How silently, how silently

The wondrous gift was given

So God imparts to human hearts

The blessings of His heaven

No ear may hear His coming,

But in this world of sin

Where meek souls will receive Him still

The dear Christ enters in

I heard the story this weekend about someone who discovered a framed poster in front of someone’s house with the sign “FREE” stuck to it. Closer examination revealed that it was a very large poster made up of motivational sayings all in different colors and calligraphy — sayings like, “In order to succeed, we must first believe that we can,” “Quitters never win, and winners never quit,” or “If you can dream it, you can do it,” “Mistakes are proof that you are trying,” and of course, the Nike mantra: “Just do it.” And if you got close enough to this motivational tool, you could see a couple stickers on the bottom with a handwritten message from the current owner: “This isn’t working for me,” and “You can have it.”

There is a wealth of truth in this picture. Fixing ourselves is way overrated. Just ask Moses. Moses was the guy who brought the Ten Commandments to earth only to find that before he could get down the mountain with the stone tablets inscribed by the very finger of God, the people he was leading had already egregiously broken the first one.

Our inability to follow the laws of God was captured for all of us on the face of Moses in the form of a veil with which he hid his face for the rest of his life. Its original purpose to protect the people from the bright glow from being with God was soon usurped by the somewhat devious plan to keep them from seeing that the brightness didn’t last (2 Corinthians 3:13). In other words, like the owner who was giving away the poster, he might as well have been saying all along about the law, “This isn’t working for me.” And indeed, it wasn’t. It was never supposed to. All the motivational sayings in the world cannot penetrate a veil that we all wear of inadequacy about the law and self-improvement.

The only hope for us in this regard is the hope that came to us that first Christmas. Christ Jesus, God’s Son, came to earth that He might be born into the hearts of all who believe. This is the part of Christmas you don’t hear that much about. You hear about His coming as the savior of the world, but not so much as our enabler, but that’s what He is. He is not born in us just so we can be buddies, but to enable us to do His will. It’s called the new covenant, the old one being forever hidden by failure and coverup behind the veil of Moses. You and I with unveiled faces are being transformed into His image by the Spirit who lives in us (2 Corinthians 3:18). He does what we can never do, and He does it through our human flaws, just as we are, so His grace can be easily detected as the source of the transformation (2 Corinthians 4:7).

So this Christmas, focus on Christ being born in you. Maybe that’s why He was born the first time into a smelly stable. Not that much different from being born in us.

O Holy Child of Bethlehem

Descend to us, we pray

Cast out our sin and enter in

Be born in us today

The First Gift

of Christmas

Acknowledge Someone who Made a Difference in Your Life

The Catch Ministry offers you an opportunity this Christmas to honor someone dear to your heart — someone who unknowingly stepped into your life and left a mark you’ll never forget.

Give a gift in support of the Gospel of Welcome — Grace Turned Outward — to Everyone, Everywhere, by providing the name of someone you want to honor.

Each person you wish to honor will receive the First Gift of Christmas sleigh bell with an elegant personalized card of recognition to tell them of the impact they had on your life.

— And —

They will receive a public “Thank you” on the Music that Matters radio station.

This action of kindness will not only bring joy to their hearts but will ring the bell of hope for men and women the Catch Ministry supports in the United States and in 142 other countries around the world.

There are no “catches,” no donations required. Simply acknowledge someone who made a difference in your life and we will send, on behalf of you, the First Gift of Christmas — a 3-inch sleigh bell and a personal note of recognition.

May God through His marvelous grace grant you joy and love this Christmas.

On behalf of the Board of Directors and John & Marti Fischer

How to order your free gift:

Send your Honorees’ names and addresses to our MemberPartner and First Gift of Christmas volunteer, Cynthia Cody Vera at cynthiacody@rocketmail.com and include any special message you want to include to recognize your honorees on John Fischer Presents Music that Matters radio.

Music that Matters Radio Announcement!

John Fischer Presents: Music that Matters Radio – a presentation of music like you’ve never heard before. Welcome to a truly unique selection of songs you love, songs you’ll wonder about, and songs you’ve never heard before, but most of all … songs that matter.

We are live now at

http://musicthatmattersradio.com

 

And you can download the

 Live365.com 

 

app and take us with you!

Just open the app in your smart phone and search for

“Music that Matters.”

  

An Important Word Regarding Our Prayer Ministry

We believe our most significant ministry is handled by our Prayer Warriors under the able leadership of Pastor Merv Keck.

Prayers are being answered daily.

But not unless you send us your requests!

How can we pray for you if we don’t know?

Enter your request today.