Christmas Without Christ - Bruce Atchison

"Things Fall Apart" by Christie is a song you most likely won't hear blaring from shopping mall public address systems or on every radio station you tune in. It tells the story of a woman who feels jaded about all the manic holiday celebrations. She remembers how Christmas used to be a magical time but it's become one huge bore.

I think it's a shame that the wondrous birth of Christ is blotted out by all the secular celebrations. People get too drunk and talk too loudly, all the while thinking they're having a good time.

Even with Christians, the Christmas Eve service is only for an hour. Then everybody drinks apple cider and talks about everything else but the Messiah.

Most people don't realize that Christ's coming to our world was forecast from the beginning. When God pronounced judgement on Satan in Genesis 3:15 (King James Version), he said, "And I will put enmity between thee and the woman, and between thy seed and her seed; it shall bruise thy head, and thou shalt bruise his heel."

In order for that to happen, Jesus had to be born. Isaiah 7:14 (KJV) reads, "Therefore the Lord himself shall give you a sign; Behold, a virgin shall conceive, and bear a son, and shall call his name Immanuel." That name means "God with us."

As we read in Luke's gospel, several people actually met the newborn Messiah and knew from God that salvation had come. Simon was one of those fortunate few. Luke 2:28-32 (Bible in Basic English) records, "Then he took him in his arms and gave praise to God and said, 'Now you are letting your servant go in peace, O Lord, as you have said; For my eyes have seen your salvation, Which you have made ready before the face of all nations; A light of revelation to the Gentiles, and the glory of your people Israel.'"

Anna was another fortunate person whom God blessed with the realization that the Messiah had come. Luke 2:38 (BBE) tells of her reaction after meeting the Christ child. "And coming up at that time, she gave praise to God, talking of him to all those who were waiting for the freeing of Jerusalem."

May we all do like Anna this year and always.

Things Fall Apart But They Never Leave My Heart - Bruce Atchison

"So where are you going for Christmas?" I dread this question  which friends often ask me. Why must I go anywhere? I'm home and the only loved one I want to be with is my beloved bunny, Deborah. I have all I need, both in company and possessions.

Sadly, this season of the year is filled with commercials to buy and buy ad infinitum. No matter how many times we're reminded about Christ's birth, the real excitement for most folks is presents for the kids and parties for the grown-ups.

On a CBC program called Neon Nights, I heard a song by Christina called Things Fall Apart. It's about a woman who remembers how special things were when she was young during Christmas but now they've become meaningless.

I feel the same way. Most of the lovely things I received for Christmas are long gone. They fell apart but they never left my heart. In fact, I only have a few of those gifts left.

The most influential of them all is a King James version of The New Testament. I boarded with a single mother and her two children in 1970 and this Christian woman gave that to me. Its large black letters were supposedly easy to read but I lacked a good magnifying glass. I had to hold together two weak ones in order to read the book.

I'm grateful to that Christian woman since nobody mentored me when I gave my life to Christ a year previously. My How I Was Razed memoir picks up the story of my journey to truth when I joined a cultic church in 1971. I thank the Lord daily for leading me out of it and into the freedom he promised all believers.