DEVOTION: Without Jesus There's No Christmas ~ Shirley Corder

A few years ago, our church held a Christmas Nativity tableau service with a difference. Each congregational carol was illustrated by an attractive living picture produced by children standing in place, frozen for the length of the song.

So The First Noel, the angels did say, was to certain poor shepherds in fields as they lay . . .  was accompanied by a scene showing the shepherds and an assortment of restless little angels bringing the Good News of the Saviour's birth.

Next we sang, Hark the Herald Angels Sing, Glory to the New-Born King, and we chuckled at the very serious young angels who took up their position on the stage.

All went smoothly until near the end of the service, when we came to the pièce de résistance which caused the congregation to rock in their seats with tears running down their cheeks.

It was the final carol, that well-loved, Away in a manger, no crib for a bed, the little Lord Jesus lay down His sweet head . . .

A few minutes before the start of the service, a frantic teacher had come up to me with the news that the mother who was supposed to bring the doll who would represent the Baby Jesus had forgotten it at home! How could we have a nativity scene without Baby Jesus?

This congregation was from a farming community and there was no time for anyone to rush home to fetch a new baby, so it was left to me as the Sunday School superintendent to get creative. I went to the manger and fluffed up the straw, making sure it came up high on each side. I then added a small baby blanket to complete the effect. From the congregation's point of view, there was no way they would realise there was no baby in the crib.

Except we hadn't thought of little Joanie* At two-years-old, she was sitting with her mommy in the congregation. During the singing of the carol, she decided to take a closer look at the baby. She toddled to the front, and stood on tip-toe to look into the manger. Without a word, she frowned, turned round and rushed as fast as her chubby legs would take her, down the aisle and into the baby room at the back.

A moment later, as the carol drew to an end, the toddler reappeared, dragging a naked kupie doll almost as big as herself by one foot.

Bump! Bump! Bump! 

The baby's head thudded on the floor as the toddler hauled it up to the manger. The little girl proceeded to try and bundle the doll into the straw-filled crib.

Following a nudge from one of the teachers, her shepherd-brother came forward reluctantly. He grabbed the doll and dumped it unceremoniously onto the straw.

And there the Baby Jesus lay for the rest of the service, his curly plastic head sticking out the one end of the manger, and his large pink toes peeping out the other.

Satisfied, little Joanie made her way back to her mother, and slowly the congregation's laughter came under control.

The little girl had brought the message of the day. Without Jesus, there is no Christmas!

In mathematics, the symbol X means an unknown quantity, so how can we as Christians write "Happy Xmas"?

It may be a holiday period, but is this all it's about? A "Happy Holiday"?

Let's take a lesson from that little two-year-old and put Jesus back into the manger.

Today, do all you can to put Christ back into Christmas.

Happy Christmas everyone!

And may God bless you each and every one as you head towards the year, 2016.

 * not her real name

SHIRLEY CORDER lives on the coast in South Africa with her husband, Rob. Her book, Strength Renewed: Meditations for your Journey through Breast Cancer contains 90 meditations based on her time in the cancer valley.

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Please visit Shirley through ShirleyCorder.com, where she encourages writers, or at  RiseAndSoar.com, where she encourages those in the cancer valley. You can also meet with her on Twitter or FaceBook.  

DEVOTION: Flash Mobs at Christmas ~ by Marcia Lee Laycock

I love the videos of flash mobs that circulate on YouTube and Facebook, especially at this time of year. I love to watch the faces of those in the malls or city squares as they realize that something unusual is happening. The looks range from bemused delight to open-mouthed awe. Cell phones quickly appear to capture the event and the applause at the end is usually long and loud.

What is it about these spontaneous events that delight us?

We aren’t expecting it. Who expects a symphony orchestra to suddenly strike up in a food court? The people doing it look just like us yet they are doing something out of the ordinary, something fun and sometimes spectacular. Ordinary routines are suddenly halted, an ordinary day is turned into a festival and the focus on scurrying around to shop is forgotten. Strangers smile at one another and share the delight of discovery. For a few moments a community is created.

As I watched a video of a flash mob the other day I thought of how perfectly it exemplified the spirit of Christmas.

Who expected the Messiah to be born as a baby in a manger? The people involved were ordinary people who looked just like all the others in that era yet they were involved in a world-changing event – something totally out of the ordinary, something spectacular. The ordinary routines of Mary and Joseph, the shepherds and the wise men were suddenly halted. An ordinary event, the birth of a child, on an ordinary day, became the pivot on which history would turn. Those who came to worship the Christ child on that day were strangers to one another, but they became companions in a journey that would lead them to the most important discovery of their lives and a joy that would never leave them.

As I thought about it, I thought about my own attitude to yet another Christmas season. I’ve seen over six decades of them. Yes, I’m that old! And sometimes I miss the delight and the joy I had as a child, because it is all so familiar. It’s all so commercial with the constant pressure to buy and my jaded attitude causes me to miss the glory.

Perhaps that’s why I love the flash mobs. They renew my joy in this season, they renew my delight in the story that is still the pivot of the world’s history even after more than 2,000 years.

As a writer of faith it’s important that I sustain that joy and delight, not just at Christmas time, but all through the year, because without it I cannot pass it on to my readers. Without that connection to the reality of the only story that truly matters in this world, I cannot write the stories that will point people to it and perhaps even draw them into an eternity of joy.

What about you? Has your attitude toward Christmas been dulled over the years? Has it been jaded by all the commercialism? Click into YouTube and find a video about a flash mob. (Here’s one you might enjoy.) Or better, open your Bible and read the story again. Ponder the event that changed the world. It might just renew your Christmas spirit and fuel the joy that will seep into your work all year long.

“Sing, O heavens! Be joyful, O earth! And break out in singing, O mountains! For the LORD has comforted His people, and will have mercy on His afflicted.” (Isa 49:13 NKJ)

“For to us a child is born, to us a son is given, and the government will be on his shoulders. And he will be called Wonderful Counsellor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace.” (Isa. 9:6 NIV)

NOTE FROM SHIRLEY: Watch this fabulous example of what Marcia talks about above:

Marcia Lee Laycock lives and writes in Central Alberta Canada where she lives with her husband and two golden retrievers. Her work has appeared in print in both Canada and the U.S. and in many places on the world wide web. Visit her website to learn more about her writing and speaking ministry.

Download Abundant Rain, a devotional for writers of faith at Smashwords.