Daily Dose of the Word of God - Beyond Sunday Ep. 69

Jeff Klein, Pastor of Outreach

Transcript

Jeff Klein 0:10

Welcome to Elmhurst CRC's Daily Dose of the Word of God. It's Monday, December 23 and this is Jeff Klein reminding you to take your faith Beyond Sunday and into your week.

Jeff Klein 0:21 

This past Saturday, I was out doing my final Christmas shopping of the year. But to be honest, I wasn't too happy about it. My wife had sent me out with several lists of errands to do, but one thing I noticed is I went out shopping was that nobody was really happy about it. In fact, in one parking lot, there was a line of cars with two horns honking and two people yelling out the window at each other. In another store, I saw mom yelling at her children because they weren't behaving or cooperating with her plan of shopping for the day. I thought to myself, "Wow! Lots of people feel the same way I do about shopping." In fact, most people are just running around getting all their last minute things and basically getting worked up and stressed out.

Jeff Klein  1:10 

So I decided in my shopping spree to change my attitude, to see if I could bless people along the way - if I could be a voice of good cheer, of Merry Christmas. I began to slow down and just notice the people around me and see if I could actually engage people in conversation. So I engaged the cashier in conversation and got her to smile. I engaged some other people at the Starbucks in conversation and got them to laugh. I engaged a man along the street who was having a miserable time with his kids and I wished him a Merry Christmas. I said, "This is what it's all about!" You know, it was interesting as I changed my attitude and changed my approach, it seemed like I actually began to lighten or brighten other people's days. This seems like what it means to be a Christian is all about - just being the presence of Jesus in the world during our ordinary, regular stuff that we're doing every day. So will you do that this week as Christmas approaches? Maybe as you're out running around and shopping and finishing up all the errands? Just change your approach and see if you can notice some people and bless them along the way.

Jeff Klein  2:25  

Let's pray. Jesus, you came because you wanted us to act like you, love the world like you. So Lord, give us the capacity, give us the desire, give us the eyes to love the people around us this week as we approach this Christmas day 2024. In your name, we pray. Amen.