TerryLema

When our family was young, Christmas Eve was always when we gathered with others in our home. It was our big meal, our time to party. Christmas Day was opening gifts, a special breakfast, and then snacking on leftovers for the rest of the day.

I remember reading a quote from Carol Nelson, “Christmas is a time when you get homesick-even when you are home.”

I guess I am homesick this morning. This Christmas Eve will begin with a trip over to the hospital infusion center for an infusion I get every four weeks. Tonight, our daughter and son-in-love are graciously bringing in dinner. It will be a time of joy, just a different time of joy.

As we have aged and our children have grown and have families of their own, Christmas has gotten quieter. Perhaps there is one last Christmas carol? One more in tune with the nostalgia I am feeling.

“Silent night, holy night / All is calm, all is bright / ‘Round yon Virgin Mother and Child / Holy Infant so tender and mild / Sleep in heavenly peace / Sleep in heavenly peace.

“Silent night, holy night / Shepherds quake at the sight / Glories stream from heaven afar / Heavenly hosts sing, ‘Alleluia’ / Christ the Savior is born / Christ the Savior is born.

“Silent night, holy night / Son of God, love’s pure light / Radiant beams from Thy holy face / With the dawn of redeeming grace / Jesus, Lord at Thy birth / Jesus, Lord at Thy birth.”

Truly, Wonders of Wonders!

As we are ending this Christmas Journey 2024, I am so enthralled once again by God’s grace. I am captivated by God’s willingness – even what we might regard as eagerness to shed His love and grace upon an undeserving creation. His grace changes everything!

We are reminded each Christmas Season that God the Word became flesh and came to earth as a baby completely dependent upon a young Jewish maiden and her carpenter husband. John, in his opening chapter, presents a divine genealogy.  “In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.” [John 1:1, HCSB]

John reminds us that Christ Jesus, the Word, took up residence in our human flesh. John saw His glory, he witnessed His miracles, he heard His words.  “The Word became flesh and took up residence among us. We observed His glory, the glory as the One and Only Son from the Father, full of grace and truth.” [John 1:14 HCSB]

The part of verse 14 that always makes me catch my breath is that last phrase, however. This Jesus was “full of grace and truth.”

Full. It means abounding in, complete, completely occupied with. It is the Greek Word pleres, from which we get our English word plethora.

Jesus did not just have a little grace and truth, or even a moderate amount of grace and truth. Grace and truth were complete, abounding in Him. When He walked among us, He displayed grace and truth to all. Whether they accepted what He brought was their choice, but if they walked away from Him without, it was not because there was a lack in Him.

As we embrace Him and strive to be Christ-like, His grace and truth takes up residence in us. Wonder of Wonders!

When Paul wrote his two letters to Timothy, he reminded him of various truths he wanted Timothy to remember. He would begin with, “This is a trustworthy saying.”

 “This saying is trustworthy and deserving of full acceptance: ‘Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners…’” [1 Timothy 1:15]

We are to remember that Christmas is all about Christ Jesus who came into this world for a specific purpose. We are to remember that He came to save sinners.

“For even the Son of Man came not to be served but to serve others and to give his life as a ransom for many.” [Mark 10:45]

It is easy to forget the deep message of Christmas. The world wants to keep us on a superficial level. It wants us to think about gifts and elves on the shelves and Christmas movies and food and Santa Claus. The world wants us to focus on temporary things that will pass away.

The enemy of our soul has his own goal also. He wants us stressed, weakened, hopeless, lonely, and unsatisfied. He wants us dismayed.

It is only when we remember that the reason for the season is the birth of our Savior that we overcome the intentions of the world and the devil.

Wonder of Wonders!

One of my favorite Christmas carols is God Rest Ye Merry Gentlemen. While I love the words expressed in the many verses, I love the small “chorus” that comes at the end of each. “O Tidings of comfort and joy, comfort and joy, oh tidings of comfort and joy.”

Comfort. God is our comfort.  David expressed that wonderful truth in that most blessed Psalm 23. “I will fear no evil, for you are with me; your rod and your staff, they comfort me.” [vs 4]

I had a bad day yesterday. Evening found me sitting in the bathroom crying. I was tired of being strong. Bob’s short-term memory was especially absent during the day, and I had answered the same questions over and over or repeatedly tried to explain something he was incapable of understanding. I was dealing with a new health issue and wanting to go back to Christmas times when our home was full of people, kids, and joy. The Lights on my Christmas Tree burned out. And I missed my friend Patty.

