep your eyes focused on Jesus this holiday season and trust Him for everything you desire, you'll never see the end of your faith. In other words, you'll never see the things you're believing God for.

You see, many people are self-centered and focus their attention on themselves, rather than on Jesus. Their focus is on having the right holiday stuff, as if their festivities wouldn't be complete without them. Some even get depressed when they don't receive gifts or visitors.

I believe the holiday season should be a time for family and fellowship with close friends. But as Christians, we must be mindful to prioritize how we celebrate holidays and make sure we worship the Lord for what He's done for us through Jesus.

Simply stated, we must put God first in everything we do this season and always.

Creflo Dollar Ministries
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