THE SHEPHERD’S CORNER

Billy Graham has often said that the first thing he’s going to do when he gets to heaven is to ask, “Why me, Lord? Why did You choose a farmboy from North Carolina to preach to so many people, to have such a wonderful team of associates, and to have a part in what You were doing in the latter half of the twentieth century?” We’ll never know the specific reason why God chose Billy Graham; what we know is His choice is consistent with His values—He sees and uses the small and the insignificant of the world to do His work.

Everything about Christmas—the birth of Christ—accentuates that point, as we shall see through a series of messages I will share with you starting from today till the Day of Christmas. We’ll see that what happens today during Christmas is the complete opposite of what happened then during the first Christmas. In the name of giving—the so-called spirit of Christmas—we have made Christmas the biggest extravaganza of the year.

The truth is Christmas is not about giving; it is about receiving, not from each other canadian casino news but from God. Christmas is about receiving Jesus, the Son of God. Unfortunately for the past 2000 years—from the first Christmas till today’s Christmas—we have consistently had problem receiving Jesus, the Savior of the world. We did not receive Him in Bethlehem, then, and we still do not receive Him today in Los Angeles. We feature—and accept—everything from a reindeer to an old man with white beard except Jesus Himself.

Efforts to obliterate Christ from Christmas Celebration will go on and for the most part, it will succeed, as we have clearly witnessed. But, that’s OK. After all Christ Our Savior wishes to come—and to rule—not in the malls but rather in the hearts of men and women.

Pastor Paul