Eight Qualities of Effective Prayer

We all want to have a more effective prayer life. In order to do so, our prayers must have certain qualities.

1. Prayer should be specific.

•               Psalm 27:4
One thing I ask of the Lord, this is what I seek, that I may dwell in the house of the Lord all the days of my life.

•               David asked God for one very specific thing, which was that he would dwell with the Lord.

•               Acts 12:5
So Peter was kept in prison, but the church was earnestly praying to God for him.

•               The church was praying specifically for Peter to be released from prison, and he was.

•               Often our prayers are ineffective because they are so general that we would not know they were answered anyway.

2. Prayer should be simple.

•               Matthew 6:7
And when you pray, do not keep on babbling like pagans, for they think they will be heard because of their many words. Do not be like them, for your Father knows what you need before you ask Him.

•               Just because our prayers should be specific, does not mean they have to be complicated. On the contrary, a specific prayer can be quite simply, perhaps even only two or three sentences.

3. Prayer should be persistent.

•               Luke 18:7-8
Will not God bring about justice for his chosen ones, who cry out to him day and night? Will he keep putting them off? I tell you, he will see that they get justice, and quickly.

Though we want to use prayers that are simple and specific, that does not mean that we only pray them one time. We must be persistent in our prayers. Luke tells the story of an unjust judge who eventually did the right thing for a widow simple because she kept pestering him. Jesus makes the parallel that if an unjust judge would finally do what was right, how much more will a God who loves us and cares for us do what is right for us.

4. Prayer should be humble.

•               Psalm 10:17
You hear, 0 Lord, the desire of the humble, you encourage them and you listen to their cry.

•               Luke 18:13-14
But the tax collector stood at a distance. He would not even look up to heaven, but beat his breasts and said, God, have mercy on me, a sinner. I tell you that this man, rather than the other, went home justified before God. For everyone who exalts himself will be humbled, and he who humbles himself will be exalted.

Though God invites us to be persistent in our specific and simple prayers, that does not mean that we should become demanding of God. We must always approach God humbly. God owes us nothing; therefore we can demand nothing from Him. We approach God as a humble sinner in need of a touch from the Devine.

5. Prayer should be confident.

•               Ephesians 3:12
. . . through faith in Christ we may approach God with freedom and confidence.

•               Hebrews 10: 19
Therefore, brothers, since we have confidence to enter the Most Holy Place by the blood of Jesus, by a new and living way opened for us through the curtain that is his body.

Though we approach God humbly with our specific, simple but persistent prayers, the Bible also says that we should pray in confidence that God will hear our prayers. Though it may sound like confident praying somehow contradicts humble praying, that is not the case. We pray humbly because God owes us nothing. We pray confidently because we know that come before the Father in the name of the Son. The Father loves the Son and since Christians are clothed in His righteousness, then the Father will listen to us. Our confidence comes from our position in Christ, not our own spiritual position.

6. Prayer should be done in faith.

•               Matthew 21:21-22
Jesus replied, I tell you the truth, if you have faith and do not doubt, not only can you do what was done to the fig tree, but also you can say to this mountain, Go throw yourself into the sea and it will be done. If you believe, you will receive whatever you ask for in prayer.

Because our confidence is in Christ, we can pray our simple, specific, persistent, humble prayers in faith believing God will answer those prayers. Though sometimes our faith wavers, it is also okay to pray for God to increase our faith.

7. Prayer should be truthful.

•               Psalm 145:18-19
The Lord is near to all who call on him, to all who call him in truth. He fulfills the desires of those who fear him; he hears their cry and saves them.

As we seek to increase our faith, it is important that we be truthful in our prayer relationship with God. We often pray the right things for the wrong motives. We must examine our hearts and be truthful with God.

8. Prayer should be in agreement
with God's will.

•               1 John 5:14-15
This is the confidence we have in approaching God, that if we ask anything according to his will, he hears us. And if we know that he hears us, whatever we ask, we know that we have what we asked of Him.

Even when we pray truthful prayers in faith that demonstrate all the right characteristics of prayers, we must also accept the reality that sometimes God has a bigger plan in mind than our can presently see or understand. Because of that bigger plan, we must accept the reality that sometimes God’s will is different than our will. In those moments, we must allow our prayers to yield to the sovereign will of God.

