It's Christmas Eve morning, and there is a chill in the air...

...that warms my heart, it feels a bit like Christmas. 

I am looking forward to the time of respite: to ponder and treasure, to journal and pray, to laugh in the company of family and friends. 

Would you pray with me, on this day:

• For the people The Salvation Army has been able to help, that our sacred service would serve as an arrow to God, and to His only-begotten Son, the Saviour of the world, Jesus Christ?
• For the families that did not get a Christmas basket this year, for the kids whose angels did not get picked off the Angel Trees....that Divine Providence would find them? 
• For all the donors, companies, church groups, Scout troops, individuals, and families that banded their resources together to help all the families in need via this ministry? 
• For all the people who served as bell-ringers, that their families would be blessed, that our time together would be remembered as more than a job, but as a bridge to the spiritual life?
• For our staff that worked so diligently to insure that every family they could reach got the help they needed, that this time of respite would be restorative to them.

I suspect that 2012 will be a season of great change; after all, change is the only constant.  On the edge of the new year, there is always a sense of pregnancy, of expectation, of longing.  This end of year proves no differently than any of the others; there is a stirring in my soul, can you feel it too?

Something great is afoot, God is up to something.  I can't wait to join Him.  "Behold, I do a new thing; do you not perceive it?" (Isaiah 43:19) There is so much glory packed into this one word, "behold."  Think of all the times that word has been used to describe a move of God.  Well, just think of one:  "Behold, I bring you good news of great joy that will be for all the people.  Today, in Bethlehem, a Child is born.  He is Christ the Lord."

"Behold" in the NT Greek is in the middle voice - an interesting voice indeed.   Active voice in languages depict something being acted upon,e.g, "I hit the ball"  Passive voice emphasizes the effect of a thing, for example "The ball was struck."  Middle voice is interesting: middle voice represents the subject acting upon itself or in its own interest.  (in this case: to show in a mirror, to make to reflect, to mirror to look at one's self in a mirror to behold one's self in a mirror behold as a glass)

So this thing that the angel told the shepherds about, this Child lain in a manger, was a sight to behold - they should witness this.  But also, because of the use of the middle voice, this sight was also to be seen by the subject - God.  God was witnessing His own self-revelation in Jesus!

Hopefully, after the "holidays" you will want to behold yourself, that is, look in to the mirror.  Most of us don't want to, and especially not in those gigantic mirrors in the health clubs!  

But God has something for you to see......like the Greeks at the feast, who said, "We would see Jesus," God desires for you to behold His own self-revelation.  Christ the Lord

O come let us adore Him,
O come let us adore Him,
O come let us adore Him,
Christr the Lord.

May the beauty and the mystery of the Incarnation: the eternal Word becoming flesh, and moving in to your neighborhood, take your breath away.   

 

Our next Worship Gathering will be on New Year's Eve, we will be co-sponsoring a multi-community prayer and praise time, called the Burn - from 12:00 Noon on December 31st until New Year's Day, at least until 6:00 AM....and beyond I suspect.  We are contending in prayer for Long Island, and you are invited...can't wait to be here....can't wait to see you there!

Connect with us on Facebook: tinyurl.com/theconnectionLI