Blessed be the tie that binds us together in fellowship and love,

Last Sunday my weekly message was,

DON’T TAKE THE BAIT.

The more that I have thought about this the more relevant it has become in my own mind. I mentioned that our first family literally took the bait and that is exactly what is taking place in our world today. In the Amplified Bible, the brother of Jesus warns us of this danger:

Amplified Bible

14 But each one is tempted when he is dragged away, Enticed and Baited [to commit sin] by his own [worldly] desire (lust, passion).

15 Then when the illicit desire has conceived, it gives birth to sin; and when sin has run its course, it gives birth to death. 16 Do not be misled, my beloved brothers and sisters.

Pope Francis said, “Being homosexual is not a crime. It’s not a crime. Yes, it’s a sin. Well, yes, but let’s make the distinction first between sin and crime." From my perspective it is a downplay of words and I would go so far as to call this iniquity.

This word iniquity is derived from the word, “Awon, often translated as iniquity,” a synonym for sin, “relates more to the inner character and points to an intentional twisting of a given standard.”

We are living in an hour when there is daily twisting of the given standards, which God has set for us.

Have you ever noticed that sin will tell on you? Have you noticed that sin is a gossip?

Sin always has a way of telling on us.

The story of King Saul in 1 Samuel 15 tells us of how Saul got in trouble because he did not carry out what he had been given grace to do. Let’s visit his 4 great mistakes.

1. The King disobeyed God.

2. The King lived in a state of denial.

3. The King walked in pride (when you were small in your own eyes, you were made the head).

4. The King was self-righteous.

I have a question for you today; have you ever noticed that King Saul only felt the Presence of God when he was in the presence of a man of God? It is a good question to ask, “Do we ever feel the presence of God when we are alone?” Ultimately the King resorted to do something other than God’s prescribed method to hear from heaven. Listen to God’s edict in this matter:

1 Samuel 15:22-24 KJV

22 And Samuel said, Hath the Lord as great delight in burnt offerings and sacrifices, as in obeying the voice of the Lord? Behold, to obey is better than sacrifice, and to hearken than the fat of rams.

23 For rebellion is as the sin of witchcraft, and stubbornness is as iniquity and idolatry. Because thou hast rejected the word of the Lord, he hath also rejected thee from being king.

24 And Saul said unto Samuel, I have sinned: for I have transgressed the commandment of the Lord, and thy words: because I feared the people, and obeyed their voice.

Notice with me that God blamed the people for his disappointing fall from grace.

THIS WEEK IS THE BEGINNING OF TWO GREAT MID-WINTER WEEKS OF MEETINGS. JOIN US FOR CHALLENGE AND CHANGE.

Thanks once again for your wonderful friendship and support of all we do as a church family. Please Pray for Gary, who is in strategic prayer meetings in Dubai. Also, pray for safety and protection for our team on their way to Guatemala. We are, “As One”, as they go represent us in the fields of mission.

Your loving pastor,
Cleddie Keith

Abundant Love and Blessings your way as we celebrate His life together.

The clock is ticking as we move toward two great weeks of faith building meetings:

FEBRUARY 3-5,
LIVING UNDER AN OPEN HEAVEN, KINGDOM BUSINESS 23 CONFERENCE, HOSTED BY SCOTT WILLIS WITH KEN AND CARA HALL. STOKE YOUR VISION AND LIVE YOUR DREAM, WITH OUR LIST OF ENTREPRENERIAL LEADERS WHO HAVE TOUCHED THE WORLD WITH FAITH IN THE MARKET PLACE.

LANCE WALLNAU
MATTHEW COON COME
TOYIN KAMGAING
LENNY HERNANDEZ
BILL McGRANE

FEBRUARY 10-12
HERITAGE BIBLE WEEK, WINTER CAMP MEETING SPECIAL GUEST: DAVID JONES and NICK CHANDA

The clock is ticking and time is running out. we are born for such a time as this, the night is far spent and the day is at hand. This will be two weeks of being filled up and overflowing for the days ahead.

