 Hands down, Christmas is my favorite holiday. I love the sparkling lights, the festive decorations and the delicious food and drinks, especially peppermint mochas and peppermint bark(yes, I have a thing for peppermint!). Observing the lights on the Christmas tree twinkling at night while wrapped in a fuzzy blanket and enjoying a warm beverage is the epitome of a perfect holiday evening.
As a believer, however, Christmas carries a deeper, truer meaning than what is advertised as the meaning of Christmas. It is a special time of celebration because of Christ's birth. The Savior, who was long foretold, has come. That is why we sing joy to the world because the Lord has come bringing good tidings to all. The redemption of man was here. What had been lost in the garden was about to be restored, but what if God would have refused to send His Son? What if sin's curse would not have been broken and no forgiveness offered? We would be lost without hope, and the fear of death would suffocate our soul. But it is the nature of God to forgive all who repent and ask for forgiveness. To those who ask, they will never walk away denied but rather cleansed white as snow no matter how red the stain of their sins. What comfort and really, joy, this brings to those who have experienced it. Because our God forgives He expects His children to do the same when others have wronged them no matter how great the offense. One of the classic animated films of Christmas is Dr. Seuss' “How the Grinch Stole Christmas”. I would like to play off of that title by proposing how the grudge almost stole Christmas. A grudge is defined as "a persistent feeling of ill will or resentment, resulting from a past insult or injury". Due to our sin nature, we are doomed to eventually say or do something that will hurt someone else. Whether intentional or not, the wound caused by our behavior can go deep and linger long after the incident has passed. Unfortunately, the enemy of our soul often takes advantage of these circumstances by whispering how wrong we have been by this person. His persistent whispers can be the soil where a grudge begins to sprout. Now we have a choice. We can nurture the grudge by nurturing and watering it, consistently replaying the scene over and over again. This choice does come with a cost that should be considered and weighed before opting to move forward with it. This cost is threefold. A Grudge is Demanding First, a grudge is demanding. For a grudge to remain in good condition, it requires that you think about it on a regular basis. You must play the offense over and over again in your mind in order to keep the emotions fresh. It means that we are busy running from any relationships affected by this grudge inducing incident. Every time you see this person you either walk away from them or bring up the issue again. A grudge demands to be first in your thoughts and often the topic of conversation. It rarely lets you focus on anything else but causes you to waste your valuable resources of time on things that have no eternal worth. You will be unable to invest in the lives of others because your grudge demands to be front and center. This is a high cost of holding a grudge because it is people we have been called to love and serve, even the difficult ones. My friend, can I encourage you to let that demanding grudge go so you have time to fulfill God’s purpose for your life? A Grudge is Draining Second, a grudge is draining. There is a lot of work required to maintain a grudge. It will be draining on the soul as it is heavy by the constant reminder of the hurt inflicted by a person whether intentional or not. There is a constant sorrow weighing us down, robbing us of peace, joy, and love. A soul gripped by a grudge will never enjoy the rest promised by the Savior in Matthew 11:28-30 Come unto me, all ye that labour and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you, and learn of me; for I am meek and lowly in heart: and ye shall find rest unto your souls. For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light. Instead, they remain weary and drained of energy to serve their Master. Their days are consumed by the negative effects of a grudge including bitterness, anger, and resentment. This life sounds exhausting, not at all like the abundant life God desires for His children. Sadly, that is the cost of a grudge. It refuses to let you enjoy peace or experience the joy of restoration. How much lighter would your soul be if you let go of the grudge? Please, don’t let one wrong fester inside of you and drain you of the life God desired for you. A Grudge is Destructive Last, a grudge is destructive. When we refuse to let go of an offense someone has committed against us we remain in the past. Truly, we can never move beyond that point in time but remain in the shadow of yesterday instead of the sunshine of today. We can never do what God created us to do because we are held captive in the past. The joy of today is the price of a grudge. Refusing to relinquish a grudge is also destructive to our spiritual growth. As long as we hold tight to the offense we can never cultivate the fruit of the Spirit. It is impossible to love others while clutching a grudge. We will never know peace as long as a grudge resides within us. We will never experience joy because a grudge will not tolerate it. While the path offered to us by the grudge looks satisfying at first and initially gives our soul a feeling of justification, the destination is destruction. A grudge is powerful enough to destroy our relationships, growth in the Lord, and our life’s purpose. Don’t let the enemy of our soul con you into taking the path offered by a grudge. There is another option. The Antidote to a Grudge Our other option when wronged by someone is to give it to God and forgive the offender. Forgiveness is the only antidote to a soul sucking grudge. The path to forgiveness may not be appealing at first because it goes contrary to our flesh. We have been wounded by someone’s actions or words and we want justice. We desire an apology or may seek reconciliation but sometimes that may never come. Letting go of a grudge does not mean you are admitting the incident never occurred or merely erase it. The hurt was real but choosing to forgive means you refuse to let it hold you back. Forgiveness invites us to take the first step down its path by letting go of what happened. When you do, you are walking the same path as your loving Savior. He who while enduring the agony of the cross cried Father forgive them for they know not what they do. Forgiving the one who hurt you and loving them no matter what is among the greatest acts of love we can do. We who have hurt the heart of our Savior so often through our sinful behavior and experienced His forgiveness can do no less than do the same. Remember, the only way to look like Jesus is to behave like Him. When we forgive those who have wronged us, we will reflect the beautiful, loving, heart of God. Don’t let a grudge steal your Christmas or any other season of your life. Your life is too short to be wasted on something like a grudge. Choose the same path as Christ and forgive. When you do, you will experience freedom from the burden of a grudge.
