My Christmas Wish. Part 1

My People,

Hello! Christmas is my favourite time of the year. I love everything about the season. It’s the beginning of November that brings in the season of HOPE for me.

"Lord, to whom shall we go? You have the words of eternal life; and we have believed, and have come to know, that you are the Holy One of God."  John 6:68-69

Truly, truly, I say to you, he who hears my word and believes him who sent me, has eternal life; he does not come into judgment, but has passed from death to life. John 5:24

This is Christmas Wishes. I love Christmas Carols. We don’t have that tradition now of Christmas carol singing where kids come home and sing the Christmas carols. I also used to love it when it was in the Church grounds and people used to gather only to listen to the carol singing. Now it has gotten complicated. So this is my way of letting you know what we miss...

If I had my way this Christmas
If all I would wish could be
Of all the great wishes
In a wonderful world
I'd only ask for three

And if I could have three-ee wishes
And if my first wish came true
There'd be peace on earth
Good will among men
And love in all that we-ee do

Can you imagine a world like that
What a wonderful world it would be
And then I would wish
It could go on forever
For people like you and me

If I had my way this Christmas
And if the two others came true
My third wish would be
For now and forever
To share all my wishes with you

My third wish would be
For now and forever
To share all my-y wishes wi-ith you

I love Santa Claus. I love it when Santa says, “Merry Christmas to all and to all a good night.” I love Reindeers – Rudolph, Dasher, Dancer, Prancer, Vixen, Comet, Cupid, Donner, and Blitzen. I love Elfs. I love the lights. I love Poinsettias. I love the North Pole. I love watching Christmas movies. I love everything that is associated with Christmas. I am a dreamer, I am a believer and if there was ever a way to get to the North Pole and I could get there, I would be there in a jiffy. Just speaking! This is the only place I can tell you of how much I love Christmas! Did I tell you that it is my favourite time of the year? Oh yeah, I can see it now, my second line repeated. 

Christmas is a time of Peace and Joy - a time to say thank you to each and every one and a time to celebrate.

Christmas is about the birth of Jesus in Bethlehem - The announcement made by the Angels to the Shepherds.

These days it means different things to different people. People are more concerned to hear about their profit from Christmas. Some try to find a merry Christmas in what they call entertainment and fun. Christmas is become a Business of sorts for people.

Paul says “I discipline my body and bring it into subjection” 1 Corinthians 9:27 He meant that he conquered his appetites and kept his desires under control. These things, materialism-money, are crowding Christ out of Christmas. 

At Christmas - celebrate family, celebrate love. Let each family member know how truly loved they are. And don’t do it on facebook-because everybody can see. When one lives under one roof as man and wife, why do you need facebook to tell others how you feel about each other. Or children to tell their mother/father how much loved they are. I believe love is in the heart and can only be best expressed in deeds. ‘Love is not put in the heart to stay; love is not love till you give it away.’

That is the Love God shared with us that Christmas night, we received the greatest gift of all – the gift of His Son our Lord Jesus Christ. Family life is important. That giving is better than receiving. That children are our future and their dreams are precious.

Our world as we know it has become a dark place. We can fully acknowledge the world’s darkness and let our hearts break for the suffering in this world. BUT, it is HOPE on that first Christmas – a HOPE that contains the power to bring light into the darkness.

Isaiah spoke about the coming Messiah. He said: Therefore the Lord Himself will give you a sign: The virgin will conceive and give birth to a son, and will call him Immanuel. ‘Immanuel’ means ‘God with us.’ Isaiah 7:14, Matthew 1:23.

Jesus walked this earth for 33 years-showing us how we’re supposed to live. And then He went to the Cross, to suffer God’s judgment for all through His brutal death on the Cross, we are saved. And three days later, the greatest miracle occurred: He rose from the grave. 

At Christmas, we learn to be ready to encounter God who came to us in Jesus Christ and learning from Him we know we have to come to serve others.

Jesus Christ was born on a journey that symbolized the restless nature of the world. He was born in a stable. He died, taking the ordeal of the cross so that out of His suffering and His victorious resurrection man could find redemption.

“for to you is born this day in the city of David a Savior, who is Christ the Lord.” Luke 2:11. 

 

On that first Christmas, 2,000 years ago, the world experienced ‘the Star’. God marked the Sky. It was God showing us that His best is on the way.

A world that had waited on HOPe would now know what it is ‘to sing’. With the coming of God in the flesh, hope sprang up in the hearts of the people. The Angels sang, “Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace among men with whom he is pleased!” Luke 2:14

The ‘Good News’ is that a Saviour had come to save all of us from sin and give us eternal life. Jesus the theme of that first Christmas, He is The Star-our song, our joy, our hope. We are because of Him.

In Luke’s Gospel on Jesus’ birth Mary and Joseph are temporarily homeless. When they arrived at Bethlehem to register, there was nowhere for them to stay, Mary was in labour and about to give birth to their first-born child. In Matthew’s Gospel before the Angel in a dream had come to Joseph he had decided to divorce Mary quietly. They can find only a Stable, and are surrounded, by shepherds.  And immediately after the birth they were forced to flee to a different country in terror from Herod’s soldiers who were sent to kill their child. 

The birth of Jesus, at its heart is the conviction that God has chosen to join us in all the circumstances of our life. No matter where our lives take us, our journey is never meaningless. God wants to be with each and every one of us. That is the strong message of Christmas. Christmas is a hope that, God will bring order out of chaos.

The angel said, “He will save His people from their sins,” Christmas is not Christmas without the message of the death and resurrection of Christ. 

“Why are you downcast, O my soul? Why so disturbed within me? Put your hope in God, for I will yet praise him, my Savior and my God.” Psalm 42:5

Often life doesn’t turn out the way we hoped it would. One begins to believe that there is nothing in which we can confidently hope.

That first Christmas true Hope was born. Hope for the forgiveness of sins. A Hope that would enable us to forget the past and set our sights on things that doesn’t disappoint.

I love the honesty in Psalm 42:5. And when by faith we embrace God and all that He promised, we can have a hope that is a confident, courageous optimism that is rooted in the certainty of His Word.

This is Our JOURNEY…

The Christmas message has not changed - Christmas still reminds us that God is with us.

That first Christmas started with a Joseph and Mary making a difficult journey and having to trust God with every step along the way. And each day, as we walk through in the continuing journey of God’s people, having rested on God’s promises, and look ahead to the time when those promises will be fulfilled.

John 1:5 says: "The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not overcome it".

In the midst of uncertainty, God will never forsake us. There is nowhere God’s love cannot abound. We may feel deeply disturbed by the journey that lies ahead. But remember, with God all things are possible.  

Please continue with:

CHRISTMAS message! 

The PROMISE 

Metanoia 

The SIGN 

My Christmas Wish. Part 2