I hope you all had a blessed Thanksgiving. We had a fun family weekend. Now, like many of you, we’re packing up the fall decorations and decorating the Christmas tree, putting up the lights, and preparing for one of the most important celebrations of the year for Christians, Jesus’ birthday! The other important celebration is Easter when our Lord and Savior died a horrific death on a cross, but arose three days later with the offer of eternal life in heaven to anyone who asks Jesus for forgiveness of their sins and believes in Him.

There is no better gift! No better offer! No better opportunity! And it’s free! Jesus paid your spiritual debt in full. Yet, often that message gets lost in the hectic frenzy of a commercialized Christmas.

We have become a society laboring under the tyranny of the urgent purchase, instead of the urgency of salvation, especially, at this time of year. Marketers and businesses prey on our “don’t miss a great deal!” mentality. A mindset they’ve created and many of us succumb to, even become addicted to thinking that because there’s a limited purchase time, the product must be valuable. We just finished urgent Black Friday sales, that often started before Thanksgiving. Then we roll right into Cyber Monday where you have 24 hours to get the next urgent deal.

The Lord recently pointed out to me the numerous emails I receive with subject lines or headings like:

last chance, sale ends at midnight, discount ends tomorrow, only 48- hours left to buy, free shipping for the next three hours, exclusive in-store offer, exclusive online offer, exclusive holiday offer, today only, final days, clearance sale, order now before it’s too late, sale ends, last minute buy, flash sale, today’s deals, one time only, last day, you’ve been chosen, trending gifts going fast, hurry, don’t miss . . . .

You get the picture because you receive them also. I actually found the above urgent phrases in my email trash as I go through incoming emails hitting delete, delete, delete . . . Because I know that as soon as this “urgent” campaign is over, the same companies will be sending out another barrage of urgent, buy-now emails or texts.

I remember in the past a friend looking at the newspaper exclaiming, “Wow look at all these sales. Maybe we should go shopping before the sale ends.” I laughed and said, “Don’t worry! Tomorrow’s paper will be full of more ‘great buys.’”

When we moved to the mountains with no shopping centers, a city dweller friend said, “You’re going to miss all the sales in town.” I responded: “There will always be a sale going on somewhere any day I’m in town. I’m going to save so much money not feeling the urgency to shop.”

Marketers use our desire to think we’re getting a great deal with a limited buying window to seduce us into buying things we don’t need with money we shouldn’t be spending for things that often end up stashed away in a cupboard or in the back of the closet. They have us trained to buy into the “urgent” marketing hype that’s simply a psychological money-grabbing trap. They convince us we’re going to save money by spending money.

Salvation is The Only Urgent Offer That Matters

At Christmas, or anytime, there’s only One truly urgent offer and it’s free; but it's an offer that won’t be available forever. We don’t know when Jesus will return and we don’t know when the number of our days will end. We all know people . . . friends, family, neighbors, workers, mentees, who don’t know Jesus . . . that’s the ONLY “time is running out” offer that should get our immediate attention.

On October 7, tragically many people just waking up or eating breakfast in Israel perished. It’s been compared to America’s 9-11 because it was an unexpected, undetected terrorist attack targeting innocent civilians of all ages. Unless those lost in these senseless tragedies, as well as many first responders, military, and volunteers who lost their lives, knew Jesus as their Lord and Savior, they died without the promise of eternal life with Him. People have died in our own circle of influence who we know didn’t believe in Jesus, and maybe we didn’t seize opportunities to create a sense of urgency with them. We thought there was time, but there wasn’t.

That may be a sober way to look at Christmas, but in the wake of the senseless, random killings and violence in our world today, how could we think of Christ’s birth any other way? He came to earth to offer the One and Only Gift worth our time, energy, resources, and urgency because this offer of salvation will expire when we take our last breath and that could occur maybe in an hour, the next three hours, today, tomorrow . . . someday for sure.

