Just A Thought

 A young mother was frantically shuffling her two young children through the mall, trying to get her last few Christmas gifts. Her four-year-old daughter spotted an elaborate nativity set in the window of a home décor store and asked, “Mom, who are those two people and the baby in that barn?”  

“That’s Mary, Joseph and Jesus at the first Christmas” she quickly explained.

“Where is Santa,” asked the girl, “isn’t Christmas about celebrating Santa and presents?”

That is when it dawned on the young mother that the celebrations of the season may have eclipsed the thing being celebrated. She had not taken time to explain the reason for this most-important celebration. 

The true meaning of Christmas is important whether someone understands it or not, but it is only important to that person if they know the real story, so they can value it and celebrate it. Many people agree with the song written in 1963 by Edward Pola and George Wyle that says: Christmas is “The most wonderful time of the year.” But is it possible to focus on the celebration and forget the real meaning? How much of this world-changing, life-changing story do you know? Here is what some studies revealed about Americans. 

·      In 2018 Lifeway Research found that only about 22% of adults said they could accurately retell the Nativity story from memory. 

·      An American Bible Society survey found that only 42% were able to correctly identify what the Bible says brought Mary and Joseph to Bethlehem for Jesus’ birth–reporting for a census.

·      A 2022 Ipsos poll reported three quarters of Americans agree that people have forgotten the real meaning of Christmas.

How is it that we can remember sports, movie or video-game details but can’t remember the most incredible event in history? This is how the prophet Isaiah foretold the birth of Jesus five hundred years before the Wise men saw His star: “For unto us a child is born, unto us a son is given: And the government shall be upon his shoulder: And his name shall be called Wonderful, Counseller, The mighty God, The everlasting Father, The Prince of Peace. Of the increase of his government and peace there shall be no end.” (Isaiah 9:6-7)

Not only was that child born, but He lived a sinless life, performed many miracles, and started a movement that would change the world. He was canceled and killed by the elite of His day, but His Resurrection and Ascension proved that He was everything Isaiah prophesied, and those events changed the lives of Jesus’ followers to the point that they were willing to die as martyrs.

Believers who celebrate Christmas are celebrating the Incarnation – God becoming flesh. It is incredible! The Mighty God lived in a body. That is why Jesus was called the “Son of God” and the “Son of Man.”  He came to identify with us. He came to redeem us. He came to take the keys of death, hell and the grave.  

Is there anything more important or more amazing than that? He changed the world so drastically that today one hundred sixty-eight countries use the Gregorian calendar which measures years according to the birth of Jesus. More importantly, millions of people now have a personal relationship with God through the life that He lived through Christ. The true story of Christmas is worth celebrating because it has done more to change the world than any other story.

# posted by John W. Hanson @ Saturday, December 20, 2025

I often share a classic story that we tell in my family that captures the idea praying for others. My maternal grandparents used to travel from Oregon to Montana once year to visit. At that time in their lives they were not attending church. One day my Grandmother was obviously distraught. My eight-year-old brother noticed, and asked her what was wrong. She told him that she had a headache and was not feeling well. 

Since my brother had been well-trained in Sunday School, he responded to her need in faith. He told her that Jesus would heal her if he prayed for her. She agreed and he took her hand and prayed for her. Withing minutes, my grandmother’s headache was gone. That prayer not only gave pain relief, it made an impression on my grandmother. In later years, she made a greater commitment to God, was baptized in Jesus’ name and filled with the baptism of the Holy Spirit. The fact that she often retold this story indicates just how powerful praying for others can be.

It has been my experience that praying for others has many benefits. Here are a few.

·      People blessed

·      Answered prayers strengthens everyone’s faith

·      It helps us be more graceful and empathetic toward others

·      God is able to reach people who were not already open to believing in Him

Sometimes praying for others is easier than praying for ourselves. According to Scripture, we don’t earn healing, but our attitude can make a difference in how God responds to our needs and our requests. Sometimes it is easier to have a right attitude when we are praying for someone else’s needs. I was once asked to pray for someone’s sister who was in the hospital. When I found her, she was in a coma and the family was not there. So, it was just me, her, and Jesus. I was not emotionally involved, and it was not me that was in need. So, I just prayed on principle, knowing that God hears and answers prayer. I don’t remember feeling anything. A few weeks later I heard that she came out of her coma. 

On another occasion, I prayed for a domestic situation of someone who came to church but was having trouble committing her life to God. She had been missing church and had invited a man to move in with her. One day I stopped at a grocery store and met her in the parking lot. I asked how it was going and she admitted that she had been unwise in inviting a guy to move in. Now she wanted him to leave but she couldn’t get him out or her house. I suggested that she repent and pledge to God that she would get back on track if He would help her with her situation. I prayed for her there in the parking lot. Later she told me that upon arriving home from the grocery story her live in was angry about something and told her he was leaving and never coming back. 

I have found that it is often my own fear or pride that keep me from being bold enough to pray for others. Once I recognized how selfish that is, I determined to make the most of every opportunity to pray for others. As a result I have been blessed to see many miracles.  

# posted by John W. Hanson @ Wednesday, December 17, 2025

 In the 60-80s God used a man named Rev. Billy Cole to do large meetings where thousands were healed and baptized with the Holy Spirit. He obviously had a gift of faith. I was in a number of meetings that Rev. Cole ministered in. One of them was a conference in TX where 500 people received the Holy Spirit, including my own son. 

He had such a reputation that whenever I was attended a meeting where he spoke I made a point of watching what he did in order to see the mighty moves of God. In one particular meeting of ministers, I was surprised when he shared his secret. He said, “I find out where God is doing a work and I show up.”  In other words, it was not about conjuring something up, it was about following the Spirit.

After watching him operate in many venues I noticed his primary method: He would almost always tell stories to connect with the audience and to build faith.  And he would often use the same stories. 

·      He spoke of the blind seeing and the lame walking

·      He told about the dead being raised

·      He described the healing of lepers

·      He shared stories about God’s protection and intervention

It was not about being eloquent or clever, it was about inspiring faith. I learned that effective ministry and faith-building is not a matter of skill or performance; it is a matter of faith. We can help others believe by simply being witnesses as to what He does.

Another way to say it is: You and I are contemporary evidence that God does what he promised thousands of years when Isaiah foretold Jesus death. He said, “Surely he has borne our griefs and carried our sorrows; yet we esteemed him stricken, smitten by God, and afflicted. But he was pierced for our transgressions; he was crushed for our iniquities; upon him was the chastisement that brought us peace, and with his wounds we are healed.” - Isaiah 53:4-5

One of my favorite Bible stories is found in John chapter 9. It demonstrates how God uses people’s personal experiences to affect their friends, family, and community. It is the story of a man who was born blind. Jesus healed him and it caused quite a stir in his home town. The religious community tried to get the healed man to deny what had happened, because they did not like the success Jesus was having. As they publicly accused Jesus of being a sinner and pressured the man, he answered like this: “I don’t know whether he is a sinner,” the man replied. “But I know this: I was blind, and now I can see!” John 9:25

God is still looking for people who will find out what He is doing and become a part of it. God’s plan to change the world has always included finding people are willing to simply believe and obey. This allows God to bless and heal them. As a result, their blessed life and their faith begins to affect those around them. Is that something God you are willing for God to do in your life?

# posted by John W. Hanson @ Friday, December 05, 2025