One year my mother left Christmas up until March! I know it sounds ridiculous, but my father wasn’t well and they were making a lot of trips to the hospital. She said it gave her a lot of pleasure to look at the festive decorations every time they came home. She never regretted celebrating the sights long past the obligatory time of the holiday. She didn’t ask for it to be taken down by others. She didn’t throw it out. She didn’t get grumpy every time she looked at it all. She just enjoyed it. She celebrated all the way through to spring.
The Christian life is often thought of as simply a day in the week. You know, Sunday morning is for celebrating Jesus and giving Him our heart and time. It’s for putting the Bible in the car and maybe even heading to Sunday School. That one day of the week is obligatory even for the most casual Christian.
Often the Christian faith is packed away for the rest of the week. Somehow it’s been parlayed that Sunday is the ultimate day for Jesus and the other days are for us. Then it stands to reason that if we give Jesus one day, we deserve the rest of the week reserved for us. 52 days out of the 365 are given to Jesus.
What if we did like my mother with Christmas and keep the faith up for months at a time? What if we made a decision to give God our heart and mind throughout the week? What if we took the Bible to heart and displayed His Word daily like beautiful decorations? What if we took Him with us to the workplace, the schoolyard and everywhere? What if we gave Him time to shine 7 days a week? What if we took pleasure in our walk of faith daily? What if we kept it going? What if we celebrated our Christian life like we do Christmas?
Sunday is incredibly important for a child of God, for that is when we share with those of like-minded faith. That’s when we have sweet fellowship. It’s when we come together in corporate worship and share with each other our moneys, our gifts, our callings and our hearts. God asks us to do this, so it’s our reasonable service to Him. But it’s so much more. Sunday is the pinnacle of all we are in Christ. But we can’t live for a pinnacle. The rest of the week will be full of distractions that seek to divide us from God’s presence and yet God desires our fellowship every single day. As we learn to live for Jesus every single day and celebrate the wonder of His birth, His death, His resurrection and His return we find strength, joy, peace, blessings and glory brighter than the ornaments on any tree or lights on any home.
Oh beloved, of the 24 hours in each and every day God is completely and continually aware of everything you are going through and all the things you need to accomplish. He knew your life before the foundation of the world and He was working for your life to be lived for Him when you were “wrought in secret” in your mother’s womb. He sees all the laundry, the car repairs, the lawn, the lessons, the work load, the scheduling problems and more. He sees everything. And yet, He promises that if you will put Him first in everything He will make the time work out for your good and His glory. No time, no days, no life that is given to God is ever wasted. Your needs are important to Him for He promises to fulfill all our longings and satisfy our lives with good things. Give every single day to Him and watch as He multiplies your time and divides your worries and cares.
Our God is so in love with you that He cares for you enough to order your days aright and work it all out for good when you give your life to Him.
Isaiah 66:1-2 Heaven is My throne, and the earth is My footstool. Could you build Me a temple as good as that? Could you build Me such a resting place? My hands have made both heaven and earth; they and everything in them are Mine. I, the Lord, have spoken! I will bless those who have humble and contrite hearts, who tremble at My word.
Romans 5:11-2 Therefore, since we have been made right in God’s sight by faith, we have peace with God because of what Jesus Christ our Lord has done for us. Because of our faith, Christ has brought us into this place of undeserved privilege where we now stand, and we confidently and joyfully look forward to sharing God’s glory.
Colossians 3:23 Whatever you do, do your work heartily as for the Lord rather than for men.
1 Peter 3:15 but sanctify Christ as Lord in your hearts, always being ready to make a defense to everyone who asks you to give an account for the hope that is in you, yet with gentleness and reverence.
Luke 10:42 There is only one thing worth being concerned about. Mary has discovered it, and it will not be taken away from her.
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