The Essence Of Christmas

Greetings with a prayer,

“That the Essence of Christmas 2ill your house, during this wonderful season and the coming New Year”

Can you imagine what the 4irst Christmas night was like, exhilarating and exhausting, welcoming and wearingly wonderful? I found a poem recently that grasp the story in a unique manner.

CHRISTMAS NIGHT

The busy day was over,
The countryside asleep;
And night had veiled the quiet 4ield,
Where shepherds watched the quiet 4ield,
Where shepherds watched the sheep:
When unto them an angel
Appeared “mid-glorious light,”
And, all amazed, the shepherds gazed
Unto the fearful sight.

But words of comfort came,
And words of great, good cheer;
Of One, foretold from days of old,
In Bethlehem so near.
For there was born an infant,
Their Savior, on that day;
So pure and mild, the little Child
Within the manger lay.

And suddenly from heaven
A multitude came down;
A host was there, and all the air
Was 4illed with heavenly sound.
What sight most strange and wondrous
For mortal eye to see;
What sound for ear of man to hear?
So filled with ecstasy!

Oh praise to God, and glory,
That seems to echo still!
For with that birth, came Peace on Earth,
And unto man Good Will.

By Catherine Miller

Has it ever crossed your mind that the Born Again are the Gate Keepers of the message of our Lord’s Virgin Birth. Our job is easy because the message of the angel choir was, “Joy to the World the Lord is come!” This is what I mean by this statement; Christmas is in every message I preach and every song we sing and in essence, each time we give to church and missions. When our teams feed the needy on Sunday afternoons or travel on outreach to New Orleans, this is the essence of Christmas. The main thing is to share your faith in the living Christ with others, who do not know Him as the Savior of the World. The essence of Christmas is in part the on going theme of Jesus mission on earth and His continuing hope in the heart of the believer. Yes, the hope and fears of all the years met in the manger embodied in God enabled 4lesh. It is our joy as well, when we realize that the joy of the Lord is our strength and enabling.

We 4irst see him as an infant but we know Him also as the lamb slain from before the foundation of the world, the miracle child who grew in strength and wisdom with the favor of God upon Him. He is the Word made 4lesh and dwelt among us as one of us, this same Jesus was the worlds creator and our soon coming king. We are called also to continue proclaiming the Gospel of Peace. It is not just preacher’s feet, which are called beautiful. The Bible says Beautiful are the feet of all those who proclaim peace; announcing news of happiness that our God reigns. It is as though the angels could not wait to get in on the action and their praise burst out of heaven. This should be the way we feel about it; when we receive Jesus born in our hearts, we just can’t keep it to ourselves. Don’t you think it is amazing that The Perfect, Heaven Inspected Lamb of God, would be born in a manger? Why? This has always been a question people ask at this season of the year.

The answer is so easy; it is because he was the Lamb of God who would take away the sin of the world. He lived an impeccable life, tempted in every point as we are, yet without sin and quali4ied as the one who would carry out the redemption mission.

Thank you for doing your part in keeping the essence of Christmas alive, day by day, in your commitment to Him; by your sacri4icial lifestyle and example to the world around you.

Thank you for being faithful to the call and helping us all ful4ill our life mission as we keep the essence of Christmas in wide-open mode, 24/7 today and always.

Your loving pastors,
Cleddie and Gaynell