The Battle at Christmas
The great, eternal battle was won on the Cross at Calvary. In that moment, the final “outcome” of Earth and Mankind was determined. Death holds no power over any of us who believe and trust in Jesus. But before Calvary, the initial strategic assault was dealt to Satan with the arrival of Jesus as a newborn infant. I like to think of Jesus as the Great Liberator who came into the battle field, fought and liberated those trapped in prisons by the enemy. He parachuted in on Christmas day.

Jesus’ arrival was epic and strategic and it shook the enemy. Be it no surprise to you that Satan likes to show back up this time of year to wreak a little havoc on your life. Sort of like a terrorist attack on the 4th of July – when better to rattle your cage than the week of Christmas?

A pastor once told me, “There is no hard ball like family hard ball”. Christmas brings out the best in us and the worst. The in-laws show up. Our wives go into a complete frenzy cooking, cleaning, shopping and wrapping. Crazy uncles appear and so do rambunctious nephews. Our homes can turn into war zones. Money…oh money…it moves to front and center. Stress levels rise. Noise. Chaos. Confusion. Deep-seated angers can emerge. We are slap worn out. Our defenses are down and we are being assaulted on all sides. You’ve been there. You know.

So this message is focused on being alert to what is going on around you and in your homes. We celebrate the arrival of the Great Liberator this Friday but be forewarned, the enemy is probably going to show up sometime (multiple times?) this week. Be alert.

Pray for your wife. She probably has done or does 90% of the work of Christmas. The burden mostly falls on her. She is beaten down and very vulnerable right now. Pray for her right now – lift her up, do something nice for her. Take the kids out of the house for a few hours. Give her some peace and quiet. You can probably best show her Christ’s love by stepping up right now and taking some of the burden off of her. As an aside, I firmly believe that our wives are very vulnerable. Satan – to get to Adam – went after Eve first. They are under constant assault – to always be “on”, to be skinny, to have good friends, cute clothes, nice things, being a Mom, being a wife – and they need our constant prayers of protection.

Pray for your home. Pray and call down the Angels of Heaven to guard all four corners of your home. Pray for your own heart as you welcome in family. Pray that God would keep you focused on Him and the glorious wonder of what He did two thousand years ago. Pray for your children that they would not get caught up in the “gimme” of worldly Christmas but somehow, in all of this chaos, that they could see Jesus.

Just be alert. You are going into battle in a season that is supposed to be one of great, immeasurable joy.

May God’s grace and mercy be upon each of you.

Soar!