I want to thank everyone who joined with us as we concluded our 21 Days of Fasting and Prayer as well as joining with 110 million people around the world praying for the 9 cities of China, where a mass of unreached people live without the gospel of Christ. I have continued to carry China on my heart in the days ahead and encourage you to join with us in this massive prayer initiative. The real church is built on prayer and Jesus is the one and only who set this example for us. He is the chief intercessor and is ever before the Father pleading our case in our behalf. The Holy Spirit is ever pleading the case of Jesus to our hearts and minds and it is our obedience to His voice that is the key to personal victory.

I appreciate those who have been so faithful to pray with our Intercessors on a daily basis for all these years. You will never know and I cannot express in words how valuable this is to me as your pastor and to the church family. The words of E.M. Bounds resound in my heart, “God, does nothing except in answer to prayer.” Your faithfulness and the way that you have chose to follow the prayer model of the 24/7 prayer ministry of Sucat-Hallel in Jerusalem, as led by Gary and Sabrina has been a blessing to the Kingdom of God and all He has chosen to do in and through us.

I wanted to mention in this letter that Gary has once again been invited to be a part of a prayer consortium that is taking place in Dubai and he will be there this coming weekend. It is through Gary that we become a part of what God is doing in the Middle East and around the world. If you would like to be a part of sending him, you can give through the church or online.

Once again let me continue to share with you our BIBLE VERSE FOR 2023: PSALMS 119:32, “I WILL RUN THE WAY OF YOUR COMMANDMENTS WHEN YOU ENLARGE MY HEART.”

YOU ARE IN MY PRAYERS DAILY AS I CONTINUE THE PRIVILEGE OF SERVING YOU.

Yours loving pastors,
Cleddie and GayNell Keith

BLESSINGS TO YOU AS WE BLESS THE WORLD AROUND US,

“IF MY PEOPLE”

SUNDAY THE 22ND , HEALING SERVICE IN THE 8 AM AND 10 AM GATHERINGS CAN YOU IMAGINE 110 MILLION PEOPLE PRAYING TOGETHER AND WE ARE JOINING WITH THIS ARMY OF INTERCESSORS, FROM ALL OVER THE WORLD?
CAN YOU IMAGINE ST. PAUL WRITING A LETTER TO HIS DISCIPLE TIMOTHY AND SAYING, “ I HAVE NOT FOUGHT A GOOD FIGHT, NEITHER HAVE I KEPT THE FAITH BUT I KNOW THERE IS A WAR GOING ON AROUND ME?

I have asked Gary to inform us about what we are a part of in this Unified Initiative to pray together on four major religious days in 2023, for World Revival. It has just so happened that the end of our annual fast coincides with this world wide event, January the 22 nd. Listed below is our time to pray for the Orient, which coincides with the Chinese New Year.

110 UN-REACHED CITIES/110 MILLION INTERCESSORS

Welcome to the Buddhist World Prayer Guide.

“Don’t burn out; keep yourselves fueled and aflame. Be alert servants of the Master, cheerfully expectant. Don’t quit in hard times; pray all the harder.” Romans 12:11-12 MSG This first century admonition from the Apostle Paul could just as easily have been written in 2023. The lingering chaos from the pandemic, wars and rumors of wars, persecution of Jesus followers in much of the world, economic recession; it is easy to just throw up our hands and ask, “What can one person do?”

Paul gives us the answer. Stay focused on the Word of God, expectant that He will respond, and pray all the harder.” 1

A special focus for this month of January is the country of China. This prayer focus culminates on Chinese New Year, January 22nd (the last day of our Heritage corporate fast). We would like to encourage you to fast and pray on this day especially for these 9 Chinese cities:

• BEIJING - Capital of China
• Shanghai - Most populous urban city in China
• CHENGDU - Western city near Tibet
• GUANGZHOU - Southern city.
• HOHHOT - Inner Mongolia Capital
• KUNMING - Southwestern city
• WUHAN -Origin of Covid Virus
• XIAN - Eastern Starting Point of ancient Silk Road
• LHASA - Capital of Tibet Autonomous Region.

