I hope each and every one of you here at God Inspires had a beautiful Christmas Day with friends and Family as we celebrated our Lord!
Remember that He is the reason for the season, but He is also the reason for our lives! We should not celebrate Him one day out of the year. We should celebrate Him every single day of our lives. Who wouldn't want Christmas every day? Wouldn't this attract others to our faith?
Love, joy, peace, longsuffering, gentleness, goodness, faith, meekness and temperance. This is what Christmas fills in each of us. Let us go out and give it to the world as we let Christ's light shine through us!
Merry Christmas and Happy New Year from all of us at God Inspires!
It dawns on me, in the days after Thanksgiving, that our next holiday is Christmas. As I reflect on this, and remember what Christmas is all about, I am listening to praise songs about the birth of Christ on KHCB Christian Radio. Then, moving over to a more worldly thought, I think of my children and the birthdays they used to have.
When we were children, I am sure some of our best memories were the birthday parties that were held in our honor. It was a celebration of the fact that we were born into this world. On a more deeper level, it is a celebration of who we are. The fact that we exist -- that we are here to brighten the lives of those around us with our presence.
But, when we die, who is going to celebrate our birthdays? And, if they do, how many years will it last? It seems kind've strange to have a birthday for someone who is no longer there...
Then, my thoughts wonder back to Christmas: The greatest birthday party ever celebrated; A party that has lasted for over 2,000 years. And, no matter how many people try to distract us from this celebration every year, the holiday has continued to grow and spread.
Christmas: The birthday of a man who came to earth, placed in a manger because there was no crib for him, who grew up and became one of the greatest men the face of the earth has ever seen or heard of. He was God's son, through and through. He taught love, Godly obedience, mercy, forgiveness and hope. Then, as humbly as he was brought into the world, he died being nailed painfully to a cross, with a crown of thorns on his head. His last words, before announcing that his job was finished were, "Forgive them, for they know not what they do."
And today, we celebrate His birth. We celebrate it, not because He was born, but because He existed -- then, and now. He is alive. His life is celebrated, not His birth -- just as OUR life is celebrated with each birthday that rolls around. At the end of our lives, our birthday parties are not celebrated. But, at the end of his visit to earth, HIS life was just beginning. Today, we see Him in every good thing that exists. And, on Christmas, we remember the sacrifices He made so we could, and we celebrate.
This Christmas, I pray that when you look back on your lives, and build memories with your families, you are able to see what the celebration is all about, and that you take as many moments possible to stop and Praise Him, because HE is what Christmas is all about.
So, let us all celebrate -- not just on Christmas Day, but on every day that leads us to it, and every day thereafter. And, on Christmas, let's all throw the best party we can in His honor!
Chicago, IL - December 10, 2015 (God Inspires) -- This Christmas season, the Thomas More Society continues to fight for freedom of religious speech and the free exercise of religious faith in the public square. As legal counsel for the American Nativity Scene Committee and local private groups around the country, the national nonprofit public interest law firm defends these rights and equips Americans to display Christmas manger scenes in their state capitols and other venues that qualify as traditional or designated public forums. The Thomas More Society provides legal counsel for privately-funded groups placing nativity scenes in public places in twenty-one states. This year, the Thomas More Society is sponsoring nativity displays in Illinois, Florida, Georgia, Michigan, Nebraska, Rhode Island and Texas, and in front of the Oklahoma Governor's mansion, in partnership with the American Nativity Scene Committee. These crèches have been donated by an anonymous benefactor. Efforts continue to secure permits for such displays elsewhere around the nation.
These nativity displays represent classic free speech and the free exercise of religious faith by private citizens in the public square. The Biblical scenes have not gone up without controversy.
"Atheist groups may mock our message, but we will not be silent. It is critical that Christians proclaim the Gospel message to their fellow citizens," said Tom Brejcha, Thomas More Society President and Chief Counsel. "Anti-Christian, anti-Christmas rhetoric and Satanic expositions merely serve to provide sharp emphasis by means of their stark contrast with the positive, uplifting, hopeful and joyous message of Christmas," he added, "A message that bears secular as well as religious significance, as it highlights the hope and miracle of birth and new life, the inherent dignity of each and every human being, focusing our attention on the humble and lowly infant wrapped in swaddling clothes and laid in a manger amidst straw and animals, honored by shepherds and kings alike and heralded by choirs of angels. That message of the essential equality and dignity of all human beings, no matter how rich or poor, humble or high-stationed, resonates deeply with the values that Americans cherish."
Last Christmas, the Freedom from Religion Foundation and the American Civil Liberties Union tried to force officials in Franklin County, Indiana to dismantle the privately funded and privately sponsored nativity scene that has been displayed on its courthouse lawn every Christmas for over fifty years. The Christian crèche was one of several private displays set up at the county complex throughout the year. The Thomas More Society defeated both organizations in the Indianapolis federal court. The atheist groups' claim that the private manger scene was an "establishment of religion by the government" was rebuffed as legally baseless. The court ruled that Christian citizens have a right to display a nativity scene on their local courthouse lawn, which qualifies as a "designated public forum."
This controversy is not new. Almost thirty years ago, a lawsuit had to be filed to protect Chicago's Daley Plaza nativity scene and prevent physical destruction of the Holy Family statues. City and county officials tried to suppress the right of Christians to express their religious faith in that traditional public forum, where political rallies, ethnic celebrations and other cultural events had been regularly staged. Private attorney Jennifer Neubauer persuaded the late Chief United States District Judge James B. Parsons to enter a permanent injunction, enjoining the authorities from this "discrimination" against religious expression in Chicago's "public square."
"The nativity displays represent a constitutionally protected expression by private citizens in traditional or designated public forums, where the sole role of the government is that of a viewpoint-neutral gatekeeper assuring open access for all citizens to have their say," explained Brejcha. "If the First Amendment entitles you to get up on your soapbox and plead for a candidate or advocate a political point of view in a public forum, then equally you may get on the soapbox and proclaim the joyous, hopeful message of the Christ child!"
About the Thomas More Society
Thomas More Society is a not-for-profit, national public interest law firm dedicated to restoring respect in law for life, family, and religious liberty. Headquartered in Chicago, the Thomas More Society defends and fosters support for these causes by providing high quality pro bono legal services from local trial courts all the way to the United States Supreme Court.
About the American Nativity Scene Committee
The American Nativity Scene Committee is dedicated to the display of nativity scenes in every state capitol in America during the Christmas season. The committee ships nativity scenes, which have been donated by an anonymous benefactor, to citizens throughout the United States who wish to give witness to the true meaning of Christmas by setting up a privately funded crèche in a public forum. The Thomas More Society provides the committee with legal help in securing permits and defending challenges as needed.
