There are a lot of reasons I could
give credit for the fact that I believe in Jesus Christ as my Lord and
Savior. I was fortunate enough to be
born into a Christian family. My mother taught me to pray as a child. I went to church with my mother and father
and Mema Cameron growing up. I also
attended Bible School at several churches.
I was involved with the youth group at Barbecue Presbyterian Church. There were people all around me that
supported the fact that I was committed to church even as a young man. But although all of these reasons were
influences, none of them are the reason for my faith.
The story of Jesus Christ is
personally the greatest historical recount that I know. Jesus was born both in controversy and
celebration. A king wanted him dead even
as a baby but the wise men knew he was the Savior. He was aware of his
relationship to the world even as a child.
Most of the years of Jesus are undocumented and we aren’t sure of all of
the facts during that part of his life.
Of course, we know the last short time of his life and how he died. Through the Bible and understanding of God’s
word, we know why he died…..for you and for me, so that we can spend eternity
with him if we accept him as our Lord and Savior.
It breaks my heart to think about
what he went through. For someone to do
good their whole life, to help others, to heal the sick, share wisdom, help the
destitute and teach people around him to do good and be kind to others is truly
a blessing. Then for that person to be
accused of blasphemy, mocked, ridiculed, publicly humiliated, found guilty,
beaten, tortured, and executed simply because people in power were afraid of
him is heartbreaking. To think that
Jesus endured all of that to save the very people doing it, and all of us, is
extremely humbling to me. Although the
Bible and all of the significant stories that shaped Christianity gives us a lot
of answers, and a guide to follow, it is not the reason for my faith.
There are a number of influences in
my life that have encouraged my spiritual growth. The real reason for my faith
is something that has always been within me. As a child, I could feel the presence of
God. My mother would warn me that if I
did certain things, I would make Jesus cry.
Even as a child, I NEVER wanted to make Jesus cry! I don’t just feel drawn to God during
critical or challenging times. I am
drawn to God when things seem to be going great. But I will admit, during my lowest points in
life, when I have felt helpless and could not see light at the end of the
tunnel, I could feel the presence of God like I cannot explain. It wasn’t wishful thinking or unrealistic
hope. Whenever I’ve been faced with difficult
circumstances, I have felt peace that everything would be alright. I have never felt forsaken by God at any time
in my life. I have been hurt, and
regretted that I did not have better answers, but I did not feel like God had
left me.
A year ago, my family was
supporting my Mother as she battled cancer.
The situation was difficult, it was grueling for her physically and
emotionally. I know there were time when
she did not feel like she could go on.
But I personally believe what helped her through was so many people
praying for her. A year later, the cancer is gone and she is feeling much
better. During that time, I always felt
like God was with us. There are many of our friends and family battling
difficult circumstances this year. I
would encourage all of you to keep Lacy O’Quinn, Drew Blalock, Brandy Currin
Thomas, and Gabe Langdon’s family in your thoughts and prayers this Christmas. All of these families are dealing with
difficult circumstances and the least we can do is love, support, and pray for
them.
I am not sure why I can feel the presence of God as strong as I can sometimes. However, I am grateful that I can. I believe that it’s one of the reasons that I love Christmas so much. I believe in the story of Jesus Christ with all of my heart. I hope all of you have time to spend with family, friends, and love ones during Christmas. Take the time to tell your friends and family just how much they mean to you. You just never know what circumstances may exist before next Christmas.
May God bless all of you and I hope everyone has a very Merry Christmas!!!!
