Monday, December 24, 2007

Merry Christmas!

Wishing you all a very wonderful Christmas, and blessings for the new year.

And there were shepherds living out in the fields nearby, keeping watch over their flocks at night. An angel of the Lord appeared to them, and the glory of the Lord shone around them and they were terrified. But the angel said to them, "Do not be afraid, I bring you good news of great joy that will be for all the people. Today in the town of David a Savior has been born to you; he is Christ the Lord. This will be a sign to you: you will find a baby wrapped in cloths and lying in a manger." Suddenly a great company of the heavenly host appeard with the angel, praising God and saying, "Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace to men on wholm his favor rests." When the angels had left them and gone into ehaven, the shepherds said to one another, "Let's go to Bethlehem and see this thing that has happened, which the Lord has told us about."
Luke 2:8-15

Remember the Reason for the Season is JESUS.

Saturday, December 8, 2007

The Gift of the Blessing

By Leanne Konrad

I'm sure over the years I've been given hundreds of Christmas gifts... some I remember others I don't. I remember a set of blue suitcases, new Christmas pajamas, a care bear, a little baking set, and a very special letter.
My parents had just finished reading a book called "The Gift of the Blessing" and decided that for Christmas that year each of their kids would receive a letter of blessing from them. I still have mine 15 years later and I will always treasure it. It outlined the gifts and talents my parents saw in me, the character traits they admired in me and the things they daily prayed for me. I have read it often and it has been a huge encouragment to me.
This year, why not use the space on your Christmas cards to write more than "Merry Christmas and Happy New Year"? Take a moment and think about what makes a certain person so special to you... use your Christmas cards as an opportunity to give the "Gift of the Blessing". If you do I promise your card will be around long past Christmas.

Sunday, December 2, 2007

The Free Gift

By Jane Welsh

Last month I was shopping at "Save On Foods" and I saw on the computer screen at the checkout that I had enough "Save On More points " for a free iPod. I wondered if there was a catch so I inquired at the Service Desk. No catch. More than that, I did not even have to order it. They had one there. In the box. Pristine perfect. What a gift I thought. A bonus from the groceries that I had to buy anyway. So I took my iPod home and then began to figure out how to use it. Well, I got so far and then when I could go no further in figuring it out, I had to phone the Customer service number printed on the little brochure in the box. The lady was helpful, up the point when she asked me to look for a certain icon on my computer. Three times I told her I could not see it. The lady must have had patience, because I was about to say the icon was not there a fourth time, when I saw it.
It had been there all the time.
I just could not see it.
There. Right in front of me.
At Christmas time we remember the free gift that God sent to us in the form of Jesus. To be born as a baby and to grow up and die on the cross to pay the penalty for our sins. God’s grace. Pristine perfect. The Perfect Gift. Up until the age of 22, Christmas time had just been another holiday for me. Then there came a time when I saw my need of Jesus as my Lord and Saviour. He had been there all the time. I just had not seen Him. There. Right in front of me.

There is a line in the Christmas carol, "Hark the Herald Angels Sing" that says, "Veiled in flesh the Godhead see Hail the incarnate Deity"

God became flesh. God became human. We see God in Jesus Christ.What a privilege we have to see and receive the free gift of salvation through God’s Son, Jesus.