I recently read an article from a NYC divorce lawyer who said that most clients contact him during the months of December and January to proceed with divorce. His thoughts on the reasons why are not important. What’s important is that we have a heads-up on this vulnerable time frame for marriages. Knowing this, please make sure that you pray and plan ahead.
If you have tension in your marriage, please join a prayer group in your home church. There are good ministries like Focus on the Family that offer good guidance and resources for marriages.
https://www.focusonthefamily.com/
However if you don’t have a Christian spouse, then some of their guidance cannot be applied like praying together. I discovered the Gottman Institute for relationships. They have great advice for couples based on much research and years of experience. You can subscribe to their free newsletter here.
For the singles, please give this message a listen. Pastor Vlad used the bible story of finding a spouse for Issac to base his message on the signs that God used in this love match. Even if you are not religious, I think that his advice can be very helpful. Godly wisdom makes good common sense.
https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/vlad-savchuk-podcast/id1523087128?i=1000678642927
Here is the Bible chapter that Pastor Vlad is referencing for his message. I like the VOICE version because it gives the reader a better sense of the ancient culture and background.
https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Genesis%2024&version=VOICE
If you ever want to dive deeper into the history and ancient culture behind the Bible stories, please check out this free commentary resource:
https://enduringword.com/bible-commentary/genesis-24/
I’ve seen a car bumper sticker that says, “Jesus is the reason for the season.” Here are some entertainment shows to celebrate this season of Jesus Christ’s birth.
The Chosen has a few movies produced for the Christmas season and they are all free to watch:
https://watch.thechosen.tv/page/christmas
I love this older movie about Mary and Joseph. They were both so young…
https://m.imdb.com/title/tt0762121/
Read about the Roman Empire during this period of history.
https://www.gotquestions.org/Roman-empire.html
Side note on Santa Claus 🎅
I didn’t know the origin of Santa Claus. This article by an Indian journalist did a great job on the history behind Santa from beginning to now.
I really liked how this journalist ends the article:
“The saint and the traditions associated with his day are being reclaimed steadily to turn back the materialistic and stressful Christmas celebrations to their original spiritual motive — celebrating the birth of Jesus Christ.
If the easy appeal of Santa Claus is peeled back, the honest, compassionate and loving Saint Nicholas will look back at you.”
Please look through this month’s International Persecution magazine and let us remember the many Christians who are suffering persecution for their faith this Christmas season. 💔🙏
https://www.yumpu.com/en/document/read/68880166/2024-christmas-catalog
May God bless you and your families with peace, love and unity during this Christmas season. May Jesus be the “reason for the season” for you this Christmas!
Journal of Faith 