Friday, December 19, 2008
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Christmas shopping is really fun for a while. But after a few stressful trips to the mall, after spending more time looking for a parking place than you do in the store, after battling the crowds and trying to find a store that still has what you're looking for, well Christmas shopping starts to lose some of its glitter. But then there's that golden moment when you walk in the house with your last installment of shopping bags, you collapse in the recliner, and you declare in a loud, triumphant voice, "I'm done with my shopping!" What a feeling!
I'm Ron Hutchcraft and I want to have A Word With You today about "When Your Shopping Is Over."
Some of us spend our whole life shopping. Not for presents, but for peace. For something that will fill the hole in our heart. And sooner or later, most of us realize that we're looking for something spiritual. Many writers have observed that America today is a nation of spiritual seekers, and you may be one of them. If so, you are shopping in the right store. The only real meaning and the only real peace has to be found in something spiritual.
But maybe you're like a lot of people who have been better at seeking than finding. You've shopped for spiritual reality in a variety of places: different churches, maybe different religions, maybe some New Age spirituality, or some self-improvement programs, or a variety of spiritual experiences. If you're tired of shopping; if you'd like to be able to say, "My shopping is over!" then there's a pathway to fulfillment in our word for today from the Word of God right in the Christmas story.
The Magi, usually known as the "three wise men," represent all of us spiritual seekers in the story of that first Christmas. Matthew 2:1, "they traveled many miles to Jerusalem, following what they believed to be a guiding star. After consulting with the king, they went on their way and the star they had seen in the east went ahead of them until it stopped over the place where the child was...They saw the child with his mother Mary, and they bowed down and worshiped him. Then they opened their treasures and presented him with gifts."
They had been searching for a long time. So have you. Their searching finally ended at the feet of Jesus. So will yours. No, it's not Christianity that will satisfy a seeking heart, not a church or a denomination. It's Jesus. Why? The Bible simply explains in Colossians 1:16, "All things were created by Him and for Him." That includes you and me. You can never find inner peace and your restlessness can never end until you belong to the One you were made for.
Because we've taken over the life that was supposed to be for Him, we're separated from our anchor relationship. But Jesus came to Bethlehem ultimately to die on Skull Hill. He died on that cross to carry all the guilt and all the hell of all your sin so you could finally come home to the love that you've been looking for your whole life.
And this Christmas season could be the time you finally say, "My shopping is done!" If you will tell Jesus that you're giving yourself to Him with all the faith you've got. You could do that right where you are. If you want to begin your personal relationship with Him, then I want to invite you to our website, because it really is there for someone like you. So many people have gone there and told us that they have found help in nailing down their personal relationship with Jesus Christ.
If we could be of help to you there, please go visit us. And visit us as soon as you can today. It's YoursForLife.net. Or I've got that in booklet form too, and I'd be glad to send it to you toll free. You just call 877-741-1200.
In the words of the song, you can finally be "home for Christmas."