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IN DENIAL

VERSE:
Matthew 26:35
Peter said to Him, "Even if I have to die with You, I will not deny You!" And so said all the disciples.

REFLECTION:
How much conviction did Peter feel later on in this story? If you remember he did end up denying Jesus three times because he feared for his life. How much conviction should we feel for doing the same thing? If you have given your life to Jesus you in essence have told Him that you will not deny Him and that you will stand up for your beliefs and faith. Have you done that 100% of the time? What does it mean to stand up for your faith and not deny Jesus Christ? In the story of Peter he was around a group of people who identified him as a follower of Christ. He said he was not. At one point he even started cursing and talking badly about Jesus just so he could prove to the people that he was not a follower of Christ. For us in 2006 it really is no different and this time of year is a true test of our faith.

Are you willing to die for Jesus? After all He died for you. It is up to us to defend the name of Jesus and all that he stands for. There is much talk about Christmas and the use of Christmas in today's advertising, greetings and commercialism. Many stores or advertisers choose to use Holiday instead of Christmas. But if we look at the history of Christmas it truly is a pagan festival. The idea of Santa Claus, giving gifts is all rooted out of a pagan festival the birth of Jesus was later put to this day to give some religious signifigance to the holiday. Now that we are celebrating Jesus' birth on the 25th of December we should truly recognize and celebrate it for that reason and that reason only. How much of Christmas do you spend worshipping and praising Jesus? While it is good to stand up and defend our faith at Christmas why not defend it the rest of the year. What about at Easter? How about the media constantly cutting down and degradcing Christians? How about the courts or the government allowing abortions and same sex marriages? Are we as Christians going to stand up and defend our faith in these matters as well. Are we going to pay money to places that support these activities? How about movies and the immorality that most movies portray? If we don't stand up and defend our faith we are as guilty as Peter.

Let's keep celebrating Jesus all year around then it won't matter if people say Merry Christmas or Happy Holidays. But let us also stand up for our faith every chance we get. Do this by the way we live, talk and act. Do this in our giving and our fellowship. Don't deny Christ but instead live in his victory over death and that sacred gift we received on His birth.

PRAYER:
Pray for boldness to stand up for what you believe in. Give thanks for the gift of Jesus and eternal life. Pray for opportunities to tell others about Jesus.
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