I told God I was tired of being “strong.” Then wiped my tears and went out to do what I needed to do. I heard the LORD say: “being strong and needing comfort are two totally different things.” I realized that even the strong have times when they need God’s comfort.

Comfort. During the holidays we often reflect as much on what we have lost as what we have gained. Many have lost loved ones, family, or friends. Some have lost income, or experienced divorce. Children have grown up and perhaps left home. Christmas often reminds us that what we used to have may not be ours anymore.

That is when we need those “tidings of comfort and joy” that flow from the Nativity. God has come to comfort us. We have a LORD who knows what it is to experience loss and pain with us, who mourns with us, who weeps with us. In that I find the greatest of “comfort.”

Wonder of Wonders!

I sat looking at this date, December 20, for a long time this morning before I began to write. I wanted to pause, just remain here, December 20, for a while.  Not sure why? Maybe I don’t want to get into all the hoopla of the last days of this season. Maybe I just want to sit and think about Jesus for a little while, think about what God has done.

I do love the days between Thanksgiving and New Year’s Day, but this morning I would love to just spend time on December 20 thinking about my LORD. I don’t want to get moving. I don’t want to tackle my list of things to do. I don’t want to think about baking or last-minute shopping or anything else. I just want to think about Jesus.

The psalmist Asaph must have been having a bad day when he began Psalm 77. His distress is palpable in the opening verses, but then at verse 11 something changes.  He remembers, and he meditates. “I will remember the deeds of the LORD; yes, I will remember your miracles of long ago. I will meditate on all your works and consider all your mighty deeds.” [Vs 11-12]

I’m not in distress like Asaph. I just want to remember the deeds of the LORD and miracles of long ago.  I want to meditate for a bit on all His works and mighty deeds before moving on to daily life.

Before moving into the final days of this holiday season at the pace life often demands, I want to reflect on the wonderful love of the Father who, before the foundation of the world, before Adam was ever created – long before the fall in the Garden of Eden – this wonderful love of the Father chose to send His Only Son to redeem us, to save us, to deliver us, to indwell us.

I think I can meditate on that love … that miracle of long ago … for a long time. Wonder of Wonders!

I am going over to pray at CFC Middleton this morning. I have missed a few Thursdays for various reasons, and I don’t want to miss this one. Praying with others always reminds me of the grace of God that brought us all together as His children. I pray with people I would otherwise never know.

A few years ago, a beloved family at The Way Assembly of God gave me a mug for my birthday that I absolutely adore.  Inscribed on that mug are two words, “Grace Wins.”  

I grew up in a denomination that had the rite of confirmation. Confirmation was a public acknowledgement of both adulthood and a “confirmation” of the vows taken by my godparents at my infant baptism. They acknowledged faith and rejected the work of the devil for me as a baby. At confirmation I acknowledged those vows as an adult (I was 12).

In this rite of confirmation, I was also to choose an additional name to add to my baptismal name of Teresa Kay. I chose the name of my sponsor. Her name was Grace.  So now, at least according to that denomination, I am Teresa Kay Grace.  Grace Wins!

I had no idea when I chose the name Grace, how much grace would mean to me. God took me to a small church in the little town of Loomis, California, a few years after I was saved. The pastor was a preacher of grace. He taught me well. I am now a preacher (even if retired) of grace.

I know in my heart that we are born again by the power of God’s grace, given in Christ Jesus. We live every day in the power of God’s grace, given in Christ Jesus. And one day when we stand before the LORD our GOD our MAKER, we will be there by the power of God’s grace, given in Christ Jesus.  Yes, Grace Wins!

Zechariah 4:6-7:  This is the word of the LORD to Zerubbabel: “Not by might nor by power, but by My Spirit,” Says the LORD of hosts. “Who are you, O great mountain? Before Zerubbabel you shall become a plain! And he shall bring forth the capstone with shouts of ‘Grace, grace to it!’”

One of my favorite traditional Christmas carols is “It Came Upon a Midnight Clear.”

It came upon the midnight clear / That glorious song of old, From angels bending near the earth / To touch their harps of gold! Peace on the earth, good will to men / From heaven’s all gracious King! The world in solemn stillness lay / To hear the angels sing. 

Ah, but if we are honest, we must admit there is no peace on this earth. Daily we see war in nations, battles on social media and in government, discord in families and among friends and neighbors. We are always at odds with someone. We long for the “peace on earth, good will to men” that the Christmas carols remind us of each year. Have we mistaken the message of the angels?

