MY CHRISTMAS MESSAGE – 2018

Christmas and the New Year is upon us once again!
Where have the last 365 days disappeared to?
Many of you are asking the same questions.

Christmas time always brings with it a mixture of sadness and gladness.
Sadness because we feel just that little bit older and our aches and pains seem more like Rice Krispies as we ‘snap, crackle and pop’ getting up in the mornings.
Gladness because it is a time of delight and joyfulness with friends and family.
The children, no matter what age, always bring with them an air of expectation and happiness.
Those of us who are older, ponder the Old and the New, offering advice to the young:

• We must not carry the mistakes of the past with us.
• We should not harbour the memory of those who in times of testing, have failed and fled from us.
• Let the past teach us, but don’t let it rule you.
• Learn from the past, but don’t ever let it hinder you.

The OLD YEAR –

• We should look back with humility.
• We should look back with gratitude.
• We should look back with praise and worship.

The NEW YEAR –

• We look forward with faith in God’s Power.
• We look forward with Hope in God’s Promises.
• We look forward to the Love in God’s Person.
• We look forward to God’s Provision in His Son.

Let’s look at some Scriptures which tell us of people who looked back:
In Genesis 47:9 we read that Jacob looked back and said: …. few and evil have the days of the years of my life been.
In 2 Timothy 4:7-8 we read that Paul looked back and said: ….
I have fought a good fight, I have finished my course, I have kept the faith: Henceforth there is laid up for me a crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous judge, shall give me at that day: and not to me only, but unto all them also that love his appearing.
In Luke 1:46-48 we read that Mary looked back and forward and said: … My soul doth magnify the Lord and my spirit hath rejoiced in God my Saviour. From henceforth all people shall call me blessed.
In Deuteronomy 8:2 we read that Moses looked back and said: You shall remember all the ways the Lord your God has led you and brought you to this place.
In Psalm 77:10 David looked back and said: I will remember the years of the right hand of the most High.

At the end of the day what you and I have to look back on is what we are building today into our lives and the lives of others.
What we will see in a day to come, is the golden crop that was the product of toil, tears and grievous trials.

• We will see the things of worth that many would have counted worthless, because they didn’t produce immediate results.
• We will look back and be truly grateful for every time we had followed God’s Word and sought God’s Will and walked God’s Way, often at seeming great cost.
• Or we will look back on Fields that were not ploughed, because they were used for playing fields.
• Or we will look back on Crops that were not sown, because the Crops were used for feasting.
• Or we will look back at Tasks that were not tackled, because the Tasks, though sometimes talked of, were never tackled, or when it was too late.

And now all that is left is the sad memory of what might have been and should have been, had we followed the Word of God.

It is our sincere hope and prayer at JAM Publishing that you will have a truly Spirit-filled Christmas where the Saviour is given His rightful place and that 2019 brings us closer to the time when we will finally see Him face to face!