What's Really Going On as Stocks Edge Higher and Higher
Stocks have been edging higher and higher. Whoopee! Is it a Santa Claus rally now?
Whether or not this qualifies as the proverbial Santa Claus rally, Santa's coming soon no matter what stocks do. At least that's what you'll be hearing as Advent moves towards Christmas. But wait! Santa's someone that only hit the scene in the last century and a half or so.
There's a lot more going on than Santa - like Advent, for example.
Advent? Yes, it's the Season of Preparation for Christmas. In fact, it's a preparation not only in anticipating the celebration of the Birth of Christ, but also in anticipating His Second Coming. That's right, He comes again when this world of ours comes to an end. And it will one of these days. So prepare, why don't you?
Ah, you're Jewish? Fair enough. Hanukkah's around the corner. Growing up with many Jewish friends and their families, I remember well how special it was when Christmas and Hanukkah landed close to each other. That's the case this year; first day of Hanukkah Sunday December 22nd; Christmas Day Wednesday, December 25th.
Outside, lights are already sprucing up and brightening the long-and-getting-longer nights. Inside, homes are taking on that Christmas look and feel that comes once a year. In addition to the Menorah, many of my Jewish friends these days decorate for Christmas too.
So as stocks edge higher and higher, and Santa loads up his sleigh, we take note. But our hearts and minds have begun to turn towards Christmas and Hanukkah. That's as it should be. And if we're really grounded, Christmas and Hanukkah both represent so much more than lights, family feasts, presents, and all the rest.
Both find their origin in the Creator of the Universe, the Creator of us all. Through the Jews we first learned of Him and we are grateful for the Jews who faithfully passed on His Word in the ancient books of the Old Testament, and who passed on the traditions that established His Presence in this world. We learned that He is Our Father - a loving Father at that!
We remember too that Jesus was a Jew. He was called the Son of Man. He was that and, in fact, the Son of God. From the Jews came a Savior, One who would free us from our sins; One Who loved us so that He suffered and died for us. In doing so, He opened the Gates of Heaven for those of us who, by the grace of God, may be with God the Father and God the Son forever in eternal happiness.
All of this bubbles beneath the patina presented by the world in all that Santa stuff. And all of it - if we're wise - will finally burst through and take our hearts and minds right to the source of all that is True, Good, and Beautiful. By the grace of God the Holy Spirit - the Spirit of Love between the Father and the Son - may our minds be lifted and our hearts enlivened.
This is what's really going on - or should be going on - as stocks edge higher and higher. OK?
Whether or not this qualifies as the proverbial Santa Claus rally, Santa's coming soon no matter what stocks do. At least that's what you'll be hearing as Advent moves towards Christmas. But wait! Santa's someone that only hit the scene in the last century and a half or so.
There's a lot more going on than Santa - like Advent, for example.
Advent? Yes, it's the Season of Preparation for Christmas. In fact, it's a preparation not only in anticipating the celebration of the Birth of Christ, but also in anticipating His Second Coming. That's right, He comes again when this world of ours comes to an end. And it will one of these days. So prepare, why don't you?
Ah, you're Jewish? Fair enough. Hanukkah's around the corner. Growing up with many Jewish friends and their families, I remember well how special it was when Christmas and Hanukkah landed close to each other. That's the case this year; first day of Hanukkah Sunday December 22nd; Christmas Day Wednesday, December 25th.
Outside, lights are already sprucing up and brightening the long-and-getting-longer nights. Inside, homes are taking on that Christmas look and feel that comes once a year. In addition to the Menorah, many of my Jewish friends these days decorate for Christmas too.
So as stocks edge higher and higher, and Santa loads up his sleigh, we take note. But our hearts and minds have begun to turn towards Christmas and Hanukkah. That's as it should be. And if we're really grounded, Christmas and Hanukkah both represent so much more than lights, family feasts, presents, and all the rest.
Both find their origin in the Creator of the Universe, the Creator of us all. Through the Jews we first learned of Him and we are grateful for the Jews who faithfully passed on His Word in the ancient books of the Old Testament, and who passed on the traditions that established His Presence in this world. We learned that He is Our Father - a loving Father at that!
We remember too that Jesus was a Jew. He was called the Son of Man. He was that and, in fact, the Son of God. From the Jews came a Savior, One who would free us from our sins; One Who loved us so that He suffered and died for us. In doing so, He opened the Gates of Heaven for those of us who, by the grace of God, may be with God the Father and God the Son forever in eternal happiness.
All of this bubbles beneath the patina presented by the world in all that Santa stuff. And all of it - if we're wise - will finally burst through and take our hearts and minds right to the source of all that is True, Good, and Beautiful. By the grace of God the Holy Spirit - the Spirit of Love between the Father and the Son - may our minds be lifted and our hearts enlivened.
This is what's really going on - or should be going on - as stocks edge higher and higher. OK?
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