No, not mistaken, but perhaps misinterpreted? The old KJV says, “On earth peace, good will toward men.”  The NIV says, “On earth peace to men on whom his favor rests.”  The NLT says, “Peace on earth to those with whom God is pleased.” [Luke 2:14]

None promises a world-wide, all-encompassing peace—at least not yet. The promise of peace sung by the angels, flowing from heaven’s all gracious King, is not a general peacefulness with prosperity and a trouble-free life. Scripture is clear, our most fundamental need for peace is peace with God. We have been at war with God since the rebellion in the Garden. We are hostile to Him and His rule in our lives. We do everything we can to keep control for ourselves. There is no peace on earth because there is no peace with God.

But that all changed that night. Peace was now born into this world.  The true peace had come and will never depart – that true peace lives in the hearts of all those who accept God’s offer. We now look forward to a time when the King of King comes to reign and all war will be banished forever. Only then will true peace be world-wide and all-encompassing. We look forward to that time  …

When peace shall over all the earth / Its ancient splendors fling / And all the world give back the song / Which now the angels sing.

“The shepherds went back to their flocks, glorifying and praising God for all they had heard and seen. It was just as the angel had told them.”  [Luke 2:20 NLT]

That first Christmas changed everything for a group of rough-hewn men who had probably spent most of their life out in the elements guarding sheep. They were the first given the announcement that the Savior of the World had been born that night. They had rushed to confirm what the angel had told them. They had then shared their news with everyone they met.

How ironic, these men who by law were not considered worthy to give testimony in court, were the very ones to whom God gave the greatest testimony of all time. “Good news of great joy that will be for all people. Today in the town of Bethlehem a Savior has been born to you, He is Christ Jesus the Lord.”

I wonder what was racing through their minds as they returned to their flocks that night. The excitement of the evening must have been overwhelming. God had testified to them of His Son. They had testified of God’s Son to everyone they met. Now they did what we all must do when we receive the testimony of God in our hearts, they worshipped. They glorified and praised God.

That truly is where this simple story must end. We must become like these simple shepherds. We find the “Wonder of wonders” in the presence of God. We testify to that to everyone we meet. But we must never fail to give glory and praise, to worship the One who loved us so much that He provided the way to salvation in the birth of Christ Jesus that night in Bethlehem.

Wonder of wonders!

“After seeing him, the shepherds told everyone what had happened and what the angel had said to them about this child. ¹⁸ All who heard the shepherds’ story were astonished.” [Luke 2:17-18 NLT]

Isn’t that always the way it is. When something is wonder-full, you just must tell someone about it?

That’s what happened with the shepherds. First there was the angel and the bright light. Then the announcement about the babe, followed by heavenly praise. They’d raced through the streets, searching to find what the angel promised. And when they found Him, they are racing through the streets again, this time telling everyone about their experience.

Maybe by now it was morning, and the shepherds weren’t actually banging on doors, waking people up to tell them what they had seen. Still, it must have seemed strange to see a bunch of shepherds away from their sheep, in town, talking about angels and bright lights in the sky and a baby who is Christ, Jesus, the Lord.  Luke simply says that people were amazed at what the shepherds had to say to them.

That made me stop for a second and ask myself, when was the last time I was so filled with wonder from being in the presence of the Lord that I had to tell people about it.

Wonder is contagious. It must be shared.  Wonder of wonders!

“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….’ When the angels had left them and gone into heaven, 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 2:8-12, 15 NIV]

And that is exactly what they did. They dropped everything, left their sheep to fend for themselves (a big no-no for shepherds who care about keeping their jobs) and raced into Bethlehem to find this “Wonder of Wonders.” Can’t you picture them racing through the narrow lanes, ducking into every animal enclosure looking for a newborn?  They would not be satisfied until they saw what the angel told them about.

Then suddenly they find Him, that baby wrapped in cloths and lying in a feed trough. They were in the very presence of the King of Kings and Lord of Lords. This little baby is the Savior that God had been promising. He is the Messiah, Christ the Lord.

There were probably no more jaded group than a bunch of shepherds. Shepherding was a most unworthy profession. Because of their profession they were considered ritually unclean. Acceptable society didn’t have much to do with them. But it was to them God chose to first announce the birth of His Son.

If we want to experience the “Wonder of Wonders” of Christmas, we need to be like the shepherds. We need to drop everything and run to the presence of God! That is where wonder begins. God beckons us to come.

 Wonder of wonders!