We all want to have a more effective prayer life. In order for that to happen, we must put into practice these eight qualities of effective prayer

1. Prayer should be specific.

2. Prayer should be simple.

3. Prayer should be persistent.

4. Prayer should be humble.

5. Prayer should be confident.

6. Prayer should be done in faith.

7. Prayer should be truthful.

8. Prayer should be in agreement with God's will.

I believe in Earth. The rest is easy. - Guest Post by Joe McKeever

Originally posted at JoeMcKeever.com on January 11, 2014

“When I consider the heavens, the work of Thy fingers….what is man, that Thou dost take thought of him?” (Psalm 8:3-4)

The greatest proof of Heaven is Earth.

From all our scientists are learning every day, we find ourselves overwhelmed by the vast distances of space, the intricate and specific requirements necessary to produce and sustain life on any planet, and the mind-blowing odds that such a place as Earth could exist anywhere in the universe.

And yet, here we are, calmly discussing football playoffs, whose turn it is to buy the next King cake, and repeating the amazing things our grandchildren have said.

Friend, if Earth can exist, Heaven is a cinch. A lay-up. A gimme.  A no-brainer.

Think of what is required in order to have life on this small planet.  A scientist would smile at my small list and no doubt could add a dozen more elements to it, but some of the requirements for life to exist on Earth (or any other planet) must include:

–Light from the sun.

–Just the right distance from the sun, so there is not too much nor too little light.

–Rotation of the earth, in order to expose all sides to the warmth and light.  Just the right speed, and the ideal tilt on the axis.

–A breathable atmosphere.

–Gravity, to keep the atmosphere from floating off into space (as may well have occurred with our moon).

–Climate to sustain life.

–Water.  This is every bit as vital to life on earth as is light of the sun and oxygen.

–Balance of nature.  Everything has to be “just so.” In this case, plants give off oxygen which we require and animal life gives off carbon dioxide, necessary for plant life.

–The earth’s orbit around the sun.

–Earth is warm at its core.  It contains elements useful to mankind, such as oil, coal, copper, and gold, and those elements are attainable.

–Weather must be variable. Volcanoes and earthquakes allow the planet a pressure relief value from internal stress, and tornadoes and hurricanes relief from surface stress.

–Topsoil.  Earth is not paved, like a rock, but tillable and varied, and lifegiving.

–Honeybees.  (In googling this subject, I came across numerous articles touting the pollinating effect of these little creatures.  If they die out, we’re told, life on earth is in trouble.)

That’s 13 requirements in order to have life on this earth.  And here they all are, in place, working just fine.  And, may we add, at no point has the Almighty put you and me in charge and informed us that unless we go out every morning with our tool kit and maintain the gravitational forces or the rotation of the earth, life would fail.

God sustains it.

Put another way, the forces of “Nature” (big word, huh?) put these elements into place and keep them operating.  We humans are simply the benefactors, the inheritors of such incredible life-giving blessings.

The writer of Hebrews said, “By faith we understand that the worlds were prepared by the word of God, so that what is seen was not made out of things which are visible” (Heb. 11:3).  Pretty good analysis, if you ask me, particularly for one living 2,000 years ago who had never heard of atoms, molecules, and quarks.

Earth is the wonder of the universe, far more amazing than anything we have ever seen through the Hubble Telescope.

So far, there is nothing remotely like it out there.  “In the beginning, God created the heavens and the earth.”

Earth is so amazing, the wonder is that humanity does not wander around in a daze muttering over and over, “I can’t believe it. I can’t get over it.  Look at this plant. Look at this rock.  Look at this child.  Look at me.”

The wonder is that we have not produced a skeptical society of humanists (I’m trying not to smile here) who refuse to believe in something so far-fetched as earth. Those of us who insisted to them that “there has to be an Earth because here we are” would be answered with laughter and derision.

To believe in Heaven may be the simplest decision you and I will ever make.

The first and biggest step is to believe in Earth; the rest is simple.

So, why don’t people believe?

1) Most don’t stop to think about this.  Living in the most amazing spot in the entire universe, they take it all for granted, assume this is just the way it is, and never pause to look up and consider that Heaven is no more unlikely than Earth is.  And yet, here it is and here we are.

Ta-da!

If He can do this, doing “that” seems the most logical thing in the world.

People ask our twin granddaughters, “What’s it like being a twin?” Abby or Erin will answer, “I don’t know. I’ve never not been one.” In the same way, mankind exists on this planet as though it is all there is, the most logical place to be in the universe to be, and somehow is our right to do. We don’t know any other life, and so we do not ask the most basic questions about life on this small planet, questions like “How did this happen?  Why this planet, of all the places in the universe? Why me, Lord?”

