By Doug Creamer

For the Salisbury Post

Recently, I was reminded that life is precious and that it can change quickly. I found myself in a tight situation that could have gone really bad really quickly.

Thankfully, someone upstairs was looking out for me and protecting me in that situation. The good news is that no one was hurt and everything turned out fine.

I am still having a hard time thinking about all the things that could have happened, but thankfully did not. This event has reminded me that life can change instantly. Sometimes wonderful things happen and other times tragedy strikes.

Naturally, it’s fun to think about how life could change positively if we won the lottery. I am convinced that my wife could help me spend the winnings in some wonderful and fun ways. The only thing standing in the way of our winning the lottery is actually purchasing a ticket and maybe a little luck.

While it is fun to consider positive life-changing events, I am convinced that it’s not such a good thing to meditate on the possibility of something bad happening to us. It’s hard to imagine how I would react to some bad news from a doctor or a police officer approaching me and saying that there has been an accident. I’ll never forget the day a pastor showed up at my work to talk with me. I nearly had a heart attack on the spot. Turns out he just liked to visit his parishioners on the job.

After several negative reactions, he decided he should announce to his congregation ahead of time that he liked to visit people at work.

I imagine that many readers have experienced first-hand life’s rapid change in a negative way. I hope that you were able to find comfort through your faith in those moments. Being faced with a crisis where our faith is put to the test can change the wa we live forever.

It’s in crisis moments that we discover our priorities are not what they should be.

Things that once seemed important become trivial. We discover the strength of our family ties and the depth of our friendships.

There is a decision that each of us must make for ourselves. It’s a decision that can and will change everything. Each of us must decide if the Bible is true and we want to accept Jesus as our personal savior. It’s an individual decision, yet one that will profoundly change not only the course of your life but your eternal home.

We have just experienced the Christmas season, which marketers would like you to believe is all about the giving and receiving of presents. While exchanging presents is a fun and important part of the season, that’s not the reason for the season.

This season is based upon the fact that God so loved mankind that He wanted to communicate His love in a personal way. God decided to send His son to express the depth of His love for us. He sent Jesus in such a way that every person from every background could approach Him and build a relationship with Him.

So we are faced with a decision. Do we accept the Christ of Christmas as our personal savior and thereby change everything? By making the right decision, we change our relationship with God. Instead of being lost sinners we become pure, holy, and righteous sons and daughters of God. In a flash all of our sins; past, present, and future are wiped away through God’s forgiveness. In that moment we are also granted a direct access line with God our creator. That means that no matter what we must face in life, we will never face it alone. We can be sure that God is with us.

We never know when we will encounter a life-changing moment. I want to encourage you to make a life-changing decision right now. I want to encourage you to start or build upon a personal relationship with God. He wants to reveal Himself to you and He wants you to know the depth of His love. Christmas is all about love, hope, and peace; three precious gifts that God wants to give you. It all begins when you make a simple decision to accept the Christ of Christmas into your heart.