Christmas Letter 2019

Winter in Wisconsin is a good time for writing stories like this. There’s a fresh covering of snow on the ground, a fire pouring heat into the living room, and the cat is asleep on the back of the couch. It’s a good time to reflect on the year and all that we did. But I’m not going to do that. Instead, I am going to tell you a story about God and something that HE did.

The other day I received a message from a mom I met a few years ago at a local food pantry. Her husband hadn’t been paid in three weeks and this mom was out of a job. There was no food in their house for a Thanksgiving meal and they have three kids – one of them just 4 months old.

“Which of you, if your son asks for bread, will give him a stone? Or if he asks for a fish, will give him a snake? If you, then, though you are evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father in heaven give good gifts to those who ask him! So in everything, do to others what you would have them do to you, for this sums up the Law and the Prophets." - Matthew 7:9-12

Hidden inside those words from Jesus is what’s called “The Golden Rule” – do unto others as you would have them do unto you. Bev and I provided a Thanksgiving meal for my friend and her family. No big deal. But that Golden Rule verse got me thinking. What does that mean for us the rest of the year?

When Jesus sacrificed Himself on the cross for us, was that Jesus applying the “golden rule” to us? Do unto others as you would have others do unto you. Are we supposed to sacrifice ourselves for Jesus because He did that for us? The answer is simple.

Yes.

Jesus was born into this world so that He could die for us. Why were WE then born into this world if not to die for Him?

"Then he said to them all: “Whoever wants to be my disciple must deny themselves and take up their cross daily and follow me." - Luke 9:23

What does “taking up our crosses daily” look like in a world that teaches us to place ourselves first? Well, I think it means we are to forget what the world tells us and do what God tells us - to love our neighbor, as we love ourselves.

This Christmas we challenge you to think outside the normal gift-wrapped Christmas box and give gifts that would be a gift to God. Go to the store specifically to drop money in the Salvation Army kettle. Pay for the meal of the person behind you in the drive up lane. Bake some cookies and drop them off at a homeless shelter.

We shouldn’t do these things to feel better about ourselves. We should be sacrificing ourselves for others, for God! Leave a card for the person in the drive-through lane that glorifies God. Give some Biblical encouragement along with the cookies. Pray for the bell ringer at the Salvation Army kettle – right there!

Christmas isn’t about us. It’s about Him!

May God bless you and your family. May He bring you the peace that surpasses ALL understanding – a gift that only God can bring. And may this Christmas be a time we truly rejoice in receiving the gift of a child, given to all, that we might receive our King. Amen.