by Dale Reeves
Story Pastor
Merry Christmas! Many families will gather this weekend to enjoy longtime traditions that are part of their celebration of the birth of Christ. In the midst of the mayhem, the gift giving, and the feasting, my prayer for you this day is that you will enjoy an un-complicated Christmas, and can enjoy a few moments of solitude in which you can take inventory of your relationship with Christ. You may need to say to him, “I’m ready to go all in with my relationship with you, Lord. I am ready to put all my trust, all of my life in your hands.” Or, this season, you may need to say, “I run back to you, God. I recommit. I want my life to be filled with more of you this coming year.” Whatever you need to say to him, I pray that you would do it before the weekend is over.
As you reflect on the “good news of great joy that will be for all people” (Luke 2:10, ESV), I offer the following Christmas Quiz for your enjoyment. We will post the correct answers next Friday, December 30.
Christmas Day Quiz
Nancy Thomas, a missionary to the Aymara Indians in Bolivia, wrote this piece that I will close with today:
“Bales of real hay clump around the false manger.
The choir files in, an unheavenly host, to predestined slots on stage.
I spot David, my almost angelic son; our eyes connect; he grins.
Joseph and Mary arrive. The mini-Madonna clutches the Babe; his plastic head sticks out, unsupported, and does not fall.
‘Tough kid,’ I think.
Pajama-clad animals mill around the manger.
My small daughter, a miscast lamb, flops her ears and bleats to the music, all mischief.
For the next twenty minutes I strain on the edge of the pew as bathrobed wise men and mock shepherds march in and mumble their lines.
The third wise man sneezes; Gabriel giggles, and I suppress my own mirth when suddenly I see the Christ, perceive the glory, and adore.”
Have you seen Jesus in the eyes of a child lately? He is holy, pure, and innocent, the spotless Lamb of God. O come, let us adore him!