Now is the time of year when the classic TV Christmas specials come out. I remember as a child watching them with glee, and that childlike excitement returns whenever these specials come on the screen again. In most cases, we are whisked back to a simpler time and a quieter reflection on Christmas.
Are there some TV specials that you watch together as a family every year? Take the time to do that again this year.
Are there some specials that do not contain anything specifically about Jesus but that you can draw Christian messages from? Think about how you can share Jesus with those who do not know him.
Are there certain scenes from your favorite special that bring you to tears every time, no matter how many times you have seen it? Reflect on why those moments touch you so.
Let this sort of screen time enrich your Christmastime.
What did you give up for Lent? How is that going? I find, like with many things, that I start off well, and then start petering out as I get a few weeks in. Over the years I have attempted to give up soda, sweets or TV time for Lent. But when things get hard, when the days get long, when my work piles up, the things I gave up are the first things I give up on.
But I am reminded this day that Jesus never gave up on giving up his very life for us. Even when he was in the Garden of Gethsemane, pleading in prayer to God that there be another way to salvation than the way of the cross, he still did not stop moving forward with God’s plan. He got up from his tough prayer and his emotional turmoil and he said to his disciples, “The hour has come; the Son of Man is betrayed into the hands of sinners” (Mark 14:41).
His resolve inspires me to keep going in following him by giving up those things that can distract me from him so that I can spend more time in prayer and the Word, focused on the end goal of everlasting life with him through his death and resurrection.
During the past year with more people staying home, the time people spent watching shows and movies on streaming services rose sharply. According to one news report I saw, one activity that increased the most was binge-watching. For those of you who don’t know, binge-watching means viewing a series of movies or episodes of a show one after the other at a single sitting or over several days in a row. There is a certain delight that people receive in finishing a set of movies or all the seasons of a show in a relatively short amount of time.
The whole idea of binge-watching got me to thinking about how we might apply the same principle to our reading of the Bible. Could we engage in Bible-binging, if you will, as part of our daily and weekly routines? There are many programs that offer a way to read the Bible every day for a year or two or three to complete the reading of the entire Old and New Testaments by the end. This can be a very rewarding and satisfying practice. But I am thinking more of just our general approach to Bible reading. Is it something that we set aside chunks of time for and that we are excited to take a deep dive into?
It should be, of course, but we can find a million and one reasons not to read our Bibles these days. But now is the time we need the Bible the most. The stories inside of God’s people through the ages are true life experiences of love, betrayal, reunion, suffering, triumph, learning, growing, and ultimately salvation in our Savior Jesus who provides us with a happy ending to our lives. Sounds a lot like the aspects of some shows we binge watch, doesn’t it? But the stories of the Bible can help us and guide us in our everyday lives more than any TV show can.
So why not try some Bible-binging this week and pick a book or a section of Scripture to read in blocks of time over a period of days? Let the Holy Spirit move you and inspire you to read the Bible with fresh eyes and with a new-found curiosity and joy in the words that our God is sharing with us and just waiting for us to read for the first time or again. Let the Bible-binging begin!
“If anyone thirsts, let him come to me and drink.” —John 7:37
These words from Jesus are a good reminder to us of what it is we are thirsting for. Are we thirsting for him? Or are we thirsting for wealth? Or for a human relationship? Or for happiness? Or for a good job? Or for popularity or fame?
I think of how we hear again and again from doctors and other health experts that we should drink 8 glasses of water a day. But do we? I for one find myself drinking more soda than bottled water, more sports drinks than tap water. We know what is best for us, but we don’t always drink what we should.
Coming to Christ and drinking means being in prayer more often than we are on the Internet. It means reading his Word in the Bible more often than watching TV. It means being filled with his Spirit more often than stuffing our faces with food.
So come to Christ and drink. Be thirsty for time with him. Crave his presence with you. Be soothed by his messages of hope and blessing, peace and love. Let his words wash over you and be poured into you over and over again each and every day.
