Pastor’s Page
Volume 12 Week 52
A Christmas Gift for You!
Gifts of Gold, Frankincense
and Myrrh Are All Around Us This Year!
If I were Santa Claus, I’d love to sneak down your chimney with a load of gifts for Christmas, but I’m not, so I won’t.
But I am your Pastor, and this is my Page, so I’ll wish you the very most blessed Christmas with my prayer for your stocking to be filled with the greatest gifts of all, the gifts of God the Holy Spirit. Here’s my Christmas wish list for you!
Gold!
That got your attention! I imagine you’d love a bag of gold under your tree, and I’m hoping you find one. The Magi brought the young Christ Child gold to honor His standing as royalty. You are a child of the King, and you deserve a gift of gold also. I’m wondering if you just might have one under there already.
One of my favorite parts of Christmas has always been when our kids climbed under the tree for the passing of the gifts, especially when they were younger. I know that Carol was thinking the same thing as me as we watched their little bottoms wiggle while their tops were reaching for the “gold.” We were watching our gold.
Those whom we love and who love us in return are a gift from God that cannot be bought with all the silver or gold in the world. My wish for you is a smile, an embrace and a loving conversation with someone dear to you this Christmas. Whether a tiny youngster having one of their first Christmases or a grandparent who can’t quite remember all the gifts that have passed under the tree, I pray for the precious gold of a loved one to celebrate with this Christmas.
And by the way, say a special prayer for those who mourn at this family time of year. It’s harder than ever at Christmas. Give thanks to God for the loved one’s you’ll see or visit with long-distance. To share Christmas with those we love is golden.
I’m hoping you’ll find golden nuggets all through this Christmas season. Open a gift given with care and emotion from someone close, and find a gift of gold. Open a card with a picture of a friend from days gone by, and find a gift of gold. Read a funny story in a Christmas letter from a relative far away, and find a gift of gold.
The gifts of gold are all around. Open God’s gifts and enjoy!
Frankincense!
We’re told that when the Wise Men found Jesus, they bowed in worship and adoration. The gift of frankincense, an aromatic spice burned for its fragrance, was itself an act of worship. My prayer for you is that as you gather with your fellow Christians during Christmas worship, the Lord who is worthy of praise will give you a gift or two.
Pay attention in worship this weekend. A word or a turn of a phrase or a promise in a sermon might be just the treasure you’ve been seeking this Christmas. (Hey! It could happen!) The music of this season is so rich in the language of promise and hope and peace that I’d be totally surprised if you did not find a fragrant blessing as you lift your voice in song. And I’m equally certain that in our times of quiet prayer and meditation, God will touch you with the sweet blessing of joy in His gift of love, the Savior, Jesus.
Our season of worship goes beyond the four walls of the church. Any time is a great time to offer an offering of incense and praise to Jesus. See what happens when you hear a favorite carol playing in the mall or on the radio and you join in singing or humming along. Think of the angels who worship continually before the Lord and mix your praises with theirs. See if there isn’t a gift for you also as you honor the Lord with your song. “O come, let us adore Him, Christ the Lord!”
Myrrh!
The gift of myrrh was another aromatic spice, often mixed with oil to form an ointment for anointing. It’s easy to see why many biblical scholars can identify in the Magi’s gift a foreshadowing of the anointing Jesus received before His burial, or even the anointing of John the Baptist in the river that initiated Him into His service among the people.
My last wish for you in this Christmas season of gifts is the gift of myrrh, the gift of God’s anointing upon your life.
God has always invited His children to join in His purposes here on earth. Even though imperfect in every way, our humble acts of service bring glory to the Father in heaven and advance the good news of Jesus. When our deeds of love and sacrifice and service are done in faith in the One who has called us to be His own, and in loving obedience to His call, we are living out our calling, our anointing, as His servants.
I know you’ll have an opportunity to respond to God’s love this Christmas with a word or a deed done in the name of the Savior. I know the Lord will guide you. And I believe that in your kindness, you will find a treasure.
When we go the extra mile to make a small difference in someone else’s life, how often do we find that such an act of compassion overflows into a blessing back our way? It’s like sharing a fragrant gift of myrrh by anointing someone else, but enjoying the wonderful aromas yourself! I pray for you this gift at Christmas.
And one more “anointing with myrrh” kind of gift is on my list for you this Christmas. Jesus entered our world with the gift of precious spices, and he left it the same way, wrapped in the anointing spices of His burial. Each was the beginning of a brand new life, and that’s my hope for you.
Jesus came to give us life forever through the forgiveness of sins, and new life everyday through the same wonderful blessing. The New Testament reminds us, “Don’t you know that all of us who were baptized into Christ Jesus were baptized into His death so that just as Christ was raised through the glory of the Father, we too may live a new life” (Romans 6:4).
When we begin our day in the Lord’s favor, dying to our old sinful nature, repenting and rejecting our yesterday, and seeking His gracious forgiveness, we’re buried and raised with Him to a brand new life.
That’s our lifestyle of faith, dying, rising, and living for Jesus. I’m praying for you to know His gifts of gold and frankincense and myrrh every day in the New Year!
Nativity Story!
If you haven’t yet, consider a trip to The Nativity Story this Christmas. It’s wonderfully made, strongly faithful to the Bible, and the box office success of movies of faith like The Nativity Story will ensure more in the future!
Have a holy, blessed Christmas! I’ll see you in church!