Too Busy

 Are you too busy with Christmas for Christmas?  Are you too involved with buying gifts for the people around you to really think about the real meaning of the season?   We are supposed to be celebrating the time when love came and was born as a baby,  to show us what love really is.  We still have not gotten the message.   We are celebrating the birth of a man named Jesus. 

Now I realize that we don't know the actual date of Jesus ‘birth.   The day most likely was chosen to lure pagans into the church and because the people then had no idea when Jesus born either.   They were eager, perhaps too eager to grow the church because they believed what they had been taught about a man named Jesus,  who most of them had never met.  And they thought it celebration of the birth was needed,  given what the other religions of the time taught  about who God is or who the gods were at the time. 

So,  are you prepared for the celebration,  or have you been too busy getting all those things that family and friends have asked for?  And have you been too busy looking for the best present at the best price?   Come with me and see how much better Christmas can be when you celebrate that one special birth. 

Bethlehem

Bethlehem, oh Bethlehem, now the queen of all the cities that ever were because the Child that was born there turned out to be the King of the Ages. Angels told shepherds about  the birth and where to find the baby. And wise men followed a star so they could acknowledge the new-born King and then worship Him.

Bethlehem, oh Bethlehem, I wish I could have been there with the shepherds or been a midwife there for help with that special birth. Or maybe I could have been a servant of those wise men. Just to have been there would have been glorious! 

Bethlehem, oh Bethlehem, when did all this happen? Who knows when, what time of year it was?  All that matters is that God came down to earth to show us all how to live together in love. Come with me and see and learn about this God who loves all people, no matter who they are. 

Bethlehem, my Bethlehem, I bow down and remember you in my prayers. And I stand beside you against those who would destroy you and your people. Oh my Bethlehem, it is the best thing I can do, loving you and your people.

Jerusalem

Jerusalem 

There is Jerusalem, always the capital of Israel. Yet another city rose above Jerusalem to be the queen of all cities. In fact it was probably not thought of that anybody so special would be born and raised anywhere else. He would know little  of them In His younger years. 

Bethlehem and other small towns most likely would have been considered to be too small to have anything of interest for a rich young man or woman. Jerusalem would have been the place to live for parties and gossip.

Yet there were many in the city who would have little or nothing to do with those people mostly because of the way these ordinary people were treated by the rulers of that time.

Into all this and a lot of other problems comes Jesus. Born in a stable and raised in a small village named Nazereth.He became an itinerant teacher and healer. In so do>ng,He the world of that time on it's ear , eventually changing everything. For He was/is the King of the Ages and Creator of all, loving all. 

The Power of Love

The power of love, ah, how great it is! Try it and see what wonders "can happen if you love as God does, fully and completely, leaving no one out of the circle of love.  Try it yourself and see what can happen if you show love to all you meet. We can make this world a better place if we will learn to love as God does. 

Gifts to give

1.  Smile at people. 

             It just might make their day 

2.   Give hugs

              To people you meet.

3.    Call those who live alone.

               They just may need to hear another voice. If 

                 family is near, they may be busy.

4.     Open doors for people.

                They  just might need the help.

5.      Tell someone you care for them.

                  People living alone van get depressed

                  easily. You might be able to change 

                  someone’s outlook.

6.        Offer to hllp.

       This might costt you for gas, but if family

        is mear , they might be all busy with work.

7.         Ask if they would like company.

        If you have some time, single folk especially 

        appreciate visits from other people.

8.         Offer transportation to the store.

         to events or to church. There may not be

          anybody  else to drive an older

          person to where they want to go.         

9.          Share a meal with them. If  possible,let the  

          person pay for the meal. It will help them

          feel good sbout themselves.

10.           Bring them a home cooked meal.

          Something you cooked yourself is 

          always welcome, provided it is

           something they can eat.