The NIght That Changed The World

The green hills near the town of Bethlehem, five miles to the south of Jerusalem, are dotted with caves, most of them man-made. Two thousand years ago, some of the caves were carved into the soft white limestone by shepherds. Here these outcasts of society made their homes and raised their families. Other caves were hollowed out as stables. These were dark, dank, filthy holes, fit only for the animals that inhabited them. In one of these unspeakably dirty hollows -- surrounded by sheep, donkeys, and maybe a camel or two -- the Son of Man was born of a virgin. It was a night that changed the world.

The Jews had been anxiously expecting a Messiah for 500 years before He actually appeared. The prophets of old had predicted it and, since Jews were indoctrinated in the Scriptures from childhood, nearly everyone knew the prophecies by heart. Yet, with anticipation came misconception. A king, they said, should be born into a palace surrounded by magnificence, not in a lowly stable. Furthermore the first announcement of his birth should have been made to the greatest men of Israel -- the chief priests of the Temple -- not to lowly shepherds.

But Christ did not come into the world to save just the rich and the powerful. He came to offer salvation to all. Could the lowliest of people have accepted Him had He been born into splendor and hobnobbed only with the rich?

The mistake of many people today, as it was then, is to expect God to conform to their expectations. The Jews expected a king, a great sword-wielding warrior who would be their salvation from the pagans of Rome. Instead, they got a gentle man of love and peace who taught that the way to salvation was repentance of sin and trust in God. What they got was totally unexpected, and Jesus went largely unrecognized by the powerful Jewish rulers except as a clear and present danger to their authority.

It was mainly the lowly and the humble who followed Him, who listened to His words and were ultimately saved. The powerful Jews of the Temple, with few exceptions, considered Jesus a dangerous, itinerate preacher from Nazareth who uttered blasphemy and, since He had so many followers, threatened to lure Jews away from Temple worship. All they saw was that Jesus was raining on their parade. The signs that the prophet Isaiah and others had predicted were largely ignored.

The fact that Jesus was miraculously born of a virgin proves that He was truly sent from God. His humble birth illustrates that He came to save all of mankind, not just the elite. His birth on that night of nights, in a humble cave in Bethlehem, began a chain of events that changed the world forever.

"Therefore the Lord himself shall give you a sign; Behold, a virgin shall conceive, and bear a son, and shall call his name Immanuel."   (Isaiah 7:14 NIV)

Things Not To Say When Hanging The Lights

Did you know that hanging lights on a Christmas tree is one of the three most stressful situations in an on-going relationship?

Page Six's Psychiatrist claims the other two danger zones are teaching your mate to drive and wallpapering. He is rarely wrong on these things.)

We rush to print with an emergency prompt list of Things Not To Say When Hanging Lights on the Christmas Tree.

... "You've got two red lights right next to each other, dummy.  You're supposed to go yellow, green, red, blue, not yellow, red, red, green, blue..."

... "Up a little higher.  You can reach it.  Go on, try."

... "What the heck do you do to these lights when you put them away every year?  Tie them in knots?"

... "Come away from that aluminum ladder, kids.  I'm going to fry that sucker."

... "If you're not going to do it right, don't do it at all.  Don't just throw them on, like you do the icicles.  You're worse than your father."

... "Give me that."

... "You've got the whole thing on the tree upside-down.  The electric pluggee thing should be down here at the bottom, not up at the top."

... "I don't care if you have found another two strings, I'm done, period!"

... "You've just wound 'em around and around -- I thought we agreed it shouldn't look like a spiral this year?"

... "Have you been drinking?"

... "Where's the cat?"

Who Started This Christmas Stuff?

A woman who was out Christmas shopping with her two children. After many hours of looking at row after row of toys and everything else imaginable; and after hours of hearing both her children asking for everything they saw on those many shelves, she finally made it to the elevator with her two kids. She was feeling what so many of us feel during the holiday season time of the year. Overwhelming pressure to go to every party, every housewarming, taste all the holiday food and treats, getting that perfect gift for every single person on our shopping list, making sure we don't forget anyone on our card list, and the pressure of making sure we respond to everyone who sent us a card. 

Finally the elevator doors opened and there was already a crowd in the car. She pushed her way into the car and dragged her two kids in with her and all the bags of stuff. When the doors closed she couldn't take it anymore and stated, "Whoever started this whole Christmas thing should be found, strung up and shot." 