Pray for:

1. The Spiritual eyes of the blind and ears of the deaf to be opened.

2. Souls to be saved and discipled, churches planted and established and un-reached cultures penetrated and impacted for God’s glory.

3. Strength and perseverance for those persecuted for the sake of the Gospel. (Acts 4:29-31)

4. Spirits over Buddhism, Taoism, Shamanism (witchcraft), Animism and Atheism to bow to the matchless Name of Jesus.

5. God’s Glory to rise like a Tidal Wave over all Far Eastern Nations. There will be 3 other days of focus for the Hindu, the Muslim and the Jewish worlds later this Spring, Summer and Fall. You will be updated as to when we will be further participating as a church in this vision.

Rick Ridings, founder of the 24/7 prayer center, Succat Hallel (Tabernacle of Praise) in Jerusalem had a vision in 2014 of a Spiritual Tsunami (Tidal Wave) forming at the International Dateline in the Pacific Ocean and then traveling across the Buddhist, then over the Hindu, then the Muslim, and then the Jewish worlds. This Tsunami as it moved toppled ancient thrones and rulers that have been oppressing peoples for Millenia.

In January, 2022 he asked the Lord for a confirmation of this vision. Just after this in that same month a huge Volcano erupted near Tonga in the South Pacific. This wave was very unique and one of the strongest ever recorded. The Tsunami traveled across the Pacific, Indian, and Atlantic oceans and traveled around the earth 4 times. Scientists refer to these waves as Lamb Waves. Sounds prophetic, huh?

Could it be that this concrete prayer initiative this year will coincide with Rick’s spiritual vision? Oh Lord, may it be so!

Please join with us as we pray for these 110 of the most unreached cities. Those who are ‘boots on the ground will be prayer walking and evangelizing around these cities at the same time the 110 million are joining along in prayer.

We believe there has never before been such a massive cooperation of prayer and evangelism across different Christian movements with the express goal of reaching the Great Harvest. “May the Lamb who was slain receive the due reward for his suffering". (Moravian Mission Statement)

(More information and videos can be found at https://www.110cities.com)

1 Jason Hubbard; Director, IPC (International Prayer Connect)

Choice New Years Greetings to you and yours for the Year of our Lord 2023,

As we have already engaged in the 21 Days of Prayer and Fasting, I thought it would be a good thing for me to send to you some material I received from Philip Lee, who worships with us: The deeper we go into things, the more we do enter a world where the mastery and the career is not to talent, but to prayer...For the God we invoke is the Lord and Destiny of the whole creation and in our invocation of Him, Nature ends on its own key-note.

Because Human-God relationship is at the core of everything, prayer (communion with God) is the core issue of all matters in life and the Universe. Hence, prayerlessness is the most egregious sin. As a result, prayer is labor, because it is the natural and relational interactions with God. Everything of worth requires work, especially because relationship is bonding that requires maintenance.

In experience, prayers bring life because we approach the Life-Giver. Prayers elevate us out of our sin-consciousness because our Redeemer is the Most High. Prayers refine our faith and confidence until we only have trust in the Lord based on who He is. Prayers change our roles in the Universe, because we submit our will and life by committing our all to God’s plan for us, as in the Lord’s Prayer.

We only become important because we are closer to God and becoming more like Him. It is foolish to be right with God then pray, because only prayers that bring us into the Presence of the Most High give us the opportunity to become right and do course correction according to His Will. Thus, True Church is as big in size as those who know the determinative nature of prayer. The same applies to those who know how to exercise dominion based on God’s covenant promises.