Earth is the biggest miracle in the universe. At least, so far.

Repeat: Heaven is no more unlikely than is Earth.

2) They have never been told of the living God of love and glory and Jesus and the cross, but have been told only of gods of cruelty and ugliness, littleness and spite. The Bible asks, “How shall they believe on Him of whom they have not heard?” (Romans 10:14)

They don’t know.

Let’s go tell them.

Jesus said, “No one has been to Heaven except the One who came from there, even the Son of Man” (His name for Himself) (John 3:13).  He is a native of Heaven!

Jesus Christ is the only One who knows. He is uniquely qualified to reveal Heaven to us and introduce us to God the Father. He said so Himself in Matthew 11:27.

3) Many choose not to believe even though their heart cries out that Jesus Christ alone is indeed “The Way, the Truth, the Life” (John 14:6).

To believe in God–in Jesus Christ, in Heaven, in the revelation of Holy Scripture–has all kinds of ramifications and implications which the carnal, stubborn, independent and willful mind rebels at accepting.

–Jesus:  To accept Him as the incarnate Son of the living God, the only One who knows the Father and the only way to the Father, the only One who has come from Heaven and thus able to reveal it to us, to accept that means to yield to Him as the Authority on everything else.

Jesus is Lord.

–Gospel: To accept that this message of salvation in Jesus Christ is the truth of the ages is to agree it deserves priority in everything.

People need the Lord.

–Church:  To agree that the redeemed people of God make up the earthly “body of Christ,” and to them has been given this “Word of reconciliation” to take to the ends of the earth would automatically make the church the most important collection of people on earth which deserves my full devotion and commitment and participation.

Christ-followers need the Church.

Choosing to disbelieve in spite of the overwhelming proof all around us that God is alive and Heaven is a certainty, the disbelievers ramp up their protests.  

They increase the volume of their criticism, double down to finding flaws and inconsistencies in the lives and preachings of God’s people (and calling attention to them as publically as possible!), and turn up the tempo of their stridency in the hope that doing so will sufficiently camouflage their fears and draw attention away from their knocking knees.

It will not.

Nothing will satisfy the human heart that wants so much to believe in a living God except faith in Jesus Christ through whom we know God.

If we can believe in Earth, then believing in Heaven is a short step.

It’s the turning loose of idolatry-of-oneself that we do not want to give up.

Doing that takes an act of the will in which we say, “Help me, Father. I want to believe, but my rebellious heart refuses to go quietly.”

He’s not offended. He’s heard it all before, a few zillion times in fact.  So go ahead and say it.

Say it. You have nothing to lose and everything to gain.

See you in Heaven, friend.

It’s going to be great.

Heading the Right Direction

The other day I was going to visit a friend who was interested in becoming involved in ministry. He gave me the address where I was to meet him, but when I arrived, I could not find the street number. There were buildings with the number right below it, and right above it, but that street number was missing. After driving up and down the road a couple of times, I called him on his cell. Turns out that I had gone to Stevens Street, when I was actually looking for Stephens Street. The streets are pronounced the same way, but have a slightly different spelling and are on opposite sides of town. I would have never found him at the first address, because that address does not exist. We had a good laugh about it when I finally got to the right place. What a difference those couple of letters made!

That experience has made me think about how important it is to make sure we get our facts right before striking off on some task, journey or line of thought. If we have a faulty premise, it will lead us the wrong direction and we may never find what we are looking for. Even if the mistake is subtle, and sounds right (such as Stevens and Stephens), if it is a wrong direction, then it will lead us to frustration and may make us miss out on something special.

Examples are numerous:

If we are considering marriage, if we start out thinking, "If this does not work out, we can always get a divorce," that will impact how we handle conflict in our marriage. Such thinking leads us to a much different place than, "If this does not work out like we want it to, we are going to stick with it anyway and trust God to make it right."

If we are thinking about what college to go to, if we start out thinking, "Which school has the best recreational activities and coolest student groups," we will end up in a much different place than if we ask ourselves "Which school will best help me gain the training I need to achieve my career goal."