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 One of the things I enjoy watching is rug cleaning videos. I love how the one cleaning it takes a muddy and very nasty looking rug, applies soap, scrubs and rinses it until it looks new again.
Every time I watch one, I think of how God washes us clean from all sin, only it doesn't take Him hours to do so, and He doesn't need a pressure washer or soap and water! He does it through His blood shed on the cross and in a simple moment, when we place our faith in Him as our Savior. Sin affects our relationship with God. Before salvation, we cannot have fellowship with God because of our sin, since God is holy. Even after we are saved, we will sin, because we still have the old nature living inside of us who wants us to do wrong. As a child, I heard someone say when the Christian sins they need to apply the Christian's washing machine verse, which is 1 John 1:9, “If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.” To confess means to agree with God that we did wrong against Him and His commands. Harboring sin has negative effects on us and others. ~ Sin affects our prayers. Psalm 66:18 says, “If I regard iniquity in my heart, the Lord will not hear me.” Iniquity means that we make a conscious choice to sin instead of choosing to do right even though we had the opportunity to do what was right. We must not have known sin in our lives! If there is a sin or sins that God has shown you in your life, delay no longer to confess it to Him, so that His peace can flood your heart and you can have sweet fellowship with Him! ~ Sin affects our health and robs us of joy. Psalm 38:3-8 says, “There is no soundness in my flesh because of thine anger; neither is there any rest in my bones because of my sin. For mine iniquities are gone over mine head: as an heavy burden they are too heavy for me. My wounds stink and are corrupt because of my foolishness. I am troubled; I am bowed down greatly; I go mourning all the day long. For my loins are filled with a loathsome disease: and there is no soundness in my flesh. I am feeble and sore broken: I have roared by reason of the disquietness of my heart.” ~ Sin hurts others. Sometimes we think that sin only hurts us, but this is simply not true. Paul says in Romans 14:7 “For none of us liveth to himself, and no man dieth to himself.” People, especially children, are always watching our lives and learning from us. What we do can have a profound impact on how people live their lives. A bitter person will often be a critical person that will gossip or always seems to have something negative to say. An angry person will always find something to be angry about. An unkind person will find ways to hurt people. May you and I not be these kinds of people, but rather people who are right with God, joyful and kind in all we do and say, because God commands us in 1 Timothy 4:12 “...be thou an example of the believers, in word, in conversation [our lifestyle], in charity, in spirit, in faith, in purity.” When we are a poor example of what it means to act like a Christian, we hinder the unsaved from coming to know the Lord and we make sin look okay to others, giving people the impression of “if they can do it, so can I.” Sin never just affects us, and it always has consequences! The Attitude of Confession In Psalm 51 King David shows us the steps and heart of confession to God for forgiveness after his sin with Bathsheba. First, in verses 1 and 2 with a humble and broken heart, he asks “Have mercy upon me, O God, according to thy lovingkindness: according unto the multitude of thy tender mercies blot out my transgressions. Wash me throughly from mine iniquity, and cleanse me from my sin.” Second, in verses 3-5 he fully acknowledges his sin and the evil that he did against God. Third, in verses 6-19 he desires to walk in truth and have the joy of salvation and forgiveness restored to him so that he can teach others of God's righteousness and praise Him with a pure heart. What helps us not to sin? First, the Word of God helps us not to sin. The psalmist said in Psalm 119:11 “Thy Word have I hid in mine heart, that I might not sin against Thee.” Jesus also quoted Scripture when Satan tempted Him in the wilderness. Second, Prayer helps us not to sin. Jesus commanded us in Luke 22:40 “And when He was at the place, He said unto them, Pray that ye enter not into temptation.” Third, the Holy Spirit helps us to not sin. In John 14:26 Jesus tells us that the Comforter, which is the Holy Spirit, teaches us what is right and brings the Word of God to our mind. Also, in Romans 8:26 we read that the Holy Spirit prays for us. Fourth, the Armor of God found in Ephesians 6:10-18 helps us not to sin. We have the belt of truth, that is God's Word, the breastplate of God’s righteousness, the shoes of the peace of the gospel, the shield of faith, the helmet of salvation, the sword of the Spirit which is also God’s Word, and again prayer. Because God wants us to obey His Word and glorify Him, He has equipped us with all we need to do right. But He is gracious, merciful and forgiving when we do sin and come to Him. Thank God for His forgiveness and His Word to help us live righteously and victoriously for Him!  