• “Thus, the prayer is for us, paradoxically, both a gift and a conquest; a grace and a duty...Prayer has its great end when it lifts us to be more conscious and more sure of the gift than the need, of the grace than the sin.”
• “Our prayer is the answer to God’s. Herein is prayer, not that we prayed to Him, but that He first prayed for us, in giving His son to be a propitiation for us.”
• “Prayer is yielding our will to God in resignation.”-Leonard Ravenhill
• A man may study because his brain is hungry for knowledge, even Bible knowledge. But he prays because his soul is hungry for God.”
• “No man is greater than his prayer life. The pastor who is not praying is playing; the people who are not praying are straying. We have many organizers, but few agonizers; many players and payers, few prayers; many singers, few clingers; lots of pastors, few wrestlers; many fears, few tears; much fashion, little passion; many interferes, few intercessors; many writers, but few fighters. Failing here, we fail everywhere.”
• “You can't live wrong and pray right.”

You can see how inspirational this material is and how important is to understand our place in prayer when it comes to Prayer and Fasting we are not just Fasting we are praying with purpose and faith. I encourage you to join us in some manner as we pray for our church mission and our nation.

Life comes at your fast and when we understand the value of prayer we will understand why David said, “I AM PRAYER”.

GayNell and I want to express our heartfelt appreciation for your cards and gifts during the Christmas Season, you have blessed our lives more than you could ever know. We love you more than words can express.
Your’s for Souls in 2023

New Years Greetings to all our Church Family and Friends of Heritage,

Years ago I came up with a saying, “Your losses are not your Bosses”. Let me explain where I am coming from as I revisit the book of Job in the Bible, starting where God did:
“There was a man from the land of Uz, whose name was Job.”

Job had great assets, he was upright, he feared God, he hated the devil, he was rich, he had great influence, and he had a big family of children. I want you to consider Job’s losses.

The list is thoroughly presented in the Word of God:
1. Job lost his property, Job 1;12-17
2. Job lost his family, Job 1:18,19
3. Job lost his health, Job 2:1-8
4. Job lost the faithfulness of his wife, Job 2:11-13
5. Job lost the respect and conKidence of his peers, Job 2:11-13
6. Job lost friends, Job 19:14 (my friends have gone away)
7. Job lost the presence of God, Job 23:8-9

All that Job had left was a testimony. You can Kind it in Job 19: 23-27

“If only my words were written in a book—
better yet, chiseled in stone!
Still, I know that God lives—
the One who gives me back my life—
and eventually he’ll take his stand on earth.
And I’ll see him—even though I get skinned alive!—
see God myself, with my very own eyes.
Oh, how I long for that day!”

It is important to understand the lessons Job learned as he went through the furnace of trial.

• He learned that the adversary was ruthless and destructive.
• He also learned through the trial and his losses how good God is.
• Ultimately Job learned that God is a God of Increase in the end.

Let the Word of God do the speaking from Job 42:10-17

After Job had interceded for his friends, God restored his fortune—and then doubled it! All his brothers and sisters and friends came to his house and celebrated. They told him how sorry they were, and consoled him for all the trouble God had brought him. Each of them brought generous housewarming gifts.

God blessed Job’s later life even more than his earlier life. He ended up with fourteen thousand sheep, six thousand camels, one thousand teams of oxen, and one thousand donkeys. He also had seven sons and three daughters. He named the Iirst daughter Dove, the second, Cinnamon, and the third, Dark Eyes. There was not a woman in that country as beautiful as Job’s daughters. Their father treated them as equals with their brothers, providing the same inheritance.

Job lived on another 140 years, living to see his children and grandchildren—four generations of them! Then he died—an old man, a full life. Job did not allow his losses to become his bosses in life. He did not throw in the towel on God. This is the kind of testimony we all need. As we hold to God’s unchanging hand we will also learn that we can trust the Living Word of God. Continue to fast with us, believing what God has promised, He is well able to perform. It is the entrenched powers that we are contending with and they will come forth by prayer and fasting, just as Jesus demonstrated and proclaimed. Week two is right around the corner and God always responds when His people, called by His name, humble themselves and Pray. Make sure we get your Kive greatest needs in the prayer room where we can agree with you as we corporately pray over your request.