From the back of the car everyone heard a quiet calm voice respond, "Don't worry we already crucified Him." For the rest of the trip down the elevator it was so quiet you could have heard a pin drop. 

Don't forget this year to keep the One who started this whole Christmas thing in your every thought, deed, purchase, and word. If we all did it, just think of how different this whole world would be.

What Do You Want For Christmas?

A poem sent to Dear Abby from a couple who have too much stuff.

So many of you asked us (since Yuletide's drawing near)
"What do you want for Christmas? What can we give you this year?

If we say, "We want nothing!" you buy something anyway,
So here's a list of what we'd like; believe now what we say:

Pajamas for a little child, food to feed the poor.
Blankets for a shelter, and we ask a little bit more--

Perform good deeds and let us know, or volunteer your time.
These last are worth a fortune, and they needn't cost a dime.

We have to many things now, vases, candles, tapes and clocks. We have our fill of garments, ties, underwear and socks.

Candy is too fattening, crossword books we've more than 20. We don't need trays or plates or cups, and knickknacks we have plenty.

We've no walls to hang more pictures; we have books we've not yet read; So please take what you'd spend on us and help the poor instead!

Just send a Christmas card to us and tell us what you've done; We'll open them on Christmas Eve, and read them one by one.

It won't cost as much for postage as a package sent would do,You'll need no wrapping paper, ribbons, ink or glue.

And we'll thank God you listened to what we had to say,
So we could be the instruments to help someone this way.

The True Christmas Spirit

Someone shared this story with me last year. Read it carefully and receive it's full impact.

It's just a small, white envelope stuck among the branches of our Christmas tree. No name, no identification, no inscription. It has peeked through the branches of our tree for the past 10 years or so. It all began because my husband Mike hated Christmas -- oh, not the true meaning of Christmas, but the commercial aspects of it like overspending, the frantic running around at the last minute to get a tie for Uncle Harry and the dusting powder for Grandma -- the gifts given in desperation because you couldn't think of anything else.

Knowing he felt this way, I decided one year to bypass the usual shirts, sweaters, tie sand so forth. I reached for something special just for Mike. The inspiration came in an unusual way. Our son Kevin, who was 12 that year, was wrestling at the junior level at the school he attended; and shortly before Christmas, there was a non-league match against a team sponsored by an inner-city church, mostly black. These youngsters, dressed in sneakers so ragged that shoestrings seemed to be the only thing holding them together, presented a sharp contrast to our boys in their spiffy blue and gold uniforms and sparkling new wrestling shoe.

As the match began, I was alarmed to see that the other team was wrestling without headgear, a kind of light helmet designed to protect a wrestler's ears. it was a luxury the ragtag team obviously could not afford. Well, we ended up walloping them. We took every weight class. And as each of their boys got up from the mat, he swaggered around in his tatters with false bravado, a kind of street pride that couldn't acknowledge defeat.  Mike, seated beside me, shook his head sadly, "I wish just one of them could have won," he said. "They have a lot of potential, but losing like this could take the heart right out of them." Mike loved kids -- all kids -- and he knew them, having coached little league football, baseball and lacrosse. That's when the idea for his present came.

That afternoon, I went to a local sporting goods store and bought an assortment of wrestling headgear and shoes and sent them anonymously to the inner-city church. On Christmas Eve, I placed the envelope on the tree, the note inside telling Mike what I had done and that this was his gift from me. His smile was the brightest thing about Christmas that year and in succeeding years. For each Christmas, I followed the tradition -- one year sending a group of mentally handicapped youngsters to a hockey game, another year a check to a pair of elderly brothers whose home had burned to the ground the week before Christmas, and on and on. The envelope became the highlight of our Christmas. It was always the last thing opened on Christmas morning and our children, ignoring their new toys, would stand with wide-eyed anticipation as their dad lifted the envelope from the tree to reveal its contents. As the children grew, the toys gave way to more practical presents, but the envelope never lost its allure.

