Christmas greetings from the Author

Hi!
Sorry about last week. We had a storm and our internet was down.

On the first Christmas so long ago,
God gave His gift we know.
He did not wrap His gift in gold for show,
But He wrapped His gift in swaddling clothes.
He gave this gift to you and me,
So His great love we could see.
God holds this gift in His hands,
Across the years it still stands.
To receive this gift you must do your part,
You must receive Christ in your heart

I pray that you will have a Christmas full of God's gift~Christ Jesus,
And a New Year full of blessings from Him too.

Toni Kratochvil

Decisions made for the Christ of Christmas

When we look at the Christmas story in the Bible, do we really see the decisions that were made for Christ?
Let's look at that now.

Mary, the mother of Jesus, was told that she had been chosen to be Jesus' Mom. Now let us remember that she is a young lady who is engaged to Joseph, and waiting for her groom to come and take her to her wedding. What was being asked of her could destroy all of that,  For in her time, a woman found pregnant before her wedding day, could not only be disgraced by the public, but stoned to death. She had a hard decision to make. But in the end, her responds was, "Behold, the handmaiden of the Lord, be it unto me according to your word" (Luke 1:38).

Joseph was a good man in every way. He followed the law of God and his land. AND he was in love with a young lady named Mary. But then one day, she tells him that she is is pregnant, and he knows for sure that that baby is not his. If this got out he would be disgraced, and Mary could be stoned to death. Well, he didn't want that, so he tries to figure out how to call it off, quietly. He had a tough decision to make, but with God's help, he decides to go ahead and marry her, then help her to raise God's son (Mat. 1:18-25).

The night that Jesus was born, there were shepherds watching over their flock of sheep making sure that no man would steal them, nor animal would kill them. Then suddenly the deep darkness of night was over powered with a bright light in the sky. It goes without saying that they were scared out of their minds. But what happened next was even more mind boggling. An angel tells them that the Messiah that they had been waiting for for generations, was born that very night, and laid in a manger, no less! Now we have a test of faith here. Should they believe it? Could the Messiah really be here, after all these years? But their responds was, "Let us now go even unto Bethlehem, and see... (Luke 2:15).

The same night, in a far country, east of Jerusalem, some men who studied the stars, were star gazing. When all of a sudden, a new bright star appears in the sky!This caused quite a stir, to say the least. They researched out what it could mean, and figured out that it meant that the King of the Jews had been born. They had a decision to make. Do they stay in their comfortable homes, or do they go and honor him? Their responds was, "Where is he who has been born the King of the Jews? For we have come to worship him" (Mat. 3:5).

Christmas comes to us year after year, and it is here again. With each year, we face the same question~ What decision has God asked you to make for the Christ of Christmas?

Song still sparks Christmas memory

The Christmas song that is near and dear to my heart is "Away in the manger," The reason is personal. Let me tell you about it.

One night during the Christmas season, when I was a child of eight years of age, my family was on our way home  from church. We were singing which was our custom, Christmas songs mostly.

In the middle of that trek home, my parents stopped at a little Mom and Pop store in Powell, Ohio, to pick up a few things. We children stayed in the car while they went in the store.

As we waited for them, we sang. As we sang, I looked across the street at the big evergreen tree that the firemen of that town had put lights all over. I was in awe of its size.

As we started to sing, "Away in the manger," my eyes dropped to the manger scene that was set under the tree.It was like any other manger scene with angels, Wisemen, Mary, Joseph, and Baby Jesus. But through my child eyes it was all new and I switched my awe from the tree to it.

Just as we started to sing the last verse, I looked upon baby Jesus in that manger and realized that Jesus loved little old me, So much that he came down to earth as a human baby! That song became tidings of good news to me at that moment.

I opened up my heart to him and the last verse became a prayer for me. The next spring, I asked Jesus into my heart as my Savor, Lord, and King.

As I sit here recalling this memory, with a tear in my eye.  I realize that there is a world around us that has a shallow perception of Christmas being just food, and wrapped stuff.

They are quietly screaming for meaning in the mist of all the confusion, because they have not heard the tidings of good news that Christmas can bring.

Are we telling them,"Fear not, for, behold I bring you good tidings of great joy, which will be to all people" (Luke 2:10) like the angel told the shepherds long ago?

Are we sharing the tidings of great news with them, that "God so loved the world that he gave his only begotten son, that whosoever believes in him shall not perish but have everlasing life. God sent not his son into the world to condemn the world, but that the world through him might be saved" (John 3:16-17) or do we, too, get caught up in the hustle and bustle of Christmas ourselves? We should slow down enough to make sure that we give those around us the tidings of the best Christmas gift ever- Jesus.

Like the star that led the Wisemen to Christ, we, too, should lead others to him. This the perfect season to share the tidings of good news.

As you go through this Christmas season, I wish you and yours, a Christmas filled with joy, peace, and good tidings that only come through Jesus Christ.

Note: This article was first published in The Marietta Times, Thoughts of Faith, Dec. 17-18, 2005