If we are struggling to think through a problem we are having, if we start out thinking, "I do not like how this issue makes me feel, so I am going to ignore it," we will most likely never overcome the issue. But if we start with "I do not like how this issue makes me feel, so I am going to find a way to overcome this issue," then we will eventually get to a place where the issue will no longer hinder us.

We could go on and on sharing examples. But I think the point is clear. We need to start off with right information and thinking so we can head the right way in life in order to end up in the place we are supposed to be. How do we find the right info? Do some research. Talk to people who have already been there. Ask lots of questions. PRAY and read the Bible for guidance! Yes, prayer still works. Yes, the Bible is still relevant for today. Much wisdom can be found through prayer and Bible study. The Psalmist David reminds us "The counsel of the Lord stands forever, the plans of His heart from generation to generation (Psalm 33:11). That is good advice that will point us in the right direction.

For more devotionals like this one, consider Touching the Footprints of Jesus. 

God Has a Plan

In my morning devotions I have been reading the Psalms. Today as I read Psalm 18 I was struck by range of emotions in the Psalm. David writes in verses 1-3:
 
I love you, O Lord, my strength.
2 The Lord is my rock and my fortress and my deliverer,
    my God, my rock, in whom I take refuge,
    my shield, and the horn of my salvation, my stronghold.
3 I call upon the Lord, who is worthy to be praised,
    and I am saved from my enemies.

We can almost feel the intense love David has for God. David's love for God and faith in God's power becomes a place for him to find refuge in difficult times.

As 2013 comes to a close, many of us could make a list of troubles and difficulties that we experienced. For those of us who know the Lord, we could also make a list of ways in which God was there for us during those difficult times. Like David we can attest that the Lord is worthy to be praised.

But the Psalms goes on to talk about the depths of despair that David went through before the Lord delivered him. David talks about "ropes of death wrapped around him" (verse 4) and the "snares of death confronting him." Wow. Most of our problems do not take us to the edge of death and back. But David knew such deep turmoil in his soul because of the range of troubles that he had been through. Perhaps that is why his love for God also bloomed so brightly. Those who have been through great difficulties learn the capacity for great love.

When we go through difficult times we are often tempted to be angry at God for letting us down. David went to through a living hell (verse 5) and yet he did not get bitter or angry. Instead he said, "God-His way is perfect" (verse 30) and goes on to say that "God . . . makes my way perfect. (verse 32). Difficulties can make us bitter or they can make us better. Our faith in God is what enables us to go down the path of betterment instead of bitterness.

Though we do not always understand God's plan for our lives, we can rest in the assurance that God does indeed have a plan. God's ways are perfect and as we learn to love Him more, He can make our ways perfect too.

For more devotionals like this one, consider Touching the Footprints of Jesus. 

A Baby Changes Everything - Guest Post by Bill Davis

Today, as we continue in the Advent season, let us remember the love of the Christ Child. There is a song that says; “A baby changes everything”. There is so much hatred and deception in our world. The word of God is based on truth and love. Jesus Christ is the gift of God’s love and salvation.

Romans 5:8 (NIV); “But God demonstrates His own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us.”

Jesus Christ, the son of God, is humbly asking us to receive Him and accept His gift of Salvation. He does not force Himself on anyone but goes where He is welcome. Matthew tells us in Chapter 10:15what will happen if His word is not accepted;

“I tell you the truth it will be more bearable for Sodom and Gomorrah on the Day of Judgment than for that town.”

We might substitute the word “person” for “town”. Sodom and Gomorrah were completely destroyed by fire and brimstone. This is a strong comparison to those who hear about the gift of Jesus but do not accept it. Too many “believers” remove the wrapping from God’s gift but do not fully obey His teachings. We must consume the gift of Jesus and feed on His words for nourishment. Jesus says He will never leave or forsake us. But before this gift is ours, we have to completely accept it and try our best to live it and show God’s perfect love in our own imperfect way to our own imperfect world.

Today, give a special gift of love to someone. Make a difference in someone’s life. Think of several people you know and give them a call, email or text them. Tell them you are thinking about them, you love them and in the spirit of the Season, you will be saying a special prayer for them. Maybe this gets you out of your comfort zone but remember Jesus’ words.

John 13:34-35 (NIV); “A new command I give you: Love one another. As I have loved you, so you must love one another. By this everyone will know that you are My disciples, if you love one another.”

Bill Davis lives in Anderson County, SC, where he often speaks at churches and encourages evangelism and discipleship efforts across the region.

