Merry Christmas

Barka da Noel

And the angel said to the shepherds:

"Do not be afraid.  I bring you good news of great joy that will be for all the people.  Today in the town of David a Savior has been born to you; He is Christ the Lord.  This will be a sign to you:  You will find a baby wrapped in cloths and lying in a manger."Luke 2: 10-12,   NIV

What a great time to celebrate - Christ is born.  He is here for all the people of all the world.  Let His light shine this Christmas season.  This celebration is indeed about Him.  Christ our Savior, our Messiah.   Proclaim the good news through all of your celebration. 

"For to us a child is born, to us a son is given, and the government will be on his shoulders. And he will be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace."

Isaiah 9: 6

This truly is a season of Joy when we focus our attention on the true meaning and spirit of Christmas. 

 

For us there is no snow, there are no carolers, there are no streets decorated with lights or stores adorned with massive amounts of decorations trying to get you to spend your money.  On the streets there is bedlam as people struggle to make a living selling their wares.    At every stop we are met by a wide range of people, some looking for handouts, others urging you to purchase from them.  Urgency and desperation is always part of the scenario.   Along the roadside there are people, children, scrounging through garbage looking for anything that can be converted to cash to meet their most immediate need.

We do have our Christmas tree up; it is the tree we bought at an after Christmas sale just before we left Canada.  It has some lights and homemade decorations, including an angel on top that seems to want to burst out in song and sing - "Glory to God in the highest..."

We will gather with our family on Christmas Eve and have a time of being together and celebrating the birth of Christ.  On Christmas Day we will celebrate at Church where the service, in some Churches, will go from 9:00 am to until sometime in the afternoon.  We celebrate the fact that we can actually do this in this country.  That we can still celebrate the birth of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.  But, we are certainly in the minority.

Last Sunday we were at Church in what is called a difficult part of town.  We celebrated the Sunday in this small Church that had been rebuilt because certain people had burned the previous Church.  The congregation was small but we felt moved by the Holy Spirit within the service.  Their passion to minister to others was very encouraging.

Luke 2: 10 tells us that this child that was born was, and still is, for all people.  He did not come just for those who sit in comfortable pews in nice Churches.  He came for all people.  Please share this wonderful news and message to all who need Him.

Blessings in 2015 on you and your family,

Orest and Grace Pelech