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Listen while you read: "Hark The Herald Angels Sing"1
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Matthew 1:21 – She will give birth to a son, and you are to give him the name Jesus, because he will save his people from their sins. (NIV)
We had just finished trimming the goats' hooves and removing burrs from their coats when I noticed that my horse Frank had a large burr in his tail. As I took the shears to cut it free, I realized that it wasn't just one burr; his whole tail was a solid mass of them. Separating the burrs from the tail hair was no longer a possibility. Instead, his lovely, long tail, now almost obliterated by the burrs, had to be bobbed to an eighteen-inch one.
A burr is a seed or dry fruit that has hooks or teeth with the main function of spreading the seeds of the plant to various locations where they can take root and produce a new plant crop.
This episode with Frank brought to mind the Christmas season and the many burrs that can stick to us amidst it and get so entangled within our thinking and planning that the true meaning of Christmas can barely be recognized anymore. When I speak of Christmas and burrs, I'm talking about everything that surrounds Christmas but is not about the true message of Christmas: greeting cards, baking, gift-giving, Santa Claus, elves, gnomes, entertaining friends, Christmas trees, lights, decorations, Christmas movies, Christmas clothes, and Christmas knickknacks. I am not saying that such things are wrong or even bad, but they are all things which, if we allow them to, can get out of hand and totally become the main theme of our celebration. They become our seasonal traditions. We often feel that it isn't Christmas without them, which in turn causes us to lose the true focus of what Christmas is all about: "For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life." (John 3:16 NIV)
Philippians 2:5-8 – Your attitude should be the same as that of Christ Jesus: Who, being in very nature God, did not consider equality with God something to be grasped, but made himself nothing, taking the very nature of a servant, being made in human likeness. And being found in appearance as a man, he humbled himself and became obedient to death — even death on a cross! (NIV)
Jesus, Emmanuel, God with us, is the very reason why we even have Christmas. So, this Christmas season, let us each seek to be mindful of any past or present Christmas burrs: traditions that, though they may be good, are also ones which are diverting our focus from the true meaning of the season — Jesus.
Prayer: Father God, thank You so much for Jesus, the true message of Christmas. May He be kept front and centre in the lives of all Your children this Christmas. In Jesus' name, we pray. Amen.
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About the author:
Lynne Phipps <lynnephippsatlin@gmail.com>
Tawatinaw, Alberta, Canada
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So true, Lynne. Hope you and the family have a Merry Christmas.
Amen, Lynne. Well done, as usual. Blessings to you and your family this Christmas.
Thank you for your devotional today. And the reminder to keep mindful of the reason for ALL seasons.
Thank you for your meaningful message today. It has given me a lot to think about as do all your messages.
Thanks for the reminder that Jesus is the reason for the season. Wishing you and your family a truly blessed Christmas!
Dear Lynne,
Thank you always for your thoughtful and meaningful devotionals. I will think about the burrs and ask the Lord to make Christmas all about Him.
WELL, now, when I am extracting…or trying to extract…those burrs from our dog’s hair, I will have a different focus. How clever of you to make the connection that you did.
Thank you, Lynne.
Good morning Lynne:
A note to say thank you for today’s words.
May every blessing be yours this season.
(ON)
Thank you, Lynne, for your insight and for the reminder that we all can be drawn into our traditions, decorations, and activities and if not forget the reason we celebrate entirely we push it aside. Guilty as charged I’m afraid. May the Lord show me a way to put things in perspective.
Thank you, Lynne, for all the wonderful thought-provoking devotions you have written in all the years you contributed to this website! I always know when you are the author before I read your name. You have a wonderful gift of writing.
Have a wonderful Christmas.
Thank you, Lynne, for your very meaningful devotional!! Since this is the first Christmas without my husband after 60 years together, my thoughts go heavenward , am so thankful for God’s awesome gift of grace, love, and peace!!
God’s eternal gift is so precious and is the only reason for Christmas!!
Enjoy a blessed Christmas!!
Many thanks Lynne for another of your very meaningful devotionals. Yes, we can sure get distracted with a number of things, especially at this time of year when the importance is to really focus our mind and heart on our loving Lord. His birth and the wonders we benefit from knowing Him are what we need to reflect on and be thankful for. Blessings for these mindful and very reassuring writings you do.
Lynne,
I could add music and concerts to your long list. I’m speaking as one who for years has been involved in the preparation, rehearsals, practises, socials, etc. It’s enormous and gratifying too. Yet it can become as overwhelming as those burrs. Your description of the bobbed horse tail reminds me of the Spirit’s work in our lives. He cuts all the matted material away, and all we have left is Himself and our dependance on Him.
May His love shine in your heart.
Good morning, Lynne,
I guessed from the title this devotional was going to be written by you. However, I did not guess how “burrs” would enter the message. I hear your message but I would sure miss some of those burrs. I do understand how the burrs can overwhelm us and we get lost in the many things we feel have to be done. Reminders help us to refocus on what is truly important. Thanks for sharing.
I am sorry that Frank’s lovely tail had to be bobbed. I haven’t had a burr on anything for years and years. I guess it means I haven’t been out in real nature for a long time. I do remember as a child taking them off our dog’s coat. Merry Christmas.
Merry Christmas, Lynne.
I just wanted to thank you for your devotionals over the past years.
You are definitely my favourite writer on this platform. Perhaps your messages resonate with me because of my having grown up on a little farm in southern Ontario. Perhaps it is the way you see the divine in the humdrum of life. For sure it is allowing yourself to be led by the Holy Spirit. You have had a very busy year. I pray that your move will bring you peace. May God continue to bless you with the sure knowledge that He is beside you and within you and loves you, burrs and all.
Advent blessings.
Good Morning, Lynne!
I couldn’t agree with you more when it comes to discussing the ‘burrs of Christmas’! Every year I battle with the expectations that society puts upon us, all in the name of Christmas spirit, it seems. But! One of the advantages of aging, in my opinion, comes the realization that I don’t have to become embroiled in all the ‘busy-ness’, if I don’t wish. I have learned that the birth of the Baby Jesus can still be celebrated without all the decorations, baking, and ‘hoopla’ that is seemingly tradition.
This year, I actually took part in the Christmas Story Pageant at our church and came away with a completely different feeling of calmness. How wonderful!
As always, I enjoyed your devotion, and encourage you to ‘keep writing’! May you and your family experience the blessings of Christmas and the Season.
With Thanks!
(ON)
Giving is at the heart of Christmas. God gave His son Jesus who gave His life for us. We give gifts to family, friends, and especially to charity.
Thank you, Lynne, for this encouragement to focus on Jesus.