Santa or Jesus - Who's your holiday hero?

  

Advent is underway. Like many, I’ve been thinking a little about Santa (and Mrs. Santa’s holiday to-do list), but I’ve been thinking a lot more about Jesus.

Here are some of my own merry musings: 

Santa eats cookies. Jesus is the Bread of Life.

Santa comes down to your hearth. Jesus wants to enter your heart.

Santa makes toys. Jesus makes us new.

Santa is Ho-Ho-Ho. Jesus is the Holy One.

Santa loves good girls and boys. Jesus loves us all.

Santa spends. Jesus saves.

Santa knows if you've been bad or good. Jesus knows we are all sinners, and He can restore us in His own righteousness.

Santa is jolly. Jesus is joy.

Santa lives at the North Pole. Jesus makes His home in us.

Santa comes around once a year. Jesus is with us always.

Santa makes us happy. Jesus makes us whole.

Santa brings gifts. Jesus is the Gift.

Santa is tradition. Jesus is the Truth.

Santa is fun. Jesus is forever.

 

I like Santa. But I love Jesus. Who's with me?

 

 This Christmas season, as we celebrate the birthday of the best Gift-Giver of all, let's have fun with Santa, but let's have faith in Jesus.

 "Thank God for this gift too wonderful for words!" (2 Corinthians 9:15, NLT)

Image/s: Created by this user with online generator. Content copyrighted.

 

Feel free to follow on X. Don’t miss the Heart of a Ready Writer page on Facebook. You are invited to visit my Amazon author page as well.

New Year’s question: Spigot or sponge?

It’s a new year, and I have decided I would rather be a spigot that a sponge. What on earth does that mean? OK, I’ll tell you.

First, what is a spigot?

A spigot is a faucet, a tap, or a pipe through which fresh water flows. Hot, cold, or lukewarm, this is the outlet for water coming from its source for our use.

If we’re thirsty, we go to the spigot. If our hands are dirty … you guessed it.

So why would I want to be a spigot more than a sponge?

Sponges are useful, right? Sure, it’s important for us to soak up all the learning and training knowledge and other edification that we can. I get that.

But when I think about a sponge, it’s from a different angle. Step into my kitchen, and you will find a squishy sponge that is used to wipe up all sorts of stuff. We use it to clean messy counters, swipe off dirty dishes, and even sop up spills on the floor.

That’s when the now-nasty sponge must be washed out well and tossed into the dishwasher on an extra hot cycle – or tossed out altogether. Otherwise, that same sponge can spread all sorts of germs and stinks. 

I don’t wanna be like that.

I’d rather be a spigot. People are thirsty for something real. How cool would it be to be an open outlet through which God could pour his life-giving fresh message to those around me?

Jesus told a wayward woman that He could offer water that would satisfy her for life.

Jesus answered, “Everyone who drinks this water will be thirsty again, but whoever drinks the water I give them will never thirst. Indeed, the water I give them will become in them a spring of water welling up to eternal life.” (John 4:13-14, NIV)

How great is that?

Yes. I’d rather be a spigot than a sponge. Because I’d much prefer to offer something fresh from the Source than to soak up and spread something stale and icky.

Image:

Adapted from public domain image/s

Feel free to follow on GooglePlus and Twitter. Don’t miss the Heart of a Ready Writer page on Facebook. You are invited to visit my Amazon author page as well.

25. Christ Is Born.

This Italian Baroque nativity painting using light in an intriguing manner to mark the Lord’s birth. All brightness seems to come from the Baby Himself in this image, who is the Light of the world.

As is so often the case in religious art, this work depicts the Holy Family and those attending the nativity in the artist’s own ethnicity. And maybe that’s fitting, as a metaphor for the way the Lord meets each of us right where we are. As mortals, we have always needed Him, so as a mortal he appeared.

And that’s the beauty of Christmas – the incarnation of the Lord, who took on human form such as ours and lived to die for us.

Merry Christmas. May He be ever praised.

The Birth of Christ, by Carlo Saraceni, c1610

Feel free to follow on GooglePlus and Twitter. Don’t miss the Heart of a Ready Writer page on Facebook. You are invited to visit my Amazon author page as well.

24. A Vintage Nativity Greeting

Today’s nativity art pick reminds me of nearly every Advent calendar I had as a child. Remember when these annual Christmas countdown decorations used to display sacred nativity scenes, often with some glitter added for extra flair? How fun it was to open one little door each day and see what tiny picture or message would be displayed in the mornings leading up to Christmas!

 Vintage Christmas Postcard

Feel free to follow on GooglePlus and Twitter. Don’t miss the Heart of a Ready Writer page on Facebook. You are invited to visit my Amazon author page as well.