One of the most important areas of health is spiritual health. It is through spirituality that humans find our purpose and meaning. Spirituality is expressed through faith. Mine is Christianity. The following article reflects my faith and is my favorite Christmas composition. After that, there’s a word on Christmas from our beloved Zig Ziglar and myself.
One Solitary Life
He was born in an obscure village, the child of a peasant woman. He grew up in still another village where He worked in a carpenter’s shop until He was thirty. Then for three years He traveled and preached. He never wrote a book. He never held an office. He never had a family or owned a house. He did not go to college. He never visited a big city. He never traveled more than two hundred miles from the place where He was born. He did none of the things man usually associates with greatness. He had no credentials but Himself.
He was only thirty-three when the tide of public opinion turned against Him. His friends ran away. He was turned over to His enemies and went through the mockery of a trial. He was nailed to a stake between two thieves. While He was dying, His executioners gambled for the only property He had on earth, his coat.
When He was dead, He was laid in a borrowed grave through the pity of a friend. Two Thousand years have come and gone and today He remains the central figure of the human race and the leader of mankind’s progress.
All the armies that ever marched, all the fleets that ever sailed, all the parliaments that ever sat, all the kings that ever reigned, put together, have not affected the life of men on this planet so much as that One Solitary Life. ~Dr. James Allen Francis, originally published 1928
Greetings from Zig’s Newsletter. Most of you will be reading this a few days before December 25, the day celebrated by Christians as Christ’s birthday.
Thanks to an elderly black lady who spent the July 4, 1972, weekend in our home, I committed my life to Christ and every facet of my life was radically changed for the better. I became a “new creature” and quickly learned that God’s possibles are infinitely greater than man’s permissibles. As I studied Biblical principles and started teaching them, my career exploded. When I accepted Christ as my Lord, I received my “BA”– that’s “Born Again.” As a born again Christian I became a joint heir with Christ to the Kingdom of God and truly fell in love with my wife of over 28 years. Loving her through Christ really taught me what love was all about.
As a born again Christian I wanted to share my faith with others and make decisions that reflected that faith. In that process I received my second degree, the “DD”-that’s “Disturbing the Devil.” Yes, Satan is the devil, and he is the author of lies. When people see the joy in my life (and it’s more evident all the time), Satan doesn’t like that, and when I call him a liar and tell people about the Bible, that, too, disturbs the devil. When I am privileged to bring someone to a saving knowledge of Christ, that disturbs him even more.
As I continued in my Christian walk I received my “Ph.D.,” which means that I am “Past Having Doubt.” Our pastor teaches that when we believe God can do it, that’s little faith. When we believe that God will do it, that’s big faith. When we believe it’s a done deal, that is perfect faith.
In this Christmas season we hear people using the term “happy holidays.” Needless to say, when Muslims are celebrating Ramadan, nobody says to them, “Happy Holiday,” and when my Jewish friends are celebrating Yom Kippur, nobody says to them, “Happy Holiday.” However, at Christmas, when we celebrate the birth of Christ (without which there would be NO Christmas), more and more people are sending “Happy Holiday” cards. When I’m greeted with “Happy Holidays!” I smile (and I encourage you to do the same thing), thank them, and then say, “I’ll go you one better. I’ll wish you a Merry Christmas, since this is the celebration of the birth that had the most impact of any birth since the history of mankind.” When the Babe in Bethlehem was born it was announced that He was the Savior of the world. When He made the supreme sacrifice on the cross, He simply said, “It is finished,” because when He arose three days later He had triumphed over the grave.
Christianity is not a “religion.” It is a relationship with Christ as Lord. All “religions” require that you work your way to Heaven with your good deeds. In Christianity, we believe our way into Heaven. The Bible clearly says that if we confess with our mouth that Jesus is Lord, and believe in our hearts that God raised Him from death, we will be saved.
Christmas is extraordinarily special to me and all born again believers.
Merry Christmas to all! ~Zig Ziglar
My prayer is that you’ll invite the Prince of Peace to live in your heart this season. Merry Christmas to you, my friends and family. You are one of the most amazing gifts in my life.
~Donna Krech