Your Road to the Manger

Christmas Eve is TODAY...can you believe it? There is so much that still needs to be done for so many of us before we can declare ourselves "ready," but what does it mean to truly be "ready" for Christmas?

The road that led Mary and Joseph to the place where Jesus would be delivered was full of challenge, anxiety, and danger, but the love of GOD kept them on the path so the world could know the Lord of HOPE, JOY, PEACE, and LOVE.

The proverbial roads that we each are taking to Christmas this year are as varied and diverse as we are. Through the ups and downs, victories and defeats, triumphs and trials of this year (and of life for that matter), our many roads will converge at the humble manger...a feeding trough that cradled Jesus, the Bread of Life.

If your road has been full of strangers and dangers this year, know that love is waiting for you at the manger. If your road has been full of darkness, know that the Light of the World still shines, piercing the darkness that cannot understand it. At the manger — as the beautiful hymn, "O Little Town of Bethlehem," states — "the hopes and fears of all the years are met in Thee tonight."

I pray that you persevere on your individual road to the manger to find the Living Lord...Immanuel...GOD with us waiting for you there. Jesus was sent to be our hope, to be our joy, to be our peace, to be our love, and to be our light. Come and allow His creating and re-creating hand to dispel the darkness, the lovelessness, peacelessness, joylessness, and hopelessness so you will find the life GOD has in store for you!

If you are tired and weary, joyful and jubilant, lost and lonely, or just seemingly on cruise control, may your road lead you to the manger where you will find Jesus, the point in which life and eternity converge.

GOD Bless, Merry Christmas, and I hope to see you Christmas Eve,

Pastor Mark

God showed how much he loved us by sending his one and only Son into the world so that we might have eternal life through him.

(1 John 4:9, NLT)

Merry Christmas!

Confession: last night I was overwhelmed. There was so much on my to-do and honey-do lists, that in a moment of anxiety, I actually felt as though the coming of Christmas depended on ME. It wasn't until my quiet time this morning that I was reminded Christmas already came! In Galatians 4:4-5, Paul wrote, "But when the fullness of the time had come, God sent forth His Son, born of a woman, born under the law, to redeem those who were under the law, that we might receive the adoption as sons." Christmas requires us to acknowledge that in Jesus, God came...Immanuel...God with us (Matthew 1:23).

If you awoke this morning feeling overwhelmed about all that has to be done today, thinking as though the coming of Christmas depends on you, take a moment, pause, and reflect over the FACT that in Jesus, God came. This will help you realign priorities and place the emphasis where it belongs as opposed to the trappings and ancillary things that help us enjoy the celebration of the season.

As I type this little note, I have the same hymn running through my mind that has been there all month, "Come Thou Long Expected Jesus." Check out the first verse:
"Come, thou long expected Jesus,
born to set thy people free;
from our fears and sins release us,
let us find our rest in thee.
Israel's strength and consolation,
hope of all the earth thou art;
dear desire of every nation,
joy of every longing heart."

May Christ's eternal presence release you from the fears and sins that might occur in your mind on this day. May Christ's eternal presence bring you the peace that only God can bring (John 14:27). In the middle of all the preparations for the fun and festivities, may we remember that God does so love the world, and for that reason, God sent His one and only Son (John 3:16). May that be central today, Christmas Day, and everyday!

In Jesus, God came. May we celebrate that and remember that the Lord is the focus, not us. And may we look forward with great anticipation to the celebration that points us to the time when Jesus will come again.

Merry Christmas!