Anyway, for all those people who get their undies in a knot over “HH” vs. “MC,” please read this great post from Jennifer McGrail’s “The Path Less Taken:”

The only one who can take your Christ out of your Christmas is you.

How do you take Christ out of Christmas?  You take Christ out of Christmas every time you:

Don’t take the high road.

Are less than loving, and patient, and kind.

Gossip, complain about, and judge others.

Are slow to listen and quick to anger.

And yes…. grump and moan and cry about everyone taking Christ out of Christmas, instead of simply showing the people kindness and goodwill and grace, and letting them see through your actions that Christ cannot be taken out of your Christmas because Christ is living in you.  No one can take that away from you, no matter what they believe or what they celebrate or WHY they celebrate.

The post is terrific from start to finish, so please read the whole thing.

The post Is “Happy Holidays” a Dirty Word (or two)? first appeared on What He Said: The Words of Jesus Christ.

Take a breath and simply enjoy. The gifts are wrapped, the roast is in the oven (or the tofurkey for folks like me), all the hard stuff is done and you find yourself surrounded by people you don’t spend nearly enough time with. Enjoy it.

Here’s a great summation of what I’m trying to say. Holly Stewart eloquently writes:

“Christian or not, we can all learn valuable lessons from the story of Jesus’ birth. Great men and women can emerge from lowly beginnings. Humility is a cleansing force. The redeeming values of faith and love are not to be taken lightly. Devotion is its own reward. Giving is better than receiving.

So celebrate in your way, or not. It’s your holiday. It belongs to everyone. Fortunately for us, Christmas is big enough for the whole world.”

Merry Christmas. Happy Holidays. Be festive and merry. We’ll be back the week of January 3.

The post Christmas…for Everyone first appeared on What He Said: The Words of Jesus Christ.

Shane is an interesting, funny, charismatic dude. We featured a video of him speaking a few months back, and I always find his message to be relevant and lasered on point. He’s a Red-Letter Christian and works with the homeless in his neighborhood of Philadelphia. Read the whole post, but here’s a snippet to whet your appetite:

“I grew up in the Bible Belt. When I became a Christian, I learned I didn’t have to stop buying stuff — I just had to start buying Christian stuff. An entire world of retail spending possibilities lay before me: the Christian industrial complex. There were Christian t-shirts, bumper stickers, even Christian candy — “testa-mints” — peppermints wrapped in a Bible verse. We were taught “secular” was bad, and supplied with charts that countered popular mainstream bands with a Christian alternative. We burned our old tapes (which is what we listened to back in those days) and went to the Christian albums. We were often sadly disappointed. They just didn’t sound like Metallica. As a friend of mine quipped: “All these Christian artists say, ‘God gave me this song,’ and then you listen to it and know why God gave it away.” I later learned that Christian art doesn’t have to be a mediocre counterfeit of the original. And, I learned that Christianity is not about conforming to the world, but about being transformed by a God who is crazy about the poor, fond of toppling the powerful, and raising the lowly … and who I’m pretty sure would feel conflicted wearing a “God bless Rome” shirt or doting an “Army of One” sticker on the bumper of his SUV… I mean, hybrid. I mean donkey. Never mind.”

The post Christian Consumerism first appeared on What He Said: The Words of Jesus Christ.

“If anyone sues you to take away your coat, let him have your cloak also. Whoever compels you to go one mile, go with him two. Give to him who asks you, and don’t turn away him who desires to borrow from you.” – Matthew 5:40-42

Brought to present day, here’s a nice story of a Waukegan waitress who took Jesus’ instructions to heart (whether she knew it or not).

The post AOK Thursday: Giving first appeared on What He Said: The Words of Jesus Christ.

Last week, vandals got to the Glastonbury Holy Tree in England. Listen to the story:

The post A Holy Tree, Diminished first appeared on What He Said: The Words of Jesus Christ.

And think.

Christmas, after all is meant to be a celebration of the birth of Jesus, not a celebration of the glowing credit card. One more plastic toy or electronic doo-dad is not going to make this world a more peaceful and tolerant home for any of us.

If you could sit Jesus down and ask Him what he really wants for his birthday, I’d bet He’d say “To be understood.” We just happen to know of a great gift for everyone on your list that makes His message easier to understand than ever before. Give it a shot >>

The post It’s His Birthday – Get Him What He Wants first appeared on What He Said: The Words of Jesus Christ.

“This is my commandment, that you love one another, even as I have loved you.” – John 15:12

In return, here is the Christmas present we all should accept over the Wii:

“Peace I leave with you. My peace I give to you; not as the world gives, give I to you. Don’t let your heart be troubled, neither let it be fearful.” – John 14:27

The post A Birthday Wish first appeared on What He Said: The Words of Jesus Christ.

Here at What He Said, we just like to say “Merry Christmas.” It’s cheery, jolly, and when else do you get to use the word “merry” throughout the year? Just looking at the word puts me in a better mood. So, Merry Christmas, everyone and you can take that to mean whatever the spirit of the season holds for you.

The post Merry Christmas! first appeared on What He Said: The Words of Jesus Christ.

Wherever you encounter Jesus, we hope you remember His message of peace and goodwill to all. The world could use a heaping helping of both these days.

The post Faces of Jesus first appeared on What He Said: The Words of Jesus Christ.

Now in the sixth month, the angel Gabriel was sent from God to a city of Galilee, named Nazareth, to a virgin pledged to be married to a man whose name was Joseph, of the house of David. The virgin’s name was Mary. Having come in, the angel said to her, “Rejoice, you highly favored one! The Lord is with you. Blessed are you among women!” But when she saw him, she was greatly troubled at the saying, and considered what kind of salutation this might be. The angel said to her, “Don’t be afraid, Mary, for you have found favor with God. Behold, you will conceive in your womb, and bring forth a son, and will call his name ‘Jesus.’ He will be great, and will be called the Son of the Most High. The Lord God will give him the throne of his father, David, and he will reign over over the house of Jacob forever. There will be no end to his Kingdom.”

For those of you trying to picture this scene in your head, archaeologists might be able to lend a hand. They have just discovered the first dwelling in Nazareth dated to the time of Jesus. They describe Nazareth as an “out-of-the-way hamlet of around 50 houses on a patch of about four acres (1.6 hectares). It was evidently populated by Jews of modest means who kept camouflaged grottos to hide from Roman invaders.”

The post Nazareth Uncovered first appeared on What He Said: The Words of Jesus Christ.