Christmas Yesteryear

“Praise the Lord!  How blessed is the man who fears the Lord, Who greatly delights in His commandments.  His descendants will be mighty on earth.  The generation of the upright will be blessed.  Wealth and riches are in his house, and his righteousness endures forever” (Psalm 112:1-3).

Hey Gang:  It’s that time of the year again when we dig into the closets and pull out last year’s decorations in preparation for the Christmas Season.  On my way back from taking our accumulated thrash to the recycle center, it was wonderful to hear that our President has said “Merry Christmas” is allowed and welcomed in our Nation once again.   I don’t know about you, but I did not pay much attention to the attempted movement to remove, not only the Merry Christmas greeting, but also “Jesus, the Reason for the Season”.

In my digging I came across a very special box, a box filled with prayer journals from yester year.  You see when I passed the seventy- year plateau I began to have a problem hanging onto what I was reading and especially keeping my mind focused when I was praying.   So, I began to practice what I preached in my work with children, who also had a hard time hanging onto important things – like the Bible, I began to journal my prayers. 

So, I dug into the box and after going though fifty or more journals I found the very first one, dated June 23, 2006.  My very first entry was “Father, I pray with depth of heart “…that the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of glory, may give to me a spirit of wisdom and of revelation in the knowledge of Him” (Eph. 1:17).     That prayer has been on my lips since He called us to do as Abraham did- pack up our family, put our total trust in Him, and move to a distant land.   

I then turned to my entry on Christmas morning to see what I included on my wish list to the throne room that year.  I began by wishing the Lord a happy birthday.  It matters not whether He was born on this day.  I just want to praise You for Your fabulous gift of creation.  I thank You, Lord, I did not evolve from a slimy wiggling thing that crawled out of a swamp but am formed in the image of Christ.

I praised Jesus that day for His willingness to leave the perfection of the heavenlies, seated at the right hand of the Father, to come to earth and walk in my shoes.  We were blessed to be volunteering at the African Inland Mission Retirement Village in Florida that winter, among a group of people who truly knew the meaning  of His Words- “For God so loved the world, that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him shall not perish but have eternal life” (John 3:16). 

Those in at this Retirement Village have served thirty years or more spreading the gospel in the African nations.  There bodies were in Mineola, Florida, but their hearts were with the people in whom they had invested their lives. I learned from these dear loving people what the word retirement really means – ‘when we are truly committed to Christ as our Lord and Savior, there is no such thing as retirement! They taught Sunday school, after school Bible classes, mail in Bible studies, English as second language, visited the sick and needy and PRAYED!!!!!

Eleven years have passed since their sharing their lives with us but I remember that experience well for it added a richness to my life.  Missionary Pastor Roy, after sharing that one of the saintly warriors had passed away that morning said her last words were, “Pastor Roy, I am going to see my Jesus today!”  He also said, “These people finish well because they know where they are going!”

The last entry in my prayer journal, that Christmas morning, was “Lord, I pray that I will truly learn what it means to die to self; that I will recognize those things that do not bring honor and glory to you and ask your strength to send those things packing”.   

What is your focus this Christmas Season?  Perhaps it is the last Christmas Season – ae you ready to celebrate with Christ at the Marriage Feast of the Lamb?

Blessings,

Gramps