DIRECTING OUR PATHWAY IN THE NEW YEAR

"Trust in the Lord with all your heart,

And lean not on your own understanding;

In all your ways acknowledge Him,

And He shall direct your paths."  (Proverbs 3:5-6 NKJV)

If this is to be a Happy New Year, a year of usefulness, a year in which we shall live to make this earth better, it is because God will direct our pathway. How important then, to feel our dependence upon Him!

-- Matthew Simpson

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THE WISE STILL COME

"There was the true Light which, coming into the world, enlightens every man. He was in the world, and the world was made through Him, and the world did not know Him. He came to His own, and those who were His own did not receive Him. But as many as received Him, to them He gave the right to become children of God, even to those who believe in His name, who were born, not of blood nor of the will of the flesh nor of the will of man, but of God." (John  1:9-12)

The wise men come seeking Jesus. He comes to His own -- His own world, His own people -- and though many despise and reject Him, many see Him full of grace and truth. His natal star, like a flashlight in the hand of God, leads the magi up the dark and rocky path till it comes to where the child lay and glitters their believing eyes. The wise still come as testimony that He embodies the only hope for the dark, sad world.

--  Thomas R. Steagald in Sacred Days: Following Jesus Through the Christian Year,  © 2014. All rights reserved. Used by permission of Upper Room Books.

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MUSINGS ON A MIRACLE – Part 9:

THE CONCLUSION

“Thanks be to God for His indescribable gift.”  (2 Corinthians 9:15)

Christmas then is indeed something more.  No, it is Someone more; a little child, who, before our very eyes, and with faith as our only valid response, becomes the Son of God. Thanks be to God for this most special gift -- thanks be to God for Christmas!

What does Christmas mean to me?  These poor words may help you see
Just what I think and how I feel, now let me close with this appeal --
Look at Christmas in a brand new way, rediscover this Holy day,
And when the world seems evil and wild, find courage in a little Child;
When you are sad and feel alone, cheer up, for you are loved and known,
When you’re afraid, your life storm-tossed, you’ve been rescued at tremendous cost;
When you’re merry and life’s just right, you owe it all to that ancient night
When Christmas in our hearts was born and the stars gave way to a brighter morn! 
With these lines my musing’s through -- what does Christmas mean to you?

-- Don G. Smith, Lorne Park Baptist Church, Mississauga, Ontario, December 7, 1985

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MUSINGS ON A MIRACLE – Part 8:

Christmas is THE CHRIST

“So if anyone is in Christ, there is a new creation: everything old has passed away; see, everything has become new!  All this is from God, who reconciled us to Himself through Christ, and has given us the ministry of reconciliation;  that is, in Christ God was reconciling the world to Himself, not counting their trespasses against them, and entrusting the message of reconciliation to us.  So we are ambassadors for Christ, since God is making His appeal through us; we entreat you on behalf of Christ, be reconciled to God.”  (2 Corinthians 5:17-20)

Christmas is Christmas in retrospect.  It is what it has become only because of that little, special baby and what He became.  He grew into the greatest gift anyone and everyone has ever received.  He became the light of the world. His life, His death, His resurrected presence provides the sweetest music this side of heaven.  He took our nature upon Himself and is the supreme model of what we all can and should be and the glorious revelation of what God is like.  How marvelous His teaching and insights, how perfect and pure His matchless love, how awesome His sacrifice, how saving is His defeat of death and despair.  And we have the audacity to adopt His name and to profess to walk in His footsteps!  We come to Christmas sensing with every fiber of our beings that this Christ is no trickster, no phoney, no faker.  He is indeed for real! Christmas is no hoax perpetrated by a capricious God.  So we move beyond the shadows of our doubts; we see ourselves, in the light of His life, for what we are, yet what we also may become.

-- Don G. Smith, Lorne Park Baptist Church, Mississauga, Ontario, December 7, 1985

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MUSINGS ON A MIRACLE – Part 7:

Christmas is JOY

“May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace as you trust in Him, so that you may overflow with hope by the power of the Holy Spirit.”  (Romans 15:13)

In vain we engage ourselves in the ceaseless pursuit of happiness and pleasure.  Success and power, recognition and achievement turn to ashes in our hands and hearts.  The sweet taste of some trivial victory soon turns to bitterness in our mouths.  Treasures on earth turn out to have a hollow ring.  Christmas is timely yet it is timeless.  The real Christmas does not tarnish in the safety deposit boxes of our soles.  Mortar is mortal and even flesh is fleeting.   Only as we open our lives and invest our time and energies in that which has eternal quality, do we find joy.  May we learn to enjoy Christmas.  Joy lights up the most humble shack and can even be found in palaces perhaps.  A hobo or a prince can be surprised by joy. Rejoice!

-- Don G. Smith, Lorne Park Baptist Church, Mississauga, Ontario, December 7, 1985


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