Four Christmas Messages from Angels

Preached by Dr. Terry W. Dorsett at Faith Fellowship Church in Bloomfield, CT, on Sunday, December 22, 2013.

Introduction:
•               Angels have always served as God’s messengers.
•               They still exist today and continue to serve as God’s messengers.
•               Though angels are very real, we should never pray to angels, or worship them, because only God deserves that honor.
•               But we can learn some important truths about life by looking at how angels impacted the Christmas story.
 
First Angel - The Message to Zechariah
Luke 1:11-13 - An angel of the Lord appeared to him, standing to the right of the altar of incense. When Zechariah saw him, he was startled and overcome with fear. But the angel said to him: Do not be afraid, Zechariah, because your prayer has been heard. Your wife Elizabeth will bear you a son, and you will name him John.

•               Zechariah was a priest at the Temple and was offering incense at the altar when he saw an angel.

•               Because of the large number of priests and limited number of times incense was offered, this was probably a once in a life time experience for Zechariah.
•               Zechariah and his wife Elizabeth had not been able to have any children and now were too old for it to happen naturally.
•               As Zechariah prayed, he asked God to do a miracle and give him a son.
•               There are moments in our lives that are so special, they will never happen again. We should learn to cherish such moments.
•               Likewise, we all have supernatural experiences that are once in a life time moments with God. We should not take them for granted because they cannot be recreated.
•               Other times God puts a desire in our hearts that just will not go away. We should keep on praying, even if it seems impossible for it to happen.
•               An angel of the Lord appeared to Zechariah while he was praying, which startled him and he was overcome with fear.
•               Zechariah was so shocked that he did not believe the message the angel told him.
•               It is ironic that Zechariah was praying for something important to him but when God answered, he was startled and afraid.
•               But if we are honest, we would have to admit that the same thing sometimes happens to us. We pray and then are surprised when God answers.

The First Message of the Christmas Angels for us today is: We should pray in faith believing that God hears and responds.

Second Angel - The Message to Mary
Luke 1:26-29 - In the sixth month, the angel Gabriel was sent by God to a town in Galilee called Nazareth, to a virgin engaged to a man named Joseph, of the house of David. The virgin's name was Mary. And the angel came to her and said, "Rejoice, favored woman! The Lord is with you." But she was deeply troubled by this statement, wondering what kind of greeting this could be.

•               Mary was Zechariah’s wife’s cousin.

•               In the 6^th month of Elizabeth’s pregnancy, the same angel came to Mary and gave her the same message, which was that she would also have a son.
•               The angel calls Mary “highly favored.”
•               Some churches teach that Mary was sinless or had some other special spiritual quality that made her “worthy” to bear the Christ child.
•               Nowhere in the Bible does it say that Mary was extraordinary, as a matter of fact the Bible is actually silent about the background and life of Mary.
•               The Bible is silent about Mary because the focus should be Jesus, not on Mary.
•               If any of the visitations of Mary that people claim to have are real, Mary’s first message to them would be to stop praying to her and worshipping her, because Jesus alone is worthy of worship.
•               Mary was an ordinary person whom God chose to help accomplish His extraordinary plan.
•               God still uses ordinary people to do remarkable things.
         

Luke 1:38 - I am the Lord's slave, said Mary. May it be done to me according to your word. Then the angel left her.

•               Mary’s response to the angel was that she was willing to submit to God’s plan for her life even though it made no sense at all.

•               She got to see God do some amazing things and her life was blessed because of her willingness to obey God’s plan.

The Second Message of the Christmas Angels for us today is: God uses ordinary people to do extraordinary things if we are willing to be obedient to His plan.

Third Angel - The Message to the Shepherds
Luke 2:8-11 - In the same region, shepherds were staying out in the fields and keeping watch at night over their flock. Then an angel of the Lord stood before them, and the glory of the Lord shone around them, and they were terrified. But the angel said to them, "Don't be afraid, for look, I proclaim to you good news of great joy that will be for all the people: today a Savior, who is Messiah the Lord, was born for you in the city of David.

•               The angel proclaimed good news to the shepherds and the same good news is proclaimed to us today.

•               The good news is that we no longer have to endure lives of emptiness but we can have hope and purpose.
•               The good news is that we no longer have to bear the guilt of our sins, or fear hell, for our sins can be forgiven.
•               This good news is for all people. How have we responded to it?

