MERRY CHRISTMAS- 2024

 

MERRY CHRISTMAS!

 

T'was the night before Christmas-

       when the young couple completed their long

            journey... and arrived in town.

T'was the time of the census, and
      men were returning to their hometowns
            to register ... for the powers-that-be.

One of these men was a man named Joseph-
      Yosef, not Joe, and he came from Bethlehem,
            which means "house of bread" in Hebrew.

It was a homecoming of sorts,
      but he couldn't find a room for his fiancée,

and she was very pregnant with their first child.

 

So,,, they ended up in a cattle shed, behind an inn... 

      grateful for a place to lay their heads...

Miriam (Mary) was in need of rest and shelter

It was there, in that cattle shed,

where she gave birth to a boy named Yeshua,

which comes to us as "JESUS."

 

At the first Christmas... the stars were the only lights.

There was no feast or gift exchange either.

              just a young man, his bride-to-be, and a baby

       lying vulnerably... in a cattle trough

The mood was sweet. The noise of the world

was muffled by the joy of the moment

and the sense of wonder

that filled the cattle shed.

No one could've known it then–

not even the boldest among them,
       but time itself was split in two on this day,
            with BC giving way to Anno Domini (AD)

Before his birth, they lived in a world without hope,

everyone did… and then there was a promise

and a hope that would never be squelched,

 

The shepherds weren’t accustomed to being invited.

Come morning they were still just shepherds... 

              but they were never without hope again!

A couple of years later,
      some astrologers came from Persia

brought gifts of homage...

to the baby King born in Israel.

 

They were "wise" because they sought him,

and worshiped him, and didn’t enter into

His presence empty-handed!

 

Come morning- it looked like just another day-
      with babies crying, women making bread,

and men working at their trade...

But that first Christmas was no ordinary day... 

      and there would never again be an ordinary day...

            because a Savior had been born!

 

God had come to earth,

with gifts of joy, peace, love, hope, and

              salvation to people who needed to be accepted

and saved... more than anything else!

Come morning, it was AD, Anno Domini,
      because our Lord had arrived in Bethlehem. 

            Unto us a Savior had been born! Hallelujah!!

Sherry and I pray that each and everyone of you will experience the depths of God’s love and grace, this Christmas of 2024!  pk