EXPECT A MIRACLE

Yours truly,
Cleddie and GayNell

Dear Praying Friends,

Next week we start our annual fast of ‘21’DAYS. During these days as a church we fast together and if you need a reason to fast, let me give you a few of the reasons that people in the Bible fasted:

1. To strengthen prayer (see Ezra 8:23)
2. To seek God’s guidance (see Judges 20:26)
3. To express grief (see 1 Samuel 31:13)
4. To seek deliverance or protection (see 2 Chronicles 20:3 – 4)
5. To express repentance and a return to God (see 1 Samuel 7:6)
6. To humble oneself before God (see 1 Kings 21:27 – 29)
7. To express concern for the work of God (see Nehemiah 1:3 – 4)
8. To minister to the needs of others ( Isaiah 58:3 – 7)
9. To overcome temptation and dedicate yourself to God (see Matthew 4:1 – 11)
10. To express love and worship for God (see Luke 2:37)

If we really want to understand fasting from God’s perspective, then the best place to go is to the Word of God; not just go out on a whim. My mother fasted on Thursdays every week in her journey with God and I never knew it. She did not boast or talk about it, she just did it, in some manner. Isaiah gives us the logical God Given way to fast in Isaiah 58.

“Shout it aloud, do not hold back. Raise your voice like a trumpet.
Declare to my people their rebellion and to the descendants of Jacob their sins.
For day after day they seek me out; they seem eager to know my ways,
as if they were a nation that does what is right and has not forsaken the commands of its God.
They ask me for just decisions and seem eager for God to come near them.

It is good instruction to show you how you should not fast.

‘Why have we fasted,’ they say, ‘and you have not seen it?
Why have we humbled ourselves, and you have not noticed?’
“Yet on the day of your fasting, you do as you please and exploit all your workers.
Your fasting ends in quarreling and strife, and in striking each other with wicked dists.
You cannot fast as you do today and expect your voice to be heard on high.
Is this the kind of fast I have chosen, only a day for people to humble themselves?
Is it only for bowing one’s head like a reed and for lying in sackcloth and ashes?
Is that what you call a fast, a day acceptable to the LORD?
“Is not this the kind of fasting I have chosen: to loose the chains of injustice
and untie the cords of the yoke, to set the oppressed free
and break every yoke? Is it not to share your food with the hungry
and to provide the poor wanderer with shelter—when you see the naked, to clothe them,
and not to turn away from your own dlesh and blood?

This coming year, in the Year of our Lord 2023, we are fasting with a worldview in mind and will join with Gary Klein and over a hundred million people who are joining together to fast for the nations. On four different days in this year, we will be praying for God to have his way in the earth. A cry will come from around the globe, “EARTH, OH EARTH, HEAR THE WORD OF THE LORD.” The question rings in my ears today, “IF NOT YOU WHO AND IF NOT NOW WHEN”. It is encouraging to know that we can fast with Global Initiative and the promise of God to us is as valid today as it was when Isaiah wrote these words so long ago.

Then your light will break forth like the dawn,
and your healing will quickly appear;
then your righteousness will go before you,
and the glory of the LORD will be your rear guard.
Then you will call, and the LORD will answer;
you will cry for help, and he will say: Here am I.
“If you do away with the yoke of oppression,
with the pointing dinger and malicious talk,
and if you spend yourselves in behalf of the hungry
and satisfy the needs of the oppressed,
then your light will rise in the darkness,
and your night will become like the noonday.
The LORD will guide you always;
he will satisfy your needs in a sun-scorched land
and will strengthen your frame.
You will be like a well-watered garden,
like a spring whose waters never fail.
Your people will rebuild the ancient ruins
and will raise up the age-old foundations;
you will be called Repairer of Broken Walls,
Restorer of Streets with Dwellings.

