Merry Christmas, everyone! (Or as my nephew likes to say in his cute little three-year-old voice: “Happy Christmas!” 🤗) In this bit of a Christmas letter/post, I wanted to share with y’all some stories that have been on my heart lately, and some thoughts about this holiday season.
Like a Weaned Child with His Mother…
Two months ago, my family and I went to visit my oldest brother and his family. That was a really sweet time, and my siblings and I had a lot of fun aunt and uncle time with our niece and nephew. One afternoon I was watching the kids play on a little playground set that my brother had built, which consisted of a slide and a swing. The slide got a little congested at one point, and my nephew took a short tumble from about halfway up the slide. Before I could reach him, he had jumped up and was making a dash for the house, crying for his mom. When he had found her, he tearfully told her what had happened. After a minute in his mother’s arms, his tears had subsided and he was back outside laughing and playing.
That next Sunday during a ladies Bible study, we were looking at Psalm 131 and this verse jumped out at me…
“Surely I have calmed and quieted my soul, like a weaned child with his mother; like a weaned child within me.” (Psalm 131:2)
I thought back to my nephew and the slide incident. My nephew knew where he could find the best comfort – in the arms of his parent. He didn’t seek comfort from anyone else; there was only one voice that could calm his fears and one hand that could wipe away his tears. So it is with Jesus! “Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of mercies and the God of all comfort, who comforts us in our tribulation.” (2 Corinthians 1:3-4) I recently heard a movie quote that put this so beautifully: “He (Jesus) suffered more than everybody in the whole world combined, which means He’ll comfort you better than anyone.”
As I was reflecting on these things, I had to ask myself: Am I like my nephew? Do I run to my Heavenly Father first thing whenever I am hurting? Or do I often turn to other things or other people to soothe my hurts? I am sorry to say that I do not always go to Jesus first. But the times that I do, they are so very sweet, and I experience the peace that “passes all understanding”. (Philippians 4:7) Oh, that I may be more like a little child when it comes to my relationship with my Heavenly Father!
My Sheep (or goats) hear My Voice…
My family and I do a live nativity performance each year, and some friends of ours kindly lend us some of their goats to use for that. This year, my friend (the owner of the goats) and I sang a song together during a part of the performance. The second my friend started singing her solo, her goats started bleating at the top of their lungs and tugging at their ropes trying to get to her. It was quite comical, but then later I was thinking how it was a neat example of the passage in John where Jesus says: “My sheep hear My voice, and I know them and they follow Me. And I give them eternal life, and they shall never perish; neither shall anyone snatch them out of my hand.” (John 10:27-28)
My desire is to be like my friend’s goats – that the second I hear my Master’s voice, I respond and seek to draw closer to Him! 😊🐑❤️
Christmas: It’s About the Cross
Christmas is usually a busy time for my family with multiple music events that we put on, and things can get a little stressful with all the busyness and deadlines on top of all the regular daily life stuff. I’m thankful that the Lord helped me to slow down as we have been nearing Christmas Day and to clear my mind and really think about the significance of this wonderful holiday season. I’ve been thinking about the comfort we find in the title given to Jesus: Immanuel – “God with us”. (Matthew 1:22-23) God came to dwell with us and share our sorrows. He was “a Man of sorrows and acquainted with grief…He has borne our griefs and carried our sorrows.” (Isaiah 53:3, 4) I’ve also been reflecting on the beauty of what Christmas is all about – God’s salvation that He offers to a dark and dying world.
The message of Christmas and God’s salvation is this simple truth:
“That Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners, of whom I am chief.” (1 Timothy 1:15)
This is the amazing way that God chose to save mankind – He sent His Son, Jesus Christ, to the earth as a baby. He was fully God and fully man, which is why He was able to live a perfect, sinless life, and then give Himself as a sacrifice on the cross to pay for the sin debt that every human being has. (John 1:1, 14/Romans 5) He conquered sin and death by being the only person to die and then rise to life again.
And He invites us to be HIS and to live forever with Him! In order to do that we must repent (turn) from our sins, confessing with our mouths that Jesus is Lord and believing in the work that He did on the cross. (Romans 10:9), and then we are called to give our lives to Him – to live under a new identity. (Ephesians 4:22-24).
There are so many wonderful things that I love about Christmas – the festivities, the lights, the gifts, the music, the food, time with family…but the most wonderful thing about Christmas is the perfect Baby in the manger, and WHY He came.
I wanted to share two songs that I was reminded of recently that communicate this beautiful message about Christmas – how Jesus Christ came into our dark world to bring us light, and to save us through the cross.
The Light of Christmas Morn
MERRY CHRISTMAS! ✨✝️
Sincerely,
sincerely-amanda.com 