HAVE YOU SEEN HIS STAR?

“We have seen His star in the East, and are come to worship Him” (Matthew 2:2). We do not see the stars much anymore, blinded as we are by our own light. We do not see the constellations above us for our own sputtering sparklers. Then we have other stars aplenty, athletic, political, movie stars. And never were there more misguided human missiles than now. Jude calls some of them “wandering stars, to whom is reserved the blackness of darkness for ever” (verse 13). The devil himself is a fallen star, Lucifer fallen from heaven. And, of course, we are now in the satellite business making stars of our own.

The Wise Men said, “We have seen His star.” He is the “Star out of Jacob,” “the Daystar,” “the Bright and Morning Star.” But the Wise Men did something about it. They came to where He was, and we must come to Him in repentance and faith. They worshiped, and we must bow before Him and confess Him as Lord of all. They gave gifts, and we must first give Him ourselves. And they went home another way. Any man who comes to Christ goes another way from there on, not our way but His way.

There are stars aplenty today, but have you seen His star and what are you doing about it?

—Vance Havner

Come and adore Him! OUR WONDERFUL LORD
	The little word “wonderful” has almost been worn threadbare. We speak of a “wonderful time”, “a wonderful person”, “a wonderful book”, and apply the word to a thousand things entirely unworthy of it. The word, however, finds its rightful place in God's Word. The prophet Isaiah said, concerning the Lord Jesus Christ, “His name shall be called Wonderful.” Truly He was wonderful in the way He fulfilled the many prophecies concerning Himself. God spoke to Abraham and provided a nation through which our Lord should come. Then He spoke to Jacob and revealed the chosen tribe of the Savior's ancestry, the tribe of Judah. There must also be a family, so through Isaiah He made known that it should be of Jesse. To Micah He whispered the name of Christ's birthplace, Bethlehem. Through Daniel He make known the time of Jesus' birth. In Malachi He spoke of the forerunner, John the Baptist, and in Jonah He set forth a picture of our Lord's resurrection. When Christ came, He fulfilled to the letter all these predictions. Truly He is wonderful! Author Unknown Back to Contents

HUGS 'N TUGS

By Wendy Greiner Lefko

Our 22-month-old daughter loves to play in her crib, accompanied by her collection of stuffed animals from around the room. She isn’t content, however, until every single animal is in the crib with her. Then she always does the same thing—she focuses her attention on one little yellow duck. She holds it, rocks it, and plays with it to the exclusion of all the others. It seems to be the most important toy of all! While insisting on having her complete collection of furry friends around her, she rarely pays attention to them, apart from the little yellow duck which holds a treasured place in her heart and gets her undivided attention and care.

Likewise at this time of year, when we find ourselves surrounded by presents lovingly given by family and friends, we need to remember the most valuable and precious gift of all—Jesus Christ. His birth was God’s gift to us, and the only one we truly need. We should be grateful for the many material blessings lovingly bestowed upon us by those close to us, but we must be careful not to crowd out the true basis of the celebration. Special attention must be given to the One Whose birth we celebrate, the gift that should be most dear to our hearts. It is, after all, the best gift anyone could possess. With the rush of the season, let’s not ignore our special relationship with Christ. He is there in the midst of the decorations, gifts, and celebrating; we just need to take time to find Him, draw close to Him, and spend time worshiping Him as our Lord and King. Let us set Him apart from the earthly pleasures of the season and give Him the special place He deserves in our hearts and lives.

Celebrate Jesus!

“For we have seen His star in the east, and are come to worship Him (Matthew 2:2).”

