HAPPY BIRTHDAY JESUS!

May you have a blessed Christmas as you celebrate the birth of our savior, and spend time with your family. I enjoy all the things which traditionally go along with the season. Yes, I realize that some of the things we do have no biblical foundation. For example, we do not know the actual date of Christ's birth. And the story as we tell it in our Christmas plays is somewhat inaccurate. By the time the wise men arrived to where Jesus was, he was probably two or three years old. And I know that our observance of Santa Clause and gifts under the tree bother some of you.

To all of that, I say, "Bah, Humbug." I am not going to let you rain on my parade. I enjoy everything about this holiday, including the opening of gifts, the Christmas tree and lights, and even old Saint Nick.

Zach, my four year old grandson, told my wife Trish that he wanted us to get Jesus a birthday cake. So we have one. Tomorrow, when our family gathers around to open gifts, we will have dinner, and afterwards we will cut the cake, and wish Jesus a Happy Birthday.

I know Jesus will enjoy his birthday. Although some of the things we do on his day are not really about them, I have a feeling he enjoys them- like families gathering together, sharing, loving, and enjoying one another. I believe he is blessed when we are blessed.

In the Robbins household, we will open the presents, eat a big dinner, and cut some cake. We will take plenty of pictures. And if we forget, (we won't), there's a four year old that will make sure we sing Happy Birthday to Jesus!

Although I do not know everyone who reads my posts, I love you. I hope you have a blessed and Merry Christmas.

Pastor Ronnie

WALMART GREETINGS

I was doing some last minute shopping at Wal Mart this morning. I usually do my own checkout, but one item I purchased required them to bring it out and needed the assistance of a check out person. Upon paying for my items, the lady at the counter said, "Happy Holiday." Without any pre-thinking on my part, I answered, "Merry Christmas." As I said in a blog a couple of days ago, the happy holiday thing doesn't appeal to me.

As I was walking out with my items, I was thinking about what she had said, and was glad I had the response that included the word Christmas. I wasn't being preachy, I just want to use Christ in my "holiday" greetings.

As you know, Walmart has greeters at the entrance, along with people assigned as you are leaving. I am not sure what their title is, but they are basically the checkers, in case the alarm goes off on something that wasn't scanned properly, or to catch anyone who might be trying to steal an item. There was a lady as I was exiting, one of these checker persons, who also had a greeting- but this one didn't say "Have a Happy Holiday", she said "Have a Blessed Christmas."

Wow- two ladies, both with greetings, and both were cordial. But I found myself somewhat offened by the non offensive "holiday" wish, while I was blessed by the "Blessed Christmas" wish. The first lady was probably doing what she was supposed to do, and the second one, I'm sure, would be offensive to some- but not me.

I agree with the Wal Mart checker/greeter. I hope you have a Blessed Christmas!

PLAYING SANTA CAUSE

OK, I'll tell you up front that I googled santa cause and found that some agencies actually use the name. I thought I had made it up. You see, I am playing Santa Cause this month. No, I'm not wearing a red costume with a white beard, and I am not in a nearby shopping mall. But, in a roundabout way, I am playing Santa Cause, or Santa Clause this month. Let me explain what I mean...

I go back a long way of in ministry. I pioneered the church I presently pastor, and have been here a long time. New Harvest is a great church with great people. We are located in a rural area. North Carolina's unemployment rate is the highest it has been in 25 years, and Rutherford County ranks among the highest. The difficult economic situation this year has made it even more difficult for the church.

Typically this year we see a decrease in giving. We have people who tithe on a regular basis, and some who give occasionally. Some are regular givers, except for this time of year. What people fail to understand is that the church budget and pastor's wages do not end in November and pick back up in February. So each year at this time I play Santa Cause. Giving decreases as our members take their tithes and offerings and spend them on Santa.

I have friends in ministry who know of no such problem. They have never had a budget deficit. I have not had such luxury. So, in what has already been a difficult year financially, becomes more so. When the funds are not there, they are not there. As a result our ability to continue to shine the light to the community, region, nation, and world becomes affected. I am amazed at how many people want to send money to Africa or some TV preacher, but don't want to support the local church. The only way the local church in your community can be there and be relevant is by the support of its people.

I apologize if this seems like a gripe at my people. It is really a concern that I have for the churches across our nation. Our nation is suffering great difficulty in this financial crisis, and the ability of the ministry is being affected. I realize there are those who are not within the local community of Forest City, that are being affected by the same concerns. If I can help one person to give a special offering this year to their house of worship, my Santa Cause blog has been worth the effort it took to write it.

Oh well, I've got a few more weeks to play Santa Cause :)

Having said all of the above, I love my church, love my people, and love the Lord.

Y'all be blessed, and have a Merry Christmas!

STILL HAPPILY MARRIED

Trish and I will celebrate our wedding anniversary tomorrow, December 23. We were just kids when we married. Outside of Jesus, she is the best thing that has ever happened to me. My lovely wife is the greatest wife, mom, pastor's wife, church mom, and I had better not forget maw maw.

We have experienced many ups and downs through the years. We have had our share of laughing, crying, holding each other's hands, and plenty of praying. Vacations with the kids, playing Santa, and all the experiences that go with church life- some pleasant, and some difficult. But through it all Trish has stood by my side.

