You are probably expecting a respectable list of good things you can do to lift up Jesus Christ during this Christmas season. You know, things like:

1. Read the biblical account of Jesus’ birth on Christmas morning.
2. Limit your own Christmas gift shopping so you have the money to share with those in need.
3. Volunteer as a bell ringer for The Salvation Army.
4. Say, “Merry Christmas” to sales clerks, cashiers, stockers and others you meet while shopping.
5. Make room for quality family time that includes fun and fellowship, but also prayer and maybe even some good ole’ Christmas carols around the piano.
6. Send cards that use the phrase “Merry Christmas” and have a biblical message.
7. Teach your children that Santa Claus is fun, but he isn’t real. Teach them that the real reason we celebrate this season is because God came to be with us. And Jesus Christ is Very Real!

Well, look at that we already have more than five suggestions on how to keep Christ in Christmas. So, I guess this blog post is done. Go out and do these and your good. Right? You’ve completed the list and you’ve checked it twice.

Hmm…not really. You see, all of the above suggestions, and many more, are very good to do. And if I was going to expound on one, it would be #7, but will save that for another time.

What I truly, with all my being and conviction, believe is that the only eternal way to keep Christ in Christmas

is to actually live in Christ!

If you are a disciple of Jesus Christ, you ARE in Christ. But do you live like it? Do I live like I am in Christ? And what would Christmas look like in our homes, our communities and our culture if more of Jesus’ disciples actually lived in Christ? And how  do we do that?

Let’s find out! Here are 5…there are many more…but here are 5 ways we live in Christ and by doing so we truly are keeping Christ in Christmas.

1. Boast in God and in His Son, Jesus Christ!

Romans 15:17-18a

Therefore in Christ Jesus I have found reason for boasting in things pertaining to God. For I will not presume to speak of anything except what Christ has accomplished through me…

For I will not presume to speak of anything except what Christ has accomplished through me…

Give God all the praise and honor and glory this Christmas season and every season and see how your perspective, attitude and demeanor change and result in abundant blessings. You may get cut off from CNN, but you will never be cut off from God or His using you to impact people who desperately need Him.

2. Love in Christ!

I Corinthians 16:23-14

The grace of the Lord Jesus be with you. My love be with you all in Christ Jesus. Amen.

Because of God’s grace to us when He came to be with us (Immanuel) we can love. Without that grace, without that mercy, we cannot even begin to know love or give love. But with it!!

With it, we can love when people are unlovable. We can love when we don’t feel like it. We can love the undesirable. We can love when it’s hard. And we can love when it is politically incorrect and socially unacceptable.

3. Good Works in Christ!

Ephesians 2:10

For we are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works,

which God prepared beforehand so that we would walk in them.

Even our most righteous works are tainted without being created in Christ. God calls them filthy (Isaiah 64:6). But in Christ our works are not only good, but they are a lifestyle and not just when everyone is looking at Christmas.

4. Forgive in Christ!

Ephesians 4:32

Be kind to one another, tender-hearted, forgiving each other, just as God in Christ also has forgiven you.

For a season that is supposed to be filled with peace on earth and goodwill toward men, there sure is an awful lot of bitterness, animosity and vengefulness going around these days! And that isn’t just in our city streets. It’s in our homes, our work and our churches. How can we shake our heads in surprise at the day’s headlines when our own lives are ruled by unforgiving hearts?

How dare we!

You want to keep Christ in Christmas? You want to live like you are in Christ?

Start forgiving and start today and start with those closest to you!

5. Triumph in Christ

II Corinthians 2:14

But thanks be to God, who always leads us in triumph in Christ,

and manifests through us the sweet aroma of the knowledge of Him in every place.

Of all the people on Earth who should be filled with joy and peace, it should be us…the disciples of Jesus the Christ! Instead we walk around with scowls on our faces, fear in our hearts and hope buried so deep we can’t even see it let alone anyone who unlucky enough to cross our path.

We’ve Won! It’s not that we are going to win. We already have won in Christ! God is wringing His heavenly hands wondering how all this mess we call living is going to work out. No way! He is still on THE throne and Jesus is still at His right hand and we are still His sons and daughters!

Live like the victor you are in Christ! No pride! No haughty attitude!

Just a humble smile straight from the heart!

Doing these will keep Christ in Christmas and they will keep us living in Christ!

 

What do you think? How else can we live in Christ?