The Living Light

My friends,

This blog entry is for those of you, like myself, who are experiencing Christmas for the first time without a loved one. I finally broke down this morning, Christmas Eve, grieving the recent loss of my mother. Christmas was her most favorite time of the year with her family. We celebrated 54 Christmases together, whether or not I am able to recall them or they were in person or just a long distance phone call. Yet, I will always remember the times we went to the Candlelight service together when I was a little boy. and Mother passedthe Candlelight of Christ to me. What a warm, peaceful, and joyous time for both her and me.

But this Christmas, Mother, is celebrating in Heaven rather than on earth. When a friend of mine in Wylie UMC and I were consoling one another about the loss of our mothers, he gave me the below poem written by Wanda Bencke. I wanted to share it this evening at Candlelight but it would be too hard for most of us. So, I share it with you today (you can google the poem and it will direct you to the poeam and a link for Wanda's website...please thank her for the words of promise and encouragement). Wanda, I thank you also.

Christmas in Heaven

I see the countless CHRISTMAS TREES around the world below

with tiny lights like HEAVEN’S STARS reflecting on the snow.
The sight is so SPECTACULAR please wipe away that tear

for I am spending CHRISTMAS WITH JESUS CHRIST this year.
I hear the many CHRISTMAS SONGS that people hold so dear

but the SOUND OF MUSIC can't compare with the CHRISTMAS CHOIR up here.
I have no words to tell you of the JOY their voices bring

for it is beyond description to HEAR THE ANGELS SING.
I know HOW MUCH YOU MISS ME, I see the pain inside your heart

for I am spending CHRISTMAS WITH JESUS CHRIST this year.
I can't tell you of the SPLENDOR or the PEACE here in this place

Can you just imagine CHRISTMAS WITH OUR SAVIOR face to face
I'll ask him to LIFT YOUR SPIRIT as I tell him of your love

so then PRAY FOR ONE ANOTHER as you lift your eyes above.
Please let your HEARTS BE JOYFUL and let your SPIRIT SING

for I am spending CHRISTMAS IN HEAVEN and I’m walking WITH THE KING.

~ by Wanda Bencke© Copyright 1999

Merry Christmas to all of you and may God and your loved one be ever so present with you in this time of year.

Grace and peace,

Jack

Great Expectation and Wonder

I thank my colleague, Dr. Roy Spore, for most of the thoughts below. Please read on.

The time has come. In the tumult of the last few weeks we have strained to hear a voice of hope calling us to new life. We have heard the scriptures call us to that hope. We have prayed for the Holy Spirit to enter into our hearts and our lives. We have decorated our homes with the signs of the season and we have adorned our hearts with love for others. Our minds have focused on the glory about to break forth into the world. We feel that we are ready for God’s new gift of grace.

Monday night we will gather in the worship center to bring our waiting and watching to an end. We will greet one another with warm wishes for a Merry Christmas. We will think of those who cannot be with us and those who are no longer with us and we will offer up our love for them. As the darkness and cold fill the world around us, we will warm ourselves amid family and friends. We will remember with fondness and tears the times we have been together and we will anticipate new and exciting times before us. We will sing the old familiar carols that hold a special meaning on this night. We will hear that old familiar story read again, our minds saying the words in concert because it is so much a part of our faith. And in all this, we will find our hearts strangely warmed.
Then the lights will go down and we will, once again, hear the words from John’s gospel: “In the beginning was the Word ….” The light from a single candle will pass from hand to hand, candle to candle, as the worship center takes on a mystic, warm glow and we sing the haunting, yet comforting, phrase “Silent Night, Holy Night ….” Then we will sing “Joy to the World” as we look upon the lighted candles. At the singing of the last verse, we will raise our candles in celebration of glory to God in the Highest and peace on earth. Then we will remember the Word, “…and the light shines in the darkness and the darkness has not overcome it.” Somehow we will know that the light of Christ has come to us again and burns bright within us. And in all this, our celebration will be complete. Merry Christmas.

Pastor Jack

psalm from the Advent Devotional

Just as many of you, I have been encouraged and intrigued by our First Annual Advent Daily Devotional writer's witness. Reading the first week's devotionals was rich in God's grace. I am sure the words were of encouragement for all who read them, as they were for me.

I took the liberty to copy the "Thought for the Day" for each day below and it seems they could be similar to the Psalms. Read them together yourself and see if they are not a psalm of encouragment for you:

Where is God calling me to make and keep a promise today? - Jack Wallace

Even though we do not ask for it soon enough, help is always available for any situation - Jim Clark

Paul instructs us in 2 Corinthians 10:5, "Take every thought captive to obey
Christ" so that we may focus on the path ahead of us. Staying focused means
keeping in prayer, Bible study, and accountability in fellowship - Heather Haynes

We do not need to doubt God’s plan for our lives; God knows the plan for our lives and we need to put all our trust in him - Katie Haynes

Let God open your eyes - Kathryn Raebel

Turning what seems to be a difficult task into a letter of love will plant seeds for God’s kingdom - Larry Johnson

God will wrap His arms around us and gives us Peace and Hope when we
think we just can’t go one more step - Terri Chesser

May God continue to bless in the reading of the devotionals in the days ahead, and thank you to all made submissions for this year's devotional.