Let's Give 'Em Something to Talk About!

Go tell it on the mountain!
Lo! A child is born in the city of David!
The good news is so good that we need to tell it to everyone... through the way we praise God, the way we live our lives, and the words we speak to spread the good news. Come on- let's give 'em something to talk about!

Praise for Jesus!
Psalm 145:1-7

"I praise your greatness, my God the King; I will praise you forever and ever. I will praise you every day; I will praise you forever and ever. The Lord is great and worthy of our praise; no one can understand how great he is. Parents will tell their children what you have done. They will retell your mighty acts, wonderful majesty, and glory. And I will think about your miracles. They will tell about the amazing things you do, and I will tell how great you are. They will remember your great goodness and will sing about your fairness." (Psalm 145:1-7)

It's times like these when the world just seems so topsy turvy. Parents who have no qualms about talking to kids about Santa Claus and taking them to sit on his laps in department stores and malls refuse to share the best news of all. At the time of year when we should be telling our children about God and His miracles and His greatness and majesty and glory, parents are instead telling children all about Santa and his list and bag of toys. Now there's no problem with Santa. In fact there is great value in teaching children that belief isn't about seeing. (I always get teary-eyed at the end of The Miracle on 34th St.) But, we need to extend that, work off of that... help teach children that Jesus is great, that Jesus is the reason for the season, that jolly old rosy-cheeked Santa pales in comparison to Jesus! In order to show children what's really important, we need to talk about it.

Live like Jesus!
Proverbs 30:11-14

"Some people think they are pure, but they are not really free from evil. Some people have such a proud look! They look down on others. Some people have teeth like swords; their jaws seem full of knives. They want to remove the poor from the earth and the needy from the land." (Proverbs 30:12-14)

Last week's Sunday School lesson was about Jesus' humility in how he was born. (I think I mentioned this before, but it's always worth mentioning such a distinguishing fact about our personal Lord and Savior.) Jesus showed us how we should live in his humble birth where there was no room at the inn. I love the fact that in Mexico the tradition of "posada" (inn) continues.

Today I saw an example of not living out Jesus' message of humility. A man on the plane today refused to sit in one seat, unpleased for one reason or another. After the flight attendant found another seat, the man was enraged again with his seat partner. He simply would not stand for it! (Or sit for it, in this case.) The captain made a decision to ask the passenger to leave the plane. We were delayed for over an hour with the whole ordeal, but I can at least speak for myself when I say that what upset me was the man's attitude- he clearly felt better than the rest of us, a proud look that said, "I have a right to whatever seat I want!" Our seats, our positions, our houses, our dorm rooms... Jesus' birth teaches us that simple can be beautiful and we can spread Jesus' message by living humbly with our God.

Tell About Jesus!
Revelation 10:1-11

"Then I was told, 'You must prophesy again about many peoples, nations, languages and kings.'" (Revelation 10:11)

While this message is about prophesy, it also applies to the good news of Jesus. Whenever I have good news, I need to share it. I really need to! Often this may be to my friends' dismay. They know for a fact when I am excited about something, because I talk about it over and over again. For days this fall, I told everyone, "My family is coming to visit!" And this month, "I'm going home for Christmas on the 20th!" Over and over and over... this is just the way I should talk about Jesus... to everyone ever day!