Marriage and family values are things which have been somewhat fragmented and forgotten in our society today. That is sad. We haven't had the perfect marriage (there are none), but we have stood together through thick and thin- for richer, for poorer, for better, for worse... as the vows of marriage go. The strength of our marriage is in the central figure of it. That is our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ.

She is still the most beautiful woman in the world to me. (She will not let me post pictures of her because she has put on a little weight and intends after Christmas to go on a diet) I love her more today than I did the day I met her. She is the sparkle in my eye. My pet names for her are Sunshine and Pretty Girl.

Happy Anniversary, Sunshine. I love you!

LIVE LIFE TO THE FULL

Jesus spoke on several occasions about bringing joy into our lives. He said that he had come that we might have life to the full. The word full in the text is defined as living to the max, abundant, overflowing. In other words, he wants us to enjoy life. Being a Christian doesn't mean that I have to wait until I die and go to heaven to have and enjoy life. I can have abundance of life, joy, and peace right now.

Often our response to situations causes us to lose our joy. Being negative minded can rob you of your joy, your peace, and even your health. We must learn to discipline ourselves to respond in every situation with a God kind of response. Exercise faith, keep believing, hold on- those are not just mere words, they are important truths to grasp when facing life's battles.

I am around kids daily. Our church has a daycare, and each day when I enter, I go through the classes. The children hug me, and I hug them back. They are so full of love and joy. Our church kids do the same. And our youth group has grown. I find myself getting hugs all the time. I guess it's one of the perks of getting older :) But the kids and youth are full of life. I don't enjoy being around people that don't enjoy themselves, don't want to have fun.

I frequently talk about my grandson, Zach. He is now 4 years old, and comes home with me after lunch at the daycare daily. Wow, he is full of energy and joy. Trish and I sometimes feel as if we are out of place around some of the folks our age. They want to sit around and do nothing.

Not me. I want to race you on the go carts and win. I want to beat you at Checkers. I want to play and run. Look at the lights, sing Christmas carols, play that game they call Chinese something (can't think of it) where you swap gifts around. I want to see the glimmer in the eyes of someone who has just accepted Jesus, and to hold a baby in my arms that has just been dedicated to the Lord. I want to marry a young couple and tell him that he can kiss his bride. I want to stand in the rain, see the mountain peaks, watch the ocean waves come in.

I want to live life to the full. I wont begrudge the money I spend on gifts (it's less this year) or any of the other things that go with the season. When someone tells me their kids are grown so they "don't do Christmas" or don't put up the lights or Christmas tree, I feel sad for them. And I think how hard it must be to grow up. I've decided if that is what it means, I never will.

Gotta run-- I am in my office today at church, but gotta run and hug some kids. Tonight we're going with them to see the lights. Yay, Me!

Pastor Ronnie, signing off- And living life to the full!

IF I HEAR HAPPY HOLIDAY ONE MORE TIME

Over and over again you hear it, see it, read it. Happy Holiday! From the commercials to the news, the expressions of "holiday" are everywhere. The word holiday is used in the place of Christmas. After all, we do not want to be offensive. No mention of Christ, someone's feelings might be hurt. You can't even say Christmas tree, it is a holiday tree.

It's funny, we can say Happy New Year, we can refer to all the other holidays, but we can't mention the birth of Christ. Forget for a moment that Christmas has become so commercialized that we don't even focus on the true meaning, the birth of a Savior. Christmas has become lost in "Holiday".

I feel like if I hear it one more time, I might throw up. In the non offensive world we live in, I am offended. The secular humanistic society we live in today has convinced everyone that we must not allow this obtrusive, offensive, vulgar word to exist!

Sorry, but you're not going to hear Happy Holiday from me. You're Atheist, Muslim, Jewish, or something else? I love you. I respect you even if I don't agree with you. I won't intrude on your celebrations, or even your choice not to have one. But this holiday celebrates the birth of the ONE who gave His life for us. I'm not going to omit it just to please a world gone mad.

MERRY CHRISTMAS!

HOUSE DESTROYED BY FIRE

December 15, 1976... The headlines of the local paper told the story of a house which burned to the ground of Rev. Ronnie Robbins. Trish and I had just moved into the little house in Henrietta. We were not at home at the time of the fire, and had only been gone about one hour when we returned to find it completely destroyed. The fire department was still there, and many people of the community had gathered around.

I remember pulling up into the driveway. Everything we owned was in the house, including what Christmas presents we had already purchased for the two kids we had at the time. Things which money could not replace like family pictures were gone up in smoke. The only thing spared was the clothes on our back. We had no insurance on the house, so when someone says they lost everything, that pictures us.

We were young in the faith, and I remember pulling up into the drive and speaking blessings and scriptures of faith. John 10:10, 1 John 4:4, Romans 8:37 came to my mind, and I spoke them as I prayed. I remember it just like it was yesterday.

I am glad to tell you that we were able to make it through that difficult time in our life. It wasn't easy, but God helped us. And through the years, He has been faithful to help us in other times of hardship and crisis. From death to disease to disappointment, He has always been there.

I can't promise you that you will not face pain and disappointment. What I can promise you is that God will see you through.

Blessings,
Pastor Ronnie