A lot of Christmas’ can become the “beautiful letdown” because we create unrealistic expectations of somehow creating the “perfect Christmas”. The perfect Christmas already happened. Because of Jesus we can now truly celebrate Christmas turning our expectation to the future where we will be once again celebrating around a tree of life who’s leaves never fade.

Not all obstacles are meant to be climbed. Some are meant to cause us to do an “about face” as we salute like an army ranger and turn around and go back the other direction. This is very contrary to modern psychology which hands us a poster of the cat hanging from the branch with the tag line “hang in there”. The question is hang in where? What circumstance are you trying to hang out in. Certainly there are times we need to work through and endure to grow us, but like our text reads other times we need to repent and turn around. How do we know which kind of obstacle we are facing? Is it a test for our growth or a stop sign with warning lights? 

James tells us in James 1:5

“If you need wisdom, ask our generous God, and he will give it to you. He will not rebuke you for asking.”

Simply ask the Lord through prayer and he will show you. You have to ask with sincerity and be willing to be open to pray like David, 

“Point out anything in me that offends you,and lead me along the path of everlasting life.” Psalm 139:24 

Trusting Jesus is the only step. Repentance before trusting Jesus is just a false repentance we are using to earn our own salvation to leverage power over God, (now he owes me). True repentance follows acceptance and love.  Understanding the love of God displayed by the finished work of Jesus on the cross is the only thing that sets us free to true life change. Then repentance (change) happens. 

There’s no such thing as “secular” or “sacred” work. God certainly uses ministers and missionaries to meet spiritual and personal needs around the world. But they are not the only people doing “God’s work.” God is just as interested in the physical, emotional, intellectual, and other needs that people have. He also cares about the management of the earth itself. It takes all kinds of skills, and all kinds of people, to do what God wants done in the world.

God wants us to do our work in the power of the Spirit. 

One wonders what would happen in the life of our churches if the works we seek to do were the work of the Father, rather than our own, if they grew out of our intimate, loving relationship with the Father instead of coming out of our brainstorming sessions and program packets. There is little power or life in any work we do, even though we call it Christian, where the source is our own ingenuity and effort!  My prayer is that some of us might make such a discovery and be set free from agendas, vision, and even ministry-to live for the Father and for Him only.

You should do your work in a way that honors God. Your work has dignity; you’re created in God’s image as a worker; you’re a coworker with God; you have God-given abilities to carry out important tasks that He wants done. All of this says that what you do for work and how you do it should bring glory to God. He should be pleased with it—and with you as you do it.

Men never lie on their death beds and wish they could have spent more time in the office. They always long to go back and spend more time with their wife and kids. 

Working your fingers to the bone getting handcuffed into a career that will make you a lot of money and steal you away from being the emotional and spiritual provider for your family is a man trap. Many guys make a little money for the first time and instantly go out and buy a bunch of toys that require them to place their souls on the altar and the handcuffs are in place.  They often label this as “providing for my family”. 

I’ve found that if you prioritize God’s priorities, He can give you greater favor at work, bless you in ways your job never could, and stretch out the income you do bring in. If it means not taking a promotion, not winning the biggest brown-noser award, or making way less money in order to spend time together, then do it. 

Men need to be careful if they are gone from the kids a lot because the tendency is to smother them with expensive gifts to make up for it. 

“The term affluenza was coined to describe the unhealthy tendency of busy parents to smother their children with pricey possessions. This saturation of gifts leaves an extremely materialistic mind-set in children, who grow up constantly expecting freebies they haven’t worked for. This ungrateful attitude breeds a laziness and self-centeredness that leads to a lack of responsibility as well as depression and anxiety” (Resolution of Men pg 165). 

Men need to pursue their wives. It is not enough to provide them “things”. “Things” will make them happy for about a week. Women need friendship and emotional support. In the book of Ecclesiastes God summaraizes for us a happy life as a man. It basically goes like this. Work hard, enjoy the wife of your youth, let her breasts satisfy you always, eat good food together and shepherd your kids in the Lord. The rest of the business you find going on under the sun is pretty much meaningless.