As is usual at this time of the year there are a number of complaints, comments and news items about Christmas being censored in various Western nations.

In Sydney, the Sydney City Council and the Parramatta Council have tried for years to have generic "happy holidays" banners in public to avoid offending Muslims- ironically most Muslims are more than happy to have public acknowledgement of Christianity in Australia because they recognise our Christian heritage (more so than our so-called leaders). In the U.S. there is the usual battle between the freedom from religion brigade and the people who think that nativity scenes and Christmas trees are probably harmless.

I'm not going to be offended by people trying to remove Christianity from Christmas.

I'm going to spend the next 40 days privately and in public worship preparing my heart to celebrate the awesome mystery of "Emmanuel- God with us", the miracle of the infinite, Almighty holy God becoming a weak human being. I'm going to preach and teach and talk about the Saviour's journey of life, death and resurrection.

I'm going to be thankful that I can worship God without fear of imprisonment, death, torture or being beaten by religious zealots. I expect the time will soon come when that is not true in Australia, but in the meantime let's celebrate the freedom we do have.

I'm going to look for opportunities to use the season to talk to people about the meaning of Christmas and why the "Christ" whose name is at the centre of the holiday can bring meaning to the holiday and to the whole of their life. I will steadfastly wish people a Happy Christmas, because it is my heart's desire that they will find Christ this Christmas season.

I think it's great when politicians and celebrities try to blank over the whole christianity thing. It means they don't have to hypocritically pretend to honour Christ when they spend all year ignoring Him.

I will cringe when the ABC talks about Bethlehem as the place where Jesus Christ "is believed" to have been born or, bizarrely, "alleged," as if the birth of Christ was a crime to be accused of rather than an historically verifiable fact.

Deprived of all the trappings of respectable secular governmental approval, we the church will be forced to use guerilla techniques to undermine the doctrines of the status quo.

But isn't that the way it started? A motley bunch of followers of a disgraced Messiah made the revolutionary claim Jesus, not Caesar, is Lord.

Today, as much as ever before, Jesus is Lord.

The nations may rage, but Jesus is Lord.

Praise be to God!