{"id":1375,"date":"2016-12-19T04:16:46","date_gmt":"2016-12-19T04:16:46","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/coffeewithpat.com\/?p=1375"},"modified":"2016-12-19T04:16:56","modified_gmt":"2016-12-19T04:16:56","slug":"the-spirit-of-christmas","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/coffeewithpat.com\/?p=1375","title":{"rendered":"The Spirit Of Christmas"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"img_1874\"<\/a><\/p>\n

\u201cAnd now abideth faith, hope, charity, these three; but the greatest of these is charity.\u201d
\n\u202d\u202d1 Corinthians\u202c \u202d13:13\u202c \u202d<\/p>\n

As I walk through the stores either shopping for gifts or groceries, I hummm along with the music playing on the store intercoms.<\/p>\n

I smile and say Merry Christmas, and some people smile and greet me back, while others look at me like I must be crazy.<\/p>\n

But, if I am crazy, that means I am crazy 365 days a year.<\/p>\n

Whether it is Christmas or just a regular day, I try to keep the Spirit of Jesus shining through me 24\/7, every day, all year long.<\/p>\n

What is the Christmas spirit?
\nThe Christmas Spirit if you ask 10 people what the Christmas spirit is, you’ll probably get 7 to 8 different answers.
\n1. Decorating
\n2. Buying gifts
\n3. Church Programs
\n4. The Birth of Jesus
\n5. Family and Friends
\n6. Stress
\n7. Shopping
\n8. Vacation<\/p>\n

Going beyond those different answers, there is something, the Christmas spirit, that makes people more selfless, more friendly, more kind, and generally much nicer people at Christmas.<\/p>\n

Unfortunately, due to commercialism and other factors, it seems like the transformation the Christmas spirit brought about in years passed has lessened more and more.<\/p>\n

What is the definition of Christmas spirit?
\nYou don’t hear that expression to much any more these days, but if you go back more then 30 years when Christmas was still seen as more of a religious celebration and a family thing as well.<\/p>\n

Christmas had an element in it where people felt it was a good thing to do to be a little more tolerant of the misdeeds of others, to be a little more charitable. People showed a little extra tolerance and love for each other and even the animals around them.<\/p>\n

Today you see very little of that.<\/p>\n

Today we treat such sentiments with suspicion and take the inspiration out of it by referring to it as holiday instead. The Christmas spirit was a thing of extra tolerance and love based on the teachings of Jesus Holiday.<\/p>\n

This Christmas we need to remember there is a God who loves us, and on Christmas He gave us the ultimate gift. He sent His only son, Jesus, and we celebrate his birth this time of year.<\/p>\n

Both during Christmas time and throughout the rest of the year, we deal with stress, like family and relationship problems, health struggles, finanical issues, and more. However, Christmas is a reminder that God cares for us and loves us.<\/p>\n

So grab a cup of coffee, hot cocoa, or tea. Sit back, take a deep breathe and inhale the Spirit of God, which is the Spirit of Christmas.<\/p>\n

Merry CHRISTmas,
\nBlessings, Love and Prayers,
\nPastor Pat Aman
\nhttp:\/\/coffeewithpat.org<\/p>\n

Also, please know that:<\/p>\n

I thank my God every time I remember you. In all my prayers for all of you, I always pray with Joy.
\nPhilippians 1: 3-4<\/p>\n

I end each message with “My Blessings, Love & Prayers,” I truly mean that, and I pray for each of you every morning and evening.<\/p>\n

(Nehemiah 8:10)
\n“The Joy Of The Lord, Is Your Strength.”<\/p>\n

(Proverbs 17:22)
\n“A Merry Heart Does Good, Like Medicine, But A Broken Spirit Dries The Bones.”<\/p>\n

Devotion Written By: Pastor Pat Aman Book \u00a9 1996\/2016\u201cCoffee With Pat Daily Devotionals\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

\u201cAnd now abideth faith, hope, charity, these three; but the greatest of these is charity.\u201d \u202d\u202d1 Corinthians\u202c \u202d13:13\u202c \u202d As I walk through the stores either shopping for gifts or groceries, I hummm along with the music playing on the store intercoms. I smile and say Merry Christmas, and some people smile and greet me […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[3],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-1375","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-devotions","author-admin"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/coffeewithpat.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1375","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/coffeewithpat.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/coffeewithpat.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/coffeewithpat.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/coffeewithpat.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=1375"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/coffeewithpat.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1375\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":1376,"href":"https:\/\/coffeewithpat.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1375\/revisions\/1376"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/coffeewithpat.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=1375"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/coffeewithpat.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=1375"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/coffeewithpat.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=1375"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}