Christmas Cards

Christmas
Cards, "Bah Humbug," some say… They cost too much, no one really
reads them anyway… It's too expensive and takes too much time to send
them."

Some may say
those things, but not at our house, at our house we love Christmas cards. We
love receiving them and love sending them. Granted in the present economic
situation in our society we don't mail as many as we once did. But still they
are an important part of our lives. Many of us have been forced to send an
"electronic" greeting now, which is a great avenue of staying in
touch, but I still cherish the old fashion paper cards also.

Each card, each
letter, each greeting, (electronic or otherwise), has a message of hope, a
message of love, they share precious thoughts and insights about our
relationships. We love to get the Christmas letters that often come with the
cards, because the truth of the matter is that far too often we just don't stay
in touch with those we really care about. We mean to do better, we mean to
call, write or visit, but as they say, "life interferes" with our
plans.

Christmas cards
may be the only time in the year that you communicate with someone you really
do care about in your life. We are separated by years and miles from many of
our dear friends. People that we love and truly cherish, but some we have not
seen for years. People who have touched our lives and helped make us who we are
today.

Christmas cards
remind us that there is a bond of love and friendship through Christ that can
never be parted. As long as we put Him first in our lives we will touch and be
touched by others.

We have some
old friends that taught us a lesson about Christmas cards years ago while
living in Africa. They kept their Christmas cards on the dinning room table and
each day when they asked God to bless their food they also chose one card and
ask God to bless those people that day also.

Many of you
have been a light to our paths in this life fulfilling Jesus' Words in Matthew 5:14-15, "You are the light of the world, like
a city on a hilltop that cannot be hidden. No one lights a lamp and then puts
it under a basket. Instead, a lamp is placed on a stand, where it gives light
to everyone in the house."

So in this electronic age my wife and I wish each of you a
"Merry Christmas and a very Happy New Year". And, May God Bless us
Everyone.

Promises Remembered ...

"And
God said, "This is the sign of the covenant I am making between me and you
and every living creature with you, a covenant for all generations to come:

I
have set my rainbow in the clouds, and it will be the sign of the covenant
between me and the earth… Whenever the rainbow appears in the clouds, I will
see it and remember the everlasting covenant between God and all living
creatures of every kind on the earth." (Genesis 9:12-16 NIV)

As we
were driving through Southern Arizona and California last week my wife and I were
in unusual weather for us, there was rain, lots of rain. It was somewhat
unusual because every now and then the sky would clear and we would have
sunshine for awhile. During these times we saw no less than 4 different
rainbows, which was quite amazing in itself. But as we saw those we commented
to one another about God's promise to Noah and his family after He had
destroyed the earth with the Great Flood. God said, "I will see it and remember the
everlasting covenant…" He said, "I promise I will never do
this again."  

There
was another covenant even before that one though. After Adam and Eve were
expelled from the Garden of Eden for their sin and disobedience, God Said, "And I
will put enmity between you (Satan) and the woman, and between your offspring (Satan)
and hers; he will crush your head, and you will strike his heel."
(Genesis 3:15) This was his promise even in the very beginning of time that
Jesus would come to the world as its Savior.

In Luke 2 God spoke again through an
Angel: "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 that will cause great joy for all the people.
Today in the town of David a Savior has been born to you; he is the Messiah,
the Lord. This will be a sign to you: You will find a baby wrapped in cloths
and lying in a manger." (Vs. 
9-12)

If
there is a message we see reinforced at this time of the year through this
holiday the world proclaims as "Christmas," it is that God remembers
His promises! Think about all of those who proclaim, "Keep Christ in
Christmas."  Many of the Songs that
are sung are a reminder of at least part of the promise of God being fulfilled.

We
know that the word "Christmas," is not in the bible. We understand
that the early Christians did not have Christmas celebrations. We understand
that most of what takes place in our modern Christmas celebrations has nothing
to do with what is recorded in the bible. However that doesn't make the birth
of Christ any less wonderful, any less worthy of being remembered. This one
event truly was a miracle that changed the course of our world as well as each
of our lives for eternity.

God
spoke, He promised, He remembered and He fulfilled that promise through a baby
born in a stable. Let's not forget the fulfilled promise of a Savior which was
born to us in Bethlehem, not just at this time of the year, but all year long.