12-18-2015

        Good Morning All!!     

      Luke 2:7; “And she gave birth to her firstborn son and wrapped him in swaddling cloths and laid him in a manger, because there was no place for them in the inn.”

     The other day was a little stormy so the local schools were cancelled.  This meant that our grandson’s pre-school was cancelled as well.  Of course Grandpa and Grandma jumped at the chance to fill in.  So when our 3½ year old grandson saw Grandma’s Christmas tree with presents under it; his eyes got big.  He slowly looked at them and then grandma pointed out which ones were his.  Of course since Grandma is a teacher by training, so she had him count them.  “One, Two, Three, FOUR!!”  I was in my office and he came running in, “There are FOUR presents, I am so EXCITED!! I CAN HARDLY WAIT!!!” 

    To see Christmas through the eyes of a child is always one of God’s desires for us.  Remember when Jesus told his disciples “Unless you receive the kingdom of God like a child, you cannot enter it.”  This is what he was taking about.  The excitement, the hope, the desire, the great anticipation of what great things are ahead; this is what he means.  For too many of us, Christmas is, at best, blasé and at worst dreaded.  We dread shopping, we dread visiting relatives, we dread the whole experience.  We are no longer excited for the birth of Jesus.

    While it is true that many will not receive even one present; Christmas still comes to all.  It is truly one of the devil’s cruelest deceptions to have convinced so many that Christmas is measured in dollars and cents and that there are winners and losers; neither is valid but too often thought and felt.  Christmas is God telling us, showing us and making it decisively stated that his love for us knows no boundaries.  Jesus comes to dwell with us, in all that we are in all that we experience.  We never walk alone and will never be plucked from his hand.  We are his beloved children.

    So be sure to take time to see Christmas as a child does, with wonder and awe, with joy and excitement; for the King of kings has come to be your redeemer.  He comes to bring you hope; he comes to bring you salvation.  His peace and favor is upon you because he loves you.  This news should excite us each time we hear it.  It should lift our hearts as we hear, once again how our Creator came down and willingly and lovingly walked among us to give to us the joy of our salvation.  He came to pay our debt and free us from the burden of the Law and the weight of guilt of conscience.  We are no longer sitting in hopeless darkness but now, now we are in the warming glow of the Light of God.  This is wonderful news!!  This is news that gives us eternal hope.  This is so exciting!!  God loves you for you are his child!!  We have his promise, his grace and his blessings each and every day of our life.  It is so exciting!!

Gracious Lord, thank you for sending Jesus to bring us life. In you we have great hope, in you we have salvation.  Move us to see this wondrous news with great joy and excitement.  Help us to never forget or to never let the cares of this world overshadow your beautiful message of hope.  In the precious name of Jesus we pray, amen.

God’s Peace,

Pastor Bret