"Brandon, why do you tie my hands? I desire to bless you but how can I give you the desires of your heart if you don't..."
It's that time of the year again. The Christmas trees are up, the garland is running along the fireplace mantles, and lights are glistening everywhere. Everyone gets to enjoy parties, ABC Family Christmas movies, and time with family that lives out of town. This is the time of year people are generous with money as they are expected to buy gifts for family and friends. This season of the year is always the best for children. They get presents from Santa Clause. This is the most jolliest time of the year for people. Christmas is beautiful for many reasons. Christmas brings people together. Christmas forces people to think outside of themselves. Christmas inspires people to dream.
Christmas brings people together.
Our busy lives prevent us from spending time with family and friends. We get stuck in our habitual day to day routines and miss out on quality time with those we love. It is so easy to get isolated from others. Community is very important and necessary for a healthy life. Christmas time forces us out of our isolation into community. The parties, meals, and sharing of gifts force us to be with others.
Community is important. We all can learn from each other, even from that one cousin that gets on your nerves. It also forces you to be with that relative you have offense with and haven't talk with all year because of it. Christmas is a reminder every year of how short life is and how important people are.
This year take advantage of time with others. Go talk with that one person you avoid every year because they are different from you. You just might find out their not as weird as you thought, and you just might learn something from them that will enhance your life.
Go to that relative you are offended with or who is offended with you and try to make amends. Go forgive. Don't allow the devil to rob one more day from your relationship. Remember life is too short and people are too important to not embrace community and enjoy each other.
Christmas forces people to think outside of themselves.
It is sad that we need holidays to have a reason to give gifts to those we love and appreciate. Thank God for holidays like Christmas because if they didn't exist giving around the world would be scarce. Christmas is the one time of year we are expected to give gifts. The reason Christmas is a jolly time of the year is the giving and receiving of gifts. It is exiting opening a present someone spent their time and money on. It makes you feel special no matter what your age is. I've never seen someone frown at a wrapped present.
There is also a joy in giving. That is why the bible teaches it is more blessed to give than to receive (Acts 20:35). If this is the case, giving must be pretty fulfilling because receiving sure is fun. Many people only get to enjoy the joy of giving once a year because that is the only time they give. Let's learn from God on this giving thing since He is the best gift giver of all time.
Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above, and comes down from the Father of lights, with whom there is no variation or shadow of turning. James 1:17
God gave humanity His very best gift. He gave us His son Jesus Christ. He sent Jesus to the earth to redeem mankind from sin and death. He gave us His son as a sacrificial lamb that would die on a cross so we could be forgiven and cleansed of all of our sin and its bi-products. God gave us this beautiful gift of salvation hoping we would accept it and live blessed lives now and have eternal life to come. Jesus was and is God's best gift to us and this gift keeps on giving. God never stops giving. He gives all year long.
Think about this. What would the world be like if we all followed God's example and lived to give. What would life be like if people gave and received gifts all year long. I don't think there would be a depressed person on the planet. This would solve the poverty issue and maybe we would be a little more selfless since it would force us to think about the welfare of others and not just our own. We would be more thankful and less judgmental since our goal would be to consistently bless other people. I think this may be why God is so happy and fulfilled. I think this is why He doesn't have issues with fear, depression, or anxiety. His mind is always on our welfare and success. He is always giving.
One of the best examples I have witnessed concerning this kind of lifestyle was a guy by the name Wayne Meyers. Wayne Meyers is probably the most generous man I have ever met. He began His relationship with Jesus as a missionary with little money. After receiving a revelation on giving it wasn't long before He became wealthy financially funding the construction of many churches and bible schools around the world.
Wayne Meyers comes to Christ For The nations once a year at the end of the semester. He teaches in chapel on "living to give" and challenges everyone to give someone something during that week. Every time without fail people start blessing others like crazy. School debts are paid off, mission trips are funded, and students dorm rooms are filled with gifts. It is the most exciting week of the year for everyone. I'm so thankful I got a chance to experience a world where people lived to give for an entire week. But I would like to know what it would be like to experience that for an entire month, year, or for a lifetime. What if we started a giving revolution. I believe we can. I believe we can start today. Lets "live to give!"
Christmas inspires people to dream.
My wife approached me a few weeks ago asking me to make a Christmas list for my parent in laws. My immediate response was "I'm not sure. I don't have anything I want." I know what you are thinking, "man someone is wanting to buy you a gift and you don't know what you want." Yeah I know that's a problem. My wife responded, "how can they buy you anything if you don't know what you desire?" After that conversation with my wife I walked in the other room and the Holy Spirit started to talk to me. He said "Brandon, why do you tie my hands? I desire to bless you but how can I give you the desires of your heart if you don't know what you desire. So what would you like for Christmas?" Immediately after the Holy Spirit spoke these words to me I knew what I wanted.
Delight yourself also in the Lord,
And He shall give you the desires of your heart. Psalm 37:4
God never wants us to stop dreaming. It is easy to get stuck in a logical rut the older we get. It is easy to get complacent with where we are, what we have, and who we have become. God wants us to dream. He wants us to know what we desire and ask Him for those desires. God wants us to be growing all of the time in every area of our lives.
So Jesus answered and said to them, “Have faith in God. For assuredly, I say to you, whoever says to this mountain, ‘Be removed and be cast into the sea,’ and does not doubt in his heart, but believes that those things he says will be done, he will have whatever he says. Therefore I say to you, whatever things you ask when you pray, believe that you receive them, and you will have them. Mark 11:22
Once we receive Jesus into our lives we then with Jesus have access to God and His abundant supply of whatever we need and desire to have on earth. Jesus is the narrow door into God's kingdom but once you walk through that door God's kingdom is wide and vast. God is big and His supply is endless. He has no limitations of what He can do for us. The only thing that limits Him from doing for us is our little faith.
But Jesus called them to Him and said, “Let the little children come to Me, and do not forbid them; for of such is the kingdom of God. Assuredly, I say to you, whoever does not receive the kingdom of God as a little child will by no means enter it.” Luke 18:16-17
We must allow ourselves to have large faith like little children in order to receive miracles from God. God wants us to use our imagination for dreaming like children do and believe that He can do above and beyond anything we can dream up or ask for. So what is your desires. What in life are you believing God for. If it is not impossible for you to do or have your not dreaming big enough. If it is impossible and will take God performing a miracle than you are dreaming on God's level.
Elizabeth and I have recently written down seven things we are dreaming of and asking God for. We don't have the finances nor the capability to produce what we have written down apart from God intervening. This is living by faith. This is the exciting life of walking with God. We know it is just a matter of time before we get to scratch things off of the list and tell the world of the miracles God has done for us!
So what is your desires? What do you have vision for? What can you write down on paper and pray over every day until it materializes in your life? Join Elizabeth and me on this exciting supernatural faith journey with God. Lets dream together during Christmas and all year round!
B.Burnam