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CHRISTMAS HANDS
	Christmas hands with curled up baby fingers soon You will stretch out nail-pierced for me. —Lois Walfrid Johnson Back to Contents

BEST OF LIFELINE
By Rev. Larry W. Greiner
	Couples everywhere in Puerto Rico were getting married wholesale, as fast as they could. It was all because of the difference between “Caza and Casar”. A radio broadcast had announced that after June all “Caza” would be prohibited. Since “Caza” sounds like “Casar”, thousands of Puerto Ricans understood the warning to be all “Casar” would be prohibited. While the two words sound much alike, they mean entirely different things. “Caza” means hunting while “Casar” means marriage. The radio announcement therefore was understood by many to mean that after June 10 all weddings would be prohibited in Puerto Rico. As a result thousands of couples rushed to the altar while there was still time. You can imagine the shock and dismay many of them felt when learned they had jumped hastily into matrimony, all because a radio broadcaster had gotten his tongue twisted and made “Caza” sound like “Casar”. It can't be emphasized too much how important it is that communications need to be clear when sending a message. When God wanted to communicate His plan of salvation to sinful men, He knew the best way was to become a man and dwell among them, proclaiming the good news personally. So it was, 2000 years ago, a baby was born in Bethlehem who was God “in the flesh”. The angel declared that His name would be “Jesus” and He would save His people from their sins. The Son of God delivered, from His heavenly Father, the clear message of salvation. The words He spoke to mankind were given to Him directly from His Father. There would be no mistake in communicating it to the world. Most of the world, however, does not believe that message. Are you one of the few who has heard the message and believed it? If so, may this Christmas be one filled with much joy and peace for you as you celebrate His birth. If you have not trusted Christ, perhaps someone has passed on the wrong message to you of how to get to heaven. Come now to Bethlehem and understand the truth. Accept Jesus Christ as your personal Savior and be saved today. “For unto YOU is born this day in the city of David a SAVIOR who is CHRIST THE LORD” (Luke 2:11) Back to Contents

WHAT HAPPENED?
	An old pioneer traveled westward across the Great Plains until he came to an abrupt halt at the edge of the Grand Canyon. He gawked at the sight before him: a vast chasm one mile down, eighteen miles across, and more that a hundred miles long! He gasped, “Something musta happened here!” A visitor to our world at Christmas time, seeing the lights, the decorations, the trees, the religious services, would also probably say, “Something must have happened here!” Indeed, something did happen! God came to our world on that first Christmas. Back to Contents

OH, TO HAVE BEEN A SHEPHERD
	Oh, to have been a shepherd The night that Christ was born! To have heard the hallelujahs And that angelic horn! To have crossed the plain of Bethlehem With sandals on my feet; To have touched the hand of God's own Son Where He lay upon the wheat. To have seen the bright heraldic star; To have found the manger place; To have seen the cattle kneeling And Mary's Shining face! Oh, to have been a shepherd The night that Christ was born; To have carried on my heart for life The glory of that dawn! Dorothy E. Begg Back to Contents

WHERE'S THE BABY?
	The story is told of two women who were enjoying an elaborate luncheon in a downtown restaurant. When asked the occasion for the luncheon, one said, “We are celebrating the baby's birthday.” “But where is the baby?” asked the inquirer, for there was no child to be seen. “Oh,” said the mother, “you didn't think I'd bring him, Did you? Why he doesn't know anything about it.” Many of us celebrate the birthday of our Savior, yet forget to invite Him! In our rush of observing Christmas do we really stop to meditate upon the Christ Child who should be the center of it all? Back to Contents

REJOICE
	Rejoice and be merry in song and in mirth! O praise our Redeemer, all mortals on earth! For this is the birthday of Jesus our King, who brought us salvation, His praises we'll sing! From an old church gallery book discovered in Dorset, England. Back to Contents

THE GIFT THAT COMES BACK
	Somehow, not only for Christmas But all the long year through, The joy that you give to others Is the joy that comes back to you. John Greenleaf Whittier Back to Contents

OH, MAKE HASTE AND BOW BEFORE HIM!
CROWN HIM LORD!

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HAVE YOU SEEN HIS STAR?

Come and adore Him! OUR WONDERFUL LORD

By Wendy Greiner Lefko

By Rev. Larry W. Greiner

Come and adore Him!
OUR WONDERFUL LORD