Tradition! One morning we awoke to the noise of Robert waking the girls to go downstairs and look in the stockings. Half an hour later, Robert and the girls came to wake us so that we could all come down and open gifts.
Jenn and Robert fixed breakfast while Aimee slept on the couch and Norm read the comic “Dilbert.” Mom called to wish us a Merry Christmas. Later that morning we attended church, a reminder that He is the reason we celebrate Christmas.
The shepherds gave witness to Jesus Christ the Messiah who makes reconciliation between God and man possible. His birth, death and resurrection makes it possible for us to draw near to God without fear. But Jesus is much more than a ticket to heaven.
The Magi came to honor Jesus Christ as the King of all kings. He is the exalted One. He created all things and He holds all things together. He is worthy to be praised and to receive all glory, honor and power.
At the age of ten, I accepted Jesus Christ as my Savior. I knelt at the altar in Red Lion Methodist Church and prayed for Jesus to forgive my sins. That simple act changed my life forever. Several years passed before Jesus became the Lord of my life. Then I began to seek His will before making choices, instead of asking for forgiveness once the deed was done. I began to look for ways to honor Him in words and actions.
As you celebrate this day, take time to praise the One who makes the celebration possible.
Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ who has blessed us in the heavenly realms with every spiritual blessing in Christ. For He chose us in Him before the creation of the world to be holy and blameless in His sight.
In love, He predestined us to be adopted as sons through Jesus Christ, in accordance with His pleasure and will, to the praise of His glorious grace, which He has freely given us in the One He loves.
In Him we have redemption through His blood, the forgiveness of sins, in accordance with the riches of God’s grace that He lavished on us with all wisdom and understanding.
And He made known to us the mystery of His will according to His good pleasure, which He purposed in Christ, to be put into effect when the times will have reached their fulfillment, to bring all things in heaven and on earth together under one head, even Christ.
In Him we were also chosen, having been predestined according to the plan of Him who works out everything in conformity with the purpose of His will, in order that we, who were the first to hope in Christ, might be for the praise of His glory.
And you also were included in Christ when you heard the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation.
Having believed, you were marked in Him with a seal, the promised Holy Spirit, who is a deposit guaranteeing our inheritance until the redemptions of those who are God’s possession, to the praise of His glory. Ephesians 1:3-14
TRICIA LATHROP 