If you’re a Christian, God chose you to do everything in your power this Christmas, and every day, to share Christ’s free Gift of Salvation with a world where the end time could be near. No one knows the date or hour but the clock is ticking.

"And this is the testimony: God has given us eternal life, and this life is in his Son." John 1:5-11

About His Work with You,

Janet

New Blog Posts and Janet's Crosswalk Articles:

Is Giving Thanks a Lost Tradition?

How to Let God Become Greater as We Become Lesser in Today’s Competitive Culture

4 Prayers to Say at the Thanksgiving Table

PS: Are you looking for a Bible study for your group to do in the winter or next spring? Check out the Face-to-Face Bible study series, or one of my books like Forsaken God? Remembering the Goodness of God our Culture Has Forgotten, or Everyday Brave: Living Courageously As A Woman of Faith are available at Amazon, BarnesandNoble, and signed and personalized by Janet from our website shop. Both books are written for our current times. Perfect for book clubs and Bible Study groups.

PSS: Now is the time to order your Mentor and Mentee Handbooks for winter Mentoring Ministry Coffees and matching.  

PSSS: If you're ready to start a Mentoring Ministry ALL Woman to Woman Mentoring Resources are available only at our website shop. Be sure to check out our new Woman To Woman Mentoring Ministry Leader's Package.

PSSSS: Please share with us a story from your mentoring ministry to encourage other churches.

Merry Christmas From The Thompsons

Here’s a Christmas poem I wrote in 2012, but I’m asked to share it every year because it has an urgent message we need to apply in our lives at Christmas and every day! Maybe someone’s eternal life depends on it, but you’ll also enjoy the Christmas season more rested, refreshed, and revived.

Time To Sit With You

Lord, so many things to do,

No time to sit with you.

There’s presents to buy,

And I must bake a pie!

But isn’t it all about Me?

What’s closed your eyes to see.

The purpose of Christmas day,

Isn’t how much you pay?

Lord, each year we hear that said,

Yet, still it comes with dread.

Anticipating all to do,

No time to sit with You!

This is MY day.

Don’t I have a say

In how you spend your time?

Remember, you are chosen…Mine!

But Lord, relatives will soon be here,

And the lawn Santa still needs reindeer!

There is so much to do,

Still no time to sit with You.

Relax and enjoy Me this season,

Let your activities have a reason.

This is My Birthday celebration,

And all I want is your attention.

Oh, Lord, we’ll make it all about You.

Do You think we should have fondue?

We’ll read the Christmas Story,

And give You all the glory.

Sit down and read My Word.

Your craziness is absurd.

Come spend some time with me,

Forget the Christmas tree.

Oh, Lord the cookies are all baked,

I have such a headache.

I know I need to pray,

But I’ve had such a day!

Lives are waiting to be saved.

Did you hear Me when you prayed?

It is certainly no wonder

Your world is all asunder.

No, God, I didn’t hear a word,

I was busy stuffing the bird.

I want to just slow down,

But I feel I’m losing ground.

You’ve made it all about you,

And all your parties too.

My message to the lost,

Overshadowed by homemade cranberry sauce.

Lord, that’s not true,

You know I do love You.

It’s just I feel a call,

To make this the best Christmas of all!

You’re wasting your time.

Do you think you could top Mine?

I had a virgin birth,

As my entrance to earth.

Oh, Lord, I’m beginning to see,

How You want to use me.

Telling Your story to all who will listen,

Is the true Christmas mission.

Spending time with Me,

Is the only way to flee

The world’s strangling control

On your time and very soul.

Oh, Lord, Your music softly plays,

As the candle glow displays,

The beauty of time spent

With our Gift heaven sent.

You’ll go against the flow

Taking time to help a lost soul.

But when the day has come to end,

You’ll have the joy of a new friend.

Oh, Lord, forgive me please.

Help me put down my car keys.

It really is so true,

There’s ALWAYS time to sit with You.

Janet Thompson 2012