So I was at the gym this morning – now, I’m not the most hard core gym attender. In fact my motto is: “No pain, good!” I mean, really, wasn’t pain given to us to let us know something is wrong?
Anyway, I digress. I invited one of the ladies there to attend the women’s cookie exchange tonight and send her husband to the church for the men’s stupid movie night. I told her that I figure the more women I get to bring cookies to my house, the better my odds are to have a pile of cookies left over for me to eat. She laughed and told me that if I get too many cookies I’ll have to hit the gym extra hard to pay for it. My response? “I’m a Christian pastor – I believe in consuming cookies by grace. In fact, if I’m lucky, I might carry around about 15 extra pounds of grace!”
This Christmas, as you hustle and bustle and enjoy the holiday – can I challenge you to remember that the greatest gift ever given is just that – given. Not earned. Not paid back or worked off. Given. “…by grace you have been saved…” (Ephesians 2:8)
My prayer for you is that you enjoy the true meaning of Christmas and, by the way, you look good with a few extra pounds of grace!
Pastor Brandon
Mountain View Christian Center 