Our True Christmas 'Needs'

Christmas.  Need.  These two words are interchangeably connected.  Christ came because of man's desperate need right?  We've all heard the sermons, and know the story.  It's so easy to take this statement for granted - but it becomes very real to me when I recognize this one fact:  I need God.  I NEED God.  No, wait, I REALLY NEED God.  Because without Him I'm prone to fail - miserably.  

I'm currently only 34 years old, but with each passing year I become more and more aware of my need for Him.  This is primarily because with each passing year I become more and more aware of how dark my heart can become without Him.  I have SO much work to do in my life.  It's overwhelming - wow.  Christmas.  Need.  These two words are interchangeably connected - and as Christmas approaches I'm reminded of the fact that these two words really do define my life.

In my best moments, I am still in need of Christ.  In my weakest moments, I am very much in need of Christ.  Can I be honest?  In my best moments I identify with the confidence David must have felt when he sent his army off to battle without him.  In my weakest moments I easily identify with the tax collector Jesus spoke of who while at the temple begged God for mercy because of His wickedness.  But here's the deal.  David, in his confidence relaxed his guard and turned away from the cloud of dust left by his departing army only to see Bathsheba, and fail.  However, the tax collector in his admission of his sinfulness left the altar of the Lord to stare right into the pleasure of God!  One is victorious and is led to failure, while the other fails and is led to victory.  

Jesus said in Matt. 5, "Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven."  The paraphrase here is, "Blessed are those who humbly recognize their need for God, for they will enter into his kingdom."  All it takes is for us to look at our weakest link to realize we're not as strong as we think we are.  We need Jesus.  

OK - Well, this blog is supposed to be about my music - so let me say that I am very pleased to introduce new Christmas arrangements I've written on PraiseCharts.  If you think you can use them in your services this season please feel free to grab what you need.  There are lead sheets, orchestrations, click tracks, rhythm tracks, and a few live videos of these arrangements filmed last year at my church - all available at http://www.praisecharts.com/frank-ralls.  But beyond the music, my greatest hope is that we all never loose sight of our need for Christ, or His endless love for each of us.  Thanks and have a wonderful Christmas!