Our Christmas Card to You

MERRY CHRISTMAS!

May each and every one of you have a wonderful celebration of the birth of our Lord Jesus Christ, remembering that He came to give us eternal life through His death and resurrection. God gave us the greatest gift ever when He sent Jesus to earth. It truly is a Merry Christmas!

I am excited and a little nervous about our Christmas plans. The Ohio Rices', Keegan, Amy, Mike, and I are all spending Christmas together at a hotel in Roanoke. We will pick Mike up on Tuesday and take him back on Thursday. Please be in prayer that this will be a miraculously blessed time and that Mike will be calm and able to enjoy the time together. I saw him for a few hours last Thursday along with my friend, Debbie, and most of the time he did great. May the Lord grant that these times will continue and become more and more frequent.

Just this weekend, it has been decided that Mike and I will move in with my brother and his wife, Hugh & Tracey. This will be a quieter location away from the main workings of the farm.  They are away from home most of the day so it will be a peaceful place for me to work with Mike, plus if necessary, they would be able to help at times. We hope to have Mike home by mid-January or earlier. We have a great Primary Care Physician, but I need to find the other doctors necessary for Mike's care like a neuro-psychologist and/or neuro-psychiatrist, and possibly a neurologist. I am also in contact with an agency for in-home assistance. If you live in the Richmond, Petersburg, or Farmville area and have any knowledge good or bad of these types of doctors or in-home agencies, I would appreciate your input. My e-mail address is mcjrrice@gmail.com. Please also be praying about this transition. 

Since everyone knows how our year has been, our Christmas card to you is a short skit that the Lord gave to me for the Grace UMC Christmas Community Gathering which I will copy and past below. I love you and appreciate each of you so very much. Merry Christmas!

IT'S ALL ABOUT JESUS!!

It’s all about Jesus. Do you know that?  I mean REALLY know that?! Christmas is Jesus.  Jesus IS Christmas! Jesus, God’s Son. Think about that for a minute. The Son of God!! God, the Almighty, the maker of heaven and earth. Our creator! The reason that we are breathing right now!  Jesus, who was with His Father…GOD… gave up His life of glory to be born a baby here on earth. We like to romanticize it, but it was a stable, with smelly animals, manure, straw, hay, maybe even some mice. Jesus left His glorious home in heaven to be born to human parents in a smelly stable. The Holy Son of God, transformed into a human baby for us.

Yeah, a baby. God likes to do things in unusual ways. The Apostle Matthew tells us that when Joseph discovered that Mary was going to have a baby, “he had in mind to divorce her quietly.” BUT…”an angel of the Lord appeared to him in a dream and said, ‘Joseph son of David, do not be afraid to take Mary home as your wife, because what is conceived in her is from the Holy Spirit. She will give birth to a son, and you are to give him the name Jesus, because he will save his people from their sins’.”  This took place to fulfill what the prophet Isaiah said, “The virgin will be with child and will give birth to a son, and they will call him Immanuel.” Immanuel means “God with us.”… GOD WITH US!.... He is right here…. with us! Amazing!

I was just reading in Luke chapter 2. Luke tells us that an angel of the Lord also appeared to shepherds living out in the fields and they were terrified! The glory of the Lord was so bright that it lit up all around them. The angel said: “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.” Then a huge gathering of angels praised God and said “Glory to God in the highest and on earth peace to men on whom his favor rests.”

This is so true!  When we believe and accept all the Bible tells us about Jesus, our Spirit is at peace and rest. And you know the best part?  This is true for all eternity, not just here.  Christmas is just the beginning of the story of Jesus on earth. He lived a sinless life as God’s Son, giving us an example to follow. His death on the cross, paid the penalty (or price) for all of our sins. His resurrection from the dead conquered death and Satan once and for all and gives us reason to rejoice! His victory over death gives eternal life to all who believe and accept Him.

It IS ALL about Jesus. It always has been, from the very beginning. Jesus IS Christmas. Without him there is no hope, no eternal life, no party, no celebration.  Jesus came to be our Savior, our Redeemer, our Lord. With Jesus, there is life, abundant life both now and forever.

God loves us so much, all we have to do is believe and receive as He tells us in John: “For God so loved the world that He gave His one and only Son, that whoever believes in Him shall not perish but have eternal life. For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but to save the world through Him. Whoever believes in Him is not condemned, but whoever does not believe stands condemned already because he has not believed in the name of God’s one and only Son.”

Do you believe? Don’t delay. Don’t miss out! Jesus is holding His gift of salvation out to you. His arms are out-stretched, the price has been paid - all you have to do is reach out and receive it. He loves you so much and He wants you to have it. That’s why He came. The very first Christmas gift was from God to us and it was enough. His gift was Jesus! JESUS is Christmas!

There’s a great Christmas hymn that tells the message we’re talking about. Come on everybody let’s sing  “Come Thou Long Expected Jesus”.

Characters and audience sing: “Come Thou Long Expected Jesus” by Charles Wesley

1.         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.

2.         Born thy people to deliver,

            born a child and yet a King,

            born to reign in us forever,

            now thy gracious kingdom bring.

            By thine own eternal spirit

            rule in all our hearts alone;

            by thine all sufficient merit,

            raise us to thy glorious throne.