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bigmike

Don't Lose Focus
And Joseph also went up from Galilee, out of the city of Nazareth, into Judaea, unto the city of David, which is called Bethlehem; (because he was of the house and lineage of David:) To be taxed with Mary his espoused wife, being great with child. And so it was, that, while they were there, the days were accomplished that she should be delivered. And she brought forth her firstborn son, and wrapped him in swaddling clothes, and laid him in a manger; because there was no room for them in the inn.
Luke 2:4-7
I read a story about a mother who was frantically rushing about on Christmas Eve trying to get everything on her last minute shopping list when she suddenly realized she had lost track of her three-year-old son. In a panic she sought for him, retracing her steps through the store until she finally found him outside with his nose pressed up against a window looking at a nativity display. When she called him he shouted, “Look Mommy. It's Jesus! Baby Jesus is in the hay!” The harried mother grabbed his arm and snapped, “We don't have time for all that. Can't you see Mommy is trying to get ready for Christmas?”
We sometimes see signs or bumper stickers that say “Jesus is the reason for the season,” and that is exactly correct. Something that obscures our vision or focus on Him and why He came into the world may be widely accepted and commonly practiced, but it is wrong. Jesus is the focus, and we must keep our attention on Him.
On the Mount of Transfiguration when Peter, James, and John saw Moses and Elijah with the glorified Lord they were impressed, but God quickly brought their attention back to what really matters. “And there was a cloud that overshadowed them: and a voice came out of the cloud, saying, This is my beloved Son: hear him. And suddenly, when they had looked round about, they saw no man any more, save Jesus only with themselves” (Mark 9:7-8).
Unless we work at keeping our eyes on Jesus, we can lose sight of Him in the busyness of the holiday season.
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