Christmas can be difficult without the people that we love. Knowing that they are with the Lord should give us comfort, but still our hearts cry out for one last hug or to hear their voice say " I love you" again. My papa was the first person close to me that I had lost. I had lost a cousin, but he had a lot of health issues so there is comfort in his passing. My papa however was sudden, although he was high in age, it was unexpected. I had just seen him earlier that day, he was full of energy working like I had never seen him work before. He didn't complain about any soreness and was cheerful, humming with praises to the Lord. My papa gave me several hugs that day, the bear kind that smoother you and if I knew they would have been the last I would have embraced them instead of fighting for air. I thank God everyday for the last day, what a blessing to get to say goodbye without knowing it. The shock of hearing of his passing that night combined with the screaming of my nanas' voice as I overheard the corner while on the phone with her ,as she was pleading for the Lord for him to be okay. I broke. I remember the pain like no other I have felt to this day. In tears, balled up I cried out to the Lord, no understanding why. "Lord give me comfort, I can't because my heart….I can't take this pain, Lord take my pain." This is the first time I had ever prayed to where I could feel my soul begging to the Lord. I prayed for myself to sleep that night.
I woke up later and I had a dream about Jesus praying at a well with the night sky and stars behind him. I didn't know what it meant, but somehow it gave me comfort. A few days later I went to my nana's and my heart broke for her and all of my family. My mom pulled me to the side and handed me my papa bible. She said " he wanted you to have this." The realness of his death opened up my new wound and I stepped outside to breathe, pray. I knew my papa loved the Lord. I also knew it was very precious to him, he took it everywhere and was always writing notes in it. I knew the Lord was real. I knew what His power was capable of through the transformation of my father; but I had known him personally. The funeral was a sermon in itself just honoring the Lord and all He had done for my papa throughout his life. At the grave I placed a quarter in the casket that he gave me so I would never be broke, he used to say we could call him with it, like payphones are still a thing. I was able to start to cope. I remember taking a deep breath afterwards and looking around and I noticed a well, my papas grave site is right beside a well in the graveyard. In that moment I felt the Lord's presence of peace wash over me .Several things would still remind me of him, like pink skies or church songs, but I had a layer around my heart not allowing the pain to sting as bad as it first did.The first church service I went to after his passing was so hard. I was alone, but everything reminded me of him. The preaching sermon, to the songs. In the moment I prayed to the Lord that he would give me a heart like my papa had for the Lord, that I can know him like he did, and that he would never leave me because what I was doing wasn't working for me. The next day I decided to open my papas' Bible, not to read the words in it, but to read his handwriting. I started and couldn't stop, something inside of me awoke and earned for the Lord. This lasted for weeks and I was consumed with scripture and learning who my Lord is, why He is so good. In those months a distant God of the universe who helped others and I knew out of tradition that I was to worship became my Father who is as close to me as the hairs on my skin. My life was transformed. The death of my papa brought life to my spirit and I could never express the gratitude I have for that. As I whip away the tears, I am reminded that not everyone has this blessed assurance that they know the Lord and I hope as you read this, He will draw you close to Him even now. Just cry out to Him and He will answer. By the time Christmas came along I was walking closer with the Lord than I ever had before. I was able to try to help others in my family learn to cope with Jesus than to let the pain engulf their life, some harder than others. God gave me this poem and I wanted to share it in memory of a Godly man who lived for the Lord. Everything I write and do stems in honor of His love for the Lord. I pray it can give you comfort and bless you in this sometimes sad holiday. Look up, God is with you always. Christmas without you The light is so bright The warmth last throughout the night The peace is so free, no stress No hurrying to look my best No worrying if the gift is just right No working overtime to pay for the night A party happens today like everyday In heaven with Jesus on his Birthday Today I hug Jesus and walk by his side Talking about things wondered world wide We talk about love and the blessing he gave I'm so lucky I was able in my life to be saved Today i'm not there but do not shed a tear I'm with our lord free from all fear The memory of me hurts because i'm not in my seat Just know im happy worshiping at Jesus feet Be happy for me wipe away your tear One day you will join me so look up my dear Be happy and celebrate our savior today We worship him together even though we are miles away You can not see me but know i'm in your heart God will comfort you, he will never depart This Christmas you are not without me Love remains in your heart so share it for others see Merry christmas from heaven and happy new year too Enjoy this day, the family still needs you Inspired by Grady Turner 12/20/24 @ 11:58am Written by Hannah Austin |
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