Luke 2:15 - When the angels had left them and returned to heaven, the shepherds said to one another, "Let's go straight to Bethlehem and see what has happened, which the Lord has made known to us."

•               The shepherds may have been uneducated and poor, but they were smart enough to go check it out, accept what they found!

•               Are we smart enough to check out the Gospel and accept it?

The Third Message of the Christmas Angels for us today is: The Gospel is the Good News about Jesus and we have no hope without it.

Fourth Angel - The Message to Joseph
Matthew 2:13-15 - After they were gone, an angel of the Lord suddenly appeared to Joseph in a dream, saying, Get up! Take the child and His mother, flee to Egypt, and stay there until I tell you. For Herod is about to search for the child to destroy Him. So he got up, took the child and His mother during the night, and escaped to Egypt. He stayed there until Herod's death.

•               These verses happen sometime after the actual birth of Jesus, probably about two years later.

•               The traditional Christmas story as we know it is over by the time these verses happen.
•               King Herod had been alerted that a new “king” had been born and he was afraid of the competition.
•               Not wanting competition for the title “King,” Herod ordered the murder of all the baby boys two years old and younger in the area where Jesus had been born.
•               That was an incredibly cruel act, but when people in power feel threatened, they often use their power in terrible ways.
•               Regretfully, our lives are often filled with pain because the people around us feel threatened, especially those with power over us.
•               An angel warned Joseph and told him to flee to Egypt.
•               There was a large Jewish population in Alexandria, Egypt. Joseph would have been able to find work and friends among the Jewish community there.
•               Joseph took his family and moved to Egypt even though it was disruptive to his life. Joseph was not able to return to Israel until after King Herod died. Even then he moved to Nazareth, instead of his home town.
•               Having to move a couple of times and settle in a different town than he may have wanted to was probably very frustrating, but imagine the consequences for his family if Joseph had not had God’s help in this terrible situation.
•               The reality is that trouble is going to come to each of our lives at some point, why not have God’s help when that trouble finally comes?
 
The Fourth Message of the Christmas Angels for us today is: Following God does not mean we will never face problems in life, but it does mean that God will help us in those times of trouble.

Conclusion:

God has given us Four Christmas Messages from Angels:

1.      We should pray in faith believing that God hears and responds.
2.      God uses ordinary people to do extraordinary things if we are willing to be obedient to His plan.
3.      The Gospel is the Good News about Jesus and we have no hope without it.
4.      Following God does not mean that we will never face problems in life, but it does mean that God will help us in times of trouble.

'Twas the Week Before Christmas

I seldom post things on my blog that I find somewhere else because I prefer to develop original material. But I found this online sometime ago and really liked it. I regret to say that I do not know who the original author is, but if someone else knows, please put the author’s name in a comment below so he or she may receive credit for this creative new twist on an old Christmas favorite.

Twas the week before Christmas
When all through our land,
Not a Christian was praying
Nor taking a stand.
See the PC Police had taken away
The reason for Christmas - no one could say.
The children were told by their schools not to sing
About Shepherds and Wise Men and Angels and things.
It might hurt people's feelings, the teachers would say
December 25th is just a ' Holiday '.
Yet the shoppers were ready with cash, checks and credit
Pushing folks down to the floor just to get it!
CDs from Madonna, an X BOX, an I-Pod
Something was changing, something quite odd!
Retailers promoted Ramadan and Kwanzaa
In hopes to sell books by Franken & Fonda.
As Targets were hanging their trees upside down
At Lowe's the word Christmas - was nowhere to be found.
At K-Mart and Staples and Penny's and Sears
You won't hear the word Christmas; it won't touch your ears.
Inclusive, sensitive, Di-ver-si-ty
Are words that were used to intimidate me.
Now Daschle, Now Darden, Now Sharpton, Wolf Blitzen
On Boxer, on Rather, on Kerry, on Clinton!
At the top of the culture, there arose such a clatter
To eliminate Jesus, in all public matter.
And we spoke not a word, as they took away our faith
Forbidden to speak of salvation and grace
The true Gift of Christmas was exchanged and discarded
The reason for the season, stopped before it started.
So as we celebrate 'Winter Break' under our 'Dream Tree'
Sipping our Starbucks, listen to me.
Choose our words carefully, choose what we say
Shout MERRY CHRISTMAS,
not Happy Holiday!
Please, all Christians join together and
wish everyone we meet
MERRY CHRISTMAS
Christ is The Reason' for the Christ-mas Season!