The word holiday<\/i> comes from the Old English word haligd\u00e6g<\/i>, which means \u2018holy day\u2019. So, when Nehemiah announced, \u2018This day is holy,\u2019<\/i> he was declaring a celebration; a time to \u2018eat and drink before the Lord.\u2019<\/i> (1\u00a0Chronicles\u00a029:22\u00a0KJV) <\/p>\n
Today, overindulgence and overspending have become synonymous with Christmas, making Christians hesitant to celebrate. Jack Hayford writes: \u2018Often it is from those newly associated with our fellowship who have allowed themselves\u2014perhaps for the first time\u2014to enter into the wonder and fullness of Christmas joy and celebration\u2026 Christmas is more than merely \u201cmerry\u201d. Christmas is mighty.<\/i> Celebration\u2014unfettered enjoyment, love\u2026 laughter\u2026 gifts and giving, trees and tinsel\u2026 carols and bells\u2026 all of it\u2014has an inherent potential for mightiness. The qualifying factor is the presence of the Holy Spirit.<\/i> When He is present, the accoutrements of Christmas\u2026 can bless, strengthen, heal, [and] restore\u2026 When He is absent, carols ring hollow. Greetings, wishes and smiles lie on the surface, like glitter glued on a flat card. Lights and decorations\u2026 can leave the heart more desolate than ever. But where the Holy Spirit is there is power\u2026 to change entrenched habits\u2026 transform cold hearts\u2026 grudges and expectations\u2026 lift lives out of the shadow\u2026 This Christmas, let Him come upon you. Welcome the\u2026 Holy Spirit\u2026 to move upon your life, and then make your own<\/i> move\u2026 into the season\u2019s best opportunities to bask in the wonder of it all\u2026 Reach out to those around: encourage, bless, bake, give, visit, invite, share, and lift hearts wherever you can. By\u2026 New Year\u2026 you\u2019ll find Christmas to\u2026 have been marvellously, and even miraculously, mighty.\u2019<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
The word holiday comes from the Old English word haligd\u00e6g, which means \u2018holy day\u2019. So, when Nehemiah announced, \u2018This day is holy,\u2019 he was declaring a celebration; a time to \u2018eat and drink before the Lord.\u2019 (1\u00a0Chronicles\u00a029:22\u00a0KJV) Today, overindulgence and overspending have become synonymous with Christmas, making Christians hesitant to celebrate. Jack Hayford writes: \u2018Often […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_et_pb_use_builder":"off","_et_pb_old_content":"","_et_gb_content_width":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[10],"tags":[],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/ucbmedia.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1753"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/ucbmedia.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/ucbmedia.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ucbmedia.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ucbmedia.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1753"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/ucbmedia.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1753\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/ucbmedia.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1753"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ucbmedia.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1753"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ucbmedia.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1753"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}