On another note, GayNell and I are so grateful for the privilege we have as a couple to serve you and your families. It is a blessing to live our lives in the reins of the Lord with one purpose in mind; which is to help you live under an open heaven. A scripture that in on my heart today, in light of our celebration of Christ’s Birth this special time each year, is found in Titus 2:11 - “The Grace of God that brings Salvation has appeared to all men.” Salvation spoken of here means saved, healed and delivered. Each river and each power that works must have a source, which in this case is the Grace of God. There is no other way of Salvation. It is universal and it teaches us how to live in this present world as well as how to look toward the future.

Titus 2:11-14

God’s readiness to give and forgive is now public. Salvation’s available for everyone! We’re being shown how to turn our backs on a godless, indulgent life, and how to take on a God-dilled, God-honoring life. This new life is starting right now, and is whetting our appetites for the glorious day when our great God and Savior, Jesus Christ, appears. He offered himself as a sacridice to free us from a dark, rebellious life into this good, pure life, making us a people he can be proud of, energetic in goodness.

The Message
Happy New Year and Blessing to you and yours,
Pastor Cleddie and GayNell

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

Christmas Faith, Hope and Love to You in the most wonderful season of all, Have you ever stopped to consider what our gift to the one born King really is? It has always been my conviction that Christ deserved more than just a consensus of opinion from me. He is worthy of my total commitment and allegiance. In my surrender to Christ it was evident to me that my responsibility was to live and be in agreement with Him. My immediate response to Christ became known by my faithfulness to His love for me. I realized that my church attendance was one way in which I could steward my influence to those around me.

My Church Attendance
Habits Affect My Church
(What my presence does.)

1. It caused people to have confidence in me.
2. It made people know that I regard my spiritual welfare and that of others, as a matter of great importance.
3. It had a good effect on the service.
4. It made my friends feel more welcome.
5. It encouraged the brethren and helped the preacher in his work.
6. It caused others to come to the house of God.
7. It made my life stronger week after week.
8. It caused others to stay away from the path that leads to destruction.
9. It pleased God and I was happy for it.
10. It caused others to think and even say, “He practices what he preaches.”

(What my absence does.)
1. It made some question, the reality of my faith.
2. It made some think I was a pretender.
3. It made many think that I regard my spiritual welfare and that of others of small concern.
4. It weakened my effect of the church services.
5. It made it more difficult for the ministry of the church to fulfill their assignment.
6. It was a means of discouragement to church family.
7. It caused others to stay away from church.
8. It became a means by which I had a void in my life, whereby I was more susceptible to temptation.
9. It kept me from the place where the fire of God for lost souls was stoked weekly.
10. It encouraged the habit of non-church going.

You could call this missed opportunities. Through the years I have suggested that the Inn Keeper who had no room for Mary to give birth to her son, had cold indifference toward the young couple knocking at his door late one night. However, that is not necessarily the total picture. The Word of God does not imply that he was mean, cruel, vulgar or rude; he was just busy. Many have charged him with a cold indifference but that is not the case, as I see it, at all. He did not know Mary was the mother of the Savior of the World, nor did he recognize the opportunity at his door that lonely night in Bethlehem.

No! He was not rude or ruthless; he was just busy. Some may consider what took place at the little Inn in Bethlehem a travesty. I look at it as a lost opportunity to have hosted in the hostel, the most celebrated and memorable of all maternity moments in history. The Inn Keeper in our story was not hostile; he was just busy.

We could call it LOST OPPORTUNITY, as we revisit the story or we could call it a lost chance, because business got in the way of the most important event in human history. What then is the moral of the story? Business still clouds the real meaning of Christmas. He was not born in the Inn; but the real question is — has He been born in your hearts? Beyond the sparkle, the lights, the trees, the melancholy of memories, the giving, the getting, and all the Yuletide festivities; He is knocking at the door of men’s hearts today. Let us all make sure business is not getting in the way of our Christmas. The spirit of Christmas is ours; 365 days a year.