| Sunday,
December 24, 2006
Christmas Eve
O
ye, beneath life's crushing load,
whose forms are bending low,
Who toil along the climbing way
with painful steps and slow,
Look now! For glad and golden hours
come swiftly on the wing:
O rest beside the weary road,
and hear the angels sing!
Yet with the woes of sin and strife,
the world has suffered long
Beneath the heavenly strain have rolled
two thousand years of wrong;
And man, at war with man, hears not
the tidings that they bring;
O hush the noise, ye men of strife,
and hear the angels sing!
========================
Letter from Jesus about Christmas --
Dear Children,
It has come to my attention that many of
you are upset that folks are taking My name out of the season. Maybe
you've forgotten that I wasn't actually born during this time of the
year and that it was some of your predecessors who decided to celebrate
My birthday on what was actually a time of pagan festival. Although I do
appreciate being remembered anytime.
How I personally feel about this
celebration can probably be most easily understood by those of you who
have been blessed with children of your own. I don't care what you call
the day. If you want to celebrate My birth, just GET ALONG AND LOVE ONE
ANOTHER.
Now, having said that let Me go on. If it
bothers you that the town in which you live doesn't allow a scene
depicting My birth, then just get rid of a couple of Santas and snowmen
and put in a small nativity scene on your own front lawn. If all My
followers did that there wouldn't be any need for such a scene on the
town square because there would be many of them all around town.
Stop worrying about the fact that people
are calling the tree a holiday tree, instead of a Christmas tree. It was
I who made all trees. You can remember Me anytime you see any tree.
Decorate a grape vine if you wish: I actually spoke of that one in a
teaching, explaining who I am in relation to you and what each of our
tasks were. If you have forgotten that one, look up John 15: 1 - 8.
If you want to give Me a present in
remembrance of My birth here is my wish list. Choose something from it:
1. Instead of writing protest letters
objecting to the way My birthday is being celebrated, write letters of
love and hope to soldiers away from home. They are terribly afraid and
lonely this time of year. I know, they tell Me all the time.
2. Visit someone in a nursing home. You
don't have to know them personally. They just need to know that someone
cares about them.
3. Instead of writing George complaining
about the wording on the cards his staff sent out this year, why don't
you write and tell him that you'll be praying for him and his family
this year. Then follow up. It will be nice hearing from you again.
4. Instead of giving your children a lot of
gifts you can't afford and they don't need, spend time with them. Tell
them the story of My birth, and why I came to live with you down here.
Hold them in your arms and remind them that I love them.
5. Pick someone that has hurt you in the
past and forgive him or her.
6. Did you know that someone in your town
will attempt to take their own life this season because they feel so
alone and hopeless? Since you don't know who that person is, try giving
everyone you meet a warm smile; it could make the difference.
7. Instead of nit picking about what the
retailer in your town calls the holiday, be patient with the people who
work there. Give them a warm smile and a kind word. Even if they aren't
allowed to wish you a "Merry Christmas" that doesn't keep you from
wishing them one. Then stop shopping there on Sunday. If the store
didn't make so much money on that day they'd close and let their
employees spend the day at home with their families
8. If you really want to make a difference,
support a missionary--especially one who takes My love and Good News to
those who have never heard My name.
9. Here's a good one. There are individuals
and whole families in your town who not only will have no "Christmas"
tree, but neither will they have any presents to give or receive. If you
don't know them, buy some food and a few gifts and give them to the
Salvation Army or some other charity which believes in Me and they will
make the delivery for you.
10. Finally, if you want to make a
statement about your belief in and loyalty to Me, then behave like a
Christian. Don't do things in secret that you wouldn't do in My
presence. Let people know by your actions that you are one of mine.
Don't forget; I am God and can take
care of Myself. Just love Me and do what I have told you to do. I'll
take care of all the rest. Check out the list above and get to work;
time is short. I'll help you, but the ball is now in your court. And do
have a most blessed Christmas with all those whom you love and remember
: I LOVE YOU.
JESUS
Gloria in excelsis deo,
et in terra pax hominibus bonae voluntatis
Laudamus te.
Benedicimus te.
Adoramus te.
Glorificamus te.
Gratias agimus tibi propter magnam gloriam tuam.
Domine Deus, Rex caelestis, Deus Pater omnipotens.
Domine fili unigenite, Jesu Christe.
Domine Deus, Agnus Dei, Filius patris.
Qui tollis peccata mundi, miserere nobis.
Qui tollis peccata mundi suscipe deprecationem nostram.
Qui sedes ad dexteram patris miserere nobis.
Quoniam tu solus sanctus.
Tu solus Dominus.
Tu solus Altissimus, Jesu Christe.
Cum Sancto Spiritu in gloria Dei Patris. Amen.
The Second Chapter of the Gospel According to Luke:
Factum est autem in diebus illis, exiit edictum a Cæsare Augusto ut
describeretur universus orbis.
Hæc descriptio prima facta est a præside Syriæ Cyrino:
et ibant omnes ut profiterentur singuli in suam civitatem.
Ascendit autem et Joseph a Galilæa de civitate Nazareth in Judæam, in
civitatem David, quæ vocatur Bethlehem: eo quod esset de domo et familia
David, ut profiteretur cum Maria desponsata sibi uxore prægnante.
Factum est autem, cum essent ibi, impleti sunt dies ut pareret.
Et peperit filium suum primogenitum, et pannis eum involvit, et
reclinavit eum in præsepio: quia non erat eis locus in diversorio.
Et pastores erant in regione eadem vigilantes, et custodientes vigilias
noctis super gregem suum.
Et ecce angelus Domini stetit juxta illos, et claritas Dei circumfulsit
illos, et timuerunt timore magno.
Et dixit illis angelus:
Nolite timere: ecce enim evangelizo vobis
gaudium magnum, quod erit omni populo: quia natus est vobis hodie Salvator,
qui est Christus Dominus, in civitate David. Et hoc vobis signum: invenietis
infantem pannis involutum, et positum in præsepio.
Et subito facta est cum angelo multitudo militiæ cælestis laudantium
Deum, et dicentium:
Gloria in altissimis Deo,
et in terra pax hominibus bonæ voluntatis.
Et factum est, ut discesserunt ab eis angeli in cælum: pastores
loquebantur ad invicem: Transeamus usque Bethlehem, et videamus hoc verbum,
quod factum est, quod Dominus ostendit nobis. Et venerunt festinantes: et
invenerunt Mariam, et Joseph, et infantem positum in præsepio.
Videntes autem cognoverunt de verbo, quod dictum erat illis de puero hoc.
Et omnes qui audierunt, mirati sunt: et de his quæ dicta erant a
pastoribus ad ipsos.
Maria autem conservabat omnia verba hæc, conferens in corde suo.
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