The story doesn't end there. You see, we lost Mike last year due to dreaded cancer. When Christmas rolled around, I was still so wrapped in grief that I barely got the tree up. But Christmas Eve found me placing an envelope on the tree, and in the morning, it was joined by three more. Each of our children, unbeknownst to the others, had placed an envelope on the tree for their dad. The tradition has grown and someday will expand even further with our grandchildren standing around the tree with wide-eyed anticipation watching as their fathers take down the envelope...

May we all remember the true Christmas spirit this year, and always.

The Light of Christmas

John 9:5 & 8:12 "As long as I am in the world, I am the light of the world. - He that followeth me shall not walk in darkness, but shall have the light of life."

Christmas is a special time of year. I can't imagine what it would be like if we did not celebrate Christmas. What better time of year than Christmas, to teach our children the true meaning?

Christmas is not about lights, trees and presents, turkey dinners, or family gatherings. Oh yes. Those things are great, and "God has given us richly all things to enjoy." But more importantly, Christmas is about God's LOVE, about LIGHT. John 3:16 sums up the true meaning of Christmas, God s ultimate gift to EVERYONE His Son, the LIGHT of the world. God loved His creation, US, so much that in order to redeem us from eternal death, which we so deserves, He sent His Son to be the substitute for us.

I don t care that some say that the first Christmas was not observed at the birth of Christ, that it originated back in Rome to honor Saturn, the Roman god of agriculture, or some other theory that someone else might have come up with. To me, the first Christmas was the day that God sent LIGHT into the world.

I am glad that Sunday schools and churches put on pageants with the manger scene and the shepherds. What better way to teach a child about Christ and why He came to earth. I am glad that the authors of the Bible recorded that the humble shepherds celebrated on the night of Christ's birth, by leaving their sheep when the skies filled with LIGHT and the angels sang, and they went seeking for the Light of the world, JESUS. The wise men began their search for the King that same night because they saw a LIGHT in the sky a star in the East.

Does it matter that the usual scenario is of the wise men at the inn with the shepherds in these pageants? Is it really giving the children the wrong idea? Of course we know that the wise men came on the scene much later. The child will learn to put things in their proper order as he grows up. I did. So let the Sunday schools put on their pageants, with the wonderful Christmas scene of the shepherds and the wise men worshipping Jesus.

I don't care that research has shown that we do not know the exact day of Christ's birth. It does not matter whether it was not December 25th or some other day of the year. What matters is: Christ, the LIGHT of the world was born. And that He lived--as a man; suffered--as a man; died a cruel death on the cross--as a man; and rose again on the third day--as God, triumphant over sin and death, our REDEEMER, our SAVIOR, our LORD.

I don't care if they tell me that the exchanging of gift idea did not originate with the gifts that the wise men took to the child Jesus. To me, gift giving, 'though enjoyable, is not important. God's ultimate Gift is. If people get pleasure and comfort from giving and receiving gifts, then let them carry on with it. To me it does not detract from the true meaning of Christmas.

I don't care what they say about the Christmas tree--that it is a pagan symbol. To me that is not important. I have heard several opinions on this. Great that people get pleasure out of putting up and decorating a tree. It doesn't bother me a bit. In fact, if it uplifts someone from their humdrum existence, bringing light and giving them something to look forward to, at least once a year, let them put up a tree. To me this is not a distraction from the true meaning of Christmas. Perhaps it even adds to it. Christ came as the Light of the world: so let the lights at Christmas help remind people of this. Christ died on a tree for our sins: so let the tree be a reminder of this.

 

 

Thanks Helen Marjorie Dowd. You said exactly what I feel!

Thanksgiving Prayer

Even though I clutch my blanket and growl
when the alarm rings each morning, thank
you, Lord, that I can hear. There are many
who are deaf.

Even though I keep my eyes tightly closed
against the morning light as long as possible,
thank you Lord, that I can see. There are
many who are blind.

Even though I huddle in my bed and put off
the effort of rising, thank you, Lord that I
have the strength to rise. There are many
who are bedridden.

Even though the first hour of my day is
hectic, when socks are lost, toast is burned,
and tempers are short, thank you, Lord, for
my family. There are many who are lonely.

Even though our breakfast table never looks
like the pictures in magazines and the menu
is at times unbalanced, thank you, Lord for
the food we have. There're many who have no job.

Even though I grumble and bemoan my fate
from day to day and wish my circumstances
were not so modest, thank you, Lord, for the
gift of life.